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ran through the
stone corridors
of the castle, his sword clutched
tightly at his side as tried to make his escape. If he was caught now,
he’d
surely be put to his death, being accused of making an attempt on the
Kings
life wasn’t something that was taken lightly. Unfortunately
for him, he was
innocent but had no way of being able to prove it. All he needed to do
was get
out of the castle and get to his horse outside, he just needed to find
somewhere safe to hide, where the Kings guards wouldn’t find
him. Then he could
try figure out who had set him up and how to prove his innocence.
He
immediately stopped in his tracks as he came face to face with three
of the kings guards. The entire castle was on lock down and guards were
searching the maze of hallways and secret doors, hunting for him. He
stared at
the three men, each wearing the tunic with the Kings royal crest on,
the same
tunic that he wore. He relaxed his stance and readied himself to fight,
raising
his sword as he awaited their first move. All three lunged at him but
he
managed to fend their attack off, the sound of metal on metal echoed
through the
castle.
One of
the guards raised his sword and just as he was about strike,
kicked him firmly in
the stomach
while expertly striking another
in the
face with his elbow. The third guard was now stood alone, his fellow
guards
struggling to their feet. Not wanting to be bested by the
, he
lunged
forward, attempting to impale
with the cold steel
of his
sword.
However,
was quicker, he
blocked the blow
with his own sword and struck
the guard
in the face with the hilt of his sword. Not wanting to kill any of the
guards
for simply doing their job,
swiftly fled from
them before
they
could get
to their feet.
He ducked down a hallway and into the Kings library, luckily he knew this castle like the back of his hand and he’d been privileged to be shown the escape tunnels hidden throughout the castle. It had been used for centuries by the Kings ancestors, although he’d found it useful when sneaking back to his own room after a secret rendezvous with the Kings daughter, Princess Sophia. He silently crept into the room and walked up to one of the brass candle holders, turning it to the side he stepped inside as the secret door opened.
“And
cut!!” The director shouted as soon as
stepped inside.
stepped out of the
make-shift
tunnel as several members of the
crew rushed towards him, removing his accessories from him as he walked
towards
the director.
“How
did that look, Mike?”
asked, sitting down
in one of
the
chairs next to the director.
“Excellent,
you’re a natural with a sword” Mike complimented
the up and
coming star.
“Six
months of fencing lessons came in handy then”
smiled as
he
was handed a bottle of water.
“So
we’re gonna break for lunch and then we’re gonna
film a scene with
you and Natalie” Mike explained, “The bedroom scene
on page 300 of your script”
nodded his head and
pushed
himself from his seat, various crew
members buzzed around him as he made his way to the luxurious trailer
with his
name on the door. He let out a small sigh as he opened the door and
stepped
inside. He just wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, his
first dream and
first love had always been music. He’d even been part of a
band but things hadn’t
worked out for them. After a successful first year, four number one
singles and
a number one album, everyone was sure they were gonna take the entire
world by
storm.
He’d
been overwhelmed with offers of films and scripts. He could never
have imagined that one small independent film in his home country of
Ireland,
would’ve led to this. He’d literally become a
household name over night and
although he’d had a brief taste at stardom in his late teens,
nothing could’ve
prepared him for the whirlwind he was now caught up in. He’d
had to get himself
an agent and a manager as the job offers had started to roll in. Now
here he
was, filming his first major Hollywood blockbuster. A period action
film set in
sixteenth century England. If he was honest he wouldn’t have
picked this one
himself, he’d been sent several scripts and there was a
couple he really liked
the sound of.
Unfortunately,
his manager had talked him into doing the highest paying
film, the one that would secure him as an up and coming action hero.
He’d even
had to temporarily relocate out to Los Angeles whilst he prepared for
the film,
working with someone to help him work on an English accent and
he’d even taken
some fencing classes. When he found out who his co-star was he allowed
himself
to become a little excited about the film. Natalie Martinez. Even her
name
sounded sexy and he’d been a fan of hers for a long time. He
just wished that
the real her had been like the one from her movies.
He let out a sigh as he slumped onto the sofa in his trailer, meeting Natalie on the first day of filming had been a massive disappointment for him. The woman he saw on chat shows and interviews was nothing like the woman he met on set. She was demanding, pushy and a first class bitch to everyone around her. He’d only been working on the set for a week and found it really strange that the crew members never spoke or made any sort of eye contact with the actors. It was nothing like working on a film in Ireland. Back in Ireland everyone chatted like they were old friends and even went drinking when they were done filming for the day.
The
sound of his phone ringing broke him from his thoughts, he picked up
the device and smiled slightly when he saw his friends name on the
screen.
“Hey
” He
smiled into the phone.
“How’s
things Mr Superstar?”
replied, a faint
laugh in his
voice.
“Jesus,
don’t you start with the superstar shite”
sighed down the
phone, sitting down as he rested his head in one of his hand,
“I’m really
starting to hate L.A. When are you coming out to visit me?”
“Next week, hopefully. How can you hate L.A? Do you know how
many people
are jealous that you’re over there and we’re stuck
in Ireland, where it’s been
pissing down for the past three days by the way”
asked,
a little taken
back at ho
could hate a place
as glamorous
as Los Angeles.
“I
would actually kill for a bit of rain”
laughed lightly
down the
phone.
