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hobbitlass84
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Re: Somersault
Cute up-date 
I know how Coral feels though about wanting to protect
Orlando from getting his heart broken again.
Please up-date soon!
Donna
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Orlando Bloom. Young Woman Tested, Mother Approved! |
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22/Jul/2008, 12:52
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Natypolaris
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Re: Somersault
Good day!!! I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I WILL! It's just been kind of hectic at work...anyways, don't stop submitting your wonderful and dependable reviews!
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6/Aug/2008, 17:29
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hobbitlass84
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Re: Somersault
It's okay. I understand! 
Up-date when you get a chance, I'll be waiting.
Donna
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Orlando Bloom. Young Woman Tested, Mother Approved! |
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13/Aug/2008, 16:00
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Natypolaris
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Re: Somersault
Hellooo!! I'm back and completely excited about it! Here is the rest of chapter nine. Hope it's good.
Cont. chapter nine "Sparks and open houses"
Her bed was more comfortable than ever before and her head rest heavily on her goose down pillows. Natalie wasn't ready to wake up but still her eyes opened lightly and gazed vaguely around her room. She sighed and smiled in delight. A new day had risen and they night before had been unforgettable. Dinner with the guys was just what she needed. And of course she would never forget the strapping man that she recognized and built up the courage to talk to. Hurray for her...
She got up feeling cool and confident and headed straight to find Coral and tell her all about it. Still wearing the outfit from the night before, she skipped towards Coral's room but when she opened to door, expecting to find her still asleep, she was shocked to find out that she was gone. Her bed was made and there was a pile of clothes on the floor, which confirmed she had left since Coral always rumaged through her closet in order to find the right thing to wear for each day.
"That's strange.." Natalie thought. Therefore, she found herself alone...once again, in her friend's appartment and she wasn't willing to stay like that the entire day. Who cares if Coral wasn't there? She certainly wasn't going to stay there. Natalie looked around, thought for a second and quickly jumped into the shower.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, darling..." Orlando put on his aviator sunglasses and smiled. "...I don't want to keep you. I'm sure you have other "celebrities" to look out for."
Coral smirked and nodded. "Yeah, but you're my favorite."
"You sure?" He asked with his thick british accent. "I'm not that great you know..."
She looked at him, tipped on her toes and threw her arm around his neck. "You're a great friend. And that's better than a great employer."
Orlando smiled and hugged Coral firmly. "Thank you for everything, Coral." They parted from their embrace and looked around for cabs to hail.
"So, are you doing anything right now?" Coral asked facing the street as she she raised her arm signaling a cab nearby.
Orlando kept his arms close to him and replied with a squinty nose: "I think I'll take a walk. You know, clear my head before I head back to the hotel?" Coral looked at him with a bewildered look on her face. "Fresh air will do you good! And walking is good excercise..." To this Coral replied hesitantly: "Right."
A cab stopped in front of her and she swung the door open. "This was nice. You know, lunch."
"Yes it was."
"Try and... be happy, okay?"
"Sure."
"Bye, dear."
"Bye, Coral." They waved goodbye and the cab drove off. For an instant he felt alone without her but he figured he should get used to it already. And before he could wallow in his loneliness right in the middle of the sidewalk, he began to march through the city.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Natalie decided to walk around without destination and without a time constraint. This was her way of getting back in touch with the city, re-introduce herself to it and see herself being swept away by the buildings, the parks, the people. Dressed casually in a pair of jeans, a white button-down shirt and brown letter sandals, she felt "summery" and relaxed. For the first time in a month, she felt...relaxed. She smiled at the thought of being back and being herself, letting go and moving on, although deep inside she wasn't ready for it.
She trailed down towards downtown and revisited her younger years when she used to hang out there; when she went to college, when she and Coral rented their first place together and when she met Bo. All her memories kept jumping out and she could see herself going back and not regretting a single thing. Suddenly a light tear trickled down her cheek and with a smile on her face, she gently wiped it off. She felt it in her fingertips and was reminded that she was indeed...human. Her life had been shook but she was still there: young and alive. So, she was grateful.
