Chapter 4
“I’ll think about it.”
Those were the last words I uttered to Aidan.
I felt ambushed. I never thought in a million years that Aidan Stone, THE Aidan Stone, would ever suggest to fake date ME of all people. Samantha clearly had others in mind and I don’t understand why he would choose me. I mean the guy dates, or rather sleeps with, Brazilian supermodels for gosh sakes.
The next morning, I change into my workout clothes and take out all my intrusive thoughts and insecurities out on the beach. I dig my feet into the sand as hard as I can, hoping that all the doubts in my body will escape through my soles. I blast my running playlist, hoping that Taylor Swift or Rihanna will get me through this grueling 6 mile run. Clearly, I have a lot to think about. “Look what you made me do” indeed.
With every stride, I attempt to drown out the questions impeding my brain. Why me? How the hell would this work? How would this be believable? I am a struggling writer and personal assistant and he is unmistakingly the hottest actor in the world. There is no way. The press would chew me up and spit me out. I wasn’t made for this. I’ll just go back to being on the sidelines. Being invisible is my specialty and I’m not about to give up that superpower.
Somehow through the blasting music, I hear a muffled, “Haley?”
I break out of my negative thought spiral and see what would be best described as a 6-foot 1 Greek god incarnate. Is he running toward me in slow motion? Shirtless, glistening, with every muscle on his body on full display with every twist of his damn torso? And with his cute little English bulldog puppy, Ginny, alongside him. Geez the dog is overkill.
I quickly glance around and notice multiple women lower their sunglasses as he runs toward me. Then they lock eyes with me. Me, the woman who is definitely the color of a lobster, despite slathering on sunscreen, with frizzy, sweaty hair in a sloppy bun. Yeah, I wouldn’t believe it if I saw it either, ladies. Trust me.
He is a real heartstopper. Unfortunately at this moment, I am no longer immune to the phenomenon that is Aidan Stone. I’m glad that I have the excuse that I’ve been running to cover up the fact that my heart is racing.
“So you like to run too, huh?” He takes out his earbuds and readjusts his hat, revealing his longer-than-normal brown locks. I don’t see him in a hat all too often and it certainly is a sight to see. It starts a reaction in my body that only occurs when I think someone looks hot. Sexy, even. And of course he wears his hat backward. Every woman’s weakness. Well, maybe not every woman, but it certainly is a weakness of mine. He has no business knowing that, though.
Playing it cool and unphased, I finally take out my earphones and nod, feeling my loose bun bop against the back of my head. Still out of breath, I answer, “Yeah, I uh, took up running when I moved out here.” I hurriedly pull out the monstrosity of a bun and redo it, so it hopefully looks somewhat presentable.
Aidan just nods at me. God, he must be questioning his earlier proposition. I know I would. I know what I must look like right now–extremely red, sweaty and no makeup. The only thing I put on my face was sunscreen and even that is seeping into my eyes, causing them to burn a little. The only sound I hear is Ginny breathing. Her tongue is hanging all the way out and it looks like she is smiling up at me. I love Ginny. Any time I cross paths with her, she has always been so sweet to me and never shows any aggression.
I break the awkward silence. “Geez, how long have you been running? She looks wiped out. Poor puppy dog.” I bend down and pet her ears, and her leg twitches with enjoyment. She licks my arms, out of love but also probably because of the sweat permeating out of my pores.
“She loves you. She usually doesn’t show this much affection toward others. Especially women. She’s a little overprotective in that department.”
“Dogs have amazing intuitions. You should listen to her.”
“Oh, I am.” There is a sultry intonation in his voice. Almost as if he is flirting with me.
I purposely keep my eyes on Ginny, terrified of looking into Aidan’s ocean-blue eyes. Ginny knows I am stalling and finally lies down, causing me to stand and look up at my boss’s flawless face.
“And to answer your question,” Aidan says, “We’ve gone about six miles. You?”
“About the same.” I can’t help but notice how sculpted Aidan’s body really is. There is this notion that the pictures of celebrities are all photoshopped. This man is definitely not photoshopped by any means. I feel like Emma Stone in Crazy Stupid Love where she goes up to Ryan Gosling and touches his abs. Only I’m not nearly brave enough to pull off something like that without being a total creeper. Not that I’m not interested.
“Impressive,” Aidan says.
I’d say.
I shift my weight to the other leg. “I, um, needed to think about a lot of things this morning.”
