Distance

The driver opened the back door for Robert and I, and I slid into the shadows inside. The back of the limousine had a couple of flat-screen televisions built into the walls alongside the tinted windows, and various music video images flashed across them. There was a cut crystal bottle of wine sitting in a metal basin, and several dainty glasses hanging on a rack nearby. The car was cool inside, but not so cold that my sweater didn’t protect me. I turned to Robert in wonder.

“So these are the perks of fame, huh?”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t really say that. Most of the time I lead a normal life. But every now and again, you get invited to these kinds of things.”

I shook my head, still amazed that we were going to a movie premiere. “I just can’t believe this. You are so out of my league.”

Robbie laughed loudly. “That’s what you’re getting out of this? That is so far from the truth. Look at you, you’ll fit right in.”

I looked down at myself. My jeans were pulling apart across my knees; I’d always loved the grungy appearance of them. My sweater was cable-knit with a low v-neck, though my cleavage was tastefully hidden by my scarf. My flats were scuffed and well-worn. I did not look red-carpet ready. When I voiced my concerns, Robbie scoffed.

“And you think I do? I’m not any more well-dressed than you are. It’s a movie, not an awards show. If you’re that self-conscious, you can skip the photo op and go inside. They’ll show you to your seat; they’ll see you get out of the car with me.”

I had to admit that this plan sounded much better than me walking with him. Maybe if we were actually dating, if we had even really had the chance to truly get to know each other, I would have been more comfortable being seen with him in a situation like this. As it was, I wanted nothing to do with this part of his life. I saw him as just a normal guy, and it was weird for me to have to witness any of this. Up until this moment, I hadn’t really given a second thought to whether or not he was famous. It was easy for me to forget when it was so unbelievably simple to just talk to him.

Robbie pulled his cell phone out of the pocket of his jeans, checked the time, then put it back where he had found it. “We’ll be there soon.” He adjusted his leather jacket over his plain grey tee. “Are you ready?”

I shook my head. “No,” I replied honestly. My fingers had found their way back to the loose thread at the hem of my sleeve. “But I’ll be okay. I’m just going right inside, after all. It’s you that has to get pictures taken.”

He shrugged in a suave, nonchalant manner. “It’s just not a big deal to me.”

“Sometimes I think life would be so much easier if I were a boy,” I muttered, shaking my head. “But then I remember how awesome it is to have boobs, and I realize that I’m much better off as a female.”

Robert’s sudden bark of laughter echoed in the long interior of the limo. I jumped, startled by his reaction. Back home, people had just expected me to say the stupidest thing that came to mind. It was easy to forget that he didn’t really know me yet.

“You’re hilarious,” he said, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes as his laughter subsided. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“All the time,” I grinned. “But it’s always nice to hear it again.”

The car began to slow, and I felt my blood pressure spike as panic set in. Just as he had on our last night out, Robert reached out to stop my hands from shaking. “I’m really sorry that I sprung this on you. I thought you would be excited. Most people would be.”

I smiled back at him as warmly as I could. “If I’d known ahead of time, I would be excited. I mean, I am excited. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do. But I just wasn’t expecting it. And I guess,” I hesitated, realizing just what it was that was making me so nervous. I didn’t want people to see me in anything but my best, not for my own sake but for Robert’s. I didn’t want people to judge him. I was just some ordinary girl who had made a particularly desirable friend. “I guess I’m just not ready to be judged by a bunch of people with cameras just yet.”

Robert’s hand tightened in mine, his fingers applying a comforting pressure. “No one is going to ask you to do anything like that. Just come watch a movie with me. It’s just like any other date, really, except that you get to see the film before anyone else.”

“Are you in this one?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nope. It’s just a regular movie. Not even a cameo from me, I promise.”

I inhaled deeply to calm my racing heart. “Someday I’d like to see one of your movies with you.”

Robert’s gleeful grin in response made my chest constrict just a bit. “Someday you will,” he promised. “But not yet.”

The door beside him was opened by someone outside; I hadn’t even noticed that we’d stopped completely. Robert gave my hand one more squeeze before he clambered out of the vehicle. He was still holding onto me, pulling me along with him. When I got out behind him, I noticed nothing but chaos. People were bustling about, some heading into a back door of a nearby building and others heading toward a brightly-lit pathway set up in front of several dozen reporters with video cameras and eager flash bulbs.