Then, she stopped when she saw something she really liked. A building undergoing construction with a sign in front that read: "OPEN HOUSE TODAY. MODEL APPARTMENT. 11TH FLOOR." Surely an opportunity. So she entered the still in-the-works building and headed straight to the eleventh floor. Thank God for working elevators! The elevator doors slid open and she slowly made her way out. She saw a door wide open and figured that that was it! As she peeked her way in, she heard a voice coming from one of the rooms. When she got there, she saw a middle-aged woman sitting in a desk yapping away on her phone. Natalie knocked softly on the door frame and the 40 something year old lady jumped in her chair.
"Oh! Hello!" She had a terribly squeaky voice. "I'll be with you in just a second." She quickly shooed off the person at he other end of the line and stood up and extended Natalie a hand. "How are you?"
"Good..."
"I'm Emily Lewis. Real estate agent."
"Natalie Martin."
"So, are you looking for a tour?" Quite to the point.
"Ummm..." Natalie hesitated. "Yes. Yes, I am." This was a big step for her.
"All right then, follow me."
The appartment had this lofty and stylish arquitectural design and it was beautifully furnished and decorated. But of course it would be! But besides that, the place had fantastic lighting and room spaces. It was fit for her. Natalie fell more and more in love with it as she kept learning all the traits of living there. Being below the top floor, it had the most amazing views of the city and the greatest feeling of belonging there. And in an impulsive reaction, once the Lewis lady had finished the tour, Natalie blurted out: "I want this one! I'll take this one."
Ms. Lewis forced a confused smile and asked somewhat out of the loop: "This one?"
"Yep."
"'This one' being the model appartment?"
"Yeah!"
"O-okay. Sure. That can be done. Let's head to the office and begin the paper work." But as soon as she gave her back to Natalie, her customer asked another thing.
"And if I want it as it comes? Furnished and everything?"
Ms. Lewis turned around a bit shell shocked that a single and average (for all she knew)girl would be interested in purchasing an appartment without money being an issue. "If you want it? Yes..."
Natalie smiled brightly and bit her lower lip in excitement. "Excellent! Then yes, I really want it."
"Well good." They both headed to the office and once they were both sitting down they disscussed paper work, credit and signatures. Then Ms. Lewis just had to ask: "And it'll be just you?"
Natalie leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms feeling pleased with herself. "Yes. Just me." The two exchanged smiles and Ms. Lewis quickly continued: "Well then, all you have to do is finish this paper work with the bank and if they aprove your purchase, it's yours. Furniture, appliances and all!" At that remark, Natalie had to exhale and giggle. She was getting what she wanted.
Suddenly they both heard a voice outside in the hallway. "Hello?" Natalie looked at Emily who knew exactly who it was: another interessed. "One second." Ms. Lewis greeted this other person and Natalie couldn't help overhearing their conversation.
"How may I help you?"
"Well, I'm looking to purchase one of your appartments."
"Fabulous! Let me give you a quick tour of this one."
Natalie heard footsteps heading towards the office. "I'll be back with you in a second, sweetie." Ms. Lewis said popping her head in the office. "Sure..." She replied without turning around to face Ms. Lewis. Then another set of footsteps soflty followed as she felt the other person walk in front of the office door. About ten minutes passed and Natalie heard Ms. Lewis's voice getting closer as she was finishing with the other person.
"Well then, how do you like it?"
"It's perfect." Natalie now distinguished the voice to be that of a man. "Is it possible to get this one? With everything in it? I just don't want to go shopping for furniture and this one's pretty nicely done."
Natalie held her breath and furrowed her eyebrows. "No!" She stood up with her big brown bag on her shoulder and went straight towards the thief. Before Ms. Lewis could answer, she cut in.
"I'm sorry...but this one's already mine. I mean, I was hear first. I mean--" She couldn't belive how childish she was sounding. But this was something that she...really wanted. And she wasn't going to let it go for some other guy on a whim.
And then...he turned around to face her.
