Written All Over Your Face {l.t.}

chapter 4

The photo shoot was fun. I'm almost positive that I had more fun watching Louis work this morning than he had watching me work the evening before. There were cameras everywhere: the actual photographer, her backup, my camera going off occasionally, and the paparazzi outside the building. Louis seemed comfortably in his element, too, which was just so much fun to see. He was relaxed and just really into the pictures. I mostly grabbed shots of him in the downtime or of the equipment set up, all for my own memories. Posting these, at least right now, seemed dangerous for me and Louis.

Around 11:30, they seemed to be wrapping things up. Louis was in his dressing room, changing back into the sweats and t-shirt he left my house in that morning. While I waited on him, I was chatting with the photographer. These kinds of shoots were not 100% my element, but talking with her and learning more about it all was fascinating. 

"Hungry, El?" Louis was coming my way, arms open and ready to pull me into a hug.

"I could eat," I smiled, hugging him back. "It was nice to meet you, Kelsey. Thanks for chatting with me about everything."

"Absolutely, Elaina!"

Louis and I decided to go to a little bistro in town for an early lunch. By some stroke of luck, both of us were free the rest of the day. It was mid-January, which meant Louis had just two more weeks before he had to be in Texas to kick off his first solo tour in the States.

"Are you excited?" I asked him as we sat down at a patio table with our sandwiches. January weather wasn't much for 'winter' in California. 

"I am," but that didn't quite seem to be the whole truth. "To be fair, 'm a bit nervous too, ya'know? First time going at it alone in the States."

I tapped him with my foot under the table. "You're going to be just fine, I know."

"Are you coming? To any of the shows, I mean."

"I have tickets to both of your LA shows at the end of the North American leg of the tour, so I'll for sure be there." He winced. "Is that okay?"

"Having you at a show? Of course! I just don't know about you being in a regular seat in two months time. You'll be so well known and easily spotted. It could be dangerous."

"I didn't even think about that," I sagged in defeat. I'd been waiting for two years for this tour after all the Lockdown rescheduling. However, my spirits lifted a bit when I realized what Louis had implied: we would still be together in two months time. I couldn't help but smile. "Maybe I'll just have to find myself backstage then?"

His big chink-eyed grin broke out across his face. "Ace! And let's do it before LA, yeah? I think opening night would be perfect." My eyes bugged a bit. "I mean, if your work schedule allows it, of course."

"I'll check when I get back to the house. I typically stay booked out a month at a time, so if there are any other shows you want me at, we can look sooner rather than later."

"I know it takes you away from work, love. Just know that it's all covered. Your travel and your stay and your food. The team will take care of that, and I'll take care of all the extra fun stuff we decide to get into."

My smile was growing. "You see me sticking around for a bit?"

"Hopefully much longer than that."

It had been right at a month since Louis and I met each other, but realistically, this weekend was all the hanging out we'd done since that very first run in. It was crazy how different life seemed already, though. I felt safe and loved and cared for more than I felt I could explain to anyone. Being with Louis was like magic.