After dinner at Regino's Rollie dropped Angie off at her apartment. Chiops practically leapt into her arms when she opened the door and his loud meowing was incessant, at least to Rollie. Before he left, Rollie checked the windows and doors to make sure they were secure. He wished there were more security there, and blamed himself for not installing it earlier. If Angie continues to stay here, he thought, security is definitely going to have to be beefed up. They kissed goodnight and Rollie was barely able to walk to his car afterwards.
Angie stayed away from the loft the next day. She told Rollie she had housecleaning to do and errands to run. She called him at lunchtime to find out when and where he was taking her.
"Wouldn't you like to know," he teased.
"Well, yeah. Rollie c'mon I have to know if it's casual, semi-casual, formal...."
"You know that dress I bought you? Wear that."
"Aye aye, Sir! So, where are we going?"
"That you do not need to know. Just be ready for seven o'clock."
Rollie arrived in his red Acura at Angie's place at seven. As he knocked on her door he admitted to himself that he was a bit nervous. This was their first real date, after all. A date away from the loft, a date out among other people, other couples. A date where he picks her up at her place, they go out to dinner, they dance and then later....
Rollie cleared his throat as he nervously waited for Angie to open the door. He nodded to an upstairs female neighbor who came by in the hallway and smiled pleasantly at him. Out of habit, he found himself turn and watch her leave, though he hadn't really looked at her. She had turned too, and smiled back at him.
Angie opened the door, "Hey. You look nice." Angie smiled as she saw how handsome Rollie looked in his suit. She always appreciated the way he looked in a suit. It always took her breath away...but then so did the sight of him in a plain t-shirt, or all bundled up in a turtleneck sweater and his leather jacket. She wondered if she would always have butterflies in her stomach or if he would always take her breath away. She hoped so. It was a nice feeling especially now that she could acknowledge it.
Rollie stood there with his mouth opened. Even though he had seen Angie in the dress before seeing her now just about left him speechless. The bruises were more hidden behind makeup and the ones on her face were healing better thanks to Mangela's cream.
He leaned forward. "You look amazing Angie," he said as he pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.
Angie smiled and took the flowers, smelling them in appreciation. "These are beautiful, Rollie," her eyes sparkled as she kissed him on the cheek, "Come in."
Angie put the flowers in water and placed them on her coffee table in the living room. "Do you want a drink or something before we go?" she asked a bit nervously herself.
Rollie looked at his watch, "We better not. The reservation is for 7:15. We better get going."
As they arrived at their destination Angie's jaw dropped after they parked the car and walked to the restaurant that Rollie was taking her to: Osteria del Gallo Nero in the Village.
"Osteria? Rollie, this is a four-fork restaurant!"
Rollie smiled, pleased at Angie's reaction. "I know it is. It's also bloody hard to get a reservation. I called in a few favors."
They were shown to their table, which was by the window with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Soft music played in the background and candlelight illuminated dark, private corners where couples held hands.
Angie ordered the sautéed shrimps and scallops with linguini, while Rollie ordered the penne with broccoli and tuna. After the appetizer and the main course, Angie sat back in her chair holding her tummy. She blew air into her cheeks to show that she was feeling very stuffed.
"Oh," she groaned, "I don't think I'm going to have room for dessert."
Rollie stood up and held out his hand, "Well then, you're going to have to work it off aren't you?"
Angie looked up at him with an 'are you kidding' look but when she saw that he was serious and not wanting to hurt his feelings, she placed her hand in his and stood up. Before they left the table Rollie ordered the strawberries in white wine for dessert. Then they went to the dance floor and danced. They danced slowly, Angie's head on Rollie's shoulder.
Once they returned to their table their dessert was delivered and Rollie and Angie shared it. As they started, some people were walking by their table and a man turned when he recognized Rollie.
"Rollie? Rollie Tyler? Is that you?"
Rollie looked up at the man in confusion at first. The man was older than Rollie, had once been blond but was now turning very gray, which he wore in a ponytail, and wore very expensive suits. "Jerry Sparks? How the hell are you mate?"
"I'm good," his eyes went to Angie, where they lingered a bit too long for Rollie's taste. "But I can see I'm interrupting. I just wanted to stop and say hello. Listen, before I go I want to introduce you to Tom Bradford...."
Tom Bradford was a slim, dark haired man with a beard and glasses. He was handsome and looked to be in his mid-thirties. Already though, his hair had specks of gray, which added to his allure. Rollie stood up to shake his hand.