Orlando saw her standing there, right in front of him, arguing beautifully about how the place was hers already and how she had gotten there first. Like the night before, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of her and his lips parted in disbelief. For Orlando, it was as if the universe had arranged everything flawlessly and perfectly. Out of all the places and the timings, it was then and there. But of course he had to play it coy and not swoon over her in her face. So he cleared his throat and found his speech again.
"Hi..."
Natalie looked equally puzzled and stranged to see him so close and so soon.
"Hi." He loved the way she whispered that.
"Natalie Martin, right?" Although he was sure it was.
"Umm...yes. I met you, uh...last night."
"Small world, I guess."
"Indeed."
Last edited by Natypolaris, 2/Nov/2008, 15:35
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1/Nov/2008, 13:33
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Natypolaris
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Re: Somersault
Cont. Chapter nine
"Mr. Bloom?" Emily interrupted. "If you're interested, I could show you the top floor appartment."
He couldn't stop looking at Natalie who was blushing terribly and staring at her feet uncomfortably just like in the restaurant. "Fine. But I'll let you finish up with her first. After all, she was here first." Orlando smirked devilishly, making her blush even more.
"All right then! Ms. Martin come with me so I can hand you the papers and then we're done and then I can get started with you Mr. Bloom."
"Sounds great."
Natalie couldn't say a single word. She followed the blond haired, prim and proper Ms. Lewis back to the office.
"Here you go, deary. That would be all for now." Natalie took the envelope full of important documents and headed out still with a lump in her throat. She wasn't sure if it was for excitement or complete and utter embarassement. Although she was almost certain it was the latter. She was heading out as fast as she could. She wanted to get out of there and kill herself but she stopped abruptly when she found Orlando waiting for her in front of the elevators.
"Oh my God..." She swallowed hard that lump and quickly felt the urge to apologize. "Look Mr. Bloom, I'm terribly sorry that you didn't get it. It's just that--"
"Hey, it was already yours. No need to feel bad. Although it will be a pain in the a** to have to purchase a bed and a sofa and...you know." He looked at her smile shyly like when he first saw her. "It's nice to see you, though."
"Likewise." They both were trying to sound as cool as possible and as indeferent as the could. "Well, I should go..."
"Right."
She hit the elevator button and dreaded those future seconds of awkwardness until she could hear the classic elevator "ding". But then she heard Orlando speak in that soft and sensual voice of his.
"You know, this thing with the real estate agent won't take very long. At least I hope. Do you want to meet me somewhere for lunch."
Natalie felt a bucket of ice cold water be thrown at her. Was she being asked out by the handsome Orlando Bloom? Was this really happening? She wasn't sure how to react to such a thing. So she said the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm actually on a diet." Orlando took a peek at her slim and toned figure and raised an eyebrow not feeling very convinced. "I mean..." Natalie quickly fixed her error and laughed softly in embarassement once more. "I'm not hungry." She let it out. "That's what I meant."
"Oh, ok." Another awkward moment between them.
Ding! The elevator had arrived and Natalie went in. Orlando gestured good-bye and began to walk away when Natalie spoke up. "Drinks, perhaps?" He smiled to himself and turned around.
"Where?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know...find me." And the doors slid shut.
Orlando laughed softly and went back inside the apppartment.
It took him thirty minutes to finish up with the appartement thing and he was desperate to find the closest place she could be in. All he hoped for was that she hadn't left already.
When he exited the building, he was practically jogging. And he didn't care.
He saw across the street from the building a cafe with an outdoor terrace right on the sidewalk. It woud've made perfect sense if he were to find her there. So he searched for her face in one of the outside tables. Until he saw her. She was facing the opposite way, leaning back in her chair, with her wavy brown her in a loose bun. He was sure it was her. Feeling excited to have found her so fast, he walked over to her.
"You didn't go very far!"
Natalie looked at him and smiled. "I didn't want to give you a hard time."
"Why, thank you for being considerate."
