Five Minutes and Forever

Nicholas smiled as he watched the verbal exchange between the two women. That Roger Mills, football star and all around jock was a horse's ass before he decided to save himself above all else was something Nicholas well knew. It was nice to see Tiffany come to the same conclusion without ever even meeting him. If it wouldn't seem like gloating, he would love to mention that when they realized that Hillary was missing, Roger declined to go with him back into the diner to find her.

Later on, after the fire department had arrived and administered oxygen to Hillary, Roger did nothing to dispel her first thought that he had indeed rescued her. At least not until the next day after she had been released from the hospital and thanked him properly. By the time she found out it had been Nicholas who carried her to safety, Roger had already reworked the story so that it seemed like the smaller teen had actually endangered her life by rushing in there rather than wait for the fire department.

"Alright folks," the director called out as he spotted Billy Lee reappearing on the set, "lets get back to business and put this puppy to bed."

As Billy Lee settled into his seat, the director also spotted the intern who had followed him into his dressing room. He had to suppress a laugh as he watched the girl she had left her clipboard with pull a tissue from her pocket and wiped the corner of the intern's mouth. Then, holding the tissue with two fingers, she dropped it into a nearby wastebasket.

Then last guest turned out to be the author of some book that Nicholas had never heard of, but evidently one Billy Lee had enjoyed. Whatever it was about went right by the teenager as he spent the entire interview torn between the choice of watching Hillary stew or checking out Tiffany's boobs. In the end, he decided that he'd always have plenty of future opportunities to again see the former and concentrated on the latter.

Finally, after a few more minutes of conversation with his last guest, Billy Lee brought the show to a close. As soon as the director yelled clear, he stood up and thanked first his guests and then the studio audience. Then, just as quickly, he was off to his dressing room to change. This time, the intern knew better than to follow.

Tiffany took Nicholas by the hand and said it had been very nice to meet him. Then she too was gone.

Still curious about how the show ran, Nicholas watched attentively as the crew broke down the set and hoped he might get the chance to ask a few questions. A chance he wasn't going to get as Lisa reappeared from off stage and said she'd walk them back to the green room. The implication was clear if unspoken. It was time to go.

Reluctantly, Nicholas followed Lisa and Hillary back through the long corridor to the green room. Roger was standing outside in the hall and as soon as Hillary saw him, she ran up and jumped into his waiting arms.

"Baby, did you see me on TV?" she gushed as she kissed him deeply.

"I sure did, honey," Roger said as he returned the kiss, making a grab for her ass at the same time. "And you really looked hot!"

"You think so?" the brunette asked as she playfully pushed his hand away.

"Really hot," Roger repeated, knowing that being told that really turned his girlfriend on. "In fact, I doubt anyone even noticed that old actress on the couch after you came on."

"Oh baby, you say the sweetest things," Hillary purred as she pulled Roger closer, pressing her breasts into his chest.

"Well I hope you enjoyed your visit to the Midnight Hour," Lisa said as she hid her amusement at the juvenile dialogue, "and as soon as you're ready, the car will be waiting outside to drop you off back at your hotel."

"In other words," Nicholas thought with a smile, "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out."

Nevertheless, the young woman was only doing her job, he reminded himself and he took the time to thank her for her time and attention. Roger and Hillary failed to do so as they bumped and ground against each other.

"Hey Nick," Roger finally said as he came up for air, ignoring the fact that Nicholas hated being called that. "Do you think you could find your way back to the hotel on your own? Hill and I would really like to ride back by ourselves, have a little privacy. You can get a cab, right?"

If Nicholas hadn't always thought Roger had a lot of nerve, this would certainly convince him. Asking if he wouldn't mind trading a ride in a plush limousine for the back seat of a cab, just so Roger could ride alone with Hillary was a pretty lousy thing to do. Especially since he was the reason they were there and more so why they had the weekend in the city. Something one of the people on the show had went out of the way to tell him wasn't the way it was normally done. Billy Lee had been genuinely impressed by what he'd done and had arranged for mini-vacation as a sort of reward.

"Okay, you two can have the car," Nicholas replied, as much to his surprise as theirs.

"Thanks pal," Roger said in a voice oozing insincerity.