"So, you're Rollie Tyler. It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot of nice things about you and your work from Richard Owen."
"It's nice to meet you too," Rollie turned to Angie, "this is my partner, Angie Ramirez,"
Bradford shook Angie's hand and was impressed by the strength in her handshake.
"We're actually supposed to meet on Thursday...." Rollie continued.
"Oh yes, that's right. Did my office send you the script yet?"
"No, actually. I haven't received anything."
Bradford placed his briefcase on the table, clanking some silverware and nearly knocking over Rollie's drink in the process. He apologized for the near mishap. Then, he reached in and pulled out a script and handed it to Rollie.
"I'd appreciate it if you come to the meeting with some ideas, maybe even some storyboards although two days may not be enough time for that I know. Now, I think we've intruded enough on your dinner," he bowed to Angie and shook Rollie's hand again, "I'll see you Thursday Mr. Tyler."
"Thursday." Rollie confirmed. He held the script rolled up in his hand. He had a smile on his face as he sat back down. "So what do you think Ange?"
"Well, he's polite and that's always a plus," Angie shrugged, "I guess we'll know more after we read the script and you have your meeting."
Rollie rubbed his chin and looked over at Angie. This wasn't right, he realized. This was their date, their first real official date out in public. Rollie stood and pulled Angie towards the dance floor where they stayed for several dances, whispering quietly to one another and occasionally sharing a laugh or two when one or both of them would throw their heads back in laughter. They could have been the only couple there for all they knew because they had eyes only for each other.
Afterwards, they went for a stroll around the block. They held hands and looked in the store windows at antiques or electronics. Rollie stared at Angie's reflection in the window. He found himself remembering her as a thirteen year old, dressed up in pigtails, a baseball cap, and attitude. Now he saw Angie the woman, strong, smart, and sexy and he counted his blessings that he had finally woken up to what was right before him all this time. He caught Angie looking at his reflection and he smiled as their eyes met in the reflections. She smiled too.
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me Angie."
"That's funny. I was thinking the same thing."
Rollie dropped Angie off at her apartment and though it was difficult he returned to the loft. He had something in mind that he wanted to do and needed to make some calls before he turned in.
The following morning Angie was awakened from a nice dream by knocking at her door. At first, she thought it was part of a dream. It seemed so far away. But soon, she realized that someone was actually at her door. She wondered if Melissa Jenkins from 3-B had called a repairman and given the wrong apartment number again. Angie swore she did it just to piss her off. Angie threw on her robe and padded to the door in her bare feet, almost tripping over Chiops along the way. The knocking continued. Angie peered through the keyhole and saw Rollie on the other side. She undid the lock and opened the door slowly.
"Rollie? What's wrong? Do you know what time it is?" as she asked, she reached over and grabbed Rollie's wrist and turned the watch face so she could read it, "it's 6:00 a.m., Rollie. What's wrong?" Angie rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
Rollie entered her apartment, "Morning Ange. Nothing's wrong. Go pack an overnight bag...I have a surprise."
Angie leaned against the door wanting only to go back to sleep. "Rollie! It's too damned early for surprises," she groaned.
"It's never too early. Now go and pack your bag," he motioned her away with his hands. "I'll make some coffee while you're getting ready."
Angie groaned. It was too early for this. The question was, does she put up a fight or give in a take her shower and do as he asked. Thinking that it was too early for a fight, Angie elected to take a shower. It was clear she wasn't going to get to back to bed anyway.
An hour later Rollie and Angie were in his truck heading down the interstate toward New Jersey. Traffic was moving steadily since most of the commuter traffic was moving into the city. They had been on the road for about an hour when Rollie pulled over at a roadside restaurant for breakfast. They then hit the road again and drove for another thirty minutes, finally arriving at a small hotel. Rollie had booked them overnight in adjoining rooms. Angie looked at him with questioning eyes while they stood at the check-in counter. Rollie pulled her aside.
"I wasn't sure how you would feel...I know you have concerns about moving too fast."
Angie folded her arms about herself, not knowing what to say. "Okay," she replied finally.
Angie had just thrown her bag on the bed when Rollie knocked at the inner door.
"So what do you think?" Rollie asked.
"It's nice," Angie shrugged. "Is this the surprise? Cause if it is I gotta tell ya' I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting more from you."
Rollie feigned hurt. "You wound me Angie," his hand going to his heart. "I don't think I'll ever recover."
