Chapter Nineteen
Alex's hands tighten around my face, "keep your eyes closed," he demands.
Despite the fact he can't see me, I still enjoy the feeling of rolling my eyes at him. I don't think it matters if I have my eyes closed or open, he's got a pretty good seal over my face.
"My eyes are closed." I try to hold back a groan and the urge to stomp my foot.
Patience isn't one of my finest virtues, neither is being left in the dark. I dislike surprises too, I should have specified that in the fine print of the contract.
The one arm Alex has wrapped around my waist squeezes my body to his, which prevents me from walking. The silence is disturbed from Alex chuckling, his hot breath fans past my ear, sending strings of ticklish feelings crawling down my spine.
"Then why does it feel like you're peeking?" he asks.
"I can't help that." I shrug my shoulders. "I should be the suspicious one, I' being led astray."
Alex just laughs, promises me that we'll be there soon. But that's what they all say, I know it means otherwise.
"Are we almost there?" Wherever he's taking me, it's getting cold. The wind is going straight through me, spending shivers down my spine.
"Patience," he warns, "we'll be there soon enough."
Just as I go to say something, the next step is cold, the sand seeps into my shoes and goes in between my toes.
"How did we get here?" I'm baffled! I haven't heard anything to alert me we're near the beach. I would have thought I'd hear the sound of the water crashing against the beach front, but nothing.
"Why are we at the beach?" I ask. "I thought we were going to a restaurant?"
"I said I would take you out for dinner at my favourite place," he says in a 'matter of fact' voice.
"Right." I smile.
"Sometimes I like to go down to the beach and relax. Think about things, open my mind to new things. When I'm blocked up, this is a great process for me." Alex takes my hand and pulls me along with him, further down the beach.
"Does it work?" I ask.
Alex stops walking, turns to face me, "it does work for me." He shrugs his shoulders, nodding his head in the process. "The label must love the random stuff."
"That's true." Alex wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me to his side. We continue to walk down to the shoreline.
When we're a bit closer, Alex sits down and I do the same thing. I'm not the biggest fan on sand, but I enjoy sitting next to Alex.
"Do you know what I like to do on the beach?"
"What?" I raise an eyebrow.
"This." One minute he's sitting next to me, and then laying on the ground stretched out like an angel.
He parts the soft sand behind me. I'm hesitant, but I lay down next to him. The cold sand feels amazing under my fingertips, but horrible in my hair.
"What happens next?" I giggle.
"Just relax."
I snuggle closer to his chest, keeping my eyes closed. I'm not sure how to open my mind, but I restrain myself from thinking about the millions of things I need to do, and just tap into the sound of the water crashing against the shore.
After a few minutes, Alex asks, "do you feel relaxed?"
"I feel hungry," I giggle.
"Food is coming," he chuckles with me, "I asked someone to order fish and chips."
"That sounds good. I'm glad you brought me here," I say. "I haven't been to the beach in a while."
"I don't go enough," adds Alex. "I miss sitting around the beach, I don't get to do it a lot."
"How come?"
"It's hard to go out in public. My security team has to ensure there's enough security measures in place in case the outing goes belly up. Besides, I also do a lot of touring in land and away from the coast. America is nothing like Australia."
"I haven't been out in public much, but I don't think I'm ready for screaming fans either," I respond.
"Nothing prepares you for it, but it's something you get used to over time." Alex shrugs his shoulders, "and then you'll get used to wishing you were never famous to begin with," he whispers.
"That-"
Alex's cuts me off by saying, "food's here." Pointing to the dark figure walking towards us.
"Oh yay." I grin.
Alex stands up, then offers me his hand which I gratefully accept his help. We start walking further up the beach, closes the gap between us. When we are within arm's reach, Alex gives the man a guy hug.
"Thank you for the food," Alex says joyfully. "Bossy, this is Mitch. He's my personal bodyguard."
"It's nice to meet you, Bossy?"
"She's in need of a name," Alex informs Mitch like it's a personal joke.
"Everybody needs a name," Mitch agrees, "I have food. Didn't know what you wanted, so I just grabbed a regular meal." He opens the paper bag and hands us a large grey wrapped parcel.
"Thank you," I collect it from his hands.
"We're just going to eat and then head back to the hotel, thirty minutes maybe?" Alex informs Mitch.
"Thank you." Mitch nods his head.
Alex tugs on my arm, so I follow him back to our original spot on the beach front.
