Research: Romance

faking it

Despite the urge to grab him by the arm and throw him into the nearest room for interrogation, I follow Robin toward Caleb. Careful to keep my distance, I make it look like I'm simply moving in the same direction while navigating the room. 

Branching away briefly, I ask Desi to hide the books I took from Robin's office somewhere safe until I can put them back. Then I hand off the autograph to the man who asked for his partner. He passed me a grateful smile, which I happily returned. From there, Robin weaved us through the crowd toward the back yard. 

It wasn't long before I heard the boisterous voice of Caleb ringing in the night.  He was standing beside the pool, sandy hair shining in the reflection of the lightbulbs strung along the yard. A crowd of people, including the one and only Maizy Barker, had gathered near him and were talking noisily. Upon seeing Robin and I come outside, he raises his arm slightly, as if to call out to us. That is until Robin makes a show of looking around uneasily and urges us into the darkened perimeter of the house. I watched Caleb play off his raised hand; He pretends to be straightening his jacket, eyes narrowing curiously on his cousin. 

We walked in the shadows of the yard, only appearing enough times to be tracked. My body burst into shivers, both due to the autumn night air and the bristling weight of Caleb following our every move. Robin continued toward what looked like a pool house at the side of the property. My heart contested every beat in my chest, and I exhaled slowly through puffed cheeks.

Maizy's small figure was swaying from side to side as she spoke enthusiastically to a woman on her left. Mentally, I was begging that she had terrible peripheral vision, or was exceptionally drunk so that she wouldn't notice Caleb trailing his eyes along the perimeter of the yard. It felt like everything was hinging on luck tonight, and I had never been a naturally lucky person.

Robin's hand brushed mine, and I ripped my eyes away from Maizy to stare at him. He nudged his chin in a subtle gesture toward Caleb, who was finishing his drink and moving to follow us. It occurred to me at this moment, that I had no idea what Robin's plan was.

Unlatching a small gate at the side of the yard, Robin guided me through in the dark, then latched it again with a click. His hand took mine and we walked up an unpaved path that led up toward the pool house. The rocks crunched under my heels, making me wobble on the uneven surface as the path turned into a small hill.

"Where are we--" I whisper but he turns around with his fingers on his lips. The moon casts just enough light for me to see him pointing down the little hill toward the shadowy figure tailing us. My eyes strain to see Maizy, and I can barely catch a glint of her gold dress before she steps out of sight. Please, God. Don't let her come up here. 

We reach a set of glass French doors, which open into a comfortable room. It's all one level with couches and a television on the right and a kitchen on the left. A closed door sits at the back of the kitchen, while a small hallway leads off from the living room. Robin shuts the front door and takes us that way.

"You are frighteningly good at this." I whisper, furrowing my eyebrows in concern.

It's too dark to see what he's thinking, so all I get back is, "Half of my life has been dodging paparazzi and outsmarting fake murderers."

"So, is this part of Robin's How to Survive Paparazzi guide?" I whispered, looking behind us but seeing nothing yet. "Or the part where I have to outsmart being murdered? Because the so far the suspense is killing me."

We move down the hall toward the first door, which leads to a sparsely decorated bedroom. Robin snorts, in response, not willing to give an answer on the subject. I grumbled at him, as we filed into the room. He leaves the door open just a crack behind us, before walking to a window where the moon is streaming in.