Page 43 of Seeking Stars
They hung up; Liam gave the phone back to Ana. "She is a delight."
"She is."
"Lots of energy."
"Nuclear levels."
"What's all of this?" He looked around at the array of devices she had on her bed.
"I was doing some light editing. I also recorded some voiceovers and prepped a couple of posts for Social Media."
"Are you a night owl too, then? It's one a.m."
"Yes. Voiceovers flow much better when I'm just about ready for bed. You know how people say the best conversations happen late at night?"
"Yeah." He leaned back on his hands. The gentle light in the small room made for a cozy space. His powerful shoulders and sculpted arms made for a dangerous distraction. The soft smile on his face made for neutral, safe ground. She focused on that part of him.
"I once read that those good late night conversations happen because our filters come down when we're tired. I think it has something to do with that; it helps me look at the material with a different perspective."
"That makes sense."
Sitting back up, he reached for her camera. He played with it, moving it around in his hands. Turning it on, he shifted on the bed so that he faced her, one of his legs folded on the bed. It seemed to Ana that he centered her on the frame.
"Ana Lira."
"Yes?" Her braid fell over her shoulder.
"Are you tired?" he asked.
"Getting there."
"Are your walls coming down?"
"My walls?"
"Yeah. Your filters."
"Are filters the same as walls?"
"I'd say so, wouldn't you?"
She considered, her head dropping to the side. "I guess you could say that, yeah."
"If I asked you to tell me one of your fears, would you?"
She squinted at him, evaluating. "Maybe."
"Let's make this into a game. You tell me one fear, any random one, and I will tell you one as well. Prompts for a late night conversation, if you will."
She remained silent, her lips pursed in suspicion. She could see the mischief in his eyes.
Without an explanation, he balanced the camera in one hand as he stood. He approached her and signaled for her to move on the bed, making room for him. After she did so, he sat next to her, close together. Pivoting the camera's screen, he checked that they were now both in the frame.
"Okay, I'll start," he announced. "I'm afraid my make-up artist is going to scold me for getting so tan."
She laughed. "Not what I was expecting when you said we'd talk about fears. Fine, I'll play. What scares you about that?"
"He has a sharp tongue. It won't matter that I've used sunscreen every day. He'll be pissed at how I'm damaging my skin. Worse is, I know he's right."
