Rising Star (4 page)

The waitress returned with their sodas and a
bowl of chips and salsa.

“
I don’t know what to
order,” Matt said. “I don’t even know what half this stuff
is.”

“
Would you like me to
order for you?” Selena asked.

“
Yes, please,” he said, a
strange glint to his blue eyes.

Selena ordered enchiladas for both of them
with frijoles and sopapillas.

“
Red or green?” The
waitress asked.

“
Red or green what?” Matt
said.

“
Red or green chile,”
Selena said. “Green on both,” she told the waitress.

“
You must not be from
California?” She asked Matt as the waitress walked away.

“
Toronto,” he
answered.

“
Really? You’re
Canadian?”

“
Yes. You have something
against Canadians?”

“
No. I’ve just never met
one before.”

Matt threw back his head and laughed his
nice laugh, the musical sound ringing across the restaurant.

“
I guess we’re a little
‘small town’ around here.”

“
No, I think it’s
wonderful,” he answered. “It’s the exact opposite of the Hollywood
madness I’m used to. I feel like I can be myself more out
here.”

Matt put her at ease over dinner and they
chatted amiably. The other diners had eventually gone about their
own business and Selena was grateful that all the eyes weren’t on
them anymore. She laughed as Matt took a bite of the hot green
chile and quickly downed his soda as his face reddened.

“
You get used to it,” she
told him.

“
I don’t think so,” he
croaked out. “That’s the hottest thing I’ve ever eaten in my
life.”

“
Here, try some honey.”
She put a little honey on a sopapilla and handed it to him. “It
kills the burn instantly.”

They laughed and chatted through the rest of
the meal and Matt lingered after dinner, sipping another soda and
waiting for the burn to subside from his mouth. He had always
enjoyed trying new foods, but these ‘chiles’ were going to take
some getting used to. He was in no rush for the evening to end. He
had an amazing view of the New Mexico sunset through the big window
behind Selena. He watched as the orange rays picked up the reddish
highlights in her dark hair. He looked into her huge, mysterious
eyes, but she didn’t hold his stare, lowering her eyes each time
and blocking him from trying to read her thoughts.

“
Is your hair natural or
tinted?” he finally asked as he watched the setting sun play on
it.

“
It’s naturally dark and
the desert sunshine adds the red tints,” she answered.

She held his stare this time with her big,
violet eyes. Her lashes were long and curled beautifully, he could
tell they were real too. He took her hand again across the table,
looking at the slim fingers with clean, unpainted nails.

“
You’re probably the most
real
girl I’ve been out with in a long time,” he said
softly, still holding her hand.

Selena shifted nervously in her seat and her
heart pounded as she looked into his twinkling blue eyes. “What do
you mean?”

“
I mean, Hollywood girls
are plastic,” he said. “Fake eyelashes, fake nails, fake hair
and
fake boobs.”

Selena giggled as she blushed and lowered
her gaze, staring at his hand still holding hers on the table. She
was unused to such intensity and honesty from the boys she knew and
why did it feel like an electric current passing through their
hands? He made her feel like they were the only two people in the
restaurant as he stared at her; he ignored everyone but Selena,
including the waitress.

“
You look my age, but you
seem older,” she said, trying her best to quell the nervous tension
in her stomach. Cool and collected, just like Trish, she told
herself.

“
I’m twenty. But several
years of Hollywood and traveling all over the world will definitely
age a person. How old are you?”

“
I’ll be eighteen in a few
weeks.”

“
And how about your name?
Selena Summers is a beautiful name. It sounds like a stage
name.”

“
No,” Selena giggled. “It’s
mine. My mother is Hispanic and my father is white. My name is a
little of both.”

“
Well, it’s a beautiful
name.”

“
Thank you. I’m not sure
everyone agrees, though,” she sighed.

“
Why?”

“
A lot of people still call
me a half-breed.”

“
You’re joking?”

“
No. My mother’s parents
almost disowned her when she ran away with my father. But they
finally gave in after I was born.”

“
That’s incredible,” Matt
said.

“
Yeah. I guess it was
pretty bad for them as teenagers. But they say their love for each
other held them together.”

Matt was still holding her hand on the
table, and the way he stared into her eyes, she thought maybe he
could see into her very soul. His stare was so intense, it made her
feel nervous and jittery. She jumped when a flashbulb popped in
their eyes. A man outside their window had just snapped their
picture. Selena tried to keep a calm, cool look on her face, but
between the electric tingle that passed between their hands and the
flash of the camera, she thought she might just jump out of her
skin.

“
You get used to it,” Matt
said, ignoring the camera as he stared at her.

“
I don’t think I want to
get used to it.”

Matt laughed his musical laugh again. “Yeah,
I don’t blame you.”

Chapter 5

Matt stood looking down at her after she had
loaded Rusty in the trailer for the return drive. The desert was
empty now as the cast and crew had either gone into town or
returned to their trailers. The deepening shadows of twilight
played across his face as she looked up at him. His nearness made
her fidgety; her experience with boys had been very limited,
involving mostly school dances and quick kisses afterward. She had
been asked out plenty, but most of the boys at her school had
seemed so immature, she just hadn’t bothered. She’d had one
boyfriend for a short time last year. They had met at a rodeo and
quickly become friends. They had went out on several dates and
she’d even made out with him, but then his family had moved to
Texas and they sort of lost touch. But she knew, without a doubt,
that freckle-faced cowboy had never sent shivers through her the
way Matt’s touch did.

