One Man Band System

The next morning, very early, Eric got dressed in his hiking gear and began the trek up the mountain alongside Emma, Chloe, Priya, Monica, Heidi, and Laura, having been granted permission by Morgan and Wesley to watch their shoot at the peak.

Eric glanced back, checking on the girls who all looked fit and were hiking with plenty of energy, except for Emma, who still seemed just as preoccupied as she had been the night before. Eric slowed his pace to drop back next to Emma, who was walking right at the front of the girls.

"What’s on your mind?" Eric asked, turning to look at Emma.

"Nothing... but I wanted to ask you something. Did you... feel like anything was off when you saw Wesley?" Emma asked.

"Hmm... what makes you ask that? The guy is pretty famous, even I know who he is," Eric countered, curious to see what Emma was thinking.

"How do I put this... I mean, I know who he is, but I only really looked at him last night... don’t you think he looks a lot like me and Kevin? Like, doesn’t he look like my mom?" Emma asked, getting straight to the point.

Eric went quiet for a moment. He glanced up at Wesley, who was also hiking up ahead of them, giving them a clear view of his back. Eric narrowed his eyes, paused for a beat, and then turned his attention back to Emma.

"Hmm... well... he does look a little bit like you. I actually noticed it last night. His eyes are green too... just like your mom’s, yours, and Kevin’s," Eric said, validating what he had observed the previous night.

"See? I knew it... I’m not the only one who caught on. The others actually mentioned it to me last night after you went to sleep," Emma said, gesturing with her thumb toward Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Laura walking behind them.

"Hmm... so that’s how it is," Eric remarked.

The two of them lapsed back into silence. Then, Eric noticed that Wesley would occasionally turn around to steal glances at Emma, who was walking right beside him. But he would quickly avert his eyes the moment his gaze collided with Eric’s. Naturally, this made Eric suspicious.

"Hey... what’s his deal? Why is he looking at me like that?" Eric thought to himself.

Eric glanced over at Emma, who was narrowing her eyes at Wesley, seemingly aware that the actor was stealing glances at her every now and then.

"Why does he keep looking at me like that... but for some reason... it doesn’t creep me out at all. It actually feels kind of familiar," Emma whispered.

Hearing Emma’s words, Eric felt a sharp pang in his chest. He pressed a hand against his chest, feeling his heartbeat. He knew exactly what this feeling was, but he tried to brush it off, refusing to admit it to himself for now. However, Emma caught his subtle movement. A smile instantly broke across her face, and she grabbed Eric’s hand.

"Don’t be jealous... I wouldn’t cheat on you, not even with a massive celebrity, haha," Emma teased.

"Huh... I’m not jealous," Eric muttered, trying to pull his hand away, but he couldn’t because Emma was holding on with all her strength.

But before he could pull his hand free, he suddenly felt the soft touch of a girl’s hand on his other side. He looked back to see Chloe taking his hand from behind, followed by Priya grabbing his arm. Monica took hold of his arm just above Emma’s hand, Heidi wrapped an arm around his waist, and Laura—somehow navigating her way right to the front—pressed herself against him.

"Hey, it’s getting hard to walk like this," Eric protested.

"Yeah, seriously... let go, let go! Why are you guys all grabbing him?" Emma complained.

"Uh... you’re holding onto him, so obviously I’m not going to miss out," Monica shot back.

"Exactly," Chloe chimed in.

"Don’t try to hog him all to yourself," Heidi added.

"You’re not the only one here," Priya added.

"Yep... let’s all walk together," Laura suggested, turning around to face Eric and wrapping her arms around him from the front while walking backward.

"Sure... let’s walk together... but this is making things impossible, please let go," Eric pleaded.

"No way!" the six girls shouted, majorly pouting.

In the end, the six girls went back to their usual loud selves, bickering over who got to hold Eric first and all that nonsense. They completely ignored a crowded Eric, who was doing his absolute best to block out any dirty thoughts since the girls were totally oblivious to how much they were pressing their bodies against him. To make matters worse, they were all working up a sweat under their hiking clothes.

Meanwhile, Wesley, who was walking up ahead, stole a glance back after hearing the commotion and saw Eric completely surrounded by all six girls. He stared at Eric with a visibly displeased look, whatever the reason might be. But before his thoughts could wander any further, a hand gripped his shoulder. He turned around to find Morgan looking right back at him.

After that, Morgan glanced back and took in the exact same sight Wesley was staring at, then turned his attention back to the young actor.

"They’re really close," Morgan remarked.

"Yeah... that’s for sure. But why are they all clinging to Eric Reed? And why isn’t he setting any boundaries? Turns out he’s just that type of guy, huh? The kind who loves being smothered by girls," Wesley said, looking visibly annoyed.

Morgan observed the young man beside him, who kept turning around to look back. He smiled and shook his head, then focused on the path ahead.

"Drop it... you’re usually surrounded by female fans yourself, aren’t you?" Morgan said casually.

"That’s completely different. I set boundaries. You know exactly which actress I’m seeing. There’s no way I’d give journalists or influencers something juicy to gossip about," Wesley said, his voice rising a bit as if he were defending himself.

"You’re a famous actor, so obviously things are different for you. Why are you even overthinking it? It’s not like you to act this way," Morgan asked, genuinely confused and finding it strange that Wesley seemed so worked up.

Hearing Morgan’s words, Wesley instantly snapped out of it and started questioning himself as to why he was even annoyed. He went quiet and stopped talking altogether, but he couldn’t help stealing another glance back, catching sight of Eric and Emma, who was currently tugging at Eric’s hand. He felt a strange sensation in his chest, but he chose to brush it off.

"Forget it... it’s really not like me to act like this," he thought to himself.

After that, they all kept making their way up the trail. The moment they reached the top, Eric and the six girls were instantly blown away by the breathtaking view, soaking in the crisp air and the morning sun that felt incredibly close to them. Their faces lit up with excitement, and they ran over toward the edge of the cliff to look down, keeping their distance from the wooden railing since it looked sketchy.

"It feels amazing up here," Priya said, unzipping her jacket.

"Yeah... I’m burning up, but this breeze is refreshing," Chloe added, unzipping hers too.

"The scenery is gorgeous, so easy on the eyes," Monica added, unzipping her jacket.

"How about we sit down and have some breakfast first... while enjoying all of this," Heidi suggested, taking a seat on a rock and unzipping her jacket.

"Agreed... I’m starving," Emma added, unzipping hers.

"Yep... count me in... come on, Eric, pull out the food," said Laura, who sat right on the ground in front of Heidi and Emma while unzipping her jacket.

"Hey... why are you guys all stripping down?" Eric asked, sliding his backpack off his shoulders.

"We’re hot, okay?" the six girls answered in unison.

Eric sat right in the middle of the girls and started pulling out the food containers he had brought from the RV so they could all eat together. Naturally, he was trying his absolute best to keep his eyes off the girls’ sports bras, which were damp with sweat.

"Ugh... why did they have to unzip their jackets like that? I’m burning up too, but you don’t see me stripping down... then again, a gorgeous view, good food, and beautiful girls around... what more could I ask for... plus a blockbuster movie shoot happening right in the background... today is hitting the jackpot," Eric thought to himself, grinning like an idiot.

With that, they started eating their breakfast together, keeping an eye on the film crew who had apparently set up the stage the night before. They watched Morgan direct the actors, staff, stunt doubles, and everyone else. Meanwhile, Wesley was sitting in a pavilion getting his makeup done, but his eyes kept drifting back to Eric and the six girls sitting a short distance away from the crew.