London Has Your Eyes

Chapter 26. Daniel

All day long, I looked at the clock like a preoccupied man. Time was inexorably rushing forward, leaving Alex and I with fewer and fewer opportunities to be together. The taxi driver started to piss me off from the very first second, lurching through the streets like a turtle and missing everyone around him.

I get to my car, start the engine, and press the accelerator. What can I do to make her stay longer? Tell her on the way to the airport that the car broke down and we're stuck? That's sneaky. Maybe her flight will just be delayed? Or cancelled? When will I see her again? And will I ever see her at all? Shit, I can't stop thinking about it. It's like the whole world is laughing at me. Everything's falling apart.

I'm sitting in my car outside the hotel, gathering my thoughts. "Don't be a wuss, man," I keep telling myself. I don't know who Alex is or why I met her, but she has definitely achieved her goal. And now I feel it more than ever. I can't and don't want to let her go.

I'm getting out of the car when Liam dials me.

- Hey, Dany, what's up? Are you with Alex? - he asks.

- Yeah, I'm taking her to the airport now,- I answer. - Thinking about how to cancel her flight.

- She's got you by the balls, man, - Liam chuckles. I go silent in response. Is he right? I think he's exaggerating.

- Sorry, - he says, - I didn't realise right away that it was serious for you. Tonight at our place?

- Yes, - I reply dryly and hang up.

Alex walks out of the hotel, rolling the suitcase behind her. That's what incomprehensible I said to her as I leave? I rush towards her, picking up her things.

- Couldn't wait for me? - I ask.

- I didn't want to be alone, - she answers, - I wanted to breathe in the city before I left.

We get in the car, I turn on the music softly and put one hand on Alex's leg. She plugs her phone into the charger and stares at me.

- Anton's coming to the airport, - she suddenly stuns me, - you're not going to swing your fists anymore, are you?

- We'll see, - I gritted my teeth. The fact that this dude has a fiancée doesn't change the way I feel about him. He was acting so arrogant in her room, I didn't like him right away. I know friends like that. Anything goes wrong, they're the first to console your girlfriend. Wait! "Your girlfriend"?!

- Dany, don't be so grumpy. You certainly don't have anything to share, - she says in a conciliatory way. Alex runs her fingers down my neck, causing an electric shock to run through my body.

- If you don't remove your hand, I'm going to have to stop on the road and take you right in the car, - I warn her. To be honest, this outcome would suit me 10 out of 10.

- So you want to...

She gets interrupted by the phone. I glance at her screen. A name pops up. She answers quickly in Russian, not giving my curiosity a chance.

- Sorry, - she finally says when she hangs up, - it's from Moscow. I asked to meet me.

- You said you aren't married...- I try to ask the torturing question from afar.

- I haven't lied to you, Dany, not once. Just remember that.

She spends the rest of the journey in her thoughts and I in mine. The closer the airport gets, the more wobbly my legs become.

We enter the terminal, Alex checks in and, armed with her boarding pass, heads towards me. I embrace her, inhaling the scent of her hair. A scent I want to remember. I could stand with her like this until tonight if it weren't for a nasty voice arising unceremoniously behind my back:

- Alexandra, honey,- it's the goat pulling his paws towards her, trying to take her away from me, but I don't let him.

- I'm glad you're here, - she smiles. The jerk holds out his hand to me and I shake it quickly, not letting Alex out of my grasp. I know he's Russian, and if he started speaking his own language it would piss me off in the extreme, but Alex speaks to him only in English, quietly stroking my back. I know she's doing it just for me.

- Expecting you in a month for the wedding, - he says. I look at Alex, she smiles at me and nods at him. A month, then. Four weeks. And then what?

- I think my boarding begins, - Alex says, - I have to go.

She quickly hugs this Anton and then snuggles up to me.

- I'm going to miss you, - I say, even though it sounds so pathetic and helpless.

- London has your eyes now, Dany, - she replies with a sigh.

I take her face with my hands and I want to kiss her, just as I'm distracted by a squeaky voice behind me. What kind of day is this?!

- Excuse me, you're Daniel Pierce, can I take a picture with you? - She looks at me with such innocent eyes full of adoration that I can't refuse her. Alex smiles at her and lets me go.

But the girl is followed by a few more people. And then I'm already standing surrounded by groupies, signing autographs as Alex makes her way to the landing. I keep my eyes on her, as she does on me, while my fans are flashing between us.

- Can I get a picture too?

- And me.

- Is your new movie coming out soon?

- I love you!

All the voices sound foggy. Girls with phones in their hands circle around me. I try to break free from the crowd and catch up with Alex, but she, seeing all the commotion, waves her hands at me and turns away. Why is she so afraid of getting caught in the cameras?

- Can I take a picture with you too? - says a woman's voice to me. I turn around to look at it. In front of me is the girl from the bar who was watching me so closely yesterday. I nod and stand next to her, assuming my usual working pose. She wraps her arm around my waist and squeezes hard into me. We take a picture and she makes an attempt to hug me. What is she doing? She seems to be trying to inhale my scent. What a strange girl.

I look up at Alex as she disappears behind the ramp exit and a feeling of emptiness comes over my head. I quickly separate myself from the groupies and move silently towards the car, not noticing anything around me. Or almost nothing. That strange girl looks at the exit where Alex has gone, and stares intently at the figures walking towards the plane.