Never Standing Still (The Never Duet #1)(12)
“So you’re thirty?”
“Ish.”
He laughed, dragging his hand over his smile again, then rubbed the underside of his chin with the back of his hand. I couldn’t explain why it turned me on, other than the fact that it was the most masculine thing I’d ever seen any man do. Hands, stubble, chin, fingers… Jesus.
“You won’t tell me how old you are?”
“Gentlemen aren’t supposed to ask women their age.”
“I guess that’s true. I’m twenty-seven, in case you were curious.”
I was curious. I tried to let my mind wrap around his age and figure out if I was bothered by the fact that he was younger than me. I determined, in that moment, that it didn’t bother me, but I also determined that it didn’t matter. His age was unimportant because he was just a guy I was working with. Nothing more.
“Just a baby,” I teased.
He laughed and I felt my cheeks bunch up from smiling. His happiness was contagious and I wanted to catch it. “How long are you in town for?”
“Just for the shoot. I drove down this morning and I’ll stay until it’s done, but then I’ll probably go back to Seattle.” I paused and looked him in the eyes, still glistening in the darkness. “You?”
“Well, I’m here for the shoot, but I don’t have another job until next month, so I only bought a one-way ticket. Figured I’d go back whenever I wanted to. Thought maybe I’d check out the city.”
“Portland’s pretty great. My friends live here so I come here sometimes when I’m not working to see them.”
“Oh yeah? So you’d make a decent tour guide?”
“Well,” I paused, “I’m not sure about that. We don’t want the blind leading the blind.”
“You wouldn’t take an extra day to help me out? You don’t want me wandering around a strange city by myself, do you?”
“Something tells me you’d be just fine by yourself,” I said through a laugh, purposefully looking out toward the road, not wanting to be trapped by his gaze any longer, hoping Ella showed up soon. I knew I’d only be able to deny him for so long.
“I might be fine by myself, but it doesn’t mean I want to be alone.” His words, which had been playful before, were now serious and filled with hidden meaning. We were stuck in the silence, staring at each other, and when I opened my mouth to relent, to give in to him and promise to spend a day with him, I heard a car pull up. I turned and saw Ella behind the wheel of my Rover. I turned back to Riot, whose face had returned to the playful, at ease expression he’d had since we’d met.
“That’s my ride. Thanks for waiting with me.”
“Anytime, Kalli. I’ll see you later.” He didn’t move, didn’t budge from his stance leaning against the wall, just watched me climb into the passenger seat of my car. “Do you need a ride somewhere?” I asked once I was in the car, door still propped open.
He shook his head. “No thanks. My rental car is here, but I think I’m gonna take a walk and find a bar to have a drink.” I smiled and gave him a small nod before turning all the way into the car and shutting my door.
“Hey. Who’s that ridiculously handsome guy watching your ass as you got into your car?” Ella asked, ever observant.
“That’s the male lead for the video.”
“Huh. He’ll do,” she said with disinterest. I laughed. I figured that next to her boyfriend Porter, any and all guys seemed like they’d just “do.”
Chapter Four
Impossible to Turn Away
The next morning I found myself at the studio at seven sharp. I’d been given my own trailer to dress the talent and even my very own assistant for the day, Savannah. She was an intern at the studio who was majoring in costume design at a local university, and she was a dream. I felt spoiled having her, even if she insisted I call her Savvy, which I didn’t.
I dressed all the extras first, which was the easy part. They were like background noise, they didn’t need to be flashy or impressive, they just needed to blend in. My main focus was Lexi and Riot.
When Lexi came in to be dressed, she already looked amazing. Her make-up was flawless with dark eyes and red lips, her skin pale as if she hadn’t seen the sunlight in years. Her hair was tall and teased, looking messy and chaotic, yet tamed below the headband I’d provided for her hair stylist. A pair of old-fashioned flying goggles sat on the crown of her head, and seeing them there, I knew I’d made the right decision. I could imagine the rest of her costume on her and knew the goggles were going to be perfect.
“Hey, Kalli, I’m ready to look amazing,” Lexi exclaimed, standing in the middle of the wardrobe trailer.
“Great, let’s get started.”
Thirty minutes later I was nearly bursting with satisfaction as Lexi stood in front of me in full costume. She not only looked amazing, but she looked the part.
“You nailed it, Kalli. It’s outstanding.”
I nodded, walking around her, looking for any last minute thing I could do or fix. She needed to look perfect.
Lexi wore a white cotton dress, which hanging by itself on the rack looked sweet and innocent. But I’d imagined it otherwise, and it paid off, because the dress no longer looked like that of a farmer’s daughter. It looked a little dangerous and a lot dystopian. The white cotton dress had a sweetheart neckline, but paired with the black, lacy push-up bra, it lost a little bit of its innocence.