Oh Baby, I'm a Fool For You

I awoke to a hand gently stroking my exposed stomach. Rolling onto my side, I could hardly believe my eyes.

Ben was laying next to me, his eyes shut. His chin was smooth, no sign of stubble anywhere.

"Hi," I whispered, propping myself up on my elbow.

His eyes cracked open, and he smiled. "Hey there," he answered.

"I missed you so much," I whispered, my eyes tearing up. I turned onto my side and rested a hand against his cheek.

"I missed you too, love," he responded, retracting his hand from my skin.

"No!" I shouted loudly, snatching his wrist.

"What?" he said, shocked.

"Don't," I whispered, lowering my eyes in shame.

"Don't what, Ky?"

I knelt next to him, and threw a leg over him so I was straddling his hips. "I missed you so much. I'm such an idiot for overreacting," I murmured, running my fingers along his chest.

"You have to stop this," he said, propping himself up onto his elbows.

"No."

"Ky," he said, and caught my wrist in his hand. "Stop."

"Ben," I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. "I love you." I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his.

He attempted to turn his head, but instead caught my face between his hands. "Wake up, Kaya!" he exclaimed, holding me back.

"What are you talking about?" I whispered, tears streaming slowly down my cheeks.

"Wake up!"

The dream melted away around me. I was in my hotel room, and it was all dark except for the green glare of the alarm clock on the nightstand. That was when it clicked. I slowly looked down.

Nikolai was underneath me, holding my face in his hands. His eyes were searching mine, as if making sure that I was awake.

"Oh my gosh," I whispered in horror. I scrambled off of him and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. I just tried to make out with my best friend.

"Kaya," he called from the other side of the door. "Open up, hon."

"No," I whined childishly, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Don't be embarrassed that you just tried to rape me," he teased.

"Nik!"

"Open the door, Kit-Kat."

"Nikolai-"

"Open the door," he said in that stern, serious voice.

Shutting my eyes, I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Come here," he murmured, opening his arms to me.

The memories of what just happened momentarily disappeared as I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him as hard as I could. "I miss him," I whispered against his bare shoulder.

"I know, honey," he said, stroking my back. "I know."

"I miss him so much, Nik."

He pressed a loving kiss to my forehead. "Everything is going to be okay," he said confidently. "I promise."

I wasn't looking forward to work in the morning.

I knew who was waiting for me in the trailer.

The schedule delivered to me did not make me happy. For the remainder of the scenes, I was to only do the makeup for Ben and Will. The temporary girl they hired refused to give up her job, and was allowed to keep Anna, Skandar and Georgie. At this point, I would have traded for three dozen extras than have to work with my ex-boyfriend and a man who had recently caused said ex-boyfriend to break up with me.

I stood outside the trailer where Ben was waiting. I fiddled with the sleeves of my black hoodie and kept evaluating myself in comparison to Jenna. She was so much taller than me, and much more endowed. She was probably a perfect zero, whereas I was a size ten. The list goes on and on.

"Kaya."

I whipped around and came face to face with Will for the first time since my departure from London. "Hi," I murmured sheepishly, looking down at my muddy sneakers.

"I screwed up again, didn't I?" he asked quietly.

I nodded. "We broke up."

He sighed and nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I wasn't trying to get you upset with me. I was just doing what you said."

"I didn't ask you to kiss me," I said sharply.

"But you wanted me to."

That was true. Not that I'd ever admit it. With a sigh, I said, "It's probably for the best. He's got someone else anyway."

"You know that's not true," he said, stepping closer. "He doesn't like her! You were just the victim of unfortunate circumstances, that's all. He didn't mean to hurt you."

"We should probably get to work," I said, desperate for a change of topic. I turned on my heel and walked up the small set of stairs to the trailer where Ben was waiting.

He was sitting in front of the mirror, looking down at his cell phone. From afar, I could tell that he was earnestly playing Tetris. He still haven't shaved, a thick stubble covering his jaw.

I stood there, staring at him for a moment. I just wanted to touch him...

"Ky," Will said softly from behind me. "We have to be on set in an hour."