"Anytime." They both shared a light laugh and Orlando sat across her. Without really knowing what to say, he just sat there for a while. But he quickly jumped back.
"I guess we should order those drinks then."
"We should, yeah." Natalie had no idea what she was doing but Orlando had already signaled the waiter.
"Yes, can I take your order?"
Like the gentleman that he was he let Natalie speak first, but of course she had no idea what to ask for. She shifted nervously in her chair for a few seconds and to get herself out of the spotlight she asked Orlando: "Why don't you order for the both of us?"
"Uh, sure! I'll take a beer and the lady will have..." He looked at her for a second or two."...a cup of vanilla chai tea."
"All right! I'll be back with your drinks."
And the waiter left. Natalie squinted her eyes at Orlando who in return was smiling at her. "'Vanilla chai tea'?"
"What?"
"Do I really look like a tea kind of girl?"
"You do."
Natalie leaned forward and stared intently into his eyes. "Usually I'm not that easy to read."
"Maybe it's different with me." Without thinking his words, he quickly caught himself and Natalie as well, blushing noticebly.
"Okay, tea for the lady and a beer for you." The waiter stopped all the silly flirting by placing the drinks on the table.
"Thank you." Natalie whispered.
"Thanks, man." Orlando said as well.
Orlando decided to actually talk and began to.
"You know, I have a confession to make." This startled Natalie. "Why would he be confessing to me anything?"
"Yes?" She wasn't sure what to expect.
"Last night, at the restaurant?"
"Uh-huh?"
"I noticed you were eating with a bunch of men."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I think everybody noticed it. It was a pretty loud table." He lied.
Natalie scoffed. "Well, sorry that we disturbed your peace."
"No, no, no. Don't take it like that. I just thought it was funny."
"Funny?"
"Why yes. You in the middle of a lot of men, no other girls, just you. It was fascinating."
"Yeah...those where my guys."
Orlando secretly wanted her to explain because deep down he felt kind of jealous at the thought that she had "guys".
"Friends since high school. Back then girls weren't quite like me, so my friends were boys!"
"Not quite like you?"
"Yeah, I mean, they were really into lipstick and sex." Natalie couldn't believe she had brought up sex in their first official conversation. So she tried to smooth it out. "Our priorities were just different."
Orlando was bursting to burn her with the sex question, but he held back as he felt she hadn't given him the priviledge of trust just yet. "Right!" And he took swig from his bottle.
"What about you?"
"Me what?"
"Where you with a girl at the restaurant?" "Okay...that was nosy!" "I mean, were you eating alone or...with somebody?"
Orlando laughed and felt even more compelled to get to know her. "As a matter of fact I was there with a girl."
"Oh." Natalie's tone was somewhat less giddy.
"A friend." He cleared out. "She was a friend." This topic made him know that she was indeed single. Which was a very good thing. Now, Natalie was thinking the exact same thing.
Last edited by Natypolaris, 2/Nov/2008, 15:44
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1/Nov/2008, 17:01
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Natypolaris
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Re: Somersault
Chapter ten: "Know your neighboor"
The afternoon sunk in on them, but they weren't near being done. With every joke, every anecdote and every dream that they could bring up, they just fueled the interest that grew between them. People came and went, and several recognized him but just kept on walking about their business since they saw him looking quite into the girl that sat across him. For his part, Orlando was having a marvelous time with her. And hadn't noticed the time or the passing of it. On the other hand, Natalie was...still perplexed that she was going through this. There even came a time when he left the table for a moment, where she had to exhale and shake off her, well, shaking. This was way more than she hoped to find when she left Coral's place. But she was indeed there! She had, in freakishly coincidences, bumped into him twice and she had to take it in as it came.
As it came: dark haired, tall, with a sweet smile and...british.
"I've been meaning to ask you something."
"Huh?" Now for some reason, her mind had trailed off and stopped to think about...something else.
Orlando searched her eyes and smiled when he brought her back. "Morning!"
Natalie smiled back and swept her bangs to the side. "I know. I kinda left for a second there, didn't I?"
"I guess you suffer from that as well?"
