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"Are you sure you don't mind? I want to be as supportive as I can." Luna asked nervously in the living room of Alex's house in LA.
It was the day of Alex and Alexandra's show at Hotel Cafe. It was also the only availability of Simon Henderson, the journalist interested in Luna's bakery. Alex had told Luna it was okay to do the interview that afternoon as long as she was back in time for his show.
"I told you, Lu. It's okay. Go and wow the bloke like I know you're going to and then just come to the show when you're done. As long as you don't miss it, I don't mind."
He was sat on the sofa below her as she paced around the living room. To him, it was rather adorable the way she worried she wasn't being supportive enough.
"Are you sure sure?" She stopped pacing and stared at him dead in the eye. He stood up, not breaking eye contact. Her hands clasped his as soon as they raised high enough.
"I'm sure. Just don't miss the show." He repeated. She nodded, feeling better about the situation. "What time are you meeting him?" He raised his arm to look at his watch. It was currently 1pm.
"Half past four. And your show is at seven?" She checked. He nodded.
"Plenty of time." He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her close to him, she raised her eyebrows.
"To do what?" She questioned, a smile creeping on her face as he smiled down at her. His features became dark as the light shone down on him. Luna could see every crease and fold on his face but she still adored him.
"Whatever you want." He picked her up slightly so their faces were inches away and her feet were dangling inches from the floor.
"I should probably prep for my interview." She kissed him softly, intending for it to be a one time thing but he held onto her lips and pulled them back for more.
"You probably should." He teased, hooking one of her legs around his waist and laying her down on the sofa.
Not long after, Luna was getting an outfit prepared for said interview. Alex sat on their bed in nothing but a pair of sweats and watched her try on countless tops and trousers, trying to look professional yet casual.
"I like those trousers." Alex nodded at a pair of baby blue tailored trousers. She slipped them on and noticed they were his. They were massive around her waist and too long. She raised her eyebrows at him through the mirror. "Put a belt on and wear heels, they look good." He smiled, licking his lips at the sight of her in his clothes.
She grabbed a white belt and a white embroidered shirt, putting on the outfit. Managing to secure the belt around her, she slipped on her highest boots and looked herself. It did suit her. Turning around, Alex was grinning widely.
"That's it." He clapped his hands together.
"Alright Gok Wan." She rolled her eye, doing a spin in the mirror to see from every angle while Alex chuckled.
He pushed himself off the bed and slowly walked towards her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing her cheek.
"You're going to wow him. I just know it. Try not to talk about me too much." He winked. She brought her hand to his cheek and gave it a light tap.
"Who are you again?" She asked. He laughed against her skin, sending vibrations through her skin.
"Your very sexy boyfriend." He answered, pressing his hips against her. She held his hands around her and pulled them away so she could turn around.
"Sorry, almost forgot." She played along. He smirked and shrugged playfully.
"It's alright. Don't let it happen again though, yeah?" He bit his lip, staring at her. She rolled her eyes and walked into their bathroom to start doing her make up.
"Are you doing anything today?" She asked. He collapsed back onto the bed.
"Sound check at five so I'll go over when you leave. Be early for once." He stared at the ceiling of their bedroom and threw his arms above his head. His life was exactly where he wanted it to be. She didn't reply for a few moments, presumably focusing on her makeup, he didn't mind though.
"I'll run straight over as soon as the interviews over." Her voice was seemingly closer so he raised his head to see her walking towards him. She crawled over him and kissed him a few times.
"Okay." He mumbled.
"You should probably get ready. I have to leave soon." She told him. He nodded, kissing her a few more times.
"Well you see, I'm in a bit of predicament since there's a girl on top of me." He smiled cheekily. She gasped dramatically.
"Who is she?" She feigned anger, making him laugh. She rolled off him and now it was her turn to watch him get ready.
He seemed so effortless, just puts on some clothes and deodorant and boom his body was ready. It was the hair that made them late for everything. He had somehow got it into his head that if his hair looked like shit his career was over. Luna wondered if he ever would snap one day and shave it all off just as a big fuck you to the people who write articles on his hair religiously.
"Read-eh." He did a spin as he walked out of the bathroom. Luna clapped him, standing up to meet him.
"What a pair, eh?" She turned him slightly so he could see them next to each other in the mirror.
A small smile appeared on his face as he looked at the reflection. He placed his hand around her waist and pulled her to his side, they looked so good together. His hand fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone but his hand was too beefy and it fell on the floor.
"Christ, Alexander." She laughed, picking it up for him.
"I just wanted to take a picture." He replied honestly. She kissed his cheek in adoration and handed the phone back to him. "You take it." He nodded to her.
She held the phone up and snapped a photo of themselves standing arms around each other with goofy smiles on their faces.
"Send me it." She requested, handing it back.
"Ah, you'll have to show me how to do that later." He chuckled, slipping the phone back in his pocket and letting go of her. She laughed, hitting his chest playfully.
