Hearts on Air
Page 47
“You wish,” Paul shot back. “I saw you checking out my arse during filming today.”
“Piss off.”
“You were right behind him,” said Leanne, a lilting tease in her voice.
“Don’t you start. Besides, the only arse I check out around here is yours.”
Leanne had nothing to say to that, her face flushing bright red. I decided to be a good Samaritan and save her more embarrassment by changing the subject. “Actually, another thing I can’t stand is Tinder. It literally makes me feel like there’s no joy left in the world.”
“You’re on Tinder?” Trev asked, his shoulders tensing.
I cast him a glance. “Well, not anymore. I tried it out a while back, but all the dates I went on were terrible.”
“Oh, I love a good dating horror story,” said Paul. “Spill the beans.”
“It wasn’t so much that they were horror stories, they were just awkward. I feel like the more I fancy someone in a picture, the less I fancy them in real life. And the guys I might not like in pictures could be incredibly charismatic when I met them. Making decisions based on appearances is just so flawed.”
“Oh my God, you’re completely right,” said Leanne in agreement. “My cousin once set me up with a friend of hers, and I didn’t like the look of him at all when she showed me a photo. But then we met and I don’t know, he wasn’t conventionally attractive, but there was something about how he looked at me when I was talking that gave me butterflies. Like he was really listening to what I said, you know?”
I thought I heard Callum let out a quiet scoff, but thankfully Leanne didn’t hear.
“Oh, totally,” I answered, ignoring Callum. “That’s why I never judge a book by its cover.”
Trev had gone very quiet, and though the conversation continued he didn’t speak much for the rest of the meal.
“You wanted to talk?” he asked low, coming up beside me as I brought my dish to the sink. Paul and James had offered to do the clean up, but I was determined to at least bus my own plate.
I glanced at Trev, noticing the tension in his shoulders was still there. “Yes, um,” I looked behind me and saw the camera crew were packing up to leave, which was a relief. “Can we go out onto the balcony?” I asked, at the same time turning off my microphone. The balcony was the only private place I could think of.
“Sure,” he answered and placed his hand to the small of my back to lead me out. His heat sank into me and I suppressed the urge to close my eyes.
It was a cool night. The dress I wore was sleeveless and it felt good to have the breeze hit my skin. Probably because Trev’s hand made me feel so hot.
“We’re heading to Paris tomorrow. Are you excited?” I asked as I sat down on one of the deck chairs.
“Yeah, should be fun,” Trev replied and took the seat next to me.
Remembering he probably had a mic on, too, I reached over and began searching his torso. He let out a chuckle like I was making him ticklish. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to find your mic. I bet that Jimbo is listening to everything we say. Nosy bugger.”
Trev didn’t argue and I found it tucked into the waistband of his jeans. He sat forward to grant me better access, and my fingers brushed the bare skin of his back. I noticed how neither one of us commented on moments like these. Like Trev could’ve easily switched it off himself, but he’d rather let me do it. I could’ve easily told him to turn it off, but I’d rather do it because that meant I got to touch him.
I was so far gone there was no use trying to climb back to where I was supposed to be. I planned to keep things platonic. I planned to focus on my music. But I’d barely written anything in days and all I could think about was him. When he walked into a room, my eyes instinctively followed.
“So,” I said as I sat back, my curiosity getting the better of me. “What exactly was all that about Callum sending pictures to girls on Tinder?”
Trev’s brow rose. “You don’t know?”
I shook my head. He exhaled heavily and let out a light chuckle. “It was all over the gossip sites a few months back. I can’t believe you never heard about it.”
“Well, I don’t really read gossip sites.” Not unless I’m having a particularly bad day and making the poor decision to google your name, my subconscious added.
His eyes traced the line of my jaw before coming to rest on my lips. “Guess you’re too classy for the likes of that, huh?”
“Too busy trying to make rent, more like,” I replied.
He stared at me for a long moment, then seemed to shake himself out of it. “So, like I said, this all happened a few months back. Callum was having cybersex with some girl he met online. She convinced him to send pictures, and I’m not talking about photos of his grannie’s seventieth birthday party. Dumb bastard goes ahead and snaps a bunch of shots of his wedding tackle. Then boom, the next day they’re splashed all over the Internet.”
My hand went to my mouth in shock. “Did they show his face?”
“Nah, he was clever enough to keep the camera downstairs at least. Our PR rep tried spinning it that they were fakes, but nobody really believed that since the girl had screen shots of their entire conversation. The scandal didn’t do him any harm though. It only had more girls coming onto him, since the pictures were a little too complimentary.”
I laughed at that. “Oh yeah?”
“I still say it was a lucky angle.”
“Well, he doesn’t need his ego stroked any more than it already is, that’s for sure.”
Trev cast me a considering glance. “You don’t like Cal much, do you?”
“I don’t not like him. I just find him difficult to warm to.”
“Because of how he treats Leanne?”
I shrugged. “That’s one part of it.”
“Reya, I know you look at them and see a younger version of us, but their situation is completely different. Trust me.”
“So Callum’s just misunderstood?”
“Nope. He’s a dickhead. But he’s a dickhead who has his reasons.”
“We all have our reasons, but there comes a time when we have to decide whether to keep letting them rule our lives or make an effort to change.” Like you’re doing, I wanted to add, but that was a whole other conversation I wasn’t quite ready to get into. A long few moments of quiet passed. Unspoken words drifted heavy in the air between us.