“Cheer
up
, you’re
starring in the
next Hollywood blockbuster
along
side Natalie Martinez. This should be your dream job”
laughed, knowing how
much of a fan
was of the actress.
“Don’t
even get me started on her…”
sighed,
thinking back to his
first meeting with her.
She’d
been polite to him when she was in the company of the crew and the
rest of the films cast but when he’d spoken to her alone
later on their first
day on set, she’d ignored him. She clearly felt she was above
everyone else
around her, even her co-star and now he found himself dreading having
to do the
romantic scenes with her.
“She’s
vile
, she’s so
far up her own
arse she’s
wearing herself as
a hat”
ranted slightly,
“And
after lunch
I’ve gotta do a fucking bedroom
scene with the bitch. It’s a good job I can act”
“Maybe
I should bring some reinforcements with me when I come out next
month?”
suggested, sensing
how fed up
was feeling.
“
and
?”
asked, a wide grin
instantly
lighting up
his
face, “That would really cheer me up”
“I
thought it might”
smiled down the
phone,
“Good
thing I’ve
already talked them into coming out with me then, isn’t
it?”
“You
have? Ah
I love ya”
grinned widely,
“Send me all the
details of your flight and I’ll come and meet you at the
airport”
“Won't
you get mobbed?”
asked, knowing that
everyone in
America
was
currently talking about the new movie star from Ireland.
“Good
point, I can always send a car to the airport to meet ya, I
guess”
shrugged his
shoulders.
“Only
if it’s a really nice car, like a limo”
laughed down the
phone.
“I
suppose I could do that”
smiled, just thought
of seeing
his
friends again made him feel happier than he’d felt for a
while.
“Well I’m sure you’re busy so I’ll let you get back to work” said, reluctantly ending their phone call, “I’ll text you our flight details later”
“Yeah, suppose I’d better ready for my big scene with the ice queen” replied, not wanting to end their conversation just yet, “I think I might have garlic or onions for lunch”
laughed loudly down
the phone at
his friend, “Is she
really that bad?”
“You have no idea” replied with a small laugh.
Chapter
2 - The Sandwich Girl
After
saying their goodbyes they both hung up and
reluctantly left
his trailer to grab some lunch before he had to be back on the set. As
he
walked through the busy film set he tried to make eye contact with some
of the
people bustling past him. They all seemed to avert their eyes when they
spotted
him walking towards them and he hated that they felt they
couldn’t speak to
him. As far as he was concerned he was still
from a small
town on
the West coast of Ireland, he hadn’t changed and he struggled
to understand why
he was getting treated differently.
walked inside the catering room, still dressed in his characters clothes. He stared at the vast array of food that was spread out on the large banquet table. He had to admit it was an impressive selection but it was the typical sort of Hollywood food. Pretentious. He didn’t want sushi or salad, he wanted a simple sandwich. He stood eyeing up the food, contemplating whether to start bringing his own lunch with him tomorrow.
“God,
you look happy to be here” A female voice suddenly sounded
next to
him, for once it wasn’t an American accent he heard, but
.
He
turned to his right and came face to face with a
,
“Oh I am,
can’t even get a bloody sandwich in this place”
“Is
that the only thing that’s bothering you?” She
asked smiling at him,
her
eyes shining slightly.
smiled at her and
shook his
head, “No but it’s
probably the
easiest thing to fix” He replied, with a shrug of his
shoulders as he picked up
a plate and placed some food onto it.
“What
kind of sandwich are you after?” She asked curiously.
“Anything,
cheese or ham, maybe a bit of lettuce”
replied, turning
his nose up at some of the food on the banquet table,
“Anything that doesn’t
involve fuckin’ raw fish”
“I’ll see ya tomorrow with a sandwich then ” She said turning to walk away from him.
watched as she
walked away from
him, turning his attention back
towards the table of food and placing some more items on his plate
before
sitting down on his own and picking at the food on his plate. As soon
as he’d
eaten most of the food, he left catering and headed back to his trailer
to start
going over the script for the rest of the scenes they would be filming
after
lunch. He always found it strange that films were shot out of sequence
to the
script, it always confused him and he wondered if he’d ever
get used to how
things were done in Hollywood.
He’d
spent most of his life dreaming of becoming a famous actor and now
he was finally on his way to achieving that dream, he wasn’t
sure he was cut
out to be a film star. He doubted he’d ever be cut out for
the Hollywood
lifestyle, he just didn’t fit in with the A list celebrities
that he was
expected to mingle with. After spending an hour or so going over the
script he
reluctantly left his trailer and made his way to the set to continue
the days
filming. He glanced around at all the crew rushing around and noticed
his
co-star was absent. He rolled his eyes slightly as he thought of how
demanding
she’d been the last time he’d seen her.
“
,
we need you in make-up right away”
glanced up as he
heard
the directors voice and nodded his head.
He
made
his way to the make-up trailer and smiled warmly at the middle
aged woman who was waiting for him to sit in the make-up chair. He
thought
about trying to start a conversation but quickly decided against it
when he
spotted his co-star, Natalie enter the trailer accompanied by her small
entourage. He sat down in the chair and relaxed his body as he allowed
the
make-up artist to prepare him for the cameras. He heard his co-star
emit a
frustrated sigh beside him, curiously he turned his head and observed
her.
