Oh Baby, I'm a Fool For You

Only two more days! My first week in London had flashed by so quickly that I could hardly remember what had happened. I spent my last Friday getting briefed on the movie that I was going to be working on, and getting yelled at by a small British man. The film was titled The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I was to do makeup for the five leads, even though the main character, Prince Caspian, hadn’t even been cast yet.

I dropped off my bag at my temporary home and went down to a bar that was only a few blocks away. I walked into “Hickory Dickory Dock,” an old style shop, complete with wooden support beams with cobwebs hanging off of them, and scuffed wooden floors. It was majorly flammable. I walked over the scuffed wooden floor to the bar, and slid onto a stool, crossing my hands on the tabletop.

“’Ello, love, what can I get you?” the bartender asked in an accent that was wavering between English and Irish.

“How about,” I started, tapping my chin, “a shot of vodka and a beer.”

The overweight man laughed, pressing a hand against his bulging stomach. He opened his squinty eyes. “Anything for the Yankee,” he chuckled, and left to get my drinks.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead with a flat palm. I should’ve expected at least one person to call me a Yankee.

The man was back almost instantly and set down the drinks. He held out a greasy palm, and I slapped a few Euros into it, then drowned my shot, smacking my lips at the aftertaste. I slammed the shot glass back onto the bar and chased it down with a swig of some of the most delicious beer I’d ever had. I sighed and swirled the liquid around in bottle.

“You’re buying!” someone shouted from the doorway, letting a cold wind hit my back.

“I’m the one who got the part, Dan, why should I buy?”

My muscles tensed up. I would recognize that voice anywhere.

Ben leaned on the counter to my right, a grin plastered on his face. “Johnny, a round for me and my mates?” he asked.

"Why so happy, Ben?” the bartender asked, washing an empty mug with a spotty cloth.

“I landed a huge role in a big movie,” he said.

Using my hair as a shield, I looked over at Ben. His hair was messy, but in a sexy way, and his black tee shirt was practically screaming “look at the muscles beneath me.” His smile was that of pure joy. Gleaming white teeth nearly blinded me, and I couldn’t help but smile myself.

“Hey Yankee girl, you like what you see?”

My head shot over to look at the bartender, who was smiling a stupid grin, his eyebrows raised.

“Kaya Martin, is that you?” Ben asked, leaning forward.
My heart nearly stopped when his hand came forward to tuck my hair back behind my ear. “Hey, Ben,” I said quietly, internally screaming at the blush on my face to stop spreading.

If it was possible, his smile grew wider, and he drew me in for a short hug. He pulled back and held me at arms length by the shoulders. “I was starting to think that you were ignoring me.”

“Oh, about that, I forgot to write down your number and it faded off. I’m so sorry,” I said sincerely, trying to get myself to look him in the eyes. The collar of his shirt was as high as my eyes would go.

“That’s better than the scenario I imagined,” he told me, then turned to the bar to grab four bottles of beer. “Come join us, Kaya.”

“Oh um… That’s okay, I should…”

“No way,” he interrupted. “I’m not letting you out of my sight. The last time I let you go, you didn’t come back.”

The blush that had been building on my face leaped, and I could feel my face burning. “I guess I could,” I finally said, deciding not to respond to his previous comment. “Are you sure I wouldn’t be intruding?”

“Not at all. They’re great guys, and besides, you can’t possibly think that I’ll let you go now that I’ve found you again.” Upon seeing the resolve in my face, he cocked his head to the side. “C’mon, let’s go.”

I stood up and followed him to where three men were sitting, lounging on two couches that were facing each other.

“Your first groupie, Ben?” one of them asked, pointing a long, pale finger at me.

“Be nice, Dan,” Ben said, handing him a beer. “This is Kaya.” The three men were silent, and looked at each other quizzically. Ben sighed and handed the other two guys their beers. “She’s the airplane girl.”

Realization crossed over all their faces as they grinned up at me. “So you’re the one Ben hasn’t shut up about for the past week,” Dan said, and stood up to shake my hand. “I’m Dan, Ben’s best friend, his go-to guy.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said quietly, nervously sipping my beer. He even told his friends about me!

