[hockeypreg2]

Zach Martin, well-known for playing action heros and comedic characters, is trying his hand at drama. He's been cast as the lead in Ryu Kygama's Solar. Kygama said that Martin, despite not being known for drama, was who he had in mind when he wrote the script and he's thrilled that he was able to cast him. 


We caught up with Zach on the red carpet for his latest movie, Afterburner, and briefly talked to him about his new role. 


"I'm really excited," Martin said, grinning for the camera. "I haven't had a chance to play a character like this before. I'm looking forward to the challenge. We start shooting in two weeks."


We wish Martin luck with his new role. Afterburner opens everywhere next week.




-------


Zach tugged the ball cap lower over his forehead as he stepped into the coffee shop that was around the corner from the small house he was renting while shooting Solar. He had a late night of shooting last night and his coffee maker had broken so he was in search of some caffeine. His call wasn't until late again today because they were doing more evening shots so he had plenty of time to get himself caffeinated before he had to head down to the set. He should probably see about getting a new coffee maker as well. 

He got himself a large cup of coffee and a piece of quiche, settling into an armchair in the corner to check email and thumb through Twitter for a bit. He had someone who took care of most of his social media for him, but he did like to check in every now and then himself. He had posted a couple of photos since he had arrived in Spring Grove, mostly of his dog Leo and hikes they had gone on around town. So far everyone had been pretty nice and had either been really polite about asking for pictures or autographs or just left him alone. It was a nice change from being in LA. 

He sat there long enough that he didn't notice the coffee shop filling up, lost in reading some articles on his phone. His coffee was empty and his food long gone when someone quietly cleared their throat and asked if he minded if they sat at his table. Zach looked up, startled and then moved his empty dishes to one side. 

"No, no go ahead. Plenty of room."

[Sam260]

Caleb Howard, a twenty-two year old second year college student, sat down at the table and pulled his laptop out of his messenger bag - he quickly set up the WiFi connection and took a sip of his hot chocolate. Most were expected to drink coffee in a coffee shop, but he had never been the one to like the taste of coffee - he often got his caffeine fix from junk food or soda's; and even with that, he was still lean as ever.

Caleb was a track-star, up and coming one anyway... He ran track all through Middle School, High School and now in College where he was studying to become a nurse. But, he still loved running. Caleb had bright blue eyes and black hair, his complexion was porcelain toned; he was short by most peoples standards at only 5'5" but he could jump hurdles like a champion. He was lean, with a runner's body, his shoulders and arms were a bit defined but tapered down to a very slim waist, but then that kind of turned into an hour-glass shape with his round bottom and slightly wider hips - People always picked at him, saying he would be great for bearing children one day... He hated them for saying that, but he knew it was true - he had a great body for being the perfect 'baby momma' as they called him.

Caleb nodded politely at the man, hardly sparing him a glance - it wasn't that he didn't care, it was just busy and he only had time to surf the internet for a few minutes. He sighed dreamily as he stared at his background picture of Zach Martin - his all-time favorite crush actor; he would give his right arm and left leg just to spend a day in his presence.

"Thank you. It's so crowded in here today, I don't understand why..."

[hockeypreg2]

"It was pretty empty when I got here," Zach said, looking mournfully at his empty coffee and then at the line at the register. "I lost track of time and the place filled up."

Zach yawned and stretched his arms over his head, surreptitiously checking out the guy sitting across from him. He was good looking, short - pocket sized - Zach chuckled to himself, and very pretty. He'd always had a thing for shorter guys that he could wrap in his arms. Though, according to his agent and publicist, he didn't have a thing for guys at all.

"You mind holding my seat? I'm going to get more coffee."

[Sam260]

Caleb shook his head and propped his feet up on Zach's chair when the man got up. He was engrossed in reading all of the articles about Zach Martin that had seemingly popped up over night - he also had another window open that depicted Zach's twitter feed; it was almost stalker-ish, if it weren't for the fact that he was totally head-over-heels in love with Zach.

"Nope, I don't mind at all... Good luck in line, it was hell on earth trying to get just a hot cocoa..." he was thoroughly distracted with pictures of Zach and his dog, Leo - They were a cute couple for a pet and human.

[hockeypreg2]

"Thanks man," Zach said as he grabbed his empty plate and cup. He deposited the plate by the counter and got back in line for a refill. This time he was recognized and he took a couple of pictures with the girl. By the time he got back to his chair, he was half tempted to just head home. The full cup of coffee made him rethink it. Plus the cute guy did save his seat.