"Let's eat," Alex says, opening the parcel on the sand in front of us.
"That's the best thing you've said all day!" We both laugh.
The breeze coming from the ocean wafts the delicious smell of crispy fried fish and chips, and salty water. Without delay, I swoop in and snag a chip that burns my fingertips.
"I hope you like it." Alex nervously smiles.
"Yes, I love it." Alex's smile goes wider as he takes a hesitant bite into his fish.
We sit in silence as we eat our food. It's only when Alex stops eating that he starts bugging me with all of his questions.
"How are you dealing with things?" he asks.
I'm taken back by his question. I've been waiting for someone to ask me. I'd expected my family to be the first, not a kid I've known for five minutes.
"What's there to say?" I ask. "Everything is moving quickly, there's no time to process everything," I whisper.
"That you're handling it, not losing it," he points out.
"At least you had time to wrap your head around things." I poke his arm.
"One month I'm scrapping the barrel, then five months later things changed. I had to move apartments because girls where climbing through the window. I had to enlist in security because girls were doing dangerous stuff to get near me. You don't get used to it, you just get better."
"I just." I shake my head and look down at the sand in front of me.
"It's like everyone is treating you like an object, like you're trying to please everyone but yourself?" he offers.
"Like nobody cares about anything I want to do. I wish I get more of a chance to be at home with my family and friends." Plunging my hand into the sand, I wiggle my fingers through the depths of it.
"You're a slave to everyone else." I nod my head to every word he's saying.
"Do you know what the worst part is?" Alex shake his head, gesturing for me to continue.
"I don't want to disappoint the people around me, everyone else who's ever believed in me. I want everyone to love what I do, not hate me for it. The thought of someone hating me, it makes me sick to my stomach."
Alex leans over and grabs my hand, squashing it in-between his two, "you'd never disappoint anyone. And with me as your right hand man, I promise I'll help you along with way." He winks.
"I won't forget to thank you in my acceptance speeches." I wink back at him.
"Now that's the attitude of a singer!" He fist pumps the air.
"What, stuck up?" I ask.
He quickly looks back at me, "confidence."
I'm disappointed when we have to leave, but being with Alex makes things slightly better. Alex effortlessly entwines his fingers with mine as we walk up the beach. It should feel slightly romantic, but have you ever tried walking across the sand? I feel slightly wind by the time the sand thins out over the cement pathway.
We're no longer engulfed in the hazed glow of the lights at the top of the beach. The clusters of bush and sand plants thin out towards the manmade buildings, leaving us exposed in the opening. Mitch tries to lead us around the long way with less people, but with the buzzing crowd and odd number of people dressed in black following us, it's bound to draw someone's attention sooner or later.
A blinding white flash comes from the right side of me, scaring me half to death. My first reaction is to scream and cover my face. In the process, I drop his hand and stay stagnant.
Thousands of thoughts come to mine, first being, what will my parents think? I'm sure they won't appreciate finding out their daughter has been hanging around with boys.
I try to keep up with Alex, but as more people find out, the more they swarm around us. People scream our names out, begging for autographs, pictures, wanting to know if we're on a date. The worst part is the lights flashing in your eyes – if feels like someone is holding a torch light on my eyes.
The sound of Mitch's booming voice is a sign of hope. The more Mitch and his team work to push the paparazzi away from us, it just makes them more needy and desperate for their perfect picture.
Before I realise it, Alex is in the process of throwing a hooded jumper over my face. The thick fabric blocks out the bright lights. My eyes feel sore from the lights, and there's those little dots in my vision. I'm like a scared animal at this point.
I begin to feel better when Alex has my hand, and he's leading me away from the crowd. It's only when Alex rips the jacket off my head, that I realise I'm in front of a waiting car. I quickly crawl into the back seat and put my seat belt on.
"Thank you," I say to Alex as we're speeding off.
"You're welcome." I hand his jacket back.
Laying my head against the window. I try to cool of my flaming cheeks. I feel so embarrassed that I just stood there and screamed like a little girl. I should have taken Alex's lead and high tailed out of there! But then again, I've never read the 'how to guide for dummies' on the topic of escaping the paparazzi.
"Don't worry about it." He casually shrugs his shoulders.
"Okay," I respond.
"If I was you, I'd do the same," he says.
"Thanks." I'm not sure what else to say.
"Tomorrow gets better, I promise," he concludes.
I really want to believe him. I hope tomorrow gets better!