"Ha ha," Angie muttered, "if that's all it took...." She murmured under her breath.
Rollie jumped on her bed and lay splayed out across it. "I think your bed's more comfortable than mine."
Angie folded her arms across her chest. "They're the exact same bed Rollie."
"No they're not. Yours is more comfortable."
"Whatever," Angie clearly wasn't pleased about being roused from her bed so early in the morning when they were not on a shooting schedule, and only to end up at a hotel in New Jersey. Clearly, this could have waited for the weekend. Angie went to grab her laptop when Rollie suddenly jumped off the bed.
"All right, let's go," he said as he grabbed her hand.
"What? Where?"
"To my surprise."
Rollie and Angie drove for another half-hour before arriving at Rollie's surprise. Angie looked up at the sign and shook her head. It read: Sky World's Sky Diving Club.
"You have got to be kidding."
"Nope."
"Rollie?"
"Angie, it'll be great. You'll see," he squeezed her hand. "Ange? I didn't take you for the squeamish type."
"I'm not," she insisted, "But Rollie I've never been skydiving before...."
"That's okay. I've got everything under control. Wait here and I'll go inside and check on the arrangements." Rollie disappeared into a small office that was located near the hanger that held several small airplanes.
Angie waited outside until Rollie came back. She wondered why he had brought her here. She had never expressed an interest in skydiving, though certainly she wasn't one to shy away from risks. Free falling out of airplanes with a big piece of fabric strapped to your back was Rollie's thing. Angie's thing was rock climbing, the shear physicality of it, the discipline, and the strength required, that was her thing. Angie also knew that Rollie usually invited women into his VR chamber to Ôgo for a ride'. Lucinda and Mira had told her as much. Angie wondered why she was any different.
Angie didn't hear Rollie come up behind her as she leaned up against the back of the truck. She jumped as he touched her shoulder.
"We'll be ready to go in about twenty minutes," he said as he handed her a jumpsuit. He thought he caught a look in her eyes but Angie smiled and took the jumpsuit. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong," Angie insisted, as she started to put on the jumpsuit.
"Ange, when you say nothing's wrong...something's usually wrong, at least lately."
"Nothing's wrong Rollie. I'm just nervous about jumping out of a plane, falling from the sky with only some string and a bit fabric between the ground and me. But hey, what could go wrong, right? Nope. I'm good," Angie said walking away towards the hanger, "I'm good." She was getting more nervous by the minute. "Yep. Good."
Rollie stood leaning against the truck watching her walk away and shaking his head. "She'll love it," he assured himself, "once she gets up there, she'll love it. Yep. She'll love it."
Rollie joined Angie in the hanger. The pilot joined them soon after. Other jumpers were also gathered. Rollie inspected his gear and attached a harness to him and then Angie. They joined the other jumpers in the plane with their helmets and goggles. Rollie had a word with the pilot before they took off and then he joined the others onboard.
It took about fifteen minutes for the plane to reach the altitude of 14,000 feet. That's when the hatch was opened and each jumper made their way to the opening and after a few minutes, jumped. Angie and Rollie sat across from each other. Angie looked up at Rollie with a nervous smile. Suddenly, Angie thought of something.
"Uh...Rollie?" she yelled, because the hatch was open it was incredibly noisy. "Where's my chute?"
Rollie moved over to Angie, "You're not getting one. You're jumping with me. We're going tandem." And with that he pulled her up. He turned her around so that her back was to him and fastened her harness to his. The pilot meanwhile took the plane to a higher altitude. They were the only jumpers left.
"What? Is that safe?" her eyes were wide.
"Perfectly," Rollie smiled, "Ange, I'm a certified instructor. Tandem jumping is done with certified jumpers and people who have never jumped before. You'll be safe, I promise."
"Okay. But you do realize Rollie; if something happens Tyler FX will be done like dinner and so will any chance at a Ramirez FX too for that matter. Hey, wait a minute...if we go splat on the ground you will be landing on top of me...." Her eyes were wide with realization.
"Don't even think of that," Rollie laughed, "uh...you are paid up on your insurance though aren't you Ange?"
Angie elbowed Rollie in the ribs, "Jerk!"
Rollie laughed.
The pilot yelled back that they were at the 15,000-foot altitude mark. Rollie gave the thumbs up as he and Angie made their way to the hatch. Rollie held onto the sides.
"You ready Ange?" he could feel Angie shake.