She
looked every part the stuck up actress as her small entourage fussed
and tended to her needs.
rolled his eyes and
looked away
as one
of the
many people surrounding her held a carton of juice out to her and she
sipped
the juice from the offered straw.
was glad to be
leaving the
make-up
trailer as soon as he was finished with, he found his beautiful co-star
to be
unbearable and he was dreading the next two and a half months of
filming
alongside her.
***
The
following day
was in his trailer
changing into
his characters
clothes in his trailer, the bedroom scenes from the previous day had
been
filmed fairly quickly.
was grateful for
that, spending
more time
than
necessary with Natalie was something he was keen on avoiding. As he was
buttoning up his off white shirt there was a knock on the door of his
trailer,
with a grumble he approached the door and opened it, a little shocked
to see
the girl from the previous day stood outside of his trailer.
“Bet
you thought I’d forgot, didn’t ya?” She
smiled, slipping into his
trailer as she handed him a small bundle wrapped in tin foil.
“Forgot
what?”
frowned as he
watched her make
herself
comfortable
on his sofa.
“Your
sandwich, I promised I’d bring you a sandwich today and I
even
managed to find some proper Irish cheese for you” She smiled
at him, obviously
pleased with herself.
“Wow,
really?”
smiled widely at
her, “I
didn’t think you could get
anything Irish here”
“I
have connections” She smiled back, winking at him,
“There’s a shop
near my place that sells imported food, you have to pay a bit more but
it’s
nice to have something that reminds you of home”
“You’ll
have to take me down there on my next day off, it’d be nice
to
stock up on some home comforts”
replied, peeling the
foil off his
sandwiches and taking a bite from one of them.
“It
probably doesn’t taste as nice as back home but
it’s not bad” She
spoke, watching him taste the sandwich.
“It’s fantastic” smiled, swallowing his mouthful of food, “What’s your name by the way?”
“ , nice to meet you” She introduced herself, “So what do you think of Hollywood so far?”
“Honestly?”
asked as she nodded
her head,
“I fuckin’ hate it”
laughed at him as she shook her head from side to side, “Yeah it’s a pretty disappointing place” She agreed with a smile, “You must be pretty excited about being in this film though?”
laughed and shook
his head,
“No, I’m actually
ready to go home right now.
I hate it out here, everyone is so false”
“That’s L.A for ya” She smiled, shrugging her shoulders, “It’s not the most friendliest place in the world”
“Tell
me about it and what’s with the crew? All
they do is ignore me”
asked, for the first
time having
an actual conversation with someone on
the
film set.
“They’re
told not to talk to any of the actors”
told him, laughing
at the look on his face, “I’m not lying,
it’s what they tell everyone, well
more like warn everyone”
“So
why are you here talking to me?”
asked with a smirk.
“Because
I don’t do as I’m told”
smirked back,
heading towards the
door to his trailer, “Same time tomorrow?”
nodded his head as
she exited
the trailer, a small fixed on his
face as
he made his way to the set. He was grateful to have at least one person
on the
set that treated him like a normal person and didn’t ignore
him. He hoped to
see more of the
and found himself
wondering
what her job on
the set
was. He left his trailer ready to start filming the next scene, he sat
down
near the director and flicked through the script, frowning when he saw
he had
another scene with Natalie.
She
was
fast becoming his least favourite person and he was beginning to
dread having to shoot scenes with her. He couldn’t deny that
she wasn’t
fantastic actress, he’d just gotten his hopes up before
meeting her and she
wasn’t the person he’d hoped she was at all.
“Mr ” glanced up from the script when he heard someone call his name, “Miss Martinez asked me to have a word with you about your last scene together”
nodded his head as
he listened
to the woman speak, recognising
her as
being one of his co-stars entourage, “Is there a reason she
couldn’t speak to
me herself?” He asked, trying not to smile at look of horror
on the other
woman’s face.
“Miss
Martinez is far too busy, that’s why I’m
here” The woman
continued, “She isn’t keen on your kissing
technique and has asked if you’d
change it before your next intimate scene”
stared at the woman, his mouth slightly agape in shock, “My kissing technique?” He repeated as the woman nodded her head, “And what exactly does Miss Martinez not like about it?”
“She
finds it far too firm” The woman explained
seriously while
started
to laugh.
“Tell
her I’ll work on it, wouldn’t want her to have to
pay another
visit to the doctor in Beverley Hills”
commented,
hinting at a rumour
that had appeared days ago about Natalie meeting with a cosmetic
surgeon.
“You’d
do well not to repeat idle gossip and rumours” Was the
woman’s
parting comment and she stormed away from
.
A
month
had soon passed and
had spent a lot of
his free time
with
, he’d
learnt that she was
employed by the catering
department and he’d
persuaded his management to put her in charge of all of his meals. He
knew it
was a fairly diva-like request but he couldn’t face the
pretentious food that
was on offer in the catering department. He’d even started to
spend time with
when he
wasn’t working,
she’d showed him around
L.A and taken him to the
little shop that sold imported home comforts.
A
small
smile tugged at the corners of
’s mouth
when he heard
his
trailer door open, he knew it would be
arriving with his
breakfast.
He
smiled when she handed him a brown bag, the contents still warm as he
opened it
like an excited boy on Christmas morning.
“I
swear you’re only using me for the food” She
smiled, sitting down as
he tucked into the bacon sandwich she’d brought him.