"Thanks. I appreciate it. Late night last night. I'm going to need a few more of these I think," Zach yawned as he sat down. He held out his hand. "I'm Zach."

[Sam260]

Caleb finally looked up from his laptop and his eyes grew wide as he stared at the man sitting before him for the first time, his feet dropped from Zach's chair and he swallowed, several times, before he was even able to say a word; "Hi..." he squeaked out.

He shook Zach's hand timidly, his face was growing redder by the second, he could feel the heat rising and settling; his stomach was fluttering like mad "I... I know... I... Wow... it's.. It's such an honor... to be in your presence... Oh my gosh!" Caleb gushed, tears filling his eyes quickly but he blinked them away.

Really - he just wanted to scream like a girl and jump into Zach's arms like the fanboy that he was, but... He knew, and had done a lot of research on it, celebrities hated being treated differently and he was already doing a bang-up job by doing exactly that -- but, jumping into the man's arms? A bit extreme.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach winced a little at the reaction, but put on his media smile. Clearly the guy knew who he was and he was a fan which meant Zach was automatically not going to flirt with him. He shook his hand and let it go to pick up his coffee, taking a sip. So much for getting to flirt with a pretty boy for a bit before going to work tonight.

"So do you have a name?" asked Zach.

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded slowly and smiled sweetly up at Zach "Caleb Howard. I just... You have been my favorite actor since you started filming. I've always wanted to meet you, and just... thank you... for being able to entertain me..." he paused "and everyone else" he added as an afterthought - he didn't much care about what everyone else thought about Zach Martin, they weren't sitting right in front of the man.

"I also would like to apologize for my previous behavior - You're the first actor I've actually met, so I kind of went high-school-cheerleader on you..." Caleb blushed bright again and bit his lip.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach chuckled at that, leaning back in the armchair. "It's not the first time it's happened to me and it probably won't be the last. I tend to get that sort of reaction."

His phone buzzed and he saw that he had been tagged in the picture he had just taken in the coffee shop along with the location. Zach sighed and made a face. "It was nice to meet you, Caleb, but I think I've got to go. I just got tagged as being here and I'd rather get home before it gets crazy."

"Maybe I'll see you around," Zach said with a wink before heading to the front to get a to-go cup and get out before people started showing up to see him. It had definitely happened before and while the business would probably like it, he really didn't feel like being mobbed right now.

[Sam260]

Caleb frowned but allowed the actor to leave - what could Caleb offer him anyway? It wasn't like he was some hot model, or even a female for that matter -- It was just fact, he would never be up to the standards of a well-known and well-loved actor like Zach Martin. Caleb left the coffee shop after the crowd disappeared, although he knew it wouldn't last long either - he had seen the twitter tag and knew that a whole new mob would be showing up.

He left with his laptop and to-go cup of Hot Cocoa - it wasn't cold outside, but he still enjoyed the hot beverage. Sipping it as he walked back to his modest one bedroom apartment.

---

It had been a few days since Caleb's chance encounter with Zach, he was still religiously following Zach's twitter feed and watching video clips of behind the scenes filming that was posted online. Zach was hilarious, even when off-screen, and Caleb was sure he could keep falling deeper and deeper in love with the man.

It was late at night, almost midnight, and he went to the neighborhood 24-Hour gym, he had had a long day and was unable to get a very good run in, he was feeling the effects of not running and just needed to do so. He ran around the gym track for about twenty minutes, but then grew tired of that, so he went to the swimming pool instead; it was heated and perfect. He was wearing tight trunks, like a swimmer would wear, and was just lazing about in the Olympic sized pool, lazily doing laps from one end of the pool to the other.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach was tired but he had a swimming scene coming up in a few days and he hadn't been in a pool in ages. He figured it was a good idea to swim late at night when no one else would be around. He was a strong swimmer, just didn't get the chance to do it as often as he liked. He changed into his swim trunks and headed to the pool, surprised when he found someone else in there. They were doing laps as well so Zach got in the other side, making sure to leave them plenty of room. It was an Olympic sized pool. They both could use it with plenty of room to spare.

He had gotten a good run in with Leo earlier so he was pretty well warmed up and he started out by swimming a few easy laps underwater, careful to steer clear of the other swimmer. It was a nice pool. He was going to have to remember this was here while he was in town.

[Sam260]

Caleb, unusually restless today, got bored quickly of swimming. He sighed as he waded over to the edge of the pool and hauled himself up, body glittering under the moonlight that was streaming in through the glass ceiling of the gym's pool.

