Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Alexander pulled into a parking spot at the True Blood sound stages and cut the ignition to his car, sitting still for a moment. The clock on his phone read 2:45. By some grace, the traffic from the house to the studio had been incredibly light and he had arrived to the set on time for his final meeting with wardrobe before his call time that evening.
Initially, it’d been scheduled for yesterday, but very little of the fitting turned into a fitting.
As a matter of fact, he didn’t even think the fitting should have been considered a fitting. At least, he had not wanted it to be a fitting when he’d shown up yesterday. He’d rather have had the attention of the pretty assistant that’d been at his feet all season hemming his pants shorter because she had made them much too long. He had planned to not let her free until she had at least accepted his invitation to dinner. How he would make her accept it, he hadn’t a plan in the world, but he had barricaded the door so no one could bother them. He grew anxious when others were watching.
When he had locked the latch from the inside of the door, he had thought that perhaps it might seem a little desperate of him to have to resort to such a tactic—unlawful imprisonment—to secure her acceptance to his offer. But what was he to do? He had spent all season, since late November, trying to get her to notice him to no avail.
He’d even endured countless hours listening to the vapid machinations of the Fun Bag Twins because he thought it would make her jealous he was paying attention to them. He’d hoped it would at least garner some reaction from her.
When she came out of her little work room, he made sure he placed himself in her way, so she had to at least say hello to him. Unfortunately, that was all she had ever done—say hello to him. He’d attempted to flirt with her multiple times during his fittings, turning on the roguish charm as high as he could manage, thinking it would ensnare her. She had said a few things to him, though, but they were mainly, “Take this off. Put this on. Turn around, step up, step down.” Six months had passed, and though their schedules tended to be so different that it made it impossible to flirt, he had hoped for at least some chink in her armor.
None had come.
Or, at least, he had not noticed any. Not until yesterday afternoon when she knelt in front of him and paid an inordinate amount of attention to his feet whilst blushing. At that moment, he knew he should make a move. He had to, or he would beat himself for not taking the risk and possibly never seeing her again. He didn’t know if she would be rehired back for the next season.
However, here he sat in his car the following day, and he still did not understand what he found so captivating about the brunette. Due to the fact she barely spoke to him, except to babble away about the current issues of the day, they did not know each other. Oh, certainly, he had found her a bit more intelligent than many women he encountered these days, especially those he met in Hollywood. Benny seemed almost too intelligent to be in the industry and in such a position. But who was he to talk? He’d chosen starbiz, too. Yet, it still didn’t explain all the interest he had in her.
She wasn’t Hollywood’s version of gorgeous, either. Well, no, check that. She was beautiful to him, but not the blonde, plastic type of beautiful. She was beautiful because she was natural: she eschewed make up, her sparkling eyes looked electric blue against her pale skin, and she nearly always pinned her hair back into a ponytail. After yesterday, he knew without a glimmer of a doubt that she had never seen a plastic surgeon. He supposed a big name designer wouldn’t bang down her door to model for him. And she wasn’t necessarily the type of woman with striking looks that would allow others the ability to pick her out of the crowd. Well, not until she smiled, at least. When she smiled and laughed, everything changed.
While he found himself drawn to women like her in the past, there was something different about this one.
Mystery surrounded this wardrobe assistant and it enthralled him. For the life of him, he could not figure out what did it to him. Soon after meeting her this year, he could not stop thinking about her. Or the way her eyes lit up when she got excited or happy about something. Or how, as she knelt in front of him, he could on occasion catch a glimpse of ample cleavage.
It was amazing he’d been able to keep any modesty about himself when he was in her presence because she affected him so.
And Alexander didn’t like it one bit. It scared him. He’d felt this sort of thing before, and it had always ended badly in the past. He swore he wouldn’t fall into the trap again.
As soon as he had kissed her yesterday, he realized his folly. He was lost.
The worst part about it all was that though they’d had dinner together, they still hadn’t talked about anything important. The last thing either of them needed was a rumor floating around set regarding their relationship. Whatever that relationship was. It was probably bad enough that they were seen eating together, and she had that thoroughly tousled, satisfied look about her that said she’d just had amazing sex.
And boy, had it been amazing. Alexander had not realized how long he had gone without until he kissed her. The sweet release yesterday afternoon had relaxed and rejuvenated him.
So here he faced another fitting session with the woman, and he did not know where they stood. He found himself nervous to face a woman for the first time in a very long time. For a man of thirty-two years, and nearly half that time being confident around women, it was a very troubling realization.
His phone beeped beside him, and he looked at it. The appointment reminder came up, reminding him of the fitting. Well, he’d be late again.
