“Hazel? Your manager needs you back down in men’s.”

 

Lola, the cosmetics manager called out to her. It was almost closing time and whenever the department was slow, Hazel would take the time to check out the makeup counters. It was one of her favorite pass-times, looking through all of the lipsticks and bronzers. The foundations and all the different color eye-shadows. Makeup had always been her biggest passion. If she had her way, she’d be working in the cosmetics department instead of men’s but the store manager insisted she drove more sales downstairs.

Hazel nodded, grabbing her company phone and sliding it into the pocket of her black skinny jeans before walking down the escalator. Her eyes caught sight of those beautiful blonde locks from the night before and a shy smile crept onto her face.

 

“Hazel, Mr. Hunnam is here to see you. He specifically said you’re the only one he wants to work with.” Alan said, a hint of jealousy in his tone.

 

“Charlie?”

 

She asked as he approached the two of them. It had been months since his last visit to Barney’s. She never really had it in mind that she’d run into him again – much less him coming back ‘specifically’ looking for her.

 

“Hey,” He replied charmingly..

 

“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you for a while.”

 

She couldn’t help but smile as she stepped closer towards him. Almost instinctively he placed a hand on her hip, leaning in to kiss her cheek. It caught her off guard but she couldn’t say she minded. Not only was he extremely attractive and smelled delicious, but she also loved the hateful glances a few of the co-workers threw her. Alan, smiled bitterly before going back towards his office.

 

“Well, you did say to drop by next time I was in the city.” His smile just as charming as the last time.

 

It brought a blush to her cheeks but she swept her hair behind her ear and cleared her throat.

 

“Well I’m glad you did. What can I help you with?”

 

His smile slipped into more of a smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah, come on now – we can be a bit less proper can’t we?”

 

“I wish.” She laughed lightly. “If any of my managers saw me acting less formal with a major celebrity, I’d be in the unemployment line before the end of the day.”

 

“Major celebrity?” He scoffed playfully.

 

“You’ve had your fair share of screen time, Mr. Hunnam.”

 

He laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Alright, alright. How about you help me pick out some shirts?”

 

With a nod, Hazel went to the counter to grab her key chain, quickly checking one of the mirrors she passed by to make sure she looked acceptable before walking back to Charlie and leading him towards the men’s contemporary department.

 

“What did you have in mind?”

 

She asked, going through a few t-shirts on a rack. He glanced at the shirts not really paying any mind before his attention returned to her.

 

“We’ll I came in to see if you had any plans for tonight. If I have to buy a shirt in order to talk to you then so be it.”

 

His smile lit up his face and Hazel could feel her cheeks burning with a blush that she couldn’t quite hide. Was he serious? This had to be some sort of joke, but when she looked at him, he was just staring at her expectantly.

 

“I – I don’t – I don’t have any plans for tonight.”  She replied slowly. Mentally punching herself for stuttering like an idiot. When did she ever stutter? This wasn’t her first time being hit on, maybe by someone as hot as Charlie, but she’d never once been as nervous as she was right now.

 

“Well good, how about a drink – maybe some dinner? Yeah?”

 

He was asking her out. Holy shit.

 

“Uh, um.. Tonight?”

 

“Yeah tonight.” He nodded sensing her nervousness.

 

“I don’t know Charlie. I’m a mess, I’ve been working all day. I’m not even dressed!”

 

Hazel was scared. That’s all it was. She hadn’t been on a real date in forever and now he comes along asking her to one. She rambled off any excuse she could but he didn’t seem to be taking it as a no.

 

“One: You look beautiful. Two: We’ll stop by your place so you can get changed. And three: it’ll be a nice quiet night. No worries.”

 

She bit the corner of her lip and looked into his eyes. They were so warm and caring. No hidden agenda behind them whatsoever. A night quiet night with a super hot guy couldn’t hurt right? Let alone Charlie Hunnam.

 

She nodded her head slowly and he smiled again. “Alright. Dinner and a drink.”

 

“Good.” He smirked confidently before looking at his watch. “So store closes when?”

 

“9PM”

 

He looked her up and down, biting his lip before he placed a hand on her hip to kiss her cheek again, only this time he lingered longer. It was enough to get her intoxicated off the feel of his touch. The warmth of his palm pressed against her mixed with his breath in her ear. It took everything in her not to let out a small moan.

 

“I’ll see you outside at 9pm.”

