Away From the Spotlight (5 page)

Colin was
sitting
in one of the recliners.  Stephen and what appeared to be Stephen’s girlfriend
,
as he had his arm around her
,
were sitting on the couch.  They
were
engrossed in
a movie.  They all waved
in greeting
as we walked in,
without looking at us, keeping
their
focused
attention
on
the movie.
  I’m not sure
th
ey realized I was even there.

Will whispered to me,
“Since they don’t appear to be in the mood to talk right now, why don’t I give you the tour?”

He
took m
y hand and le
d
m
e out
to the patio
, turning on the lights on the way
. 
Outside
, there
w
as a beautiful black-bottomed pool and a view of what was probably the ocean in the distance, although it could not be seen at night.
 
A large table
,
chairs and patio umbrella sat on a redwood deck
to the
left
above the pool
that was just beyond the patio
.  There was also a
fire pit
with
outdoor sofas
surrounding it on the opposite s
ide of the yard from the deck.

“The backyard is what sold us on the house.
”

“It’s beautiful.  I imagine it
’
s gorgeous during the day when you can see the ocean.”  I shivered
as
it was a little foggy and damp out
side
.  Will rubbed my shoulders and upper arms over my jacket and
led
me
back
inside.

Will continued the
tour
through
the back of the house.  There were four bedrooms, one of which was empty.  Through the crack in the doors, I could see into Colin and Stephen’s rooms on either side of a bathroom, but not really past what appeared to b
e clothes strewn on the floor.

At the end of the hall was Will’s room.  He apparently got the
m
aster
b
edroom.  Will had a king-size
d
bed
, covered in navy blue bed linens,
against the far wall with no headboard
, b
ut he did have tables on either side.  There was a
c
lock
and
i
P
hone
dock on one table
,
and a pile of books and papers
as well as a closed laptop computer
on the other.  Across from the bed was another large
TV
on the wall over a dresser with a DVR
and home theater speakers on it. 
Beyond the bed, there were windows along the wall to the right of the bed. 
To the left of the door was the bathroom with a
stall
shower and spa tub as well as a dressing area with a walk-in closet.  It was
all
surprisingly neat.

“Do you want anything to eat or drink?”
Will
asked
.

“No, I’m fine.
  Thank you.
”
  I was nervous.

“How about a movie?”
he suggested.

“Sure.  I don’t get to watch much in the way of
TV
or movies.”

He smirked and stifled a laugh as he said, “I definitely got that impression.”

He piled up the pillows on his bed and
we
l
eaned
back together
on the pillows.  He had
his
arm around me as we watched an
action movie on cable.  As I was sitting on his bed with him, the entire
left
side of my body that was
flush against
his was on fire.
 
I
t
took all my focus
to
pay attention to the movie to
keep
myself from
touching him or
running my fingers through
his voluminous brown hair.

When the movie was over, we
returned
to the living room, but
Will’s
roommates weren’t there
anymore. 
Will asked me if I would like a glass of wine
, a beer,
or
some
cider.  I didn’t want to leave.

“Whatever is easier,” I replied.

Will
handed me a glass of cider and
held
a bottle of beer
for
himself
.  We sat on the sofa together, facing each other
, but not touching,
and talked for a while.
  I felt a little more comfortable out in the living room as opposed to Will’s bedroom and was able to relax a little.

“How do you like it here in L.A.?” I asked, trying to start conversation again.

“I like it.  It was hard at first, difficult to get used to, but I’ve really grown to like it.  Although I miss my
family and
my
mates
back in England sometimes, I have a pretty close group of friends here and we have a good time.  There’s really only one thing missing.”

“What’s that?” I asked, curious.

I don’t think he had meant to say what he
did
and he looked a little embarrassed.

“I’
m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, it’s okay.  I’ll make you a deal.  If I can see you again, I’ll tell you then.”

I
had to try
hard not to show my excitement when I responded, “Okay.”

“
Can I take that to mean you’ll go out with me again?”

“Yes.”
  I smiled at him then.

Will
seemed to take courage in my response and asked,
“
Can I see you
again
tomorrow?”