She felt her pulse quicken as Matt took her
hand and looked into her eyes. Almost before she realized what was
happening, he had leaned down and kissed her lips, ever so softly.
She closed her eyes, waiting for more—wanting more, but she felt
his hand slip from hers and when she opened her eyes again, he was
gone. He had slipped around the horse trailer and disappeared into
the deepening shadows. Selena stood there for a minute, her heart
racing uncontrollably, until Rusty banged his hoof against his
grain bucket, breaking the spell. Matthew Mason…she smiled to
herself as she started up the old pickup. Who would have thought a
month ago that I’d be filming a movie and hanging out with Matt
Mason? No, more than hanging out. She touched her lips where she
could still feel his mouth on hers.

Matt began stopping by every evening, as his
film schedule allowed. Selena would be doing homework, or writing
furiously in her notebook and she would look up to find him
standing in front of her. Her heart would immediately speed up as
she looked up at him, fluttering against her ribcage
incessantly.

He usually sat with her for a few minutes at
least, chatting and getting to know her. They had much in common
and were becoming fast friends, although Selena secretly wished he
would kiss her again. It had been unexpected and she wasn’t ready.
She wanted to try it again and see if she still felt that strange,
electric tingle.

As for Matt, he was impressed that Selena
wasn’t fawning over him as most of his adoring fans did. He didn’t
usually mind it, but on a date he never knew if the girl was
interested in him personally or only worshipped his fame. Even
though he was getting to know her better and they were becoming
friends, he could still see a faraway, mysterious look to her eyes
and it intrigued him. He lay awake at night, thinking about it;
what secrets lay hidden in those deep, dark depths.

One afternoon, he showed up on the big bay
gelding he’d ridden when Selena first saw him. “Let’s go for a
ride,” he said, sitting tall in his saddle. She quickly saddled
Rusty and they made their way across the desert, working their way
southwest, away from the movie set. They had a beautiful view of
the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the west, until they dropped down
into a wash underneath huge Cottonwood trees. Selena turned Rusty,
leading the way through the sandy canyon. As the wash widened out,
Matt drew his horse alongside.

“
Do you live around here?”
he asked.

“
In the Rio Grande valley,
south of Albuquerque.”

“
Ah, I’ve been through
there. I’ve only seen it from the highway, but it’s a beautiful
view across the valley and mountains.”

“
Yes, it is. It’s the only
home I’ve ever known. I’ve never been much of anywhere
else.”

“
Nowhere?”

“
Well, I went with my dad
to Denver once and I’ve been to El Paso, but that’s about it. I
envy you all the travel you get to do.”

“
Yeah, it’s a great chance
to see the world, but believe me, it gets old after a while. It
would be nice to have a place of my own to come home to. And a dog.
I’ve always wanted to have a dog, but I’ve never had the
opportunity.”

“
That’s too bad. Or even
if you had a horse. Rusty thinks he’s a dog most days. He would
follow me into the house if I let him. Anyway, don’t you live in
L.A.?”

“
Yeah. I have a house
there. Up in the hills. But I spend so little time there, it
doesn’t feel like a home. Just a big, beautiful house with no soul
to it.”

No soul? She thought about that. “I guess I
know what you mean,” she said. “It’s not really a home unless you
live there all the time.” As they rode slowly along, their horses
picking their way through the wash, she thought about how different
their two worlds were. He still made her feel like a small town,
hick girl, with his extensive knowledge of places and cultures
she’d never even seen. She would love to have the opportunity to
travel the world, visiting foreign and exotic locations, but of
course, she wouldn’t trade her loyal horse and her beloved desert
for anything.

They stopped their horses under a huge old
cottonwood tree, its limbs gnarled with age. Selena jumped down,
leaving Rusty’s rein trailing to the ground, and stretched her
legs. She watched as Matt moved toward her, taking her hand as he
neared and, without the prying eyes of cast and crew members, he
swept his black cowboy hat from his head and kissed her. Really
kissed her. Selena was startled at the intensity of the kiss. He
pulled her closer, kissing her deeply, his lips crushed against
hers, until she finally put her hands up to his chest and took a
step back.

“
Sorry,” he said
unabashedly. “You’re just so damn beautiful Selena, and so
different from the kind of girls I know.” He seemed a little out of
breath as he spoke.

“
Sure,” she said, feeling
breathless herself. “But you will only be here for a few weeks,
then you’ll be back in Hollywood.”

He hadn’t really given it any thought, but
now he realized she was right. “Okay, I’ll try to back it down a
bit. But really, I’m not that kind of guy.” He took her hand again
as he spoke, rubbing his thumb across her fingers.

Selena wasn’t so sure. She knew the
Hollywood type, always looking for a good time. Not that she hadn’t
wanted the kiss to continue. And what a kiss. Like how they kiss in
movies, she thought. Her body still tingled and she could still
taste him on her lips as he stared at her, his blue eyes twinkling
and full of mischief. But she wouldn’t allow herself a moment of
fun now, only to be hurt a few weeks from now. No. No way. No
matter how much I’m attracted to him, I won’t let myself get hurt,
she thought.

Matt let go of her hand finally, looking
slightly hurt himself, and they continued their ride. As the
tension between them subsided, they slipped back into their
easygoing banter.

“
Race ya,” Matt yelled as
he charged his horse ahead.

“
Oh, no you don’t,” Selena
yelled after him as she turned Rusty loose and let him run. Rusty
caught the big bay horse within a few leaps and they raced side by
side across the desert.

Their faces were flushed with color and
excitement as they returned to the set. Matt took her hand and
kissed her again as he left her at her horse trailer, a light
gentle kiss goodbye. Selena was prepared for more and she almost
wished she hadn’t said anything earlier. He was just such a good
kisser and she was attracted to him like nothing she’d ever known.
She stood beside her horse trailer, watching him walk away and
wishing he would come back. She was undeniably attracted to him and
it surprised her. If anyone had asked her a few weeks ago if she
would be going to dinner with Matthew Mason and kissing him like
one of his starlets, she would have laughed at them.