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Viewing Note: This story should be viewed with the Edwardian Script ITC font installed on your Windows platform in the c:/Windows/Fonts directory. Microsoft Word installs this font automatically.

Editor's Note: Jenny Walker has graciously allowed me to represent her original story No Half Measures on BigCloset. Originally published on BigCloset Classic, this story segment was not migrated over to BigCloset TopShelf. This story segment first appeared on BigCloset Classic on Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - 12:27 am. Due to the original story presentation format being unsuitable and unwieldy for most portable devices (each part being over 1 meg in length), the story is now being broken up into single chapters for easier reading. The original Movements will be indicated on their respective chapters. The first chapter of each Movement will retain the original comments and read hits so as to preserve them for the author.

Sephrena Lynn Miller

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Chapter 26
 
 
Jools had been delighted and surprised to see me when I returned. After having to reassure her repeatedly that I really was OK, she brought me up to speed with things that had been happening whilst I had been in Devon. I knew about how ‘No Half Measures’ had fared, but Jools had more details on specific sales and profits. She also had a cheque with a very pleasing five-figure sum on it for me. She told me that Sony were already making plans to release ‘No Half Measures’ around Europe as they thought the market would be receptive to it. After connecting to the Internet on her PC, she then logged onto www.caramalone.com and I was quite taken aback to see my own web page. It was simple and uncomplicated. It basically showed the cover photo of the single with its details and there were two links: one to a potted biography which seemed innocuous and the other to a mini-gallery which featured some of the other shots that Rod had taken during the photo session. They were certainly flattering, but I did feel a little disconcerted having this plastered over the World Wide Web. I mentioned this to Jools and she dismissed it easily.

“Cara darling, let’s face it, it’s not just your singing and music that will sell your records…”

Apparently Simon was keen that we made all haste to get the second single out. He and Jools had been discussing it and they both thought that ‘Not Dancing, but Flying’ would be a good choice. Their reasoning was sound. It was poles apart from the loud and brash rocky feel of ‘No Half Measures’. It would show diversity and extend my appeal to a wider audience.
 

*          *          *
 
We met with Simon at Sony the next morning and he was delighted to see me again. He expressed his concern for me and seemed pleased to hear me reassuring him that I was fine and ready to get on with things. We chatted and agreed on the second single. Simon really wanted to get it out there as soon as possible. He had been talking to Steve in the studio and to Jon. They both thought that for the single version, the addition of slightly stronger guitar, bass and percussion tracks would be helpful. I agreed as it did seem to make sense.

Immediately Simon grabbed his phone and tracked down Steve at Air Studios. He practically bullied Steve into freeing up time the next day for Jon, Brian and Kevin to go in and do their tracks. Jools took over the phone next and phoned each of them in turn to tell them about it. In the meantime, Simon began to talk about the video. It strangely had not occurred to me yet that I would have to do another video. He wanted Herby again and inwardly I did too. Although he was eccentric, I liked him and I did not really want to have to get to know someone new for this video. However I did wonder what Herby would have me doing this time.

“Herby has been evading me the past few days,” Simon admitted, “I think he has taken on too much work and is trying to juggle us all.”

“Herby Tolerton please,” Simon said into his phone. “Tell him it’s Simon Andrews at Sony regarding the new video for Cara Malone.” A pause whilst the underling relayed the message. Simon put the phone on speaker.

“Sorry Mr. Andrews, Mr. Tolerton says he is still too busy at present, but could probably free some time for you starting Monday week.”

Simon sighed, “Ah well, that’s unfortunate. Could you let Mr. Tolerton know we won’t be requiring his services in that case? We’ll get Jason Broadmoor to do this video for us.”

Simon muted the phone whilst this message was being relayed, “Herby hates Jason.”

There was a click and the unmistakable sound of Herby, “Simon darling, how the hell are you?”

“I’m good Herby, but it’s a shame that you aren’t available. Miss Malone was so hoping you could work with her again, but we have a tight time schedule.”

Herby tutted, “Simon, Simon you are a bad boy. You know there’s no way I’ll let that asshole Jason anywhere near my dear Miss Malone. You need a professional.” He paused and sighed, “Alright damn it, I’ll put off another client and we can start preparation and shooting this Monday if that suits your schedule.” There was a little tinge of irony in his voice.

