Page 44 of How to Kiss a Movie Star
Flint
Audreyinasundress,her shoulders bare and her hair down around her shoulders was one thing.
But Audrey in a bikini?
I am…not preparedwhen she pulls off her dress and drops it onto a lounge chair. She turns to face me, her hands pressed to her stomach like she’s nervous.
I’m staring.
Of courseI’m staring. Audrey is stunning. I’m used to being around women who spend hours with personal trainers every day, toning, tightening, perfecting. But Audrey feels different. Not that she’s any less gorgeous. She isn’t. Long legs, subtle curves. She just looks…real.
I pull my eyes away, somehow sensing that if she realizes I’m staring, it’s going to make her uncomfortable. So I do the first thing that pops into my mind. I run toward the pool, shout “Cannonball!” at the top of my lungs, and jump in.
When I emerge from the water, Audrey has made her way to the edge of the pool. She has a towel and a bottle of sunscreen in her hands, and the expression on her face says she has no idea how she wound up here.
I don’t know how she wound up here either, but I’m so glad she did.
Despite the impression she’s given me that there will never be anything real between us, I can’t quell my desire to impress her—to charm her.
I want Audrey Callahan to like me.
The challenge of that—of realizing those feelings aren’t a guarantee—I could get high on it.
It makes this small slice of my life feel normal, and right now, I need all the normal I can get.
I swim toward Audrey, standing when the water is shallow enough for me to touch the bottom. I don’t miss the way her eyes drop to my exposed chest and biceps, and I barely resist the urge to flex. Something tells me that kind of blatant display would only irritate Audrey.
She squirts a little sunscreen into her palm, then holds out the bottle. “Care to make yourself useful?” she asks. “Fifteen minutes without sunscreen, and I’ll turn into a tomato.”
She rubs the lotion into her arms and shoulders, then turns slightly, showing me her back.
Okay. No problem.I can totally handle this. I’m a grown man, not a fourteen-year-old boy high on hormones.
I swallow against the lump in my throat. “Well, we wouldn’t want that.” I lift myself out of the pool and sit on the deck beside her, then dry my hands on the towel she offers me.
I hold out my palm while she fills it with sunscreen, then rub my hands together before slowly sliding them across her shoulder blades. Goosebumps break out across her skin, and she sits up a little taller, almost like she’s trying to compose herself.
I smile to myself, glad whatever this feeling is goes both ways, and slow my movements, prolonging the contact as long as possible.
Audrey tilts her head, looking at me over her shoulder. “So, what? Are you one of the lucky ones who just turns brown in the sun?”
“Not at first,” I say. “But I got enough of a tan down in Costa Rica that I do okay now. If we were going to be outside all day, I’d probably put some on.”
“How long were you there?” she asks.
My hands move down her back until I reach the top of her swimsuit bottom. I let my fingers linger there, sliding around until my hands are on either side of her waist. I might be making things up, but it feels like she leans into me the slightest bit before I move my hands back to her shoulder blades and clear my throat. “Six months shooting on location,” I say.
“Sounds like a tough gig.”
“You might feel differently if you saw the spiders.”
She perks up, looking at me over her shoulder. “Goliath bird eaters? Did you actually see one?”
I chuckle. “I forgot who I’m talking to. Only you would get excited about a spider the size of my palm.” I rub in the last bit of sunscreen just under the strap of her top. “That should do it,” I say.
She turns back to face me. “Thanks.” She drops her feet into the water, swirling them around a little. “Iwouldbe excited to see one. I mean, I’m not saying I want to find one in my bed, but they’re fascinating. Theraphosa blondi. They’re a part of the tarantula family.”
“Are they the big ones the Costa Ricans roast in banana leaves and serve as a delicacy?”
