**
Midnight grocery shopping was quite interesting, I must admit. You don't get to see a shop so empty very often, nor is it usually so quiet. Normally you'll hear mothers gossiping or young kids cracking jokes as they looked for candy, but right now, all you would hear is the occasional opening of a cash register and a polite exchange to go along with it.
I looked up at the shelf, seeing exactly what I needed, however, my short stature didn't let me reach it. If I tried to get it, it would just fall and possibly cause a little crash if it knocked something else. Yeah, don't need that at midnight.
"You need some help there love?" a man an accent asked.
"Oh yes please, I just need the biscuits up there, the chocolate ones. It's my guilty pleasure unfortunately," I sighed, managing to score a chuckle from him.
"Oh that's alright, they're mine too," he said. He passed them too me. "Here ya go, m'lady."
"Thank you so much, I was worried I would dro-" I froze when I saw who it was that was assisting me.
He was handsome as ever, standing there with a gorgeous smile on his face. Those eyes had me mesmerised, he was so much better looking in real life. My jaw was nearly dropping from seeing him right there.
I must of made quite the face, because all he did was chuckle before putting his hand out. "Don't worry, I'm happy to have helped. My name's Paul," he introduced himself.
I put my hand in his, thinking he was going for a handshake, but instead he kissed the back of my hand like I was some princess. Admittedly, I sure felt like one in his presence. He was truly like some Prince Charming.
"Y-Y-You're Paul... you're Paul M-McCartney!" I stuttered, feeling my ears go hot and my cheeks turn red from sounding like such a fool. The nerves were really screwing me over here. "I-I uh, I'm sorry, I'm a bit star struck, but like, you're the Paul!"
"Yeah, I hope I'm him, otherwise I've been living a lie for the past 40 years," Paul said, with a smile as charismatic as ever. "Well we know who I am, what's your name, love?"
I took a breath, regaining my composure before smiling calmly at him. "I'm Francis Antonelli... oh well my name is Francesca, but everyone calls me Francis. Just never Fran, please never call me Fran, and Chesca is just for close people, only my brother really uses it- I'm sorry I'm rambling on and all you asked was my name."
"It's quite alright, dear. You're adorable anyway," Paul said, making me go red again. I found myself smiling like a giddy idiot. "What're you doing here at midnight anyway?"
I shrugged. "I just needed to grab some things and thought it'd be interesting to go here so late. What in the world are you doing here? Don't you live in England or something?" I asked.
I loved down here, in Australia in the state of Victoria. It was certainly strange to see a celebrity here, even if we were around the city area. People never come down here, and if they did, it was always to some other state.
"Well, I needed something new, some place to run off to for a while to think things through. Plus, I find myself quite inspired when I'm down here. It's a hell of a long time, I'll be spending about 4 months here," Paul said. He looked at me shyly, his chin tucking in slightly as a small grin came to his lips. "Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?"
At this point I wasn't sure whether or not he was doing this just because he liked seeing me all flushed and embarrassed. I wasn't sure how to take such compliments from someone like him, a man who was incredibly successful and famous.
"I uh... I dunno," I stupidly mumbled.
"Well, you should be told that everyday," Paul said, sounding a bit shy himself, "you might be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen."
My mind was racing and inside I was dying of happiness because he, the Paul McCartney, just told me I was one of the most beautiful women he's ever seen. I would've never imagined this to happen. Maybe I fantasised here and there, every girl has, but I'd never thought it'd actually be a reality.
"I uh... thank you? You have been with lots of beautiful girls in the past, surely you don't really mean that," I said, not wanting to seem naive.
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe so. You're just... so damn pretty. I'd really like to take you out on a date, if you wouldn't mind," Paul said.
"My question is if this is really a date or an invitation to your bed," I said, not wanting to get my hopes up in case I end up disappointed.
Somehow he sort of frowned through his smile, which made me feel a bit guilty for saying that. Yet he managed to come up with a smooth response and seem almost unfazed by my questioned with his words.
"It'd be foolish of me to let such a woman slip by that easily. You're much more than a one night stand," Paul said. He took advantage of the fact that pretty much no one else was here and added, "However, you'll always be a welcome guest should you want to join me in my bed."
My arms got goosebumps and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when he said that. He winked at me with a smirk on his face when he saw the effect that had on me. I hadn't blushed that hard before.
"D-Do you say that to all the girls you meet?" I asked, not sure what else to say.
