Abroad

Chapter 77

My cast and crew give me an applause after my speech and the first day of shooting can officially begin. Being a producer is much harder than I'd expected. Sam is older than me and much more experienced so I don't feel comfortable telling him to stick to the schedule. Sam and my director of photography James argue all the time and it takes them forever to decide on a shot. By the end of the first day we're already behind on schedule.

"Okay everyone, thanks for today!" I say when Sam finally finishes the final scene of the day. It's eleven already and we're nowhere near finished. "The runners will pick up the actors around nine am tomorrow, crew is expected at eight." I hand out the call sheets for tomorrow and everyone except Lizzie, Jack, Hero and Sam leave.

"Charlotte, it doesn't feel right to leave the equipment here unguarded," Sam says. I sigh, I know. I have noticed dodgy locals snooping around all day and these cameras are worth thousands of pounds. There's too much equipment to pack up every day and store in my flat so there's only one option here.

"It's okay Sam, I'll sleep here tonight." Sam nods in agreement and I walk him to the door and lock it. I hand Lizzie, Jack and Hero a beer.

"What a day!" I say when I sit on the floor. The others gather around me.

"I know! And we're behind already."

"That's for me to worry about!" I give Lizzie a small smile. She's right. How on earth will I manage to finish in time?!

"You look stressed," Jack says with a frown on his face.

"I am!" I sigh while I'm playing with my beer bottle. Why did I think I could do this? I should have picked another course!

"You need to find a way to relax."

"I will after this week." I look at my friends and smile. "I'll be fine!"

"Are you really going to sleep here?" Hero asks after he takes a sip of beer.

"Yes.. there's no other way. It's too big of a risk to leave the cameras here and it's too much hassle to pack them up every night."

"You can't stay here alone though," Jack adds. "What if something happens?"

"I'll be fine!"

"Let me stay here with you," Hero offers and Jack and Lizzie stare at him immediately.

"You can't! I need you to rest and give your best performance tomorrow." Hero doesn't respond but just looks at me. "You're my star!" I tease him.

"I'll be fine. Lizzie, will you just bring me fresh clothes?" Lizzie agrees but I can't. He can't sleep here! He needs to sleep because he has a lot of scenes tomorrow. There's a voice at the back of my head saying that that's not the only reason I want him to go. I'm afraid of what might happen if he stays. Since our movie night something has changed between us. The tension is stronger than ever and the physical attraction is almost too hard to ignore. My heartrate picks up just at the thought of Hero staying here, alone, with me.

"You really can't Hero!"

"I'm not letting you sleep here all alone. I'm staying. I'll order us a pizza." He takes out his phone and starts ordering pizza. I look at Jack and Lizzie for help but they can't hide a smile.

"Okay," I sigh. The curious part of me has won. What will happen if we stay here all alone? I can't think like that. We're finally friends and he probably doesn't feel the same. "But let's walk to our flat tomorrow and have a shower at least!"

"We'll come by around seven, won't we Jack?" Lizzie offers. "We'll stay here while you walk back." Jack agrees and Hero gives them a naughty smile. Oh boy.

We share a pizza and have another beer. The alcohol makes me a bit more relaxed but my neck hurts from all the stress I had today. When Jack and Lizzie leave us I sit back and massage my neck.

"We should get some sleep," I say when Hero comes back.

"Where did you plan on sleeping?"

"I thought I could use the corner in the back room where we put all those pillows and blankets."

"Okay, let's go."

"No, you can sleep there. I'll find another spot."

"Don't be stupid, we can both use it." I'm too tired to argue and too willingly I let him drag me to the pile of pillows.

"Now, let me massage that neck first. Jack is right, you need to relax." Before I know what's happening, before I can stop him or argue about it, he puts his hands on my neck. His warm hands feel too good on my skin and the sexual tension between us is stronger than ever.