Page 32 of The Actor: Harrison

“I’ll bring you back to pick it up later. It’s a bit tricky reaching this place if you lose me following my car.” He motions for me to follow him to his car and I decide to humor him.

When he stops in front of a big red muscle car, I roll my eyes. “A Camaro? Really? It’s very bad boy. Congratulations.” I grin.

He leans with his elbows on the top of the car and smirks at me. “It’s a Z28, sweetheart, not just a Camaro,” he explains, like I know what he’s talking about.

“And that’s, what, something special?”

He looks at me with an are-you-serious-right-now look and unlocks it for us to jump in.

“It has a big engine and it’s fast. That’s all you need to know. If I start talking about this car you’d probably jump out that door while I’m driving.” He winks at me and I squeeze my legs. My hormones are running all over the place.

When he turns on the car, it purrs with a deep low rumble, but when he puts his foot on the gas pedal, it roars to life, squishing me against the seat.

“Okay, now I get it,” I admit.

He grins at me as we drive out of the almost empty parking lot.

The drive there is mostly silent and when we arrive, I’m surprised to discover it’s not a fancy part of the city, but one of those neighborhoods where normal people live, ones who don’t pay millions for a house but they’re happy anyway. Harrison parks in a mostly empty parking lot, except for a few cars and a food truck where the pink neon sign says “Tacos.” In front of it sit five round plastic tables and chairs.

We step out of the car and walk to where the food truck is parked. Three guys, two in their late twenties and one a bit older, grin when they spot Harrison.

“Mr. Oscar! What a pleasure to have you back.” One of the two younger men greets him, pushing off the counter he’s leaning on.

There’s no one around and I watch with amusement as they take their time with Harrison.

“Shut up, Diego. You saw me last week.” He laughs and I smile at the confidence they have.

It’s clear they know each other and I can’t stop wondering how someone like Harrison ended up befriending them. I’m sure there’s an interesting story behind that.

They all laugh and when it dies down a bit, their curious gazes land on me.

“Who is this beautiful woman and why is she hanging out with your ugly face?” The older one chuckles.

“She’s my boss. Don’t get me fired, Santiago.” Harrison winks at me and I smile.

“Hi, I’m Sienna. And I’ll pay whatever you want if you have something embarrassing to tell me about him”

They all burst out laughing and Harrison smiles. One of those gorgeous smiles that show off his dimples. One of those that melt panties. Not mine, of course.

“One time he came here with a chick that didn’t like meat, cheese, or anything with gluten. She ended up eating a cup of salad and chopped tomatoes while bitching at him for half an hour until he stood up, came over here, and told us to please kill him. She heard that and dumped her salad all over his head. He had tomatoes running down his face. It was the first and last time he brought a girl here,” Diego says.

“Hey! Not cool, man. You can’t talk to a chick he’s dating about another chick. Bro code, man.” The other young guy slaps Diego on the back of the neck.

I laugh and wave my hand. “We’re not dating, so we’re cool. And I eat meat. How’s your carne asada?”

“The best. You can’t find any better in Los Angeles,” Santiago assures me.

“Can you make me a quesadilla with Carne asada?”

“Queso Oaxaca?” He grins at me.

“Is there any other cheese for a quesadilla?” I raise an eyebrow, daring him to contradict me.

He puffs out his chest and looks proudly at Harrison. “Keep this one. She knows. She knows.”

I laugh and shake my head while Harrison smiles at me and shrugs like he doesn’t know what to do with them.

“You’re not planning to kiss him tonight, right? Because he drops dead if you kiss him after eating cheese.” Diego seems worried.

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