fangirl 01 - an unconventional meeting

by E V Darcy

  Bollocks.

  Well if they weren’t talking about her before the photos, they’d definitely be talking about her now. She still couldn’t believe how close she’d come to kissing Marc, in front of everyone! Some people had even filmed it. Shit, sugar and shite!

  There’s a hashtag for you, Mallory told her when she’d put her phone away.

  You had better be fucking with me!

  The American shook her head. It’s hashtag “That Lady”. I wouldn’t look if I were you.

  Ellie groaned and leant against the wall in the corridor. The rest of the VIPs had gone into their lounge for a break before their final Meet and Greet, but the three had excused themselves on the pretence of visiting the ladies’.

  ‘What were you thinking?’ Marie said, pulling her phone out to look at what Mallory had seen. ‘O.M.G, Elle, you’re on bloody E! Online!’

  ‘What!’ Ellie grabbed her friend’s phone and sure enough, E! had got hold of the story from fan tweets and was asking for more information on her, and about her ties to Marc. They had also run a story the day before, on the lift incident and the revelation that Marc had a four-year-old son. It appeared it wasn’t just Ellie and company who were baffled at how he’d kept Tyler a secret for so long.

  But her headline read “Has Marc Matthews Met His Destiny at Desti-Nation?”. There was a picture of the two of them, in the middle of her photo op’, with their arms around one another. It was clear from the image that they were on course for a kiss.

  ‘Bollocks!’ Marie leant over the screen, blocking her view of the image, and Ellie happily relinquished the phone back to her friend as she slid down the wall with an unhappy whimper. ‘This is awful.’

  ‘This is amazing!’ Marie pretty much squealed. ‘My bestie is freaking famous!’

  ‘Marie, not helping!’ Mallory admonished as she took the phone from her hands and switched it off. She handed it back. ‘Were you really going to kiss him?’

  ‘No! Of cour—’ she was about to indignantly deny it until her last breath but cut herself off at the memory of the moment. His thumb as it traced her jaw had sent little shivers of electricity through her and his eyes had been filled with a warmth she hadn’t seen from any man when they looked at her. She had felt herself stir in a way she hadn’t for so long; she could feel every inch of him pressed against her and she had wanted more. She sighed.

  ‘Yes,’ she finally admitted, as she buried her face in her hands. ‘Oh, God, yes!’

  ‘So,’ Marie began as she sat down next to her friend. ‘He’s the dick you’d start your collection with.’

  Ellie couldn’t help it, she giggled, and once she started she couldn’t stop.

  I think she’s gone crazy, Mallory gestured to Marie as Ellie threw her head back with laughter.

  No, I think she’s just realising she’s a mere human.

  ‘Fuck off, both of you,’ Ellie said with a hiccup as the laughter died. ‘His lordship’s going to kill me.’

  ‘Crap.’ Mallory winced at the thought; she’d heard many a complaint from both girls at what a hard-arse Lord Hollingbrook could be, although Marie didn’t seem to mind putting up with the noble-titled family as much as Ellie did.

  ‘I’ll smooth things over with him,’ Marie soothed. ‘But seriously, Marc freaking Matthews! You were going to kiss him, Ellie! And now you’re having lunch with him.’ She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively; Mallory snorted. Ellie threw them both a glare.

  ‘I’m having lunch with him and Tyler, you know, his four-year-old son.’

  ‘She did not say that!’ Mallory protested out loud at Marie’s ‘translation’ and smacked at her hands, but then cracked up into a fit of giggles, which Marie gladly joined.

  ‘I hate you both,’ Ellie groaned as she rubbed her hands over her face before sighing. ‘Here, help me up, please.’ She offered her hands and her friends happily obliged.

  When they finally walked into the VIP waiting room, a hush descended and all eyes turned to them.

  ‘What?’ Marie asked defensively, as she stood in front of Ellie as if she could protect her friend from the horde before them. The other VIPs looked shiftily at each other before one of them piped up.

  ‘So are you sleeping with them or what?’

  ‘What? No!’ Ellie protested just as Marie growled, ‘Just what type of fucking question is that!’

