Crossing a Line | Ben Hardy

3

“Actually…” Ben started, eyeing Carwyn while he drived. “Do you fancy having a drink or two? I’m pretty knackered and could need a little boosting.”

Carwyn found herself answering a little too fast. “Yes, I’d love to.” She surprised herself with that – she was usually more composed. In fact, whenever she likes a guy, she usually unconsciously gave off this vibe that she wasn’t interested. She had long dismissed it as her defense mechanism.

Ben chuckled at her enthusiasm. “All right then, I know nice pub somewhere around here.”

The pub, as it turns out, was quite a spacious one and seemed rather exclusive. Ben led her to a beer garden at the back, and they settled in seats in one of the corners.

“This is really nice,” she remarked as she sipped on her beer.

“The beer or the place?”asked Ben.

“Both.”

Ben downed his bottle before saying, “You aren’t much of a talker, are you?”

“No,” she replied. “Sorry, I’m not much of a talker, honestly. I come out as rather boring.”

“On the contrary,” Ben said as he signaled the waiter for another round of beers. “I find you quite interesting. You’re kind of quiet, yeah. Definitely shy. But there are times when I think you’d slip and let out some really hilarious jokes, or engage in intellectual conversations. It’s nice.”

Blushing, Carwyn finished her bottle. “Thank you. Yes, I’m quite shy. But I’m actually more talkative and loud with close friends.”

Ben smiled. “I’d like to see that side of you. Hopefully get closer too.” He tipped his new bottle to hers in a form of toast.

It had been an interesting night. Ben had been so easy to talk to that she eventually found herself losing a bit of her reservations. He was funny, and the way he’d look at her in the eyes whenever he’d talk sort of unnerved her. It was like he was trying to analyze her… see through her. No one’s ever looked at her like that.

It was a little past midnight when they both decided that it was time to go. Ben, just a little tipsy, drove her to the hotel she was staying at.

“This is nice,” he remarked as he took a look inside her room.

“Yeah, it is. I’m lucky my contract included lodging provisions. Do you want to stay for coffee or tea?”

“As much as I’d love to, it’s pretty late and we have an early call time in a few hours…” he trailed off. Carwyn smiled and nodded, but just as she was about to lead him out, Ben held her arm. “Er… I had a good time, Car. I hope we can hang out more.”

“Me too, Ben. Thank you.”

Ben leaned in, but hesitated. Instead, he gave her a rather awkward peck on the cheek. He was blushing a bit when he stood straight up, but Carwyn was pretty sure that her face was even redder. She half hoped that it was just the alcohol doing this.

“Er, good night Car.”

“Night Ben.”

***

The following day had been very hectic. Carwyn hasn’t seen Ben much, as they weren’t shooting any scenes together that day. Instead, she had spent the day running lines and shooting with Gwilym.

“Okay, change in plans,” the director, Dominique, said from his director’s chair. “I’ve decided that we’ll shoot scene eight first. Let’s move to the next studio, guys.”