I nodded. "Give me a second and I'll get you started."

"Start with him," Will whispered, and exited the trailer, leaving my chest tightening.

Slowly, I turned around.

Ben was looking at me. As soon as he saw me, he looked down at his phone.

With a shaky sigh, I walked behind him and began preparing his makeup and pulled out a hair straightener and a hair brush. Wordlessly, I began brushing his hair gently. I can't describe how happy I was when I touched his soft hair. It sent electricity through my veins, and my fingers trembled slightly. Through the mirror, I caught him stealing glances at me while I stole glances at him.

Once I fixed his hair, I stepped in front of him, foundation and sponge in hand. Awkwardly, I stepped between his legs and gently tipped his head back. Averting my eyes from meeting his, I poured a small drop of foundation onto my sponge and began lightly applying it across his face. Pausing, I evaluated the stubble that covered his jaw. It needed to go away. I had to say something. Anything. My mouth opened, but all that came out was a shaky sigh. My throat was so tight that I felt like I would suffocate.

"Kaya?" he said finally, staring up at me, concern plaguing his eyes.

I sucked in my bottom lip, took a deep breath, and muttered out, "You have to shave."

His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was expecting me to say something a bit different. "Okay," he answered, and moved to stand up.

Panicking, I hurried out of his way, effectively tripping over his outstretched leg and crashing loudly to the floor. "Ouch," I murmured, pushing myself onto my knees. "Shoot!" I exclaimed. The foundation had spilled all over the dirty floor. "No, no, no!" I whispered, snatching the bottle.

"Ky?"

I froze. I forgot he was there. "Nothing's wrong!" I said loudly, jumping to my feet. I spun around to face him.

He was watching me intently, his eyes evaluating me as if trying to see if I was okay.

"Wait there a second," I said, putting the half full bottle of liquid foundation on the counter before rushing to the sink. I quickly scrubbed my hands, then grabbed a hair binder. Returning to Ben, I held it up. "Turn around?" I said in a small, questioning voice.

He turned around obediently.

My hands shaking, I gathered his hair at the base of his neck and wrapped the binder around it tightly. "D-done," I stuttered, stepping backwards to be out of his way.

I felt slightly creepy as I stood to the side to let him shave. I couldn't help but watch him as he carefully removed every trace of the familiar yet depressing stubble.

"Done," he said as he turned around, revealing his smooth jaw. He walked back to the chair and sat down, pulling out the hair binder.

Once again, I stepped between his parted legs and began dabbing the foundation against his skin, trying not to look him in the eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I began to add the finishing touches.

No. I want you back. Now. "I'm fine," I answered. "Done," I said, and turned on my heel. Unfortunately, I tripped over said heel and landed in Ben's lap. "Sorry!" I said louder than necessary.

One of his arms snaked around my waist, holding me against him.

My body heated up and my face went red. "What are you doing?" I whispered.

He said nothing. His arm tightened. His chin rested against my shoulder, and I could feel his warm breath against my skin.

I couldn't help myself. I relaxed against him and shut my eyes, a content smile spreading across my face.

It seemed like hours before we were interrupted.

Will bounded up the stairs to the trailer, making for a noisy entrance.

I jumped off of Ben's lap just as his arm released me. "H-hey, are you ready?" I asked, looking down as I walked briskly to the makeup table.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

I nodded and quickly gathered my tools, putting them in front of Will's chair.

"I'll see you on the set, mate," Will said to Ben as he stepped behind me.

"I think I'll stay and have some coffee," Ben said lowly, no hint of happiness in his voice.

With intense nervousness, I did Will's hair and makeup, all under the intense stare of Ben. I felt like I was an antelope and he was a lion stalking it's prey. It didn't help that I was shaking and Will kept flashing smiles my way, touching my hands occasionally.

"Okay, see you guys at set," I said as I packed up my on-set kit.

Despite my attempt at getting rid of them, they followed me out of the trailer and into the waiting vans that would take us to set. I ended up sitting between them in the backseat, which made my day even more uncomfortable than I had previously thought.