"What?"
"Drifting off while someone is speaking to you? Most of the time it happens when you're thinking of something nice or a person you're attracted to."
She swallowed her words and felt a sudden pain in her chest. She felt caught, but she assumed it was another of those coincidences that happened everytime Orlando was near and played it cool.
"Not in my case."
"No?" He asked with a prying tone.
"Nope!"
"Oh! Well, that's too bad."
"Why?" She tilted her head to the side and hoped to hear something thrilling.
"Because that would mean that you're not thinking about..." He lingered.
"Yes?"
"Me." But he opted to say: "Something nice."
Natalie laughed histerically and Orlando skeptically joined. Little did he know, she was hiding her dissapointment.
"Why, thanks! You're making me sound really depressed."
"And I'll bet you're not?"
"Well, I don't know. You tell me!"
Orlando sat back and rested his hands on the table. He took her in while she was still laughing and swallowed hard. She was indeed gorgeous. Her face was radiant in the setting sunlight, her eyes turned light green everytime she lifted her face to look at him and her light brown hair looked wonderful now cascading down her back and shoulders. The voice that came out of her heart shaped lips was smooth and light on the ear. He saw nothing wrong with her. Absolutely nothing.
"You're fine." It was all he could say.
Natalie played around with her empty tea cup and tapped continously the spoon on the table. She looked at him and saw what she thought was a wink. "A wink? A wink!" She wasn't sure, therefore she would not make a big deal out of it. "It was probably the sun in his eye." Honestly, now she hadn't much to say since she was all cought up in the "did he, didn't he". But he did.
"I almost forgot!"
"What?"
"What I've been meaning to ask you."
Natalie rested her elbows on the table and held her face on her hands. "Shoot."
"Will you say something else in spanish?"
She shot her eyes wide open and smiled shyly. "No..." Natalie replied while playing with the buttons on her shirt.
"Please?" Orlando made the cutest babby face and held it until she would see it. She lifted her head and as soon as she saw him she looked away to keep herself from drooling over him. She scoffed and decided to face him with a dose of self control.
"Here's the thing..." She leaned once again on the table to capture his attention. "...that was last night. And it was to help you out! If you want me to speak spanish again, you'll have to get yourself into some sort of trouble. Otherwise, I'll be too shy."
He leaned in as well and squinted his eyes at her. "What if I do something that merits a long phrase in spanish?"
Natalie lifted an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Like, I say something in...french!"
She smiled to herself, leaned back and crossed her arms. "Sure..."
"Really?" He was surprise at her easy response. And he was sure that his french, although not perfect, would sweep her off her feet. "Ok! Here it goes..." He took a breath and opened his mouth. But as soon as he saw Natalie looking intently at him, he panicked.
"I can't! Why can't I do it?" Orlando gave a frustrated sigh and rested his head on the table in defeat. Natalie laughed heartedly.
"What happened?"
Orlando lifted his head and leaned back in his chair. "You!"
"Me?!"
"Yes, you! Looking at me!"
"And you wanted to put me through that?"
"I'm sorry."
They both laughed and then Natalie had a confession to make.
"You know, I speak french."
"What?"
"I do!"
"Oh come on!" Orlando couldn't believe this. She was just too much.
"What??"
"'I speak french'? Here I am, thinking I'm all smooth and interesting by speaking another language, but no! Turns out that not only do you speak spanish..."
"Fluent."
"Fluent spanish, sorry about the mistake, but you also speak french. And also fluent I suppose."
"Yes?" She hid her face in her hands and laughed.
"Un-f***ing-believable..." He muttered.
"Sorry, but is that a problem?" She protested as she popped her head right back up.
"Yes! Yes it is." He argued back.
"Oh, really? Why is that?"
"Because that makes you even more perfect!"
There it was: what he really thought about her. Orlando himself was surprised at his choice of words and at how sure he was of what he had just said. He quickly looked for a reaction from Natalie, but he just saw her as surprised as him. Neither of them knew how to react to that. Neither of them knew what to say.
