Chapter 14 #2
“Surprisingly, yes. I went over a few details about the costumes, but most of my work is pretty much done until the choppers arrive. It was fun to watch Logan get so into his character today. And it’s amazing to see the inner workings of how a movie comes to life. It’s a lot more work than I assumed.”
Zita nodded. She’d felt the same way the first couple of movie sets she’d worked on.
“I don’t like the way Silas watches you though.”
She blinked. It was an abrupt change of topic. “In what way?”
“Calculating. An inappropriate intensity. As if he’s thinking way too hard about something.”
His words made Zita uneasy, but she shook her head, too tired to think about the bodyguard tonight.
“Thankfully we won’t be around each other much.
Unless he gets hurt, I honestly have no need to talk to him or interact with him at all.
If he’s holding some sort of grudge against me because of Carmen, that’s his problem, not mine.
We have a week here, then I won’t see him again. ”
“I’ll still keep my eye on him for you.”
There. That. Sage was being amazing again. Making her feel safe once more. “Can we go?” she asked, looking around and realizing they were now the last ones on set, and it was fully dark.
“Of course. Sorry,” Sage said, letting go of her and leaning over to grab her bag.
“I can get that.”
“I know. I’ve got it.”
He put it in the back of his Jeep as she got into the passenger seat. They were on their way back to Fallport in minutes. The drive back to town took longer in the dark, and by the time they arrived back at the motel, Zita was starving but too tired to think about trying to find something to eat.
Sage pulled up in front of her room and said, “Head on in, I’ll be back in about ten minutes.”
Zita frowned. “Back?”
“I’m going to grab us some food. It’ll probably just be fast food, but we both need to eat.”
“Sage, I’m tired. I’m just going to go to bed.”
“You need food, Zita. You didn’t eat nearly enough today.
Just nibbled. I’ll be quick. It won’t take more than ten minutes, then ten more minutes to eat, then you can sleep.
Your body needs the calories, the fuel. You’ll never be able to keep up this pace for a week if you don’t take care of yourself. ”
Tears threatened. He was being so…kind. And it felt amazing to be taken care of. It had been so very long since she’d had anyone who looked out for her the way Sage was. “Okay. No fries though. Protein. Maybe a chicken sandwich.”
Sage nodded. “I’ve got it. Go in, get comfy, I’ll be back before you know it.”
Zita was more appreciative than she could say at that moment. She got out of the Jeep, grabbed her bag so she could reorganize it and restock it with the extra medical supplies she had in her motel room, and watched Sage drive off through her room’s big window.
She changed into a pair of sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, then prepped her medical bag for the next day. Surprisingly, by the time she was finished, Sage was back. She heard his Jeep pull into the parking space in front of her room, and she had the door open before he needed to knock.
He had two large bags of food from Sonic. Her belly growled at that moment, making them both smile.
“I have to admit, I ate an order of pickle fries between the restaurant and here,” Sage said with a sheepish grin.
“Pickle fries? What are those? And did you get me any?” Zita asked, as he put the bags down on the small table next to the window.
“Thought you said you didn’t want any fries,” he said with a smirk.
“Yeah, well…I didn’t want any then, but the second you said fries, it seems that’s the only thing my belly wants. And if a woman says she doesn’t want something, it’s a pretty good bet she’s lying.”
Sage chuckled. “Gotcha. I hope you aren’t disappointed, but pickle fries aren’t actually fries made out of potatoes. They’re pickles sliced to look like fries, with a ranch dressing dip.”
“Yum!”
“I got several different things, actually, so you could have a choice. I know you said you wanted a chicken sandwich, but so many things looked good. I got a southwest crunch queso wrap, crispy tenders, pretzel twists, a cheeseburger, a grilled cheese sandwich—and of course, the chicken sandwich that you requested.”
“All that?”
“Whatever you don’t want, trust me, I’ll eat. The chicken tenders aren’t grilled, but the sandwich is,” he said, as he unloaded the bags one item at a time.
“It sounds amazing. What if I want it all?” she teased.
“Then you can have it all. I’ll go back and get something for myself.”
“I was kidding,” Zita told him, not really surprised at his answer. “But can we maybe share it all? I kind of want to try everything. That queso wrap sounds awesome. And a pretzel would hit the spot. But I also love their cheeseburgers.”
“Of course we can share. Here, you take first crack at the wrap. I’ll start on the cheeseburger.”
Zita smiled throughout the meal. It felt intimate to be sharing food with Sage. To her surprise, the crazy amount of food was gone quickly, and she didn’t even feel stuffed to the gills. She was obviously way hungrier than she’d thought. “Thank you for insisting on getting us dinner.”
“Of course. Tomorrow shouldn’t be quite as long as today, at least I hope not.
I talked to the AD, and he said Grubbner’s pleased with all the extra shots they got done tonight, and since rain’s in the forecast for two days from now, they’d probably shut things down early tomorrow and do another long day when it rains.
Get the rainy scenes done while he can.”
“This is the only job where people are actually happy it’s going to rain,” Zita said with an eye roll. “I hate working in the rain. It’s slippery, and often cold, and people tend to hurt themselves more often.”
