Cont.
Saffron's POV:
'Hey Saffron." I heard a familiar voice greet me and looked up to see Caoimhe walking in to the tent. I smiled at her and gestured for her to sit down opposite me.
"Hey Caoimhe, How have you been?" I made small talk while Dave rearranges the camera angle. This is the first time I've seen Caoimhe after our run in at the club a few weeks ago, I'm not sure if she wants to talk about it so I'm gonna be professional and pretend that it didn't happen, in case things get awkward.
"So listen, before we start I wanna clear things up a bit." Ookaayyy guess she wants to talk about it. She pulled her chair closer to me and took a glance at Dave. I took notice of course and told Dave to give us privacy for a bit. I put all my focus on Caoimhe and gave her what I hope is a reassuring smile.
Caoimhe cleared her throat and tugged at her shirt collar. "Okay so, I know that you know about me and Nima right?" Oh so they really are hanging out huh.
"Not really...I mean I saw you guys at the club that time but that's it." I replied and placed my chin on the palm of my right hand, leaning forward to look at Caoimhe better. She averted her gaze and I see her ears reddening a bit. "Nima's not exactly telling me the details." I added smirking at Caoimhe's reaction. She's red as a cherry!
"Uh well you see...I uh.." Caoimhe leaned back in her seat and cleared her throat. "So uhm..I know you must think that I'm a player but I promise you I'm not." She began, I raised my eyebrows at her and waited for her to continue. I kinda know where this is going but I'll let her explain. "So I know I asked you out and what that looks like but uh...It was a mistake." She exhaled and looked at me expectantly.
I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms. "Mmhm a mistake huh?"
Caoimhe's eyes widened and she started stuttering, trying to explain what she means. I concealed my smile and retained the act. "No no no, I'm not saying you're not pretty 'cause you are! You're gorgeous and sexy and kind and smart! Uh But what I mean to say is that I don't go around asking girls out! Yeah that's it?" She ended her sentence with a questioning tone so I couldn't help but tease her some more.
I like to think that I'm a good judge of character and with Caoimhe, I really don't get the playgirl vibe. I mean yes I did warn Nima about her but it's because I'm just protective of her and Caoimhe is still a rockstar, girls and guys are flocking around her all the time.
"You don't sound too sure?" I mimicked her tone and smirked some more. I see beads of sweat forming on her temples and how she started playing with her fingers, so I took mercy and started giggling at her state. Caoimhe gave me a confused look and tilted her head to the side. Like a puppy.
"Uh, Saffron?"
I exhaled and composed myself before giving her a genuine smile. "Relax Caoimhe, I know you're not a player, at least you don't look like it so you don't have to explain. Besides, Nima is a big girl, I know she can handle herself." Caoimhe exhaled a breath of relief and reciprocated my smile.
I leaned forward in my seat and continued, "although...I am genuinely curious why asking me out is a mistake?"
"Saffronnnn!" Caoimhe whined, her face reddening which she tried to hide by covering it with her baseball cap. I laughed and said, "what? I am really curious!"
Caoimhe sighed and looked at me with a deadpan expression. I'm glad she's feeling more comfortable with me now. "I asked you out because—
"Are we ready Saffron?" Caoimhe and I both looked at the source of the voice and saw Dave peeking his head in the tent. I suddenly remembered that I have an interview to do, I'm not here to catch up with friends. I straightened in my seat and fixed my hair. "Sorry about that Dave, lost track of time."
"Sorry Dave." Caoimhe mimicked and adjusted in her seat. Saved by the bell, Caoimhe.
"Come on, let's start!" Dave went inside the tent and stood behind the camera and the interview began.
"So Caoimhe..."
———-Time skip ———
"Thank you for your time Caoimhe. And once again, this is Caoimhe Pool from Quirky Stevens!"
"And cut!" Dave said from behind the camera. I exhaled and grabbed my water bottle, taking a sip to replenish the water I lost.