Much
to
his delight she’d managed to get some real Irish bacon sent
to
her, through a friend that owned a restaurant. It was a one off but she
knew
would enjoy it.
“There
has to be some perks to you always hanging around me”
laughed, after only
knowing each
other for a few weeks they already
acted like
old friends that had known each other for years.
“Funny”
rolled her eyes and
picked up his
script, “What you
filming
today then?”
swallowed a mouthful
of food and
flipped a couple of pages for
her,
“Another fuckin’ love scene with Princess
Martinez” He sighed, this would be
their first intimate scene since one of her assistants criticised his
kissing
technique.
“So you get to spend most of the day locked at the lips with
a beautiful woman,
why do you look so pissed off?”
asked curiously, she
knew
he wasn’t that
keen on his co-star but what man would complain about having to spend
the day
kissing a pretty woman and getting paid for it.
“She
doesn’t like the way I kiss”
told her,
shaking his head as
she started to laugh at him.
“She
told you that?”
asked, smiling widely.
“Even
worse, she got one of her assistants to have a word with me. I
kiss too firm for her liking apparently”
smiled as
started to laugh
once again.
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard” shook her head from side to side, “I wish I’d brought you something with garlic in for lunch now, that’d really piss her off”
“Don’t
tempt me. The sooner I’m done on
this film the better”
sighed,
shaking his head from side to side.
“You
think I could tag along on set? I’d love to see your firm
kiss in
the flesh”
asked, a teasing grin
on her face.
“I guess so, you could help me rehearse my lines. Natalie doesn’t rehearse with her co-star” complained rolling his eyes.
Once
on
set
had to hang around
waiting for
everything to be set
up, Natalie was also taking a lot longer in make-up and everyone was
hanging
around waiting for her.
“Wanna
rehearse while we’re waiting?”
asked, handing
his script to
as he pointed to where
the scene
started, “So
I’ve been locked up, accused
of trying to murder the King of England…”
“Typical
Irish”
laughed as he nudged
her with his
hand laughing.
“I’m
innocent and also English in this film” He stated, explaining
the
scene to her, “So Natalie’s character, Ann, has
snuck down to the dungeon to
see me before I’m put to death the following
morning”
“So
it’s like a goodbye thing then?”
asked, her
eyes scanning over
the words written on the script.
nodded his head and
smiled at
her, “Exactly, only in the
scene
I’ll be shackled up and behind bars”
They
started reading the lines and
was surprised at how
good
was, maybe working in
a catering
department on a film set
hadn’t been the
reason she’d moved to L.A.
“Then
Ann declares her love for Jonathan and they kiss”
shrugged her
shoulders as she glanced up from the script.
“And
that’s the part I’m dreading”
laughed as Natalie
swept onto
the set and announced she was ready to begin filming.
They
started filming and
remained out of the
way while
everyone got
into their positions.
was bound with the
metal
shackles inside
the
dungeon that had been built on the set and Natalie was due to appear
from one
of the many secret entrances that were found in the castle.
watched
with
interest as they began to start filming, then it came to the end of the
scene
and the kiss. She was curious about what
would do, would he
soften his
kiss, like she’d asked or just ignore her request.
The
shriek of the star made
jump slightly as the
director
shouted
cut, Natalie was ranting at
who was still bound
to the
dungeon
wall by
the shackles. All
could do was watch as
the two
stars argued,
Natalie
yelling at
and
yelling back at her.
She smiled
as she
listened to
their argument, glad that
was actually
fighting his own
corner
with the
stuck up star.
The
argument ended with Natalie storming off and Mike, the director
walking towards
to speak with him.
Then
heard
’s voice
calling
her name. She looked up and saw Mike and
both looking at her,
called her over and
she quickly
walked onto the set.
“Will
you do this scene with me just to show Mike how the kiss should
look?” He asked her.
looked at
then to Mike, and
back to
, “Me? You
want me to
do the scene?”
“She’s impossible, I just want to show Mike how I
think the kiss should look”
explained, not
giving
much option but to
agree to help
him.
“I
can’t
, I’m no
actor”
refused,
starting to feel nervous
about the amount of cameras and people that were on the film set.
“Please?
C’mon help me out…please?”
pleaded, giving her
his best
puppy dog impression.
“Fine…I
guess I could have a go”
shrugged her shoulders
as
smiled encouragingly
at her.
“Take
it from the line where Ann tells Jonathan she loves him” Mike
instructed, taking his seat and watching through one of the monitors.
took
a deep breath and glanced at the script, getting the few lines
in her head. She approached
and ran her fingers
through his
tousled
hair, staring into
his
eyes as she caressed
his cheek
with her
palm,
cupping his face in-between her hands.
“I
know you had nothing to do with the attempt on my father’s
life, I
tried to tell them you’re innocent…” She
trailed off, resting her forehead
against his, “I love you so much Jonathan, how am I supposed
to continue on
without you?”
“You
have to continue on, my love and always remember me” He
replied,
his tone a soft whisper, “We will be together again in the
next life”
The
entire film set was silent as the two read their lines, the set was
filled with a tense atmosphere that hadn’t been present when
Natalie was on
set. Remaining in character
pressed her lips
firmly against
his,
giving her
condemned lover one final lingering kiss. Their kiss was desperate and
urgent,
there was no tenderness present as
held his face and
firmly kissed
him as
if it really was the last time. As they finally parted from the kiss,
Mike
yelled cut and the crew members started to applaud both
and
.
