The Los Angeles night air was a welcome relief after the chaotic red carpet and flashing paparazzi bulbs far behind them, Rico and Anne decided to walk the few blocks down the shimmering boulevard toward their destination.
It was a bizarrely peaceful moment.
Despite her rising stardom and his rapidly growing status as the next global footballing phenom, they weren’t bothered by anyone.
In the shadows of the towering palm trees and the glow of passing headlights, they were just a young man and a young woman enjoying the quiet anonymity of the sprawling city.
Nobody recognised them; nobody stopped them.
It was a rare feeling for both of them.
As they strolled at a leisurely pace, a breeze swept off the Pacific, cutting through the warm California night.
Anne crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her bare shoulders as a visible shiver ran down her spine.
“Are you cold?” he asked, his deep voice cutting through the ambient hum of the city traffic.
Anne let out a small laugh, her teeth chattering just a fraction.
“A bit, yeah.” Without a second thought, Rico stopped walking.
He took off his suit jacket and held it out to her, “Here, you can wear it.” Anne looked at the expensive designer jacket, “Are you sure?” “Yeah,” Rico said effortlessly, stepping closer to drape the jacket over her shoulders.
“I mean, you’re just wearing a very thin top.
I run warm anyway.” “Thank you,” Anne said softly.
She pulled the lapels together and was enveloped in the residual heat of his body and the intoxicating scent of woodsy cologne.
The jacket was massive on her slender frame, but it felt incredibly comforting.
She looked up at him, her doe eyes studying his striking features under the moonlight.
“So…
what should I call you?
I don’t even know your name” Rico chuckled as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his tailored trousers.
“Well, my real name is Ricardo Cesar Carvalho Victor Sterling.” Anne literally stopped in her tracks, her eyes bulging in shock.
She looked at him as if he had just recited a royal decree.
“That…
that is a lot of names.” “Yeah,” Rico agreed with a wry smile, resuming his slow pace so she had to jog a half-step to catch up.
“I blame my mother.
It was originally supposed to be just Ricardo Sterling.
Nice and short.
But then my mother wanted her father’s name in there with Cesar, and then she decided she had to add my paternal grandfather’s Victor name in too.” “What about Carvalho?” Anne asked, fascinated.
“I don’t even know,” Rico laughed with a dismissive shrug.
“I honestly think she just wanted my name to be longer.
A bit of Brazilian flair, you know?” Anne smiled, walking close enough that their shoulders occasionally brushed.
“So what do people actually call you?
Like, my friends and family call me Annie.” Rico looked down at her, raising a eyebrow in surprise.
“Seriously?
I thought it was Anne.” “It is,” she explained, tucking a stray lock of her dark brunette hair behind her ear.
“But I just prefer Annie.
It feels more like me.” “You could legally change it,” Rico pointed out logically, his analytical mind always looking for the most direct solution.
“Yeah, I could,” Anne sighed softly, looking down at the pavement.
“But I’m just starting out, really.
I already have a bit of momentum under ‘Anne’, and I’m not trying to confuse anybody in the industry right now.
Maybe one day when I’ve done some more stuff, and I have more pull, I’ll switch it.” “Makes sense,” Rico nodded, respecting her ambition.
“Yeah, well, you can call me Rico.
That’s what my friends and family call me.” He paused, as a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
“But you can call me anytime.” Anne let out a breathless laugh, a bright blush rushing to her porcelain cheeks.
She couldn’t help the wide smile that formed.
“I would love to call you Anytime,” she fired back smoothly, holding his gaze with equal measure.
“So, Anytime, what movie are we going to watch next?” Rico actually threw his head back and let out a genuine laugh.
“Okay, that was good.” “You don’t have to try so hard.” Anne teased playfully, bumping her shoulder against his arm.
“Have you seen you?” Rico countered instantly, his gaze deliberately sweeping over her beautiful features.
“I got to try something.
I’m fighting out of my weight class here.” Anne rolled her eyes, though she was flattered.
“Have you seen you?” she shot back.
Rico stopped walking again, turning to face her fully on the empty sidewalk.
He dropped the smouldering act, replacing it with a charming sincerity.
“Yeah, fair point.
Can we just reset?” “Sure,” Anne agreed, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
She stood up a little straighter, adjusted the sleeves of his oversized jacket, and held out her hand formally.
“I’m Annie Jacqueline Hathaway.” Rico didn’t take her hand immediately.
Instead, he looked at her with mock confusion.
“What are you doing wearing my jacket, Annie Jacqueline Hathaway?” Anne burst out laughing, as she playfully slapped his shoulder.