Hillary didn't bother to even thank him, whispering instead something in Roger's ear and then racing down the hall toward the parking lot. Roger just sort of smiled at Nicholas, then ran after her, quickly disappearing around a turn in the corridor.

Taking a deep breath and slowly shaking his head, Nicholas wondered why he had done that. The answer came quickly enough. He simply couldn't put up with the two of them pawing each other in front of him another minute. If he didn't see them before it was time to leave on Monday morning, it would be fine with him.

With that behind him, Nicholas considered what now. He could head back to the hotel himself, or ask someone to suggest a nice restaurant in the area. The quiet rumble in his stomach reminded him he been too nervous to eat at all today. Then after dinner, maybe a little sightseeing.

"What do you think," a soft voice behind him asked, "do you think they'll make it back to the hotel first or is she just going to get down on her knees and blow him in the back of the limo?"

Nicholas turned to find Tiffany Adams standing behind him. He'd been so lost in thought he hadn't heard her come up behind him.

"Excuse me?" Nicholas asked, sure he'd heard her wrong.

"For my money, I'd bet on the blow job," Tiffany smiled, proving he had indeed heard her right. "Hillary doesn't strike me as the kind of girl who has a lot of patience, much less self control."

Nicholas wasn't sure how to answer, even though he knew the actress was right on the money. He'd lost track of all the times he'd watched Hillary and Roger, and a few boyfriends before him, sneak off into the back storeroom in the middle of the day. Hillary always claimed he was helping her with the inventory, but the sounds coming out of the room when he was curious enough to put his ear near the door were unmistakable.

"So what are you going to do now that you've given away your ride?" Tiffany asked, sensing that Nicholas wasn't going to give an opinion on her first question.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I thought I'd ask if there was a nice restaurant I could go to in the area. That or just go back to the hotel and order room service."

"Either way, it hardly seems such a great way to spend your first night in LA," Tiffany commented, knowing too well what kind of hotel the show had probably put Nicholas up in. Nice enough, but definitely low budget. There were limits to the show's generosity. "Not much of a reward for a hero."

"I really wish everyone would stop calling me that," Nicholas said, the impatience in his voice coming through. "It was bad enough back home, but here it's really beginning to bother me."

"Then why did you say you say you'd come on the show?" Tiffany asked out of curiosity.

"Well, it was a chance to see how a TV show was made and, well I guess I really didn't think that much about it. It all happened so fast."

"That's understandable," Tiffany smiled, having been on the end of the full court press of a determined booking agent herself. "But if you don't mind my saying, you shouldn't throw off that mantle too readily before you see what you can get out of it."

Nicholas gave her a look that said he didn't quite understand.

"Well for one thing, some women find things like that really sexy," Tiffany grinned. "Maybe not your friend, Hillary, but again, she doesn't strike me as the appreciative type. At least not towards those who really deserve it."

This time, Nicholas understood half of what she meant but before he could ask her to clarify it, Tiffany changed the subject.

"Do you like Italian?"

"Food?"

"No, sports cars," Tiffany quipped.

"Yes, I like Italian."

"I was planning to swing over to this really great place down in Marina del Ray that makes the most incredible Abbacchio alla Romana," she went on. "It's only about a half hour from here, would you like to join me?"

"Are you kidding?" a surprised Nicholas asked.

"Honey, do I look like I kid about food?" Tiffany laughed.

"I'd love to," he finally managed to say, thinking that none of his friends back home were ever going to believe this.

"Great," Tiffany replied with a smile that could melt butter. "I'm parked in the private lot on the other side of the building, shall we go?"

-=-=-=-

Whatever lingering disappointment Nicholas might have felt over giving up his last chance to ride in that luxury limo totally faded when he saw the car Tiffany led him to. It was a 1967 Ferrari 275GTS in mint condition. His jaw dropped when he saw the cherry red, two-seat convertible.

"This is your car?" he asked in disbelief.

"What can I say," Tiffany grinned. "I grew up with four brothers and a Dad who owned a car restoration business. Some of that sort of rubbed off."

"Can I drive it?" Nicholas said without thinking.

"Maybe we should leave that until later," Tiffany offered, mentioning the value of the car should the newly licensed driver damage it.

"I think you might be right," Nicholas admitted as that number hit him like a bucket of cold water.

