Temptation

23 - Madden

Did I hear him correctly? Did he just ask me to come to LA with him? We are naked in the shower; he could fuck me but instead he asks me to move to LA with him. Would we live together? How would this work?

I've been starring at him blankly for too long and he's said it twice so there is no way I got it wrong. I can feel his fingertips getting prune-y on my skin and I know mine are already that way. I tell him that we will talk when we are dressed.  I get out of the shower first, wrapping a towel around myself then handing one to Hero. He steps out and warps the towel around his waist; both of us walk to the bedroom together to get some clothes on. Hero slips on a pair of new black boxers and I take one of his clean black shirts from his drawers followed by a pair of bright pink cheeky panties. He lays back on his bed and pats the pillow beside him for me to join. I don't hesitate, and I jump onto the other side of the bed, when he laughs at the action. I sit crossed legged as he remains laying down. I don't wait for him to say anything about what he just asked, I just bombard him with multiple questions: "You seriously want me to move to LA? Where would I live?" "Yes, and with me." "You want me to live with you? As in, we are going to move in together? In LA?" "Yes, Yes and Sometimes." "Sometimes, what do you mean?" Curiosity fills my head. "When I'm not working, I go back home to London. I have a second home there." "So, would you only want me in LA?" I sound stupid for even asking him this. "No, I want you everywhere with me. If I'm in LA, London, France, Italy, Hawaii—wherever the fuck I am, I want you there." He sits up to face me now as I've stopped asking him a hundred questions, his face is straight and honest. He takes hold of my chin and forces my face towards him, and he kisses the tip of my nose as he always seems to do. He looks into my eyes and he tells me that if I agree to this, that this will make him the happiest guy on the earth, he tells me that I do not have to give him an answer right now but to think about it and he tells me that if I choose not to then he will do everything in his power to make sure he comes to see me.

His words make my heart flutter, the butterflies are stuck in my chest when I'm around him and every word that leaves his mouth with that British accent makes me want him so much more. He stares into my eyes, gripping hold of all my sanity that I had left in me, my conscious probably screaming at me but I can't hear it and I'm certainly choosing to ignore it. "I would have to withdraw from the Witness Protection Program, and we would truly have to be extremely cautious. Are you willing to work this hard on a relationship with me?" I'm entertaining the idea and maybe, just maybe if his answers have authenticity in them then I'd be willing to do this. He tells me that he will protect me no matter the cost and reminds me that he would never put me in danger. He tells me that being in a relationship with me is not work. "I don't have much money—" Hero stops me before I can use money as an excuse. "I'm rich as fuck. I am an actor and I would never ask you to live with me and pay for the bills. I know you will want to tell me that you will feel bad if you do not pay for anything but let's just agree that I will pay the bills and that your company is all the payment that I need." Once again, his words are charming, and I cannot find any reason to say no to him. I don't even think of a circumstance where we would break up; I am convinced that Hero is fully invested into this relationship.

* * *

Hero lay beside me sound asleep, only adjusting his position every so often. I am restless, finding it hard to fall asleep after our conversation of LA. Hero asking me to move to LA with him is not what came to mind when I found out that he would be leaving in less than two weeks. What would my mother say? Nights like tonight, I wish my mother was here to tell me what to do. I remember her telling me to always follow my heart but if I was to do that in this situation then I'd be packing my bags and uprooting my life to LA.

LA isn't so bad, there is lots of sunshine and they don't see snow. I would miss the sound of the rain that I get to fall asleep to most nights but then again it would be like living in Providence, my hometown, just busier and more crowded. LA is where people go to live out their dreams and I've dreamt of being able to be free again. Being with Hero in this short time has given me that sense of freedom even if we have been cooped up in our apartments, hiding from cameras. Just being with Hero has only been good for me; he distracts me while I eat so I'm actually getting food into my system, he makes me laugh more than I have in months, he helps me push away the bad memories and most of all he accepts me for all my past, my present and now he wants to accept my future and he wants to accept that future together—in LA.

I turn to look over at the time on my phone to see it's now 3AM and I haven't gotten any sleep. I face Hero, his eyes closed and his breathing slow. In the dark room, the sunrise peaks through the window curtains, and I can see the stubble that has grown longer on Hero's face. As I admire the man lying beside me, I am frightened by him: "What are you staring at?" He says groggily and with a little laugh to follow. I had no idea that he was awake, my cheeks brighten from embarrassment which he doesn't notice because his eyes are still shut. In his sleepy state he continues to talk to me, "Have you gotten any sleep?" I tell him I haven't slept much. He takes his large hand to my waist and pulls me close to him; I burry my head into his chest to find comfort to the sound of his heart beating; his muscular chest is a pillow I want to lay on every night. The sound of his heartbeat and the warmth of his naked torso puts me to sleep almost instantly.