“The rain will also postpone the helicopter scenes another day, as well.”
“And you’re looking forward to those the most.”
“Naturally. I’m gonna clean this stuff up and let you get some sleep,” Sage said, as he began to pack the bags with the wrappers from their meal.
Suddenly, Zita didn’t want him to go. She still felt bad for that morning. Hadn’t truly explained why she’d been so standoffish and not talked to him all day. Had actively avoided him, in fact.
“Can we talk before you go? Just for a little bit?”
He stopped and stared at her for a long moment. “Of course. Anything you want.” He grinned as he added, “It doesn’t bode well for me in the future, but I can’t say no to you.” Sage stuffed the rest of their wrappers into the bag and walked across the room to the trash can.
Zita sat there a moment, replaying his words in her head.
It sounded as if he was assuming they’d be together in the future.
After this week was over. It was everything she dreamed but was afraid to go after.
That was what this morning was about, after all.
She’d freaked out because he was so…perfect.
And she didn’t know how things could possibly work out for them.
She stood and walked over to the bed and climbed under the covers. She impulsively patted the mattress next to her. “Sit here with me?”
He did as she asked, sitting against the headboard and stretching his long legs out on the bed next to her.
Zita plumped the pillows under her head and lay on her side, facing Sage, curling her arms against her chest. “I’m really sorry I left so abruptly this morning. And avoided you all day.”
“Why did you?” he asked.
At least he hadn’t said he never noticed. It was pathetic, but that made Zita feel better.
“What are we doing?” she whispered. “I live in California, and you live in Virginia. We couldn’t get any farther apart.”
“Hey, you could live in Hawaii,” he joked.
But Zita didn’t crack even the smallest smile.
“Sorry. You’re right. It sucks. Because when you find someone you click with, someone you enjoy spending time with, and with whom you want to spend more time, it’s awful to think you might not be able to do that.
And I don’t have any answers for you, Zita.
All I know is that I’ve never felt the way I do right now.
I’ve never looked at a woman and seen my future reflected back in her eyes.
“And how will that work? I have no clue. But I’ll do whatever it takes to at least see if what we’ve got can last. Long-distance relationships suck, but I’m willing to try if you are.”
Zita’s heart nearly stopped beating in her chest. She forgot to breathe as she stared up at Sage. He wasn’t touching her, simply sitting next to her, gazing into her eyes, but she felt their connection as clear as day.
“We don’t know what the future holds. I could get injured and chaptered out of the Army. I’d then be free to move wherever I wanted. Or you could get sick of Hollywood and take a chance by moving to the East Coast.”
“I’m already sick of Hollywood,” she whispered.
He looked at her for a moment, taking that in before nodding. “All I’m saying is that everything in me is screaming to not let you go. To make every effort to see where things between us can go.”
Zita swallowed hard. This man was way braver than she was. Putting his thoughts and feelings out there so plainly. But then again, he was already an honest-to-God hero. She shouldn’t be surprised at his bravery.
“That’s part of the reason why I needed some space this morning. You’re too nice. Too perfect. Too…everything.”
“Where you’re concerned, there is no ‘too nice.’ I want to give you the world, Zita. And if that comes in the form of a simple omelet and a sugary coffee, I’ll bend over backward to present it to you on a golden platter.”
“And what do you get in return?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“Are you kidding?”
“Um…no?” She didn’t understand why he sounded so incredulous.
“I get your giggles, your smiles, your kindness, your desire to help others, your honesty, your sexiness, your kisses…I get you, Zita.”
Suddenly, she couldn’t bear the idea of seeing this man walk out of her room. She was way too tired to initiate sex or anything intimate, but she wanted him near. Needed him near.
“Will you stay tonight? Not for sex, but just…sleep?”
“I have one question before I’ll answer that,” Sage said.
Zita nodded and stared up at him, wondering what in the world he could want to know before agreeing to stay the night with her.
“Do you want to see where this goes after filming is over? Can you possibly see a future between us?”
“That was two questions,” she whispered, her heart beating hard in her chest.
Sage lifted a brow in response.
Feeling as if she was stepping off the end of the ten-meter platform at the university where she sometimes swam back at home, Zita said, “Yes.”
“Then I’d love to stay. Can I run to my room and change into sweats, brush my teeth, then come back?”
“Of course.”
“You can change your mind while I’m gone,” he said, proving once more what a good man he was.
“I won’t. Take my key so you can let yourself back in when you’re ready.”
He studied her for a long moment, then leaned down.
Zita anticipated his kiss, but he merely brushed his lips against her forehead. “I’ll be right back. Sleep if you want. I won’t disturb you when I get back.”
“Okay.” As if he’d said the magic words, Zita suddenly couldn’t keep her eyes open. She was exhausted, her belly was full, and the man she was head over heels for was going to sleep next to her. Her mind and body were as satisfied as they could get…for the moment.
She heard the door shut behind Sage, and it seemed as if two seconds had passed before she felt the mattress dip and his arm drape over her waist from behind. She snuggled back into him with a contented sigh before sleep took her under once more.