"Maybe the girls, but I haven't said that to a woman yet," Paul said. "You're a real woman, I can already tell. Your maturity is very attractive, love."
"I'm not all that mature. Sometimes I am such a girl-"
"Everyone has their moments, and plus, you're still young, aren't you? How old are you?" Paul asked.
"I'm still 26," I said, feeling a bit embarrassed to be so young.
He smiled. "Most of the 26 year olds I meet don't have that thing about them that you do. I know I didn't. I still don't. You're a very intriguing person, please, go on this date with me. I wanna get to know you."
A chance to go on a date with Paul McCartney? Of course I wanted to, but I didn't know if it's be good for me. He was a fantasy that every girl dreamed of and I was scared I'd take this date too seriously. I know myself well enough to realise that attachment comes very quickly to me.
I told myself to just make sure I don't sleep with him. I hoped I'd be fine as long as I didn't do that. Most of the time I kept that just for really significant people in my life, so I thought that as long as I don't accidentally go too far with him then I'd be fine, but I obviously forgot how much a normal conversation could really hold me.
"I guess one date couldn't hurt. I have to pay for my things quickly and load them into the car though," I said.
He grabbed my shopping basket before I could react and stared walking. "Come on, I'll pay for them. Starting from now, everything is my treat."
Though I wanted to protest, I decided against it, after all, he was just trying to be a gentleman I guess. Besides, how many men out there would randomly pay for you groceries on the first date? I decided it'd be alright for now.
Paul was so sweet, he even held my bags for me and put them in the car for me. We decided that I'd quickly drop them off first and then we'd continue the night walking around together. He had his driver take him here, so he simply let his driver go home for the night.
Once everything was dropped off, we walked through a little park together. It felt so strange seeing it so empty and quiet in comparison to its usual atmosphere during the day, but it was a nice type of quiet, peaceful.
"You know, I'm kind of happy our first date is at midnight. The press aren't coming to swarm us or anything because they're all busy snoozing. We get to talk like normal people," Paul said.
It gave me a small glimpse of what it would be like if we became anything more. Everyone would be trying to find out about who I am and all the people I know would probably treat me differently. The thought of that made me a bit uneasy. A normal life was all I wanted to have.
"Is it hard trying to find a potential lover with your fame?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. You'd think it'd be easy. In the sixties, every girl wanted me. I was the heartthrob of my time, as cocky as that sounds, but I never really got to settle down with someone. Instead of serious lovers, I got flings, because no one was actually there for me as a person, only me as a celebrity. I mean there was one but... anyway, finding love has never been easy," Paul explained.
My heart ached for him when he was about to mention the one girl he fell for. I knew all about her, I was as big of a fan of her as I was for The Beatles. It was truly tragic what happened and the story gets me every time.
"Well Paul, I want you to know I'm not much of a fling girl to begin with. If you want something serious, I think I can give you that, but only if we have a good date," I chuckled.
I looked over at him smiling face as he laughed along. Around his eyes his skin would crinkle up which I thought was adorable. His smile was so much sweeter than in the posters I had up in my room when I was young. He had aged like a fine wine.
"Trust me, I'll try to find a way to show you a good time even though all the restaurants are closed," Paul said. "You know, the thing I love about midnight walks while no one is around is that you can sing your heart out without anyone hearing. It's even better, because it's nearly 2ish, so it's even more dead out here."
I looked around and saw no one roaming the streets. There was only the occasional neighbourhood cat that had squeezed past their owner's gate and that was it. Paul's started humming a melody that I instantly recognised.
"Wait, you aren't actually gonna-"
"Oh yeah I tell you something, I think you'll understand. When I say that something, I wanna hold your haaaaaaaand!" Paul's booming voice sang.
"S-Shut up!" I giggled, getting embarrassed and worried that people would hear.
"I wanna hold your haaaaaand! I wanna hold you hand," Paul kept singing, grinning with laughter when he saw my reaction.
I grabbed his hand. "There, you happy now? I'm holding your hand."
"Maybe I should embarrass you more often then," Paul said with a wink. "Come on, there's this place open that I always go to late at night down here. It's not the fanciest place but it has good food, and I thought I'd treat you to a nice little meal."
We walked to this little pub together. There were still quite a few people here so it was still very lively. We sat at a small table across from each other and ordered our food. Paul must have been a regular here because they offered him 'the usual', but he declined and just asked for some wine for us.
He sipped his wine and stared at me, making me feel a bit shy again. I tucked my hair behind my ear and smiled at him as he put the wine glass down. Paul rested his head on in his hand and his elbow on the table, and he leaned slightly forward as he continued to gaze.
