Chapter One

Chapter One

Okay it started on the set of my newest project at that point, Kingdom of Heaven. I didn’t want to be on set because I had actually scored a rare day off. Unfortunately I’d been informed that morning that a local station was doing a piece on movies being shot in Spain and would I mind giving them an interview? Yes I bloody well minded, these stupid blighters always threw off my game when they came in and interviewed me about past roles while simultaneously trying to worm information about my personal life out of me. Why couldn’t I just do my job and be done with it? On that day I’d have given anything for just a few hours off set to clear my head. Of course I’d agreed because if there is one thing I know about my job it's the fact that interviews come with it.

“So Mr. Bloom.” This woman probably had the whitest teeth I’d ever seen.

White teeth? Who in the world looks at a person’s teeth?

Why is it that whenever I get telling a story you must throw in your two cents?

Because you mention the weirdest fucking things baby, honestly white teeth?

Can I please continue?

Fine, but I reserve the right…

Reserve this…

MMM…okay continue.

So easy to quiet when you have the right skills.

“May I call you Orlando?”

‘No you may not. I don’t know you well enough. In fact I would appreciate it if you would all together stop talking to me.’ My inner monologue always rewards me the opportunity of answering questions the way I want to. “Of course love.” Oh this wasn’t good she’s smiling even more now. She should come equipped with sunglasses to fight off the glare of those things.

God the teeth again.

You really need to stop talking love.

“Don’t worry about the camera Orlando. We’re just going to tape this interview from the beginning then we’ll edit it later.” She explained.

‘Really? Is that how a camera works? I’ve just been introduced to the technology cause none of the fucking movies I’ve been in has ever had a camera before!’ “I’ll try to keep that in mind.” Couldn’t she just start? The sooner this begins the sooner it ends.

“You’ve been in Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, the upcoming Troy and now you’re shooting Kingdom of Heaven… ‘Thank you I had no idea it’s a good thing you’ve come along to fill me in on that bit of information.’ …These are either fantasy or period pieces. Is it the costumes you like or the idea of playing the hero?”

‘Well actually it’s all about the costumes isn’t it? I like wearing leggings so that’s what drew me to the part of Legolas; the frilly shirts are what helped me sign onto Pirates and frankly the short skirt like outfits we wore in Troy were fun. So it really is all about the clothes isn’t it?’

Any answer I wanted to give wouldn’t have gone over well so I stuck with the same answer I gave every single time some new interviewer decided to ask that question. Now don’t act shocked it really is true some reporters actually ask the same questions as their colleagues. I’ve since figured that they all get together and come up with the dumbest thing you could ask an actor and then decided ALL to ask him those things. If one more person informed me that my name was a city in America or that they didn’t realize I was the blonde in LOTR I might have just gone off on them. I glanced at my watch casually then tried to keep up the smile and friendly demeanour that reporters were coming to expect from me. If I could make it through this woman in on piece and actually get back to my day off I’d consider the day an accomplishment. Sometimes I wished I lived a normal life and had a normal job.

My heart bleeds for him, does yours? Honestly baby could you be more melodramatic?

It’s true! That’s what I was feeling at the time. I was being swamped with work and interviews. It’s rough.

I know baby it is rough being the drop dead gorgeous heartthrob that you are. Can I tell my half of the story now?

I get no respect.

Respect this…

Mmm I see your point. Continue.

So easy to quiet when you have the right skills.

Hey that’s my line.

Shh baby.

Finally it’s my turn. Since numb nuts didn’t introduce himself he’s Orlando Bloom Mr. ego extraordinaire, as for me I’m Braedon Moore, yes it sounds like a guys name don’t start. Okay, I was annoyed. That’s all there was to it. My Uncle Keith had called me up asking if I wanted a trip to Spain. Nobody in his or her right mind would turn down an offer like that so I gladly accepted. You see I had an ulterior motive to my acceptance, my favourite actor to date, Orlando Bloom, was supposed to be shooting a movie in Spain and this was the perfect opportunity to find a way to ‘bump’ into him.

Aha! She wanted to bump into me.

I’ll bump you in a minute if you don’t keep your comments to yourself!

Hey this is my story too.

Fine but can you keep the comments to a minimum then?

Maybe. Maybe not.

You frustrate me to no end.

Love you too.

See folks you think you want this man, but its no picnic let me tell you. Now I’ll try to finish telling my story.

Unbeknownst to me Uncle Keith’s offer was only made so I could be his lackey on the very movie Orlando was working on. My uncle was an experienced carpenter and had managed to fall into the job of building sets for various movies. He said he needed someone to organize his books and ‘fetch’ things for him. At first I was ecstatic until I realized exactly what my uncle wanted me to do. Every day I was in my uncle’s trailer working on his laptop and if I wasn’t there I was in town getting something for him. So that’s the reason I was annoyed, by the time I was finished Orlando was usually long gone or on location. The only positive thing I had going for me was that my best friend, Jessie, was coming out to visit me.