Simon grinned, “Herby that’s fantastic, I know Miss Malone will be delighted.”

We heard a snort, “I’m doing it for her Simon, not you. You know that? Anyway, courier me a copy of her new song so I can think about it over the weekend.”

“No problem Herby, pleasure doing business with you.”

As he ended the call I could not help but smile, “Nicely done Simon.”

He shrugged nonchalantly, “You have to know how to deal with egos like Herby.”

I inclined my head and with a little wry grin said, “I wonder if you say the same about me when I am not here?”

He laughed and held a hand to his heart, “Never.”
 

*          *          *
 
The next day, I went down to Air Studios to watch the boys do their stuff. There was nothing that I had to do myself, but I wanted to catch up with them. It was hugs all round, but they were all being quite tentative with me, Steve and Tom included.

“Guys, for heaven’s sake,” I said with a little frustration, “I’m fine, so stop pussy footing around me.” They all grinned and apologised.

While they got on with adding the new tracks, I took the opportunity to catch up with Laura. Of course, I turned the conversation around to what I wanted to hear about: her and Brian. She pretended to be reluctant to talk about it, but I knew she was dying to. Before long, she was in full flow. Things were going very well it seemed.

“Cara, I just feel as if we are so right together. Maybe I’m being a naíve little girl, but I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this way before.”

I smiled, “Maybe this is the real thing.”

She beamed, “I sure hope so.” She paused, “So what about you?”

“What about me?” I said a little defensively.

She shrugged and said gently, “Nothing happening on that front with you?”

I laughed, “Nothing at all. I think I’m destined to be a lonely old spinster.”

“Oh get real girl. Guys would be tripping over themselves to go out with you.”

“Yes, but none that I want.” I said it before I realised what I was really saying.

Laura gave me a knowing look and squeezed my arm. She shook her head, “There’s got to be someone. Hey have you checked any of your fan mail yet?”

“Fan mail?”

“Yeah, apparently you’ve got a few sacks so far. Ask Jools about it.”

“I certainly will.”
 

*          *          *
 
I was in the control room listening to the final version of ‘Not Dancing, but Flying’, which did have more punch to it now when Laura interrupted.

“Cara, there’s a Herby Tolerton on the phone for you.”

I took the cordless phone and found a quiet spot, “Herby?”

“Cara sweetness, what a joy to hear your voice again.”

I chuckled, “What can I do for you?”

“It’s more what I can do for you that I am concerned about,” he said. “I’m trying to think about how I can bring your song to life, but I need to know more about it.”

“I see. What can I tell you?”

“I want to know what the inspiration for the song was. It will help me to get the visual spectacle in sync with the aura of the song.”

I hesitated, “Err well…”

I heard him laugh, “Cara darling, don’t be shy. It’s obvious that this song was written about a gentleman friend. You don’t have to name names, but just give me some background.”

So I slowly and hesitantly told him about going to dance classes and about meeting Paul and dancing with him over several weeks. I told him about the Christmas dinner dance too. I did not include too much personal feelings in the account, nor did I tell him about Paul kissing me.

“Wonderful darling, I think I have one of my magical ideas coming on.”

I laughed, “I don’t know if I should be pleased or worried.”

“Trust me Cara, Herby knows what he is doing.”

I had no doubt about that, but I hoped that I would like it. He said he would be in touch sometime over the weekend with the location of the video shoot.
 

*          *          *
 
“Fan mail?” Jools echoed in response to my question, “Oh, starting to believe in our image now are we?”

I knew she was teasing, “Now stop that, it’s just that Laura mentioned there was some.”

“Some?” she laughed, “Honey, there are two bags worth downstairs in my office.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Wow. What do we do with it?”

Jools shrugged, “It’s up to us to decide that. We do need a policy on what we do with it. There are several options. The first is that we just bin it all unopened.”

“Jools!” I protested, “We can’t do that.”

She held up her hands, “Hey, I’m not saying that’s what we should do. But believe it or not, that is what some artists do.”

I screwed up my nose, “That’s horrible. What are the other options?”

“OK, well you can open each piece yourself and respond to it personally.”

I frowned, “Well, that sounds like it would take a lot of time. Any other options?”

“Alright, someone else opens it and filters it. Some are set aside for you to see. There will be requests for signed pictures and the like. It’s up to you if you want to do that sort of thing.”