"That was fun, thanks Saffron." Caoimhe said standing up from the chair and stretching out her arms.
"Of course, it was my pleasure." I responded, giving her a smile.
"So Thalia's next? I'll go get her." Caoimhe said, walking towards the exit. Her hands in her pockets. I couldn't resist not teasing her so I blurted. "You forgot something!"
"Huh? What?" She stopped in her tracks and looked at me confusedly.
"You still haven't told me why it was a mistake." I nagged. I watched Caoimhe's face go from confused to embarrassed to playfully annoyed. I couldn't help but giggle at how expressive her face is. Oh it's so fun to tease her.
"I get why Nima hates you." She replied with a smirk before walking off.
"Oh no you didn't!" I shouted after her. She waved me off without looking back. And I shook my head amused at how quickly we became comfortable with each other, knowing that our first meeting wasn't exactly the prettiest memory to look back on.
——-time skip ——
"It was so nice meeting you all today! I had so much fun talking with you all and I'm glad the fans will get to know Quirky Stevens better." I said with my professional tone of voice and my showbiz smile.
"Of course! It was so much fun doing this with you!" Thalia answered with the sweetest smile.
"Yeah definitely!" Caoimhe added.
"With your pretty face, you made this interview a hundred times better." Heidi flirted, wiggling her eyebrows at me then winking at the camera. I faced the camera and made a shocked face before giggling. She's taken but she's still a flirt, what a headache for her partner.
"Thank you for having us. It was our pleasure." I heard Erynn's smooth and velvety voice and turned to see her already looking at me with the most perfect dimpled smile I've seen. She's got whisker dimples, cute.
"Well that's all we have for you today! Stay tuned for our June issue with this amazing band on the cover! be sure to grab your copy, pre orders are happening now!" I started my ending spiel. "I'm Saffron Abrams and this is Under the Radar!" I looked to my side and subtly gave the signal to the four members.
Simultaneously we said, "Thank for watching!"
"Cut!" Dave cut the cameras and started checking the video clips we got.
"Yay! That was fun!" Thalia exclaimed, doing a little jump in excitement. I saw Heidi looking at her with heart eyes and smiling. Those two are the absolute cutest! They're the picture perfect couple.
"Yeah Thank you Saffron, you were great!" Heidi said, opening her arms and giving me a smile. I gave her a quick hug and said. "You guys were naturals! Made my job easier." I complimented them all genuinely. I realize now why they have a lot of fans, all members knows how to work their charms perfectly.
"Hey girls, time to get ready." I looked at the door and saw Paige peeking her head in. I waved at her and gave her a smile. "Hey Saff! thanks so much for this opportunity again! How were they?" She asked walking in and giving me a side hug. "They were great! Like I said they were naturals in front of the camera!"
"That's great, I hope they didn't give you a hard time." Paige gave me another squeeze before letting go. "Okay girls chop chop! You have 45 minutes before the show starts! Let's move it!" Paige put all focus on the girls and one by one they started leaving but not before giving me a quick hug.
"Bye Saffron."
"Bye Saff."
"See you at the show."
"Catch you later!"
One by one, Paige and the members all went out the tent door, all except Erynn. I looked at her and saw that she was on the phone, probably an important one so I turned around and started helping Dave pack up our stuff. The faster we finish, the faster I can get to watch the show and find Madiha whom I haven't seen yet.
"Hey Saffron." I felt a soft tap on my shoulder and turned around. I quickly took a step back when I saw how close Erynn was standing in front of me. Her eyes widened and she stepped back as well, mumbling a sorry at me.
"Oh hey Erynn." I shyly said, I could feel my heart thumping in my ears and I don't know why. "The other members went out already, show starts soon." I explained to her, maybe she didn't hear it 'cause she was on the phone.
"Oh yeah I heard. I just wanted to thank you for the amazing interview." She responded, rubbing her bottom lip with her fingers which involuntarily made me look at them. I swallowed and forced myself to look up at her eyes. "This is our first interview and I'm glad it was with you." She gave me her dimpled smile and I felt my cheeks flush. What is happening to me?