Pain in the arse that woman.

Don’t start. As I was saying…

“Hey sweetie I think you’ve been in that trailer too long dear.” Keith stuck his head through the door and called to his niece.

It was only 11am but I’d have taken anything at that point, “You might be right Unc.”

“I usually am, listen why don’t you take a break and run into town and pick up half a dozen two by fours for your ‘ol Unc? I under ordered and Mr. Scott wants this set finished by the end of the week. There’s a good girl.”

I groaned; I now had to trade the trailer for a jeep that made my teeth rattle every time I drove it. The town was a good half hour away and I hated the guy at the lot where I usually picked up lumber. He creeped me out and could never take no for an answer. Spain was quickly becoming the worst place on earth. “I’ll just finish this up and be on my way Unc.” I consented.

“You’re the best!” The door slammed after him.

“No problem Uncle Keith, anything else you want from me? No I don’t need to sleep or have a social life. This is only Spain after all why would I want to see the country side or go to a beach when I can do your grunt work for you.” I grumbled as I finished up the books. My fitted jeans and light hoodie were my uniform of choice and I never wore any makeup.

Might I add it’s my favourite uniform as well, dead sexy she is.

Now see those comments we can keep.

I never saw anyone except Chris, my uncle’s assistant, and the less I saw of him the happier I was; he always made me uncomfortable. It seemed that every man I came in contact with in that infernal country was disgusting, save for my uncle who was just annoying.

Throwing my long hair up into a messy bun, much more comfortable it is, I grabbed the keys to the jeep and my purse. “I’m a 24 year old woman and instead of an exclusive winter travelling through southern Europe I’m my uncle’s bitch.” I continued my mumble as I made my way to where my uncle always parked his jeep. When I looked up it wasn’t there, “Oh that’s just great Unc; what the hell am I supposed to drive on this fucking errand you’ve sent me on?” I called out to no one.

Figuring he’d taken a golf cart to see me I started the long trek from my uncle’s trailer to the staff parking lot. My trip was going from bad to worse, it was probably a twenty-minute walk I squinted and put on my sunglasses. “Bloody unpredictable weather. Why can’t I be in my home city of Winnipeg right now freezing my ass off and actually having fun?” I scuffed the ground and stubbed my toe. “Fucking, damn, bloody, SHIT!” I hollered and leapt up with my right foot in my hand.

As I rounded a corner hopping on one foot two arms caught me before she lost her balance and fell, “That sounded like it hurt.” The owner of the arms said.

“Why the hell do you care?” I mumbled as I gingerly tried to stand, it didn’t work so I lifted my leg up again and tried to massage my foot.

Lovely first impression she made on me let me tell you. I was going to turn around but frankly that spunk did me in the moment I heard her.

You fell in love with me cause I said fuck?

Amongst other things.

You have issues baby.

Don’t need issues I have you.

The hands let go and a chuckle followed, “I wouldn’t normally but you were saying all the words I wanted to say a minute ago so colour me intrigued.”

“Very witty, listen do you think you could…” I was going to say ‘shove it up your ass’ and keep attempting to walk but I finally looked up and caught sight of the person I was talking to. “Holy shit you’re…uh…you’re…umm…you.” I whispered.

He looked at me rather strangely, “I wouldn’t know whom else to be.”

“I mean…well what I meant to say was…you’re uh…I mean…I’m…you can’t…wow.” I couldn’t string a sentence together, “Just give me a minute would you?”

You’re probably wondering why I would stay, see she was amusing and she intrigued me so why not stay and see what might be in store.

Thanks baby glad to know I was a sideshow for you.

More like an extremely welcome change.

Anyway so I was freaking out around the corner…

‘Holy shit that’s Orlando Bloom, the reason for coming to Spain, the reason for even giving fantasy movies a chance…the best thing to ever come out of Britain. He really is that gorgeous in real life…omigod omigod omigod…Jess is just going to DIE when she finds out.’ I inhaled and exhaled slowly as these thoughts raced through my head. ‘Now you’ve got to play it cool girl or he isn’t going to ever give you the time of day.’ I let one more breath out then went back around the corner.

“You all right?” He asked.

“I couldn’t be better.” I said with all the calm I could muster.

“Where were you going before that stone jumped up and bit you?” His face held a small hint of a smile.

“Looking for my Uncle Keith’s jeep actually. I’m to go into town to pick up some lumber for him.”

You see this gave me a rare opportunity. If I could make it off the lot with this woman than I might be granted a rare few hours of peace. I’d been into town a few times and it basically consisted of a bunch of old couples and a loading dock where Ridley got all his stuff dropped off.

So basically I was a distraction, good to know.

In the best of ways darling.

“Care for some company?”