 

He whispered in her ear before pulling away from her. Shooting back another friendly smile, he made his way out through the main doors leaving Hazel there, both breathless and speechless.

 

---

 

 

Sure enough, at 9:15 she’d closed down the department and walked outside to see Charlie standing there, bouquet of roses in hand. She felt her stomach flutter and smiled as she walked up to him.

 

“Are these for me?” She asked as casually as possible.

 

“Nah,” He replied, waving his hand. “An adoring fan just stopped by to give me these.”

 

“We’ll now I’m jealous. Here I thought, you were being all sweet.” I laughed lightly.

 

“Of course they’re for you.” He chuckled, handing them over. “Did you drive in?”

 

“No, I took the subway. I’m all the way out in Brooklyn.”

 

“I don’t mind the drive.” He nodded his head towards a blacked out Audi and opened the door for her. “Just put in the address on the GPS.”

 

Hazel nodded, unsure of really what to say. She was still in a daze as her legs moved her into his car and he shut the door before getting into the driver’s side. She looked around the clean, all black, leather interior and new car smell. This was almost definitely a rental. A very nice, expensive rental.

 

“Seems like a hell of a subway ride from here to Brooklyn, especially this late at night.”

 

He looked over at her, a concerned look on his face as it’s defined features were accentuated by shadows coming in from the streetlights. She shrugged her shoulders, placing her bag next to her legs before she leaned back comfortably.

“I don’t really have much of a choice. I need to work somewhere and I’ve had it up to here” she motioned her hand above her head to indicate the level. “working as a waitress in restaurants over there. Besides, I like the city life out here. When I have morning shifts I usually make my way to Time Square. It’s always fun to see tourist’s faces light up when they take all of this in.”

 

“I remember the first time I’d come here. It was like a whole new world, ya’know? But I could never live out here though, to loud for me. My place in LA is pretty secluded. After dealing with people all day, at the end of it I want nothing more than some peace and quiet.”

 

She laughed and shook her head. “See I love my peace and quiet, but I could never be secluded. I’d drive myself crazy. As much of a hermit as I am, I love the city, maybe not times square but if it was up to me, I’d be living in an apartment right near Columbus circle. But we can’t all be as lucky.”

 

Charlie smiled, looking over at her as she spoke. “So Columbus circle, huh?”

 

“Yup, close enough to the action and overlooks a good part of the park. It’s perfect.”

 

He smirked and nodded his head. The car ride conversation wasn’t anywhere near as awkward as she’d expected. Even though he was essentially a stranger, there was a sense of comfort to him that made her nerves calm down and let her enjoy the ride. He was actually a really sweet guy. Not pushy or creepy or even arrogant for being as famous as he was.

 

The car soon came to a stop and they got out. She felt his hand on the small of her back as they walked up inside, pressing the button on the elevator. They stood quietly for a minute before the doors closed to take them up to the eighth floor, his eyes taking in the building. This was definitely not up to his standards but it was what she could afford and she was proud of that. It’s not like she could count on her parents for much.

 

She felt the need to explain herself as soon as the elevator dinged and the doors opened on her floor.  She wasn’t sure why. The place wasn’t a dump or anything, she’d have friends over all the time but it was different with him. He was used to more. Better.

 

“Look, it’s not much but it’s home to me.”

 

She said as she fumbled anxiously with her keys before opening the door to her small studio apartment. The room was painted white except for an exposed brick wall with the bed on the far end, no frame, just a large comforter, dark grey sheets and lots of pillows of different sizes. The whole thing looked like a giant cloud. Next to that were two large doors leading to a small walk in closet and the bathroom. On the wall adjacent to it was a large L-shaped white couch, also covered in pillows, facing a large TV. Against the wall by the front door was a small kitchen with white cabinets and silver appliances. She had large fake plants in the corners of the room to add color.

 

She walked in, placing her purse and roses  on the kitchen counter before turning to look at him. His eyes wandered the room before he smiled.

 

“This is nice.” He said stepping closer to her, placing his hand on her waist. “Reminds me of my old apartment back home.”

 

She smiled in relief but he was just being polite. “Why don’t you make yourself at home. I’ll try to be quick.”

 

He nodded and walked over to the couch,  grabbing the remote. She smiled at how he looked. Completely comfortable, like he belonged there.

 

Walking into her little closet, she looked through her clothes trying to decide on what to wear. Charlie was dressed pretty casually, jeans and a red and white flannel. It was clear they weren’t going anywhere to high end.

