Moments are fleeting. The more painful ones seem to last for a lifetime. While the more precious ones are gone in a flash, in a breath, in a single look, vanishing like an ember cracking over a fire. 

I wasn't sure what moment I had just experienced. My near kiss with Luke seemed to be both. A fleeting near perfect thing that was just a flash of a moment, bright and beautiful and then gone. But my reaction to it, stumbling backwards like the idea repulsed me was a whole other type of moment. One that threatened to burn into my brain, being replayed in the hours before dawn over and over for all eternity. Not to mention the paparazzo on the shore that saw the whole thing, adding fire to the terrible type of forever moment. 

In short, it was a good and bad moment. Jumbled together into a ball of feeling that left me unsure of how to label it. 

Luke looked from the shore, back to me, raking fingers through his wet hair, frustration, and guilt warring across his face. "I'm sorry. They're here for me." His eyes snapped back to the shore, trying to decide what to do about the paparazzo with the camera.

"They do that a lot, don't they." 

He nodded, eyes still on the figure. "A constant problem. Makes doing anything normal a challenge." He looked like he wanted to sink into the water and hide. And I was suddenly struck with a new piece of information about him. Something that was so obvious that I almost laughed at how oblivious I was.

"You're shy!" I blurted in surprise. Luke blinked, looking back at me as if coming out of a trance, his fingers taking up a nervous tick and adjusting his soaked white shirt at the collar. 

It all began to click. Luke didn't like the attention from the paparazzi, he didn't like large group settings. He was quiet around new people unless forced to interact. He enjoyed his space. His family had been in the spotlight since he was born, and Luke had been thrown into the chaos ever since. 

He didn't deny my realization, which only proved my point. My mind continued to connect the pieces.

When Luke's brother Andrew found the love of his life in Delle, who turned out to be an undercover detective on the show he was on, Luke became paranoid of new people. Not easy to trust because life had proven that anyone who got close had an ulterior motive. 

Just like me... 

It was no wonder he had hated me so much at the beginning. He had been right, and now he was testing the waters— no pun intended— when he should have been listening to his own instincts, running away, screaming instead. 

And now we were trapped in the ocean, being stared at by some random person with a camera, who would no doubt post any picture they took and invent stories to go along with it. 

I could already imagine the headlines. 

"Co-Stars Get Cuddly." "Hotness in Hawaii." "Smooches in the Sea..." 

Okay, that last one needed work, but the titles didn't matter. The longer I was with Luke, the more famous I would become, and the harder it would be for Carter, and the harder it would be if Luke ever found out what my side job was.

What a mess... 

"What kind of range do you think that camera has?" I asked, an idea forming. "Can the person see who we are? Or is there room for a prank?"

Luke laughed. "Prank? No. Even if the picture is blurry that won't stop them from making stuff up."

"Then let's help decide what story they write," I said, ducking further into the water and smiling mischievously. 

A curious, small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "What crazy idea are you going to drag me into, Bermuda?"

I wiggled my eyebrows at him, my smile widening. "It's a game called, 'Go get help.'"

...

Luke splashed out of the water, eyes wide, voice panicked, stumbling towards the individual with the camera until he crumbled to his knees, my unmoving body limp in his arms. "HELP! GO GET HELP! SHE ISN'T BREATHING!"

The figure, a woman with wispy short black hair stared at Luke, eyes wide, her fingers gripping her camera like a lifeline.

Luke continued to shout, taking the dramatics up a notch. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! GO GET HELP! SHE'S PROBABLY DEAD! IT MIGHT BE TOO LATE TO SAVE HER! AND IT WILL BE OUR FAULT FOR DOING NOTHING!" 

The woman bolted down the beach, stumbling as she ran, screaming for help. Once she was out of ear shot, I started laughing, lifting my head to watch the lady run, my shoulders shaking from the effort to keep myself from howling. "Okay, that was brilliant."

Luke put me down on my feet, his own face breaking into a grin. "I don't know about brilliant—"

I shrugged, squeezing water out of my hair. "It was. I tend to radiate brilliance. One of my many talents." Then I began to move in the opposite direction that the woman took. "Come on. Let's get out of here before she comes back. No picture means it's a lot harder to capture readers attentions. Especially when your story sounds crazy."

Luke looked after the woman. "She'll think you died and I buried the body." 

I shot him a grin over my shoulder as I continued to walk along the beach. "Exactly. It will completely ruin everything when I turn up alive at breakfast." 

I started laughing, my voice lost over the sounds of the waves. 

... 

Luke seemed reluctant to go back to the restaurant, and I didn't blame him. The idea of a crowd was enough to keep me away after that awful message from my parents, so I could only imagine how much worse it was for Luke who was practically allergic to socializing. 

