Chapter Six
“Let me just find you that shirt…” said Rico, heading over to the small wardrobe that was built into the wall of the trailer and opening it up. Inside were four or five different T-shirts, and short-sleeved shirts all hung up on hangers. “Here…” He picked out a T-shirt for her and tossed it over.
Ashleigh caught it, her mouth still open slightly, totally in awe of the fact that she was going to be wearing one of Rico Fernandez’s shirts. There were thousands of girls all over the world who probably dreamed about scenarios like this and now here she was, living it. And all because of some spilt coffee. It was like a dream.
“It might be a little big for you, but it’s better than being in something wet and dirty.”
Wet and dirty. Just those words were sending her mind to places they probably shouldn’t go.
“No, no, this is totally fine.” She smiled and glanced at the shirt. Just a simple, faded red Dolce & Gabbana.
“The shower’s through here…” He took a few paces and opened up a small door that led to a tiny bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower.
“Thank you so much,” she smiled and began to walk over.
“I’m so sorry,” he suddenly shook his head. “I forgot my manners. I don’t even know your name.”
“Oh, it’s uh…it’s Ashleigh.” She blushed and held out her other hand for a shake – the one that wasn’t holding his T-shirt.
“Ashleigh. That’s a pretty name. I’m Rico.”
Well, she knew that already, but of course she didn’t say that. She simply shook his hand and mumbled, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” he grinned. “So, what’s your job on the shoot?”
“Oh, I’m just a runner,” she answered with a blush.
“Never say you’re just a runner.” Rico pulled a sad face, looking at her with an expression that made her knees weak. “Everyone starts out somewhere, and with a pretty face like yours, you were made for the screen.”
And now she blushed even deeper. It seemed that all she did since meeting Rico was feel her cheeks turn red. She could see why everyone called him a charmer and said he had a way with the ladies. He certainly knew the right words to say.
“I…” she stammered. Apparently the same couldn’t be said for Ashleigh, finding herself physically lost for words and not knowing how to reply. “It’s my first time in LA,” she blurted out. “Never done this kind of thing before.”
“I’m sure you’re doing a great job,” he smiled at her reassuringly. His face looked so warm and happy, she almost believed him. Those sparkling dark pools of eyes that she could so easily get lost in. “What made you want to do it?”
She was so caught up in him that for a moment she didn’t realize another question had been asked of her. It was one she’d been asked many times since her arrival in Hollywood. Everyone wanted to know who she was, where she’d come from, how she got into doing stuff like this, what her plans were. But she didn’t mind answering, especially not when it was Rico asking the questions.
“I’ve always wanted to work in movies,” she admitted quietly. “Before this I was a personal trainer but…”
“I can tell! You look super fit.” His eyes glanced her up and down but not in a creepy way. He was charming and flirtatious. Or maybe she was just imagining things. He was probably just being friendly and she was reading too much into it, letting her imagination run wild as usual.
“Thank you,” she mumbled, then continued her story as he remained silent and expectant, obviously wanting to hear more. “Well…I quit my job at the gym to come and do this. Maybe I’ll go get it back again once the shoot is over.”
“No, you’re done with that life now,” he insisted. “Your place is in Hollywood. I bet you’ve got bags of talent.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“You want to act?”
“I’d love to.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place.” He grinned and gave her a light squeeze on the shoulder before turning away. “I’ll leave you to use the shower.”
“Thank you,” she smiled at his retreating back, still clutching at his T-shirt and wondering how she’d managed to get herself into this situation. Thank God for spilled cups of coffee.
The conversation done and assuming Rico was going to head off back to set and leave her to shower and get changed alone, she headed into the bathroom and closed the door.
Being a trailer, it wasn’t the biggest bathroom in the world, just small enough to serve its purpose, so it was a little cramped getting undressed, her arms banging against the sides of the wall slightly as she took her wet shirt off. It really did look pretty see-through, how embarrassing. She wondered whether he’d looked at her bra.
She removed that too and dropped it onto the floor, draping Rico’s shirt over the edge of the sink to make sure it didn’t get wet.
Once she’d removed the rest of her clothes, she turned on the shower and stood there naked, waiting for it to warm up and checking her appearance in the mirror. She’d put a little bit of makeup on that morning, just a touch around her eyes and lips. It helped with her confidence. She smiled slightly to herself, feeling giddy about being in Rico Fernandez’s trailer, about to get into his shower! Was her life even real?
She giggled a little then finally got in under the hot water. It felt pretty nice to just stand there and let it wash down over her, and she felt in such a good mood that she began to sing, just quietly at first, but eventually getting louder until she was having a good ol’ little bop to herself in the shower.
She got out about five minutes later, and wrapped herself in a towel, then picked up all her dry clothes and pushed the door open, walking out into the main part of the caravan again.
She was expecting it to be empty.
But to her surprise, and once again, utter embarrassment, Rico was standing there, almost in the same spot where she’d seen him turn and walk away.
Standing there, just staring at her, his mouth slightly open.