Flashing Lights

31 - Nice to meet you

As a ray of sunshine peaked through a cloud and the warmth of it hit my skin, I let out a content sigh.

Life was good.
I was home.
I was happy.

Leila insisted that I chose what we were going to do with our day earlier this morning. And although there are a lot of amazing places in a city like New York, I wanted to go to the park. I had seen enough walls and buildings for a while. I wanted to be outside now, especially when spring finally seemed to have arrived. And maybe even more important: it was a normal thing to do.

When I inhaled, I could smell the freshly mowed grass - one of my favourite scents in the world.

"Is that him?" Leila asked expectingly when she saw a tall, broad shouldered guy come in our direction.

He was handsome, yes, but not like Hunter.

"No. Not him." I nonchalantly say while placing my hands behind me on the picknick rug. I could feel the dew on the gras beneath the rug and was happy we decided to bring one.

I glance at Leila over my shades en grin.
"Who's nervous now?" I ask without needing a response.

"Can you blame me? I'm not meeting one of the biggest popstars that walk the planet of the earth every day, you know."

"He's just a guy, Leila. Chill."

"But that's the thing. He's not just a guy. He's your guy. And did I mention that on top of that, he's also super famous?"

"Yeah, you may have said something about that." I snicker.

It's weird. I was so nervous for the two of them meeting, but now that it was actually happening, those nerves seemed to have disappeared. It is what it is. If they like each other, good. If she hates him...well, let's just not think about that just yet.

In all honesty, I was kinda looking forward to seeing Hunter again. It had been less than 24 hours, but it somehow seemed longer. I hated myself for it. It's not like me to let guys get to me like that. To set me up for major heartbreak.

"Stop stressing. Besides, he won't be here for at least another half an hour. Trust me. He's never on time. The boy's got timing issues." I add, while squinting me eyes because of the bright sunlight - even with sunglasses on.

"Oh Mills, I have so many more issues than that..."

He suprises me by giving me a quick kiss on my lips, leaning over me from behind. A strand of his hair tickled my nose.

My first reflex is to smile.
The second is to push him off of me.

"We're outside in a very public space!"

He laughs at my reaction. "So? I'm not planning on hiding you for very much longer."

His answer makes me think about Kimmy. The way she stormed out of his hotel room after she found me in his closet is still burned on my mind. After, on the flight to New York, she had completely ignored my existence and had taken a seat in the back of the plane while Hunter was seated in the front and I was postioned somewhere between the two them.

I get the irony of that, yes.

"Hi," he continues while holding out his hand to Leila. "I'm Hunter. I'm guessing you are Leila?"

The fact that he thinks he needs to introduce himself amuzes me.
Even my grandmother knows who he he is. And that says a lot.

I only now get a chance to really look at him. He was wearing some sort of black running shorts and a sleeveless shirt - showing off his toned arms and legs. He hadn't bothered to shave by the looks of the stubble on his chin.
Very casual.
Very, véry sexy.
The baseball cap and sunglasses only added to his Sexy Sporty Spice look.

"I am, yes. Nice to meet you." My best friend answers shyly while shaking his hand, a subtle blush appearing on her cheeks.

I can count the times I have seen her nervous on one hand - yet here she is. Utterly star struck by the guy I have been sort of dating.

"I've heard so many things about you, I feel like I've known you for a while now myself." He continues while sitting down next to me on the picknick rug.

"And you... Fuck, I have missed you..." he rambles before he lifts my chin with his index finger and kisses me again. I decide to let him this time. I've checked our surroundings right after he had kissed me just a minute ago and there's no one really near us at the moment. This part of the park is always very quiet before noon and fortunately not often visited by tourists.

Somehow, New Yorkers seem to be a lot less phased when crossing a celebrity in the wild. Probably because there are so many here - visiting for premieres, parties, work or just having a place in one of the most alive cities of the world.
If they even notice them at all - I've found that everyone here is mostly too busy running around the city themselves. Always something to do or somewhere to be.

It's only when he puts his hands in his neck that I notice that he is nervous too.

Just when I want to say something ridiculous to break the ice and calm their nerves, Leila starts speaking. "So you're the guy who has been making her giggle when she receives a text lately..."

"I am..." he answers and then looks at me. "I am, right?"

I laugh and nod slowly. He is, yes.

"And you're the girl who knew that this one liked me before she even knew it herself, right?" He counters, while pointing to me.

"I am." She proudly answers.

Before adding "If you break her heart, you know I am comming for you, right? I don't care that you are this super hot popstar... " She winked at him but I could see she meant every word of what she had just said.

"I know." He nodded and continued "But I promise I will do everything I can not to."

"Good." She answers and with that, I could see all the nerves leave her body.

"So, tell me mister handsome. How do you deal with all of this crazy megastar stuff? And how is Millie on the road? Is she giving you a hard time?"

He laughs, and starts telling her about the many times I scolded him for being late. She offcourse replied by telling him stories of when I did the same to her.

And that was it.
The ice was broken.
They clicked and when she gave me a wink and nodded at me some time later, I knew he had passed the Leila check. With flying colors even.

Everything was right in the world.

But I could just feel it... it wasn't gonna last for long.