I thought about it, “OK, what if I had a supply of photos which I signed. I guess someone could simply send out those photos to people who requested them, couldn’t they? And I guess I could look at some selected pieces. But who would do that?”

Jools grinned, “Actually, I’ve sort of taken the liberty of doing that already myself. In time, I think that Carstairs’ Music Agency may be in the position of having another employee or two who could handle such things.”

I grinned. Jools was always on top of things, “So you’ve got it all sorted. Sounds like business must be good if you are thinking of expansion.”

Jools smiled, “You are the reason that my business is looking like it might go somewhere.”

“And you are the reason that I am here today as I am.”

“Is that credit or blame you’re assigning to me?” she asked with a wink.

I laughed, “Oh credit definitely. So let me see some of this fan mail?”

I was absolutely flabbergasted at the amount of it. Jools had separated it into different piles. One was labelled ‘Filth’ and she advised me not to look at it as it would make my toes curl. Another was labelled ‘Average’ and she said if I had nothing better to do, I could read some of them. Then there was a smaller pile labelled ‘Good’ and she said they were the ones worth reading.

I spent a leisurely weekend reading through some of it. Some of the letters were quite touching and I could not believe that people were taking the time to write to me. I did a lot of signing of publicity photos that Jools had obtained from Sony. At least now we had a good store of signed photos which Jools could pop in the post to those who requested them.

On Sunday night we got a phone call from Simon who told us that the great Herby had finally decided where we were to go the next morning. It was an old community hall in the East End of London. I thought I had a fair idea of what Herby was planning to do, but I did not say anything.
 

*          *          *
 
When I arrived the next morning and entered the hall, I was greeted by a squeal. Herby.

“Cara darling!” He came towards me. He was wearing a pair of garish red trousers and a sleeveless white T-shirt. It looked awful, yet appropriate in a strange kind of way.

He put his arm around me and began to gush, “Oh just wait ‘til you see what I’ve got planned. It will be wonderful, epic, you’ll love it. You are a total inspiration to me, do you know that?”

In my short acquaintance with Herby, I had already learned to take most of what he said with a large pinch of salt. “So what’s the story then Herby?”

He smiled and waved a hand at the dingy dance hall we were in. “Truth my dear is so much better than fiction. I thought we would take your story, your inspiration for this song and bring it to life on the screen. You come to a dance class, meet this handsome stranger and dance with him in this dull boring hall with others around too. Your boys will be scruffily dressed and providing the musical accompaniment. Until the final chorus when this place will be transformed into a regal establishment for the gala ball when you will be dressed to the nines with your beau and your band backing you in full dinner dress.”

He smiled and waited for my reaction. “Err, sounds great. But who is the beau?”

He chuckled, “Obviously I thought that I would be a good selection, but alas I am not much of a ballroom dancer. Come this way.”

He led me over to a tall dark-haired man, “Cara Malone, meet Nigel Foster. Nigel is an actor I have worked with before and he is quite the ballroom dancer.”

He was tall, and certainly was what you would call handsome. Nigel shook my hand and looked me over. It seemed that now I could quickly assess a man’s reaction to me. I didn’t like Nigel’s reaction. Whilst I did not complain about people finding me attractive, there was a fine line between appreciation and leering. Nigel had already crossed that line. Herby left me to talk with Nigel. Or should I say ‘about’ Nigel as that was all the conversation seemed to consist of. I was told about all his magnificent achievements, none of which I had heard of previously. I do not mean to sound as if I was belittling him, it was just that there did not seem to any room for anyone else in his fan club beyond himself.

I was grateful when Jon and the guys arrived and I was able to extract myself from Nigel’s attention. Herby called us to attention and explained the plan and talked through the different scenes of the video. Apparently we were to spend the morning rehearsing and this afternoon the extras would be arriving for the shooting of the dance class scenes.
 
 
Things did not go well. Herby got Nigel and me onto the dance floor and began to play the song over the speakers again and again. He told us to practice some basic dance steps together that would fit in with the music. I did not feel comfortable at all. The way he put his hand on my waist made me shiver in disgust. He was not just holding me, it was as if he was feeling me up. When I looked up at him, he would wink suggestively. The dancing did not go well either. Perhaps it was because I was so tense, but I could not concentrate on the steps. I was missing my turns and even standing on Nigel’s feet at times. Initially he seemed to be patient, but it soon wore thin.