“That
was exactly what I wanted, you were right
. Where’s
Natalie?
I want her to do it exactly like that” Mike instructed,
motioning for one of
Natalie’s assistants to get her back on set now.
blushed at the praise
from the
director and quietly slipped off the
film set as Natalie came back and received direction from Mike. She
couldn’t
believe that she’d been given the chance to act out the scene
out with
,
the only reason she’d moved to L.A was to try and make it as
an actress but so
far that wasn’t happening for her. She could never calm her
nerves before an
audition and nine times out of ten they got the best of her. Her last
few
auditions had ended in disaster but for some reason when she did the
scene with
she hadn’t
felt nervous at
all. She’d felt
strangely calm.
Leaving
the film set
made her way towards
her car and
headed home,
it felt strange to kiss
like that.
She’d grown
fond of
him over the past
month and enjoyed spending time with him, he wasn’t like most
celebrities that
she encountered living in L.A. He was different.
As she
drove home she found herself thinking about the kiss, the taste
of his lips against hers and his tongue probing, wanting access into
her own
mouth. She couldn’t remember anyone ever kissing her like
that and that thought
worried her. Slipping into her downtown apartment she went straight to
the
living room and slumped onto the sofa.
was still at the
front of her
mind and no matter how much she
tried to push all thoughts of him and the kiss to the back of her mind,
he
always fought his way back to the front. Was it possible she liked
more
than a friend? She could still taste his kiss and feels his demanding
lips on
hers. Then she remembered Natalie. The beautiful film star, Natalie
Martinez
that she’d left
with. She knew it
was his job
and
he’d said on more than
one occasion that he wasn’t keen on his co-star but that
didn’t stop her from
feeling a twinge of jealousy.
Chapter
4 - Meeting the friends…
The
next
day
left her apartment and
headed to
the film set, she was
actually dreading having to face
after their onset
kiss but she
knew she
had to get it over with. If she tried to avoid him he’d
surely suspect
something was going on with her. Before going directly to the film set
she made
a brief stop off at a local deli and picked up his lunch. She arrived
at the
studio and parked her car, showing her pass to one of the security
guards she
made her way onto the film set and headed to
’s
trailer.
She hesitated as
she reached his trailer, stopping outside the door. Usually
she’d just walk
straight inside but this time she felt awkward, so instead she knocked
the door
and waited for him to open it.
“Why
are you knocking? Get in here” He spoke, opening the door and
disappearing back inside, “Where’d you get to
yesterday?”
“Oh,
I got a phone call from work and had to leave”
answered
following him inside but unable to look directly at him, “How
did the scene
go?”
exhaled a long sigh,
“Not
great, Natalie argued with the
director
and stormed off set so we all got to leave a bit earlier” He
explained to her,
“Mike mentioned using a body double for the scene if Natalie
keeps being
awkward about what he wants her to do”
“She’s
the star, being awkward is just who she is”
shrugged,
placing his lunch on the table, “I can’t stick
around today, the deli I work at
is shorthanded and I promised I’d help out”
“Oh,
ok then. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
asked,
a little
disappointed that she was leaving.
“Hopefully,
I’ll let you know. When are you friends getting
here?” She
asked, hoping that with his friends visiting she’d be able to
avoid him without
him asking too many questions.
“Tomorrow
afternoon, I was gonna ask if you’d mind picking them up at
the airport for me?”
asked, smiling
sweetly at her.
“And
you can’t go, why?” She asked, realising she
didn’t want to avoid
him, she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.
“Do
you want me to get mobbed at the airport?” He asked with a
laugh,
“Please
?”
“I
hate it when you do that”
sighed, shaking her
head from
side to
side.
“What?”
frowned, watching
her in
confusion.
“I
hate it when you give me the puppy dog eyes, you know I can’t
say no
to that look”
laughed slightly,
still trying not
to look
directly into his
captivating
eyes.
“I
knew you’d cave”
laughed back,
wrapping one
arm around her,
“Their flight gets in at 3pm and their names are
,
and
”
“Fine,
shall I bring them here or to yours?”
asked, wondering
how she
was going to fit them and their luggage into her small car.
“Back
to mine, and you can even borrow my car”
smiled,
pulling her
into a hug, “Thanks
, I really appreciate
this”
breathed in his scent,
his
aftershave smelled as gorgeous as he was
and she found herself wanting to remain like this, in his arms. Too
soon the
hug ended, making her excuses she left his trailer and walked back to
her car.
As soon as she climbed into the driver’s seat she released a
long sigh, she
realised she liked him a lot more than a friend and wanted to feel his
lips
against her one more time. How could she possibly work for him or be
friends
with him when she felt like this?
***
The
next
day
was at the airport,
she’d
been to
’s
and borrowed
his spacious 4x4 and was now stood in the arrivals of LAX with
’s friends
names written on a large piece of card. She glanced through the crowd
of people
that had just disembarked from the flights that had just landed, her
eyes
scanning the people and wondering what
’s friends
looked
like. She spotted
a
point in her
direction then
turn to his two friends, they
made their
way over to her and she lowered her sign, assuming this was who she was
waiting
for.
“You
must be
right? I’m
and this is
and
” The
spoke introducing
himself and
his friends to her.
“That’s
me, so how was your flight?” She asked, leading the way out
of
the airport and towards the car park.
