Once we got off the shuttle, everyone sprang right into action, as though a timer for production had been set off the moment our feet touched the ground. It was us against the sun, for as Director Jimenez put it, we needed "proximal natural sunlight we can get".
After getting past security and having them dig through my backpack for any banned items, out of simple courtesy, Director Jimenez gave us a brief tour, pointing out where the restrooms and designated trailers for wardrobe and makeup are located. Omar texted me a copy of his map, as he and I will be roaming the beach for a while as they get ready.
"I'll see you during break," Delaware says over my shoulder as she rushes into her trailer with her name labeled outside the door. Leo attempts to hold back by staying by my side for a few minutes, but eventually loses the battle when a crowd of staff ushers him inside his large trailer.
I stick to the side with Omar, and we head to the area where extras were eating food off the breakfast table. Without hesitation, I appease my temptations and plop a blueberry chocolate stuffed waffle into my plastic plate and a side of fruit. After I ate my plate clean, Omar excuses himself, and I follow the extras on set to a designated open area on the beach for me to roam and situate myself.
I find a spot that is distant from the shore, underneath a tall tree that provides me sufficient shade as I pull out my notebook and tablet to work on the layout of my dog adoption cafe bookstore.
Thanks to the contract, the building I have been keeping my eye on for the past year was officially sold to Leo and me. The reason it was so perfect is that next door is an animal shelter, and the area was subtle with small shops that would make my cafe bookstore fit right in. I used to volunteer there often in the summer to help with my stress when I was a college student. It was my getaway, and what inspired me to want to make a cafe bookstore that worked with a shelter to help with pet adoptions.
I still remember my connection with this one great Dane named Clover, who thankfully got adopted by a wonderful family. My favorite memory was reading to him under a Christmas tree during my winter break.
He was the reason why I wanted my cafe bookstore to help with adoptions. My cafe bookstore was always my dream, but having it help give a voice to the animals that need a home is what gave that dream a purpose.
The building itself still needs a bit of work, but after it gets renovated, it should be ready by the time my contract with Leo is done next year in late April. Everything about it was strategically outlined, and if Leo ever wanted me to pay him a percentage of what I make, I'd be glad to do so. He immediately declined that term, and before we knew it, everything was signed off.
He offered to help in the process when we would have our nightly chats after he was done filming, but I was persistent on handling it myself, given that he had already helped by buying the place.
I did ask for his opinion from time to time as I illustrated a 3D model layout with the cafe on one side of the building towards the back, and in the front, the bookstore. He beamed each time I took a suggestion from him, like choosing the lighting for the cafe section, along with possible menu options.
As I was glancing over recipes and potential appliances, a single tap hits the side of my shoulder, bolting me out of a peaceful place of mind. I pull one earbud out of my ears and greet the sounds of the waves and a familiar, unexpected voice.
"There you are." Mitchelle Sithe says in his bright yellow shorts with a single stripe at the bottom near his knees.
"Was Leo looking for me?" I say, picking up my phone to reveal no new messages.
"No," Mitchell replies, crouching lower to me. "But I was. Mind if I sit next to you?"
I eye him and glance around for Omar. He was nowhere in sight. I shoot him a quick text asking where he is. He doesn't reply, giving me three assumptions: either 1, he was with Leo, 2, he was in a meeting with security, or 3, he was in the bathroom, taking his time on the toilet. Either way, I was starting to get concerned. The sun was disappearing, and the waves were getting stronger.
"Sure," I reply, keeping one headphone in my ear and my phone in my other hand. I pick up and tablet to pick up where I left off in working on my cafe bookstore. "Though I won't be much of a chatter."
"Perfectly fine with me." He happily chirps and takes his place on the sand beneath the tree. As he sits down, he picks up the discarded earbud that was beside me and puts it in his ear.
Immediate embarrassment washes over me when one of his older solo songs that he sang pre-debut of The Menace Seven starts to play. I tap twice on the earbud to change it, but another one of his plays from that same album.
"Big fan?" Mitchell tosses his head back and glances over my shoulder as I attempt to play the first modern pop song I could find on my phone.
"I was…" my voice drifts. I pray the sun had hit my face enough to conceal the flush on both sides of my cheeks.