  The room erupted into chaos as everyone started talking over one another, some shouting obscenities and accusations. Ellie could make out some people telling others to calm down, that it was none of their damn business. Others were demanding she leave the stars alone, that she was making a fool of herself. She briefly wondered if they were speaking the truth.

  ‘—I will make you eat those words!’ Marie shouted and made for one woman in particular who was spitting abuse at Ellie.

  ‘Whoa, hold up, Blondie.’ A strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around her frame and lifted her up and out of the way. Marie kicked out blindly and demanded to be put down so she could put the offender in her place.

  ‘What the hell is going on here?’ Frank asked, as he held a struggling Marie, and looked around the room in bewildered horror as if this was the last place he wanted to be. Three convention staff stood in the doorway with the same shocked faces.

  ‘It would appear some of the attendees don’t appreciate the attention I’ve received from Marc and Tyler, and from a couple of the other stars too, during the weekend,’ Ellie solemnly advised.

  ‘And that results in a brawl?’

  ‘It will if you let me go!’ Marie huffed and tried one last time to get the bodyguard to let go of her.

  ‘Miss Hadfield, you need to calm down before I let you go.’

  ‘Marie, chill,’ Ellie tried. ‘There’s no point getting into trouble for this. I’m a big girl, I can look after myself.’

  ‘Someone will need to look after her teeth if—’

  ‘Marie!’

  ‘Okay, you are on a time out,’ Frank said as he hauled the woman out of the room. The other two girls followed as the staff tried to sort out what was going on within the rest of the room.

  ‘I’m really sorry about your weekend being spoilt,’ Frank said to them all as he deposited Marie a few feet from the door to the VIP lounge and blocked her from going back in. The woman huffed, fixing her dress before she crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him. ‘And you glaring at me isn’t going to change anything—you can’t go back in there like this.’

  ‘But she was calling Ellie a gold-digging, attention-seeking, fame-hungry whore!’

  Frank stared at her for a moment, his lips pursed in thought as if he were deliberating something. ‘Do you know her ticket number?’ he finally asked.

  ‘Oh, Frank, please don’t do—’ Ellie started.

  ‘She’s number nine,’ Marie happily supplied to him. ‘Triple-oh-nine.’

  ‘Frank, what do you want?’ Ellie asked in exasperation at the two. ‘I don’t mean to be rude, but this weekend is not panning out the way we planned.’

  ‘And again, I’m sorry. Mr Matthews was wondering if you wanted to come for lunch now?’

  ‘Now? But I have—’

  ‘He knows you’re in the VIPs Meet and Greets, but his photo session’s finished and he’s now free for the rest of the day. He was wondering if you fancied an early lunch?’

  ‘The answer’s yes,’ Marie said happily, smirking at Ellie.

  ‘Marie, stay out of it,’ Ellie snapped. Marie’s eyebrows went up and her mouth fell open in surprise.

  ‘I’m supposed to be on holiday,’ she said, turning back to the bodyguard. ‘And so far, because of your boss, I’ve been humiliated in front of everyone, trapped in a lift—okay that wasn’t really his fault—and dragged up on stage. I’m all over Twitter and the internet—my boss is going to go ballistic—’

  ‘I know, and I’m sure Mr Matthews appreciates what you’ve been through. He also favours his privacy. Please,’ he added wit
h a little pout.

  ‘I just—You know what—fine. Just fine.’ She heavily sighed. ‘Lead the way.’

  ‘Can we come?’ Marie asked.

  ‘Afraid not,’ Frank said in his New York drawl. ‘Try not to kill anyone, Miss Hadfield,’ he added as he headed down the corridor to give Ellie a moment with her friends.

  ‘I’m sorry for snapping,’ she said to Marie. ‘And thank you, I really do appreciate you looking out for me.’ She made sure they knew she was grateful for them standing up for her against the horde.

  ‘If you really mean that, you’ll shag that man senseless and tell us all about it.’

  ‘Marie!’ Mallory smacked her as she read her hand motions. Ellie simply rolled her eyes and hurried after Frank.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Ellie stood in front of the door to Marc’s suite and once again paused before she knocked, as she remembered how the actor had answered the door the night before.