He kicked his feet back and forth in the water, and for the first time, noticed that someone else was also swimming in the water. The man had good form in the water and it was hard not to stare at him - he looked like he worked out a lot and Caleb always had a thing for bigger, muscular men. Loved being wrapped up in their strong arms... It was just few-and-far between that he was actually wrapped up in strong arms; for some reason, men seemed to avoid him like the black plague, and he never understood it.

He wasn't much of a looker, but he was still pretty decent looking - or at least he thought so. Girls always commented on how cute he was, that he looked like a Cherub - that was annoying but he took the compliments nonetheless. Perhaps guys just simply avoided him because of his more feminine-type build, or because they were simply just assholes who wanted zero commitments in their lives.

Caleb wanted a family, had hoped and dreamed that he would one day have a man to share children with... That dream seemed to be fading to blackness as the years continued to go by though, and he hated it - a lot - he hated giving up dreams, but this one seemed unattainable and just simply out of his reach.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach finished his latest lap and stood up in the shallower end. He pressed his fingers to his neck, counting his pulse to see how he was doing in getting his heart rate up. He was breathing a little heavy when he noticed the other swimmer was out of the water. He recognized him as the pretty guy he'd met at the coffee shop the other day - what was his name again - Connor? Cole? Caleb! It was Caleb.

Moonlight was streaming down over him and it set off his pale skin beautifully and Zach found himself staring, his mouth dry. Okay, pretty was the wrong word. He was gorgeous. He was slim but muscular, his body compact but toned and Zach really couldn't get out of the water now. Stupid bathing suit.

He cleared his throat a little awkwardly. "Uh hi Caleb."

[Sam260]

Caleb blushed, having found himself simply staring at the man - who, after he emerged from the water, realized that it was none other than Zach himself. "Hey, Zach. Having a nice swim?" Caleb asked quietly, kicking his feet back and forth still like a child.

Caleb could feel himself getting aroused by seeing Zach this up close and personal without any clothes on but his swim trunks, unfortunately though - you'd never be able to tell he was aroused, even in the tight trunks he was wearing... Yeah, he was on the very small side of small in that particular department.

[hockeypreg2]

"It's a nice pool," Zach said, making his way over. He pulled himself out of the water to sit next to Caleb, bending his knees to hide the fact he was a little aroused. "What brings you out swimming this time of night? I've got a swimming scene coming up so I know why I'm swimming at a crazy hour like this."

Caleb was wearing tight trunks that clung to his hips and Zach was really trying hard not to look at them or at his chest. Or at anything other than his face really.

[Sam260]

Caleb frowned and shrugged his skinny shoulders up a fraction "I thought it would help... I've been really anxious and restless today. Between classes and work, I have been on the go since five this morning... I haven't been sleeping well lately either, so... I thought perhaps a jog around the track or a few laps around the pool would help..." Caleb sighed sadly.

"Neither of them helped..." he added, looking out at the sparkling water before them - because he knew if he stared at Zach for too long, he would likely do something completely stupid, like try to kiss him... "How's the movie coming along so far?"

[hockeypreg2]

Zach shrugged and looked out at the water as well. "Good ... I think. I've never done this before and it's a little nerve wracking. Ryu seems happy with how things are going but I feel like I'm a little out of my depth here."

Zach gave him a self-deprecating smile. "You really don't want to hear about my neuroses though. You've got enough on your mind. What are you going to school for?"

[Sam260]

Caleb rubbed the back of his neck and cast a glance toward Zach - that smile, man he could stare at those perfect white teeth all day, but he didn't, he turned back to the water, not wanting to seem to overly attracted to Zach, even though he was.

"I'm studying to become a nurse... RN. I've always wanted to be a nurse, for as long as I can remember..." Caleb smiled lightly, showing off his own teeth as he looked at Zach again "My life is pretty boring though, it's not action-packed like yours seems to be."

[hockeypreg2]

"My sister is a nurse," Zach said, his face brightening. "That's awesome. She loves what she does. She's a labor and delivery nurse. Have you thought about what kind of nursing you want to do? Because trust me, that is much more important than what I do for a living."

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded his head and brightened up himself, sitting a little straighter than before "I want to be an ER nurse -- I know it's fast paced and hectic all the time, but you get to see sooo many different types of people in the ER -- Even in our small little town. I've already started rotations a few months ago, and have spent time in the hospitals ER... It's amazing how quickly things move there... I'm too active to try and be a nurse at a nursing home or something like that..."

Caleb seemed really excited, talking about his career choice. It was the proudest thing he had really accomplished in his life - except for winning Nationals in his senior year of HS - but this was the rewarding career that he wanted, helping people out who needed his help.