You'll think two अपडेट्स in two days mean the apocalypse is coming...close: Huli avalanche is just around the corner XD I can feel it in the air ;) Anyway, my crazy beliefs aside, I was just thinking it would be nice if आप didn't miss the flow, आप know. How many times in your life you'll experience a Huli "date" live, right? None...so :P
Thanks to both @rrennie and @belle as usual and I'd like to brought to your attention that there's a line in ther, I चुरा लिया from @rrennie; I mean, she told this thing to me and phrased it in such a lovely way, I asked her iwhether I could use it. I am not gonna tell आप which is, 'cause maybe that would spoil आप something. I am sure you're gonna quote that anyway ;) If आप want to know, I'll tell आप in comments!!!

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Previously on December/December:


And as she got closer, watching Hugh on the threshold, she realized she had been waiting for tonight और than she was still willing to admit to herself and that, in spite of everything, she couldn’t help wanting him in her life.
“You ready?” Hugh asked pointing his piercing, blue eyes at her. They were of a lighter shade at the moment, although the warm light inside them was just as melting as usual.
Her eyes softened “I am”
Now, the only problem was she had to find a way to keep protecting herself from herself.


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December/December - Chapter IX


9 February 2010


Hugh jumped on his bike, zipping up his leather जैकेट and putting his हेलमेट on. He lifted the front mask, offering Lisa his hand to help her up.
One thing a woman could hardly fail to notice about Hugh was his gentleman-like manners. Something she hadn’t ever gotten really used to, या could help finding absolutely charming.
She smiled gratefully, taking his hand “Thank you”
He turned his head ever so slightly to look at her, and she spotted a teasing smirk on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing…” he stifled a chuckle “I am just glad we made it without any harm to your lovely figure…I remembered आप were not exactly a bike-climber”
“Shut up!!” she कहा hitting him on the back with her fist. A पंच that felt so ridiculously delicate that it made him burst into laughs.
“Ok, ok…I’ll pretend I have never witnessed any embarrassing performance on your behalf. Your secret will die with me. My lips are sealed” he joked, zipping his mouth closed and starting the engine.
Lisa narrowed her eyes, challenging him “Do आप want me to get down?”
But अगला thing she knew, they were already speeding down the road and she had recoiled backwards and then आगे when Hugh had suddenly slowed down, grabbing her hand to secure her on her seat, squeezing it briefly before letting her go.
She saw him grinning playfully at her from the rear-view mirror.
“Nice…well played Sir” she whispered. Then she tried to get her voice over the noise of the wind slicing the air around them“…just wait for my revenge”.
Hugh’s eyes glittered at her, clearly amused. He turned left crossing Hollywood Boulevard.
She let herself loosen up a little bit, tightening her grip on the bike, but enjoying the simple fact of riding in the backseat once again, the sense of freedom it gave her hurtling through the night, feeling the sharp, cold air sneaking under her clothes. She didn’t like bikes that much. They usually scared her, especially the high-powered ones, but she had gotten used to driving with him; and trusted his lead, so to speak, both on screen and still off…sometimes.
Hugh was keeping his eyes fixed on the road, to make sure he didn’t make a mistake with the route. After all, he had never been there either. He took Franklin Avenue to the right. At the same time, though, he was keeping an eye on Lisa, peering at her every once in a while, to be sure he wasn’t scaring the hell out of her. He knew she wasn’t a big bike fan, but this time she looked like she was enjoying herself quite a bit. His lips turned up into a tender, genuine smile. He was feeling pretty light-hearted for the first time in a long time. A sense of surprise underneath that unexpected, overwhelming delight caught him off guard: as if he had forgotten being able to feel anything even remotely good and this was the first time in months one of his smiles was really reaching all the way to pure happiness.
Lisa met his gaze in the rear-view mirror and leaned आगे to speak, so he slowed down to be able to hear her “What?”
“Any chance you’re gonna tell me where we are going exactly?”
Hugh shook his head in firm denial “Nope, I told you, आप are going to have to be patient Miss” He spotted her lips pouting playfully “Ohhhh, don’t make that face at me!! That’s just playing dirty!!!” he snapped in a perfect English accent, ‘causing Lisa to bite her lower lip, stifling a nervous chuckle. She wondered how much a woman could possibly take before breaking down या just losing it completely.
She stuck her tongue out at him, loosing the tension, whether her own या the one she supposedly felt being growing between them…it wasn’t clear to her either. Then she shrugged and turned her head away, faking she had gotten offended.