"Uh..yeah of-of course! I should be thanking you guys! It's such an honor to be the one to interview you for the first time!" I smiled back and fidgeted with my hands.
We both heard a faint shout of Erynn coming from outside and so Erynn said, "and that's my cue, uhm I'll see you at the show then?" She started walking backwards towards the exit, putting her hands inside her pants pocket. Deja vu?
I nodded and smiled at her. Should I do it or not? I watch her slowly get nearer to the exit door, fuck it.
"Hey Erynn!" I blurted out. Well, too late to back out Saffron.
She stopped walking and turned to look at me, waiting for me to speak. I inhaled sharply and asked.
"No hug?" I spread my arms wide and stood there waiting. I felt my whole face flush and I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.
What felt like a minute passed by, It was only 10 seconds. With the two of us rooted in our spots before Erynn snapped out of it and walked towards me.
"Y-yeah of course!" Erynn squeaked embarrassedly, rubbing the nape of her neck before opening her arms as well. As she got closer, I can see how red her face is and thought maybe I'm not the only one feeling like this, whatever this feeling is.
And then she leans in, so carefully. Sharply Inhaling and exhaling, and hearts beating between us. And she's so close, so close I can't feel my legs anymore, I can't feel my fingers because all I feel is her. Her warmth and her arms around me, filling everything, everywhere.
I know we just met but she feels like...home.
"And what do we have here?"
Erynn and I jumped apart and looked at the source of the teasing voice. I saw Heidi about to enter the tent but stopped once she saw us. She was smirking and looking back and forth at Erynn and I. I glanced at Erynn and saw how red her face is, mine must be worse. I ran my hands through my hair and attempted to exhale quietly. It was just a brief hug but why is my heart beating erratically?
I heard Erynn clear her throat and walked towards Heidi. She put her arm on Heidi's shoulders subtly pushing her out. "So I'll see you later Saffron..uhm at the show." Erynn mumbled, avoiding eye contact.
"Mmhm see you." I replied back equally shy.
Erynn pulled a snickering Heidi along and finally they were out the tent. I looked around and found Dave trying to stop his smirk from showing. I blushed even more, knowing that he saw what happened. I cleared my throat and resumed my packing as quick as possible.
"Uh...I'll go first Dave..."I trailed off, not bothering to wait for his response. I'm sure he'll just tease me anyways. I walked off as quickly as I could and inhaled the cool night breeze once I was outside. The interview took longer than we expected so now it's almost 6pm, the band will be performing around 6:30 - 7pm soI decided to grab a quick dinner before seeing the show.
—— time skip ——-
"You wanna watch Quirky Stevens' show with me?" I asked Madi after we were done eating. She glanced up from cleaning our trash and replied. "Yeah sure, I'm free for the night."
——-
We quickly made our way towards the stage where the band would be playing. Thankfully it's the first stage near the food stalls, so we were able to get there quickly. Unfortunately a crowd was already waiting, courtesy of the band's popularity. I was bummed not having a front row view of the band but since my best friend is a genius, she decided to use her "event's organiser" card to get us to the front. We squeezed our way in between people and when they complain, she simply shows her id and pretends we're inspecting the show for "work purposes."
As the band started playing, I was swept up in the music. Erynn's voice was even more mesmerizing live, and I found myself swaying to the beat. At some point, I realized that she was looking directly at me as she sang, and I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through me. The song wasn't a particularly romantic one, but the way she was looking at me directly made me think otherwise.
After the set, she came over to thank me for sticking around and before we could chat some more, she was swept away by her friends to celebrate. As the night went on, we kept running into each other at the various other shows being performed live. We kept our distance and didn't talk to each other at all but I still found myself drawn to her more and more.
By the end of the night, I realized that I had never felt this way about anyone before. I know I promised to keep my personal and professional life separate but I couldn't help but feel that this was the start of something truly special.