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London’s West End, 6.32 p.m. Friday, July 15th 2022
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Elle got out of the Uber and went to the rear of the car where the driver was putting her small suitcase on the sidewalk. The full heat of the day had thankfully cooled. Unusually for the UK and the rest of Europe, there was an extended summer heatwave. It was sticky and stifling, and was a hot topic for many. Having lived the last 15 years in warm climates, Elle was more used to it than most, not that it meant she enjoyed the humidity.
But climate change it seemed was here to stay, despite various politicians both side of the Atlantic trying to deny its existence. The weather was successfully vying with the pandemic on the news with warnings to keep hydrated and high UV ratings, beating mask wearing and social distancing.
People were burned out with more than two years of a virus or a conspiracy dictating how they lived their lives. Stores were full of more fun things such as beach wear, barbeques and sunscreen. But unlike the vast majority of her countrymen, Elle was still wearing a mask as there were two new COVID variants, being a teacher, schools were a well-known breeding ground of disease.
The driver got back in and drove off. Her phone beeped, and she tapped on the WhatsApp notification from Lee, ‘Blue door, buzz 6, 2nd floor, cmon up x’
The butterflies in her belly started flapping their wings in earnest, they’d been in a constant state of agitation since Lee’d contacted her six weeks ago wanting to meet up and he gave her some dates in July. He’d said that all being well season two of Apple TV+’s Foundation would wrap at the end of June, and then he had some obligations that kept him in Europe before having to head back Stateside for the promo for the opening of his new movie Bodies Bodies Bodies on August 5th.
Lee wanted to see Elle again not just as the pandemic’s deathly grip had lessened and it was easier for everyone to get together again. But she had also finished studying and had been working the last year as a secondary school art teacher in her native UK. She’d told him she finally had got the British equivalent to the US’s teacher license.
His mother had been an elementary school teacher and he had a lot of respect for the profession. He was really proud of Elle; it was what she’d talked about during lockdown, retraining from being an ESL teacher and starting back down at the bottom of the ladder. He admired the changes she’d been willing to do to make it happen, especially as she was a similar age to him and most people would want to be in position with more status and a better salary. He thought she was truly courageous along with her traveling lifestyle. She’d moved back to the UK in August 2020, living back in her home country for the first time in over a decade. It'd been helped ironically in part by the insurance payment for the accident that had happened while she’d been staying with him. It made Lee wonder what fate had in store for them next.
Possible dates had bounced back and forth, her school term didn’t end until July 22nd, but he was due to head back to Austin, Texas on the 20th to see his parents, collect his dog and drive back to his farm in upstate New York. So they’d settled on the preceding weekend in London. Lee’d found a two-bedroom apartment in the West End on Airbnb that would be perfect for the visit.
He flew in mid-morning, went for a run, and on his way back mooched around the West End perusing the plays before getting some groceries. He’d discarded his sweaty clothes, cooled down doing some naked yoga, then dosed off a couple of times in the bath despite the too-small tub. Lee dried off and set his alarm to allow for a short nap. He’d almost had dinner prepared by the time Elle joined him after nearly an hour-and-a-half trip up from her new home south-east of the capital once she’d finished school.
To see Lee, she’d had to sacrifice most of the three weekends and evenings of the previous weeks to ensure all of her planning and all the final assessments were graded. She was exhausted, but thankfully most of her classes had good kids in them, and the school’s behavior system was rigorous and that meant a lot. The last week of the academic year would mostly be a breeze and she might even be able to start on preparations for the new academic year if she was lucky.
Turning her attention back to the impending meeting, she just hoped she didn’t fall asleep on him. That would be ironic after all the build-up. Perhaps the snooze on the train would save her. She forced a deep breath out and looking around, spotted the only blue door in the quiet close and headed toward it.
