Hired | b.w.s

Nineteen

We walk back to the car after far too long of awkwardness in the park. Nothing has been the same since we kissed. I just can't get it out of my head. Why wasn't it just acting? Why did he have to kiss me like that and make me feel something?

We get into the car and Brad tells the driver to take him back to his hotel. From where we are, his hotel is closer than the tube station, so we're going to his first, then I get to finally go home. I wish we weren't because that means I have to spend more time in the car with him and this awkwardness. The drive won't take long but the tension in the car is so thick I can't breathe. It's stuffy and warm and I can feel him sitting next to me. It's as though there's unspoken words between us, I just don't know what. Soon enough, the driver pulls up outside of a large, very fancy looking hotel and Brad turns to me.

"I-I'll see you later." He awkwardly says goodbye and opens the door. The flashes are already snapping pictures before he's even out the door.

"Yeah, see you." I breathe as he exits the car in a rush.

As he gets out, I notice the phone sitting on the seat in place of him. I quickly pick it up and open the car door without thinking. Instantly, I'm bombarded by flashes and loud voices. I feel the bodies close in on me, surrounding me and crowding around tighter and tighter. It gets louder and louder and I feel as though I can't breathe, I can't even see straight.

"Are you dating Brad?"

"Alexa! Over here!"

"Are you with Simpson for his money?"

"How long have you two been together?"

I squint up as I try to see through the closely knitted bodies. I notice someone speeding towards me and suddenly I feel a hand grab tightly onto my wrist. I'm yanked forwards and pulled through the crowd, dragged up to the doors of the hotel and then they shut behind me. I blink hard as I try to regain my vision, but everything is disfigured.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hear Brad scold me.

I look up to see him in a mix of blue and greens. I guess this is why celebrities always wear sunglasses.

"You forgot...your phone." I struggle to get out and hand him the phone.

He takes it from me and shoves it in his back pocket before looking towards the doors of the hotel and then looking back at me.

"Fuck." He sighs. "You're going to have to come up to my room, you can't go back out there now, they'll destroy you."

"I'll be fine." I disagree, I don't want to stay with him after today and I certainly don't want to go to his room.

"Trust me, you won't." He insists. "Come on, you've got no other choice." He loosely holds my wrist and tugs me forwards.

I give in and follow him, I know that he's right. I can't go back out there and I have literally no other option right now. There's no way I can afford my own room in a place like this. So I follow him to the elevator and stand next to him in silence, that awkwardness following us here too. He reaches over me and presses the button to his room, the doors close and all the tension squished and fills the tiny space of the lift. I try to breathe but it fills my lungs, there is no air and there seems to also be no space between us. I can feel the heat from his body next to me.

Finally, the doors to the lift open and I gasp for air. Unfortunately, four people immediately step into the lift and fill the already small space, forcing me to step closer to Brad so that they can fit in. My arm grazes against his, skin on skin, and for some reason it makes me nervous. I don't know what's gotten into me. The doors close again and I wonder if the four others can feel the tension in the room, it's seriously suffocating.

Thankfully, the lift moves quickly and when it stops, Brad taps my arm lightly.

"This is our stop." He whispers to me.

I nod and politely push past the other people, leaving the tension behind me. I try to regulate my breathing and Brad stands next to me and just watches me with curious eyes.

"Are you scared of lifts or something?" He asks.

"No, why?" I frown defensively.

"I don't know...you're acting weird." He watches me before turning around and leading the way to his room.

I follow in silence. I need to calm down. It was clearly just an actors kiss and I'm building it up to be something it isn't. I need to calm down.

We reach Brad's room and he opens the door with his key card, walks in and leaves it open for me. I walk in apprehensively and close the door behind me. As I turn back around, two arms lean against the door either side of my head. I lose my breath completely when I look up to see Brad's face extremely close to mine, looking into my eyes intimidatingly. My back is pressed against the door and there's no space between us, my heart is beating so quickly.

"W-what are you doing?" I stutter from the shock.

"Were you acting?" He asks me bluntly and I can't read his eyes.

"W-What?"

My brain can't keep up with the situation at all and his face is distracting me.

"When we kissed, were you acting?" He pushes.

"I-uh..." I trail off as I look into his intimidating eyes. "Why?" I avoid the question.

He stays silent but his eyes flicker between my eyes and my lips. I find myself biting down on my bottom lip without thinking.

"Fuck sake." He mutters before pulling away from me.

All the air sucks back into my lungs and my heart slows down as he disappears. What just happened? He walks to the other side of the room and sits on a comfy looking chair whilst my stomach goes insane.