 

She slipped off her work pants and changed into a pair dark denim jeans with a loose fitting white tank top that hung a little low on her chest showing off a little bit of cleavage m she threw on a burgundy cardigan and black heels before looking at the wall mirror to run her fingers through her hair and fix her makeup.

 

Shit. Did she even have enough to go out tonight? She knew he’d insist on paying but she’d worked way to hard at being independent to go out without at least pitching in. Besides he’d already bought her roses. Really pretty. Really expensive roses. Ugh.

 

Opening her bank app on her phone, she looked at her account and wanted to cry. After paying for classes, books, electric, and phone, she barely had enough to ride the subway to work until her next check.

 

It’d been forever since she’d been on a date and she was going to screw this whole thing up, but there was no way she was leaving this house with no money of her own.

 

As she walked out, she noticed Charlie standing over her bed, holding one of her school books before she caught his eye and he turned his attention towards her.

 

“You look beautiful.” He beamed, “You ready to go?”

 

Biting her lip nervously, Hazel took a deep breath before shaking her head. God. She was going to regret this. He was going to be upset and just like that she’d never see him again.

 

“Actually..Charlie tonight isn’t a good night.”

 

His smile faded into something of concern and he walked up to her slowly. “Everything okay?”

 

“Yeah! Look you’ve been so great and this is really embarrassing but I just paid off classes and a few bills. It’s not a good idea for me to go out tonight.”

 

He chuckled lightly and placed his hands on her arms, leaning down slightly to catch her gaze since she had been avoiding eye contact.

 

“Hey, hey. Is this about money? I’m the one who asked you out, I got this covered.”

 

“I know! And that’s really sweet of you, but I can’t let you do that. I wouldn’t feel comfortable. Besides you already bought me these gorgeous flowers.”

 

“This is a date babe, of course I bought you flowers.”

 

“I know! And that was so incredibly nice of you but I want to be able to contribute to the date too, not just sit there while you take care of everything.”

 

Charlie sighed, running his fingers through his slicked back hair. “I’m not going to win this am I?”

 

Smiling shyly, she shook her head. “Afraid not.”

 

“Okay, fine. Then why don’t we hang out here? We can order in, watch some movies, you got any beer?”

 

He suggested and Hazel’s face lit up. This was definitely not what she expected but he was genuinely interested in spending time with her. She smiled and nodded.
“That would be perfect. Beer’s in the fridge, and how about I cook instead?”

 

“Sounds like my kinda girl.”

 

He laughed and she took her heels off, walking to the kitchen to see what she had. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for her infamous pasta.
“You’re going to love this!”

 

She said as she pulled out a large pot to fill with water before putting it on the stove to boil.
He walked to the fridge pulling out a beer and smiled as he took a long pull. “I already am.”

 

---

 

 

Making dinner had been full of flirtatious banter between the two. Charlie had insisted on helping despite the fact that she kept shooing him away from the stove. Hazel couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed this much. It was an unexplainable feeling how safe and familiar this all felt even though they were essentially strangers who’d seen each other one other time before tonight. He was ambitious though, he saw something he liked and went after it. No need to be shy or nervous about it. Not like he had a reason to be, he was extremely sexy, but it was nice to know that she was what he wanted.

 

He’d set the plates on the small coffee table she had in front of her couch and she’d grabbed two more bottles of beer for the two of them. They settled on a romantic comedy after some back and forth before they took a seat on some pillows on the floor next to the table so they could eat. He was so relaxed about the whole thing and in a way she was extremely happy they didn’t go out tonight. This way they’d learned so much more about each other than they would have around other people.

 

She put her plate back down on the table, leaning back against couch with her hands on her stomach before she groaned.

 

“I’m so full!”

 

She heard him chuckle before he joined her in leaning back, throwing an arm over her shoulder to pull her close.

 

“No room for desert?” He asked jokingly and she groaned again.

 

“NO! I feel like I’m going to explode.”

 

He laughed and she laid her head on his shoulder, tucking herself into his side as they fell into a comfortable silence while they watched the movie. His fingertips tracing soft circles on her arm as he held her close.

 

This was nice. This was so nice. She’d missed having a man around to cuddle and hang out with. But Charlie wasn’t just any man. He was an actor. An incredibly famous actor who lived in LA. His job was there. His friends were there, but she was here. 3,000 miles away. What happens now?