Ben’s hand traveled to the small of my back and led me to an empty spot on a couch next to where Dan was sitting. He sat down, and pulled me down with him, our thighs basically meshing together from how close they were. I awkwardly leaned into him, and propped my legs up on the table in front of us. Ben pointed his beer bottle in the direction of a tall, lanky, deathly pale man with pale blond hair. “That is Alistair, and that,” he pointed to the man next to Alistair, who was short and portly, “is Kenny. They’re my best mates.”

“Nice to meet you all,” I said to them, congratulating myself mentally for being able to make eye contact. I was so nervous, that if it wasn’t for my hand that was clenching the bottle, I would’ve been shaking.

“I need another,” Alistair said, “I’m buying. Who needs?”

“We’ll go with you,” Dan said, standing up, “right Kenny?”

Kenny looked at Dan then back at Ben and I, and realization crossed his face. “Oh! Uh, yeah, I’ll help you carry those beers.”

Dan smacked his forehead with his empty beer bottle and took Kenny’s arm, taking him away from us and across the crowded bar.

“My friends are so subtle, aren’t they?” Ben asked rhetorically, stretching out one arm and placing it around my shoulders.

“As are you,” I teased, turning my head away to look at his hand and hide my blush.

“Hey now,” he said in a weird tone of voice, “don’t hide your face from me.” His other hand reached out and turned my head back to face him. His eyes were radiating something that made my stomach tie into a thousand knots. It looked like he wanted me to say something, but I was completely speechless. “I missed you,” he said softly, averting his eyes from mine. His fingers were still pressed gently to my jaw, sending jolts of electricity through me.

My heart was beating so fast that I was convinced that it would jump out of my chest. These things that he was making me feel were so unfamiliar. My muscles felt tense, and my whole body felt warm, but those fingers, oh, those fingers were burning in such a wonderful way. His face timidly grew closer to mine, and when his warm breath hit me, I felt my eyes close.

A crashing glass bottle broke my trance, and I leaped up from the couch and stumbled away, my back to Ben. My hand was clenched in a fist over my heart, and my breathing sounded so loud and heavy that it was if I had just run a marathon. I walked quickly to the dingy bathroom, and locked myself in a stall. After a moment of thinking with my head in my hands, I walked out of the stall and turned on the sink to splash water on my face.

“I’m sorry.”

I spun around, bracing myself against the counter. Ben stood against the wall across from me, his hands shoved in his pockets and his head hung. “Ben, what are you-“

“Look, Kaya, I don’t know what to tell you. I like you and all, but I can’t control myself around you.”

My face flushed at the admission. “This is the girl’s-“

“No,” he said, interrupting me again, “this place only has the one co-ed bathroom. Would you please say something that doesn’t involve the bathroom?”

I stared at his feet, my whole body heating up. “I’m not good with physical affection,” I said softly, preparing for my bashful explanation. “Hugs, linking arms, that’s okay, but holding hands, lingering in someone’s arms, being too close freaks me out. I can’t breath, and I get so warm that I want to jump in a tub of ice. My stomach tightens and my mind runs wild, and I feel… I get scared.” I took a deep breath- I had said everything without taking a single breather.

A few moments of silence followed my outburst. Finally, Ben spoke up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Its okay,” I told him, wiping my eyes that had began to tear up. “I… I’ll understand if you don’t want to see me again.” I knew I was being overly dramatic, but it wasn’t fair to him. Why should I keep him under my thumb when I wouldn’t even let him do anything physically with me?

“You know,” he started, “this would be a good moment for me to pull you into my arms, wipe away your tears, and tell you that everything will be okay. But I’ll settle for this.” He gave me a brief hug, his head craned downward to peer at me. “I’ll wait for you.”
I choked on a sob that was building in my throat and turned to push my face into his chest, and to wrap my arms around his waist, pressing his body to mine.

“Whoa, what about-“

“It doesn’t apply when I’m crying and I want someone to comfort me,” I sniffled out.
His arms instantly embraced me back, and I thought I felt his lips kiss the top of my head. “I’m so glad I met you,” he whispered.

After my brief meltdown in the bathroom, Ben and I returned to his friends, who were waiting on the couches. They insinuated that we were having sex in the bathroom, but while Ben just brushed it off, I blushed, and got made fun of.