Chapter 22 Nora
Chapter 22 NORA
T he morning air had always pleased Nora, but she couldn’t recall enjoying it this much. It was chilly, yes, an icy breeze blowing, but her heart was warm. Their fingers interlaced—had she ever felt something so good?
As they walked along amid the chirping birds and fluttering leaves, Nora turned her face to him. Aiden looked back to her, and they both smiled. They were the only ones on the street. A few houses looked to be waking up; kitchen lights on, a couple cooking breakfast, a mother nursing a baby. Nora rested her head on Aiden’s shoulder; he was the perfect height for it.
Could he be the one? The thought was silly; she had met him just the day before. Even so, their forced companionship had nurtured an intimacy so strong it was as if Nora knew every single thing about Aiden. Every important thing, at least. Like she had indeed done an intensive course.
Love? She wasn’t so sure. But Aiden had planted something inside her, something that grew deeper by the minute.
“I like this,” he said, out of the blue.
“The quiet hours of the morning?”
Aiden flashed her his dimpled smile. “Well, yes. But I meant our first date.”
“Is this a date, Aiden?”
“It is, at least to me. Is it not?”
“I thought by now we’d be married already. Celebrating our anniversary,” she joked.
“Whoa, Nora, hold your horses. We haven’t even had our honeymoon yet.”
Nora laughed loudly, and a dog barked in response. “God, you’re obsessed with our honeymoon.”
“I am most definitely not. You’re the one rushing things. This is a date, and then there will be next time, and then—”
As they turned the corner, and before he could continue, Nora gasped.
“Everything all right?” Aiden asked.
“See the guy over there?” she whispered, nodding towards a man with a camera half-hidden in the bushes across the street. “Ever since Myra Flay moved here, it’s like this every day. Even after a storm, can you believe it? I told you, famous people can’t get a moment of peace; there’s always someone behind them, snapping pictures or begging for autographs.” She rolled her eyes.
Aiden’s arm went tense. “And who’s Myra Flay?”
“Do you remember the song we danced to? The deep, baritone voice? That’s him.” Nora looked at him, her eyes shining with the memory.
“And he’s your neighbor. Interesting. Listen, how about we turn right here? This street looks lovely.”
“Hello, goofy. The café is this way,” Nora said, and pulled Aiden by the hand.
As they passed in front of Myra’s gate, the singer appeared with his enormous Great Dane on a leash. The photographer left his hiding spot behind the bush, his camera clicking with fury.
“Fuck off, vulture! Leave me alone!” Myra yelled and quickened his pace.
“Can you imagine living like that?” Nora mumbled.
Aiden cleared his throat and moved his head in something between a nod and a shake. “It’s horrible.”
A little absently, she began humming Baby, look , warmth spreading through her chest.
“Nora, please don’t kill our song.” Our song. Aiden said it so easily that her heart swelled. “Since this Myra lives nearby, maybe we can convince him to sing it just for us. How about that?”
Nora continued humming their song , louder now, walking on her tiptoes to hum it right in his ears.
“You get any closer and I’ll think you want to kiss me for real.”
“I do,” she said and, before she changed her mind, Nora gave a quick peck on his cheek. “Sometimes you’re way too sweet for your own good.”
But Aiden was distracted, for some reason craning his head to look behind them. Nora asked what was wrong.
“We’re being followed,” Aiden answered.
“By whom?”
“The . . . photographer.”
Nora blew a raspberry. “Why would he follow us? He must be looking for Myra Flay.”
“About that...” Aiden brought their interlaced hands close to his lips and left them there for a moment. Then, he placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand. “I—”
“Is that the only kind of kiss you intend to give me?” Nora interrupted him.
He turned to face her and she saw something in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. Something about him seemed unsettled and nervous.
“I believe you know the answer by now,” he said in a soft voice and drew a deep breath, as if preparing to say more, but only averted his gaze with a blush.
Nora smiled.
The “ding” of the bell as she opened the glass door of Woody’s Café was followed by a “click.” Nora looked over her shoulder and there, right behind them, stood a man with a big camera, pointed at her and Aiden.
What the hell?
“Excuse me, sir, you didn’t ask me for permission to take my picture,” she yelled.
“It’s okay, love, just go in,” Aiden mumbled, distress in his tone.
“He can’t go around taking pictures of people like this, Aiden. He didn’t ask for my consent.”
Aiden stuttered. “I-I know. Of course. Go inside, I’ll talk to him.”
Why on Earth would a pap be interested in them? Nora chose a table right by the window, from which she watched Aiden scold the photographer—arms waving in the air, a vein popping in his neck. She could fend for herself, of course, but she had to admit she enjoyed having such a handsome man stand up for her.
