Page 94 of How to Kiss a Movie Star
“I really would like to be left alone,” I say, my voice stronger this time, but I might as well be speaking a different language for all the care this man is giving my words.
He lifts his camera and fires off a few shots, the flash blinding in the dim light. I lift a hand to shield my eyes.
“Step forward for me, honey. Let me get a few shots where the light is better.” The man reaches forward, his free hand wrapping around my wrist before he yankshard.
I stumble forward, struggling to regain my footing and pull my arm free, but the man has an iron grip. “Let me go,” I say, the words sharp in my dry throat, but his grip only tightens as he pulls me closer, his breath hot on my face.
“Take your handsoffmy girlfriend,” a familiar voice says, and I look up to see Flint hauling the man away from me. He holds him by the shirt collar, anger blazing in his eyes. “Don’t go near her again. Do you understand me?” He shoves the man toward Nate, who is waiting just behind him, then he’s in front of me, his hands gripping my shoulders, his expression intense. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
I manage a stuttering breath, but I can’t form words. My heart is beating too fast, the adrenaline racing through me making me hot, then cold, then hot again.
“Audrey,” Flint says, giving my shoulders the tiniest squeeze.
It’s enough to rattle something loose, and I lift my gaze to his. His eyes are an intense blue, fear radiating in their depths. “I’m okay,” I whisper. “Can we just…I don’t want to be here anymore.”
He tugs me against him for a brief hug, then curls an arm around me protectively as he walks me out of the party. Nate and the photographer are nowhere to be seen. We don’t talk to anyone as we make our way to the elevator.
Nate must have talked to Joni, though, because she’s up downstairs right after we do, letting us know a car is already on its way to pick us up.
Flint hasn’t said anything since we left the terrace, but I don’t need him to say actual words for me to understand how he’s feeling. His jaw is tight, tension radiating from him in palpable waves.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know he’s only angry because he was worried, and clearly, he had reason to be because I was in way over my head when that photographer accosted me. But the longer Flint is quiet, the more defensive I feel.
How wasIsupposed to know there would be a photographer hiding out on the terrace? As far as I understood it, the party was supposed to be private—no press. I don’t know how the photographer got in, but it’s notmyfault he was there.
As soon as we’re in the car, Flints shifts to face me. “Audrey, what were you thinking going out there alone? I told you to take Joni with you.I told you.”
My indignation boils to the surface.“What was I thinking?” I shoot back. “I’m not a child who needs scolding, Flint. I just wanted some air. How was I supposed to know there would be a photographer lurking in the corner?”
He scoffs. “That man is not a photographer. At least not a credible one. His name is Ed Cooper, and he’s a criminal with a mile-long list of restraining orders, a stalking charge, and the worst reputation in all of Hollywood. He has no morals, Audrey. He will cross every line there is to cross.”
“Oh, great. So happy to have met him. Maybe I’ll throw a party of my own and see if he’d like to be my official photographer.”
Flint’s expression darkens. “What are you even saying?”
“I’d like to ask you the same question. You’re talking to me like it’smy faultEd Cooper was on that terrace. I didn’t do anything wrong, and I don’t appreciate you talking to me like I did.”
Flint lifts his hands, some of the fire draining out of his voice. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s absolutely not your fault. He shouldn’t have been there, itwasa private party, and the fact that he found a way in doesn’t have anything to do with you.I’m sorry,” he says again.
I fold my arms over my chest. “Thank you for apologizing.”
“But Audrey, you still have to be cautious. In this city, you have to assume there isalwaysa creep lurking in the corner. You can’t wander off on your own. You need air? Nate goes with you. You want to go on a walk? Nate goes with you. You want food? Nate or Joni takes care of it. That’s the only way this can work.”
His words knock the wind right out of me. That’s the only way this can work? Theonlyway our relationship can work?
I want to protest, my natural instincts rearing up to claim my independence, assert that I’m perfectly capable of doing things on my own. But then I close my eyes and feel the photographer’s hand closing around my wrist, and a shudder goes through me.
I understand what Flint is saying. Safety is important, and as long as I’m with him, I have to think about it differently than I did before.
I also know the thought of having people hovering near me, watching my every move, waiting on me hand and foot twenty-four hours a day makes me want to crawl out of my own skin.
I thought I could do this.
Iwantto do this. Iwantto be with Flint.
But my fight or flight response has been triggered, and all my body wants to do is flee.
“What if I don’t want people waiting on me like that?” I ask, my voice small. “What if it feels too weird? Weird and presumptuous and pretentious and so many other words that make me uncomfortable.”