"Well just don't stand there, climb in and I'll show you what it can do," Tiffany laughed.

-=-=-=-

The traffic on the 405 was just light enough at this time of night for Tiffany to do just that, much to Nicholas'delight. With the setting sun disappearing beneath the Pacific only a few miles away, they raced down the Interstate and made it to the restaurant in what had to be considered record time.

"Wow!" Nicholas exclaimed as he looked out on the magnificent vista as the last rays of sunset faded beneath the horizon, its last remnant painting hundreds of boats a golden yellow.

"I take it you don't have anything like this back in Cherrywood Falls?" Tiffany asked rhetorically, watching the sheer enjoyment on his face. "Well we'll have to see what else we can find to make your trip memorable."

Once the sun had finally set, Tiffany led Nicholas across the road to a small, out of the way bistro. It didn't look like much from the outside he thought, but once they were inside, it was as if they'd been transported to a small village in Italy. At least from what he'd seen of pictures of such places.

There didn't seem to be an empty table anywhere, but Tiffany remained unconcerned. She patiently waited for someone behind the small counter in the corner to spot her, then smiled as a short, rounded man came rushing up to her.

"Buona sera, Miss Adams," the middle-aged man said with great enthusiasm. "It's so nice to see you again."

"Good evening, Mario," Tiffany smiled back. "I can see you have what looks to be a full house tonight, but do you think you could manage to find a small table somewhere for two hungry travelers?"

"For you, anything," the restaurant owner smiled back, "if you'll just follow me."

Much to the chagrin of the long line of people waiting in line behind the velvet ropes, Mario opened one of those ropes and let the pair thought the first floor of restaurant and up a flight of stairs to a small balcony. There were a few tables spread across the terrace and half of these were still empty. He showed them to one at the far end, one with a perfect view of the marina.

"I'll have someone come right up to take your order," Mario said after they'd taken their seats. "Might I send up a nice red wine in the meantime?"

"That would be fine," Tiffany answered, "and perhaps a Coke for my guest."

"Excellent," Mario said, relieved that Tiffany had taken the initiative and ordered a non-alcoholic drink for the young man who was obviously under the legal drinking age. Not all of his celebrity patrons were that understanding and expected deferential treatment.

"I guess it must be great that you don't have to wait on lines and such," Nicholas remarked after Mario went on his way. "One of the advantages of being a celebrity."

"Oh, that's not why we didn't have to wait," Tiffany laughed in that helium filled voice that had made her career. "If you took a good look, there were plenty of famous people on that line. Just being in the movies doesn't count for a lot from Mario."

Surprised, Nicholas gave Tiffany a look that seemed to ask why then.

"The one thing a man like Mario values above all else is loyalty," Tiffany replied to the unspoken question. "He's very old world in that regard. I've been coming to his place since almost before you were born, back when he was just trying to get his business going. Eventually, the right people discovered just how good the food here really is and it's been wall to wall guests ever since. But Mario had never forgotten the people who came here when he was still struggling and always holds a place for them."

"That's pretty cool," Nicholas replied.

"Yes it is," Tiffany agreed.

As Mario had promised, a waiter appeared a few moments later, carry both their drinks and ready to take their dinner order. Tiffany ordered for both of them, asking Nicholas to trust her on that one. To which he readily agreed.

The food was indeed as good as Tiffany had promised and at one point, she even surreptitiously refilled his soda glass with some of the wine. Their conversation over diner proved even more enjoyable.

Tiffany asked about his life back in Cherrywood Falls, commenting that it didn't sound all that much different from the small town in Indiana that she'd grown up in. They also talked about his plans for the future and she seemed genuinely impressed that he had won a full scholarship to California Southern State.

"So what are you planning to study once you're there?" Tiffany asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Nicholas replied, "but if I can make the grades, I've been giving some thought to teaching."

"You're kidding," Tiffany laughed.

"Why is that so funny?" Nicholas asked, thinking that she was making fun of him.

"Oh I'm not laughing at you," she quickly corrected him as she correctly interpreted his tone. "I just thought that was funny that's all."

A long moment passed then she explained why.

"Air-headed bimbo typecast to the contrary," Tiffany said, "I have a bachelors degree in education science. Before I got the acting bug, I was working as a junior high school teacher."

