Living In The Shallows (UK Crush #1)

Chapter Nine

After they'd finished, we went out to meet some lucky fans who'd won contests to come backstage to meet their heroes. They did actually need me for that, so it was a good thing I was with them. There were some kids in wheelchairs, some teenaged girls with braces. Since it was a concert, I actually "blended" better with the boys in their ripped up skinny jeans and T-shirts because of my colorful skirt, and the contest winners were adorable. Some of the little kids actually seemed to think I was someone famous too, since I was foreign looking as well. The movie crews filmed it all, and I was as careful as I could be to not be in the shots, though some of the little kids insisted I be in their photographs. In a couple of them, Teddy got right up against me, put his arms around my waist and nestled his cheek next to my head as if we were posing for a prom picture or something, and I'm sure we looked like a couple. I could feel his firm torso against my back from my shoulder blades all the way down to my hips, and it made me feel warm and flippy in my stomach in a way I'd never felt before. I felt weak. I didn't feel this way with any of the other guys. This was really weird. I had to be careful not to let it show.

When the photos were over I carefully stepped away from him and leaned on the table to catch my breath.

"Okay, Tink?" Ronan glanced at me and smiled, then looked at me more carefully. "You look a bit odd, darling, everything fine?" In the middle of such a manic day, how did he have the presence of mind to notice that I looked "odd" and worry about me? How could someone so rich and famous be so nice? How could any of them be so nice?

I suddenly reached out and hugged him tightly, full body contact, my own, one-person, USA Crush. The rush of emotion I felt for him, for all of them, was overwhelming. To go from being alone one week ago to this feeling of warmth and family, in four short days, was astounding, life altering, humbling, and this was the only way I knew how to express it.

His arms immediately came around me, just as tight, and he lifted me slightly off the ground as he tucked his head into my neck and kissed me. I drew breath that indicated imminent tears, and he reached to hold my head.

"Hey now," he whispered. "What's the matter?"

Indeed, what was I doing? In a roomful of people, half of them strangers, no less? Luckily, no one seemed to notice, as people moved around us, rolling up cable, putting away equipment, going to the food table, making small talk with the boys and the contest winners.

"I don't know," I whispered back, into his hair. "Nothing, I guess. I'm just really happy, I think. Life was kind of hard and lonely for a long time, and now, I guess it's not." I slowly released him, and he lowered me to the ground, giving me a kiss on my head before he let me go.

"Well, darling, that's a good thing, a nice thing, and I'm glad I'm a part of it. Thanks for letting me be part of it." He put his hands on my cheeks and kissed the tip of my nose, probably the cutest thing anyone had ever done to me in my life. I rewarded him with a smile, and my tears remained unshed. He smiled back at me.

Just then, Matty called him over to be in another photo. "Coming," he called back, and turned away with a final squeeze of my shoulders.

Teddy walked up to me, casually placing his hand on my shoulder to turn me around. "Hey," he said softly.

I tried to unobtrusively wipe my eyes, but I was already facing him. As usual, none of these boys seemed to have any sense of personal space, so he was standing about six inches away from me. He looked into my eyes, saw the tears pooled in them, and his own eyes widened in response.

"Hey," he said again, more urgently. He put his hands on my shoulders. No. I wasn't going to get into an embrace type situation with him, not like I did with Ronan. I mean, who knew what my response would be if I got that close to Teddy, he of the flippy making stomach, the weak knee maker? Gray eyes looked intently into mine, making me warm again, making me want to collapse, making me want to melt into him. Oh my god. "What's the matter?"