The place smelled of grease and freshly brewed coffee. Nora peeked into the kitchen and was happy to see Mrs. Delilah, her favorite cook. She hoped Aiden would like the food, so they could come back next time.
Next time .
Did Aiden really mean it? She shivered as the thought crossed her mind. Next time.
Or would he disappear, vanishing as if he’d never existed? As if she’d never existed. As if she was invisible.
On the other side of the window, Aiden continued arguing with the paparazzi—there were two now. As if feeling her eyes on him, he turned to face her, and one of his dimples marked his cheek in a half smile.
“Good morning, Nora,” Haley said. “Crazy weather last night, huh?”
“Yeah, that was so scary.”
Haley nodded. “I’m glad you’re safe. So, what are you having today?”
“I’m waiting for someone.” Nora pointed outside. “Give me a few minutes, okay?”
“Yeah, sure.”
As Haley left the table, Aiden entered the café, and they crossed paths in the aisle. She followed him with her eyes as he made his way towards Nora.
Has she never seen a good-looking man in her life?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t imagine these chaps would be around at such early hours and—”
“Photographers love this time of day. Golden hour, I think that’s what they call it.”
Aiden’s face relaxed, and he smiled. “You really do look lovely in the morning light, my darling.”
How would she find the willpower to resist his charm any longer? “They must have thought we made for a good picture, and I can’t blame them.”
“About that . . .”
“First, food. I’m starving.” Nora took up the menu Haley had left on the table. “Their chocolate chip pancakes are to die for.”
“Hm.” Aiden flipped through his menu’s pages. “Do they have anything with olives?”
“If that’s a strategy to prevent me from stealing your food, congratulations.”
Aiden grinned. “Precisely. But go ahead, order the pancakes. As I told you, you can have my share of chocolate for the rest of our lives.” He glanced at her, his eyes a lighter green with the daylight reflected on them, and Nora’s heart skipped a beat. “As for me... I guess I’ll have the ‘Tarantino’ breakfast.”
Nora shook her head. “You’re so predictable.”
“One cannot come to Tennessee and not have biscuits and gravy, love.”
“Yeah, right. Like that’s the only reason for you to order it.”
Haley and Mrs. Delilah whispered and watched them through the kitchen’s window. At another table, a woman twisted in her seat to check them out. The air was thick and the atmosphere heavy.
Nora’s hands balled into fists on her thighs, and she clenched her jaw. She was used to these sorts of stares from back when she dated Jay—a black man with a fair-skinned woman always drew attention. But this was different. They showed no embarrassment, as if they were entitled to stare.
A movement brought her gaze out the window. Nora was surprised that the photographers were still there—three of them now, only half-hiding, cameras pointed at Aiden and her.
What the fuck?
Before Nora could say anything, Aiden waved to Haley and she rushed to their table.
“Ye-yes? How can I help you?” Her attempted smile came out as a weird display of her teeth. Haley’s reddish face had paled. Pen and paper trembled in her shaky hands.
Nora watched the scene, clueless, her eyes shifting from Haley to the photographers, to Aiden, until he spoke in a slightly different tone, his posture stiffer, as if he had assumed a different personality. “Ladies first.”
“Chocolate chip pancakes. Coffee. Please.”
“Ah, the ‘Dolly Parton,’ as usual,” Haley scribbled. Would the girl understand her own handwriting with her hands shaking so much?
“I’d like the ‘Tarantino’ breakfast, and black tea, please. Thank you.” Aiden handed her the menu. As Haley collected it, she looked on the verge of fainting right there.
“Thank you. I, I must say, I’m a big fan. Oh, my God.” She brought a closed fist to her lips. “Would you mind giving me an autograph? We thought you might still be in town, but I never, ever, imagined you’d come here!”
A notification popped up on Nora’s phone. A text message from Dipa.
Is this the Aiden you were with last night?
Along with the text came a screenshot of an Instagram post with a photo taken of the two of them sitting at Woody’s, through the glass window. The picture had been taken just minutes ago.
Nora looked at Haley. Then at Aiden. Then at Haley again. Then back at Aiden. He scribbled on a piece of paper the girl had given him and handed it back to her with a smile. It was a different smile from all the others she’d seen throughout the night. Unnatural. Forced.
Nora blinked. Her mind had gone blank.
Haley covered her mouth with her hand, and her words came out muffled. “Aiden Elliott. Oh, my God. Thank you, thank you!”
She headed to the counter, half walking, half dancing, and waved Aiden’s autograph through the kitchen window.
After taking a long breath, Aiden rested his elbows on the table, a deep wrinkle on his forehead. “About that...”
“What. The fuck. Is happening?” Nora said between clenched teeth, staring at him.
He looked down and licked his lips, breathing deeply again. “I’m an actor, Nora.”
“You’re an actor.”
“Yes.”