“Yes, but I kind of have to study at some point
this weekend
.
  I’ve got finals coming up.
”
  I tried not to appear too eager and I really did have to study.
  I also had casual plans with a group of friends
, but
was
sure
I could get
out
of them easily.

“How about you come over
to my place
tomorrow
around
n
oon
and bring your books with you?  I have some reading to do myself and would love the company.  We can have lunch o
ut on the patio
.  Tomorrow night, I have tickets to a concert if you’re up for it, but you’ll have to let me surprise you as to the band.  I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.”

Once we had the details of our next date settled,
Will drove me back to my car
.  After opening the car door for me and
helping
me out, Will
put his arms around me and pulled me into a kiss that made me feel like he really didn
’
t want to be saying goodbye.
  By my response, I’m sure he realized
that
I felt the same way.
  I was
relieved
that we were doing this here, in front of my car, rather than back at Will’s house.  I don’t know what I would have done if
he had kissed me like th
at
there
.  I didn’t think of myself as the type to sleep with someone on the first date, but I might not have been able to restrain myself with Will.  I wa
s simply too attracted to him.

On the way home, I was racking my brain as to what band we could be seeing.  With my trip to Europe coming up, I hadn’t been spending money on going to concerts as much as usual.  As a result, I hadn’t been paying attention to who was touring so I wouldn’t be tempted.

I don’t know how I made it home.  I was exhausted, having not slept much the night before, but wide awake
in
anticipation of the next day’s events.

Despite having been so tired, I actually didn’t manage to sleep in
the next morning
. 
I was too excited to see Will.

I had no idea what to expect for the day so I had no idea what to wear.  I contemplated bringing changes of clothes, but was worried about appearing to bring luggage.  I decided to go casual, wearing jeans and a
long sleeveless printed
top and
to
bring
another outfit for the concert
.

I put my makeup, brush
,
and travel toothbrush and toothpaste in my purse.  I felt like I was packing for an overnight and that thought, and what it implied, made m
y stomach churn with
anxiety
.

Although
I was
not inexperienced, sleeping with someone I barely knew was definitely
not
me. 
With few exceptions,
I generally had crushes for months before I ever let on that I was interested so most of my relationships had evolved slowly.  And, to boot, it had been a
while
as work
,
law school
,
and
the corresponding
lack of opportunity
had distracted me from those pursuits
of
late.
  All this, combined with the fact that I knew that
,
had Will pressed the issue last night, I would have found him
impossible
to resist, scared me.

I p
laced
my
change of
clothes in as small a bag as I could find
,
piled my books into another bag, loa
ded the car
,
and was on my way by
11:15 a.m.  I didn’t want to be early and
to
appear
as
eager
as I really was
.  With traffic, it took me
over
an hour to get there so I was actually late.

The girl with
Stephen
the night before
answered the door. 
She was petite with
long
brunette hair and blue
-grey
eyes.

“Hi, I didn’t properly introduce myself last night,” she said with a British accent that was more northern
sounding
,
like maybe
from
Manchester
.  “I’m Kate.
”  She leaned forward conspiratorially and added, “
Will would kill me for telling you this, but he has been pacing for the last half
-
hour, waiting on you.  It’s brilliant to see him like this.”

I didn’t know what to think about that, so I just walked in
without response
through the family room into the backyard where Will was waiting.
  He strode up to me quickly and kissed me
as
hard
and as long
as he had
the night before
.
 
I heard
throat clearing
behind
Will
.  Colin
and Stephen
were sitting at the table under the umbrella with what looked like a catered lunch.
 
I looked down, hoping they wouldn’t see m
e
blush.

Kate came outside shortly
there
after carrying some iced teas, and sat on
the
side of the table
facing away from the ocean and
next to Stephen.  It was a beautiful
spring
day. 
T
he view was as gorgeous as I
had imagined the night before
even though I
couldn’t see the ocean
then
due to the darkness.
  I could almost smell the ocean in the dis
tance.

Will ushered me into chair on the other side of the table from Stephen and Kate, next to where he was to sit, but with a slightly better view of the ocean than that from his seat.