  ‘You can go,’ she said to Frank who was leaning against the wall of the corridor, watching her.

  ‘Aww, but last night’s greeting was just so entertaining.’

  ‘Ha. Go away.’

  He laughed and saluted before he sauntered back down the corridor. She was pretty sure the man was going to go and check on Marie. She wouldn’t be surprised if all she heard from her friend later was the accolades of the bodyguard. If she got kicked out of her room that night for her to entertain him… A smile graced her face. Well, Mallory and Trent had a suite, and Ellie supposed she could sleep on their sofa just for one night. She’d ensure that point was clear to her friend before she commandeered their room for the whole weekend.

  She was still smiling when the door swung open without her knocking.

  ‘And what has you so happy?’ Marc asked as he glanced up and down the hotel’s hallway to see what could be the cause of her amusement.

  ‘Nothing.’ She ducked her head as he raised a brow at her. ‘Can I come in?’

  ‘Of course.’ He stepped aside.

  ‘That Lady!’ Tyler called gleefully from the arm of the sofa as she stepped into the living space of the room. She managed to catch him with an umph! as he launched himself towards her from his perch; she would have toppled backwards at the unexpected bundle in her arms if Marc hadn’t been right behind her to stop her fall.

  ‘Tyler!’ Marc admonished as she found her feet again. That was rude and dangerous. You’re on a time-out.

  ‘No! Papa!’ the boy protested.

  No arguing. You’re not supposed to climb. Five minutes. Go.

  ‘But, Papa, That Lady is—’

  Ten minutes for arguing back. You know the rules.

  Tyler crossed his arms over his chest and pouted up at his father who merely raised his brow. Finally, the boy sighed and said, ‘Down, please,’ to Ellie, with a gentle tap on her arm. She complied with an apologetic smile.

  See you in ten, she signed before he turned and walked away, his shoulders slumped and his little head bent so much his chin must have been touching his chest.

  ‘Sorry about that,’ Marc said as he moved towards a desk on the other side of the room. ‘He’s been a bigger handful than normal this weekend. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.’ He rummaged through the paperwork on the desk as he looked for something. ‘Please, make yourself comfortable.’

  ‘Maybe it’s too many changes at once?’ she said, taking a seat on the sofa. ‘I mean he lost his nanny, you came home from work, his processor’s gone, you dragged him out here—okay, that last bit came out wrong,’ she hastened to add, realising what she’d said.

  ‘No,’ he sighed. ‘You’re completely right, I did drag him he— Ah-ha!’ he said triumphantly as he found whatever it was he was looking for. ‘These are for you.’ He held up a white cardboard folder and strolled back over to the couch, handing his gift across. He took a seat next to her. She eyed him. ‘Go on,’ he encouraged. ‘Open it.’

  ‘There’s not a restraining order in here, is there?’ she half joked as she flipped open the flap on the folder and pulled the contents out. ‘Marc! How did you get these already?’ she asked as she saw the pictures from their photo session just over an hour ago. Usually, the images took hours to be produced. For Marc to have them so soon meant he must have pulled a lot of strings—or bribed the photographer.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw him shrug as he leant over her shoulder to look at the photos too. ‘After you left, I told the photographer I wanted them—did you know he expects people to wait until this evening to collect them?’

  ‘Yes, we have to wait every year,’ she answered, flicking through the ones of her and Tyler. The boy was just all kinds of adorable, smiling at the camera as he hugged her.

  ‘He also tried to get me to pay him; who the hell pays two hundred dollars for a photo that takes two seconds?’

  Ellie couldn’t help it, she laughed.

  ‘What?’ he asked, perplexed by her reaction.

  ‘You do realise,’ she said as she turned to face him, ‘that everyone who had a picture taken with you today paid that much?’

  ‘But some people had more than one picture taken with me!’

  With a shake of her head, Ellie gave him an indulgent smile and rolled her eyes before she looked back down at the photos in her hand, leaving the star to comprehend exactly what he was worth. She glanced through the pictures with the three of them cuddled together; she rather liked these shots. The photos with Tyler were sweet, but the ones with Marc added to them… She could almost picture she was part of their lives; the way Tyler had his arms locked around her neck, and how Marc’s arm draped around her waist, made them look as if they were one big happy family.