“Piss off.”
“You were right behind him,” said Leanne, a lilting tease in her voice.
“Don’t you start. Besides, the only arse I check out around here is yours.”
Leanne had nothing to say to that, her face flushing bright red. I decided to be a good Samaritan and save her more embarrassment by changing the subject. “Actually, another thing I can’t stand is Tinder. It literally makes me feel like there’s no joy left in the world.”
“You’re on Tinder?” Trev asked, his shoulders tensing.
I cast him a glance. “Well, not anymore. I tried it out a while back, but all the dates I went on were terrible.”
“Oh, I love a good dating horror story,” said Paul. “Spill the beans.”
“It wasn’t so much that they were horror stories, they were just awkward. I feel like the more I fancy someone in a picture, the less I fancy them in real life. And the guys I might not like in pictures could be incredibly charismatic when I met them. Making decisions based on appearances is just so flawed.”
“Oh my God, you’re completely right,” said Leanne in agreement. “My cousin once set me up with a friend of hers, and I didn’t like the look of him at all when she showed me a photo. But then we met and I don’t know, he wasn’t conventionally attractive, but there was something about how he looked at me when I was talking that gave me butterflies. Like he was really listening to what I said, you know?”
I thought I heard Callum let out a quiet scoff, but thankfully Leanne didn’t hear.
“Oh, totally,” I answered, ignoring Callum. “That’s why I never judge a book by its cover.”
Trev had gone very quiet, and though the conversation continued he didn’t speak much for the rest of the meal.
“You wanted to talk?” he asked low, coming up beside me as I brought my dish to the sink. Paul and James had offered to do the clean up, but I was determined to at least bus my own plate.
I glanced at Trev, noticing the tension in his shoulders was still there. “Yes, um,” I looked behind me and saw the camera crew were packing up to leave, which was a relief. “Can we go out onto the balcony?” I asked, at the same time turning off my microphone. The balcony was the only private place I could think of.
“Sure,” he answered and placed his hand to the small of my back to lead me out. His heat sank into me and I suppressed the urge to close my eyes.
It was a cool night. The dress I wore was sleeveless and it felt good to have the breeze hit my skin. Probably because Trev’s hand made me feel so hot.
“We’re heading to Paris tomorrow. Are you excited?” I asked as I sat down on one of the deck chairs.
“Yeah, should be fun,” Trev replied and took the seat next to me.
Remembering he probably had a mic on, too, I reached over and began searching his torso. He let out a chuckle like I was making him ticklish. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to find your mic. I bet that Jimbo is listening to everything we say. Nosy bugger.”
Trev didn’t argue and I found it tucked into the waistband of his jeans. He sat forward to grant me better access, and my fingers brushed the bare skin of his back. I noticed how neither one of us commented on moments like these. Like Trev could’ve easily switched it off himself, but he’d rather let me do it. I could’ve easily told him to turn it off, but I’d rather do it because that meant I got to touch him.
I was so far gone there was no use trying to climb back to where I was supposed to be. I planned to keep things platonic. I planned to focus on my music. But I’d barely written anything in days and all I could think about was him. When he walked into a room, my eyes instinctively followed.
“So,” I said as I sat back, my curiosity getting the better of me. “What exactly was all that about Callum sending pictures to girls on Tinder?”
Trev’s brow rose. “You don’t know?”
I shook my head. He exhaled heavily and let out a light chuckle. “It was all over the gossip sites a few months back. I can’t believe you never heard about it.”
“Well, I don’t really read gossip sites.” Not unless I’m having a particularly bad day and making the poor decision to google your name, my subconscious added.
His eyes traced the line of my jaw before coming to rest on my lips. “Guess you’re too classy for the likes of that, huh?”
“Too busy trying to make rent, more like,” I replied.
He stared at me for a long moment, then seemed to shake himself out of it. “So, like I said, this all happened a few months back. Callum was having cybersex with some girl he met online. She convinced him to send pictures, and I’m not talking about photos of his grannie’s seventieth birthday party. Dumb bastard goes ahead and snaps a bunch of shots of his wedding tackle. Then boom, the next day they’re splashed all over the Internet.”
My hand went to my mouth in shock. “Did they show his face?”
“Nah, he was clever enough to keep the camera downstairs at least. Our PR rep tried spinning it that they were fakes, but nobody really believed that since the girl had screen shots of their entire conversation. The scandal didn’t do him any harm though. It only had more girls coming onto him, since the pictures were a little too complimentary.”
I laughed at that. “Oh yeah?”
“I still say it was a lucky angle.”
“Well, he doesn’t need his ego stroked any more than it already is, that’s for sure.”
Trev cast me a considering glance. “You don’t like Cal much, do you?”
“I don’t not like him. I just find him difficult to warm to.”
“Because of how he treats Leanne?”
I shrugged. “That’s one part of it.”
“Reya, I know you look at them and see a younger version of us, but their situation is completely different. Trust me.”
“So Callum’s just misunderstood?”
“Nope. He’s a dickhead. But he’s a dickhead who has his reasons.”
“We all have our reasons, but there comes a time when we have to decide whether to keep letting them rule our lives or make an effort to change.” Like you’re doing, I wanted to add, but that was a whole other conversation I wasn’t quite ready to get into. A long few moments of quiet passed. Unspoken words drifted heavy in the air between us.