Alexander eased himself out of the car and into the comfortable late spring temperatures of Los Angeles. A few of the people milling about outside the soundstages said their hellos; he did as well before heading back into the work room warehouses where the impromptu costumes and special effects people had set up their shops. He pushed open the door and stepped inside, walking past the shelves filled with fabric, and into the main work area.
He found her in the same position as he found her the day before, except this time, she worked busily cutting a pale blue fabric to a hand drawn pattern. She wore ear buds attached to the iPod in an arm band on her left arm. He walked toward her, and slipped his arms around her belly. The movement caught her off guard and she let out a muffled scream, jumping a few inches. She pulled the ear buds out of her ears and turned around in his arms, pounding a fist in his chest.
“Don’t ever do that again!” she exclaimed, pushing him back. “Jesus Christ. You took ten years off my life for that!”
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, but he really wasn’t completely sorry. She seemed like she needed a little excitement in her life. At least something more than work.
She shook her head, pacing a few moments. The adrenaline in her system seemed to take forever to return to normal as she paced and for the shaking of her hands to cease. In the future, he would know better than to creep up on her in such a way.
After a moment, she took in one long breath and let it out through her lips loudly, making it sound like an annoyed huff instead. Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she sighed. She opened her eyes and gave him a small smile.
“Sorry, you just really freaked me out,” she replied. “I’m out of practice. Not used to a man coming up behind me like that to say hello.”
“Maybe it was a poor choice,” he said.
Benny chuckled and shook her head. “No. I’m just stressed and jumpy. I’m having everything thrown at me at once. This—whatever it is. And everything else. It’s just a lot on my plate.”
“What is?” he asked.
“I’ve got so much to do and no time to do it,” she said, turning back to her work and finishing cutting the piece of fabric. The wheel cutter she used looked vaguely like a pizza cutter, but was quite a bit sharper. “I’ve been working with a little community theater company off and on for the past year, part time, and only as an extra set of hands. Well, their wardrobe supervisor had to take a leave of absence for some reason or another. So I was handed the half completed wardrobe for The King and I production they’re putting on. Then I have like a dozen graduation dress orders from my cousin and some of her friends. And my roommate, Joie, is getting married in June and I have to work on the wedding dress I promised I would make for her. She still hasn’t decided what she wants, and it is now the end of April.”
She folded up the expensive-looking cloth carefully and looked up at him. Benny bit her lower lip, a fetching blush coloring her cheeks. “Sorry. Here I am babbling again. You could probably care less.”
Alexander shook his head and took the few steps toward her, stopping her movements. She looked up at him, her blue eyes meeting his. “Of course I’m interested, Benny. What I said yesterday wasn’t a lie.”
“You said a lot yesterday,” she said, and shrugged. “It was right after… well… we were still…”
He frowned. He thought he had made his intentions clear before they had bridged that area of their relationship. Romantic relationship or no, he truly did want to get to know her better, if only to discover finally what attracted him to her so completely.
Leaning in, he pressed his lips to hers, feeling the same surge of excitement wash over him at the slightest touch. Yes, indeed, he definitely needed to figure out why she did this to him. Alexander stepped back and smiled. “I’m serious. Let’s just try it out. See where it goes.”
“Okay,” she said.
Alexander frowned. “You don’t sound convinced.”
“I guess I’m just nervous,” she replied and shrugged, walking over to the rack of clothing still standing where it had the previous day. She said nothing more on the matter and took a gray suit off the rack. “Go put this on… behind the curtain.”
He pursed his lips, not understanding what was going on. Was she purposely trying to push him away? Unfortunately for her, he had no intention of letting her do such a thing. He enjoyed his sanity and if he allowed her to push, he would never come to a conclusion as to the source of the draw and lose a bit of his sanity trying to understand it. She didn’t know what she was in for; a determined Skarsgard was not something to trifle with.
Alexander did as she had told him, and went behind the curtain.
----
Benny waited until the curtain closed before she expelled the air in her lungs. She found it hard to breathe around him now, which she found strange. She had never once felt such a thing around the man. Until yesterday. There was nothing in the world that could keep her from losing her breath or make her focus on her work when he was around. Hell, he didn’t even need to be present, and her mind went adrift replaying their afternoon and she felt herself growing nervous again.
Truly, she didn’t know why she was so worried about him. They’d always gotten on well before, even if the interaction had been professional and rare. She had never felt lightheaded or short of breath. Yet here she stood, freaking out over the man. The gorgeous man. The intelligent man. The nice man.
