Status: In Time

To Caress My Day

Chapter 120: Momentary Blindness

It took Twigs a few seconds to awaken up from her brief state of shock to realize that her boyfriend was leading her further down the hall of her apartment and away from the front door of the building where a group of paparazzi sat waiting for a celebrity to walk out from. Twigs wasn’t a celebrity yet, but her boyfriend, Seth, was.

She peered over her shoulder at the door with the heavily frosted windows to see that the flashing bulbs of their cameras had stopped and that another couple were heading for the front door completely unaware of what was waiting for them on the other side. Twigs didn’t care to warn them of the crowd outside and neither did Seth. The worst that the innocent couple would be dealt with was momentary blindness and bombardment anyway which was nothing compared to how they would have been treated if they hadn’t retreated back inside the safety of the building in time.

Besides, Twigs and Seth were feeling a little bitter that the loving couple had the freedom to proudly walk around in public with their love on display unlike them…but of course, that was only because of Twig’s stubborn persistence for their relationship to remain private from the public eye.

Cringing at the sound of the couple’s surprised cry, Twigs immediately lifted her eyes back up to observe with Seth from afar as the boyfriend immediately started cursing at the paparazzi outside and threatened to call the police while shoving their way through the crowd, leaving the front door to swing shut behind them. Twigs shivered and mumbled to herself in awe that she almost walked into that without thinking. “My god…”

Seth’s attention urgently focused on hers the moment she breathed those words in horror beneath her breath. Concern shifted his features as he leaned over to place a light hand over her forehead as if to check her temperature. “Are you alright, Pixie? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

Frowning at his description of her current image, Twigs wanted to ask him why he believed she appeared that way to him when she suddenly felt her eyes ache from being deprived of blinking. Quickly, she soothed them by blinking a few times in quick successions. She hadn’t realized her eyes had been stuck in a wide-eyed expression of pure terror for so long. Unlike her, Seth had clearly seen it and had naturally become concerned. Opening her eyes again, she glanced up at him with blank empty eyes of fatigue. “I-I’m okay…” Her eyes once again drifted back to the front door, now hearing only silence. How had she not heard their ruckus outside before they had opened the door to her apartment building? “I can’t believe I forgot all about those nosy people…”

Seth nodded in agreement and followed her eyes too. “Yeah, I find it strange I did too. It’s been the main focus for us to protect our relationship from those guys, and yet in the blink of eye we completely forgot about all that and were about to enter society for the first time as a public couple.”

“That’s insane.” Twigs murmured to herself as she shook her head in disappointment at themselves for being so irresponsible. She then glanced up at him uncertainly. “So, what do we do now? Go back upstairs and figure out another plan to leave together?”

Sighing softly to himself, Seth was comforted to see that Twigs had completely forgotten that her picture had been taken by one of those cameras outside before he could get her back inside the building in time. If she had remembered, she’d be losing her mind in a frenzy right now! Even though the paparazzi now had a photo of her…they never caught sight of him, and so there was still no evidence that they were even familiar with each other. In a way, her identity was still safe. “How about this, I’ll leave first and draw them away if they’re still out there. Wait in here for 10 minutes, and then head to the bakery. I should be gone by then and thus so will they. I’ll meet you at…”

Twigs smiled at his hesitation of the unknown bakery they were planning on eating at before he left on his flight back to the US. With an amused shake of her head, she gave him the name and address to the establishment. “It’s the café we met in, remember? They closed down to remodel it recently and are now calling it a brand new place.”

“How could I ever forget?” Seth charmed her with a dazzling smile before swooping down to steal a quick deep kiss that became another kiss…and another…and another much deeper one. Before they knew it, they were making out once again, clinging tightly to each other as if this would be their last one. It took them hearing someone loudly opening the stairwell door for them to finally part, their lips smudged with her red lipstick as evidence to what they had been doing.

“Are you sure you remember how to get there?” Twigs asked him once the tenant left the building unaware that they had been standing there in the darken hallway. She lifted a hand to begin wiping the red smudges from around his mouth to clean him up, so he wouldn’t draw any more attention from the paparazzi that he was already going to for just being THE Seth MacFarlane in the flesh.

“Again, how can I forget? It’s where I met the love of my life.” Seth reminded her, welcoming her cleaning him off before stepping back once she was finished. “See you there, Pixie, and…don’t keep me waiting too long, I’m on a strict schedule today what with having to leave and all.”

