Page 79 of Seeking Stars
"And paparazzi," Maggie added, evidently finding some of that on Twitter. "This is terrible. They're so nasty."
"Don't fill her head with anxiety, c'mon," Ely said. "Let her enjoy what's happening with Liam. He seems like a cool guy and he seems to be crushing hard on our friend here."
"And if his rom-coms are any indication, he's a great kisser and has the bod of a god," Maggie said as she put her phone on the table. "So she really should get to enjoy it."
"I'm sure we all agree that Ana, here, is a goddess herself, and I don't mean only her looks," Ely argued. "He's lucky she likes him like that."
"How are you feeling?" Maggie asked. "This is… huge. I can't imagine, with the tabloids and stuff…"
"I am trying to ignore that for now. Things with Liam are good and I don't want to think about what they're saying about us. I want to pretend we're just two people who like each other, for as long as I can."
"Totally!" Christina said. "That's smart. Better not to look."
"I'm helping her with that." Ely finally put food on her plate. "She's under strict instructions— no social media scrolling."
"We have your back," Maggie said. "We're rooting for you."
Chapter 18 - Talking Heads
Due to Liam's schedule, they continued to limit communications to texts and one or two short video calls a day. It took four days to find the time to have a conversation that went beyond discussing their day.
"Where are you tonight?" Ana tracked the little changes in his expression on the screen, the way his green eyes sparkled, or his lips stretched on a smile.
"I really should share my calendar with you."
"Maybe one day, but I like having you tell me."
"I like that you want to know." He changed the camera to the front lenses, showing her a view out of his window. "I'm back in London. I have a couple last-minute things here then we'll be flying back to North America."
"When's that?"
He changed the camera back to him. "A couple of days."
"Any big plans once you're back in LA?"
"Mostly I want to catch up on sleep," he laughed. His face softened as he added, "Figure out when I can go see you."
"Yes, please." She smiled. "I can't wait until we're in the same room again. We could be cuddling right now."
He sighed. "That would be great. I could be catching up on sleep using you as a pillow."
"Is that what you fantasize about?"
"Among other things."
She laughed. "Well, let's really think about how to make that happen, then."
"On it."
"Also, I've been meaning to tell you. When I went out with my friends the other night?"
"Yeah?"
"Thing is, we talked a bit about you."
He arched an eyebrow. "In what way?"
"It unfolded quite unexpectedly, really. They assumed— correctly— that the call I answered from you that day was from someone I'm seeing. Why else would I interrupt a night out with friends? They asked me about it and I didn't want to lie. I tried to be vague, too, but that didn't work very well. At the end I ended up telling them it was you. They know about us— from me, not from rumors on social media. I'm sorry."