"I'm...I'm ready," Angie turned her head to Rollie, "I love you Rollie. You know, just in case."
Rollie smiled, "Geronimo!" he yelled.
Angie was amazed at how utterly and amazingly quiet it was. There was just the sound of...air...as they were free falling, their arms spread out like wings.
A long time ago, when she was a child, Angie had a dream where she was flying. She flew up high in the clouds and over the mountain ranges, skimming her belly over the water and up high into the clouds again. She felt so peaceful and free then and now she felt that way again.
Rollie opened the chute and they were lurched backwards as it opened. They floated back down to the ground more quickly than Angie had wanted. They ran slightly as they landed due to the force of the landing, the chute trailing behind them.
"Woo hoo!" Rollie yelled as he undid the harness.
Angie echoed his yell. Exhilaration was written all over her face. "Oh my God, Rollie! That was awesome! Woo hoo!" she threw her arms around him.
"I knew you'd love it Ange. I knew it," he exclaimed as he lifted her off the ground and twirled her around.
"Oh I loved it! That was sooo cool!" she kissed him, holding his face in her hands. "Can we do it again?"
"Really? Are you serious?" he looked at her amazed.
"Yes," she laughed. "Definitely."
A truck pulled up to pick them up. They all packed up the chute and the rest of the gear and loaded it into the back. They were driven back to hanger.
Rollie went to make arrangements to go up again. He came back and told Angie it would be a couple of hours until the plane was refueled and checked over before they could go up again. They decided to have lunch in town while they waited. A jeep pulled in as they walked arm in arm to Rollie's truck. The jeep stopped in front of them. A man got out and headed towards Rollie. Angie thought the guy was going to belt Rollie but as he got closer the two of them gave each other a manly bear hug, slapping each other on the backs.
"Angie, this Jackson Dunne, Ace to his friends. He's an old friend from our stuntman days. He co-owns this place. Ace this is Angie Ramirez, my uh...uh...." Suddenly Rollie was tongue-tied. Introducing Angie as his partner right now just didn't seem right. Rollie's hesitation was not lost on Angie.
"Smooth Rol, real smooth."
Ace smiled in embarrassment for his buddy. "I'm pleased to meet you Angie. Did you guys just go up?"
Rollie avoided Angie's eyes. "Yep, sure did. We want to go up again but we have to wait a couple of hours for the plane to refuel. You want to join us for lunch? Or do you have to work?"
"Nah, that's the beauty of owning your own place, you should know that. Listen, hop in my jeep and I'll take you for the best BBQ-chicken this side of New Orleans. I can fly you guys up too, when we get back. Let me just drop off these ledgers in the office."
"Sounds good," Rollie turned to Angie. "Angie...I'm sorry about before. I wasn't sure how to introduce you--"
"That was obvious," she replied, crossing her arms across her chest.
"No. What I mean is, you're more to me than a partner of Tyler FX...and I guess I never thought of calling you my girlfriend before. You seem so much more to me than that."
Angie shook her head. Rollie always seemed to know just what to say. She sauntered over to Rollie, her arms still across her chest.
"God, Rollie, you really are a silver tongued devil aren't you?" she kissed him softly and all was forgiven.
They went to lunch with Ace Dunne and the chicken was indeed very good. True to his word, Ace piloted the plane for Angie and Rollie as they made another tandem jump, which Angie found equally as thrilling. Rollie and Angie returned to the hotel an hour later.
Angie went for a swim in the pool and when she returned she found Rollie lying on her bed.
"Ahem? You have your own room remember?"
Rollie looked at her with his puppy-dog eyes. "Ange, I'm sorry again about before--"
"Rollie, it's okay," she plopped down onto the bed, "I understand. This is all new to me too." Angie curled up next to Rollie who showed no signs of leaving. "Rollie?"
"Hmm?" his hands curled through Angie's hair.
"Why did you bring me here, really?"
Rollie sighed.
Angie moved so she could look at Rollie, "I know you've taken other women to the VR chamber. I was just wondering why you brought me here instead?"
Rollie looked up at the ceiling. Why couldn't life ever be simple, he asked himself. "Angie the VR chamber is special to me because you and I built it and it will always be special because of that. But you're right. I have taken other women into it. I didn't want to do that with you. VR is virtual reality. It's not real. What we did today was real; real wind, real ground, real adrenaline, real adventure. That's something I wanted to share with you and I knew you'd understand. At least, I hoped you would."