Instead, our path away from the paparazzi left us walking along the shore, the waves to our left, the hotel up the hill on our right, a beacon of light in the darkness. 

"Her face was priceless!" I said, a large grin spreading across my face. "She looked terrified! Like you had accused her of murdering me!" 

Luke shoved his hands into his pockets, fighting a smile. I elbowed him in the side, attempting to coax out the full wattage of his smile. "Oh come on! Even you have to admit that was a good prank."

He shrugged. "It was a decent one."

I rolled my eyes. "You didn't have any ideas. You were going to let her write up some outlandish article about us being involved after she saw us almost..."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized my mistake. Luke seemed to freeze, pausing a step before continuing a beat later. 

'Outlandish?'  'After she saw us almost kiss....' 

Yep... I just made everything incredibly awkward. 

"About earlier..." Luke raked his fingers through his hair, a slight blush working it's way along his neck and jaw. "If I did something—" 

"You didn't." I stared down at the sand as we walked in silence, my mind trying to find a way to explain. "I just... it was... I can't..." I finished, unsure of how to word a jumble of feelings. It felt like a crossword that was all shapes, letters turned to mush.

"I know I can be a little intense," he said. 

"Luke," I said, trying to cut him off. This wasn't his fault. I couldn't kiss him. I couldn't want him. Not when my life was chaos. Not when his life came with a spotlight I didn't want. Not if he was going to hate me when he learned what I had to offer. That my life could be narrowed down to a list of articles that hurt people.

"And I know I tend to expect the worst of people."

I shook my head. 

"And I am sorry that I made you uncomfortable," he said quietly.

I turned to look at him, pulling him to a stop, my hand on his arm. "No." My fingers seemed to burn where my skin touched his. I instantly let him go, my body feeling branded, forever changed, and I had to crush the urge to shake out my fingers to try and get the feeling to go away. 

"You didn't do anything wrong," I said, my voice sounding strange to my own ears. I took a step back, feeling self conscious. "I just..." My hands dropped to my sides. "I don't go for late night swims in the ocean."

Luke was quiet, unmoving, listening.

I stared out at the water, taking a leap into honesty. "I don't go around almost kissing co-stars." I let out a tired breath. "I... I'm a mess, Luke. And I can't really want anything else. I can't be selfish."

The pause that followed was long, painful in its uncertainty, because Luke had never been easy to read. His thoughts and desires hidden behind a handsome wall that refused to be moved or broken down. A wall that could take on smiles for cameras that felt so real that it left you wondering if maybe they were. 

I couldn't trust the movie magic. I couldn't take what we played at to be a real connection. Not when he was so open on screen and so closed off and angry the moment the red recording light died.

"Wanting to take a moment for yourself isn't selfish," he finally said. 

I chewed on my lower lip, brow furrowed as I stared him down, a contradiction of lies and truths as I spoke. "Yes it is." My answer sounded uncertain, almost a question. 

Luke shook his head. "Liar."

"It's true enough. People count on me Luke." 

Luke tilted his head, searching my face. "And one kiss will unravel you so much that you will be unable to help others?" 

"Don't flatter yourself," I replied dryly, tilting my chin up in defiance, trying to keep myself together when he looked at me with those ridiculously beautiful chocolate eyes. "I don't even know you, Luke."

"I wasn't saying you had to kiss me."

I raised a brow, my heart hammering. "Are you suggesting I go around kissing strangers then?" 

"You just said you didn't know me," he replied, voice deep. "By your logic I am a stranger to kiss." 

I shook my head, sending my wet hair swooshing, water droplets falling down my shoulders. "No, by your logic, I should kiss strangers. I never agreed to that."

"Let's fix that." He took a step back, gesturing to himself, drawing my eyes across his body, still wet from the water, showcasing phenomenal details that otherwise remained hidden. "So I won't be a stranger. What do you want to know?" 

I forced my eyes back up to his face. "I don't want to know you, Luke."

A ripple of hurt crossed his expression before he tucked it away. "Why?"

Because walking away is harder when you know what you are missing. "Because I won't be here long. Because it won't matter in the long run."

"Unless something lasts forever, it isn't worth investing in? That really narrows down a lot of things worth caring about." He mirrored me, taking a step forward. 

"Look I didn't mean to make a whole thing out of this," I said, attempting to pull the conversation away from kisses and strangers. But Luke was relentless, determined to understand. To peek into the shadows, taking in the secrets I kept hidden. 

I turned to head back towards the hotel and spotted several photographers sniffing around the pool, cameras flashing at the windows of the other actors rooms.

