Most Ardently | Pedro Pascal

six

By the time I finished getting ready for the day and opened my hotel room door, I had forgotten that Pedro's room was directly across from mine. When we first arrived in New York, we came up here together to drop off our bags before getting to work, but we hadn't crossed paths here that whole weekend. Until right fucking now.

The moment my door shut, Pedro's door swung open, but my tired smile did not meet his eyes. Instead, I was met with a mousy brunette. I must have surprised her as much as she surprised me- she jolted back, stumbling into a shirtless Pedro, and let a small squeak escape from her pouty lips.

"Morning." I ducked my head and quickly made my way to the elevator.

I hadn't waited to catch Pedro's reaction, but I really, honestly didn't care. My poor luck continued when the girl appeared beside me, following me into the awaiting elevator. We stared straight ahead, and from the way that she cleared her throat as she straightened out her short plaid skirt and lacy top, she felt just as awkward as I did.

"I'm a big fan, by the way. Really looking forward to your movie."

"Thanks." I smiled tightly.

I would've asked if she wanted a selfie, had the circumstances been different. Would she have posted it and captioned it something stupid, like 'just fucked one of the hottest A-listers then met this try hard!' It would have garnered some attention to my name at least. Fortunately, I didn't have a chance to think about it further; the elevator beeped to signal the last few floors until the doors finally opened to the lobby.

I searched the bright marble room and caught eyes with Allison. She waved me over and with each step, the tension slowly melted from my shoulders.

"Hey, babe! You ready?" she hiked her purse strap higher up her shoulder.

I nodded. We stepped onto the bustling street, following directions on Allison's phone to a coffee shop close by. We chatted lightly about our plans for our next nail sets, agreeing to go back to a coffin shape and maybe include something fun like glitter. It only took a few more minutes before we arrived at a very chic coffee shop. I ordered an iced caramel latte.

"We have a little bit of time before we have to leave for the shoot, you want to sit in for a bit?" I proposed.

"Yeah, girl!" Allison led us to a table by the front window, "So, fill me in. How's the sitch with Pedro?"

"Oh, it's fine. I don't think he really likes me, but I'm honestly over it. We're both professional enough to ignore it," my voice trailed off, and I shrugged.

"What? He totally likes you," she reassured.

"Maybe as a coworker, but that's it."

"Okay, but isn't that all you're supposed to be anyway?"

I didn't know how to respond, so I averted my focus out the window. I still hadn't told her about what happened between Pedro and I after she left the night of the party. I knew she could never judge me, but I guess I felt embarrassed and would rather not relive it.

I suppose she could sense my apprehension but didn't want to push me on the subject. So, she asked about what makeup I was hoping to wear later this afternoon, instead. The shoot was for the cover of GQ, which made me both immensely proud and horribly nervous. We looked through Pinterest together and gossiped lightly to put my mind at ease until our glasses were empty.

The walk back to the hotel was peaceful, and I tried to stay in that mindset, knowing how tiring the rest of the day would be. Upon arriving at the hotel, Cheyenne, Gene, and a few of our other team members were already waiting in the lobby. I let them know I just needed to grab a few things from my room before I'd be ready.