She purposely stuck her tongue out at him when she saw he was having trouble keeping it together and grinned for a moment before going back to doing whatever came to mind. It was fun, being able to do whatever she wanted and not being judged because she could say it was just for the music video.
Eventually, the director shouted, and Lee dropped the eliners on the floor and burst out laughing.
"What the fuck was that?" he asked between breaths, his hands on his knees as he tried to regain composure. All of the other crew members had a similar reaction after the camera turned off.
“My amazing talent,” She joked, sticking her tongue out again, “I think you’re just jealous of my fantastic moves.” She danced around for another few seconds with a grin before stopping, “Was that good? I don’t think Lee could handle another recording with the way he’s laughing.”
The director nodded, already moving the camera to a different place in the gym.
"So," he explained, beckoning them to follow, "this is for the breakdown at the end of the song. Lee, I need you to take off your shirt."
Lee was, as expected, confused as all hell. "Uh….why?"
The director smiled knowingly. "Well, we gotta find a way to get people a little more interested in this last part."
Lee glanced over at Vanessa to see what she thought of it.
Vanessa raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, sipping off her energy drink as she followed Lee and the director, “As long as it doesn’t involve me taking off any clothes we’re all good here, it’s up to Lee what he does.”
Lee shrugged. "Alright then."
He stripped off the sleeveless T-Shirt, revealing the solid abs that every professional fighter seemed to have, along with broad, strong shoulders and defined arms.
"Alright," the director said, nodding to himself, "Now get in a push-up position and let Vanessa sit on your back."
This made Lee's eyebrow raise even more, looking over to Vanessa once again.
“Hold on, can I say something quick,” She looked over Lee’s torso and nodded, “Damn, just, damn.” With that, she set her drink down once again and moved to where she was supposed to be. She was completely fine with this, it was up to Lee what he wanted to do with himself anyway.
That broke the awkwardness that Lee had felt, and he couldn't hide a small grin as he got down into the push-up position. His arms didn't even shift as Vanessa took her seat on his back, only letting out a small puff of air in response.
She glanced at him and couldn’t help but crack another joke at his small breath, “I’m not even that heavy, am I?” Vanessa nodded to the manager to show she was ready whenever, not wanting to make Lee hold her on his back for longer than he had to.
The end of the song blared out from the speakers in the gym as Lee slowly began to do push-ups, making sure to pace himself so that it stayed on beat. His arms never trembled once throughout the whole process of filming, even after having to reshoot the scene after Vanessa lost her balance and fell off his back.
"Alright, we're good," the director said, and the music shut off.
Lee looked over his shoulder at Vanessa. "Mind getting up?"
She nodded and stood up, rubbing her back as she hummed the song to herself, “That hurt. The floor isn’t very comfy.” Happy to have those scenes done, she moved to grab her headphones and drink again. She figured they were done and she could go back to songwriting, though she could say shooting was a fun, especially since Barry disappeared to figure something out and hadn’t returned to annoy anyone yet.
Lee got up to his feet, rolling his shoulders a couple of times with a face of mild discomfort. "Haven't used that much weight for a push-up in a while," he said, shooting Vanessa a playful glance so she knew he was just joking.
"Anyways, can we take a lunch break?" he asked the director as he retrieved his shirt from the floor.
"Yeah, let's take a lunch break."
"Ooo!" Barry said, returning just in time to hear 'lunch.' "I know a good place close by."
“As long as I’m not buying,” Vanessa joked, glancing back at Lee with the same playful look at his joke. Slinging her headphones around her neck, she shrugged, hiding the mildly annoyed look that crossed her face when Barry reappeared and popped into the conversation, “Lunch sounds good.” Just food in general sounded good to her, especially since she hadn’t eaten much that morning because of Barry calling her at way too early in the morning to tell her to get ready.
"Mind if I come with?" he asked, still addressing Vanessa and blatantly ignoring Barry. "My nutritionist might have a fit, but one cheat meal can't hurt me that bad."
He was already heading towards a decently-sized locker nuzzled into the back left corner of the gym. He pulled out a dull grey hoodie, his phone, and a pair of flipflops before slamming the door with his foot.
“Please do,” She said, happy that he had asked. She wasn’t in the mood for listening to Barry and the director babble away while she sat there. Already she was heading to the door, pulling her headphones back over her head and drowning out whatever her manager was saying with her favorite songs. Her stomach growled and she started thinking about what she was going to get based on what kind of food they served. A burrito sounded really good to her at the moment.
He grabbed her arm just before she could reach the door, putting the hoodie into her hands. "Put this on before you go. If anyone notices you, we won't get a second of peace. Plus, I doubt you want the rumors of us dating to circle around."
Lee walked outside before she got the chance to argue, smoothing out the front of his shirt while he waited for her.
She rolled her eyes but did as he said, thinking of all the rumors that had already circulated about who she was dating. The sweatshirt was actually pretty comfortable, even if it was made for a guy who had double the upper body strength she had -meaning it was a tad big. “Better?” She said, stepping outside and pretending to model it while Barry and the director went to go get one of their cars. It was easier to just take one car than multiple and soon her manager came up with his fancy red Dodge Charger and the director in the passengers seat.
