Page 76 of How to Kiss a Movie Star
She frowns. “So, itisn’thim?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Flint emerge from the bathroom. I take another step backward, away from the lady in front of me and toward Flint. “Sorry. I’ve got to go now.”
She looks from me to Flint, and her expression shifts. “Shut. Up.” She steps toward him. “It is him!” she squeals.
I turn and walk quickly now, grabbing the hand Flint is holding out as soon as I reach him. He looks over my shoulder, makes polite eye contact with the woman, says a quick, “Hi, there,” then tugs me right out the door.
“She literally came out of nowhere,” I say as we walk. “And she didn’t even say hello. She just asked if my boyfriend was Flint Hawthorne.”
“What did you say?”
“I was like, ‘Yeah, funny. People make the comparison a lot.”
He chuckles. “That one has actually worked for me a few times.”
We approach the gate, and Flint slows. They’re clearly already boarding, but there are still people everywhere. “Come here a sec,” he says. He tugs me toward the wall and spins me so my back is against it, then hovers in front of me, his big body shielding me from view to anyone passing by. I lift my hands and press them into his chest, reveling in the warmth coming off him.
“What are we doing?” I whisper.
He smiles down at me. “We’re hiding.”
“Hmm. Do you do this often?”
“It’s a little more awkward when I’m traveling alone,” he says. He wraps his hands around my wrists and tugs them around his waist. “A guy standing against the wall all alone? That’s a reason to worry. But now?” He leans down and brushes his nose along my cheek. “Now I just look like I’m getting a really fantastic goodbye kiss.”
“It isn’t goodbye if we’re already through security.” It’s a stupid thing to say. But focusing on the logistics of airport goodbyes is the only thing keeping me from kissing him right now, which is a very alarming realization. I am exactly two hours into this entire fake dating scheme, and I’m ready to abandon all restraint and jump in?
“True,” Flint says. “Stupid TSA has ruined so many potential grand gestures with their rules.”
“Grand gestures? Is that a romance movie term?”
He chuckles. “Oh, Audrey. I have so much to teach you.”
We stand like this, all wrapped up in each other, for another few minutes. Finally, Flint’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and he pulls it out. “Okay. Nate says we’re clear to board.”
We walk hand in hand to the gate, where the waiting ticket agent smiles so broadly, it looks like her face might crack.
“It’s a privilege to have you on board, Mr. Hawthorne,” she says, her voice a little breathless.
Flint smiles easily. “Thanks, Marcy. I appreciate that.”
We aren’t two steps away when she calls after us and asks for a photo.
Of course, Flint seems happy to comply.
Again, I marvel that he handles everything so effortlessly.
We settle into ourverycomfortable seats at the front of the plane, and I do my bestnotto make eye contact with the women sitting across the aisle from us, who are openly gawking. Flint is next to the window, so I angle my body toward him. If I’m staring at him, I can’t look at anyone else, even if I canfeeleyes on my back.
I give my body a little shake, even as all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It’s the most uncomfortable sensation, like tiny worms wriggling all over my skin. “Flint, I can literally feel people staring at us. How are you not squirming right now?”
“I promise you get used to it.” He pulls out his AirPods. “Here. Put one of these in. I was thinking we could watch a movie together.”
I make a face. “What kind of movie? Because I brought the latest edition of Wildlife Biology, and there’s an article on evolutionary behavior that I am very excited to read.”
“Uh, let’s definitely do that, then. You could read it out loud to me.”
If I didn’t notice the way his lip twitched, I might have thought he was serious. But I’m learning this man’s tells. Good actor or not, right now, I’m reading him loud and clear. I reach over and swat his chest. “Very funny, Mr. Hawthorne. But evolution is a very important subject.”
