KeiraIt has been a full week since the company dinner. A full week since I promised Ethan that I’d look into other things he could do to bring out that free side of him, and to be honest, I’m scared to see him because I’ve been slacking.Aiden and Alexander had me locked in a studio most days with other senior producers and it has been intimidating. You know that feeling when you think you’re good at something, then you meet other people sharing that passion with you and you suddenly find out you’re not even near their level.The whole experience so far has been extremely humbling. That being said, I’m up to my ears with work and assignments from the seniors that I barely had time to think about Ethan.“You okay? You seem tired.”“Huh?”Alexander chuckles at my clueless expression. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude, it’s just that you’ve yawned three times in the last fifteen minutes. Are we boring you that much?”Shit, was I yawning? I didn’t notice.“No, of course not!” I imme
Keira“Do you trust me?” I ask as we settle inside the train. Looking around, there are not a lot of people given it’s a weekend, but I’m still worried that we might be discovered.Ethan looks over at me. With only his eyes visible through the disguise, he’s wearing, I can’t really tell much about his expression.“I wouldn’t be taking this mystery train ride with you if I didn’t,” he says softly and I could swear that my heart melted from his words alone.He has been so sweet and understanding since I texted him to wear something plain and to wear a mask. And he arrived at the café in a cream-colored Chanel sweater with a puffy dark jacket over it, black pants, a cap, and a mask.“So, will you tell me where we’re going yet?”With a sly grin, I shake my head at him. “It’s a surprise, but I promise it’s somewhere obscure that nobody will ever find out about it.”Ethan chuckles, “Should I start getting worried?” he asks. “It sounds like you’re about to kill me.”He makes me laugh too. “I
KeiraYou know that feeling when you’re so focused on doing something that you don’t notice how much time passes, that’s how I feel spending time with Ethan.We’ve been sitting on the floor for two hours just throwing ideas and lyrics around that we didn’t notice the time until we started to hear voices outside.“Hey! Hey! Is anybody there?”Ethan and I freeze before quickly gathering our stuff and carefully making our way to the back of the train.“I could have sworn I heard voices, boss,” a second man says, this time a bit louder.“Shit, hide!” I hiss quietly, taking Ethan’s hand, walking deeper into the back of the train. Then, we find ourselves in a little space behind old train seats that have been stacked together in piles. We squeeze in between the two piles despite the tight fit.“Ethan—”“Shh.” Ethan holds his finger to my lips, cutting me off. My breath catches in my throat as he does. I was only going to tell him to adjust our positions but instead, he tugs me closer until
Ethan“I have a meeting. I’m sorry I can’t take you home.” I could only go so far as bringing Keira to the company building with me. After our little side trip to McDonald’s, I realized I was already running late for my lunch meeting with the rest of the guys.“It’s fine!” she quips, eyes smiling and already looking better than earlier. “Don’t worry about it. This is already too much. You even paid for my food. Are you meeting about the tour?” she asks as she unbuckles her seatbelt. She looks much more comfortable now than she was the first time she rode with me. For some reason, it makes me feel good knowing she’s starting to get more comfortable around me as well.But I shake my head at her question, “More or less, I guess. I’ll fill you in later, or maybe you’d find out in the news. But anyway, I’ll catch you later.”Keira looks at me weirdly but doesn’t ask any more questions for which I’m grateful.“Okay, bye. Thanks again.”I leave first, heading for the elevator. Once inside, I
KeiraSince I got home two hours ago, I’ve faceplanted myself on my bed, groaning into my pillows thinking about what happened earlier with Ethan.He likes me?Is he sure about that? What if…“Ugh!” I scream into my pillow, thrashing against the bed. This is all so confusing.“Hey, you okay?” my roommate, Naomi asks.Reluctantly, I get off my stomach and sit properly on the bed to face my roommate. “Yeah,” I sigh. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”Naomi gives me a sympathetic smile, “Do you want to talk about it?” she asks, and I finally look up to see her zipping up a lavender cami dress.I rarely see Naomi dressing up. She’s usually in jeans and crop tops so it’s refreshing to see her like this.“N-No, it’s fine,” I reply, still admiring her soft and dewy makeup look. She must have spent some time on it. Even her hair is pinned perfectly in a half updo. “I don’t want to delay you. Are you going on a date?”Naomi fixes me with a hard look, “Me? Going on a date?” she chuckles, flashing her
KeiraTwo weeks fly by with me barely registering the fact that RAZE’s new album launches in weeks. Their first World concert tour also kicks off in two weeks so the whole company is abuzz.Everywhere you look in the company building, staff and managers run around fulfilling last-minute preparations for the supergroup.It has also been two weeks since Ethan and I last talked in person. Apart from texts here and there, Ethan had been really busy with the group. They’ve been swamped with photoshoots, video shoots, and other content shoots.My phone buzzes in my jacket pocket. Upon seeing the name that’s flashed on the screen, I smile. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.ETHAN REED [9:55 AM]Hey, what’s with the long face?A blush colors my cheeks pink as I look up from my phone to meet Ethan’s eyes in the makeup mirror set up in front of him.Right, I forgot to mention that I’m playing roadie again today for RAZE’s video shoot. Despite impressing senior producers and members of the
KeiraI’m finally here.We step into the final stages of songwriting and I still can’t believe this is real. But I’m here in the studio, my hands splayed over the console, and Ethan recording inside the booth. This is real.With Ethan’s skills, we cover almost everything in a few hours. All that’s left are the adlibs, but the song is virtually finished.For years I dreamed of this, and now it’s finally coming through. But it’s a shame we couldn’t finish it in time.“You okay?”I look up in surprise upon hearing Ethan’s voice loudly through the speakers. He had spoken into the microphone, looking at me through the glass partition with concern swimming in his eyes.I hadn’t even realized that I was making any kind of expression. “Yeah, why?”Ethan doesn’t answer but he fixes me with a look that tells me he doesn’t believe me one bit. With a soft grunt, he pulls the headphones off and places them on the stand.“Stay there,” he says one last time into the microphone before he leaves the b
Keira“Ethan, what are you doing? We’ll be seen!” I whisper-yell at the pop star as he gets out of the car, in broad daylight without even a mask on, or a hat to cover his face.I am so getting fired for this.“Come on, Keira. Live a little!” He calls back before he shuts the car door and walks away. With a groan of frustration, I undo my seatbelt and follow him out.“Ethan!” I call out, not too loud, afraid of drawing attention. Looking around, there are barely any people in the area but it still wouldn’t hurt to be careful. When I finally catch up to him, I chuck a black cap into his chest, one I found in his car. “At least wear that.”He puts the hat on with a grin, clearly enjoying torturing me. “Follow me,” he says and takes off in a jog.Where even are we?I recall entering a gated community and panicking because the guards could have recognized him. But Ethan kept driving and I think we’re in some kind of playground or park. From the looks of it, this part of the community is o