We were both getting frustrated, but Herby kept encouraging us to find our rhythm together. It was so different to dancing with Paul. I had barely had to think about it as he had led me around effortlessly. The thought of having to kiss Nigel at the end of the video as Herby had scripted was also turning my stomach. I did not know how I was going to be able to pull this off. Another round of fruitless practice was cut short when I accidentally stood on Nigel’s toes again. He cursed out loud.

“Sorry,” I murmured.

He let go of me and turned to Herby, “For God’s sake Herby, I thought you said this chick could dance?”

At the edge of my vision, I noticed Jon and Brian tensing and looking like they were going to say or do something. I got in first. In a low but acidic voice I said, “Oh this ‘chick’ can dance, but she’s used to dancing with gentlemen not monkeys.”

Nigel turned back to me and screwed his face up, “Don’t be a silly cow.”

Brian got to Nigel just before Jon, or rather his fist got to Nigel’s stomach first. Nigel doubled over and Brian shook his fist. Jon bent down, “You arrogant asshole, I suggest you get out of here before I decide you need another lesson in how to talk to a lady.”

Nigel looked like he was going to say something else, but the look in Jon’s eyes made him refrain. He stood up, tossed his head and walked past Herby saying in a voice that we could all hear, “Good luck man, bunch of losers I tell you.”

As the door of the hall slammed, I turned to Herby and sighed, “Herby I’m sorry, but there was no way it was going to work. If this video is going to work, there needs to be a rapport between me and whoever I’m dancing with.”

Herby took a slow deep breath and nodded, “Yes, you are right.” He chewed his lip for a moment and turned to Jon and Brian, “I don’t suppose either of you are closet ballroom dancers. I’m all in favour of people coming out of the closet you know.”

We laughed at the obvious joke at his own expense. Brian shook his head and Jon replied, “I’m afraid not.”

Herby grimaced, “Shame. Now what will we do. Let me think.” He wandered off and sat down. I got the impression that Herby was not used to things going wrong. It would be interesting to see if he was able to pull this out of the hat.

I turned to Brian and Jon, “Thanks guys, but you didn’t have to…”

Brian shrugged, “He had it coming to him.” Jon nodded, “He’s lucky he lasted as long as he did.”

“Cara darling?” Herby called.

I walked over and sat beside him. He looked pensive, “Tell me, this man you wrote the song about: you were able to dance well with him I imagine?”

I smiled, “Yes, it was so strange. I had never danced before, but with him it seemed so easy.”

He nodded, “And tell me, was he handsome?”

I blushed a little, “I don’t see what that has…”

Herby smiled and put a hand on my arm, “Indulge me.”

I shrugged, “Err yes. He is very handsome.”

“He liked you a lot I imagine?”

I was not sure what he was getting at but decided to humour him, “Well yes, I think so.”

Herby smiled broadly and clapped his hands, “I think we have ourselves a solution.”

I looked at him with confusion, “I don’t follow?”

“It’s obvious is it not? The man you must dance with for the video is the man you sang about?”

“Paul?” I said with incredulity.

“If that is his name, then yes, Paul it is.”

“But…”

He waved a finger, “No buts. It has to be so. Do you have his telephone number?”

I was really quite thrown, “Yes, but he lives in Plymouth.”

This did not faze Herby, “Very well, you phone him and tell him what we need. I will get onto the lovely Simon and tell him we need the resources of Sony to find a helicopter to bring this gentleman up to London today.”

“You’re serious?”

He smiled, “Most definitely.”
 

*          *          *
 
“Could I speak to Paul Davis please?”

“I’m sorry ma’am, but he is with a client at present.”

“Well, it’s quite urgent, could you tell him Cara Malone is calling.”

A pause, “Cara Malone? Is this some sort of joke?”

“No, it’s not. Please just tell him who is calling.”

After a minute the line clicked, “Cara?”

It was Paul. “Hi Paul, I’m so sorry to disturb you in the middle of a meeting.”

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m just finished.” He paused, “Wow, it’s great to hear your voice. So what can I do for you?”

“Well…I’ve sort of got a favour to ask you.”

“Sure, anything. What is it?”