"I do understand, Rol. I loved it and actually I was hesitant of going into the VR with you even if you did ask," she snuggled close to Rollie again. "I'm glad you brought me here."
"Me too, sweetie," Rollie kissed the top of Angie's head and slid out from under her. "We have to leave early in the morning. I have that 9:00 meeting with Bradford remember?"
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah. I have my own room remember?" he smiled and left the room.
"You rat." She said as she threw the pillow at him, which missed him and landed on the floor as he left through the connecting doors. She went to pick up the pillow and quietly tried the door at the same time. It was locked from Rollie's side. The rat, she thought.
Angie felt a fly buzzing around her face, disturbing her sleep. She swatted at it with her hands. Something blew into her ear and she groaned.
"Go away." Her eyes still closed, she reached for her pillow and covered her head with it. Then, she felt a light touch on her stomach. At first the touches were over the fabric and then fingers raised the fabric and light circles were being drawn onto her stomach, her stomach muscles contracting involuntarily.
"Rollie! Damn it," she pulled the pillow away from her face and caught his hand on her stomach, "what time is it?"
"It's time to get up," he replied, his hand still on her stomach. He was sitting on the edge of the bed. A soft smile curled his lips.
Angie sat up and yawned and stretched. She put her arms around Rollie's neck and pulled him to her.
"Take a shower with me," she murmured against his lips as she captured his top lip in hers.
"I already took mine," he smiled.
Angie frowned, "spoil-sport."
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to take things slower."
"Not that slow," she replied grumpily as she got off the bed and headed for the shower.
Rollie shook his head as he watched her slam the door behind her. "Women."
Rollie dropped Angie off at her apartment and then headed to his meeting with Bradford at his hotel. He wished Angie would have come but after this morning she was in no mood. She did say she would go to the loft later to do some work.
Rollie's meeting with Bradford went well. He had even shown up with some storyboards for a couple sequences that he had worked on last night. Bradford offered him the job but Rollie said that he would have to discuss it with Angie first. He thought he blew it then, as Bradford whispered something to his assistant. Rollie swallowed, but he couldn't change his answer. It was the way he and Angie had always done things.
"Get back to me by tomorrow then," Bradford said finally, "I don't take Richard's recommendation lightly Mr. Tyler. I hope we will be working together soon. And I admire the way you do business."
"Thank you, sir," Rollie rose and shook his hand, "and it's Rollie, please."
"Rollie it is."
Rollie arrived back at the loft to another message from Lucinda on his machine. He had barely put his overnight bag upstairs when Francis knocked on the door.
"Hey Francis. I hope this isn't an official visit."
"Nah, Rollie. You can relax. I just have a couple of days off so I thought I would come and see how you are doing, you know, after everything with Loubar. How's Angie?'
"She's doing better, I think." He scratched behind his hear, "but I think it still gets to her. Loubar is always going to be a raw nerve with us as long as he's loose." Rollie took a couple of beers from the fridge and threw one to Francis.
"What about you, Rollie? I mean...this guy wants to kill you something awful."
"Yeah, well...I can't let it get to me, can I?" Rollie sighed as he scratched his chin. He wished he had never heard of Victor Loubar.
"Hey, I heard that you were almost mugged the other day?"
"Yep."
"What happened?"
Rollie hesitated, unsure whether he should tell him that he thought the bum that saved him looked like Leo. "It was nothing. Bunch of kids, Good Samaritan helped me. Didn't get a chance to thank him. That was it."
"You were lucky. There have been a rash of gang related robberies where some people have ended up dead. Lucky thing for that good Samaritan."
"Yeah, no kidding. So did you and Mira give your report to the Fed's?"
"Yeah we did. They're looking for someone to blame for all of this but Mira and I are covered. We did everything by the book. The fed's are the one's that keep letting Loubar get away. Did Mira tell you that Loubar had some enemies of his own?"
"Yeah. I'll believe it when I see it. He always seems to get away without a scratch," Rollie replied bitterly.
Francis finished his beer. "I better get going. Sarah always has plans for me on my days off," he headed towards the door. "Oh yeah, Sarah wants me to invite you and Angie to dinner some night. She uh...she wants to see for herself that you two are a couple." He smiled.
"A couple of what?" Rollie smiled.
"Ha ha, you know what I mean."
"Yeah, well...Angie and I are sort of taking it slow--"
"Slow? It sure didn't look that way from your watchcam." Francis smiled.
Rollie blushed and he scratched the back of his head, "yeah well...."
