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“Why did you think you had to sleep out on the couch?” Ryan asked privately in our bedroom. He pulled our comforter up over my shoulder.
I shrugged, slightly self-conscious. “I just don’t want your parents to have the wrong impression of me, that’s all. I wasn’t raised that way.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that! You’ve already made a good impression on my parents today,” Ryan whispered, inching his way down the bed until our eyes were level.
“My dad talked my ear off when we played pool. He was rambling on about how intelligent you are and how I could learn a thing or two about money management from you.”
“I’m glad they like me; relieved actually. It’s very important that they approve.” I shifted to be closer to him, gently rubbing his neck while we talked.
“Oh, they approve all right! You’ve won them over, that’s for sure.” He brushed my hair back. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
“No,” I whispered, egging him on. “How much?”
“Let me show you,” he whispered. He softly kissed my lips, once, twice, before his wet mouth moved with mine.
I was up and out of bed before everyone else so I could spend some extra time showering and getting ready. I was already nervous and slightly jittery thinking about going on my first major motion picture movie set. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think about doing what I would be doing today.
“Are you excited?” Ryan asked, pulling my heart necklace out from behind my shirt while we waited by the back door.
“Nervous.” I half-smiled. My stomach was in knots.
It was still dark outside when our car arrived. It was too early for the paparazzi to be up. Ryan’s day usually started before the sun came up. I was relieved knowing that his parents would be with me throughout this experience.
We briefly paused at the security gate and then proceeded to drive further onto the lot. The limo wove through several rows of trailers and other trucks before stopping by a long, white trailer.
“Here, you’ll need these.” Ryan handed us badges on long cotton cords to identify that we were permitted on set.
He had his blue papers rolled up in his hand.
“I have to go to makeup and get my face done. Tar, come with me.” Ryan took me by the hand. “Mom, Dad… I’ll see you over there.” He pointed to the direction of where he’d be filming.
His bodyguard Mike and another man escorted us to a long trailer. Inside were several beautician chairs and a complete makeup counter with mirrors. The second we were through the door, several people started to attend to Ryan. He had barely a moment to introduce me to the special effects makeup team. The people I met were polite, but they had a job to do and little time to do it. Everyone was in a rush.
First Ryan had to change into his wardrobe; he had to wear dark pants and a white button down cotton shirt that was pre-speckled with what looked like blood. Then he was covered in a cotton shawl and several makeup artists went right to work on him.
He just sat there while they covered him in creams and pigments, using sponges and brushes and all sorts of items I had never seen before.
The one makeup artist, an older Asian lady wearing red, thick-rimmed glasses with her long ebony hair pulled back into a ponytail, started brushing purple pigment below Ryan’s left eye. By the time they were done with him, he looked like he was on the losing end of a fistfight, down to the dried fake blood coming out of his nostril.
He smiled and winked at me. “I look pretty rough, huh?”
Even though I just watched them transform him into this bloodied mess, I almost wanted to cry seeing him looking so beat up. Instead, I smiled and nodded in agreement.
“Pete said he’d do this to my face if I ever broke your heart. Guess I better not do that then.”
I was glad to know that he was totally unaware of my eavesdropping during his conversation with Pete. I rolled my eyes at his comment, pretending to have heard it for the first time.
Another male assistant was chattering back and forth over a hand-held radio. “Ryan, they’re ready for you over on set nine.”
Moments later, we were whisked away on the back of an ordinary golf cart, his bodyguard Mike dutifully by his side. Once we stopped, Ryan quickly spoke into my ear.
“You’re going to see some stunts today and, at the end of this scene I have to… kiss…” His face twisted in disgust. “Her.”
We walked onto the set; I had to blink several times to realize that this ornate castle hall was actually built inside an ordinary warehouse.