I laughed nervously, “Don’t say that ‘til you hear what I am about to ask. You see, I’m sort of making a video for my new single. Do you remember the song I played for you.”

I heard a chuckle, “Do I ever? I don’t think I will ever forget it. Is it the new single?”

“Yes, and well the video is sort of about me meeting someone and dancing with them…”

Another chuckle, “Sounds familiar, so what do you need? Want me to star as the leading man?”

“Actually yes, that’s it.”

There was silence for a moment and I said, “Paul, are you still there?”

“Uhh yeah. Wow, I was joking you know. Are you winding me up?”

“No Paul, I’m serious.” I told him about the morning and about Nigel. I told him how dancing with him in Devon had been so different.

“So let me get this straight, you want me to dance with you in your new video?”

“Yes, oh and well you’ll have to kiss me too I’m afraid.”

“Well, darn it that settles it then, I’m jumping into the Porsche now.”

“No, don’t do that — there’s a helicopter on its way to you now.” I looked over at Herby beside me who had finished on the phone and he nodded and gave me the thumbs up.

“What? Are you serious?” Paul asked.

“Oh yes, can you free up this afternoon and tomorrow?”

He laughed, “Sounds like I’m going to have to.”

“See you soon Paul.”
 

*          *          *
 
Herby talked us all through the video in detail until he was satisfied that we knew exactly what he wanted us to do. While we were waiting for Paul, he got shots of the guys playing their instruments. He was doing the casual shots that were to represent the dance classes.

“I love you guys,” he enthused. He got a few worried looks from them as he continued, “You make my job so much easier. So scruffy — just what I wanted. I don’t even have to get a wardrobe for you.”

“Uhh thanks, I think,” Jon replied dryly.

Unfortunately I was not going to get away without a trip to the wardrobe and makeup department. My first outfit was reassuringly modest and informal. A plain but nicely cut white blouse and an A-line black skirt. Gina did my makeup: a simple understated look.

“So how’s the piercing?” she asked with a sly grin.

I laughed and patted my midriff, “Oh it’s fine. I’m hoping to get through this video without displaying it to the nation again.”

“Poppycock!” she laughed, “You loved it.”

“Hey, I’m a shy modest girl.”
 

*          *          *
 
Paul arrived early afternoon and had obviously come straight from work as he was wearing a charcoal grey tailored suit. It felt so strange to see him again after all that time. He looked a little uncertain until he saw me. He walked over and gave me a broad smile and opened his arms for a hug. I hugged him with genuine affection.

“Hi Paul, thanks so much for coming. I really appreciate it.”

He smiled at me, “My life is so boring, I’d be crazy not to liven it up a little. The helicopter ride was fantastic, and you look even lovelier than ever.”

I blushed, “Paul!”

Herby strode over to us, “And is this the luscious Paul I have heard so much about?”

I blushed even more and Herby continued, “But Cara dear, he is even more handsome than you had told me.”

Paul looked stunned and overwhelmed. I introduced them, “Paul meet Herby, our wonderful director.”

“Uhh hi…”

Herby shook Paul’s hand enthusiastically, “No time for life stories I am afraid, our time is precious and you need to get to wardrobe to get a more casual outfit…although your ass looks wonderful in that suit.”

Now Paul really looked bemused and I could not stop myself from giggling as he was led away. Before long he returned in a smart black shirt and white cotton trousers. The shooting got underway with shots of Paul and me arriving separately outside the hall with ‘friends’. The extras had arrived and were being moved and shunted like pawns in the hands of a chess grand master. Herby was in his element.

We moved on to the dancing and Herby gave us a practice without the cameras rolling. He played the music of the song and Paul took me in his arms. It already felt so much more natural than it had with Nigel. He started to move me around gently and I followed his lead. It was as if our time dancing together had only been last week. He truly was a gifted dancer and before long I was able to forget what I was doing and just relax. Herby noticed and decided it was time to film. The afternoon was spent with different shots of us dancing around the hall with the extras doing likewise. There were some shots of me sitting at the side of the hall with some of the other girls and singing, or rather miming, some of the lines from the song.
 
 
It was just after six o’clock when Herby decided he had enough for the day. His back stage team were going to be transforming this hall into a glitzy ball venue for tomorrow’s shoot after we left. I sat with Paul as the hall slowly emptied. I was aware of his eyes on me and I turned towards him and smiled, “What?”