Robert gestured for me to follow the group that was headed directly inside. He winked at me before releasing his hold on my fingers. I stood perfectly still for a moment, watching as he joined a separate queue and various professional-looking people directed him on where to go. When he disappeared from my view, I forced my feet to move toward the open door.

“You’re Robert Sheehan’s guest?”

I looked up to find a rather burly-looking woman blocking my path, clipboard in hand. Her ID card was hanging on a bright orange lanyard around her neck, and it stated that she was working security for the event.

I nodded dumbly. “I’m Maggie. I don’t know if he gave you my name or anything.”

The woman nodded briefly, then rattled off some numbers to one of the men standing next to her. He raised a hand and beckoned for me to follow him. I stuck close to him, though his shirt would have made it difficult to lose sight of him. Across his back, the word ‘security’ was written in bold, neon letters. He led me into a theatre, where the lights were all still burning brightly. When he stopped abruptly, I nearly crashed into him. He pointed down a row of high-backed chairs.

“You see that girl down there? You’re in the seat right beside her.”

“Thanks,” I said. The man stalked off without any further acknowledgement. I made my way to my seat and sat down, feeling my nerves return. The girl, whose face was made up entirely of sharp angles, didn’t even look up as I sat down. The boy who was seated on her other side, however, leaned forward and gave me a friendly smile.

“You must be Maggie,” he said. His thick brown hair fell forward as he leaned toward me and offered me his hand. I shook it, though I knew I looked apprehensive. How did this guy know my name? His brown eyes were shining with kindness, and he seemed to radiate a familiarity that was almost alarming. It was as if I already knew him, though I’d never met him before.

“I am,” I replied carefully.

“I’m Ben,” his smile remained cemented on his lips. “Robert’s told me about you.”

I nodded, though I was still confused. Robert had never mentioned someone named Ben to me. And, I had noticed, he had an English accent as opposed to an Irish one. He wasn’t from around here, either. “He hasn’t mentioned you,” I confessed. “But this is only the second time we’ve gone out, so I’m sure he just hasn’t gotten around to it yet.”

“Oh,” Ben didn’t look offended. On the contrary, he appeared to be delighted by the opportunity to introduce himself properly. “My name is Ben Barnes. Robert and I were in a movie together called Killing Bono awhile back. We just kind of stayed friends after that. I had no idea that you’ve only been out once before this, though. He told me yesterday that he was bringing you, and he raved about you for quite some time. I thought maybe the two of you were getting serious.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

“Maybe I’ve said too much,” he clamped his mouth shut firmly.

“What lies are you spreading about me now?” I jumped, turning to see Robert approaching with a pointed look toward Ben.

“I haven’t said anything that isn’t true, to the best of my knowledge,” Ben responded promptly. “I’ve just introduced myself to Maggie here. It seems that you haven’t told her about me. I’m rather disappointed, Robert. I thought we were mates.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ve got to tell everyone about you as soon as I meet them. It’s not as though I walk around praising the magnificent Ben Barnes as I walk down the street.”

“So you admit that I’m magnificent?”

“Not at all,” Robert shook his head. “We all know that I’m the glorious one here.”

I found myself looking in blatant curiosity at the girl sitting between Ben and myself while the boys bickered. She seemed to feel my stare, and she turned to me warily. “I’m Madeline,” she said in an elegant accent. “I’m Ben’s girlfriend. We’ve been together for almost two years now.”

I felt a competitive edge to her casual words. “Congratulations,” I said, though there was a hint of a question in my voice. I had no idea what the proper response would be in this scenario. I wondered if I was supposed to try and make her like me. Clearly, Ben and Robert were good friends. I didn’t want to upset either of them by fighting with Ben’s girlfriend. And really, I was probably less permanent than she was, especially if she’d really been with Ben for as long as she said.

“How did you meet?” she asked, though I couldn’t tell if her interest was genuine or not.

“I,” I paused, then my cheeks flushed red. “I hit him with a door.”

Ben snorted. “Really? That’s how the two of you met? She beat you up, Robert? I think that says something about your character.”

“Oh yeah, I just love getting abused,” Robert replied sarcastically. “She was more upset about it than I was, so I had to ask her out to cheer her up. I was just being a gentleman. As always.”

