Hearts on Air
Page 37
“I’m sorry. I hope I’m not interrupting. I just need to grab a few things and then I’ll be out of your hair,” I said, deciding to go out for the day and do some exploring while I had the chance.
“You’re fine. Stay,” said Leanne. “I’m so sorry about last night. You didn’t even get to sleep in your bed.”
I waved away her apology. “Don’t worry about it. Trev volunteered his and he slept in Callum’s.”
“Ever the gentleman is our Trevor,” said Paul with a grin.
I didn’t indulge his teasing and focused my attention on Leanne. “Did you and Callum manage to patch things up?”
There must’ve been something in my gaze that made her feel vulnerable because she looked away. “Yeah, we, um, made friends.”
“For as long as that lasts,” Paul added ruefully, and Leanne nudged him in the side. “Ow, that hurt.”
“You were asking for it,” Leanne threw back then looked at me. “We must seem like such drama queens to you. It’s just that . . . well,” she paused, seeming embarrassed before she continued, “Cal tried to kiss me while we were out last night. I knocked him back and he invited those girls home because he was angry. I shouldn’t have given him a reaction, but what can you do?”
“I don’t think you’re a drama queen. I’ve been through it all before, remember?”
She nodded. “Right. Well, I just wanted to make sure you don’t hate me for locking you out of your own room.”
I waved her away. “Like I said, it’s fine. I’m just glad you two had a chance to sort things out.”
“Got any plans for the day?” Paul asked, gazing up at me from his spot on Leanne’s bed.
“I’m gonna try being a tourist on for size,” I answered. “Seems like there’s no sense in sticking around here.”
“Can I come? I definitely need an excuse to get out of this apartment,” asked Leanne.
“Sure. I’m just going to take a quick shower and then we can go.”
In the end Paul decided to tag along with us. Trev was in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal as we were leaving. He seemed a bit disappointed that we didn’t invite him along, but I needed the distance. I was still digesting a lot of stuff.
The three of us did the whole tourist circuit around the city, and I got to know Leanne and Paul better away from the chaos of the impending filming. I liked them a lot, and by the end of the day our threesome had found a nice, comfortable rhythm.
Thankfully I got to spend the night in my own bed, and unlike the previous day, everyone was tucked up early. I guessed they all knew where their priorities lay. They had a full day of filming ahead and they needed to be fresh.
I was climbing the back stairs of an old, musty apartment building the following morning with Neil when I started to realise just how demanding this job was. Being a PA for these five wasn’t all ordering lattes and arranging meetings over the phone. It was stunt permits, non-liability waivers, clearing streets and ensuring medics were on site should any injuries occur. I’d been up since the crack of dawn helping Neil.
When we stepped out onto the rooftop, I saw just how many people were involved in making the show. In my mind, it was simply the director and the film crew, but there were so many other professionals milling about, all with jobs to do.
Trev stood by the far corner of the roof talking to the director, Barry, while he limbered up and stretched. You’d think he’d be decked out in athletic gear, but instead he wore a hoodie, a pair of loose-fitting jeans and Nikes. In this get-up he reminded me so much of the boy I first met in a dark, crowded nightclub, the one who was full of smiles and easy charm.
He caught my eye and gestured for me to come over. I closed the distance between us and shot Barry a polite smile.
“I want you to meet an old friend of mine. This is Reya. She’s filling in for Jo while we shoot.”
“Nice to meet you, Reya,” said Barry, reaching out to shake my hand. His expression was polite but businesslike. He looked like a man with a long string of tasks to complete—slightly harried. “I hope you’re quick on your feet, otherwise this lot’ll run rings around you.”
“Oh, I’m aware,” I replied with a laugh.
“Anyway, I better be off. I need to go talk to Callum.”
When he was gone I turned to Trev. “That sounds serious.”
“Not really. Somebody always needs to talk to Cal. It’s like the sun rising in the morning,” he joked, then continued more seriously. “Used to be they had to talk to me as well.”
I smiled at him. “But not anymore because you’re a grown-up now?”
He winked. “I’ll never be a real grown-up and we both know it, but let’s keep that our little secret, yeah?”
Something came over me with his wink and I folded my arms to keep from doing anything ridiculous—like swooning.
“Our little secret.” I nodded.
“So how’d your day go with Leanne and Paul?” he asked, fluttering his eyelashes when he said Paul’s name. I pinched him lightly on the arm, knowing he was teasing me for my crush. It wasn’t really a crush. At least, it wasn’t anymore. Now that I’d spent time with him I knew all I felt for Paul was friendship. I still admired him, because after all, he was extremely talented, but now he felt more like a little brother than anything else.
“It went fine. I had fun. Is this a camera?” I asked, poking at the contraption hooked up to the neckline of his hoodie. I guessed it was for all those first-person shots they used in the show.
“Hmm, why so thin on the details?” Trev asked back, ignoring my question. “Did you and Paul have a romantic smooch by the riverside or something?” He wasn’t letting up.
I narrowed my gaze, refusing to let him get to me. “Why? Are you jealous?”
Trev walked around me, or should I say prowled. There was intensity to his movements, even though his eyes were smiling. I shifted, my back brushing the wall at the edge of the building as he penned me in. He tilted his head, his attention moving over my features when he finally answered, “Maybe.”
My stomach flipped and our gazes held until Leanne interrupted us. “Hey, you two. Neil’s handing out bottles of water if you want some.”