Hugh rolled his eyes. Cheap shot: she knew he couldn’t say no to that…but, on the other hand, the very simple fact that she remembered it to be one of his soft spots for her…that somehow was already flooding his chest with a strange warm, wave of euphoria. He felt genuinely amused, but also irremediably caught in the compelling and adorable mystery enshrouding this woman.
“Ok fine” he कहा giving in to himself and willing to reach a compromise “I’ll give आप a clue…”
Lisa leaned over curious, pressing her body against his “I’m ready. Shoot.”
“Ok, well…it’s something आप told me you’d like to do once in your life”
Lisa scoffed sarcastically, moving away a little “That’s it?! Something I told आप I’d like to do once in my life?!” she asked, emphasizing each word as if he had just कहा the most hilarious thing ever. “Oh well, that narrows it down quite a bit…I mean, just go through all the things a woman would like to experience before she dies, every possible whim या real desire, and you’ll nail it…” she trailed off arching her eyebrows in amusement.
“You’re not whimsical!” Hugh pointed out almost outraged, turning to Western Avenue. He caught sight of Lisa giggling so he sneered at himself, realizing he must have sounded particularly vehement. He couldn’t help himself: sometimes her way of constantly underestimating herself was absolutely nonsense.
“Glad आप think that…” she कहा softly “…but anyway, what about another tip-off?”
They were starting to climb up Western Canyon Road. He had made it.
“I guess, you’ll see soon enough” he कहा with a smile of triumph on his lips.
Lisa gave a look around, realizing they had reached some sort of wooded natural area, although the road was still paved: it looked like climbing up in hairpin turns, but it was hard to tell at that speed. She tensed, squeezing his hips and digging her fingers in his arm without even realizing it, but Hugh had already read her mind and was slowing down.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful” he said, gently trying to reassure her “Just hold onto to me. There’s no danger, I swear”.
Slowly, careful to keep the bike from rocking, he tentatively reached for one of her hands, unsure whether she would regard that as a bold move. She startled a little but then let him grab her hands to secure them around his torso, one at the time.
He smiled at her reassuringly from the rear-view mirror “We are almost there. Hang on”
He speed up once more, but Lisa could tell he was truly being extra-cautious, decelerating at each hairpin, keeping himself as far away as possible from the roadside, promptly steadying his bike at each little bump in the road. She couldn’t help noticing the wonderful sight though: all the city lights were glimmering like little, precious coloured gems beneath the dark, starry, night sky. It was beautiful. She loved nature and she surely preferred its restoring quiet to the hammering, noise of the city but, sometimes, there was just something about LA that truly took her breath away. And this city landscape was just…
Suddenly a crazy thought crossed her mind. It couldn’t be…could it?
“Hugh…” she began hesitantly, almost incredulous to what she was about to ask “we are not…like…you know…like going to Mount Lee…right?”
Hugh slowed down even further. They were almost at the parking lot. He could see the lights in the distance ahead of them. He shrugged, as if he was apologizing for something.
“Well, I know that’s where you’d have liked to go, या at least the place you’d thought about when आप told me about having never seen LA from above…” He paused, parking his bike in front of what looked like a giant, almost completely emptied parking lot “…but we couldn’t climb up there at this time of the night, ‘cause there are no सड़क, स्ट्रीट lamps…”
Lisa was still bewildered, but now she could distinctively see a floodlit park and what looked like “a…palace?” she asked, pulling off her helmet.
Hugh took off his own, glancing at the building “an Observatory, the Griffith बेधशाला, वेधशाला to be precise” and then he picked up from where he had left off before “I was saying…besides…you know me…” he कहा making some sort of snobbish, half- disgusted grimace, titling his head from one side to the other. “ I just thought…you know, climbing up to Mount Lee sounds so trivial या tacky perhaps, I don’t know…maybe just because I am English…” He put down the kickstand, dismounting and peering at her, hoping he hadn’t offended her with his last remark. Lisa kept darting her eyes from the Griffith building to him without speaking.
Maybe he had screwed this up. He was panicking.
“…so…you know, I figured आप might have…” he started spacing the words out “…enjoyed…a more…private…less…overrated, but still, in my modest opinion…which-might-well-be-totally-wrong…” he added defensively in one single breath “…much more…enchanting view…?”
Lisa widened her eyes in disbelief, still almost at loss for words, but this was too much and she could barely hold her enthusiasm back anymore.
“Hugh…Seriously?? This is…”
But she trailed off. She didn’t know what to say really. Whichever kind of टिप्पणी दे came to her mind sounded so inadequate compared to the complex turmoil of emotions stirring inside her right now. For one she was grateful and moved, ‘cause he had remembered something she had told him like ages ago. Secondly she was astounded, ‘cause the place looked beautiful and the sight must have been spectacular; and finally, there was always that pricking, burning, soothing desire to just fling her arms around his neck that द्वारा now, Had it not been for the lesson she’d already learned, would have already won her completely over. So, she told herself she had to let the emotions sink in, to quite herself once again before words bigger than what they both could possibly promise each other came out, ruining everything one और time.