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Lee turned the pot of pasta down to simmer and went to check his appearance in the full-length mirror in his bedroom, suddenly doubting his choice of clothing. He perused the few clothes he’d brought with him now hanging in the small but amply-sized closet. He had a lot of work-out gear with him as it was easier to maintain his bulked-up shape that he'd worked so hard to maintain to play the prime emperor Cleon role. Plus, it'd become a bit of a habit and it felt so good, if he was honest.
But was he trying too hard? He was wearing what he’d been hiking in a few days before, his favorite short black shorts that were freshly laundered, teamed with a new snuggly fitting dusky rose tee-shirt. It was casual. It was pretty similar to what he’d had on around his farm when she’d been there, wasn’t it? Perhaps he’d worn more long pants and warmer layers due to it being early spring in chilly upstate New York. But was he trying to impress her, or would it make her feel uncomfortable with so much of his flesh on show? Was he giving off the wrong vibe?
Part of his reason for meeting up again was to see if there was still something between them. Lee didn't know if what'd happened on the farm just circumstances or something more. He still thought of her and there a powerful pull, but their forced time together had been brief and finite. He reasoned if it'd gone on longer maybe it would've come to a natural conclusion. Was he just stoking up something that would make both of them miserable?
He suddenly heard Elle’s voice in his head from before things turned intimate, complaining that she was straight, and he needed to put some big baggy shapeless joggers on as the temptation of seeing all his flesh was too much.
This summer, there’d been a lot of interest in his thighs, and him, since shots of him clad in a pink pastel designer short suit had been posted and few weeks ago, at the end of June when he’d attended the said designer’s cheeky Spring 2023 menswear collection in Paris, just after the filming of season two of Foundation had finished and he’d been exhausted.
He’d been amazed at the frenzy and had decided to pour more fuel on the fire by giving some more stylized shots of a recent hiking trip a few days before in Austria. They were currently being re-posted in earnest by his fanbase on Instagram and Twitter and other media outlets had picked up on his supposed ‘reply.’
Although, he didn’t want to make Elle feel uncomfortable; but she had said how much she liked his thighs and how he should wear more shorts. Lee tried to stop himself from recalling the exact moment when she’d told him as she kissed up them on her way to give him a devastating blow job in his shower, but the vision of his cock in her mouth flashed through his brain anyway.
He decided to change just when his phone beeped, and he read the message that she'd arrived. Fuck! Well it was too late now, and he tapped out a reply.
Lee'd had regular PCR tests on set and Elle showed him her freshly taken antibody test, so the evening was spent without masks. It went well, there was polite conversation over the salmon dinner with pasta and braised vegetables. It was followed by some store-bought chocolate ice-cream sprinkled with raspberries. Then taking the rest of the bottle of chilled Alsace Riesling, they adjourned to the wide three-seater sofa and carried on catching up. The wine and the meal helped to relax them both, but Elle started yawning, having risen early and her day had been filled with her own classes as well as a cover lesson of a renowned more difficult one.
They talked about their plans for the next day, and then Elle excused herself and got ready for bed. Despite her exhaustion, she lay awake until sleep eventually took her, she thought of all the things she’d wanted to tell him but had lacked the courage. She knew Lee was seeing someone and hadn’t felt like prying. Perhaps they’d talk about him tomorrow. But if Lee was in love with this guy, she knew she’d find it hard not to show her true feelings, she wasn’t an actor after all.
Lee stayed up for a while contemplating the evening, was it just that she was tired? Or was there something else? He couldn’t decide. He wanted to go to her room but wasn’t sure of the reception. He’d been looking forward to seeing her again, his dreams had returned to the erotic ones that’d filled the long, lonely nights after she’d left their quarantined love nest.
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The next day, Lee rose early while it was still relatively cool, put his N95 mask in his pocket for times when he would be near others. He headed towards the Mall and ran around St. James’s Park and up to Buckingham Palace. He pushed himself as much as he could dodging people on their way to work as he went past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and then stretched his long legs by pounding the wide walkway along Thames for a short while before turning back. He loved being lost in the crowd, just one of the many health-conscious people out, mingling with the commuters in the busy city that had a similar vibe to his beloved NYC. With only a baseball cap and sunglasses, he was glad that he could still pass in relative anonymity out in public.