“I thought you looked enchanting in your last video. Some people look better on TV than in real life, but you…”

I put a hand on his arm, “Paul please. I have people all around me telling me how wonderful I am and all that. It’s not good for me and not what I need.”

He shrugged and grinned, “OK, so you want to me to lie from now on?”

I laughed and stood up and pulled him to his feet, “Right, now I guess I need to thank you for going so far out of your way to help me.”

His eyes widened and he raised a cheeky eyebrow. I gently slapped his arm, “I’m talking about taking you out to dinner.”

He feigned disappointment and winked, “Ah well, can’t blame a guy for hoping.”
 

*          *          *
 
Paul had gone to check into his hotel and freshen up while I went home to get ready myself. I picked out the little black dress I had worn when we hosted the party for the band at Jools’ place. I had often heard it said that the little black dress is the ultimate necessity in a girl’s wardrobe. I could vouch for the truth of it. There are few social occasions for which it is not appropriate. Having had a luxurious bath and taking probably too long over my hair and makeup, I was eventually ready to go. I phoned Paul to tell him to wait in the lobby of his hotel and I would stop outside to pick him up. He asked how he would know which car was mine. I laughed and just told him he would know.

True enough, when I pulled up outside in my lovely MG, it was less than thirty seconds before he was opening the door and slipping in. “Nice car,” he said with admiration.

“Coming from you, that is some compliment.”

“Yes, it’s so gorgeous I almost didn’t notice the driver.”

I laughed as I pulled out into the flow of traffic, “How tragic, to have to live in the shadow of the beauty of my car.”
 
 
We went to Marcel’s, a classy but not overly pretentious French restaurant. It was quiet and intimate and the food was incredible. We chatted, laughed, joked and brought each other up to date with what had been happening in our lives. I ended up doing more talking on that front as Paul insisted that his life was intensely boring.

“Are you seeing anyone?” he asked, taking me by surprise.

I brushed a strand of hair from my eyes self-consciously, “Err no.”

He raised an eyebrow, “I’m surprised. I’m sure you’re not short of offers.”

I leaned back a little and wrinkled my brow, “Well to be honest, I haven’t had many serious offers.”

He gave a half-smile and gently let his hand rest on top of mine, “Rest assured, if I thought there was any way it could work, I’d make you as serious an offer as you could get.”

I swallowed nervously and blinked several times. I did not know what to say. “Paul…I’m flattered.” I hesitated, “And believe me, if there was any way it could work, I might just have to think long and hard about accepting that offer.”

He grinned, “You’re just letting me down gently.”

I shrugged, “I don’t know. I do have feelings for you and it has been wonderful to see you again. But there’s a lot going on in my life right now and I don’t think there is much common ground between our two worlds at the moment.”

He nodded and winked, “Well, if you ever think that has changed you have my card and know where to get me.”

Before getting out of the car when we got back to his hotel later, he leant over and gave me a gentle soft kiss on the lips. I just sat there and smiled at him. He smiled back and, getting out, said, “Just a little practice for tomorrow.”
 

*          *          *
 
The next morning Jools came with me. She was adamant that she wanted to watch the goings on today. She had quizzed me mercilessly the previous night when I had arrived home and had even managed to make me tell her about what Paul had said about making a serious offer. I tell you, if ever the police needed to extract information from a reluctant suspect, they could do a lot worse than enlist Jools.

When I walked into the community hall, I could hardly believe I was in the same building as the previous day. The floor was shiny and polished, coloured drapes were hung over the drab grey walls and the lighting array was magnificent. There was even a glitzy podium for the guys to play their instruments on.

I did not have time to admire it as Herby whisked me off to get dressed and made up. I had to squeeze myself into a long flowing silvery ball gown. It was absolutely gorgeous: strapless and low-backed, with quite revealing slits at the sides. It was another reason to be thankful that I had my own breasts now as there was no way I could have hidden my secret from the wardrobe assistants otherwise. Herby had asked me if I could dance in very high heels and when I assured him I could, he seemed pleased. When I was given five-inch matching silver pumps, I understood why. My hair was brushed out and then swept up on top of my head, with a few curls hanging down at either side and Gina did a thorough job of my makeup. If yesterday was understated, today more than made up for it. Drop pearl earrings and a matching choker completed the ensemble. When they were satisfied, I gingerly made my way back out to the hall. Jon and the guys were there all looking smart, if slightly uncomfortable, in matching dinner suits. There was a chorus of wolf whistles.

