After a few hours at the studio, I've written more lyrics and recorded all of the vocals for 'The Bottom.' My producer and I even put together both verses for my "happy song." He suggested a few ideas for the chorus, but none of them quite felt right.
Now, I'm on my way to the fitting Austin set up. He sent me an address and I plugged it into the GPS. I'm apparently being taken to his stylist's office. It takes me about 30 minutes to get there, but when I do, I enter and see racks upon racks of clothing, along with Austin talking to another woman.
"Isla! Hey!" Austin welcomes me with a kiss on the cheek and whispers in my ear, "Missed you."
This causes me to take a sharp breath before he introduces me to the woman, "Isla, this is Sandra my stylist, Sandra this is Isla, my," Austin pauses, unsure what to call me, but eventually settles on, "My Isla." His Isla. I like the sound of that.
Sandra and I greet each other before she starts showing me around. I've done fittings before but none like this. She is taking every measurement and having me try on so many different pieces. Once we find a dress we both like, she makes Austin change into the outfit he's planning to wear.
I'm not sure why I expected him to go somewhere else to change since this "office" is more like a studio apartment. One big space with the only privacy in the bathroom. He turns around toward the rack with his suit hanging on it and strips off his shirt and pants. Damn.
Isla look away. This is not good for you. Plus he acted totally normal when you were changing into different outfits every five seconds.
I did exactly the opposite of that. I unintentionally stare. I admire the muscles in his back, the way his triceps flex as he puts his arms through the sleeves of his button-up, the way his hair falls-
"So are you two dating or what?" Sandra's question interrupts my terrible thoughts. When both Austin and I shoot her weird looks she says, "I mean just the way you look at each other. And c'mon, Austin, you're bringing her to Cannes for Christ's sake."
"We're not dating," Austin clarifies. "Yet," he adds with a smirk on his face as he turns back to face us, completely dressed.
"What was that, Butler?" I ask as he walks toward me.
He continues walking even closer until we're barely a foot apart. "You heard me," he states. The shy man I met on the phone only two days ago, seems completely different from the confident, self-assured man standing in front of me now. I give him a gentle slap across the cheek. He winces and puts on an incredible performance, pretending it hurt so bad. "What was that for, Dempsey?"
"Someone needed to humble you," I say, earning a laugh from Sandra.
"Alright, lovebirds," she jokes, rolling her eyes, "I think we found the right dress, Isla. You two, go look in the mirror and tell me what you think." She pushes us toward the mirror as we see the two looks together.
Austin is wearing a black Celine suit with satin double-breasting over a pleated, white button up. His pants match the jacket with a satin stripe down the side. His hands are adorned in Cartier rings, as well as a few bracelets. I'm wearing a simple, loose fitting red halter dress by Celine. This might be the fanciest thing I've ever worn. I've been to red carpets before, but never one so high profile.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"You. Look. Incredible!" Sandra exclaims while Austin and I sit there in complete awe of each other. Eventually, our eyes leave each other in the mirror and we look at each other. I fix Austin's bowtie, while our eye contact never breaks.
"Isla. You are beautiful." The words escape his mouth as he stands there, scanning me up and down but ultimately stopping at my eyes. He places his hand on my cheek and slowly brings my face towards his before planting a kiss on my lips. It lasts for what feels like an eternity as electricity runs through my entire body.
I take my time in pulling away from the kiss. "Did I ever tell you how handsome you were, Austin Butler?" I ask while smiling up at him.
"I don't know, but I'd like to hear it again." A grin takes over his face and he's suddenly pulling me into an even deeper kiss, his tongue slipping into my mouth and my hands tugging on his hair. I could definitely get used to this.
"Okay, lovebirds!" Sandra says, shoving the two of us appart. "Let's get this show on the road before you ruin your beautiful outfits," she adds, brushing off his suit, with a disgusted look on her face. We apologize and quickly slip out of our outfits, putting them back on their designated hooks. "I'll see you two in France!" she says before kicking us out of her office.
"Are you excited for France? Have you been there before?" Austin asks as we walk out of the building and towards my car.
"I've been there before as a little girl with my parents, but it'll be fun to see it as an adult. Plus, I'm excited to spend the week with you." I turn to him and peck his lips. This puts a smile onto his face.
"Isla, what are you doing this evening?" he puts on his most 'gentlemanly' voice.
"Hmmm..." I pretend to think. "Nothing."
"Come over to my place? I'll cook dinner for you, we can watch a movie, whatever you want." Honestly, I'm so whipped for this man that I would do whatever he wanted. There's no point in playing hard to get anymore.
"Yes." I answer, sounding just as desperate as I really am. "Would you like me to be your chauffeur again?" I tease, opening the passenger door to my pink Cadillac, extremely ironic considering he plays Elvis, and swinging my arm to face the seat.
"Actually yes. I just Uber everywhere, so I wouldn't be opposed to a free ride." Austin shrugs.
"Oh yeah, because an Uber costs Austin Butler so much," I say in a dramatic tone as the two of us hop into my car.
"I mean with the amount of money people want you to tip nowadays, I might actually go broke."
"Do they ambush you with the iPad in Ubers now too?" I mean it as a joke, but to be honest, those iPads can be brutal. I'll make myself an ice cream at a self serve place, go to pay, and they expect a 25% tip from me? I might have money but I also just made my own ice cream. I will not be giving you 25% of an overpriced ice cream that I made.
"Not the iPads," Austin groans and the two of us laugh.
I pull away from the office building and we begin the drive to Austin's house.
**********
please let me know what you think of this chapter!!!!
i love this one and it was so fun to write
also thank you to every single person who's reading this story <3333333