“Long”
laughed, dragging
his suitcase
behind him as they approached
a black 4x4, “Wow, now that’s a nice car”
“Thanks,
but it’s not mine.
leant me
his”
smiled
politely at
them as she pressed a button on the key and the doors unlocked
automatically.
“He
always did love his cars”
commented, placing
his
suitcase into
the boot next to
’s.
“So
you’re the famous
we’ve been
hearing so much
about?”
asked
with a smirk, climbing into the back of the car next to
.
“Famous?”
frowned, hesitating
before she
started up the large car,
“What do you mean famous?”
“
’s
told us all about you, he’s seems happier since you and him
started spending time with each other. Every other time I spoke to him,
he
sounded so fed up I thought he was gonna quit and come back
home”
explained, causing a
faint blush
to appear on her face.
“He
talks about you every time I speak to him”
added, only
causing
her blush to deepen.
“Aw
she’s blushing”
chuckled, enjoying
how
uncomfortable they were
making her, “There’s no need to be embarrassed,
it’s nice that
’s got a
friend out here”
“I’m
not embarrassed, it’s not my fault if your mate
doesn’t socialise
with anyone else but the girl who makes his lunch”
laughed nervously.
“Yeah
he’s told us all about the lovely Ms Martinez”
smirked.
Almost
half an hour later
had arrived at the
luxurious house
was renting during
his stint in
LA. She’d spent most of the
journey listening
to his friends talk, being told stories about him and answering various
questions about their friends life in LA.
“Well
here we are”
said, pulling up in
front of the
large gates
that
secured the property.
She pulled the sun visor down and pressed the button on the small
remote that
was hidden there. The large iron gates slowly started to move, creaking
as they
opened for the car to pass through.
“This
is quite impressive”
gasped, getting a
look at the
expensive
house that
had called home for
the last few
months.
stopped the car and
they quickly
piled out, grabbing their suitcases
from the boot as she locked the car.
“Would
you give
his car keys
back?”
asked as she handed
the
keys to
.
“Aren’t
you coming in?”
asked her, frowning
as she walked
towards a
battered old car.
“I
don’t want to get in the way of your little reunion, just
tell him
I’ll see him on set” She spoke unlocking her old
car and climbing in, giving
the three Irish men a small wave before she drove off.
let
out a sigh as she pulled out of the large gates, she wanted
nothing more than to go inside and watch him laugh and catch up with
his
friends. To hear more stories of his childhood and the band
they’d tried to set
up,
had already told her
about how
they’d failed but
she never tired of
hearing stories about him. She hated how he’d been constantly
in her thoughts
since the kiss they’d shared and needed to find a way to
avoid him, it was her
only attempt to get him out of her system.
Her
thoughts, once again, drifted back to the kiss, her eyes becoming
slightly teary at the memory. She had to admire his acting skills, his
kiss
felt real, almost sincere and she hated that it meant nothing to him.
He was
merely just trying to show the director how it was supposed to look,
trying to
make it look as real as possible. She longed to find someone who could
kiss her
like that for real, to evoke those raw emotions that
had awoken
in her.
She knew it wasn’t healthy to harbour such feelings for
but she knew now
she had definitely developed a crush on him.
How
could she face him at the studio in two days time? Surely
he’d
notice her acting differently around and no matter how hard she tried,
she
would surely act differently around him. The realisation of her
feelings for
him wouldn’t allow her to be friendly towards him, not when
it was all she
could do to not grab him and kiss him again, needing to feel his lips
on hers
again.
As
arrived home she
noticed the
familiar car parked outside and
smiled when she saw her best friend sat in the drivers seat waiting for
her.
“It’s
about time, where were you?”
asked, climbing out of
her
car as
did the same.
“I
was picking up
’s friends
from the
airport. I told you
about it
yesterday”
answered walking
towards her door
and
unlocking it.
“You actually picked his friend up from the airport and dropped them off at his place?” asked, following her friend into her house, “I thought you just had to take food to him, not run personal errands?”
“I
was just doing him a favour”
shrugged,
turning her back on her friend
and grabbing a cold drink from the fridge.
“Oh my God! Do you like him or something?” cried out as tried to avoid looking directly at her friend, “You do don’t you? Jesus, that explains why you’ve been spending so much time with him”
sighed as she finally
turned to
face her friend, “Look,
it’s not like that.
I’ve only just realised that I like him…”
“Did
something happen?”
asked, more and more
intrigued
into
her
friends feelings for the upcoming actor.
“Well…we
sort of kissed”
sighed, explaining
what had
happened that
day on the film set as
listened intently.
Chapter
5 - Confessions and Fears
Two
days
later
arrived at the
studio and headed
straight to the
make up department, he was a little unhappy at having to leave his
friends in
his home and go back to work. Luckily, he’d had a later call
time today and
didn’t have to be on the set until midday. He’d
loved the past two days, just
catching up laughing about memories they each had of school and their
attempt
at trying to make it big in the music industry. Having his three best
friends
with him had made him realise how much he really missed Ireland and his
family
and friends. Although
had provided a much
needed
distraction from
the
loneliness he felt being in a strange country on his own.
