Page 99 of How to Kiss a Movie Star
And now we have to say goodbye with all this tension between us, all the conversations we haven’t had still lingering in the air.
How do we even move on from our last conversation? We both know it didn’t end well, but how else could it have ended? Ican’tbe with Flint without considering my safety—my privacy—in new ways. It doesn’t matter whether I like it or not. Reality is reality. End of story.
But what am I supposed to do if that reality makes me uncomfortable? It was simple to think I could handle Flint’s celebrity life when everything was easy and perfect, but the second it got hard, I freaked out. That can’t be a good sign.
We pull up in front of LAX, and Nate and Joni both jump out, probably to say their own goodbyes in private. Our driver gets out to retrieve our bags, leaving Flint and me alone.
Flint must feel some sense of hesitation—or maybe he’s just picking up on mine—because he makes no move to touch me. “Call me when you make it home?” he says. “I don’t care how late it is. I just want to know you’re safe.”
I nod. “I’m really sorry I can’t stay.”
“I’m sorry Ihaveto stay.” He lifts a hand like he wants to touch me, but then it falls back into his lap. “And I’m sorry you lost your grant. I wish there was something I could do.”
Joni opens the passenger door behind me. “Time to go, Audrey.”
“Just one more second,” I say, and she nods and closes the door.
I sniff and wipe at the tears streaming down my cheeks. I hold Flint’s gaze for a long moment, and then suddenly, whatever tension keeping us apart snaps, and I throw myself into his arms.
His hands lift to cradle my face and he kisses me, his thumbs wiping away my tears. When he finally breaks the kiss, I melt against him, my head falling on his chest while his hands run up and down my back.
“Why does leaving you feel so hard?” I whisper.
He presses a kiss to my temple. “We’ll talk soon, all right? We’ll figure things out.”
Joni knocks on the window, giving us another heads-up that we’re out of time.
I reluctantly pull away and gather my things, then slide across the bench toward the door of the SUV. I look back one last time. Right now, Flint doesn’t look like a movie star. He looks tired and worn down and as frustrated as I feel.
I follow Nate into the airport, through security, and toward our gate, keeping my head down to avoid eye contact just like Flint taught me.
I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.
I only know it feels like my body is on its way home to Silver Creek, but I’m leaving my heart in LA.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Audrey
Allthingsconsidered,lifein Silver Creek post-celebrity-relationship (fake celebrity relationship?) could be worse.
Flint and Joni weren’t wrong about inquiries from gossip sites and other reporters. Fortunately, my lack of a social media presence has made me slightly more difficult to reach. Mostly, I’ve just gotten emails. A few people have shown up at the house or stopped by the lab, but since Nate has insisted on shadowing me everywhere I go, it’s been easy to simply let him turn them away.
I pull off my glasses and drop them onto my desk, then close my eyes, pressing my fingers into my eye sockets.
“I’m not gonna lie, Audrey. You look like you need a good night’s sleep,” Nate says, setting a mug of coffee down on my desk. “Drink this, at least.”
I manage a small smile and reach for the cup. “I don’t think I’vehada good night’s sleep since I got home.”Since I left Flint.I think of how easily I slept with his arms around me, even just after a horrible run-in with the skeevy photographer at the premiere party, and a wave of longing rushes through me.
“Hey, whatever happened to the guy at the party? Ed Cooper?”
Nate drops into an empty chair across from my desk, causing a loud creak.
Malorie, one of the forest rangers who staffs the research lab, shoots us some side-eye, and Nate squirms.
“Can you get in trouble for me being here?”
I wave a dismissive hand. “I don’t work for them. My university has an agreement with the state allowing me to use the space, but I’m my own boss around here. You’re fine.”
