She tried to keep the nagging thoughts off her mind as they were led by a waiter over to the table in the corner Rico had reserved for them both.
The place was fairly busy but not heaving, and although a couple of people looked up briefly as they came in, it was only in the normal way anyone might when someone new walks into a restaurant. There were no double takes or staring.
People were probably used to seeing famous faces in Los Angeles. Maybe there were some more celebrities in here too. She tried to look around discreetly, to see if she could spot any, but then she was sitting down with Rico opposite her, and it was kind of hard to keep her eyes on anyone but him. He definitely had that mesmerising star quality about him.
They both smiled at each other, then Rico took off his leather jacket and hung it up on the seat behind him, revealing his sparkling white shirt and thin black tie beneath. The shirt was extremely tight, and seemed to cling to his toned, slightly muscular frame, really showing off his arms and biceps.
Ashleigh though he probably had a great body underneath that as she forced herself to look down and pick up the menu.
“Anything in particular you recommend?” she asked, glancing down at the vast choice and wondering how she would ever decide.
“The seafood here is really good, if you’re into that kind of thing,” he answered straight away, glancing up at her then back down at his menu. “And the pasta. Especially the seafood pasta, ha, a combination of the two.”
She smiled and bit her lip slightly, turning the pages and trying to make up her mind as they made small talk, discussing some of the options in more detail, with Rico admitting he must have eaten here at least twenty times.
Eventually, the waiter came back over and asked if they were ready to order.
She chose the salmon pasta, and Rico ordered swordfish, and a bottle of white wine for them to share.
“You can have most of it,” he added with a wink. “I’m driving.”
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” she asked, allowing herself to flirt just a little.
“Nooooo,” he held his hands up in mock innocence, then waggled his eyebrows and added, “Maybe.”
They both giggled.
When the wine came, they clinked their glasses together and the pair of them began to relax a little more, the conversation opening up between them.
They began by idly discussing their day at work.
She told him about all the boring, unimportant things she’d done that afternoon, which he insisted weren’t boring or unimportant at all, but actually crucial to the smooth running of a good film set, and he described some of the scenes they’d been shooting in the studio.
“I hope I get chance to see some of the filming at some point,” she smiled, excited at the thought of being on a real movie set.
“Oh, I’m sure you will. There’ll be less admin once the shoot really gets going. There’s always more at the beginning. Plus, I can put in a good word for you. Make sure you get to come on set and they don’t keep you in that office the whole time.”
“Thanks. I knew there was a reason I made you spill your coffee,” she teased.
“Ahhh, so this was all part of your clever plan, I see,” Rico teased back.
Ashleigh giggled and looked down, trying to think of where to take the conversation next. “Oh, I saw you the other day actually…on the Walk of Fame when they unveiled your star…”
“Oh, you did?” He raised his eyebrows and smiled. “You should have said hi.”
“Well, you looked a little busy.”
“Mm, true,” he smirked.
“Plus. I didn’t exactly know you then, and it would have been a bit weird to come over and be like ‘oh hey, I’m the runner on your new movie.’”
He smiled and shook his head. “It wouldn’t have been weird at all. But anyway, I’m glad we met the way we did. It was more interesting.”
“Interesting is one word for it. Embarrassing’s another.”
“Nothing to be embarrassed about.”
Ashleigh smiled and took a sip of her wine. “So uh…what film are you working on after this?”
He went on to tell her all about his next project. It turned out the director he was working with was one of her favorites, which led them to discuss what kind of movies they both liked. It was a conversation she could easily have had all night long, and indeed, it did end up going on for a large portion of the meal, even after their food arrived they were still chatting about films.
Ashleigh was pleased to learn that Rico was a big fan of the old classics too, and that one of his favorites was Breakfast At Tiffany’s, which was also one of her top five favorite films. It seemed like they had plenty in common, and after her initial nerves she forgot all about the fact that she was sitting opposite Rico Fernandez. He was just a cool, good-looking guy who was easy to talk to and liked all the same movies she did.
By the time they were on their dessert, she already felt like she knew him pretty well, although they hadn’t really shared any personal information.
“Mmm, you’re right, the food here is so good,” Ashleigh hummed in approval at the explosion of chocolate in her mouth from the delicious brownie dripping with chocolate sauce and ice cream.
“I told you,” Rico smiled, but then his eye was caught by someone else arriving into the restaurant, and he nodded in their general direction, giving a small wave.
Ashleigh turned around to look back over her shoulder and see who it was, giving a small gasp as she recognized Francis Romero walking towards them with a pretty, young girl on his arm in a skimpy outfit barely covering any of her body. She clung to him like a limpet, a slightly smug expression on her face as she looked around at everyone else in the restaurant, obviously pleased with herself at being out with the biggest producer in Hollywood.
“Evening, Rico,” said Francis as he stopped by their table. “Didn’t realize you were eating out tonight.” He turned his attention quickly to Ashleigh and looked her up and down with keen, hungry eyes. “And who’s this fine, young specimen?”