Angie came through the door just then wearing her rollerblades. She stopped as she saw Francis up near Rollie. She made her way up the stairs slowly.
"Hey, Frank."
"Hi Angie. How are ya doing?"
Angie sat down on the couch to take her blades off. "I'm doing better, thanks. Do you have news?" she asked, a look of concern on her face.
"No," Francis replied quickly, guessing she meant news about Loubar. "No. I just came in to see how you both are doing. Actually, today is my day off and Sarah has some wonderful house chores all planned out for me so I better get going. I was just telling Rollie that Sarah wants to invite you two over for dinner some night when it's convenient."
Angie looked over at Rollie, a blush coming to her cheeks, "Oh really? That would be nice...."
Francis smiled at the blushes. He remembered being there in the early stages of his relationship with Sarah. "Well, I better go. See you soon."
Rollie stood watching Angie as she watched Francis leave. As soon as Frank left Angie came over to him and kissed him passionately on the lips.
"There. I wanted to get that out of the way before I sit down to work. Otherwise I would be too distracted," she went and sat down at the workstation and booted the machine up. "How did the meeting with Bradford go?" she called to Rollie.
Rollie stood where he was, shaking his head. I am never going to figure out that woman, he thought. He went to the workstation and pulled up a chair.
"The movie's ours if we want it. I have to give him an answer tomorrow morning."
"Do we want it?"
"I think it would be a great picture to be involved in production value-wise. The plot has some holes in it but since when have we been concerned with plot right?"
"Yeah. So, you want to take it?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then let's do it."
Rollie handed her a copy of the script and also filled her in on the phone calls from Lucinda.
"So if Luce gets the part she'll be back in the mix, so to speak. That'll be interesting."
"Luce is always interesting," Rollie smiled, "she sounded like a born and bred California airhead on the phone the other day. Saying 'toodles' and everything."
"Ah, well I hope you don't call her that to her face. She may not take kindly to being called an airhead."
Rollie pulled Angie's wheelie chair closer. "I love you Angie."
Angie touched his cheek, "Hey? Where did that come from?" she asked softly.
"I thought you were upset with me for this morning."
"Rollie, no. I mean, not really. Rollie, we're finding our way around each other. That's cool. What I don't want is for our relationship to affect our work. I don't want you to treat me any differently and I'm sure you want the same thing," she lifted his chin with her finger, "and as for the sex...well, all I can tell you is I feel so safe and warm and protected in your arms. The sex is almost secondary--"
Rollie's eyebrow arched, "Secondary?"
A smile curved Angie's lips, "I said almost."
"C'mere." He pulled her chair closer and leaned in and kissed her, "God, it feels like ages since we've done that."
"Yeah," Angie agreed. "But we have work to do. And you have to call Bradford back and accept the job."
"Yes, boss." Rollie went downstairs to his office and called Bradford back. Bradford told Rollie he would courier the contract over as soon as it was ready. Then Rollie began sketching out ideas for the movie.
Angie sighed, and went to work updating the firewall on the computer systems and writing an anti-virus program for use on all the computers, including the annex, and the ambler. She also started backing up all their essential files. She had been meaning to do this for some time but events of the last few weeks had kept her from getting to it sooner.
Angie knew she would be at it most of the day and maybe even part of the night.
Rollie listened to Angie typing away. It was such a nice sound, like music to his ears. Comforting in a way he couldn't describe. As he sketched a scene for Bradford's movie, Rollie remembered that he should call Tony Valez back and give him the bad news. Tony was sad that he wouldn't be working with Rollie on this picture. Tyler FX had done the special effects for the last three of his movies and he was always happy with the results. Not that him and Rollie always saw eye to eye...but he knew Rollie was always trying to deliver the best and not just the most expensive effects.
Angie and Rollie had been working on their separate projects for a few hours when Rollie's stomach told him it was dinnertime. Angie received a phone call as Rollie ordered a pizza from Regino's. Angie came down and shew'd him away from his computer so that she could back up his system. They both took a break when the pizza arrived.
After eating Rollie lay down on the couch, his sketchbook in hand. Angie came over and crawled on top of him.
"Hey," he smiled down at her.
"Hey, yourself," she smiled.
Angie maneuvered her way under his arms as he was holding the sketchbook in front of him, so that his arms were around her.
"Are you going to be on the computer much longer?"
