Page 50 of Seeking Stars
He couldn't look away.
Chapter 13 - The Pool
Ana stayed in bed late that morning, staring at the ceiling. She counted as she slowly breathed in and out, in and out. She couldn't close her eyes because, when she did, all she could see was Liam on his side in front of her, helping her warm up under the blankets and a boundless vault of stars.
She had wanted to kiss him, so badly. The look on his eyes had planted an ember right next to her heart, and now it scorched her heart.
Her phone rang; a quick glance at the screen revealed Diana wanted a talk.
"Hi, Diana." Ana begged the call to dampen the flame burning in her.
"Hello, Ana. Everything's good, I hope?"
"Yeah, everything's great." She gulped. "I'm getting some wonderful material. I think this documentary is shaping up to show the costs of fame, very well."
"Right, right, that sounds like a powerful piece! Do you think it'll have a bright side, too? Something to balance out the negativity?"
Ana frowned. The ember darkened as her brain teased Diana's words apart. "We've also talked about some of the perks, of course."
"Fabulous. Make sure to make it balanced, all right? It should appear more… objective, that way, don't you think? And hey, if you want some ideas, Magda at Coulton's office came up with a list of potential themes you can bring into the film. Here, I'm forwarding you the email." The line went silent except for a few clicks. Ana's mind worked at full speed. "You should have it now. What do you think?"
"I'll look at them later, and will see if they fit the story we're telling with this film. It'll be interesting," she added, hiding behind it her impulse to reject it all on principle.
"Yes, please do. Call me if you want to discuss anything. You have no other producers that can help guide you if you need that, so I'm happy to do that for you right now. You know, until you're bigger and have your own team. I'm sure we'll get you there!"
"Thanks, Diana. I hope so!"
"Talk to you later. Bye, Ana!"
Crap. Ana had been wrong to ask the gods to curb her longing for Liam through a conversation with Diana. Her agent's veiled pressure to follow TCA's suggestion dropped bitter into Ana's stomach. And though it helped curtail any impulse Ana may harbor to drop professionalism and kiss Liam already, it did not dissolve her feelings. It just doomed her to live with them, unanswered.
***
After breakfast, Ana and Liam had decided to stay in the cabin and relax. Ana hoped Liam was relaxing, because she was not.
She sat on the swimming pool stairs, enjoying the way cool water lapped against her shoulders. Liam sat on one of the tanning chairs, reading what looked like a script, and she couldn't take her eyes away from him for more than a minute.
She glanced at him, eyebrows wrinkled as he read, visible despite his sunglasses. His naked, sculpted torso glistened with sun lotion. The muscles were trim enough that she could see them ripple when he did something as simple as turn pages. His bathing shorts were short enough that his tanned legs were visible up to his mid-thigh. Tempting her to question what hid behind the strip of fabric.
She closed her eyes and scooped water from the pool, wetting her forehead to cool off.
How inopportune, to pine for Liam that way. She. Was. Working. Talking to Diana was all the reminder Ana needed. She would never, ever risk her professional reputation that way. She needed to cling to that, and never allow a fantasy ruin the opportunity that this project had opened up for her.
She dipped her head back to submerge her hair, imagining that all these thoughts could just drip from her mind into the water.
"This is horrible writing," Liam said from the patio, flipping the script closed and flicking it carelessly to the side.
He got up and shook himself. He swung his arms wide to stretch, following a long arc from his back to his front. In the next fluid motion, he reached for her camera, resting on the other tanning chair.
"This thing is waterproof, right?"
"Yes— if you take the puff off."
"Good," he replied, before taking the puff off, turning it on, taking his sunglasses off, and jumping into the pool.
The resulting splash fell over her like rain. She swept away the excess of water from her face; he whipped his head once, hair spiking to the side, stubborn curls falling back on his forehead. He smiled mischievously at her, sparkling drops running down his face. Effortless beauty.
She cleared her throat. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being annoyed.
