Date Submitted: 12/28/00
Title of Story: "Deja Vu: A New Love Ch. 3"
Author: shuis_4everinlove@hotmail.com

Chapter Three

Victoria walked back to where Amy was, thinking of Noah, the whole time. She had felt some kind of connection with him, she had even told him things that she only shared with her best friends. Some things that even Amy didn’t know, like why she hadn’t told anyone she was coming home. She didn’t even know why she told him that. ‘Who is he, anyway?’ she thought. ‘I know a bit about him, like he’s been away at school, and has two sisters, and a close family. But, what family is that? He never said his last name, but then again neither did I. I’ll have to ask Amy if she knows him.’

She entered the library, where she found her best friend with Mitchell James practically attached to her at the waist. Amy looked up as she entered the room.

"Victoria, where have you been? Tobias has been having a fit, wondering if you think he’s an idiot. You really should go calm his nerves."

"Oh," she replied, remembering her earlier flirtation with Toby. She had gotten so wrapped up in Noah that she had completely forgotten about the Country Club’s owner’s son. "Actually Am, I need to talk to you now, before anything else happens. I tend to his ego later. Can we go to your room, to get some privacy?"

"Sure Vicky," Amy replied. She could tell that this was important, usually Victoria would rush back to her "guy of the evening". Something had defiantly happened while her best friend was freshening up. "If you’ll excuse me, Mitchell, Ms. Crane is calling."

The two girls went up the stairs of the Taylor mansion, until they reached Amy’s bedroom. The room was painted blue, and had an ocean theme. Everything in the room had been made to resemble waves, or sea creatures and plants. Against one wall was a huge aquarium, filled with many colourful fish. This was Amy’s pride and joy, because the tank alone had cost thousands, and the fish were all rare species, and had cost millions.

Amy turned towards her best friend. "Vicky, what’s up. It must serious, you wouldn’t have dragged me up here if it wasn’t. So, spill."

"Well, I don’t know where to really begin."

"The start is usually a good place."

"OK. I met this guy, and I can’t stop thinking about him."

"This is about a guy? Victoria Crane, I can’t believe this. You brought me away from Mitchell to tell me about some guy?"

Victoria quickly interrupted Amy, before she went into rant mode. "This one’s different. Not like Toby, or any of the others. He’s special. And, he’s got to me, I mean he has seriously gotten to me."

"OK. Fine, if you say so, but why did you bring me up here now? Why not wait till later?"

"Because, I need you’re help Am. I want to know all there is to know about him! So far, I know he’s educated, and has a close-knit family. But, I need to know more! Hell, I don’t even know what his last name is!"

"OK, OK. First of all, you do know his first name, right? I’m assuming you want me to help identify him, so you need to tell me this much at least."

"Of course I know his first name! It’s Noah. I just don’t know anything else of use."

"Calm down, Vicky. So his name is Noah something. The name doesn’t ring a bell, but that’s all right. So, describe him to me, maybe I’ve seen him before.

"Well, actually he looks a lot like Ethan, to tell you the truth. I swear, looking at them they could be brothers! That’s actually kind of weird, like I’m interested in my own brother. But nevermind, he’s not related to Ethan, or me of course, so it doesn’t matter. Noah is average height, same as my brother. He also is very well-built, I’m sure he goes to a gym. And he has brown eyes, and dark brown hair, I think his hair has some red in it actually. So, pretty much he is a totally hunk, handsome enough to be on a soap or something."

"Wow, he sounds really hot. But, I’m sorry to say that I don’t think I know him. Maybe his parents are friends of my parents, or something. But I am absolutely sure I would remember someone like that, unless you’re exaggerating, or were delirious at the time."

Victoria’s jaw dropped. "Delirious! I don’t think so! If I had come up wit this guy, I would have made him just as hot, but without the whole "looks like Ethan" thing!"

"I’m joking! Chill, Vicky, how about we go back downstairs, and see if we can find this mystery man, and hook you two up. Also, you’ll have to let Toby of the hook, unless you want to end up double booked."

"No, I don’t want that. But, I have to find out more about Noah before I toss Tobias Johnson back into the sea. I do have to keep my options open, after all!"

As she walked back down to the party, Victoria thought about what she had said to her friend, and knew it was a lie. There was no way she would ever be interested in dating Tobias, not when she could have Noah.

