Somebody

The Towed Car

Chapter 6

Five minutes to 4:30, the unsettlingly feeling of panic began to boil inside my stomach.

Fernando hadn't called or texted back to confirm anything after my improvised performance.

Surely he wouldn't miss out on such an amazing opportunity to take photos of Riley Grant for the second time.

Most photographers would do anything just to take a selfie with me. Two professional shoots with Riley Grant meant a lot in the industry.

At precisely 4:31, my doorbell rang. Finally. I could feel my heart restarting in my chest.

I gave myself another quick look in the mirror and walked calmly to the door, despite the growing tension in my gut.

My fingers tightened on the doorknob, knowing that the man who I had been dreaming and thinking of for the past week may or may not be on the other side.

Taking a deep breath to calm my wired nerves, I turned the knob and opened the door.

And was face to face with a pair of stunningly green eyes.

I was momentarily lost for words and he seemed to be too. We both just stood there, staring at each other like we had at the photo shoot and the coffee shop.

Until he finally broke the silence.

"Miss Grant?"

I nodded nervously. This would be our first, proper conversation together and I had no idea what to expect.

His voice sounded different from what I remembered from the photo shoot though; it was more high pitched and anxious. Maybe it was just my overactive imagination.

"I don't think we've like, actually met yet. Like formally and stuff. So like yeah."

What? What did he just say? I didn't know why, but I had associated an aura of sophistication around Caleb. He had just seemed like such a well-spoken and civilised gentleman.

But here he was, stumbling over his words and saying 'like' one too many times.

Maybe I wasn't fantasising about him in particular. I was fantasising about my perfect guy, who I hoped had the ability to hold a decent conversation.

My interest in him suddenly diminished. Turned out he was just like every other nobody out there.

"I suppose so. Hello, my name is Riley Grant which you already know," I sighed disappointedly.

He looked confused at my sudden change of face but continued anyway.

"Yeah, I'm Caleb. Caleb Armstrong. Like the astronaut but like not. I've never been to space so... I'm not an astronaut."

"I see that, Mr Armstrong."

The silence stretched between us awkwardly. I hung my head to avoid meeting his hypnotic eyes.

This guy definitely wasn't the man of my dreams.

"Fern- I mean Mr Santiago couldn't make it. He's really upset about it but he was feeling really unwell and... He feels really bad about it and yeah. Really sorry about it."

"Oh really?" I smirked, deciding to toy with his nervous chatter. I soon discovered that there was a certain cuteness to his awkward banter.

"Really," Caleb murmured, realising my teasing and blushed furiously. His chapped lips were curled into a small smile, the ghost of perfectly round dimples on his cheeks.

"Very well Mr Armstrong. Come in but please do mind the Persian rugs - they're authentic."

"Yes, Miss Grant. Can I call you Riley? I mean like, we're pretty much the same age and it's weird if we call each other Miss and Mr. Don't you think?"

"Sure, Caleb," I replied and sauntered back into the living room. To be honest, it felt like a huge weight lifting off my chest, not having to call him Mr Armstrong anymore. Caleb rolled off my tongue much more smoothly than that mouthful.

I could hear him swallow anxiously as he followed me into the house, not without tripping on the ledge at the front door of course.

This was going to be a long night.

***

"I like your music."

We had wrapped up the shoot already and I was now lounging on my couch, sipping my late afternoon cappuccino, as Caleb packed away his equipment.

"Thank you. I love writing and singing so I'm just happy to get to share it with the world and let other people enjoy my music too," I chirped, giving the line that I usually saved for interviews.

"Oh please. Don't try to feed that bullshit to me. I can see right through it," Caleb scoffed, his eyes fixed on the camera as his cheeks reddened, realising what he had just said.

My ears perked up. Now that sounded like the man in my dreams. The man I had met at the photo shoot.

Sarcastic yet down-to-earth; taunting yet strangely understanding. Caleb's voice had seemed different too, more relaxed and whole lot more sexy; a deep, rich sound in my ears.

Maybe I wasn't the only one with a fake voice.

"Ha! I think you're the first nobody who could actually see through my act."

I regretted the words as soon as they had left my mouth. Did I just call an insanely attractive boy, who knows my address, a nobody?

Also, I had sounded much too like my actual self; a fatal mistake for a superstar.

Caleb laughed and continued with his task.

He didn't seem to notice the difference in my voice or my insult, something Cody would've taken immediate offence to.

Cody may be sweet and adoring, but the boy lacked a sense of humour.

One time, he sent me a picture of his breakfast at a hotel he was staying at and it was an omelet.

So I texted back, hoping that he had an "eggscellent" meal. He replied back saying that I had misspelled "excellent".

It was a good thing he was so good looking.

Caleb and I soon lapsed into a comfortable silence until his phone rang.

I could see his eyes widen in panic as my hit song, Genie in a Bottle, blared out of his phone.

He had my song as his ringtone? I wasn't sure whether to be flattered or creeped out. Or both.

I still found the gesture sweet nevertheless. I was pretty sure that Cody's ringtone was one of his own songs.

He quickly picked up his phone and answered the call.

"Hello?"

I turned away, feeling wrong to eavesdrop on his call. It could be his girlfriend for all I know.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Shit. You have to help me out Nate!"

Ok, so maybe I didn't feel too bad eavesdropping. The conversation seemed pretty interesting and I couldn't resist.

"What am I going to do? I seriously can't. It's not an option. I can't believe this!"

After more cursing and grunts of disbelief, Caleb hung up and gave me a guilty look.

"That was my buddy, Nate, from the towing business downtown."

"Ok, so?" I asked nonchalantly, knowing the answer to my question already and felt my stomach knot.

"May I be able to stay the night Riley?"

A/N
Hi guys! I'd thought I'd try writing little author notes at the end of my updates to avoid spewing out long notes after several chapters that nobody wants to read (like my last A/N)

Anyway, SOPRANOS AND SNAPSHOTS HAS JUST REACHED OVER 1K READS! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! MWAH! <3

You guys are the reason on why I love writing so much. I can never thank you enough for that! :)

Feel free to comment and vote on this story! More updates coming soon before my deathly demise (school) arrives

x Ava Carter