"You really a dinosaur" she teased. He raised his eyebrows.
"A fit dinosaur, you mean." He corrected, following her out of their room and downstairs.
"Careful, your 2014 is showing." She warned. He gasped, clutching his chest.
"Wow." He shook his head at her cheap insult.
Alex dropped Luna off at her interview with a quick kiss and a good luck before driving off to his sound check with Alexandra.
Luna walked into the cafe they had agreed to meet at and saw the man her and Alex had googled already sat at a two person table in the corner of the room.
She walked slowly towards him, seeing the tape recorder laid out on the surface in front of him. He looked just as he did online as expected, serious and put together but his expression changed as soon as he laid eyes on her. A wide smile spread across his face, scaring her slightly.
"Luna Temple. Simon Henderson, nice to meet you." He was American but worked for a UK company which meant he had common sense.
"Likewise. I'm glad we could fit this in while we're both here." She replied politely. Simon nodded.
"How comes you're over here if you don't mind me asking?" He wondered. Luna had noticed he hadn't turned on the recorder yet. Or had it been on the whole time?
"My boyfriends work." She answered simply. "I'm only here for a couple more days. What about you?" She countered.
"Visiting my family. If you couldn't tell I'm from around here." He chuckled, she smiled. "So, shall we?" He motioned to the recorder. She pretended as if she hadn't noticed it there.
"Oh! Of course." He pressed the button and held his notepad casually on his lap. It was clear he was a professional at this.
"So, I'm very intrigued about your story. I've been doing my research and it seems as if your bakery has somewhat of a cult following and now you're bringing it to London. How did that come into place?" He questioned. Luna sat back in her chair.
"My bakery in Sheffield used to be where my dad worked and I was pretty problematic child after he died so when I was old enough I bought it and started by own company. I wanted to expand so I went on a course in Paris to become a professional pastry chef, at first I thought i wanted to expand to Paris but then I found my boyfriend and opening one in London seemed just right." She explained. Simon nodded.
"So when you started your bakery, you weren't professionally trained?" He wondered.
"No, I learnt everything from my dad. It was enough for the people of Sheffield but I knew if I wanted to expand then I would have to prove that I'm not an amateur." She spoke confidently.
"But your bakery has spectacular reviews and has a large online following because of its amazing produce. You're telling me you did that with no professional experience or training at all?" She couldn't tell whether he was shocked or impressed. Maybe both.
"Well, I just went off what I knew. The usual customers just wanted their bread which was easy enough to deliver and over time I built up the business and introduced new pastries, established best sellers and went from there. I took a few community business classes so I could handle finance legally but yes, I had no real experience." She elaborated.
"Quite a story." He muttered to himself. Luna nodded. "Do you mind talking about your personal life?" He asked. She thought about it for a moment.
"As long as it relates to the bakery in some way." She answered. He licked his lips and nodded.
"I only ask because you've mentioned your boyfriend a few times and when I googled you, he was the first thing that came up." Luna nodded, understanding that he wanted to talk about Alex. How did Alex get away with interviews without talking about his personal life the whole time.
"Ah, Alex." She nodded. Simon seemed professional enough so she allowed it.
"Yes. I was just wondering his role in this. Has his fame affected your growing empire for the good or bad or at all?" He asked.
"Well, I would say for the good but not in the way you may think. I fear that people will assume i am opening this bakery because of him or that I'm getting exposure because of him. This process has been in motion years before we started dating although I've known him since I was sixteen. We have a very long and complicated story that I won't get into but him as a person has definitely affected me growing my empire for the good. He's very supportive." She concluded. She could tell that it had sparked something in him when she spoke about Alex.
"I won't pry, that's not my job and not what the readers of this food magazine want." He chuckled. "But I'm intrigued in your influences, your dad and now your boyfriend." He explained. Luna nodded, respecting his intentions.
"It's okay. Alex is a huge part of my journey as was my dad. If I could I would go into the complicated story of how I ended up with the bakery but I'm afraid we'd be here until next week. The truth is, baking was the only thing I was ever good at and the only thing I've ever been told I'm good at. I thought the bakery in Sheffield was all I would ever amount to but Alex was the reason I pushed myself to leave Sheffield and see what else was out there. When we were just friends, he was travelling the world and living his best life and that's what I wanted." She continued. Simon nodded.
"So you went to Paris, and became a professional pastry chef. Did you enjoy it?" He asked. Luna grinned at the memories.
"I had the most amazing time of my life. I had never been challenged at school academically. I did food tech but all I ever made was salads and sausage rolls." She chuckled, making him smile. "I was put in my element and sure I was told I was useless at least once a week but that only made me stronger and better at what I wanted to do. When I completed that course, I wanted to open about a million bakeries across the world." She smiled at her dream.
Simon sat back in his chair, thoroughly enjoying this conversation. He looked down at his long list of questions and smiled, ready to be able to write the article of the century.