Trev finally dragged his eyes away from mine. “Nah, I’m good.”
“You’re fine. Stay,” said Leanne. “I’m so sorry about last night. You didn’t even get to sleep in your bed.”
I waved away her apology. “Don’t worry about it. Trev volunteered his and he slept in Callum’s.”
“Ever the gentleman is our Trevor,” said Paul with a grin.
I didn’t indulge his teasing and focused my attention on Leanne. “Did you and Callum manage to patch things up?”
There must’ve been something in my gaze that made her feel vulnerable because she looked away. “Yeah, we, um, made friends.”
“For as long as that lasts,” Paul added ruefully, and Leanne nudged him in the side. “Ow, that hurt.”
“You were asking for it,” Leanne threw back then looked at me. “We must seem like such drama queens to you. It’s just that . . . well,” she paused, seeming embarrassed before she continued, “Cal tried to kiss me while we were out last night. I knocked him back and he invited those girls home because he was angry. I shouldn’t have given him a reaction, but what can you do?”
“I don’t think you’re a drama queen. I’ve been through it all before, remember?”
She nodded. “Right. Well, I just wanted to make sure you don’t hate me for locking you out of your own room.”
I waved her away. “Like I said, it’s fine. I’m just glad you two had a chance to sort things out.”
“Got any plans for the day?” Paul asked, gazing up at me from his spot on Leanne’s bed.
“I’m gonna try being a tourist on for size,” I answered. “Seems like there’s no sense in sticking around here.”
“Can I come? I definitely need an excuse to get out of this apartment,” asked Leanne.
“Sure. I’m just going to take a quick shower and then we can go.”
In the end Paul decided to tag along with us. Trev was in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal as we were leaving. He seemed a bit disappointed that we didn’t invite him along, but I needed the distance. I was still digesting a lot of stuff.
The three of us did the whole tourist circuit around the city, and I got to know Leanne and Paul better away from the chaos of the impending filming. I liked them a lot, and by the end of the day our threesome had found a nice, comfortable rhythm.
Thankfully I got to spend the night in my own bed, and unlike the previous day, everyone was tucked up early. I guessed they all knew where their priorities lay. They had a full day of filming ahead and they needed to be fresh.
I was climbing the back stairs of an old, musty apartment building the following morning with Neil when I started to realise just how demanding this job was. Being a PA for these five wasn’t all ordering lattes and arranging meetings over the phone. It was stunt permits, non-liability waivers, clearing streets and ensuring medics were on site should any injuries occur. I’d been up since the crack of dawn helping Neil.
When we stepped out onto the rooftop, I saw just how many people were involved in making the show. In my mind, it was simply the director and the film crew, but there were so many other professionals milling about, all with jobs to do.
Trev stood by the far corner of the roof talking to the director, Barry, while he limbered up and stretched. You’d think he’d be decked out in athletic gear, but instead he wore a hoodie, a pair of loose-fitting jeans and Nikes. In this get-up he reminded me so much of the boy I first met in a dark, crowded nightclub, the one who was full of smiles and easy charm.
He caught my eye and gestured for me to come over. I closed the distance between us and shot Barry a polite smile.
“I want you to meet an old friend of mine. This is Reya. She’s filling in for Jo while we shoot.”
“Nice to meet you, Reya,” said Barry, reaching out to shake my hand. His expression was polite but businesslike. He looked like a man with a long string of tasks to complete—slightly harried. “I hope you’re quick on your feet, otherwise this lot’ll run rings around you.”
“Oh, I’m aware,” I replied with a laugh.
“Anyway, I better be off. I need to go talk to Callum.”
When he was gone I turned to Trev. “That sounds serious.”
“Not really. Somebody always needs to talk to Cal. It’s like the sun rising in the morning,” he joked, then continued more seriously. “Used to be they had to talk to me as well.”
I smiled at him. “But not anymore because you’re a grown-up now?”
He winked. “I’ll never be a real grown-up and we both know it, but let’s keep that our little secret, yeah?”
Something came over me with his wink and I folded my arms to keep from doing anything ridiculous—like swooning.
“Our little secret.” I nodded.
“So how’d your day go with Leanne and Paul?” he asked, fluttering his eyelashes when he said Paul’s name. I pinched him lightly on the arm, knowing he was teasing me for my crush. It wasn’t really a crush. At least, it wasn’t anymore. Now that I’d spent time with him I knew all I felt for Paul was friendship. I still admired him, because after all, he was extremely talented, but now he felt more like a little brother than anything else.
“It went fine. I had fun. Is this a camera?” I asked, poking at the contraption hooked up to the neckline of his hoodie. I guessed it was for all those first-person shots they used in the show.
“Hmm, why so thin on the details?” Trev asked back, ignoring my question. “Did you and Paul have a romantic smooch by the riverside or something?” He wasn’t letting up.
I narrowed my gaze, refusing to let him get to me. “Why? Are you jealous?”
Trev walked around me, or should I say prowled. There was intensity to his movements, even though his eyes were smiling. I shifted, my back brushing the wall at the edge of the building as he penned me in. He tilted his head, his attention moving over my features when he finally answered, “Maybe.”
My stomach flipped and our gazes held until Leanne interrupted us. “Hey, you two. Neil’s handing out bottles of water if you want some.”
Trev finally dragged his eyes away from mine. “Nah, I’m good.”