Aidan reaches behind his neck and rubs it. “I’m assuming one of those things is my proposition?”
“Maybe.” I’m not about to tell him the whole truth–that his proposition is the ONLY thing I’ve been thinking about.
“So have you made up your mind?” Aidan asks, sounding almost eager.
I huff, half-catching my breath, half-exhaling out of mere shock to be in this position at all. “Um…yeah.”
“And…what is your answer?”
I nervously fumble with my earphones. Am I really about to do this? Am I about to crawl out of my introverted safe space of anonymity and be exposed for the world to see? To criticize? To completely laugh at the idea that I could ever get a man like Aidan Stone to date me? I squint as I look to the ocean and my stomach clenches at the many scenarios and outcomes going off like fireworks in my brain.
Out of nowhere, a frisbee hits my shin and breaks my chain of intrusive thoughts. Before Ginny can completely destroy the poor toy, Aidan grabs it from her line of fire. A couple of little kids, maybe around eight or nine years old, run up to Aidan and are completely star-struck. I have witnessed this happen many times before, but always from a distance. This time is different. I am inches away from what can only be described as the magic that is Aidan Stone.
“Oh my God! You’re Aidan Stone! We are huge fans! Can you sign our frisbee please?”
Aidan squats down to their level and smiles. “Sure, guys. Do you have a marker?”
“I think my mom does! Let me go check!” one of the boys excitedly yells as he runs back to his mom. She lowers her sunglasses and looks over to where we are standing. She smiles and rummages through her large, straw beach tote and finds a black Sharpie. Her son grasps it from her and joyfully bolts back toward me and Aidan.
Aidan stands back up and leans into me slightly. “Can you hold onto Ginny real quick?” When he places the leash into my hand, his fingers brush against mine and goosebumps appear all over my body. And I don’t hate it. Instead my body is betraying me and craving more. More of his voice. More of his touch. I watch Aidan as he basically creates a core memory for the boys. I can see their eyes light up at the sight of their favorite superhero signing their frisbee. In the three years I’ve known him, Aidan has never turned down an opportunity to meet and interact with his fans–no matter how busy he is. Especially when it comes to children. I smile at the pure happiness emitting from the boys’ faces, and that is more than enough for me to make my decision. That and the fact that Aidan is the nicest guy on this planet.
“Have a great day, guys! Have fun!” Aidan clasps the black cap onto the marker and hands it and the frisbee to the boys.
“Thank you so much! You too!” The boys run towards the one boy’s mom and resume throwing their frisbee.
I look down at Ginny and see that she is also beaming at her owner, almost as if she is completely captivated by his presence. Join the club, girl.
“Sorry about that, Hales. I just…”
“Couldn’t say no to a couple of sweet kids? How dare you.” I jokingly smile as I give Ginny’s leash back to him. He holds onto the handle of her leash and scratches the material. He really thinks I am going to say no. I need to put him out of his misery: “My answer is…yes…”
“Oh Hales, you are such a lifesaver! Thank you.” It appears he is closing in on a hug. Absolutely not. I’m afraid of what might happen to my body if he touches me with half his clothes off. It’s possible I would spontaneously combust.
I stick out my arm to stop his advancement and my hand collides with his bare chest. His rock-hard, glistening bare chest.
It’s confirmed. Definitely not photoshopped.
I retract my hand as if I just touched a hot stove. “But I think we need to talk about this more. Can we go somewhere before we head to the studio, to discuss the terms of this whole… deal? I don’t really want to talk about this with eyes glaring at us everywhere we turn.” I know this is going to be my new reality soon. I’m just not quite ready for that attention yet. I open and close my hand to hopefully dispel any remnants of Aidan Stone’s body from its memory. Not sure it will really work, but it’s worth a try.
“Sure. There’s a nice diner close by that I like to stop at some mornings. The owner of the diner is a sweetheart and she is very protective of me and respects my privacy. Plus, I usually go early in the morning and all the old folks in there don’t know who I am, so we shouldn’t be bothered. I’ll drop you a pin so we can meet there, if that’s okay?”
“Sounds good. Meet you there.”
“Great. See you there, Swann.” Aidan smiles at me and turns his hat the other way around, covering his dark brown locks again. He says, “Come on, girl,” causing Ginny to happily follow her best friend.
Apparently, I am more than willing to follow Aidan’s lead, too. Otherwise I would have said no to this absolutely preposterous proposal.