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"You wanna go on a trip?"
Lucia's tears had dried long before. The warm air and soft music that wafted through the car automatically lifted her spirits. Well... that, and the man who sat beside her. The slight smile upon his lips didn't seem to falter since she'd returned to the car, and each time her gaze fluttered to him she felt enamored. She both loved and hated how he made her feel. Cliff drove through the Los Angeles streets with no particular destination in mind. They conversed for the entirety of the ride, the thoughts of the horrible man and audition far behind them. Cliff would be lying if he didn't say that he was desperate to spend more time with her.
"Where to?" Lucia asked, propping her elbow on the folded seat between them. Each had become painfully aware of the space that they were separated by.
Cliff's eyes flicked to her leaning forward, "On account of that asshole ruinin' your day, I intend to get your mind off it. Rick needs me to fix somethin' down at his place. It's got a great view of the city. You're gonna love it."
The excitement in his voice made Lucia's grin spread wider across her face and she shrugged, "I have nothing else to do. Let's go."
Cliff grinned, reached into his pocket, and popped a mint into his mouth, "I sure hoped you'd say that."
___
"Okay, what the fuck?" Lucia exclaimed, leaning out of the car window. Her waves blew into her eyes and she pushed them away to get a better view of Cielo Drive. Gorgeous houses lined the street. Beautiful bushes with flowers of every hue graced her sight. "Rick lives here?"
"Sure does," Cliff replied easily.
"He just... he just lives here?" Lucia trailed as she slid back into her seat, one leg tucked under the other. She had lived in a run down apartment her whole life, once finding it homey, but now wanting more.
"Yeah," Cliff chuckled at her disbelief, finding it cute. His hands hung loosely over the steering wheel.
The car rounded the soft curve to reveal the biggest houses at the end of the cul-de-sac, one of them being Rick's. Lucia waited in anticipation to see which one Cliff pulled up to, and watched as he drove into the driveway of a beautiful ranch.
"Holy shit," she whispered, her jaw resting open.
Cliff parked the car in the wide driveway before a rather unflattering mural of Rick. Lucia's eyes widened at it, wondering if this is what happened to all famous people. She had been rather naïve about the industry this far into her life, so she wasn't surprised if there was much more she didn't know. But being before the home of a movie star, albeit one with a struggling career, her dream never felt closer. The low hum of the Cadillac ceased as Cliff pulled out the keys. The soft tunes that traveled to their ears stopped. Silence greeted the two of them for the first time that day.