Twigs smiled when he gave her a wink at the end and began heading for the door. She watched him disappear behind it and held her breath when she saw a few lightbulbs go off behind the frosted glass again. Patiently, she listened in as she began to take her time slowly walking towards the door to eventually make her own escape. A few minutes passed before she heard the roaring of his Maserati taking off for the café. Reaching in her bag, she pulled out a compact mirror to check her smudged mouth. With a smile, she began to wipe it away until all the red was gone from around her lips, leaving her with a smear blotted mouth. Digging back into her bag, she produced a tube of red lipstick that she expertly reapplied in seconds. Smacking her pouty red lips together in the mirror, she gave herself a smile before dumping both items back in her bag and waiting for the rest of the ten minutes to pass. As soon as it did, she steps out of the building to see nothing but everyday passersby along the sidewalk. The group of paparazzi were now dissipated and spread out across the street, just walking around perusing through their camera’s shots. Seth, and his car were gone. Taking a deep breath of relief, Twigs headed down the stone steps to reach the sidewalk. Snuggling deeper into her coat, she began her walk down to the plaza area where the café stood.

For some reason, Seth ended up arriving 10 minutes after she did which confused her because she walked there while he drove. She heard him through the big glass pane windows long before she saw his car and lifted her eyes from her pastry éclair treat. He parked his car in their new parking lot and was surrounded by fans the moment he closed his car door. She could tell he was trying to shake them off as politely as he could, flashing them his handsome smile and giving them friendly waves. Unfortunately for him, as soon as he entered the café he was once again bombarded by another group of marveled fans. Feeling defeat, he began to sign their autographs, answers their questions and take as many pictures as necessary to be left alone. When the numbers had finally died out, Seth took the opportunity to excuse himself which some of his remaining fans gladly accepted before wandering off back to their own tables. Still, everyone’s eyes were on Seth, including Twigs as he made his way to a table across from hers. A few fans followed him and sat down nearby, abandoning their previous tables as they continued to take pictures and videos of him on their phones. Seth was well aware that they were there which is why he chose to sit away from his girlfriend but close enough too, so she’d be in his view when he needed to see her, but still his disappointment was evident on his face. He didn’t have to look up at Twigs to feel her own disappointment as well. Whipping out his phone, he began to text her until his waiter arrived.

Sorry about this. I keep forgetting how popular I am.

Twigs hears a ding from her bag and fishes out her phone. She smiled when she saw it was message from Seth. Opening it, she read it with that same smile stuck on her face before texting back.

It’s okay. I miss you though and kinda wish you could left alone sometimes so we can be together.

Seth’s waiter arrived in mid type, and so he paused to give the excited teenager his order. It was fine with Twigs whose own waitress arrived with her coffee. Before his waiter got away, Seth stopped him to pull out a few $100 bills. “Hey, could you do me a favor and get everyone in this café a free treat of their choice from the menu from me? Tell them it’s on the house.” Seth stopped him again to point at Twigs who was trying to keep her eyes off of him. “Get her a heart shaped one though to perk her up, she looks sad.”

“No problem, sir!” The young man said with a smile before hurrying back behind the pastry cakes. He stood himself on a stool and called out to everyone in the building. “Excuse me, everyone! Can I please have your attention please!” Because the place wasn’t that big, every eye was now on him. “On behalf of Mr. MacFarlane here, every one of you can have a free treat off the menu of your choosing, anything you want!”

The cafe in the room erupted into cheers and everyone shouted out a thank you to Seth or personally went up to him and shook his hand. He didn’t mind too much though he was waiting for Twigs to receiver her own special cookie. Once he was left alone again, he began messaging her.

Well you know, we can be together right now if you want…that is if you don’t mind the repercussions.

Twigs frowned when she read his message. Be together in public? They couldn’t possibly! In the short time they’ve been together, she’s seen what it would be like to be his woman publicly. It was awful, terrifying and uncomfortable. Twigs was certain even now with how much she loved her boyfriend that she wasn’t ready for that yet. To be honest, she didn’t know if she’d ever be.

I’m not ready for that yet, Seth. I’m sorry.

Seth couldn’t help himself from sighing in defeat. The disappointment was hard to swallow, but he did. He was surprised to find himself hopeful that she would say yes. He should know her better than that by now.

I understand, Pixie. Don’t worry about it.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed again. Despite her rejection to coming out publicly with him, there was still a glimmer of hope inside of him that she would someday change her mind.

Still, think about it some more. You never know, maybe tomorrow you’ll be ready.