I'm abruptly woken the next morning by my door buzzer ringing repeatedly. I put my pillow over my head in a daze, but the noise doesn't stop. It's 9.34am and I can't honestly remember the last time I slept in this late. The buzzer continues the relentless tone and I throw the covers off me and stomp to the intercom. For fuck sake I think to myself, this better be something important.
"Hello?" I grunt down the intercom.
"Thank the lord, open the bloody door Lizzie!" Caroline shouts back at me.
Without another word, I press the buzzer and open the door. I sit on the settee and wait for her arrival. Caroline literally bursts into the room with takeout coffees in one hand and a bag of muffins in the other. She has the biggest grin I have ever seen plastered across her face.
"What's going on?" I ask while rubbing sleep out of my eyes, knowing that something big must have happened.
"Don't you answer your phone anymore?" She scolds me, but still maintains her huge smile. "I've been trying to get hold of you for over an hour." I'm totally perplexed about why she is here, but gratefully grab a coffee from her and take a bite from a blueberry muffin. These are my favourite, so I know she's up to something. "Well?" She says taking a seat opposite me, leaning forward.
"Well what?" I answer with my mouth full, realisation dawning on me that she wants a detailed account of my evening with Daniel.
"Don't be cute with me Ms Cooper; you're all over the internet!" She clasps her hands together excitedly as I almost choke on my coffee in surprise. Caroline hands me her phone without another word and there on my favourite celeb gossip site is a picture of me and Daniel from last night. The caption above says 'The Look of Love?' I'm completely gobsmacked. I look at the picture for a few seconds, not really believing that it's me with Daniel. There are several shots of us, but the main one is of us in the rain. We are holding hands and laughing. I'm looking up to the sky grinning wildly and Daniel is looking adoringly at me ... at me! The shot looks like something straight from a movie. I gaze up at Caroline with my mouth open in shock.
Sarah arrives before I have chance to compose myself, still in last night's clothes with her phone in her hand.
"Fuck me Lizzie, you looked stunning last night ... not so much now though." She grins and I bob my tongue out at her like a child. She takes a huge bite from a muffin and bounces down on the settee. I happily relive the entire evening from start to finish.
"It's all so romantic Lizzie." Caroline beams at me, completely sincere. I make us all a cup of tea and when I come back Sarah stands up and puts her hands on my shoulders at arm's length. She looks seriously into my eyes which takes me by surprise.
"He looks completely smitten with you. He's gorgeous, he's an A-List movie star, he's loaded – for all our sakes, do not fuck this up!" She bursts out laughing and pulls me in for a hug. The girls then fill me in on their evenings. While we gossip, things feel completely normal again, but I can't help but sense everything has changed. I'm not quite sure how, but I feel like my world has gotten a little wider and that my axis has shifted slightly.
Sarah and Caroline leave a little while later because they both have plans. I'm pleased, but surprised that Sarah has agreed to see this new man, Andy, again. Sarah looks totally infatuated by him. Three dates in as many days, this is definitely a record.
I settle on my sofa and cannot help myself. I grab the iPad, pull up the celebrity site and stare at the picture of us again. We are the headline picture and the whole thing is completely surreal. I have spent years reading the articles on this site on a daily basis and now I'm the main picture. I'm trying not to read too much into the title of the article or the way Daniel is looking at me and am resigned to the fact that the picture must have been taken at just the right moment. I cannot really have such an effect on him – can I?
I zoom in on his face and you can see his dimple while he smiles and his gorgeous blue eyes are focused on me. From the text of the article it's clear that the journalist is just clutching at straws because there isn't really any information within it. I'm just Daniel's 'love interest' apparently! My heart races just reading that someone out there thinks I could be his love interest. I push that thought to the back of my mind – we are just friends. This article is clearly ridiculous ... so what the hell is this strange feeling in my chest?
