I definitely don't love you...

Chapter 1: The first meeting

        Ben had just arrived at the open stage of a small comedy club that was just five minutes from the theatre, where he had just performed his real success show. He was going to be thirty-two years old, his life looked like a real success story. Since his first steps on stage in holiday club shows, to huge Parisian theatre, he still couldn't believe it. He had worked hard for ten years for this and he hoped to never stop. He remembered every step of his career. Very small scenes barely completed, the questioning, then the rage and the work, the relentlessness and trying again and again.

       He had wanted to give up a thousand times, he had even changed careers for a while, but it was beyond him. one evening he went to see an open stage show. he felt it deep in his stomach. he belonged to this world. His friends, his wife, had forced him to go back on stage. He found a co-writer, and he went on stage every night. To cry with rage.

       Then, the first online publications, the first full rooms, then the buzz. He had to played in bigger place, then television, he presented shows, he even became a jury for talent competitions. Everything had happened very quickly.

        Despite is huge success, he remained humble and always stayed outside the theater in the evening after his show to talk with his public, signs autographs and takes selfies. He was known to be kind, everyone adored him. He knew that his talent was mainly due to the writing talents of his co-author and his director. He never said that out of pure humility, he knew what his strong points were, his stage performance, his energy, his good humor, his brotherhood, but he knew that all of this was based on teamwork. 

       The club was full, Ben slipped to the bar. He knew everyone. He talked to everyone he met. He leaned against the bar, took some chips from the counter and greeted the bartender, Tio, a tall muscular man, who was playing Tom Cruise Remix in cocktails. 

Ben = Hey Tio! How are you? It's been a long time! 

Tio= It's cool that you stopped by! 

Ben= Well yeah, I was playing nearby! 

Tio= But yeah, well done! It's cool! It was still full! 

Ben= well thank you! Yes it was crazy! But I'm exhausted. I had promised Marius to come by. I stay 5 minutes after I come home, I haven't seen my daughters and my wife all week, they were on vacation with their grandparents, they are waiting for me. 

Tio= I understand. Anyway, it's cool to see you! 

    Ben swallowed some more chips and ordered to Tio a diet Coke. He turned towards the crowded room. He felt good. He felt at home in places like that. He began to look around him. He never lost this habit, he loved looking at the people around him. He liked to disappear into the crowd and observe. That was how he found inspiration. He particularly liked watching couples. 

     He was always very romantic. May be too much. He remembered all the efforts they had made to seduce the girls he was in love with when he was much younger. Above all, he remembered all his failures. He often talked about it in his shows, he never took himself seriously. Even though it had hurt him, he found it better to laugh about it.

     He looked at the couples seated at the tables. There were those who touched a lot, probably on first dates, easier to meet in a comedy club so as not to have to talk too much because of shyness. There were also those who fled. So there, he said to himself that things were going badly. Then, those who were still trying, mostly older couples, who had left the children with a babysitter and who were giving themselves time. He knew all his steps.

      Some applause from the stage brought him out of his thoughts. A rather pretty young woman arrived on stage that Ben had never seen before. She exuded a kind of strength despite her thin figure, she seemed determined but without overdoing it. She had long red hair and light eyes. She greeted the room. She seemed very comfortable, but with a very simple stage performance. She had attracted the crowd without overdoing it.