She let Amy go back to her new boy toy, and she went off to see if she could find Noah again. Instead, she found Toby.

"Hey, Victoria," he called out to her as she entered the lounge. "Come over here."

She went over and sat beside him. "Hey, Tobias," she said, stressing the fact that she called him by his full name. "What’s up?"

"Nothing, just making sure our date was still on. It is, right?"

Victoria was silent. She didn’t know what she should do, but finally decided that she might as well have a safety guy, just in case Noah was already taken. "Of course it is, why wouldn’t it be?"

"Well, it’s just that rumor has it that you play with guys’ hearts, and stuff like that. But, I’m sure that that is ridiculous!"

"Well, I have, in the past, but I would never do that to you, Tobias dear. I’m not like that anymore."

She fell silent after that, and Tobias went back to chatting with his buddies. She just realized that Noah might have a girlfriend. ‘What if he’s in a serious relationship?’ she thought. ‘What if he’s totally in love, and ready to ask his girlfriend to marry him?’ Victoria began to panic. She couldn’t lose the first man that made her feel like this, she just couldn’t. ‘OK girl, calm down. You’ll just have to sweep him off his feet, same as he has down to you. You have to, and you have to do it tonight.’ So, with that, she went off to find Noah, and make him hers.

She had been searching for ten minutes before she spotted Noah talking with Luis. She watched him from across the room, once again unable to stop staring at him. All of a sudden, he looked up, meeting her gaze. She flashed him a smile, and he returned it. Victoria took a deep breath, and motioned to him to come over. He said something to Sheridan’s bodyguard, and came over.

"Hey Victoria, how’s it going," he asked as he reached her.

"Fine, thank you. I’ve been looking all over for you…to find out if the stain covering had worked or not," she replied, only just being able to make the save. She didn’t want Noah to know that she was looking for him for any other reason.

"Oh, it worked fine. So far only Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald has noticed, but he has a cop’s eye, so that’s to be expected."

"That’s good. I mean about it working, not that Luis has a cop’s eye.

"Yeah. So, what have you been up to, other than looking for yours truly?"

"Oh, not much. I found my friend, and apologized for taking so long. I chatted with some other people too, but no one in particular."

"Ah. Do you want to step out for a sec, it’s kind of stuffy in here?"

Victoria paused before answering, so she didn’t seem too desperate to be alone with him. "Sure. Let’s get some fresh air. We can go upstairs to the balcony, it has a great view, and I doubt anyone else is there."

He agreed that that sounded like a good idea. So she and Noah exited the room, and walked into the hall. She led him up the stairs, and into the room adjacent to the balcony, and they walked outside. It was a cool night, but not too cold, and the two of them could see all the lights of Harmony.

"Isn’t it beautiful?" Victoria asked.

"Yeah, but not as beautiful as you," Noah said with a smile.

Victoria blushed. "Thanks."

The stood in silence for the next few minutes. Finally, it was getting a bit too chilly, and Noah suggested that they return to the party. Victoria was disappointed that nothing had happened besides a compliment, but agreed that they should go back inside. They walked back downstairs, and were right by the place where they had first bumped into each other when Noah stopped.

"Why did you stop?" Victoria asked, as she turned back towards him. Noah took a step towards her, and then he pulled her into a long kiss. Victoria eagerly kissed him back, and as the kiss continued, she felt happier than she ever had before.

"What was that for?" Victoria asked in a daze after they broke apart.

"You’re standing under mistletoe," Noah replied.

She looked up. "No I’m not."

"Oh, well. My mistake." And Noah kissed her again. Victoria wrapped her arms around him, pulling as close to him as possible. This kiss was even deeper than the first, and the tips of their tongue gently brushed. She felt Noah’s strong arms around her, moving up and down her back, holding her close, and she was in seventh heaven.

They continued until they heard someone coming out of the lounge, and they pulled apart. Victoria saw Tobias coming towards them.

"Hey girl, where have you been," he asked as he came up to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. "I was beginning to think you ditched me."

"Oh, I did," Victoria said, pulling away from his grasp.

"What?" Tobias said in shock.

"Well, I needed to find Noah here, and you looked happy where you were. So I just left."

"Oh, OK baby. But, next time I’d like to know where you are."

"Fine, Toby. I’ll be back in a moment."

"Sure, I’ll be in the lounge."

As Tobias left, she turned back to Noah, who looked shocked, and a bit confused.

