Chapter Seven
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you were still here,” Ashleigh gasped in surprise, standing there in just her towel and feeling all exposed, even more so at the thought that Rico had potentially heard her singing. How long had he been there? Did he even leave the trailer at all or had he been there the whole time? Why did she even assume he was leaving in the first place? Oh God, what an idiot she was.
So many thoughts were running through her head in that split second, but Rico just fixed her with one of his laid back, easy smiles, his pretty, smooth cheeks creasing up as he grinned at her.
“Hey, that was amazing!”
She was confused for a moment, unsure what he was even talking about or referring to, so she just stood there, gawping.
“Your singing,” he continued, elaborating. “It was fantastic.”
Ashleigh started and stammered at the compliment, overawed. “O-oh, I…well…th-thank you, it was…it was really nothing. Just silly shower singing.” She shrugged, still standing there, dripping.
“It wasn’t just that,” Rico shook his head, looking into her eyes seriously. “I swear, Ashleigh. You’re gonna be one to watch.”
“Thank you. Again. That’s…honestly, that’s really amazing coming from a guy like you, with so much talent and–”
“I couldn’t sing like that,” he interrupted, still staring at her. Then he bit his lip and turned away. “Listen, I’m gonna leave you to get changed in peace, go and get myself another coffee but…” He hesitated and turned back to her. “I’ve got no plans for tonight and I was wondering…maybe we could grab some dinner. I could show you a little of LA. Or at least, my favorite restaurant?”
He looked at her with hope in his glimmering eyes, and her heart nearly stopped in her chest.
Was he…was Rico Fernandez asking her to dinner? As in…a dinner date? Was it a date? No, just dinner, right? As friends. She tried to tell herself that. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.
She realized Rico was still waiting for an answer.
“I would love to,” she grinned broadly, probably from ear to ear. “That would be amazing.”
“Great,” he returned the big smile. “Well, it’s gonna be a late-ish kinda shoot tonight I think but, as soon as we’re wrapped, and I’ve had chance to go back and get changed, I’ll call for you. What hotel are you staying at?”
Ashleigh quickly gave him the details and then, as promised, he left her alone in his trailer so she could get dressed and mentally take on board what had just happened.
Once she was alone, she squealed and jumped in the air, the towel dropping from around her, leaving her standing there naked.
Oops. Good job he wasn’t still in the room.
She quickly grabbed it before anyone could see through the window, and then pulled down the blinds and got changed, slipping into Rico’s oversized shirt. It felt comfortable and soft on her skin, and she raised it up to her nostrils, sniffing slightly.
She wasn’t sure what he smelt like. She hadn’t exactly gotten close enough to know, but if it was anything like what his shirt smelled of, she had no complaints.
“Mm…” She let out a soft noise and closed her eyes, smiling to herself. It was like a mixture of coconut, cinnamon, and vanilla. Heavenly. Perhaps she’d get chance to smell more of it later that evening.
She glanced at the time, knowing she should probably get back to work. It was only her second day and she’d just spent half an hour in Rico’s trailer; she really hoped Sally hadn’t come looking for her to do a job. She didn’t want to be in trouble.
She hurriedly grabbed her dirty, wet shirt and left the trailer sheepishly, closing the door behind her and rushing across the courtyard into the main studio building. Thankfully, no one except the catering staff saw her and they were too busy prepping for lunch.
She managed to get to the office without anyone noticing, and stuffed the shirt into an empty plastic bag.
She was just settling back down to her work when Sally knocked on the door and told her it was time to get some food.
The rest of the day went without a hitch. She didn’t see Rico at lunch, or at any point throughout the afternoon. She did glance over at his trailer a couple of times and wonder whether he was in there, but mostly she was kept busy with her work and didn’t have too much time to think of him, rushed off her feet doing all kinds of tasks. It was the best thing for her, the best way to be, because as soon as she had a spare moment to herself, her mind wandered and she couldn’t help daydreaming about what dinner would be like that evening, nervous about what to wear and what she would say to him, and what his intentions were by taking her out like this.
When the sandwiches and cakes were served at 5pm, she only had a couple, wanting to save her appetite for later, and by 6:30pm, she couldn’t wait for the day to be over, starting to feel anxious and excited about their dinner date, and just wanting it to come.
Eventually, they wrapped for the day and she was given a ride back to her hotel.
Although Tim tried to make conversation and ask her how her second day had gone, Ashleigh found that she could barely answer or keep up. She was super distracted and just mumbled her responses until Tim got the idea and stopped talking, the ride falling into a comfortable silence as they listened to the radio and Ashleigh gazed out the window.
When they arrived back at her hotel, she apologized for her silence, explaining that she was tired and it had been a long day.
“It’s totally fine, I get it, don’t worry,” Tim grinned at her, watching as she got out the car. “I’ll see you Monday, bright and early.” They had a day off the following day, which would be nice; it meant she could go out late with Rico that evening and not have to worry about getting up really early.
She smiled and waved goodbye to Tim, then jogged into her hotel and took to the stairs. The elevator still wasn’t working, although the guy on reception promised her it would be fixed within the next week.
Her main concern now was what to wear.
She had no idea what time Rico would be picking her up, or what kind of place he would be taking her to.
All he’d said was that it would be ‘somewhere nice’ and his favorite restaurant. She couldn’t imagine a man like Rico Fernandez eating in some diner or cheap burger bar or chain. It was obviously (probably) going to be something fancy. It was good she’d brought a couple of her dresses with her; the ones she liked to use when she went out singing back at home.
She got them out of the wardrobe and held them up against her body, posing, turning left and right, trying to figure out which one would look best and finally deciding on a simple, but flattering black dress. It came just above her knee, and showed off a little bit of cleavage, which wasn’t much anyway considering her relatively small cup size, but at least it made her feel attractive.
Once she was changed, she pulled up a chair in front of the mirror and applied some makeup, humming to herself and keeping her eye on the time. She was rushing a little. She didn’t want him to suddenly arrive before she was ready.
She was just finishing her lipstick when her phone rang, from an unknown number.
They hadn’t exchanged contact details, but she knew her name and phone number would be right there on the call sheet, the one that every member of the cast and crew had a copy of. Finding her number would be the easiest thing in the world for him.
Nervously, she snatched up the phone off the bed and answered it.
Rico’s deep sexy, slightly accented Puerto Rican voice came down the phone. “Oh hey, is that Ashleigh?”
“It is. Hi, Rico.”
“Hey. I’m outside your hotel right now.”
“Great. I’m ready, I’ll be right down.”
“See you in a bit.”
He hung up, and suddenly this whole thing felt even more real. Her stomach was flipping around so fast she felt like throwing up.
She slipped her feet into a set of comfortable, modest heels, picked up her handbag and room key, and began to make her way downstairs.