"Sorry about--"
"No, no! It's fine. It's just that..." Natalie smiled faintly. "...no one had described me as perfect. Not since..." She paused and felt the bitter taste of sorrow crawl back in. "...Bo."
Orlando wasn't sure of what he heard her whisper. "I'm sorry..."Bo"?"
She looked at him all glassy eyed and with frowning lips she said with the most melancholic feeling: "My fiance."
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5/Nov/2008, 20:23
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Natypolaris
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Re: Somersault
Cont. Chapter ten
For a moment there, Orlando thought she was kidding. But when she did not correct her "mistake" he began to consider it to be true. "Oh..." He felt embarassed and stupid. "That's...great!" Orlando forced a smiled and clenched his jaw. "When's the wedding?" He kept pretending to be glad.
Now Natalie had no idea what she was saying. She just blurted that out without thought or reason! If she was trying to wiggle her way out of a new and exciting situation, she was succeding. But deep down she didn't want Orlando to get the wrong idea about her or think she wasn't the least bit interested in him. Not that he was interested in her, but still...she did not want to be known as a dishonest person who can't seem to let go. So she made up her mind and decided to let it out. Pour her heart out to a complete stranger. And this stranger was none other than the world famous, oh-so gorgeous Orlando Bloom. Which happened to be sitting across her finishing a beer. And throughout the entire afternoon she had grown quite fond of this person which had shared so many lovely topics, anecdotes, truths, interests and experiences with her. It was like this new friendship was hapening effortlessly and organically. She felt right with him. She felt she was being herself with someone foreigne to her circle, to someone she ahd never spoken to before! Which was very unlike her. Besides all the crazy thoughts flying through her head Natalie smiled at him and took a shallow breath before she began.
"There won't be a wedding."
Orlando sat up straight and crossed his arms, making them look bulkier than before. He had no idea what she was talking about. Having a fiance, but there not being a wedding? "But you're engaged?"
"Well..." Natalie cleared her throat and began her explanation. "...no. Not really." She looked at Orlando and saw him looking profoundly confused. "Ok here's the thing:..." Natalie brushed her bangs to the side and bit her lower lip. "I'm not engaged."
"Yes, we've established that."
"Well I'm not, but I am." Natalie had seroius troubles expressing it they way she wanted. And when your mind wants to desperately let something out, but has no idea how, it will sound like you're stamering. "I mean--I'm not--but I feel--." And you'll feel like an as*. She shut her eyes and furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry." She said with her eyes still closed. "I know I'm not making sense."
Across the table Orlando sat looking at her, wondering if she was even sure of what she was talking about. He could sense her feeling all tangled up in herself, so he tried to help out. "Natalie?" She opened her eyes slowly, like a green dawn and looked at him hoping to hear his voice in reassurance. "Just take a breath...and say exactly what's on your mind. D'accord?"
His french was like a tiny bell to her ears. It was so cute. "D'accord." They both smiled and for the first time, she cought a glimpse of that wink. But this time, she knew that they both knew that it was meant for her to see it. That wink sent shivers down her spine which shocked the hell out of her. But quickly she brushed it off and they sat up straight almost in unison and Orlando encouraged her to take that recomended breath. She took it and placed her hands calmly on the table.
"About four years ago, I was living here in New York. Everything was..." She thought of using the word of the afternoon."...perfect." Orlando blushed slightly and chuckled at her intention. "I had a good job teaching french to a bunch of uptown kids in a private high school. A nice appartment. My life was made." Then she smiled to herself before continuing.
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18/Nov/2008, 12:11
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Re: Somersault
I knoooww....! 
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1/Dec/2008, 10:06
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Re: Somersault
Cont. Chapter ten
"But every so often a stranger will come along and just...shatter all that you had come to know as "your life"." Her mind seemed to trail off as she lingered on memories and bittersweet feelings. "And after you've been struck, you realize that finding that person was by far, the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to you. You realize that...you've found your match. And that you will do everything in your power to cling on to him and never let go." Natalie's eyes glanced back at Orlando, who was now caught up in every word, his lips parting slightly and his chest heaving in emotion. She drew a vague smile across her lips and bit lightly her lower lip, while Orlando kept taking everything in. "You see, I thought nothing could change me. Change my ways, my life, my take on love... Like I said, I was fine my own."