Angie sighed, "I'll probably be on it all night. There's a lot to back up. Plus I'm running an anti-virus program. It's already caught four viruses. I think we need to update our server and I'll install a better firewall. And I need to run a systems check. I want to make sure everything is in perfect condition before we start our next projects."
Rollie ran his fingers through her hair, "So, I guess you're going to have to stay?"
"I don't have to," she smiled, "I could set it up to run all night. Maybe Bluey could go on alert for any viruses and he could launch my program and I could just go over it in the morning."
"Don't you have a meeting with Daryl in the morning?"
"Yeah, but it shouldn't last long. We're having a breakfast meeting. I should be back by 9:30. Oh, I meant to tell you, my friend Donna Ho called. She's going to be in town for a week and she wants to get together."
Rollie looked confused, "So?"
"So, I went to NYU with her. After graduating she went to Japan and has a great career in Japanimation. The company she's working for is thinking of expanding the art with special effects and she thought of us. Do you want to meet with her on Saturday? We could do lunch or dinner? Or we could meet her here?"
"I don't know Ange. We've got a lot on our plates right now."
"I know. But this is just testing the waters. We don't have to commit to anything," her finger caressed his cheek and ran lightly over his mouth.
"You are not playing fair," Rollie said, his pulse quickening. His hand caressed Angie's buttocks.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said as she sucked on his bottom lip.
"Fine. Fine. Whatever you want," Rollie caved in to her request as he moved from underneath Angie and wound up on top of her. "That's better."
Angie smiled as she was caught underneath Rollie, her arms trapped at her chest, "So, do you want me to stay?"
"What do you think?" he asked as his lips devoured hers, his tongue pushing its way hungrily into her mouth. Their tongues did a dance, tasting and challenging each other. Every time Rollie pulled away Angie raised herself so that their mouths maintained contact. Angie worked her hands free so that they wrapped around Rollie's neck, pulling him into her. Rollie's hands moved up Angie's stomach underneath her shirt. His hands had just reached her cloth-covered breasts when there was a knock at the door and Bluey started barking. They collapsed against each other, breathing hard.
"Maybe they'll go away," Angie murmured into Rollie's ear, her heart beating fast.
"Not bloody likely," Rollie murmured against her ear and just as the words left his mouth, there was another knock at the door followed by someone calling his name.
"Mira!" they both said in unison.
Rollie raised himself off Angie and helped her sit up. Angie straightened up her clothes and her hair. Rollie told Blue to open the door as he straightened up as well.
"Come in Mira!" Rollie smiled broadly as his hand made a sweeping motion, "what can we do for one of New York's finest?"
Mire couldn't tell if he was serious, if he was being sarcastic, or if Rollie was just in a good mood.
"I came to see how you are doing. And also I wanted to talk to Angie. I knew she would be here," she caught a look on their faces, "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"
"We are fine," Rollie replied, perhaps too enthusiastically. "Visit away. I've got work to do." He grabbed his sketchbook off the floor and sat back down on the couch.
Angie cleared her throat, "So what's up Mira?"
"Maybe this isn't a good time."
"No. Don't worry about it," Angie looked in Rollie's direction, "what's up?"
Mira grabbed her purse. These two would never tell her if she was interrupting or not. "Angie? How about we get together some night? You know, a girls night out?"
Angie had the feeling Mira wanted to talk about something and it had to do with guys, she hoped it didn't have anything to do with Rollie. "Sure, Mira. Anytime you want.'
"How about tomorrow night?"
Angie was caught by surprise, "Uh, sure. Tomorrow night is fine."
Mira headed for the door, "I'll pick you up at seven. Bye Angie. Bye Rollie," she yelled so he could hear her.
Rollie came out and put his arms around Angie who stood staring at the door after Mira left. "What was that about?" he asked in her ear.
Angie looked up at Rollie, "I don't know. Something's bothering her." She placed her hands over his and a smile curled her lips, "where were we?"
The next day Angie had her meeting with Daryl and Angie would start on the video work next week. She would also meet the band and their manager at a party Daryl was throwing for them at a club in the village. She wondered if she could convince Rollie to come with her. Rollie met again with Tom Bradford and also with the Production Manager, the Second Unit Director, and the Stunt Coordinator. They fleshed out ideas for some of the gags and decided which stunt would be filmed first. Rollie then went to some electronics stores to get more equipment and started calling some of his suppliers when he returned to the loft.
Rollie was still at work in his office when Angie came downstairs dressed for her night out with Mira. Since she wasn't looking to get picked up, she dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and sweater.