"I never knew that," Nicholas said in surprise.

"Well, that's not the kind of sexy secret that usually makes the gossip columns." Tiffany grinned. "Believe me, the image most people have of actors actually being the characters they play is rarely true."

"I guess not," the young man agreed.

"Now, wasn't this better than room service back in that box they call a hotel?" Tiffany asked, changing the subject.

"Most definitely," Nicholas agreed.

"So what's the story with you and Hillary?" she asked unexpectedly.

"What do you mean?"

"You have the hots for her, don't you?"

"Well..." Nicholas hesitated, "yes and no I guess."

"Yes and no as in, she's a girl you really want to fuck but can't stand her otherwise."

Nicholas turned bright red with embarrassment as in one sentence Tiffany summed up what he had thought was a complex relationship.

"Don't be embarrassed," Tiffany said understandingly. "You're hardly the first young man to feel that way. Bad girls attract, it's that simple. If it wasn't I wouldn't have a film career." she added with a small laugh.

"I guess not," Nicholas laughed as well.

"You'd think she'd be more appreciative of the fact that you'd saved her life," Tiffany remarked. "I know I would've been."

"Well, like you saw back at the studio, Hillary doesn't always see things the way other people do."

"Well that's not hard to do that when you're always looking up at the ceiling," Tiffany retorted, leaving no doubt as to what she meant by that.

Their conversation was interrupted right then as an older, blonde haired woman walked up to their table and said hello. If Nicholas had to guess, he'd say she looked no more than sixty and would be surprised to discover that he was a decade short in his assumption. Standing right behind her was a smartly dress brunette in her twenties, who had obviously just finished dinner with the seventy year old.

"I hope I'm not intruding, Tiffany," the woman, who also seemed familiar to Nicholas, said, "but when I saw you I just had to stop and thank you for all the help you've given the foundation in raising money for the East LA Education Fund."

"Not at all, Abigail," Tiffany replied, making it clear that she knew the woman. "I'm always glad to help good causes like that."

"Well if I had a few more helpers with drive like yours, we could double our contributions," Abigail replied. "So I just wanted to thank you personally and hope we can count on you in the future as well."

"Think nothing of it," Tiffany insisted, knowing that the only reason Abigail even acknowledged her contribution was that she wanted her to devote even more time to the cause. The actual cause being the adoration of Abigail Anderson, not helping some poor kids get a better chance in school. "Might I introduce you to my escort for the evening, Nicholas Porter."

"It's nice to meet you, Nicholas," Abigail said as she finally acknowledged the young man's presence.

"Nicholas and I were guests on "The Midnight Hour" earlier this evening and I thought I'd see to it that he at least had a really good meal on his short visit to LA," Tiffany offered in way of explanation.

"Well you certainly brought him to the right place for that," Abigail remarked. "What did you do that earned you a place on Billy Lee's couch?" she asked, familiar with the way the show operated.

"Why don't you just tune in tonight and find out," Tiffany quickly said, seeing the look of discomfort that flashed across Nicholas' face. "It's a very interesting story, believe me."

"If I have the time, I certainly will," Abigail promised, leading Tiffany to believe that the thought would be forgotten before she even got out of the restaurant. "Well, I do have to get going, it was nice seeing you again, Tiffany, and meeting you as well, Nicholas. Come along, Laura."

The young lady, who had been standing a respectable distance from the table, immediately fell in step behind Abigail and followed her toward the stairs to the lower level.

"You didn't recognize her, did you?" Tiffany asked.

"She seems very familiar but I really couldn't place her."

"Abigail Anderson," Tiffany said, presenting the woman's whole name. "You'd probably recognize her right away if you saw a picture of her as a younger woman, say thirty years ago. "

"Carson's Crew," Nicholas burst out as the name helped him place the face. "She played Mrs. Carson on Carson's Crew."

"You got it."

Carson's Crew had been one of those super sweet, totally unrealistic family sitcoms of the seventies. Abigail had played Mom to a large combined family in one of those "yours, mine and ours" shows. Not as popular as the Brady Bunch, to which it had often been compared, it had nevertheless earned Abigail a place as one of those perfect TV Mothers. A doting image she had carefully cultivated ever since, creating in fact a charitable foundation around it.