Orlando nodded as if he really understood what she meant and how she meant it. But above all things, he wanted her to keep unraveling her life to him. For Orlando, Natalie had quickly become one of the most interesting person he had ever met. Of course it was not like he was finding, what seemed to be, her sad past amusing. It's just that the more she spoke, the more he wanted to listen.
He cleared his throat since he had began to feel a thousand knots beginning to form. "And what was your take on love?" His voice was reverent and cautious, for her did not want to interupt her sweet urge to open up to him when he wasn't even asking for it. But he was grateful that she had taken it upon herself to be so open.
Orlando watched her think for a few seconds. And smiled from within at the sight of her. Natalie smacked her heart shaped lips and shook her head as she ran through the response that she would give Orlando's question.
"I guess I..." She squinted her eyes feeling unsure of what she would actually say. Then as if a lightbulb had been turned on inside her head she quickly answered: "You know how some people know that there is no such thing as the perfect love life, or the perfect guy and live constantly reminding their friends that fairy tales are absolutely inconcievable?"
Orlando flashed a smile at her spontaneity and nodded. "Sounds like someone I know."
"Well I was the absolute opposite."
"Oh really?"
"Yep."
"You mean, you were the one being reminded by friends that prince charming would never really come?"
"And I still wouldn't break!"
"Wow. You were determined."
The moment, although humorous, was still quite somber since the conversation had been revolving around Natalie's past love. So they only allowed themselves to chuckle softly. Not laugh.
"And now?"
"Well..." She lingered. "I'm not a sap. I know that." Orlando noticed her eyes watery and sat back. He dared not touch her, not even in support. To him, Natalie was just a work of art, which he was only allowed to admire from afar. But in all the things that he had wanted to do most, right then, jumping across the table and holding her tenderly was in the top of his list. But he just couldn't.
For Natalie, the thought of Bo was making it difficult for her to even speak. She couldn't believe his name was once again was slipping off her mouth. Even worse, it was unbelievable that she was sharing it with the unlikeliest person in the world. At that moment all she wanted, was to be held. Held like he used to. But it would be difficult to truly sense him near again, specially when she knew she would never have him back. Her whim to be embraced went as far as settling for Orlando. But then two things came to mind: she would look insane asking for him to do so, since she barely knew him and of course, it all must have been a stupid impulse because of her current loneliness. So instead of settling for him, which was out of the question, she settled to keep her composure and carry on. She looked straight into Orlando's eyes and spoke slow and softly.
"You see, Bo was not..." Not again. "...the ideal man. He was incredibly flawed. Which seemed to me, at first, as a turn off. I mean, with my ideals, I couldn't bear the idea of having an unperfect lover. But...the more I had him with me, the more I realized that life wasn't about finding perfection. Instead...it's all about taking what's given to you and making it significant. Because if you do, you learn to appreciate it far more than if it were all right to begin with. You grow. And if you get to do it with and because someone, you'll grow to love him. A love so..." She searched for the perfect word. "...real, that you won't need the fairy tales. You'll laugh at them because you know that what you have is...better."
Natalie saw how his eyes had become so vulnerable to her words. His forehead was furrowed intenly and his breath seemed to quicken. So she bowed her head apologetically. "Sorry." Her head lifted slowly until she made eye contact again. "That was me being inspired." Orlando had noticed just how tense his shoulers felt, so he relaxed and let out softly the air that he had held in his chest while Natalie had spoken. He found himself at a true loss for words. Nothing would come to mind except for one thing.
"This is me being blown away."
This annoyed Natalie. "Well I'm glad to amuse you." She crossed her arms and pouted as she looked away feeling incredibly naked and made fun of.