“This is Ashleigh,” Rico smiled.
Ashleigh didn’t much like being referred to as a ‘fine, young specimen’ but she kept her mouth shut as Rico introduced her. Francis was her boss, after all.
“She’s actually one of the runners on the movie,” he explained.
“Ahh,” Francis’ eyebrows shot up. “Well, she’s far too pretty to be a runner,” he remarked, speaking about Ashleigh as if she wasn’t just sitting right in front of him, looking directly at her but still talking to Rico, and referring to her in the third person. “She’s got a face for the screen.”
Rico chuckled a little. “That’s what I said to her.”
The young woman on Francis’ arm looked slightly grumpy and disconcerted by this whole conversation, shooting daggers at Ashleigh the entire time.
Francis stretched out his other arm towards Ashleigh for a handshake.
She smiled and offered out hers.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ashleigh,” he addressed her directly at last.
“And you, Mr Romero,” she answered politely, shaking his hand.
“Oh please, do call me Francis,” he insisted, turning her hand around in his then leaning down and kissing the back of it chastely before standing upright again and releasing her. “I’ll be keeping a close eye on you, young lady. A very close eye indeed.”
“Thank you,” she smiled, although in truth, she found his whole demeanour and attitude slightly unnerving and creepy.
Thankfully, after that, he waltzed off with his date on his arm and they found their own table, leaving Ashleigh with an uneasy feeling about her first meeting with Francis Romero.
Rico, on the other hand, didn’t seem phased by it. She supposed that, having worked with him before, he was used to his mannerisms. She was probably overreacting or overthinking things as always.
“I hope you’ve enjoyed your evening,” said Rico, bringing her attenti
on back to him.
“Oh, I have,” she smiled warmly. “Very much so. It’s been wonderful.”
“Good. So have I. Let me get the check.”
Chapter Nine
By the time Rico dropped Ashleigh back off at her hotel, it was quite late, but neither of them felt like ending the evening just yet, so when Rico suggested going for a drink at the bar next door, Ashleigh readily agreed.
As per his request, she had consumed the majority of the wine over dinner, so she was already feeling rather tipsy and lightheaded, which was no bad thing. It put her in an even better mood and helped her to feel more confident and able to flirt.
They definitely did some more of that, sitting up on a pair of tall bar stools and sipping on posh cocktails of extravagant, bright color.
Rico complained that his pants felt a little tight around the waist after that large meal, and Ashleigh expressed surprise that he wasn’t already bursting out of his shirt considering how tight it was on him, while at the same time glancing him up and down, making it fairly obvious that she found him attractive.
It was all pretty innocent, however, and Rico had been dropping similar little signs all night. At the beginning of the evening, she’d been telling herself this was just two work colleagues going for a bite to eat together, but now she was fairly sure it was a date, and she was totally comfortable with it too, at ease with the situation despite the enormity of it.
“This has been so much fun,” she smiled, looking into his eyes.
“Yes, it has,” Rico readily agreed, dreamily staring back into hers a moment before shaking his head slightly and looking away. He smiled to himself and rubbed the back of his neck a little before speaking. “You know…I’ve never spent an entire evening with a runner before. I don’t normally get to know individual crew members that well. It’s kind of hard when you just spend most of the day either in front of the camera shooting or in your trailer trying to memorize lines, or just getting some rest.”
“That’s understandable. But hey, maybe you should do it more often if you’ve enjoyed yourself so much,” Ashleigh smirked and winked at him.
Rico tossed his head back and laughed, showing her his set of perfect pearly whites.
“Maybe I should… maybe I should…”
Before they knew it, it was past midnight, and they both knew they should probably call it a night. Although they had the day off in the morning, they were both tired from a full day’s filming, and needed to use that rest period to fully recover so they could be fresh for Monday.
Ashleigh could feel herself starting to flag, with the effects of the alcohol, and Rico couldn’t drink anymore anyway with him having to drive.
“I suppose we should go,” he smiled.
“I suppose we should,” she agreed.
He offered her his hand. She happily took it, and he walked her out of the bar and back next door to her hotel.
“Next time, I’ll make sure they put you up somewhere nicer than this place.”
“Next time? How do you know there’ll be a next time?” She looked at him.
“I meant what I said about you. There’s something about you. This won’t be the last time you work in film, this is only the start.”
She felt a little flutter of excitement and hoped he was right.
“That would be amazing. I mean…working in film again and a better hotel.”
He laughed at her small joke, then they stopped just outside the door.
“Do you want me to walk you up to your room?”
“I think I can manage.” She squeezed his hands and turned to face him. “I’m a big girl.”
“You’re a sweet girl,” he smiled and looked into her eyes. “And thank you for a lovely night.”
He glanced down at her lips and for one special, magical moment, she thought he might be about to lean in and kiss her. That wasn’t quite what happened, but the reality was just as good, if not better.
He did lean in, but his head moved to the right of hers and he placed the gentlest, most tender kiss on her cheek.
