When We Were Young

Lucky

"Can I get anything for you, love?" He asked, peeking into the dressing area of their hotel room. She shook her head briefly before the makeup artist returned to her with a cosmetic brush loaded with lipstick. Artfully, she painted Sabrina's lips, then finished her look with a dusting of powder.

Ben had convinced her to travel to Los Angeles with him for the Doctor Strange premiere. At first she dug her heels in, insisting that she needed to stay in New York to keep an eye on the store. As soon as Franklin got word though, he all but forced her to commit. There's no way he would have let Sabrina miss it.

"We have thirty minutes until the car arrives," Ben called out to her from the bedroom of their suite.

She found him poised in front of the full length mirror, fiddling with his bow-tie. She crossed the space and took the tie in her hands, expertly fashioning it around his neck. She took one step back and smiled at him thoughtfully.

"Good luck tonight. Also, thank you for bringing me along. I'm happy to be here and I'm so proud of you."

Her words melted his insides and he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. He wanted to say the words he'd been thinking all day, but he swallowed them back down, saving them for later. He kissed her temple and then released her, insisting she go get dressed.

Hand in hand, they rode together to the theater. Each minute that passed, his heart pounded harder and harder against his rib cage. All he could focus on was making sure he was breathing properly so he wouldn't pass out. It was destined to be the biggest night of his life and his emotions were nearly impossible to control.

He felt her gentle squeeze of his hand and it refocused his mind again. She was watching him, smiling and waiting for him to gather himself. She felt his nerves from the second they woke up that day. He'd stayed very quiet, contemplative and she could tell he was preparing for something big, so she let him be. Once his eyes really focused again, he returned the smile and asked how she was doing.

"I'm fine, hun. How are you?" She asked with a quiet chuckle. "You look very nervous."

"I am," he replied, wiping the palms of his hands on his black tuxedo pants.

"It's your night, babe. You're going to be amazing," she replied, leaning close to kiss his cheek. He turned quickly, so that their lips would meet and he could give her one more kiss while they still had some secrecy. Life would be forever changed in a moment's time and he wanted to savor the moment.

Their driver stopped at the curbside and an usher opened the car door. He smiled nervously and took her hand.

"Ready?" She asked, knowing full well that he was terrified.

"Are you? Everything's going to change, Ray."

"Oh lighten up, babe. Today is the best day ever, try to enjoy it."

He helped her from the car and the fanfare hit her hard, like a wave crashing over her, engulfing her. Cameras flashed all around and people called out to Ben, begging for his attention. He put his hand in the small of her back, encouraging her to keep walking and still remain close to him.

"This is crazy!" She mumbled from the corner of her mouth to which he chuckled.

"This is nothing, love."

She followed along as he made his way down the press line and past the hoards of fans. Every so often he'd catch her eyes with his and he'd smile, making her heart squeeze. She'd literally dreamt of sharing the red carpet with him since they were young and incredibly, it was actually happening.

"I have to step away for a moment, would you meet me down there in ten minutes or so?" He asked as he pointed further down the way.

"Um...sure," she was a tad uneasy about being alone but he insisted he'd only be a moment.