My Leading Man | Timothée Chalamet

chapter nineteen

Thursday morning, I saw a text from the night before that I missed while hanging out with Max. It was from Evan to Casey, Syd, Timothée, Ava and me. He explained that their family had tickets to a small sunset cruise off of L.A. for dinner Thursday night for some family event, but that their parents and older siblings were no longer able to make it so they encouraged Evan and Casey to get a small group together and go in their place. I awoke to see Ava agreed, Syd said she couldn't make it, and Timothée and I were the only ones yet to announce our decision. I typed out an eager yes and got ready for the day's filming.

    Production went by fast, or maybe it was just my excitement for the evening, but either way it was soon over at five and I had one hour to rush home, change, and get to the cruise place all before six.

    I left the set as soon as we finished and equipment was put away, and I hopped on the 5:05 bus. I was soon at Dayna's and changed into a white sundress that stopped right above my knee. I swiped on some pink lip gloss when a text from Casey and Evan came in, declaring they were no longer able to make it to the cruise. They briefly explained that they found out their family's obligation required them too, but encouraged the rest of us to still attend. I figured it would be a little weird without any of the original ticket holders there, but at the same time, a free sunset cruise plus dinner with my friends was not going to get away from me. It sounded way too fun, even if it was just Ava and me.

    Timothée still hadn't said whether he was coming or not. Ava told me that apparently earlier today, when Evan asked him if he was going to be able to make it, he just said he wasn't sure yet because he had a meeting with his agent beforehand and didn't know how long it would go.

    Oh well. Either way it would be great.

    Once I was ready, I took Dayna's car to the cruise's starting point, a parking lot near the harbor. I pulled up the email that Evan forwarded me of my ticket's QR code and instructions of where to go, and began heading to a small yellow building where I would meet with a couple of the employees for the boat and they'd get me fitted for a life jacket.

    I started walking when I heard someone call out my name. "Violet!"

    I turned and found Timothée, waving at me by the building. I felt some awkwardness arise within me due to some of our previous encounters, yet my face still reflexively broke out in a grin as I reached him. "You came!"

    "Yeah, I sent out a text," he said, passively holding up his phone.

    "Oh, I must have not seen it." It probably came as I was rushing to get out the door of Dayna's apartment. He nodded then, and our conversation came to a halt, something that kept happening with us as of late. I listened momentarily to the waves and the wind and seagulls before I decided to fill the silence. "Well we should probably get inside-"

    In an instant Timothée pushed me up against the yellow wall of the building and leaned in close. My heart instantly responded by pounding furiously in my chest, something I was sure he could feel.

    "Wha-"

    He looked down at me, his face mere inches away. He held up his index finger to his lips and quietly whispered "Shh." I looked around frantically, still held captive by his body. His right elbow was at my shoulder holding it in place, his legs were angled, preventing me from moving, and his left hand was placed on the wall next to my head. I searched around for any explanation for this sudden change, and he leaned down close, whispering in my ear, "There's paparazzi. I'm trying to make us look like some couple kissing so you don't end up in the news tomorrow morning." My heartbeat didn't relinquish, but I nodded carefully, conveying my understanding. My mind couldn't think clearly, just kept running through his words over and over again. Couple. Paparazzi. Kissing. News tomorrow morning.