"No, no, no! Don't! Please I didn't mean it like that." He reached out his arm to her and grabbed softly her hand. Feeling an unexpected rush from the place of contact all the way to her back, Natalie let out a short gasp and blinked all flustered. She looked at his hand grasping hers. Then at him. Percieving that this had bothered her, he shamefully removed the hand and placed it safely back on his lap.
"I'm sorry." He was apologizing for something she did not hate. Instead, it had surprised her only.
Natalie, still quite unsure of what had happened, looked at him suspiciously and smirked. "It's fine, I think." Since this made Orlando feel safe enough, he begged her to stay.
"I wasn't saying that what you said was amusing. It's just that for the first time I've heard someone give me a solid definition of what falling in love really is like."
She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "It's not like I'm a guru or something. I mean, I'm no expert."
"Look...I don't know what happened between you and him, but what I do know is that out of that experience, you've turned out to be greater than you thought you'd be." He smiled politely at her. "And that's me trying to be smooth." Orlando rolled his eyes at himself and broke all seriousness as he groaned in shame. But on the other side of the table, Natalie, by just those simple words, had been lured in.
She kept looking at him and finding how surprisingly idyllic her new neighboor had turned out to be. That is, until she was startled by a noisy tone that blasted out of his cell phone which was placed on the table.
Orlando quickly grabbed it at looked to see who it was. He smiled when he read "Coral" on the screen.
"Natalie, will you excuse me for a second?"
"Go ahead."
"Yes, Coral?"
At the sound of her friends name, she wondered. "Coral?" She saw Orlando's face worry as soon as he heard the first words from the other end.
"Calm down...Did you try calling her on her cell phone?...What do you mean she threw it against a wall?...Now, why would you do that?...Okay, but you need to relax. She probably went out shopping or something...Just wait a couple of more hours and if she doesn't turn up, then give me a call. Okay?...Sure, bye luv."
He snapped his phone shut and turned his attention back to Natalie. Orlando was about to take the last swig out of his bottle when he stopped abruptly as he saw her covering her nose and mouth with her hands. As if she had been terribly surprised.
"Natalie, are you okay?"
She settled her hands on her lap to reveal a puzzled look on her face. "Just out of curiosity, what your friends name again?"
Now he was beginning to feel a bit puzzled himself. "Coral. Berryman. Why?"
"Oh no!"
"What, what, what?"
"Your publicist?"
"Yes..."
"I'm her friend."
Orlando sat trying to put all the pieces together. But failed. "Wait, what?"
"Coral Berryman is...indeed my friend. Best friend for that matter."
Now it all made sense to him. " Are you the one staying with her?"
"Yes! How would you know that?!"
"Well, I--I mean, we had--umm, lunch, just today! Hours ago! And she spoke to me about her. I mean, about you!" Orlando stopped dead in his tracks and just figured something out. "So that was you?!"
"Who?!"
"The one who called me a few days back because Coral had made her believe she was deeply injured??"
"Oh my God!!" Natalie knew exactly what he was talking about.
He burst into laughter as she burried her face in embarassment. Then he noticed something. "So that would mean that after I saw you at the restaurant, I actually had a chance of hearing your voice again and I didn't even knew it was you."
"And I can't believe I didn't recognize you." Natalie didn't follow the real meaning of what he had just said. "What a tiny place to live in, huh?"
"Absolutely." He looked at her and smiled at the thought of finding her amidst the thousands of new yorkers that passed by each day. But then jumped in his seat as he remembered Coral's desperation. "That would mean that Coral is extremely worried about you! She thinks you've gone missing!" Natalie laughed. Orlando leaned towards her and added with a mischievious tone. "And I even told her that you might be shopping..."
She leaned forwards as well, making them dangereously close. "How wrong were you?"
Last edited by Natypolaris, 16/Dec/2008, 1:20
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15/Dec/2008, 0:05
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Board's time is: 30/Nov/2009, 13:42
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I missed a lot since the last time I was on here! I guess that's what happens when you are in film school 
time slips away!
I mean, I would be just as nervous to talk to Orlando about anything personal...