“We’ve been talking all night, and you just tell me this now?”
Aiden closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I told you I work in the entertainment industry.”
Even with her voice lowered, Nora sensed they were being watched. “I thought you worked behind the cameras. Wrote scripts, or something. Or did the soundtrack. Or maybe you were in casting. Whatever. Not the kind of person that has fucking paparazzi following them.”
“No, love. I work in front of the cameras. I do films. I’m an actor.”
An actor. Someone who made his living by pretending to be someone else. A professional deceiver. “A good one, it seems, ’cause you’ve been acting all night, and I didn’t even suspect it.”
“Nora, please. I was not acting. I poured my heart out to you last night.”
“No, I poured my heart out. I told you every single thing there is to know about me. Because I’m stupid. Because, again, I was na?ve,” Nora said.
“You couldn’t possibly have told me every single thing about you. There’s still so much to learn about each other, and I look forward to taking the time to actually do it.”
His tone was sweet, a mismatch to the bitter thoughts running through Nora’s head.
Nora thumped her hand on the table. “We had one full night. You could have at least covered the main topics. I know I did.”
“Nora, I’m sorry. I... I tried to tell you. I thought you’d understand.”
“Oh, you did? You know what, you’re right. You don’t know me at all.”
A familiar and unwelcome feeling started moving through Nora’s body. Pain. Not emotional pain—which was there too, of course—but the physical one. After all these blissful pain-free years, the mere thought of her symptoms coming back made her panic. She needed to get away. Immediately.
Nora stood, but before she had taken one step towards the exit, Aiden grabbed her hand. “The only reason I didn’t tell you is because—”
A wave of agony traveled her body from head to toe, momentarily disconnecting her brain from its rational functions. Acting by pure instinct, Nora quickly pulled her hand from his and shoved him. Between fight or flight, her body decided for her to do both. “Save the drama for your damn movies, Aiden!” She stormed out of the café, too hurt to care about the scene she had just caused.
It didn’t matter—she needed to get away from him. It all made sense now: how could someone be as sweet as Aiden had been through the night? Obviously, he was too good to be true.
All Nora had asked for was honesty. All he had given her were lies. Aiden fooled her. She’d opened her heart—showed him the good and the bad, the happy and the sad—and he hid who he was.
The paparazzi had their cameras pointed at Nora. She pictured herself running towards them, knocking their cameras to the ground. But as the adrenaline hit her bloodstream, the pain receded, just enough for her to keep herself in check... until the dull pain sharpened and became needles prickling her skin once more. Fuck .
The world knew they were having breakfast together. Everyone would make all sorts of assumptions. All she wanted was to be invisible again.
Aiden Elliott . The name only slightly rang a bell. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen one of his movies—probably not, otherwise she would have recognized him. Even so, Nora felt like a complete idiot. Everybody else knew more about him than she did. Stupid.
The sound of Aiden’s footfalls was approaching fast. “Love, please. Wait!”
How dare he call her “love.” Love couldn’t be built with lies. With secrets. That was not the kind of love she was looking for.
She walked faster now. If he hid his true identity—what else did he not tell her?
Was he even really single? Or was Becky his girlfriend, as she had suspected? Her mind swirled with all the possibilities, all the things he may not have told her. She wasn’t sure what to believe.
“Aiden! Aiden!” voices called in between camera clicks.
“Excuse me. Excuse me! Could you get out of my way, please?” Aiden shouted behind her. “Nora!”
The camera clicks were now more intense. Nora’s heart thumped against her ribcage. She felt like prey being chased.
“Can you smile for us, Aiden? Who is Nora, Aiden? Is Nora your new girlfriend?”
“I am not his damn girlfriend!” Nora yelled, as loud as she could.
“Whoa!” the photographers shouted. “Why’s she mad, Aiden? What did you do?”
“Sod off! Can’t I have five minutes of peace, for Christ’s sake? Get the hell out of here!”
Nora quickened her pace, tears springing to her eyes. Stupid, stupid, stupid , she scolded herself.
As she turned the corner onto her street, Aiden reached her. “Please, listen to me,” he said, trying to take her arm.
“Don’t touch me!” She pulled her arm back. “You lied to me, Aiden. How can you look me in the eye? You lied to me!”
“I never lied to you, Nora. I know, I shouldn’t have hidden this from you, but I just didn’t know how to tell you!”
“You could have told me in any way. Any freaking way!”
A stab of pain hit her lower back, full force. Nora struggled to grasp the last remnants of self-control, but the excruciating pain was already taking over, and who knew what it would make her do.
She had. To get. Away.
The paparazzi had turned the corner onto her street. Nora bolted for her front porch and unlocked the door, her hands trembling. She made her way inside but before she could slam the door in Aiden’s face, she realized he’d followed her in.