50 Shades of Sean

Chapter One - Interview

I fidgeted with the lid of my pen; the clicking soothed my nerves and regulated my breathing. I was sat in the office of a gym, but not just any gym; it was Sean Patrick-fucking-Flanery’s gym. I looked down at my notes, revising the questions I wanted to ask him in advance. I had called around a few local actors in the area, in hope of interviewing one of them for my final piece in my film and media studies course. Sean’s PR was the only one to call back and get me some time with the star; I had squealed like a pig that day when I’d hung the phone up. Out of all the actors I had emailed, I had never thought I would have the opportunity to talk to such an inspirational man. That’s why I was a nervous wreck in his office, hoping I wouldn’t cry with joy when his face appeared at the door.

I jumped in my seat when the door to the room clicked open; expecting Mr Flanery himself to stroll in. However, it was a young man in just a pair of long shorts, panting lightly and covered in sweat. “Miss? Sean asked me to fetch you; he’s waiting in the main gym.”

I nodded politely, rising to my feet, “Thank you -?”

I waited for him to share his name, “Oh, Jason. The name’s Jason.”

I smiled and shook the hand he had suddenly stretched out at me. I followed the teen to a large room where punching bags hung from the ceiling and the floor was littered with blue gym mats; a radio muffled along to an old rock song somewhere in the background. I swallowed my breath as my eyes fell onto a man stood by a punching bag; his shirtless torso was bronzed and well defined, his arms and shoulders were strong and sculpted. His dirty blonde hair was pushed back and looked a little sweaty, which looked pretty hot; but it was his soft blue hue eyes and perfect smiling, pouty lips that caught most of my attention.

I grinned like a school girl when he raised a hand and saluted me, “Hey! Miss Stone? Correct me if I’m mistaken.”

His smile caught me like a rabbit in the headlights; my mouth opened to reply but it took a few good seconds before I could form words, “That’s correct, but please, call me Winter.”

He looked at me with a glint in his eye, “Winter huh? Winter Stone; it sounds so poetic.”

I laughed, well it was more of a childish giggle as my legs started to feel weak underneath me. “So, Mr Flanery-“

He raised a hand and shook his head, “Call me Sean, Mr Flanery makes me sound like a senior citizen.” I laugh again, taking control of my fan-girl behaviour and sounding more like the mature 25 year old that I was supposed to be. I watched him carefully as he swooped down to grab a towel from the floor, rolled it up and draped it around his shoulders. “So Winter, what can I help you with today? I heard you have some questions for me?”

I nodded and continued to smile, “That’s right, I’m studying Film and Media at the local university; I have an assignment on the pros and cons of acting and fame.”

Sean nodded as he listened, his arms flexing as he ran his fingers through his tussled hair was threatening to distract me. “Sounds very interesting, so shall we get started?”

I whipped the notebook open to the notes I had made previously, “Awesome, are we doing this here or?”

Sean nodded at Jason, who went to fetch two chairs. “Thank you Jason. Winter would you like a coffee, or ice tea; a beer?”

I gasped a little at the thought of sharing an alcoholic beverage with the hunk in front of me, but I shook my head lightly. “A coffee would be fine, need to keep a straight head for asking questions. Thank you.”

He smiled again, and then looked in Jason’s direction, “Would you mind getting some coffee whilst we get this interview started?”  The man nodded and Sean thanked him, before he hurried off towards what looked like a small kitchen area through a door. “Ok babe, let’s get started!” He gestured for me to take a seat and I obeyed; my mind doing overtime as I recalled him calling me ‘babe’. He sat opposite me, relaxing back in his chair with one leg crossed lazily over the other, “Fire away Winter.”

I could feel the hairs rising on the back of my neck, all because of the sweet, husky tone in his voice when he spoke my name. I rustled with the pen and paper for a moment and give myself a shake in my head. “So Sean, what got you into acting?”

He smiled like he was enjoying the thought of a distant memory. “Well, like most things in my younger life, it all began with following a girl.” He mused, with a sparkle in his eye, “I was pining over this girl; oh what was her name? Well I would see her going into the drama block at college every other day, so I took up drama classes so I could meet her. Nothing ever became of it like, she wasn’t interested.”

I couldn’t help but gaze at him dreamily as he rambled on, his hands waving around as he expressed himself. Before I could stop my stupid self, I let what was on my mind slip out of my mouth, “I find that hard to believe.”Sean’s eyes widened and he laughed nervously; had I made him feel nervous? “I – erm I’m sorry, I wasn’t supposed to say that out loud.” I blushed uncontrollably.

He seemed to look at me with a dark flash in his eyes; his lips parted slightly, “Don’t worry about it, we all say things before we think sometimes.”

I looked down at my notes; my head was once again all jumbled up, “Erm – so, was acting something you had always wanted to do? I know you say you followed a girl to drama class, but did you have any interest before that?”

He looked up towards the ceiling, he looked as though he thinking, “Yeah, sort of. I watched all the westerns and action movies when I was a kid, and I always liked the idea of being in them one day. So yeah, I had an interest from an early age.” I jotted down words as he spoke them, looking up and down between the handsome man and my shaking hands holding the pen. Sean finished his sentence and fell silent, before chuckling to himself. “It’s funny, most people use laptops, Iphones, and computers when they interview me these days; here’s a young lady using a good old-fashioned paper and pen.”

I looked up, a faint blush spread across my cheeks, “I prefer this way, makes the whole experience a lot more personal.” I flash him a quick smile in response to the one that had spread across his mouth.

Jason broke the connection of our eye contact as he bustled in with coffee, “That’s great, thank you.” I smiled as I took the beautiful smelling hot beverage from him.

Sean followed suit and took a big gulp from his cup, “Ahh that’s more like it! Shall we continue?” he grinned.

An hour passed and my interview was finally complete. I asked for a couple of photographs to accompany the piece I was going to write and he agreed. He wandered off to get changed and came back wearing a grey, tight fitting shirt and even tighter fitting jeans. I took the photos, he looked perfect on every one of them; even the last photo in which he jokingly flexed his arm muscles and pulled a funny face.

“Is there anything else I can do for you Miss Stone?” he asked as he accompanied me to the door.

I turned to him as I placed my hand on the door handle, “No, thank you, you have already been such a great help.”

He held out a hand and I took it in mine, expecting a handshake; to my utter disbelief, the man before me lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it softly. He went on to pull me into a gentle hug; I nearly died on the spot.“Well it was a pleasure meeting you Winter, please, don’t hesitate to drop off a copy when you’re finished; I’d love to have a read.”

My mouth opened and closed for a few seconds, like a fish out of water, “Ah, erm – yeh of course Sean. Again, thank you for your hospitality and co-operation.” He opened the door for me and I gave him one last smile, before ducking under his arm and leaving the gym; leaving the sweet smelling, gorgeous man watching me from the door.