“You’re impossible!” Rico finally took her delicate hand in his own as his grip was firm but gentle.
“I like the name, Annie.
I’m Rico.” “Just Rico?” Anne asked, tilting her head.
“Well, on my shirt it says Vito,” Rico corrected, referencing the shortened moniker he wore on the back of his LA Galaxy kit.
“Vito,” Anne tested the name on her tongue.
“It must be a very nice shirt.” “It is,” Rico said confidently.
“Maybe you should come down and go watch an LA Galaxy game sometime, and you will see it in person.” “That sounds nice,” Anne said genuinely.
The idea of sitting in a stadium and watching this man run around a pitch was very appealing.
As they started walking again, Rico looked over at her.
“Are you really an Arsenal fan?” Anne looked surprised.
“What makes you say that?” “You asked about it earlier,” Rico noted, his memory sharp.
“And no offense to my dad, but he was just a regular starter.
He wasn’t exactly a superstar that a Hollywood actress would just casually know about unless she followed the team.” Anne chuckled.
“Yeah, you got me.
My dad’s a massive fan, and it just kind of fell downwards to me.
It became a family thing.
What team do you support?” Rico shoved his hands back into his pockets, looking down the street.
“I don’t.” Anne frowned.
“You don’t support a team?
How can you be a professional footballer and not have a favourite team?” “I don’t want a team allegiance stopping me from playing for a team,” Rico answered practically.
“If I say I’m a die-hard Real Madrid fan, I wouldn’t want to play for Barcelona.
I like to keep my options open.” Anne let out a loud groan, rolling her eyes to the heavens.
“Come on, that is the most PR-trained answer I’ve ever heard in my entire life!
You must have a favorite.” Rico laughed, relenting under her playful interrogation.
“Probably LA Galaxy, honestly.
Just because it’s the one I spend the most time watching.” “Okay, I’ll accept that,” Anne said.
“But what team would you want to play for in the future?” “I don’t know, you know?” Rico said seriously, as his true ambition was revealed, “I kind of want to play for different leagues.
I want to test myself in England, in Spain, in Italy.
I want to see if I can conquer all of them.
And then, when I’m old and my legs are gone, I’ll come back to the MLS to finish it out.” Anne listened closely, captivated by his vision for his own future.
“That’s interesting.
I kind of want to see something like that.
It’s like you’re building a legacy piece by piece.” “It’s kind of like movies,” Rico pointed out, turning his cinematic obsession into a perfect analogy.
“You want to do different genres, right?
You want to do a comedy, a drama, an action film, just to see if you’re as good there as you are in your comfort zone.” Anne’s eyes widened slightly.
She had never thought about it like that, but his comparison was startlingly accurate.
“I never thought about it like that, but you’re exactly right.
I do want to do different genres of films.” “What genres do you want to move onto?” Rico asked, interested in her craft.
“Most of them, really,” Anne admitted, letting out a slightly frustrated sigh as she thought about her current career trajectory.
“I just kind of want to do more complex or mature roles.
Because right now…
I’m in that awkward phase.” “Awkward phase?” Rico echoed, looking at the breathtaking woman beside him, struggling to see anything awkward about her.
“Yeah,” Anne nodded, wrapping the jacket a little tighter around herself.
“People only see me as the teenage princess.
I get that, but they don’t see me like the adult I want to be treated as.
They just see a kid.” “I get that,” Rico said softly, his voice full of resonant empathy.
“They look at the surface and make their assumptions.
Trust me, I get that.
You just got to make them see you that way.” Anne looked up at him, seeking the quiet confidence he seemed to radiate effortlessly.
“How would I do that?” Rico stopped walking, turning to face her as he looked her up and down, a slow smirk spreading across his face.
“Could dye your hair.
Could get a tattoo.” Anne gasped out a laugh, the very idea of her pristine, Disney-princess image being shattered by a tattoo sending a thrill of rebellion through her.
“Could do.
I’ll get one…
if you get one.” Rico raised an eyebrow, stepping just a fraction of an inch closer into her personal space.
“Woah.
It’s a bit early for joint tattoos, no?
We haven’t even finished our date yet.” Anne tilted her chin up, refusing to back down from the challenge in his eyes.
A playful smile graced her full lips.
“Maybe.” Rico’s gaze dropped to her lips for a fleeting second before returning to her eyes, his voice dropping to a low whisper that sent a fresh wave of shivers down her spine “Let’s see how tonight ends.” A/N) What do you guys think so far?
At least to me, the protagonist and Anne already have more in common than Kylie and Natan.
Also, try to guess who I kind of based this protagonist around.
If you’re familiar with sunshine/grumpy dynamics, that should give it away.