‘Was the sky blue? Was water wet? HELL YA!’ “If you really relish an hour long bumpy ride into town to watch some greasy man hit on me then by all means.” I deserved an Oscar for that line. My insides were absolutely melting into puddles of nothingness yet I appeared to be as cool as a cucumber.

Puddles of nothingness?

Shut up.

“Sounds like something only a fool would pass up.” He said with a grin, “I suggest we take my golf cart though. Then we can be sure no more stones attack you.”

“You’re my hero.” I was still trying to remember how to breathe.

“I do what I can.” He started up the vehicle and headed towards the staff parking lot, “You know this trip will go a lot better if I knew your name.”

“Oh I’m so sorry. It’s Braedon.”

“It’s nice to meet you Braedon, I’m Orlando. If you don’t mind me saying your name sounds like a lad’s name.”

“I don’t mind if you don’t mind me saying your name sounds like a city.”

“Touché.” He laughed, “It’s a beautiful name and sounds better when it belongs to a girl.”

“Thanks…I think.” I wasn’t sure how to take him just yet. I mean it was slightly surreal to be actually talking to him in the first place. “You can stop here the jeep is just under that tree.”

“Okay. So Braedon, how did you get the job of fetching lumbar for ‘ol Keith?”

“He tricked me into it. Promised me a trip to Spain and neglected to mention that it was to be his lackey.”

“Well where are you from?”

“Canada.” I answered as we got into the jeep. “You’d better hold on this jeep has no shocks.”

He took hold of the side as I started the rickety vehicle, “Isn’t it winter there?”

“Yeah, but frankly with the amount of fun I’ve had here in the last few weeks I’d rather be back at home.”

“That’s no good. At least you’ve been to the beach.”

I sighed and pushed my foot on the gas; I was sure I was starting to look really pathetic to him. I figured he’d probably wished he hadn’t joined me, “Not even the beach.”

“Hmm.” He thought for a minute, “Well then what do you do all day?”

“Sit in my uncle’s trailer and desperately try to organize his books. They are all over the map, I actually understand spreadsheets a little so that’s what got me out here apparently.”

“You’re one step up on me, I’m a complete technophobe…”

‘I wonder what he’d say if he knew that I was aware of that.’ I thought to myself.

“…I only have an idea of what a spreadsheet actually is.” He said with a laugh.

By the time I stopped at the dock, Anthony, a large deeply tanned man with dark jet-black hair, emerged, “You brighten my day Miss. Braedon.” He leaned on the door of my jeep and smiled up at me, “When are you going to go to dinner with me?”

“Whenever you lay down and dream at night Anthony, now move.” I said sarcastically. “I’m here to pick up an order for my uncle.”

He didn’t move and instead leaned closer to me, “I don’t think dinner is too much to ask after all the work I do for your uncle.”

“It is too much to ask because I would be really upset if she dated anyone but me.” Orlando piped up calmly, “Could we maybe get that order today?”

Anthony finally noticed the passenger in the jeep then glared at me, “Why didn’t you tell me…I mean, I didn’t know…uh…I’ll get that right away.” He hurried off.

“Wow um, th-thanks.” I stuttered still stuck on him mentioning dating me. This was like one of those stories a friend of mine always sent me, I didn’t think real life every happened like this.

Orlando smiled, “No trouble, it pays to be recognizable sometimes. You were doing fine on your own, I just figured I’d help move things along.”

“By all means, if what you did stops his incessant date questions you will have been my hero twice already.”

“You don’t like being asked out?”

“Not by the likes of him, that man takes creepy to a whole new level.” I shuddered in spite of myself. I decided to get the conversation off dating it was an uncomfortable topic, “If you don’t mind me asking, are you not working today?”

“I’m not working on set, but I was required for an interview so technically I still was working.” Anthony came out with the order and hoisted it onto the back of the jeep; much to my delight he didn’t even look at me.

Relieved I started the jeep and tried to continue the conversation, “Oh cause I’ve never seen you near my uncle’s trailer before.”

He eyed me for a second then smiled, “Why, were you looking for me?”

“Huh? Well I…I you know…I…” I blushed then collected my thoughts, “No I haven’t been looking for you.” Thanks to Uncle Keith, “I’m just sure I’d recognize you if you were there.”

He put a hand on my arm and chuckled, “Don’t worry about it, you’d be a welcome change from those who actually do go looking for me. I was just teasing you.”

Point jeep forward, keep wheel straight, inhale exhale…do NOT focus on him touching you. I was so close to squealing like a teenage girl it was ridiculous. I was sure someone was going to pinch me and wake me up from this dream. Maybe coming to Spain wasn’t so bad.

*sniff* Aww love that’s just amazing. How come you didn’t tell me you thought like that then?

Because half wit it would have fed your already gargantuan ego! Can we move on with the story now?

By all means love I can’t wait till you tell me more.

You do realize that the favour is required in return.

Right…umm…moving along.

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