The article was uploaded to the site around three hours ago and already there are hundreds of likes and seventy-nine comments. I pause before I scroll down because I remember all of the comments that people made about Lucy on this same site when she left Daniel and the crazy comments that are made about him every time he is on here, like these people actually know him. I always thought they were comical, but I must admit I'm not finding it very funny now. My hand rests on the screen, unsure whether to look. But curiosity takes over and I decide that I will only have a quick peek.
Most of the comments are about Daniel of course, mostly how 'hot' he looks (which I completely agree with) and a lot of women commenting how pleased they are to see him smiling in public again. I can't help but feel a little smug that I've had something to do with that. A few comments are complimentary about me and my outfit. Three people actually call me 'beautiful' which is so sweet. However, there are a number of remarks from people who say they are Daniel's fans, but are clearly just commenting to be nasty about me. My personal favourites are:
'Who the fuck does this ugly whore think she is?'
'She is way too ugly to be with Daniel, she looks like a drowned rat.'
and
'She is too ordinary to be with someone as hot as Daniel.'
I turn off the site and throw the iPad down on the sofa furious at the number of women who now think they have a right to judge me, just because I've been in Daniel's company. I consider responding to each and every comment, but then I realise giving them attention will only make it worse. I decide that the more productive thing to do is ignore them and have a shower. Once I have calmed down I realise that all of these women are just jealous because they all wish it was them in my shoes and in all honesty, I don't blame them.
As I step out of the shower I hear my phone buzz and I hope it is Daniel. I don't want to be the one to get in touch first because I'm not sure how he will respond and how he feels about our non-date. I hold my breath, but then let out a little squeal when I see his name on the screen.
Hey beautiful. My agent Chris tells me that you're famous now! So sorry! I have seen the pic & you look amazing, so I hope you don't mind that some bastard pap took some pics of us. D x
My heart is having palpitations reading his message. I feel more confident to be flirty in a text because I don't have to look at him while I respond.
Hey yourself. My PR team showed me the pic too (Caroline and Sarah actually lol) & I have to admit it's not a bad pic! Course I don't mind, guess it goes with the territory of hanging out with a celeb!!! L xxx
I wonder if three kisses are too much and I type them and delete them several times before adding them again and hitting send. I sit on my bed and wait nervously for his reply. It only takes a few seconds, but I still jump when my phone buzzes in my hand.
Hope your PR team liked it as much as mine did. I had a wonderful time last night & was hoping that you would let me take you out again tonight? D x
I'm in shock that he wants to see me again and so soon. I completely panic and cannot respond for a while. I'm playing it cool I tell myself, but really I'm just frightened about how nervous and excited he makes me feel. I pick up my phone and quickly respond before I change my mind.
Sounds great, but I have work tomorrow so I need to be home for a reasonable hour Mr Weston. Some of us have normal jobs to go to! L xxx
I put my phone down and head into the bathroom, but I hear it buzz almost straight away and leap across my bed to grab my phone.
OK Ms Cooper – understood loud & clear. I will pick u up at 7. Wear something dressy – we're going posh tonight! Promise I will have Cinderella home for midnight. D x
I grin stupidly at the screen as I reply.
OK Prince Charming, see you at 7. L xxx
Shit, what am I going to wear?
I sit on my bed with the adrenaline leaving my body and I suddenly feel lightheaded. I struggle to catch my breath and it feels like the start of a panic attack. I rest my head in my hands and take deep slow breaths until I feel back in control of myself. Once the wave of sickness passes I lie down on my bed and wait for my pulse to return to normal. I deserve this little moment of happiness, even though I know it can't last long.
I trawl through my wardrobe, pull out all of my formal dresses and try on each one. I finally decide on a pale blue lace dress with a peter pan collar. The dress is fitted to the waist and then flares slightly to sit just above the knee. I find out my cream patent Christian Louboutins and manage to find a cream clutch bag in the depth of my wardrobe. I pin my wayward hair up in a loose bun and keep my make up light. I stare at myself in the mirror and tell myself do not get ahead of the programme Lizzie, just enjoy this. I take some deep breaths the way I always do to control my emotions, but it's no use, my body is in control rather than my mind. When my door buzzer rings out it makes me jolt out of my skin.
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