Just a Fan (23 page)

I found myself smiling in pleasant surprise. Who would have thought this could be possible? It seemed as though I had made a good impression with most of them. Not that it would have mattered if I hadn't; it was just that I felt so much happier when I saw the positive note to their comments. Of course, I was sure there would be some weird, stalkerish, negative ones lurking somewhere in there, as there always were with articles about a man like Connor - but I still found myself feeling far more confident than I ever had been in a long while about sites like this one.

Shutting down the computer, I sat back in my chair and stretched lazily. I had got so much done today...the knowledge that I had accomplished a lot was very satisfying indeed. This called for a good bout of lazing...

I went off to my bed and flopped down upon it with a happy sigh. I would need my rest for these few final days here; I knew my journey to the US would definitely tire me out...

Chapter 15

A Long Journey

I had been absolutely right when I had anticipated that the journey to the USA would be a long one. The ordeals of long-distance travelling didn't just start on the plane, though; they started well before we had even boarded...

Our flight was quite early in the morning - since Connor was something of an early bird when it came to travelling - and I wouldn't have been able to get up at all had Connor not considerately invited me to stay at his house for the night. But still, it wasn't as if it was anywhere near easy for me to get up so early; we had spent a lovely evening together beforehand, and it had taken me a very long while indeed to fall asleep...

That night - well, that
morning
, technically - the bed was so unbelievably comfortable, the sheets so soft and silky, and Connor was so reassuringly warm beside me, that I wanted nothing more than to lie here forever, listening to his gentle breathing and occasional, quiet snores -

Abruptly, the harsh beeping of an alarm clock shattered the peaceful silence. I frowned in my comfortable sleep, wishing for it to shut up and let me have five more minutes of rest. However, it didn't obey my wishes and continued to go off, until Connor pulled himself away from my limp arms to turn the thing off.

I myself made no move to get up, my arms feeling very empty. I desperately wanted him to come back to bed, but I knew very well that it was time to get ready. Nevertheless, I lay there still on the edge of sleep, hearing Connor's manly grunt as he stretched, and then his footsteps as he padded off across the carpet to find his clothes. There was a rustle of clothing as he pulled on his jeans and his t-shirt, and then his footsteps came over to my side of the bed.

'Lilly...' his voice murmured softly in my ear, a playful edge to his words: 'Wakey-wakey, love...'

I gave a very unladylike groan, rolling over.

'It's time to get up,' he told me happily, then I felt his lips on my neck.

'Ooh...' I raised my head slightly with a dreamy smile, my eyes opening slightly. He was grinning at me.

'I'll meet you downstairs, OK?' he said, perkier than anyone should really be at four in the morning.

''kay,' I mumbled helplessly, knowing that I didn't really have any choice in this...

* * *

When we finally arrived, the airport was reasonably quiet, due to the fact that it was still quite early. Connor seemed to travel light; he only had one neat black suitcase that he pulled along behind him. I myself had only just managed to fit all of my clothes and necessary items into one suitcase, which looked considerably less professional than his due to the fact that it was a faded shade of red and just about bursting at the seams.

Since Connor rarely left his car in the airport car-park, we had taken a taxi here, and fortunately the taxi-driver hadn't seemed to have recognised him. When going about his affairs in a public place, I noticed that Connor kept very much to himself, quietly going his way with his head down, not drawing very much attention to himself. In the airport building itself, he behaved so casually that it was hard to tell that he even was a movie star. I walked close by his side, marvelling at the way people walked past us without a second glance.

'How do you do it?' I whispered to him in awe.

'Do what?'

'
This
,' I said. 'Walk through a crowded place without anyone seeing you! I bet more than half of the people here must have seen you in your movies or on posters...'

Connor chuckled softly. 'I guess they're never really looking for me in a place like this,' he replied. 'They'd probably think I take a private jet or something.'

I smiled, inwardly admiring the way he simply got on with life like a normal person. A while later as we waited in the queue for our baggage to be taken, however, I became increasingly aware of whispering behind us. Connor saw me looking worried and gave me a smile, squeezing my hand for courage. But no matter how warm and comforting his hand around mine was, I still could not block out the annoying sound of the two young ladies also headed to New York hissing to each other behind us.

'No, really, I
swear
it's him,' one was whispering.

'Oh, come on, Liv...' the other giggled. 'It can't be.'

'Seriously! Look,' the first insisted. 'It
must
be him.'

'You've got to be kidding me!'

'Sshh!' the first girl, apparently named Liv, hissed at her friend. 'Yeah, I'm sure! He's doing a new movie, isn't he - in
New York
.'

'Oh my God...d'you think? No way!'

'
Yes
way!'