He rolled his eyes as he opened the door for her. "Lovely. You might need to keep your day job, though. Modeling isn't your strong suit." He shut the door once she cleared her legs, and slipped into the other side, behind the driver. He slid as far to the left as he could to not crowd her in the backseat that was admittedly very small.
"What place do you plan on going to?" Lee asked Barry.
"A Mexican place called 3 Amigo's about 2 miles from here."
"And you couldn't walk there? It's only two miles."
She stuck her tongue out at him but didn’t say anything else, flipping the hood over her head and keeping to her tiny sliver of the backseat. A small laugh escaped her at his comment and she looked over at him, amused, “Only two miles? It’d take us twenty minutes to get to the restaurant, unless we’re running, and I don’t really want to run.”
Barry and he director seemed to be ignoring the two of them as they drove out of the parking lot and towards the Mexican place. They struck up a conversation as they went, about something production or music related.
He shook his head, looking out of the window with a small smile. "Lazy ass celebrities."
They reached the restaurant in 5 minutes and Lee was out before the car was even parked, stretching his legs to get a bit of feeling back into them.
Needless to say, he was a bit nervous going out into a public place with Vanessa. A: She was a god-damn superstar, B: She was attractive as hell, and C: Paparazzi would go batshit if they found her in the restaurant with him. Way too much attention for his liking.
He hid it the best he could as the others got out of the car.
“Not lazy, just selectively active,” She replied, flipping him off jokingly when he wasn’t looking. The drive did go by fast and soon she was out of the car, pulling the hood of his hoodie over her face further to try to hide her signature blue eyes. Barry parked the car while the other three of them walked into the restaurant, jogging for what must’ve been the first time in decades to catch up to them. Vanessa gave herself a whole new stride and demeanor when they neared the door, slouching more and just making herself less noticeable.
(Just a quick question, how would Vanessa react if the waitress started getting flirty with Lee?)
(Probably wouldn’t seem to mind at first, then she’d get jealous, and finally, depending on how far it went, she would start throwing insults and other not always so nice things at the waitress)
(Perfecto)
A waitress was waiting for them behind a little podium to the right of the door.
"Seating for 4, I'm guessing?" she asked, her gaze falling upon first Barry, then the director, then Vanessa, and finally Lee. Her eyes didn't leave him even as she grabbed 4 menus and led them to a booth in the far back of the restaurant, closest to the kitchen. Larry and the director, who were neck deep in a conversation still, slid in together in the left side of the booth, so Lee chose to enter the right side first, already studying the menu.
Vanessa slid in after Lee, grabbing a menu as well even though she already knew what she wanted. Her order didn’t vary much in every restaurant she went to. If they served Mexican food, it was a chicken burrito. Italian, lasagna, and so on and so forth. Even as the other two talked non stop, Vanessa didn’t say a word, seeming to know exactly how to avoid the press when she went anywhere in public with any male figure around her age.
"What can I get you guys for drinks?" the waitress asked, smiling slightly as she reached for her notepad and pen.
"I'll have a Bloody Mary," the director said, rubbing his nose on his forearm, "But with extra lime."
"Sprite, please," Barry said, and the two resumed their conversation.
"Uh…." Lee contemplated getting a soda, but finally settled on, "Just a water with lemon."
The waitress nodded and wrote down his order, glancing up at him one more time before turning to Vanessa. "And you?"
“Lemonade, please.” She said, keeping her head down and messing with the corner of her menu. Her foot bounced quietly against the floor, one of the only signs of her nervousness of being found by paparazzi. With a small glance at the waitress, she could tell she liked Lee, or at least the look of him. Already the thought of food made her happy and she couldn’t wait to order, all she had to do was wait for the waitress to come back with their drinks and for the others to decide what they wanted and she could order.
Lee tapped her arm and leaned closer so they wouldn't be heard. "There's a guy with his phone out about three booths behind us. I doubt you're recognizable from that angle, but it's just a warning."
He sat upright again and spoke loud enough to interrupt the other two's conversation, "What do you guys plan on getting?"
She gave him a thumbs up, happy for the warning as she looked around at the other three. Vanessa didn’t dare join the conversation, if someone heard her voice for more than a few moments they could probably know who she was. Normally when she was out and about she didn’t mind having fans come up and talk to her, though she did have several rules that most of her fans knew; 1. Don’t interrupt her if she was eating or talking to someone already, 2. Stay to their personal space unless you ask first, and 3. If they wanted anything signed they had to bring their own pen. They were simple rules, and she was happy to talk to fans, but if she was with someone attractive and male like Lee was she would hide her identity so no rumors would start.
About 15 minutes later, the waitress came back with the 4 drinks on a large plastic tray, handing each one to its respective owner. A light blush dusted her cheeks whenever Lee took his cup from her and their hands brushed slightly, but Lee was more focused on squeezing the lemon into his water than the woman.
"A-Alright," she said after taking a moment to regain her composure, "What would you guys like for your meal?"