She felt the soft brush of his lips, and could feel her face tingling and heating up once he pulled away again, a smile breaking out.
“And you’re a sweet guy,” she replied quietly. “A real gentleman. I can see why all the ladies like you.”
He laughed at that, and then slowly let go of her hands. “Perhaps.” He chewed his bottom lip, as if contemplating doing something else, then maybe thought better of it and wandered over to his bike. He turned off the alarm and opened up the back box to take out his helmet.
“I’ll see you very soon, Ashleigh.”
“I hope so. I’ll look out for you on set.”
“And I, you. Sleep well.”
“You too.” She turned and walked to the main step of her hotel, then stopped and looked back over her shoulder, watching him mount the bike and disappear out of sight.
Her heart was pounding, racing as she ran over everything that had happened that night in quick succession, playing it back like her own little movie, still just standing there on the steps of her hotel in a daze.
She already missed him.
Chapter Ten
It would be a couple more days before she saw Rico again.
She spent her day off by having a long lie in, sleeping till nearly lunchtime before getting up and heading out to grab something to eat and spend the afternoon taking a leisurely look around LA. She walked along the promenade and checked out the beach. It was lively and busy, everywhere teaming with people. She enjoyed herself for a couple of hours, then began to grow tired of the crowds and sought out solitude and quiet in her small hotel room.
In the evening, she went out for dinner alone and found a pleasant little pizza restaurant, sitting in the window and people watching. She didn’t mind eating on her own at all. It was a perfect time to think and reflect.
All her thoughts were on Rico, and what would happen when she saw him again; how this little friendship of theirs could possibly develop. She was definitely interested in it being more than a friendship, and she hoped that he was too, but maybe the fact that she’d had a few to drink the previous night was clouding her judgement of how things had played out.
The following day she was back on set again, and although she kept her eyes open for Rico, he was nowhere to be seen at either breakfast or lunchtime, and her various jobs kept her busy looking after the supporting actors, some of whom she was starting to get to know fairly well. She was definitely building up her list of contacts and gaining so much valuable knowledge and feedback about the industry. She was learning on the job and loving every minute of it, but after another day of not seeing Rico, she was starting to miss him, and her own insecurities were eating at her, telling herself that he was avoiding her because he regretted taking her out for dinner.
Thankfully, her anxiety was put to rest by Wednesday morning, when she stood in line for breakfast and felt a sudden tap on her shoulder.
She turned around, expecting to see Sally or Julio, or Marlow and Liz from makeup, the usual people she sat with over lunch, but instead she was greeted by Rico’s smiling, gorgeous features.
“Hey there,” he grinned.
“Hey!” Ashleigh exclaimed, really surprised to see him and suddenly feeling a rush of nerves as she remembered her fears about him avoiding her.
“We seem to keep missing each other at breakfast and lunch,” he remarked.
“Yes, we do,” she agreed.
“I normally swing by really early, get mine before anyone else joins the line. Either that or I wait till everyone’s gone, but then all the best food is gone too.” He winked at her.
“Ah, so that’s the trick, is it? I’ll remember that for lunch.”
“Speaking of eating,” Rico continued with a sparkle in his eyes. “I was wondering whether you’d like to go for dinner again sometime soon?”
Ashleigh’s heart felt like it was in her throat. She swallowed it down and excitedly nod
ded, hoping no one else in the line was listening in on this conversation, once again wondering whether it would be considered inappropriate for her and Rico to be seeing each other outside of work like this.
“That would be great, yeah. I’ll pay this time.”
He tutted and shook his head. “Don’t be silly.”
“I mean it. I’m gonna start feeling bad if you take me out and pay for dinner all the time.”
Rico sighed and twisted his lips a little as he thought about it. “Well…if it would make you feel better, I suppose I could let you share the check this time…but I’m not going to let you pay for the whole thing yourself. Consider it a compromise, and the best I can do.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Fiiiine. I’ll take the compromise.”
He chuckled. “Great. How about tonight then?”
“Tonight?” She was surprised he wanted to do it again so soon, but obviously took it as a massive compliment. She had been overthinking this after all. Thank goodness. This was great news – the best! She internally squealed, and then nodded, externally keeping her composure. “Sure, tonight sounds perfect.”
They moved along the line a bit, shuffling closer to the front, and Rico turned the conversation to asking how her day had been yesterday, the two of them making idle small talk about the shoot.
Once Rico had his food, he said a polite goodbye to Ashleigh in front of everyone else and made his way to his trailer. She wondered whether he was making a show of things on purpose in order to throw of any kind of suspicion that something was going on between them, and she did feel a little put out that he wasn’t coming to sit on the dining bus with everyone else but she did understand, in a way. Some of the supporting actors and background artists could easily get star-struck, and she’d already heard stories about people coming up to him on sets and bothering him, asking for photographs and autographs when he was trying to work. Rico was the kind of actor that liked to get immersed in his part. He spent a lot of time studying and getting into character, and for that he needed space.
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