“Right,” Ben retorted. “Always the gentleman. Truth be told, I feel bad for Maggie for having to put up with the likes of you.”

“And you think Madeline’s got it so easy?” Robert challenged. “She’s dealt with your antics for years longer than anyone else ever would.”

I couldn’t help but grin at their conversation. The two of them acted like brothers. In fact, their relationship made me miss my own sister. I pushed all thoughts of home out of my mind as the lights dimmed. The theatre was full, and the movie was about to begin. Robert and Ben stopped talking, and Robert slipped his hand around mine again.

His thumb traced lazy, swirling patterns on the back of my hand, and I shivered lightly at his touch. He continued throughout the entire movie, and I never once wanted him to stop. The gesture seemed so casual, but to me it meant something else. I was wanted here, and I was accepted. Ireland had been a good idea, after all.

When the film was over, I could hardly remember anything that had happened. My mind had wandered the entire time. Every love scene brought back torturous memories of Kellan, and every joke brought me back to thoughts of Robert. I looked up at him as the lights came back on. I wasn’t entirely surprised to find that he was already looking at me.

“Where’s your head at right now?” he asked softly. There was no pressure in his tone; I was free to leave the question unanswered if I felt like it.

“Everywhere,” I replied, my tone matching the quiet calm of his. “Back home and here. It’s hard to focus on just one.”

“I get that. I feel that way every time I shoot a movie at some far-off location.”

I smiled, knowing that he really did understand. It was nice to know that he could properly empathize with what I was going through.

We said a quick goodbye to Ben and Madeline, and the boys both swore repeatedly that they would visit more often. Robert walked hand in hand with me back to the limo. On the ride back to his apartment building, we chatted lightly about the movie. He had thoroughly enjoyed it, apparently, and he seemed a bit disappointed that I had been too distracted to notice much.

The air outside of Robert’s building was cool enough to send a shiver crawling up my spine. Robert noticed, and he ushered me inside. As we waited for the elevator, he seemed to be working up some courage.

“Do you want me to take you home? Or do you want to come up for a bit?”

I found that I was genuinely curious to see his apartment. “I’ll come up,” I said. He seemed to let out a relieved breath. It was shocking to me that he was nervous. He could have had anyone that he wanted, yet he was anxious about asking me up to his apartment? Suddenly, as I realized what he had probably meant by the question, it felt as if an anvil had been dropped into my stomach. It was too late to change my mind as we stepped onto the elevator and he hit the appropriate button.

“Lesson two: this is called a lift.”

I laughed, and all hesitance was cleared from my brain. “I forgot that we were doing that.”

“You can never have too many lessons, Maggie.”

“You’re right about that.”

We stepped off onto his floor, following the checkered pattern in the carpet until we reached his door. He dug out his keys and opened the door. Inside wasn’t quite what I expected. I had been anticipating something that proved that he was a celebrity: perhaps some random piece of scenery from a movie set he’d worked on or an extravagant self-portrait spanning an entire wall. Instead, I was facing what seemed to be an average guy’s apartment. His couches were leather, and they faced a large television. Stacks of DVDs, CDs, and video games littered the floor around the TV stand. A rolled up newspaper sat on an end table. I was about to voice my disappointment when I noticed, tucked away on a shelving unit behind a framed photo, was his BAFTA award.

“I’m sorry that you’re feeling homesick,” Robert said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“It’s fine,” I waved him off. “It’s not like I’m not used to it.”

“If you ever need someone to talk to, or somewhere to go, call me. I mean it. I know that you felt weird being the one to call me first, but I want you to always have somewhere to turn.”

I felt truly touched by his gesture. “Thanks, Robert. I will.”

He was standing right in front of me, his breath cool on my forehead. He leaned down, his lips grazing lightly over the tip of my nose. I didn’t pause to think as I tilted my head and stretched up to meet him. The kiss was timid at first, but it only took a moment for both of us to fall into it. My hands, seemingly on their own, snaked up to tangle in his hair. Soon I had moved past that, pushing his jacket down his arms and letting it fall to the floor. I had never been the type to jump into bed with someone right away, but for some reason I couldn’t find a reason not to do just that with Robert. Something felt right to me, and neither of us was about to tell the other to stop.