In some ways, Benny found it a little confusing as to how she had garnered the attention of just such a person. Never once before had she met a man like Alex who had been interested in her and had all those qualities. Unfortunately, she found that all the men she knew had one or two of those qualities, but never all three. More often than not, the gorgeous ones had the personality of dishrags, the intelligent ones had a chip on their shoulder, and the nice ones had Beta Male written all over them.
But here he was: masculine, attractive, intellectual, kind and reasonably successful. And he could care less about the Fun Bag Twins. No, he was interested in her. There had to be some god or goddess somewhere laughing at her, and the joke they had sprung. This was not her life. This was another woman’s life. Someone who deserved Alexander Skarsgård.
It couldn’t be hers.
She wasn’t quite sure when all of this doubt had started brewing in her head. Twenty four hours had passed since their last “fitting”, and afterward she had thought that they might have the ability to make something out of this. Yesterday evening’s filming seemed good as well, though they stayed busy and had no time to speak.
Her worry probably started as she prepared to leave for the night, and she noticed Alex talking with Marianna—the makeup girl and Fun Bag Twin #1. He’d been attentive to her, and even flirted a bit from what she could hear as she passed by him to leave for the night. She so wanted to stop and plant a kiss on his inviting lips, but she could not bring herself to do it: not after he’d just finished rehearsing a scene making out with Evan.
Benny had gone home and lay in bed thinking it over. She vowed she’d not care if he really didn’t want to see where it went. As amazing as the sex had been, she could not let herself care. The last time she did, she had ended up pregnant and alone, and she decided then she’d never let that happen again to protect herself.
And to protect Harry.
As far as she was concerned, she had already let it go too far. At about 3 AM, still unable to find comfort in slumber, she decided she would end this before it even had a chance to get off the ground. She couldn’t have anything with Alex, and instead of leading him on, she’d stop it now.
But then he’d come back for the fitting today, and he’d had to go and kiss her like that. And then sound genuinely interested in her—almost hurt with her not having believed him. Was he really this amazing, or were her instincts deceiving her again?
The curtain pushed back and out sauntered Alex, the suit hugging him correctly in all the right places. He grinned as she eyed him carefully in his movements. And then he had to go make her weak in the knees with that smile. Benny grabbed her pincushion and trudged over to him, kneeling down.
He remained blissfully silent until she finished and stood. Benny sighed and checked the jacket to make sure it fit correctly on his broad shoulders. It did. There was definitely something to be said for being meticulous in her garment construction.
“Alright, that’s all I needed to fit,” she said. “Go change back.”
He went back behind the curtain and she returned to her work table. “So how is it you lucked out again and no one is working this afternoon?” he called.
“I’m sure not for the reason you’re hoping,” she replied. “I’m here because I was supposed to have fit you yesterday.”
“I know,” he said. “But don’t other people have other things to do?”
“They’ve got all their garments done,” she replied. “A week ago.”
“You waited until the last minute?” he asked.
Benny laughed. “No. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff. The whole world is going to see it, and I’m not going to have any mistake visible.”
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with taking pride in your work,” he said as he stepped out and handed her the garments. She hung up the shirt and jacket and carried the pants over to the sewing machine with the gray thread.
When she realized he wasn’t going anywhere, she looked up at him. “You’re free to go hang out in your trailer.”
“I’d like it more if you’d join me,” he replied.
Benny sighed. “I’ve got work to do.”
He nodded his head and looked down at the work table he stood beside, and fiddled with the scattered bric-a-brac. She watched him closely, and he eventually unearthed her sketchbook from the pile of fabric pieces she had cut before he arrived.
“You’re awful nosy,” she remarked, squinting at the small needle eye, not wanting to concede defeat. But she knew the needle would never be threaded at the rate she was going. “Alex?”
“Hmm?” he asked, looking up at her.
She pointed across the room. “Would you mind handing me my purse? It’s on that folding chair.”
“Sure,” he said, taking the sketchbook with him and walking over to the chair. He picked up both purse and chair and walked over to her. She took the purse, and he set the chair down in front of her, before sitting.
“Thanks,” she said, digging for her glasses case. She pulled out the small frames and put them on her nose, the eye of the needle now no longer fuzzy. “I swear, I’m an old lady.”
He laughed. “Very funny. You can’t be… over twenty-five.”
“Thanks for making me feel good,” she said. “I’m twenty-nine. Thirty in November.”
“No you’re not,” he said.
Benny chuckled. “Oh, yes, I am.”
“What are you doing as an assistant costumer, then?” he asked. “You should be just a costumer.”
“It’s a job,” she said. “I’m not knocking it. Besides, it’s really a second career.”
