Public Property

Where were her pants? It was Wednesday a
nd ‘Wild Wednesday’
pants had a picture of a cowgirl waving a lasso on the front of them. Freya Johnson rifled through the top drawer of the wooden dresser, continuing the search. She had found
‘
Sexy Sunday
’
and
‘Funky Friday’
but no
‘
Wild Wednesday
’
. She really didn’t have time for this
pants dilemma
today.
S
he
sighed
,
gave up the search and opted
for a plain black pair.

‘
Hey, is it not
“
Wild Wednesday
”
?
’
her fiancé
,
Nicholas
Kaden
remarked
.
H
e entered their bedroom and playfully hit her behind with the towel he had been using
to
dry his hair. He was
fresh from the shower and still
wet.
Freya licked her lips and then restored the frown to her face.

‘
Have you seen them? Has Willis been through my
knicker
drawer again?
’

Willis was their black and white cat. He liked weird stuff.

‘
Hmm, maybe.
Did you never think that Willis and I might be in league together?
A pact to ensure you
’
re panty-
less for longer?
’
Nicholas asked her
. He was grinning. Here they called it a ‘shit-eating’ grin. Back in the UK she’d called it a smug-
arse
-face
.
He still manage
d
to look gorgeous.

‘
I could believe that of you but not of sweet little Willis
,’
Freya responded as she put a cream short
-
sleeved top over her head and picked up a pair of black trousers from the floor.

‘
Sweet
little Willis
?
The same cat who, when he isn’t doing his business
in my shoes, is scratching the h
ell out of the sofa
,’
Nicholas reminded her as he continued to dry himself off.

‘
He’s just adjusting, you know, marking his territory. A bit like we did when we first arrived here
,’
Freya spoke
, smiling
.
They’d just about marked every room. In fact they
’
d broken the coffee table.

‘
I don’t remember crapping in anyone’s shoes
.’

‘
You
really don’t remember the house-
warming party
,
do you?
’
Freya said, running a brush through her blonde hair and checking her reflecti
on
in the mirror.

‘
I remember you trying to get all our
neighbours
to play drinking games with you
.
’

‘
But it wasn’t
me
who suggested playing naked “
Twister
”
. That was Br
i
an and he
’
s not going to be invited to the next gathering
.’

Nicholas laughed
.

‘
I’ve got Sadie Fox coming to see me today
,’
Freya told him as she began to search around the bedroom for her shoes.

‘
For a shoot?
’

‘
No, n
ot yet.
She wants to talk
first, tell me in great detail
how she likes things done
.
H
ow did she put it?
What she expects f
rom her photographers
,’
Freya replied.

‘
Ye
a
h well, don’t let her boss you around. She isn’t the only fashion designer interested in your work. You’re goo
d and if she doesn’t
realise
then it’s her loss
,’
Nicholas said
.
H
e chose a shirt from the wardrobe.

‘
Boss me around? Do you really think she could?
’
Freya questioned, finding one of her shoes under the bed.

‘
No
,
I guess you’re right, forget I said anything
.’

‘
So, what are you doing today? Another day sat
on the sofa
calling it work
?
’
Freya asked him.

‘
Hey, it
is
working
. I was reading through a script,’
he
reminded her.

‘
Hey it is
working,
I was reading through a script
. Who are you trying to kid? Sitting
watching the Hallmark channel
with a jug of lemonade and a plate of nachos is not working
,’
Freya
said, laughing
.

‘You’re just jealous,’
Nicholas said
. He smiled, a nice one, not the smug-
arse
-face.

‘
Yes I am
.’

‘
Well
,
this morning I
’m
going to see Mark Phillips about the autobiography. Then I was planning to go for a run because last night someone persuaded me to take a
shower with them
,
instead of working out
.
I’ll need to do double today
.
T
h
en I was going to sit and watch the Hallmark channel
and read through the script
,
’ he said
.

‘
Is sex not a work out?
’
Freya asked him, a grin on her face.

‘
Last night probably was
,’
he
admitted
, nodding.

‘
So
,
you’re still undecided about the film then
,
” Freya said, locating her other sho
e
under a pile of towels on the floor.

‘
Ye
ah
, still undecided
.’

Freya watched him
pul
l
on a pair of blue jeans.
It was little times like these she thanked the Lord for him.

‘
How much sex, violence
and
foul language in the script?
’
she asked
.

‘
Um minimal sex, a couple of F-words
,
but a reasonable amount of violence
.’

‘
I
’
m surprised they haven’t upped the nudity
,
seeing as you aren’t opposed
to getting it all out on camera
,
’
Freya
said, giggling
.

‘
I don’t get it out for just anyone you know
,’ he
insisted.

‘
No?
’
she
asked, moving across the room towards him.

‘
No
.’

‘
Well, I think you should go back to them and say you
want at least ten more butt scenes
.
T
hat would be what I
’
d want out of a movie
,’
Freya told him
.

S
he stopped him from buttoning up his sh
i
rt and smoothed her hands over his stomach
,
mov
ing
them up to his chest.

‘
It would
,
would it?
’
he
responded, pulling her top upwards.

‘Hmm…and..
.
maybe
not!
’

S
he let him go and bounded out of the bedroom.

‘
Hey! Come back here! There are names for women like you
,’
Nicholas called out
,
chas
ing
her onto the landing.

Freya screamed and hurried down the stairs, heading for the kitchen.

‘
Come here
,
you tease
,’
he
ordered as he followed her, at speed, around the breakfast bar and back out of the kitchen, down the hallway towards the front door.

‘
Stop right there or I open the front door.
It’
s freezing
and
Donny
’
s there
and
Kevin and two other faces I don’t
recognis
e
,’
Freya threatened, referring to the photographers outside their home.

‘
I’m not the one who
’
s going to have my clothes ripped off
,
’
Nicholas warned, pushing her against the door and kissing her neck.

‘
Unbolting the door right now
.
I
t’s going to be the centre spread in
Shooting Stars
magazine
,’
Freya said, reaching up to pull the chain off the door latch.

‘
OK, OK, you win
,’
Nicholas conceded, stepping back from her with a sigh.

‘
I’m sorry. I
’
d love nothing more than to have you out of those jeans
,
but I can’t be late this morning
,’
Freya reminded him.