After
leaving the make-up department, he walked back to his trailer to
get changed into his characters clothes and to wait to be called to the
set. He
glanced at his watch and noticed it was nearly one o’clock
and
hadn’t
arrived yet. He started to feel worried, she was never late, in fact
she was
always early. He quickly grabbed his phone and dialled her number,
hoping she’d
just over slept or was stuck in traffic and no allowing himself to
think of
anything worse. He swore to himself as her phone went straight her
voicemail,
worrying him further. Before he could redial her number there was a
knock at
his door. He jumped to his feet and swung open the door, expecting to
find
stood outside.
“Who
are you?” He frowned at the middle aged woman stood in front
of
him.
“Mr
?” She
asked, checking a
piece of paper in her hand as
he
nodded his head, “I’ve brought your lunch”
“My
lunch?”
’s frown
grew as he took
the offered
sandwich from her,
“Where’s
?”
“She’s
not well, so I was asked to deliver your lunch” The woman
smiled
politely back at him.
“Is
she ok? What’s wrong with her?”
asked all in
one go, his
concern for her growing.
“I’m
sorry but I have no idea” She responded, turning and walking
away
from his trailer as
stared after her.
Closing
the door, he went back inside his trailer and picked up is phone
once more, dialling her number and his frustration growing when it went
to her
voicemail again. He left a brief message before being called to the set
to
start work. The rest of the day seemed to drag for him and he knew his
mind
wasn’t fully on his job, he kept forgetting his lines and may
scenes had to be
redone because of his lack of attention. Finally he was done for the
day, he
wasn’t sure if he was more relieved or the director, he knew
most of his scenes
would probably need to be re-shot the following day.
He
quickly went back to his trailer and got changed into his own
clothes, grabbing his uneaten lunch and quickly rushing back to his
car. He’d
tried to get in touch with
again but her phone
was still
switched
off, it
bothered him that she hadn’t contacted him and told him she
was ill and that he
couldn’t get in touch with her.
drove back to his
rented house and went
straight to the kitchen to get himself a strong drink. He heard someone
walk in
behind him and turned to see
.
“What’s
up with your face?”
asked, walking over
to the fridge
and
grabbing a bottle of water.
“Nothing…I
just had a rough day”
replied, not sure
why
not
turning up today had bothered him so much.
“The
bitch up to her old tricks?”
asked, using
’s
nickname
for is co-star.
“No
she wasn’t on set today”
replied with a deep
sigh.
“Wanna
talk about it then?”
offered, seeing that
there was
something troubling his friend.
“It’s
”
admitted,
“She
didn’t turn up
today and at first I was
worried, y’know thinking something bad had happened to her on
the way but
someone else turned up with my lunch and told me she was sick”
“So
what’s wrong with that? You still got your lunch
right?”
asked,
not seeing the problem.
“Well
yeah but that’s not the point, she didn’t even
phone to let me
know, I was worried about her”
explained,
“Then I tried to phone her and
it was switched off. It’s like she doesn’t want to
talk to me and after that I
dunno, I just couldn’t concentrate on anything”
“Is
there something going on with you two?”
asked
suspiciously.
“What?
No, don’t be stupid, we’re just friends”
scoffed at
’s
comment.
“Sounds
like you wanna be more than just friends”
smirked,
“You
fancy her, don’t ya?”
“I…
I dunno”
stumbled over his
words,
“I mean
she’s a nice girl
and I’ve spent a lot of time with her the past month but
I’ve never really
thought about her like that until…”
“Ah
so something has happened?”
laughed, a wide smile
spreading
over his face, “C’mon
spill it”
“It
was nothing really, she was helping me with a scene and we
kissed”
explained, shrugging
off the
kiss.
“Was
the kiss part of the scene?”
asked, carefully
observing
his
friend for his reaction.
nodded his head and fished a bottle of beer out of the fridge, twisting the lid off and taking a drink, “I don’t know how she hasn’t made it as an actress yet cause that kiss…”
smirked as he watched
a small
smile slip onto
’s
lips at the thought
of the kiss, “So it was good then?”
“No
one has ever kissed me like that,
”
sighed,
“I haven’t been
able to get her off my mind but it was only acting, it wasn’t
real”
“Was
it only acting for you?”
asked his friend.
shook his head from
side to
side, “I didn’t want it
to end and now
I think she might be avoiding me” He sighed.
“You
ever think she might feel the same?”
suggested,
he’d never
seen
act this way over
one kiss.
“I
never thought about it, you think she does?”
asked,
feeling a
little hopeful, “You think that’s the reason she
didn’t left straight after
dropping you off the other day?”
“I think there’s a good chance mate, she talked
about you non stop on the way
here”
told his friend,
exaggerating how
much
she’d been talking about him.
“I
should talk to her”
spoke, grabbing his
phone and
dialling her
number, frowning when once again it went straight to voicemail,
“I need to go
and see her”
Without waiting for a reply from his friend, grabbed his keys and rushed towards the door. He got straight into his car and drove to her downtown apartment. Arriving at her apartment complex, he pulled up alongside her little car, he was about to get out and knock on her door when he suddenly wondered what he as going to say to her. He turned off the engine and stared at her apartment, he hadn’t thought things through before jumping into his car and driving straight here and now he had no idea what to say to her. He liked her, the kiss they shared had made him realise that it was more than friendship for him and he hoped she’d felt the same connection.
Taking
a
deep breath he got out of the car and slowly walked towards the
front door, pressing the buzzer for her apartment.
“Hello?”
Her voice sounded through the little speaker next to the door.