"You're off?" Rollie asked as he came over.
"As soon as Mira gets here," Angie kissed Rollie softly on the corner of his mouth, "I would much rather be here with you though."
"Yeah, well...you said Mira needs to talk," he fingered the hair around her ear. "Go be a good friend. I'll still be here when you get back." And with that he kissed her softly on the mouth.
The plan was that they would go somewhere for dinner first and then someplace else afterwards for either dancing or a game of pool. That was the plan. But Mira didn't want to go to a restaurant so they ended up at a crowded bar and pool hall. The place served pub fair so Angie insisted that they at least order something to eat to go along with their beers.
They sat a small round table. They pub was small and very crowded and noisy. Music blared from the sound system and smoke filled the air. They went through their meal and were on their second beer before Mira began to open up. Angie nursed her beer slowly.
"You love Tyler, don't you Angie?"
Angie looked at her a moment. She had always thought that there was a mutual attraction between Mira and Rollie. She wondered if Mira was heartsick because of her and Rollie getting together. Was Mira jealous? Angie was suddenly racked with jealousy and uneasiness.
"I do," Angie answered finally, "with all my heart."
"That's good," Mira said, holding her bottle up as if in toast. "You protect that. You fight for that, for each other."
"Mira? What's this about?"
Mira was quiet for some time. She took a few more swigs of her drink. Her eyes filled with tears she fought to keep from falling. "I like Tyler. You knew that, right?"
Angie swallowed. "Yeah, I guess I did," she looked at her beer.
Mira shook her head almost violently, "It never went any further than an attraction, Angie. I swear," she took another drink from her bottle and stared at the label for the longest time. "It never could go any further than that. I mean I could see how much he cared about you, even if he couldn't admit it to himself. And I...." Mira took another drink, "I couldn't because I still loved Michael."
Angie gasped. Her heart had been prepared to hear that Mira was in love with Rollie. A situation like that would be so painful for everyone involved. But now Mira was telling her she was still in love with her ex-husband. Was the only thing that held her back from acting on her attraction to Rollie?
"Can't you and Michael work something out?"
Mira shook her head, "No. I don't even know where he is. He wants it that way too. God, I hate him!" she slammed her beer on the table. "You know, thanks to that man I can't have a relationship with any other man. Not Tyler...." Mira didn't even notice Angie's flinch at his name, "and not Patrick O'Doyle either. Oh yeah, yeah...he asked me out and I thought, why not? You know? I deserve it don't I? But no! The minute I get close to someone BAM! I see Michael's face and the feelings just come right back. I hate him!"
Angie could see that despite Mira's declaration she still loved Michael very much. She wondered what had brought this on, was it just seeing her and Rollie together? So, she had gone out with that crazy Irishman. That was interesting. Obviously, things hadn't worked out. They were quiet for several minutes before Mira began to speak again.
"Marriage is a very serious thing Angie. People walk away from it too easily nowadays. I remember my parent's marriage. They fought like two cats in heat but did they ever give up on each other? No," tears started to come down Mira's face, "I gave up though. Michael walked away from his job and me...and I let him. And now he's living a life that is so dangerous and on the edge and you know what? He really seems to like it."
Angie bit her lip. She had never seen Mira like this before. "Mira, I'm no expert but it takes two people to make a marriage work. You can't beat yourself up over decisions that were out of your control. It seems to me that Michael made decisions regarding his life and his future without taking your feelings and wishes into account."
"Angie, you're a sweet kid, but you don't know anything about me and Michael."
"You're right," Angie wondered if Mira was going to pick a fight with her now.
Mira finished her beer, "Angie?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's get drunk."
Angie's eyes grew big, "Oooh kay." She could see Mira was determined to drown her sorrows. She also wondered if there was more to this, especially her feelings toward Rollie.
Angie ordered six shot glasses of tequila and more beer for each of them. They lined up the glasses, three for them both, in front of them. Angie sprinkled salt on the skin between her thumb and index finger. Then she sucked the lemon, making a face while doing so, and she then swallowed the tequila shot in one gulp. Without skipping a beat, Angie then took a very large swig from her beer. Angie coughed as the tequila and the beer hit her belly.
"Oh my God, I haven't done this since NYU," she coughed again.
Mira watched her with admiration. When she suggested they get drunk she thought Angie would put up a fuss or order another beer...but tequila. The girl has moxy. No wonder Tyler loves her.
Angie wiped her hand across her mouth, "Your turn, Mira."