Hired | b.w.s

Nineteen

We walk back to the car after a while of awkwardness in the park. 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. I wish we weren't because that means I have to spend more time in the car with him with this awkwardness. The drive won't take long but the tension in the car is so thick I wish it would become shorter. I don't know why everything is so tense but I feel as though there are some 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 to me.

"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 that he was on. I quickly pick it up and open the car door. I'm instantly bombarded by flashes and loud voices. I feel the bodies close in on me, surrounding me and crowding around tighter and tighter. 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 I feel a hand grab tightly onto my wrist. I'm suddenly yanked forwards and pulled through the crowd. I'm dragged up to the doors of the hotel and they shut behind me. I blink hard as I try to regain my vision.

"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. He looks towards the doors of the hotel before looking back to 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, it feels strange.

"Trust me, you won't." He says. "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 no other option. 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. He reaches over and presses the button to his room, the doors close and all the tension suddenly catches up with us and fills the tiny space of the elevator. I try to breathe but the tension fills my lungs. There is no air and there seems to be no space between us.

The doors to the elevator open and I feel as though I can breathe again. Four people step into the elevator and fill the small space, forcing me to step closer to Brad so that they can fit in. I feel my arm touching his 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 elevator stops and Brad taps my arm lightly.

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

I nod and politely push past the other people, leaving the elevator. I gasp for air as I step into the open space. Brad stands next to me and watches me.

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

"No, why?" I frown at him.

"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 just calm down.

We reach Brad's room and he opens the door with his key card. He opens it and walks in, leaving it open for me. I walk in apprehensively and close the door behind me. As I turn back around, two arms lean against the wall either side of my head. I look up to see Brad's face extremely close to mine, looking into my eyes intimidatingly.

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

"Were you acting?" He asks me bluntly.

"What?" I'm so confused.

"When we kissed, were you acting?"

"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.

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

What just happened? He walks to the other side of the room and sits on a comfy looking chair whilst my stomach goes insane.