Page 97 of Seeking Stars
"Would you really be open to that?" she asked, breathless. "Giving me access to your home that way."
"Sure. Why not? The house will be empty otherwise. You can see it as your LA base, for when you want to be there. You'd have weekdays all by yourself, and I'd come stay with you most weekends."
"That's not what I mean. You'd be giving me the keys to your place and though I wouldn't be moving in, it's still a big step for only two months of knowing each other."
"I know what you mean," he said, his tone careful. "And I think it works. I don't really care what you want to call it. If you say it's a practical solution to making sure we have time together, I like that. If you want to say it's a key moment in the development of a relationship, I'm fine with that too. It's just you having my key and spending some time in my house. You'll still have your own place, go back and forth… All that matters to me is that we'll be together when we're both in LA."
"Liam," she tried, but no words came out. Her heartbeat drummed against her chest.
"I know it's eager of me and I know people say we should play it cool," he argued. "That it's not modern to show real interest. I say fuck that. I don't care. I haven't felt this good in so long; I've waited a long time to feel this way. I don't want to risk it with more distance and instability than we have to. I'm feeling butterflies again, Ana."
She smiled. "I do, too, but not everyone would want to risk as much after only knowing each other for so little."
"These weren't just two months. We dove into getting to know each other and— I like— I think we both liked what we found. I think it's worth choosing it, over and over again. So yeah, maybe others wouldn't want to risk it, but I would."
"I love your openness to life; to feeling." She sighed.
"You know, I don't think I ever told you all my reasons to get into the documentary. I didn't tell you everything I discussed with Dr. Linda."
"What's that?"
"I told you she encouraged me to think of what the documentary could do for me, remember?"
"Yes."
"One of the things I took into consideration was how it gave me the opportunity to get to know someone. You let me know you, Ana, and it showed me what was possible. When I knew you… I didn't expect to like you quite so much but— here I am. Trying to convince you to take my offer, because I want you in my life this badly."
"I want you in my life, too."
"So will you do it?" he insisted. "I'm not asking you to leave everything behind, and I'm not asking for more than you want. I'm just hoping you'll want what I want."
"I want to give it a chance," she said, standing next to him and giving him a sweet, long kiss. "I'm taking your offer."
"Then think of me as your LA roommate, and my house as your LA base. I'd be that roommate that visits on the weekend and you share a bed with. Because we're trying to make it work."
***
They spent the rest of their Sunday in quiet companionship. After a lazy afternoon, Ana coordinated with Ely for the latter to bring her a cake and candles while Liam took a shower.
Ely's face didn't have the teasing smile Ana had expected.
"Ana… there are a couple of people outside and… they have cameras. Just so you know."
Her heart sank. Her stomach flipped. "I won't go out. Thanks, Ely."
Ely gave Ana a hug and left. Ana hid the cake in the fridge silently, and sat on the sofa to temper her reaction to Ely's warning. She mostly failed, and Liam noticed right away.
"What's up?" Whatever he'd seen on her face, he instinctively reached for her, cuddling her on the sofa.
"Ely dropped by for a minute," she explained. "She told me there are paparazzi outside."
He squeezed her against him but said nothing. They didn't move or talk much until they were ready for dinner. Ana thawed in Liam's arms until she could grin from within, and it was then that she brought the cake with its single candle. Liam seemed genuinely charmed by the gesture and, after eating some off a plate, insisted on eating some off her belly, too.
They spent the evening in bed, with light touches and whispered words. They came up with a plan: she would take a couple of weeks to prepare things, then she'd fly to stay at his place for a month. She would edit the documentary there while he did principal photography for the new movie, and they'd have the weekends to spend time together. After that month, they would see how they both felt; whether she needed to come back for a while or stay a bit longer. It was a hell of an adventure for both of them but they were both willing to take the leap, as long as they did so holding hands.
Ana and Liam were able to escape her building undetected the next morning, taking advantage of the private parking lot. A few paparazzi swarmed the front entrance but her car left the backlot without much notice. Once in the small airport, they didn't escape notice for long. Ana got much needed coffee from a convenience store, desperate for it since she and Liam hadn't had breakfast and had opted for more sex instead. People whispered around them.
Ana stole a glance at Liam. He wore a baseball cap but not his sunglasses. Probably not enough to keep him mostly anonymous, and people had noticed.