"You're so beautiful," Paul said dreamily. "I'm sorry, I can't stop looking. I truly apologise for all this staring. You may turn me into a very possessive man."
"Thank you, Paul, but I trust that we're on this date to get to know each other, not just because you thought I have a pretty face."
"Oh of course, but the pretty face doesn't hurt," Paul said.
It felt so strange to be complimented so much. It wasn't like it weirded me out or anything, but this amount of admiration was almost foreign to me. It was very rare you came across times like these, but it made you feel special and good about yourself.
It was a shame that I was just as bad at giving as receiving. Of course I thought he was extremely attractive, and I had to admit I would catch myself staring too, but I didn't know how to compliment him. I assumed he had heard it all before, so I didn't know whether or not I should say anything.
"You're really good at making me feel special, aren't you?" I said, trying to stop blushing so much.
"You should feel special. You're a very unique woman, I like you," Paul said, the last phrase making him sound like a 13 year old in love. "Tell me about yourself, what do you do?"
Nothing came to mind, so I said the most boring thing I could've said.
"I teach English and Maths."
Inside, I was mentally face palming and yelling at myself for saying that. I was so worried that made him think I was a total nerd or so boring or something. No one liked teachers, even adults thanks to the old school ways of teachers when adults were still children.
He reacted completely different, however. Paul smiled, making his eyes crinkle at the sides again. "Really?" he asked in an excited voice.
My smile came back as I nodded. "Yeah, to years 8 and 9."
"Damn, you're impressive. You're gorgeous and you're hardworking and smart. My god are you just perfect," Paul said in awe.
"Stop it, you're too much," I giggled stupidly. "You make me feel like a princess."
"You're more of a queen, but we're getting there," Paul said. "I'm sorry, I must be embarrassing you quite a bit, but you're so pretty. It's been a long time since I've looked at someone this way. A very, very long time."
He would continue complimenting me throughout the night. Paul took me to his house as he wanted more time with me in private. I suppose he very rarely got to meet someone in the circumstances we met.
We learned so much about each other. He told me so much about so much of his life and I told him much of mine. We both seemed to stray away from one topic however, and that was love. I knew that he had to deal with hardship in his love life but he didn't know about mine. Maybe it would've helped us relate to each other a bit more, but I didn't want to dive into that conversation with him yet. The wounds were still raw and open and talking about it felt like putting salt into them.
We were sat on his couch and had noticed how late it was. We had been talking for hours and hadn't even realised. He was that type of person you could talk to endlessly and not even notice time passing by. It was fun being around him, it was something new.
It was already 5am. I wasn't sure how I managed to even stay up until then, but I did. I didn't feel one bit sleepy. Maybe the excitement managed to keep me up. It wasn't like the excitement of being with a celebrity anymore, it was just the excitement of meeting someone who I could talk to so easily.
"Look, I know it's very early in the morning and we should be getting you home soon, but I wanna spend more time with you," Paul said, smiling. "It's feels like I've known you forever, y'know. I really like you."
His eyes went down to look at my lips before looking back up at me, which drive me crazy. "I-I really like you too," I said.
Paul scooted in closer and slowly snuck his arm around me, gazing into my eyes. "You're beautiful. This is gonna seem very fast and forward, but I just... I want to kiss you."
"On the first date?" I asked.
He nodded. "I don't give much of a crap about that stuff anyway. Feelings are feelings, and I have feelings for you. Come here, Francis."
His fingers held my chin and his pulled me in for a soft kiss. My heart sang as our lips moved and I felt him smile into the kiss. I couldn't help but grin either, it proved to be far too much excitement for me to handle.
As we kissed more deeply, I laid down on the couch, pulling him down with me. His lips tasted so sweet and were enough for me to just want to keep going with him. His tongue would lightly brush against my lips before I let him slip in that tiny bit much.
Paul held my hips and pushed his against mine, giving me a strong idea of what he wanted. He was very quick to know what he wanted, but I didn't mind with him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, making my dress ride up a bit.
I felt his hands travel up my skirt and rest on my thighs, very cheekily high up. He pulled away and looked at me, unable to stop smiling. "Can we spend this morning together?" Paul asked.
"Of course we can," I replied, pulling him back down into the kiss.
**
And here we are, into the first chapter of the book! So excited to share this story with you all, and I wanna thank everyone here for taking interest and deciding to have a read.