"What was your favorite song?" he continues, leaning his head further to the side, inspecting me with sudden interest that was outside of my association with Leo.
"Ummm," I say despite knowing what exact song and lyric has always been my favorite. It was one of his most vulnerable songs as it alludes to being in a cold state of mind and uses the planet Neptune as a metaphor. It's melodic and was performed only once in his entire career. Luckily, I was there to witness it before his music shifted in a different direction, from what once became soft to then a harsh tone with The Menace Seven.
"Neptune," I finally say, returning my attention to my tablet.
"Really?" his eyes widen, and the arch in his neck went straight, snapping it into a default position. "Out of all of them," he scoffs. "You pick a sissy song like Neptune? Not Hard Summer? Or Aquarius?"
I shake my head side to side. "Neptune feels more real," I reply. "It's raw, and it's full of longing. If that is what you consider to be your 'sissy' music, then 'sissy music' is what I like. It's the whole reason why I don't listen to any of your new music."
I then add a simple 'no offense' and continue, as he seems to take into account the criticism I have to provide. "It's too filtered. Too superficial, and if we're really going there," I take a deep breath. "It's a slap in the face compared to your old music."
He grimaces at the delivery of my last line and flickers his attention to the ocean to catch another wave of what I call false confidence. "I see," he faintly says. "You seem to know a lot about my old music. Was it by any chance because I was your favorite?"
Yeah, at one point. Not now, bud. Is what I want to impulsively reply with.
"I'm not sure you want the answer to that?" I scrunch my face with disapproval, zooming in to read the directions of a specific recipe for sourdough that seemed enticing.
"Try me," he chuckles.
"Are you sure? Some say I have no filter." I admit, skimming halfway through the directions and visuals.
"Yes," Mitchell nods. "No one has been this honest with me."
"Well, if you want the truth." I sigh. "No."
"Then who is?" he fully turns to me with his legs crossed in front of him like a kindergarten student. "Let me guess, Alan?"
"Nope."
"Keiran?"
"Nope."
"Hyed?"
"Damien," I promptly answer.
"H-h-him?" Mitchell stammers and circles his neck as though it was stiff from trying to figure out the answer to the meaning of life. "Why him?"
"Because he's not the asshole type." I see Omar's message and lift myself up from the sand to make my way to the main area of the beach, where the extras started to be directed. Mitchell attempts to trail after me by calling my name, but fails when a crew member stops him and gives him instructions for the next scene they will be filming.
I moved in the same direction as they did on the opposite side of the beach, where the cast members were in a circle, waiting for Mitchell. He arrives by the time I stand to the side with Omar.
Within themselves, they go over a beach scene with Director Jimenez and safety protocols as the tides were starting to rise. According to Omar, they were thinking of using Leo's stunt double for a surfing scene they will need to shoot after this one, which is why Omar took a while to answer me. Leo ended up declining and said he wanted to try it out before having the stuntman do it.
It was hard to see what he looked like until they broke out of their circle. When he does, he does a quick turnaround and stops in place when he spots me.
I pursed my lips to hold a gasp as any little reaction would allow him to unravel my current biological response to him. After all, I may not like him, but I am also not stupid enough to say his current look didn't have me on the edge of a feeling I did not want to uncover.
His dark, wet hair was combed back, outlining his sharp jaw and his toned body; there wasn't a single flaw there. With his tall height, his broad shoulders caught what was left of the rays of the sun behind the clouds, and his elongated waist displayed all six packs of his abs, leaving little imagination of what I would call a slutty waist with the cut of the red shorts sinching his hips.
The edge of his mouth reveals a glimpse of his teeth, sinking the sensation in me even further. I awkwardly half-waive and slip into another spiral as the poke from Cupid's bow vanished within seconds when Georgia planted her hands directly on his chest to signal him to focus his attention on her for this scene. He moves her pawning hands away from his chest and holds them in between his as they step into the view of the camera.
They looked perfect next to each other. Completely complimentary, unlike Leo and me. The casting director had a vision, and they executed it well. It's no wonder that his agent and his mother wanted them together. If they made a kid, their genetics would be absolutely insanely beautiful.
Satisfied, the director excitedly yells, "Action", and the scene begins, snapping me into a reminder of why I am here and the purpose of this arrangement. This is only temporary.
We are only temporary.