"I didn’t realize you were seeing anyone," he said. "I’m sorry." Before she could stop him. Noah walked off.

‘Damn Tobias!’ she thought. ‘Now Noah thinks that I’m in a relationship! I have to tell him the truth.’

But, before she could go, her mother came walking up.

"Victoria dear, there you are," Ivy said. "I want you to meet someone."

"Can it wait, Mother. I really need to go do something."

"No, it can not wait! Come, I want you to meet Sam and Grace Bennett."

"Sam Bennett!" Victoria exclaimed. "You mean your first love?"

"Shhh. Don’t talk about that so loudly. And yes, it’s him. And his goody-goody wife."

Victoria had to think about this. She knew that her mother had been in love with the present chief of police, and still was. Of all the pictures she had of her mother, Ivy never looked happier than those taken when she was with Sam. She actually had always wanted to meet the man who had stolen he mother’s heart. And given her the locket she barely ever took off. It was that locked that had given the truth away to Victoria. One day, just before she was sent off to boarding school, she had been going through her mother’s jewelry, looking for this pendent that Ivy had said she could borrow for a party. She had come across the locket in one of the drawers, because her mother had on an outfit that she couldn’t hide it in, so she had put it there for safe keeping. It took her awhile, but she was able to open it, and see the pictures inside. It was no shock to find a picture of Ethan as a baby, but Victoria hadn’t recognized the man in the other picture. It was then that Ivy came in, and she had immediately asked her mother who he was. After a lot of convincing, Ivy told her daughter about Sam Bennett. Victoria thought it was a very sad story, and agreed not to tell anyone about the relationship.

"Fine," she told her mother. "I have always wanted to meet him."

"Good, I hope you get along with him better than Ethan."

"Ethan doesn’t like him?"

"No, they hate each other. And I hate seeing them fight all the time."

"Why does Ethan hate Chief Bennett?"

"You must have heard about what happened on the prom boat." Victoria nodded. "Well, your brother blames Sam for what happened, especially to me. Even though Sam saved me."

"Well, I know about your past, so Sam will have to really make me mad before I hate him."

"Thank you darling. I’m glad you feel that way. Now, we should go, I told Grace that I’d be back with you about five minutes ago."

"Does Grace know about you and her husband?"

"No, and I’d like to keep it that way."

"OK Mother. Let’s go."

Mother and daughter walked off. They went into the living room, and Victoria saw a couple sitting on the couch. She immediately recognized Sam, and figured the woman beside him must be Grace. She noticed that while Grace looked pleased to see her mother, Sam’s face darkened. She wondered what had happened between him and Ivy. Knowing her mother, she was probably trying to have an affair with her former love. But, from what she had heard, he was devoted to Grace.

"So, this is your daughter?" Grace asked, as she stood up.

"Yes," Ivy replied. "Grace, I’d like you to meet Victoria. Victoria, Grace Bennett, and her husband, Sam."

"Nice to meet you," Victoria said as she shook Grace’s hand. Sam got up, and they shook too. She looked into his eyes, trying to tell him telepathically that she knew about him and Ivy. She couldn’t tell if he picked up on it, or not.

"So Victoria," Grace said. "I hear you just returned from Europe. How did you like it over there?"

"Europe’s great. I had a lot of fun. But, I felt like coming home, to spend time with my family."

"Family’s important," said Sam, with a glance at Ivy. Victoria looked at her mother, and saw that see looked upset. She decided to change the subject, and turned back to Grace.

"Yeah. It’s nice to come back home after being away for six years. But now I need to catch up an everything back here in Harmony. So, what do you do? I know that Sam is chief of police, but how about you?"

"Well, I have this store," Grace replied. "And, I have to raise a son, and two daughters, which is a job unto itself."

"Oh. Well, tomorrow I’ll come and check your store out. I’m sure Amy will have more stuff for me to do. And, I think I have a date at the Country Club or something." Victoria commented, as she remembered that she had to go see Noah. He still thought she was involved with Tobias.

"That would be nice," replied Grace. "Maybe you’ll meet my daughters, they help me out in the store. My son, my eldest child, is actually here at the party. He just got back from school for the Christmas Break. Sam, have you seen him?"

"No… Wait, oh there he is, he’s coming over."

Victoria looked over to where Sam gestured, and looked at the Bennett’s son.

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