Hugh feared he might have gone too far with it. He opened his mouth to speak but first he scrutinized Lisa’s face for any sign she might be about to run, but then again after all, it was just an Observatory…it didn’t have to mean anything, did it? He rubbed the back of his neck, and then scratched his chin, looking for something to say.
This was the end of it. He was truly making himself ridiculous.
“Ok, listen…we don’t have to stay. I just thought आप might like this. I mean, this was purely coincidental, I swear…” he कहा looking for her gaze still फ्रोज़न on the Observatory. “I just happened to listen to something on TV and I remembered David had thought about this place as a location for…for an episode, last fall…remember?” he scratched his forehead trying to give sense to the chain of the events. “…well, although he ultimately chose another location, but that is beside the point…” he cut off dismissively.
Oh God, this was getting ridiculously long: the worst let-me-explain, save-your-ass speech ever in history. And now Lisa was even looking at him with what looked like a stare of plain sympathy, always without saying a word.
”Anyway, and….and so…I recalled” he explained gesticulating with his hands “that when the director happened to know we were considering the place…he sent us free tickets…at…at the time…” What was wrong with him now with the stammering???
“So we got free tickets? ” Lisa asked confused.
“No, no, no, no, no…” Oh Jesus, why hadn’t this sounded so convoluted, twisted and delirious when he had conceived it in first place? He had been fooled द्वारा the way his plan had gone smoothly. “Damn beginner’s naivety”
He tried to explain himself further, knowing he couldn’t possibly sink deeper in digging his own grave anyway. “The point is not the tickets….well, we got those ’cause, आप know, he was a fan, I…I mean…he is…he is a fan, actually….which is indeed why we are here.” या maybe he could sink even deeper, because this last explanation didn’t sound like one that made any sense at all. और like a long, draining, feverish, senseless monologue.
He dropped his shoulders down and tossed his head backwards, eyes blankly pointed at the sky, exasperated at himself.
“Little piece of सलाह to yourself. Lesson number three. First, act your own age. Secondly, if आप have to act, at least work smart”
Lisa in the meantime had just regained composure and felt strong enough to make an harmless सवाल that didn’t expose her too much…to herself, mostly. And so, she was trying to make sense out this “So आप called him?”
Hugh snapped his head down, goggling “YES! I mean….I gave it a try. I didn’t know whether the place would be open or…what the visiting hours were…so yes, I grabbed my phone and called the Centre - you’d be surprise at people’s devotion to this दिखाना - but anyway, आप usually have to make some sort of reservation and we were already running on short notice…so...”
“But we are still on time, aren’t we? I mean, can we go up there?” she asked meeting his eyes for a moment and then taking a step आगे into the parking lot.
“YES! Of course we can. If आप want!” he remembered lesson number one, the one about not sounding panicked that kept slipping his mind “I told him I was running a little bit late….but he कहा there was no problem, ‘cause the observation terrace closed at 10 pm and they could afford buying me some extra time, द्वारा starting closing the other areas first….”
Lisa finally felt in control of herself once again. She couldn’t deny there was still a not so tiny part of her who had been literally sent into overdrive द्वारा this, but ultimately she knew what was best for her. Even if with some regret.
She smiled warmly, trying to convey everything she was feeling and couldn’t tell him through her eyes “Let’s go then!” she कहा enthusiastically walking backwards, never taking her eyes off him “I can’t wait to see how it looks from up there”.
Hugh sighed with relief, following her. Maybe he could still get something good out of this evening, after all.
Lisa slowed down and waited for him to catch up with her, a suspicious smile creeping on her lips “Wait a minute…there’s no way he did आप this little favour without anything in return….” she narrowed her eyes knowingly and crossed her arms over her chest “what did आप promise him?”
This couldn’t get any further embarrassing. Now he knew it. This was the bottom. He scratched the back his neck, blushing a little “Ehm….a tour of the set for his daughter, plus witnessing some shooting of the अगला episode…ehm…PLUS…autographs and photos…”
Another broad, soft smile lit up Lisa’s face, puzzling him. She dropped her head down, as if she was chuckling to herself “You really are full of surprises today…”
“Am I?”
“And I meant that as compliment…” she कहा with a sigh staring ahead of herself.
She stuffed her hands into her pockets, almost hopping towards the entrance, as he realized he had probably forgotten breathing for five सेकंड्स already.
Powerful things these carpe-diem strategies.