  ‘But… it’s extortionate.’

  ‘It is pricey, but most people who come save up all year—this is their holiday. Some people will only ever do this once in their lifetime, so they splurge a bit. And, anyway, think about how much you’re being paid for this event; they’ve got to cover that somehow.’

  ‘What? I’m not being paid for coming here,’ he protested. It made her look up at him again. He was frowning in confusion. ‘I told you, there was a change in my contract—the studio made me come as part of my contractual obligations. They do it with all the stars. Usually, I negotiate out of it; I just couldn’t this year.’

  ‘But I thought that the convention company… Wait, do the studio pay for this event?’

  Marc nodded. ‘This was the network’s brainchild after they saw the popularity of Comic Cons. The stars of their hit shows are contracted to them—Destiny, Titans, and Greenville High—it’s part of the standard publicity clause they offer now.’ Marc leant over and plucked a picture from the pile of images with them all together. ‘We get ‘expenses,’ he continued as he admired the photo. ‘Which basically means transport, food, and the hotel room are all covered, but we don’t get a pay cheque at the end.

  ‘I like this one the best—of the ones with Tyler.’

  Ellie glanced down at the image as he put it back in her hand; Tyler had an arm about both of their necks. They looked like proud parents.

  ‘But I still think this one,’ his voice dropped slightly as he leant over again and took the last photo from the folder. He put it over the one she was holding. ‘This one is my favourite.’

  It was the photo, the one of just the two of them, with Marc looking down at her as if… Fuck. She’d never been looked at like that before, as if she were the most perfect, precious thing in the world, as if she had answered all his prayers and satisfied his dreams. And she—the photographer had been right—looked at him as if he had hung the moon and stars, and done it all just for her.

  She turned her face up to him and her breath caught in her throat as she saw that look again. His hand reached up and brushed her hair back from the side of her face, tucking it behind her ear. His fingers followed the line of her jaw, tracing her skin, eliciting a shiver to run through her. When his hand cupped her chin, his thumb caressed h
er lip and on impulse, Ellie snuck her tongue out to taste it. Marc groaned as his eyes followed the sweep of her tongue.

  ‘Tell me this is okay,’ he asked as he removed his thumb and dipped his head toward her, but stopped a hair’s width from claiming her mouth. ‘Tell me now, so I can stop.’

  ‘Yes,’ she breathed and closed the distance between them, gently caressing his lips with her own before she pulled back slightly to look up at him through lowered lashes. It had been years since she’d even kissed a man and a sudden shyness overcame her at her own bold move.

  Marc was an international star; he’d kissed some of the world’s most beautiful women and here she was, a nobody, Sarah-plain-and-simple, who was carrying a few more pounds than she wanted. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good—

  ‘Why’d you stop?’ he murmured as he looked down at her with eyes darkened by desire. The back of his fingers traced her jaw again as he watched and waited for her to answer.

  ‘You’re Marc Matthews,’ she answered.

  ‘I know,’ he said with soft amusement; a gentle smile gracing his face. ‘You told me so last night.’

  ‘I mean,’ she said, as he turned her head a little and dropped kisses along her jaw. ‘It’s been a long time for me since I’ve even kissed anyone.’ His lips trailed kisses to her ear and she found herself baring her neck to him, silently asking for more. Fuck, did she want more? She wanted to be thrown to the couch and ravished, but what if she was still a crap lay, as Andrew had delighted in informing her during their divorce proceedings? It was probably the reason her one-night stands were just that, too.

  ‘And you’ve… you’ve kissed…’ she found it hard to concentrate on what she wanted to say as he pushed the collar of her top to one side and traced his tongue along her collarbone.

  Oh, fuck it. She didn’t care how many women he’d kissed on the show or what they looked like; right now he was here with her, doing delectable things to her skin that made it come alive under his touch, in a way it hadn’t with anyone else. Her whole body was straining toward him, desperate for his touch and the promises his mouth elicited.