Rising Star Read Online Free PDF

when a flashbulb popped in
their eyes. A man outside their window had just snapped their
picture. Selena tried to keep a calm, cool look on her face, but
between the electric tingle that passed between their hands and the
flash of the camera, she thought she might just jump out of her
skin.
    “ You get used to it,” Matt
said, ignoring the camera as he stared at her.
    “ I don’t think I want to
get used to it.”
    Matt laughed his musical laugh again. “Yeah,
I don’t blame you.”
     

Chapter 5
     
    Matt stood looking down at her after she had
loaded Rusty in the trailer for the return drive. The desert was
empty now as the cast and crew had either gone into town or
returned to their trailers. The deepening shadows of twilight
played across his face as she looked up at him. His nearness made
her fidgety; her experience with boys had been very limited,
involving mostly school dances and quick kisses afterward. She had
been asked out plenty, but most of the boys at her school had
seemed so immature, she just hadn’t bothered. She’d had one
boyfriend for a short time last year. They had met at a rodeo and
quickly become friends. They had went out on several dates and
she’d even made out with him, but then his family had moved to
Texas and they sort of lost touch. But she knew, without a doubt,
that freckle-faced cowboy had never sent shivers through her the
way Matt’s touch did.
    She felt her pulse quicken as Matt took her
hand and looked into her eyes. Almost before she realized what was
happening, he had leaned down and kissed her lips, ever so softly.
She closed her eyes, waiting for more—wanting more, but she felt
his hand slip from hers and when she opened her eyes again, he was
gone. He had slipped around the horse trailer and disappeared into
the deepening shadows. Selena stood there for a minute, her heart
racing uncontrollably, until Rusty banged his hoof against his
grain bucket, breaking the spell. Matthew Mason…she smiled to
herself as she started up the old pickup. Who would have thought a
month ago that I’d be filming a movie and hanging out with Matt
Mason? No, more than hanging out. She touched her lips where she
could still feel his mouth on hers.
     
    Matt began stopping by every evening, as his
film schedule allowed. Selena would be doing homework, or writing
furiously in her notebook and she would look up to find him
standing in front of her. Her heart would immediately speed up as
she looked up at him, fluttering against her ribcage
incessantly.
    He usually sat with her for a few minutes at
least, chatting and getting to know her. They had much in common
and were becoming fast friends, although Selena secretly wished he
would kiss her again. It had been unexpected and she wasn’t ready.
She wanted to try it again and see if she still felt that strange,
electric tingle.
    As for Matt, he was impressed that Selena
wasn’t fawning over him as most of his adoring fans did. He didn’t
usually mind it, but on a date he never knew if the girl was
interested in him personally or only worshipped his fame. Even
though he was getting to know her better and they were becoming
friends, he could still see a faraway, mysterious look to her eyes
and it intrigued him. He lay awake at night, thinking about it;
what secrets lay hidden in those deep, dark depths.
    One afternoon, he showed up on the big bay
gelding he’d ridden when Selena first saw him. “Let’s go for a
ride,” he said, sitting tall in his saddle. She quickly saddled
Rusty and they made their way across the desert, working their way
southwest, away from the movie set. They had a beautiful view of
the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the west, until they dropped down
into a wash underneath huge Cottonwood trees. Selena turned Rusty,
leading the way through the sandy canyon. As the wash widened out,
Matt drew his horse alongside.
    “ Do you live around here?”
he asked.
    “ In the Rio Grande valley,
south of Albuquerque.”
    “ Ah,