Swearing, I took a step towards the water, feeling trapped in a conversation I didn't want to have. Talking about feelings didn't solve anything. Carter was much better at expressing himself. I didn't know how to be that open. Not about anything new. Not with people I didn't know well.

As another camera flashed slightly closer, Luke wrapped his hand around my wrist and gently pulled me deeper into the shadow of the beach, closer to the water.

"You don't want to let anything affect you because then it has the power to mess things up. I might be shy, Bermuda, but you are afraid."

"Wouldn't you be!" I shouted, my eyes filled with angry tears, utterly embarrassed. "My life is a dumpster fire. And I don't want you to become kindling that gets added to it! What's so hard to understand about that?!?"

"Shouldn't that be my decision?" he asked, his tone a sharp contradiction to mine, utterly calm. "It's just one kiss." He paused, something sparking in his eyes. "Unless you don't think it will be just one."

I remained quiet. I knew it wouldn't be just one. That was the problem. The chemistry wasn't the problem. It was everything that came with it.

"We are acting together Bermuda. It's not so much a matter of if, but when."

When I didn't say anything, he sighed, concern creasing his brow. "I'm sorry the world has hurt you so much that being alone feels safer." He touched my cheek gently. 

I swallowed, looking away, pulling my face out of his palm. "It's not easy, Luke. Everything is an illusion. I don't know you. You don't know me. We were hired because our chemistry matched. But we don't if anything else matches up. Not really."

I took another step back. "Luke... What I need right now..." my mind flashed to Delle and her promise. "...Is a support system. Is people I can count on. Not something dangerous, unpredictable, or messy. So unless you are volunteering to be a safety blanket..." 

I glanced back at the hotel, bracing myself. "Thank you for the swim and for going along with my prank, but if I am completely honest with myself, I should probably go to bed before I do something stupid..." I trailed off.

"Like kiss me?" Luke guessed, a hint of amusement and challenge in his voice.

"Yes. Like try and kiss you and make things weird..." I tugged on a hair strand, missing the bright colors again. "Well... weirder than things already are by admitting that," I said with an awkward flair of my hand.

I gestured towards the paparazzi sharks by the pool. "So I am going to take my chances with them, try to make it through alive and I'll see you..." I began to move backwards. "...When I see you." Then I turned and jogged towards the hotel. 

"What's wrong with a little weird?" Luke shouted after me. 

"Lots of things!"

Unsure of what else to add, I turned long enough to shoot him finger guns, like a complete goober, and ran faster towards the hotel.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" I muttered, face red. "It's impossible to lie to that stupid, handsome face!"

Then before I was fully prepared, I was surrounded by paparazzi by the pool side as I tried to make it inside of the hotel.

Questions and lights flashed, blinding me, washing the world of its color. "Miss Springs over here!" 

FLASH. FLASH. FLASH.

I felt dizzy.

"How long have you been dating Luke Walker?"

 FLASH. FLASH. FLASH.

I couldn't see past the lights.

"There are rumors that you stole him from Lavender. Why do you hate her? Can you speak to that?"

FLASH. FLASH. FLASH.

I stumbled past several flashing cameras, towards what I hoped was the lobby, lost.

"Did you try to poison Luke? What are you going to try next? Have you tried to kill any other cast members?"

FLASH. FLASH. FLASH.

I was suddenly shoved from the side and I flailed, tilting to the left as the questions continued. 

"Are you and Luke rivals? Is this an enemies to lovers situation?" 

FLASH. FLASH. FLASH.

I felt someone reach for my arm and I instinctively shoved away. 

"Are you attempting to live out a murder revenge plot?"

FLASH. FLASH. FLASH.

My foot suddenly hit nothing, the ground gone. And I scrambled to clutch the person I had shoved away, creating a mess of limbs as I fell sideways.

 "What did he do to deserve to be poisoned?" was the last thing I heard before the words garbled and the world turned blue and blurry. 

I fell into the pool, ice cold cutting across my skin, the surface filling with warped flashes as I sunk. 

I contemplated staying under the water, wishing I was an actual mermaid so I wouldn't have to answer stupid questions about attempted murder, but then I realized that I had in fact dragged someone else into the hotel pool with me. 

LUKE. WALKER.

...Great.

So the question was, paparazzi and murder questions, or drowning underwater with Luke Walker and answering kissing questions. I wasn't sure what was worse. 

---

Thank you for reading chapter twenty two! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes!

UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

It looks like Em and Luke are surrounded by paparazzi after falling into the hotel pool! 

Will Em be able to get away without having to talk to Luke or deal with answering paparazzi questions?

Will Luke and Em kiss before they shoot their kissing scene? 

Will things change between them once they kiss on screen?

What will happen next?

CHAPTER QUESTION - Have you ever kissed someone? Was it a good experience?