Eddie Redmayne: Short Stories

Blind date

Why, oh why did I agree to this?  You think to yourself desperately, nothing good ever comes out of nights like these. Your friend, Emma, had set up a blind date for you. Since you broke up with your last boyfriend (a very nice guy, untill you found out he was cheating on you with his ex for about half of your relationship), Emma wanted you to meet a friend of Robert, her boyfriend. You had delayed her for a couple of months, but eventually you had to give in. Both she and Robert were very clear about the fact that this man was really really really really really nice and sweet and goodhearted and all that. With their assuring peptalks, you were quite certain that he wasn't going to be a douchebag, but now sitting at this table in an Italian restaurant waiting for him, made doubt creep into your head. 

This is such a bad idea. How long have I been sitting here? It's five past eight...You calculated the chances of getting out of there before he arrived, but when you were about to get up, you saw a man arrive at the restaurant, gazing at the different tables, trying to find one with a girl alone. 

You quickly sat down again. Good lord, that is one handsome man. It was quite a fancy restaurant, but he wore a full suit! And the thing is, he wore it so well that you couldn't imagine him in anything else than a suit! The man - Eddie was it, Robert had told you - now probably asked the waitress at reception for the table that he had reserved in the name of 'Redmayne'. This was exactly what you had done ten minutes before. 

The waitress, clearly taken by surprise by the sight of such class, pointed with her arm in your direction. Eddie looked up and saw you sitting there. He smiled and walked over. You got up a little too quickly and the table tilted a little, making the candle swing back and forth dangerously. You felt your cheeks light up in embarrassment. Luckily, Eddie hadn't noticed your clumsy act. 

"Hello, you must be Y/N," he said, looking into your eyes, still smiling. He leaned in and kissed your cheek. You smelled his perfume. It smelled just like him, like he actually had this perfume made for himself, just like the suit.

He sat down and you followed. His elegant hands took the menu and while he pretended to look at it, he sneakily grinned at you. You ordered a pasta and he ordered a pizza. "And  a bottle of Tuscan red wine as well, thank you." He added when the waitress wrote down your orders.

"So Y/N, tell me a little bit about yourself," Eddie started, "how do you know Emma and Robert?"

"Well, it's kind of a funny story," you laughed, "I met Emma at a party in college when she had a little too much to drink and needed a place to crash. That was my place. It eventually turned out we had some courses together, so from then on we saw each other almost every day." You smiled as you replayed the memory in your head. You were both just 20 years old. That feels like such a long time ago, young and without worries. 

"Now it's your turn, how do you know Robert and Emma?" You asked.

"Robert and I are colleagues," Eddie answered. He grinned. "I even auditioned for the same role as him for Twilight, you know, the movie that he is shooting now. Obviously, he got the part, and I think it's better this way, I would not have been a convincing vampire." 

"Oh so you're an actor?" You were suprised. Eddie nodded. Emma nor Robert had told you that. Well, now the suit kind of makes sense. "What movies do I know you from, then?" You smiled.

"Uhm, well, I've been in a couple of movies but they're not that well-known, I must admit," Eddie said modestly, "the most recent one is Savage Grace, with Julianne Moore, who actually plays my mother who is kind of in love with me... ?" He came to that conclusion and he laughed a toothy smile, his brows going up. You could not help but wonder: "How did your family react to your affair with your on-screen mother?" Eddie laughed again. "Let's just say, the look on their faces was hilarious."

As the night went on, the two of you kept chatting, the food was delicious and the bottle of wine was almost empty. You had noticed that you and Eddie had a lot in common. You also noticed that he was one of the purest, most gentle souls you had ever met. He wasn't afraid to talk about topics that others might consider sensitive or too personal. You noticed that you felt very at ease with him, so you told him about things that really mattered to you and things you hadn't told many people. While you talked, his eyes switched between your eyes and your mouth, and they had a sparkle in them. Probably because of the wine, you thought. You weren't drunk, but it felt as if you and Eddie were the only ones in the room.

Eventually, the dessert plates and the wine bottle were empty. Eddie made a sign to the waitress to get the check.

"Sooo, I would like to split the bill," you said. Eddie's eyes got bigger. "No, Y/N, I would really like it if you let me pay your dinner." Before you could protest, he said: "Normally I'm fine with splitting the bill and maybe in the future we can do that, but I've had such a lovely night with you and in this way I can sort of say thank you." In the future, did he really say this?? It seemed as if Eddie noticed this as well and his cheeks flushed red. You smiled at his adorable face. Gosh, he is SO cute! 

As said, Eddie payed dinner and the two of you headed out. It was a chilly evening in London and you crossed your arms before your chest. Ofcourse, Eddie took off his jacket and put it around your shoulders. With his arm still around you, you began walking to the river, where you could see the skyline. You sniffed his perfume and felt very at home. The city was beautiful, with all those little yellow lights and, a bit further, the Tower Bridge.

Eddie stroked your arm lightly, and you let yourself lean against him as both of you enjoyed this view. After a moment, you turned around. "Eddie, I've had a wonderful evening," you said, looking into his hazel eyes. "I feel the same way, Y/N, and I would really like to see you again, if you want to?" Your heads were not that far away from each other now. "What do you think?" You laughed. He looked so adorable that you couldn't resist: you quickly came close to him and gave him a little peck on the lips. As you looked back up at him, his face was full of surprise. Just as you began to wonder if you had made a mistake, Eddie locked his arms around you and your noses touched for a second before he kissed you. It was a sweet, but passionate kiss and it told you everything you needed to know. You responded to his lips and put your hands around his neck and in his hair. Eddie grabbed you even tighter and didn't let go of you for a second. He just kept kissing you, smiling.

Finally, het let go of you just enough so your foreheads pressed against each other. His eyes sprakled and he had a grin from ear to ear. "Sooooo... I'll see you tomorrow?" You kind of joked but you were also serious. Eddie laughed out loud. "You really are the most lovely person I have ever met, Y/N, do you know that?" He smiled as he tucked a piece of hair behind your ear before pressing his lips against yours again.

OK soooo what did you think of this??