She demonstrated a few moves right there on the treadmill, rotating 360 degrees as she bounced her feet from the belt to the side rails and back.
Ashton gave a little clap. “I bet you were un petardito jumping rope. A little firecracker.”
“Absolutely. All the other girls made me teach them how to do it too.” She sent him a sidelong glance. “You like running, huh?”
“Clears my mind.” The treadmill’s incline setting changed and he dug in, relishing the burn. “I prefer running outside, but my producers in the past insisted I stay out of the sun.”
When she gave him a curious look, he tapped the skin on his arm. “Can’t be too dark in telenovelas, and I’m already pushing it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Riiiight. Nice to see colorism is still alive and well in the Latinx community.”
“It’s gotten better now, but when I started acting, it wasreally bad. If I tanned even a little bit, they’d get all bent out of shape.” He shook his head, remembering the not-so-tactful comments he’d gotten before his career had taken off. “You know how hard it is to avoid the sun in Miami?”
“I get you.” Jasmine upped the speed on her machine, her stride confident and energetic. “When I worked in commercials, I auditioned for all the ‘racially ambiguous’ roles. But even if there were a lot of people being hired, there was this wholeHighlander‘there can be only one’ mentality. They’d use me to check off the ‘brown girl’ box on their list and fill the rest of the commercial with white people.”
He made a sound of disgust. “Lazy casting directors.”
“Lazy agent too. This was before I signed with Riley, my current agent. She’s biracial Chinese, so she understands me, but my first one would send me to casting calls for all kinds of ethnicities. In some cases, I’d show up at the audition and be totally mortified, especially since I was still using Rodriguez in my name. I finally put my foot down and refused to go to ‘ethnic’ casting calls unless they specifically listed South East Asian or Latina.”
“What kind of commercials did you do?”
“Oh, lots.” She squinted at the ceiling while she thought about it. “Shampoo, baby diapers, face wash, canned soup. Nothing super embarrassing.”
“My first real role was playing a ranch hand,” Ashton said. “I was twenty-three, living in Mexico, and I told them I could ride horses.”
“Could you?”
He shrugged, feet pounding the treadmill belt in a steady,metronomic rhythm he found so calming. “I’d sat in a saddle a few times, but I was not, by any means, a cowboy. Saying I could ride was a total exaggeration, and let me tell you, that horse knew it.”
She laughed. “But you’ve played other roles that involved horses, right?”
“Well, yeah. After that, I figured I’d better learn to ride for real.”
She gave him a sly look. “My cousin Michelle liked the show where you were a sheriff.”
“Las leyes del corazón y la insignia.” He inclined his head. “That one is a fan favorite.”
She tapped her chin. “I don’t think I’ve worked with any horses. But my storyline onThe Glamour Squadinvolved a poodle, and I had a recurring role onThe Young and the Restlessthat required me to hold a hamster.”
Ashton shook his head. “I can’t imagine playing the same character for decades,” he said, thinking about the English soap operas that ran for generations. He wanted to challenge himself, to improve his skills—but more than that, he wanted the recognition that went with it.
Jasmine shrugged. “It’s good, steady work. Viewers get to watch the characters grow and develop over time. They become familiar.” She shot him an exasperated glance. “Are you really going to keep running while we rehearse?”
“Ah, no.” But he didn’t stop. Running was the only thing keeping him from embarrassing them both. He’d managed not to sprout an erection while filming their make-out scenes together, but something about her bouncing around in spandexwas really doing it for him. “What else happens in this episode?”
Jasmine skimmed through the pages as she walked. “There are some scenes where Victor struggles to record new music. Carmen has a heart-to-heart with her father about the family legacy, and Victor auditions for the dance show producers. But he doesn’t get picked.”
“Poor Victor. He’ll be crushed.” Ashton could relate. Even though it came with the territory of being an actor, it sucked not to get the part.
“It looks like the show’s producers think he’s too unreliable—thanks to canceling the tour—so they don’t accept him.”
“Luckily he has Carmen to comfort him.”
“Yes, but she’s Carmen, so you know she’s going to make it a teachable moment.” Jasmine reached over and tapped the rolled-up script he’d stuffed into the drink holder. “Ready to start?”
“Um, sure.” Ashton lowered the speed on the treadmill and wiped his face with a towel. He had to get his desire for her in check. Thank god this episode required less touching.
When he lowered the towel, he caught sight of Jasmine’s face and rushed to pause his treadmill.
