Page 24 of Seeking Stars
They parked in silence. Ana hopped out of the car, taking a deep breath full of brine. Without waiting for Liam, she turned slowly, taking the place in, before walking past the cabin to inspect the deck in front of the house. A couple of lounging chairs looked out to the ocean, which seemed just a few steps away. In admiration, she leaned on the wooden railing, taking a deep, contented sigh.
"I see you love it, too," Liam said behind her.
She'd twisted to look at him over her shoulder, wisps of her loose hair whipping around in the ocean breeze. She thought she'd gush about the cabin, the tall cliffs that surrounded it and gave it unparalleled privacy, the ocean… but the words died in her throat.
Instead, she stared at Liam standing there on the deck, hands casually resting on his hips. A gust of wind played with his shirt, revealing a strip of naked, tan skin right above the waistband of his jeans. His smile was bright and proud, his hair messy and windswept, his arms and chest solid. His eyes sparkled with what she imagined was delight, the sun shining on them like emeralds.
"Beautiful," she said without thinking. She tensed up and bit hard on the inside of her cheek, immediate regret for the word, but he didn't seem to notice. She closed it inside a lead vault in her mind and ran away from it as fast as she could.
"Yes," he agreed, facing the sea. One of his hands reached up to scratch his growing beard. "I say we get things out of the car and then, I don't know about you, but I'm going to jump right into the water."
She straightened and turned to him, digging her nails into the palm of her hands.
"Sounds good." If only her heart would stop its galloping.
As they took their bags and provisions out of the car, Ana kept the door of the vault in her mind sealed shut. She offered to put things away and organize the cabin and Liam, offering to make dinner to compensate for it, had run to a bedroom with his bag. He hadn't seemed to notice she avoided looking at him directly.
He came out in shorts and a shirt, wearing flip flops, with a towel in his hand. He waved and stepped outside, glee all over his face.
From the corner of her eye, she tracked him through one of the big windows facing the sea. He left the towel on the railing and, in a swift motion, took off his shirt. He hung it from the railing, too, next to the towel. He gave her his back, so she turned to him and watched him kick his flip flops off his feet and jump onto the sand. He jogged into the water; she remained still and lost in the middle of the small living room.
"That's inconvenient," she murmured into the empty cabin. She didn't dare open the lead door and fully inspect what was inside but it didn't matter— she knew what she'd hidden inside.
Developing a crush on Liam was ill-advised. Liam was one of the most handsome men she'd ever met so, sure, being charmed was to be expected. Letting that grow into something else? Allowing it to bubble up into a spark of unadulterated fixation screamed danger. She needed to keep that in check, stomp on the spark and suffocate it. Just because he flirted with her a couple of times it did not mean she could afford to go beyond general appreciation.
Professional. She could keep it professional. She didn't dare risk even imagining a universe where she took action on her attraction to him.
A few minutes later, she stepped out onto the deck and set the camera for a wide angle, to record him from afar swimming in the ocean. She left the camera there, before going back inside to set the place for their stay, and scold herself into line.
***
Liam's favorite thing about spending time at the beach was the change in the pace of things. Hours stretched; even the sun seemed to slow down on its path. He'd worried that Ana's presence would get in the way of his relaxation, but if the past couple of days were any indication, the next few weeks would be fun. Only a few days since they'd started filming, and not only did he tend to forget she was recording; it was fun hanging out with her.
He had a call booked with Dr. Linda for the next day; she'd be happy that he'd found a way to get so much out of this project already. He certainly was.
After a good workout in the sand, he took a refreshing morning swim in the cool Pacific waters. With loose muscles and a pleased smile on his face, he approached the table on the deck where Ana had just finished setting up some food for breakfast.
"Thanks, Ana. I'll clean up after."
"No problem."
They sat and put food on their plates; she poured coffee for the both of them. They ate in silence for a few minutes and by the time he thought of something to say, she tried to talk as well. They both interrupted themselves and, realizing neither of them had continued, they chuckled.
"Go ahead," he said. "You first."
"You've shared that you're the kind of celebrity that doesn't enjoy fame. What did you mean? You said a few things but I don't think I really get it." She buttered some toast and took a bite.
He didn't respond right away. "I don't think you can. Not until you've been through it."
"Could you try? Maybe just… three things you don't like."
He took a sip of coffee. "Okay. In no particular order, the first thing I'll say, exercising and dieting. I like exercising but this is too much. And when I make an action movie or a rom-com with shirtless scenes, it's worse. Strict meal plans and dehydration. It's so unhealthy and yet, it's part of the job."
"All to look good to the masses."
"Yep. It's in the contracts, you know? That you'll have a certain look. Of course, everyone in the business encourages it because sex sells. People expect a body in a main role to look a certain way, in my case as a guy probably because of a skewed sense of what masculinity looks like. The people consuming these movies probably have no idea it's actually a bad thing to do to your body. There is such a thing as over-exercising and, of course, under-eating is a big deal, too. Insurance premiums for health are sky high because of it."
In rebellion to that fact, he reached for another slice of toast.