“All right, that’s enough from the monkey suits,” I said with a smile. This brought the inevitable chorus of monkey sounds from the same direction.

I noticed Paul standing at the side of the hall. He looked just like I remembered from the Christmas dinner dance. The dark suit and tuxedo fitted him perfectly. He walked over to me and smiled, “You look…absolutely amazing.”

I laughed and winked, “You took the words right out of my mouth.” I derived some pleasure from seeing him blush.

Herby clapped loudly and gave us his directions for the next scenes. “Now Cara and Paul, I want you to remember that today you are not dancing, you are flying.” The groans from those around the hall did not deter him, “This is not about the dancing now; it is about the love you both share.” I’m sure we both looked a little awkward and he cajoled us further, “Come on, you have to make me believe it. I want every man who watches this to wish he were Paul and every woman to long to be Cara.”

However with this pressure laid upon us, we did not dance as freely as we had done the previous day. It was obvious. We did the takes again and again, but it was not quite right. The more Herby told us to relax, the more we tensed. Eventually, he called a break. He went and sat down by himself at one end of the hall in what I was beginning to recognise as his scheming pose. After five minutes, he jumped up and walked back.

“Alright, change of schedule,” he announced, “we are going to do the final scene first and then go back to the dance scenes.”
 
 
By the final scene, he meant the scene of Paul and I kissing. We looked at each other a little nervously and smiled. Paul was to take me in his arms and draw me close to himself. I was to slowly lift my head up to look at him and then close my eyes as he kissed me. Herby had a camera on a track. A dolly I think he called it. We were standing in the middle of this track and it was going to whirl around us filming as we kissed.

We tried it several times, but it felt so awkward knowing that people were watching. I would be lying if I said I did not like it. Paul was someone I cared for and certainly I found him perhaps even more attractive now than I remembered from before. I think he also felt a little self-conscious.

After another less than stellar take, Herby came over to us and talked quietly. “Cara, this man has taught you to dance, he has taught you to love, he has swept you off your feet and he is now your world. Paul, this woman has written this most delightful love song about you. Had she written this song for me, I’m sure it would turn me straight. Look at her, she is beautiful — you have this chance that will make you the envy of the country. Make the most of it.” He walked off and called for the next take.

We looked into each other’s eyes and Paul gave a little half smile as he pulled me close to him. I raised my head and as I looked up into his eyes, my eyelids fluttered a little. His lips slowly descended towards mine and my eyes closed in anticipation of the touch of his gentle but firm lips. He kissed me softly at first, but then with greater intensity. So much so that as my mouth opened a little, I was aware of his tongue gently entering my mouth.

“Perfect! Cut!” called Herby. After a pause, “Ahem! I said cut! That means you can stop now.”

We both blushed as those watching cheered. I looked around embarrassedly and saw all eyes focussed on us and all faces grinning. I noticed that one was actually not grinning, but I did not have time to think about it just then. Gina rushed out and touched up my make up and cleaned Paul’s face.

This time, the dancing was smoother than ever before as Paul whirled me around the dance floor. Sometimes it really did feel as if my feet were not touching the floor. After the second take, Herby was certain he had enough footage and he decided to wrap it up. He was so enthused that he could not wait to say goodbye to us, he just grabbed his tapes and said he was going straight to the editing suite.
 
 
After getting changed out of the gown, I went out and said my goodbyes to Paul. He kissed me gently again and murmured, “I meant what I said last night. Don’t forget me, Cara Malone.” He had to leave as a car and driver were waiting to take him back to Plymouth.

Jools and I headed home together. “That was some kiss,” she said.

I laughed, “I know, wasn’t it?”

“How did it feel?”

I paused, “It felt good. Better than good.”

She giggled, “It looked way better than good too.”

A few minutes later I slowly asked, “Erm Jools, did something annoy Jon today?”

She looked at me, “What makes you say that?”

“Oh nothing probably, it’s just that he seemed a little distant and didn’t look too…I don’t know…”

Jools nodded, “Don’t you recognise how he looked?”

“I don’t know. What do you mean?”

She shot me a frank look and said one word, “Jealousy.”

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