On his way back to the apartment, it was already starting to heat up, with many stores he passed displaying signs advertising cold water for sale. Lee found it amusing that a temperature of 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit was enough to cause most Brits consternation, although it wasn’t as if manyz places had air con, he reasoned.
Elle’d also rolled her eyes and laughed about it too, but she had lived in much warmer climates for the most of the last twelve years. Even more than him, she said she felt rootless. He enjoyed traveling, but his farm was his sanctuary.
He'd just turned into the street leading to the one the apartment was in when his phone beeped. He stopped and relieved it was just Elle asking when he’d be back. Not that she was rushing him but she’d like to make him breakfast. He replied to her message that he’d be back in 5.
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They’d planned a few things for the weekend, but the main one was to see a show, after looking at the ones currently playing they’d decided on Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical. Elle had seen it before with some friends and their children, but had been very enthusiastic about seeing it again. He’d read great reviews too and also loved a good musical, especially one with talented kids. He knew of Tim Minchin as well, who had written the bulk of the songs for the production.
Bryan Fuller had talked about how much he’d like a musical version of Pushing Daisies with the fantastic Kristin Chenoweth, or rather her character, Olive, taking more of a central role to be penned by the talented Australian composer and lyricist. Not that it'll been anything more that a pipe dream.
Like many fans, Lee still hoped there would be some kind of revival for the show that'd been cut short due to the writer's strike in 2009. Perhaps there'd be a short TV series or a movie. He was in contact with all of the main cast members and there’d been renewed interest during the early days of the pandemic. The no touching part of the plot had seemed particularly relevant with all the COVID restrictions.
He'd been honored to join a special live rewatching of the very first episode with Bryan, Anna Friel and Kristin and fans all reminiscing at the end of March 2020. Elle had been there with him of course, but had sat just out of range of his laptop’s camera and had stayed quiet the entire time. He’d got her access, so she’d been there adding to the comments.
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After the show, they’d walked down through the bustle of Covent Garden, marveling at the mimes and human statues. Then they went down to the Thames to enjoy the additional hours of daylight just strolling along and had redonned their masks. It helped to make him even more unrecognizable at least.
At some point, he’d offered his arm and Elle had slipped her hand through. They fell into a relaxed step and she opened up a little more about her life back in the UK. Then Elle said she didn’t think she’d stay, but didn’t know where to go. She did mention that a lot of international teaching contracts offered flights and housing and were more lucrative and apparently less stressful than teaching in the UK. That there was the need to travel and gave him some hope.
Lee’d made a reservation at a restaurant he’d been taken to by Anna on a previous visit. He knew it was out of Elle’s price range, but he wanted to treat her. He liked that she fought him, and had pointed out that he’d also bought dinner and breakfast and had paid for their accommodation. Lee told her she'd paid for other things that day and not to stress.
Elle’d complained that she’d got their matinee tickets at a discount and they’d only had a subway-style sandwich and a cafe latte each for lunch. Although, he'd reminded her that it was at the Tate Modern, and the prices were pretty exorbitant and she was a teacher and it wasn’t as if he’d seen her in two years so could she please just let him pay and stop trying to match him?
Unlike other people he knew, some who were richer than him, Elle didn’t take his money for granted. Lee’d seen the stubborn way she’d set her jaw, but she’d nodded and ordered one of the lower-priced mains insisting it was what she wanted. It’d been his turn to roll his eyes and she’d just grinned with mock innocence.
The sun was starting to set as he graciously allowed Elle to get the Uber back to the flat. It was too early to go to bed, and so Lee opened the bottle of wine that Elle'd brought with her as they mulled over something to watch that would be enjoyable but not too taxing.
Elle was amazed with the ease that Lee had adapted to life outside of his bubble and the big-budget production. Here he was in London, just doing normal things, living life free of the dual-edged shackles that fame came with.
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