Celebrity Crush

Stalking me?

A low, long whistle echoes through the silence.

A man's voice yells "Cut!" and the guy holding the knife takes it away.

Wait. What?

"Now that was hot..." came a very familiar voice from the right. Immediately, I whip my head around in that direction.

Standing there, looking extremely handsome in a tux, with his bowtie undone (Insert gasp) is Christopher Coleman. He flashes me a crooked smile, and my stomach suddenly feels like it's trying to hold in an entire jungle of animals.

"What just happened here..?" asks Gabriella, sounding as confused as I feel.

Chris approaches us, hooks his arms around each of our shoulders and leads us to the side saying-

"You, my dear Gabriella and Sylvia from-the-airport have stumbled upon a shooting. Just not the kind you thought it was. It's for my latest movie. An action flick this time, there's only so much romance a guy can do," he winks at me at that.

"So that's why they were hitting like sissies..." muses Gaby, "I smacked them pretty hard though." Then she grins at one of those men eyeing her warily from a distance.

Chris laughs at that and compliments our fighting skills, wondering if we had had classes and then of course, asking for private tuitions. Really, does he ever not flirt?

The director chooses that moment to call Chris and 'his lady friends' over. He seems to be quite interested in us. I hope he's not too angry at us for ruining his shot...

__________________________________________________________________

If this were a story, the director would claim to have seen ' a spark of talent' in us and would definitely 'love to polish' this dormant ability. We would become the 'next big thing', the new discovery.

But since it's not, this is exactly what does not happen. We just go there, get scolded by the director for jumping in without taking in the whole situation ('Not everything in life is real, young lady!') and get kicked off the set.

Chris, being the gentleman he most definitely is not, offers to show us around the set on the way out. He tells us how so many different kinds of talent are required to make an award-winning movie. From the camera crew, to the make-up artists to the stuntsmen to the assistants, every single person has an important role. "Most of the work," he says, "goes on behind the camera. Actors are just the face of it."

He said it pretty casually, but I can see that actors don't have it easy either. The director, having wasted enough time already, has moved on with the shot and is already on take three. Sometimes the camera would miss an important detail, another time the actor would mess up his lines, or a stunt would fail. People seriously underestimate the hard work put in by those in the movie industry.

Also, I am amazed by how down-to-earth Chris is. I mean, he is one of the most famous celebrity heartthrobs, he's Christopher effing Coleman! He's the guy millions of girls in the world are pining after. His is the smile that sets a billion hearts aflutter. He got awarded 'Sexiest man alive' a few months back, and here he is, showing around his set to two random girls he met once at the airport. He doesn't act like a haughty star one bit. Every person who greeted him got a smile and a reply in return. He's not just a pretty face. He's perfect, inside and out.

"And........that's all of it," he says, coming to a stop near the entry of the Colosseum. "I'm sorry you got your 'action-flick fight-sequence' adventure cut short, it was fun while it lasted." He laughs at our embarrassed faces. Ass.

"You know what, to make up for that, I could take you girls out to dinner sometime. We're going to be here in Italy for atleast a month or so....and I'd definitely like to know you better." He follows that up with with his trademark smirk. Of course.

Gaby was getting excited. I can tell by the seemingly discreet looks she keeps sending me when Chris wasn't looking.

Before she could say anything that I can tell she was definitely going to say, I tell him, "Thank you very much for the offer but we can't, Christopher. We're here in Rome for only two more days, and you're going to be busy with your shooting. But it was a dream come true to meet you, really. And that too not once but twice! And you don't really have to do anything, it wasn't your fault in the slightest.......we should have looked before we leaped, so to say..."

Even though I said it pretty confidently, with a careless smile plastered on my face, my heart is going thump-thump-thump a thousand times a minute inside. This has got to be one of the hardest things to do, refusing your (celebrity!) crush's offer for dinner. Gosh, just why did we have to stay here for such a short time! To think that I could have dined with Christopher Coleman! In Italy! Oh maaaaaaannnnnn!

To my surprise, before Christopher can react, Gaby jumps in with, "But it would mean a lot to us if you could make some time for us in the next two days. We would love to join you for lunch or dinner or whatever suits you and we are big fans of yours, you know?"

Christopher, who had scrunched up his eyebrows while hearing me refuse, relaxes his face back to normal and gives us a genuine smile. Cue the butterflies. "I can definitely take a few hours off for you ladies. Tell you what, give me your number if you can. I'll call you with the details."

Gabriella gave him my number and we left after saying our goodbyes. It felt surreal. Christopher Coleman has my number! He said he would call me. Me! Just another fan of his. Just another girl who fancies herself in love with him. And Gabriella of course... but, ME!

When out of his sight and hearing range, Gabriella gives me a smack on my arm. "What do you think you were doing back there!? Christopher Coleman, the Christopher Coleman asked us out to dinner and you were going to refuse him!?"

I have to say, I agree with her. What on earth was I thinking?

I don't know what to say so I just look at her, blankly.

She holds her head in her hand. "Seriously Sylvia, you can be such a fool in love. Oh you're wonderful when you have your debates or interviews but when it comes to dating, you really don't have a clue do you? Well, I wasn't going to let you make a mistake I know you would then regret for the rest of your life. This is your dream guy. A celebrity at that. Not everyone gets such a chance. Don't let it pass you by."

Unable to speak, I just nod. When did my little sister get so wise? She's right though. I can be such an idiot at times. Not everyone gets asked by a celebrity to dine with them. This chance is one in a million, and I am going to make the most of it.

I'm going to have dinner with Chris Coleman!