“What’s the first?” he asked.
Benny sighed. “I have a master’s degree in history.”
“Why sewing, then?”
“I’ve always sewn,” she said. “My mom taught me when I was younger. She was a seamstress working for a tailor. Since then, it’s been a hobby. Working in film, TV and theatre was really the only way to combine the two other than teaching. And I gave that up a couple years ago.”
Please don’t ask why, she thought.
Wonderfully, he didn’t. “There’s more to you than meets the eye, Benny.”
“I don’t have a whole lot that meets the eye,” she muttered, pressing gently on the foot pedal. The machine whirred to life.
While the machine sewed and she guided the fabric, he flipped through her sketchbook. It was as she was trimming off the gray thread of one finished pant leg that he paused on a page, looking at it more closely. His crystal blue gaze flicked up to her for a minute before a broad grin spread across his lips. He turned it around to her, and she rolled her eyes.
The sketch she had made for Alan had been nothing more than that. Alan had contemplated following the book more closely, if just for the scene in which Eric stuffed himself into pink and turquoise Lycra, but they had eventually taken the season a completely different way. In a way, Benny was a bit sad they had.
She would have given anything to see Alex put that get up on.
“You’re lucky you got out of that story line,” she replied. “I would have loved seeing you flouncing around in that.”
Alex laughed and shrugged, placing the book back in his lap, but he didn’t change the page. Instead he gazed at it longer.
“I should make it and have you wear it around just to see the reaction I would get,” she replied.
“I’m sure it’d be interesting,” he laughed and was quiet again. She glanced up at him, wondering what was going through his head. His face looked uncertain.
“Have you heard about Stephen and Anna’s private party in Vegas next Friday, after the main cast and crew party?” he asked.
Benny shrugged. “I heard Nelsan talking about it. I wasn’t invited, if that’s what you mean. It’s for couples.”
Alex smiled. “Well, I need a date. Would you go with me?”
She looked up at him and met his eyes. They were serious. “I—I guess… do I have to have another costume? I heard Nelsan say he needed two. One for the main party, and then another for the after party.”
“Have you heard what the theme of the party is?” he asked.
Benny felt her face color slightly. “I have.”
“I don’t have anything planned yet,” he replied. “But I think this would classify as ‘sexy’.”
“To some,” she remarked.
Alex grinned wolfishly. “And definitely get a few snickers. But can you do the top? With the Fangtasia on it?”
“I’d have to embroider it, but yes,” she said. “You’re serious about this?”
“Of course!” he said. “I like to live on the wild side.”
Benny laughed.
“However,” he started, “you have to agree to go with me and wear something sexy, too.”
“Alex,” she protested. As it was, the costume she was in the process of making for herself for the main event was pretty daring by her standards: the corseted late Victorian gown did a lot with her cleavage. But she had a feeling it wouldn’t be a lot by his standards. However, she was pretty sure she’d give up a lot to see Alex in that costume. Screw modesty.
He shook his head. “Nuh-uh. I’m not doing it unless you wear something revealing and sexy. I want to be able to show you off.”
“But—,” she started, but he silenced her.
“Come on,” he prodded.
Benny frowned. “That’s another thing I have to make.”
He looked down at the costume and then back up at her. “Will that really take you so long?”
“Not that,” she said. “My costume. I have to make a new one.”
“Deal or no deal, Benny,” he issued the ultimatum.
Benny sat back in her seat, poring over the possibilities in her head. However, she couldn’t take the hopeful gaze from him any longer. It was just too much.
“Fine,” she said. “Whatever. You change into it, and after I make sure you’ve worn it for everyone to see, then I will change into mine. Not before.”
Alex grinned. “Perfect.”
Benny had no idea what she had gotten herself into, but she didn’t have time to discuss it further with Alex when his cell phone started ringing in his pocket. He looked at the caller identification and sighed.
“It’s my dad,” he said. He picked up the call and said a few things in Swedish before hanging up. Alex stood up and walked around to her, leaning down.
She looked up at him. “What?”
“Just saying goodbye,” he replied, brushing his lip across hers again. “I have to call him back or I’ll never get him.”
“Okay,” she said quietly.
He kissed her again, this time deeply. “I’ll see you later, lover.”
Before she could stop him, he left the studio. She took a few deep breaths, trying to regain some levelheadedness. When had she become anything more than a onetime thing? And since when had she been so easily talked into something?
And why did he insist on using Eric Northman’s—and her—favorite term of endearment? Why did it affect her so?
Benny sighed and looked down at the pant leg waiting to be hemmed.
This was not good.
Not good at all.