“Hey,
it’s me. I came to see how you were feeling”
spoke into the
box, hoping she’d let him in.
“
?”
spoke, pausing for a
second before
she spoke again,
“It’s
probably best you don’t come up, I’m feeling pretty
sick and I don’t wanna give
it to you”
“What
have you got?”
asked, suspecting
there was
something
else
going on with her.
“Errr
the flu”
answered, adding a
cough after her
sentence,
wishing he’d
just go away and leave her alone.
“I’m
not worried about getting that”
spoke again,
“So can I come
in? I’ve brought chicken soup”
He
heard
emit a soft sigh
through the
speaker on the wall and smiled
at the sound of the buzzer, and the door clicking open. He pulled it
open and
walked up the stairs to her first floor apartment, she’d left
the door open for
him and he walked inside to find her sat on the sofa wrapped in a
blanket.
“Where’s
the soup?” She asked, frowning when she saw there was nothing
in his hands.
“I
lied…”
grinned at her, not
missing the
fact
she looked
completely healthy and flu-free, “Where’s your
flu?”
“I
lied too…”
whispered, avoiding
his
penetrating
gaze.
nodded his head,
“Are you
avoiding me?” He blurted
out, needing to
tell her what he’d drive all the way here to say.
“What?
Why would I be avoiding you?”
cried out with a
nervous
giggle.
shrugged his
shoulders, “I
dunno but you’ve been
weird with me
since I got you to help out on the set when
we…kissed”
quickly looked away
from him when
he mentioned their kiss, even now
it took all her will power to not grab him and repeat their electric
kiss from
a few days ago.
“See
you can’t even look at me, was it that bad?”
asked, frowning at
her, his hopes of her sharing his feelings were fading fast.
“What?
Jesus no,
it wasn’t
bad it
was…”
paused, not wanting to
say the word that was on the tip of her tongue.
“It
was what”?
urged her on to
continue.
Turning
away from
,
found the floor more
interesting,
“Does
it
matter? It was acting, it’s not like it meant anything to
you” She answered
quietly.
sat down beside her
on the sofa
and forced her to look at him,
“How do you know that?” He asked her, it was now or
never. He needed to tell
that their kiss was more than acting to him, he just hoped she felt
what he
felt.
“Because
you’re an actor, and a pretty good one too. You could have
any
girl you wanted, including Natalie”
replied, choking back
the tears the
threatened to spill from her eyes.
“
…I
don’t want Natalie and the kiss we shared was probably the
best
one of my life, tell me you felt what I felt?”
practically pleaded
with
her, he needed her to feel the same as him.
turned to look at him,
his
eyes were burning
into her own
eyes, almost looking right into her soul searching for the answer to
his
question.
“I felt it too” finally answered nodding her head slightly, “I thought it was just-”
was silenced by
as he pressed his
lips against
hers, firmly
holding
her face between his hands as he kissed her. Gradually, the kiss was
deepened
and
pushed her backwards
until her
back hit the sofa and he lay
half on
top of her. Her hands raked through the short strands of hair as she
held the
back of his, keeping his kiss against hers. The same electricity they
both felt
the first time they kissed was present and both got lost in each others
touch.
Finally they broke the kiss and
stared down at the
beauty laying
beneath him,
at least now both could be sure that what they felt the first they
kissed had
been real.
“I
think it’s safe to say we both like each other?”
smiled up at
him, a little breathless from their kiss.
“A
lot more than friends”
smiled back, dipping
his head
and
brushing his lips against hers in a soft, teasing kiss.
“Sorry
I tried to avoid you”
whispered after the
kiss, staring
up
into his eyes and loving the intensity of his
gaze.
“Don’t
do it again, yeah?”
smiled as she nodded
her head
and
remained trapped underneath his body.
“So
what happens now?”
asked, her fingers
running up and
down
his
sides as he kept her pinned to the leather sofa.
“What
are you doing tonight?”
asked, grudgingly
pulling his
body
from on top of hers and sitting beside her.
“Well
I was thinking of doing some grocery shopping, I know this guy
who’s really fussy with food and will only eat stuff from
Ireland”
laughed
as
rolled his eyes at
her.
“I’m
not that bad, I just don’t like sushi and shite like
that”
laughed slightly,
“You
think you can postpone the shopping
and let me take you
out for dinner?”
“What,
like on a date?”
asked with an amused
smile.
“Yeah,
like a date”
smiled back,
suddenly feeling as
nervous
as a
school boy trying to ask his first crush out, “So is that a
yes?”
“Of
course it is”
grinned at him,
kissing him again
and
feeling
herself becoming lost in his soft touch.
Once
again she felt herself being pushed backwards as
’s
tongue
probed at her lips and he deepened the kiss. She smiled into the kiss
as she
felt one of his hands trail slowly up her leg, she couldn’t
deny she wanted him
and as he pressed his body against hers, she could feel his want for
her also.
They needed to take things slow, especially given his celebrity status
in LA.
All her thoughts soon became incoherent as she allowed herself to be
lost in
’s
passionate kiss.
pulled away from the
kiss after
a few minutes, both were slightly
breathless as they struggled to catch their breath, “We could
always stay in
and order some take out” He suggested, panting slightly.
“Sushi?”
asked with smirk as
shook his head.
“Not
a chance”
laughed, leaning
forward to
capture her lips
with
his once again.