Paradox of Love

It's a date

After the read we talked a bit about the scene sequence and I'm not going to lie, I zoned out for half of it. All I could think about is how Lou was sitting right next to me and I couldn't help but stare out the corner of my eye. Her chin resting perfectly on her hand, her arm supported by her elbow while her other arm rested lazily; fingers running up and down her bicep... I was hypnotized to say the least. How does she make the simplest of things look magical? "Piper?" I hear someone call me and I look up, not being able to hide my dazed expression.

Todd chuckles at me before repeating himself, "how do you feel about everything?" he asks and I now realize almost everyone has left. It's just me, Todd, and well... Lou of course. "Ummm... like in general?" I ask confused and he nods, I suddenly become hyperaware of Lou's gaze on me and swallow thickly. "Great. Fantastic even" I say with a forced smile, "it's ok to be nervous" Lou says rubbing her hand on my shoulder which makes me tense as I try not to shiver. "Right. Yes, I know. I feel pretty good right now though" I say forcing myself to glance at her which I'm not sure if I regret.

Her crystal blue eyes meet mine and she smiles softly, that irresistible smile and I know that I would jump on one foot and bark like a dog if she asked me to. "Well we're all done for the day so you guys can go" Todd says breaking me out of what seemed like a staring contest. My eyes dart to him and he just smiles knowingly at me, "can I um talk to you for a minute?" I say looking him directly in his eyes and narrowing mine while smiling. "Sure. Here or-" I interrupt him saying I want to talk to him in private, he holds back a laugh and nods his head towards his office.

Lou looks between us skeptically and says goodbye before heading out and leaving us to it. "You could've given me a heads up" I say desperately, I'm usually a non-confrontational type person but this just caught me off guard. "What's the fun in that? Your face was priceless by the way, literal gold" he chuckles and I look at him in disbelief. "I see you find this very funny" I say crossing my arms, "I mean it is... you were fine. You held your own and I'm quite proud of you, seriously. Most people would've crumbled in front of her, trust me I've seen it" he laughs.

"She's not scary, just get to know her. You'll be over it in a few days, I promise" he says waving his hand dismissively. This man must not understand how much of a crush I have on this woman, I'm practically in love with her. "Right" I say nodding, wanting to believe him but knowing it's not true. I leave and walk to my trailer, grabbing my coffee cup and leaving my bag. It has the extra copy of the script and knowing me I'll forget it one day, so it's better to just leave it here. I walk slowly out to the lot realizing I forgot to tell Patrick when to pick me up and I sigh. As I go to text him I hear a door open and my head darts to where I think it came from.

"Hey!" Lou says raising her hand as if I could miss her, skin glowing like gems in the sunlight; her eyes piercing through me even with the distance between us. I smile and my legs carry me over even as I scream at my body to just wave or speak, literally anything else. So I find myself standing in front of her, face to face with the greatest beauty this world has ever known. "I was wondering if you'd like to get a bite to eat with me? I'm starved and I haven't seen you eat today either" she says calmly as if we're life-long friends.

"Sure" I say trying to mimic her cool demeanor, her smile widens and my heart melts inside my chest. The mush beating as my anxiety rises, flinging me into adrenaline and I don't know whether to fight through this or fall apart. I'm not sure how I got here but I'm in the car with her, I snap out of it with a terrified look on my face. I really need to stop disassociating in the middle of things. I see her slender arm reach across me making me suck in a soft breath. She clicks my seatbelt and I turn my head slightly to be met with hers right in front of me, inches away from salvation.

"Safety first" she whispers looking into my eyes and I nod slowly while smiling like an idiot. She just laughs and leans back, putting the car in drive and whisking me away to some unknown destination. I text Patrick and let him know that I might need him to pick me up later but that he can relax for now.