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Connor begin to chew the corner of his lip. Obviously it was too early in the morning for this kind of thing.

It was my turn to squeeze his hand, and when he looked at me I gave him a sympathetic smile. He narrowed his eyes teasingly.

'You were saying?' he wryly murmured to me.

'
OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod
!' The excited whispers started again.

'Yeah, he sounds totally Scottish! It must be him!'

'Ya think?'

'Well, he's tall, he's got the hair -' the voice lowered considerably - '...and by what I can see, he's got the perfect ass, too...'

I cleared my throat in embarrassment. If I was the violent type, I would have turned right around in outrage and clouted them one. However, since I was not, all I could really do was glance at Connor, who was looking at the floor with his lips pursed as if he was trying to stop himself from bursting out laughing at this ridiculous situation.

The girls continued their whispered conversation, oblivious.

'Ask him, ask him!'

'Nooo! I couldn't!'

'Go
on
! We should just ask if...'

'Yeah but...'

'Come on! I'll ask if you won't!'

'No, wait! What if...'

There was muted, explosive giggling behind us.

'No, really, we've got to...he's the guy from fricken
Esquire
!'

'Yeah, but he's
with
someone...'

'
So
?'

The line crawled forward...

'Go on, go on...'

'Um...
excuse
me...' the first girl behind us said, touching Connor's arm, her huge smile and the strain in her voice showing she was about to collapse in a fit of giggles again. We both turned. One of the girls, I noticed, had an outlandish haircut, and the other was dressed in very baggy jeans; both of them were wielding backpacks and grinning.

'Yes?' said Connor, looking embarrassed but still as polite as ever.

'Are you the guy from
Esquire
?'

'Maybe,' Connor replied a little wearily.

Both girls gasped, and then looked at each other simultaneously.

'I
told
you so, Janice!' burst out the first one.

'Yeah, you totally did!' the other giggled.

'Hey, can we have your autograph?'

Connor sighed. 'I'm so sorry, I don't have anything on me...' he told them apologetically.

They patted their pockets. 'Aw
damn
, nor do we...'

'Gotta go,' I murmured to Connor, poking him and jerking my head towards the lady behind the desk, who was now free. With a shrug at the two disappointed girls, Connor grinned and followed me to drop off our bags.

'Is it like that all the time, wherever you go?' I asked Connor a couple of hours later, when we were safely in the more private, first-class area of the plane. As we had walked to the private departure lounge, Connor had unfortunately been recognised by several people, a few of which had whipped their digital cameras out from their hand luggage to take photos of the world-famous movie star as he walked through the long corridors with me close beside him. Of course, being a kind person, Connor had chatted with them and answered their questions, but he hadn't stopped or let himself be stopped even once. I had only been able to marvel quietly at the effortless way he simply walked along, his whole demeanour telling everyone that although he was very respectful of his fans and admirers, he had important things to do.

It had amazed me how close the people had come to us; it was like having a personal escort. I had been equally surprised to find that a few people had even recognised me, too, and politely asked me whether I was headed off somewhere with Connor. Regrettably, I did not have any of the breezy, casual professionalism that Connor so obviously had, but the reassuring grip of his hand on mine kept me from losing courage and getting embarrassed.

As we had walked down to our departure gate, we had attracted even more attention due to the fact that we were surrounded by a small group of people jogging to keep up with us, holding their cameras and mobile phones up to film Connor and I making our way through the terminal. Walking past the other international flight departure lounges, I had seen just about everybody craning their necks and standing up in curiosity to see what the mild commotion was about.

'Oh, God,' I had murmured breathlessly, my fingers twining even more closely with Connor's as my heart began to flutter.

'...I'd love to, but I'm afraid we've got a plane to catch,' Connor had been saying, calmly responding to the non-stop flow of questions around us.

''Scuse me, sir, is there a problem here?' an authoritarian male voice had enquired, breaking through the group. It had been a member of the airport security, wearing his uniform and looking a little disconcerted at the people milling around Connor and I. A sense of great relief had washed over me at the sight of that badge and uniform.

It had taken the officer a while to finally realise that he was dealing with a movie star and his girlfriend who were being followed around by a few fans and curious people, but when he had understood everything, he had thankfully managed to get the people to leave us alone and escorted us himself to avoid further trouble. Apparently Connor's manager or agent had not managed to arrange a proper escort, and Connor had decided to go without one, which had consequently left us with an entirely
different
form of escort. It was more evident than ever to me that my life had changed, and I would most probably not be able to walk unnoticed through an airport for much longer. Of course, Connor and I
almost
had, but due to the extensive queueing and other minor delays, it had not been so.

Now, as we sat together in the plane, which was now at cruising height over the vast expanse of ocean, Connor turned to me with a grin.