So he found himself sitting in her hotel room, on her bed, so close their arms were touching. They were laughing and joking, trying to pick something out from the room service menu. Eddie offered to order their food, but Anna was convinced someone would make a big deal out of him being in her room, so she did the ordering. Meanwhile he was put in charge of finding out what they were going to watch. He wanted to find a movie, possibly a romcom or something that was an easy watch, but still set a mood.
"Romcom or scary movie?" He asked when she brought the food in.
She grimaced. "Ugh, I'm not good with scary movies. So romcom," she placed a little tray with a sandwich for each of them in front of him.
"Now this is romantic," he said when she dimmed the lights. He smirked at her, and she blushed. "You're blushing, Doc," he nudged her shoulder.
"You're blushing!" She retaliated and poked him in the shoulder.
They ate their sandwiches and watched 'Something Borrowed'. Eddie offered her to lean against him and put his arm around her. She leaned her head against his chest, and he felt warm and bubbly when she draped her arm around him. She was soft and cuddly, she laughed at the same things he did, and she was so easy to be with. At the end of the movie, she was quiet, and it turned out that she had fallen asleep. He smiled to himself and eventually he fell asleep too.
She woke him in the middle of the night, apologising. "I'm so sorry, I trapped you here," she said sleepily, as she sat up.
"You didn't," he said and sat up. "I wanted to stay." It was the truth, he wanted the connection and closeness with her. His reputation as a womanizer was wearing on him, firstly because it was untrue, but also because it clouded all connections he made. Many of the women he met seemed to think they had to act a certain way around him, like they were performing. He longed for the genuine connection where someone was unapologetically themselves with him.
"Won't people assume things if they find out you slept here?" She asked, biting her lip.
He shrugged. "Does it matter? People always assume things, and I can assure you that 90% of the time they're wrong."
She smiled and drew her knees up to hug them. "What about Ben?" She asked with a small voice. None of them wanted to hurt his feelings.
"Ben isn't here. I wouldn't parade in front of him, rubbing it in his face, but he understands that this is different." Eddie put his hand on top of hers. "I really, really like you. You calm me, you're funny and sweet. You're so smart and hanging out with you makes me happy. I'm not going to ask anything of you that you're uncomfortable with. If you'd like me to go, I'll head back to my room?"
She shook her head. "I don't want you to go." She smiled shyly. "I'd love it if you stayed. Just to sleep of course!"
"Well that settles it," he said and settled back down on the bed. "Big spoon or little spoon?"
***
Anna's alarm went off early in the morning. Eddie had his arm around her, holding her tightly. He groaned as she stirred trying to reach out for her phone to turn off the alarm.
"Eddie... I need to turn it off!" She giggled as he tightened his grip on her.
"How do I know you won't disappear out of my dreams, and I'll wake up all alone?" He said dramatically, making her laugh her goofy laugh.
"I promise, I'm not going anywhere." She looked back at him with her most innocent gaze, looking up at him under her eyelashes. Those beautiful dark-brown eyes with a little twinkle of mischief. Truly intoxicating.
He raised an eyebrow at her, and narrowed his eyes. "I'll chase you if you do. And if I catch you I'm going to kiss you."
Anna drew in her breath, and leaned forward to grab her phone, but she couldn't reach it, so she had to climb out of bed. She turned off the alarm and turned to look at Eddie. Then she started backing away from the bed.
"What do you think you're doing Doc?" He asked, a huge smile on his face.
She giggled and took another step backwards, giving him a challenging look.
He sat up in bed, making sure she knew that he would chase after her, if she tried to make another move. She slowly took a small step, and he was up and out of bed in a matter of seconds. He closed the distance between them, so fast she never made it away. He pulled her close and tickled her sides. She belly-laughed and begged him to stop.
"Please! No more!" She wailed and threw her arms around his neck. She looked up into his eyes, pausing for a moment. He smiled as he studied her face, his eyes landing on her lips. She bit her bottom lip softly, her breath shaky.
"Is it okay?" He whispered, his hands on her back, softly stroking her. She nodded, and closed her eyes as he leaned down and kissed her on the tip of her nose. He leaned back and chuckled, as she opened her eyes and gave him the oddest look.
"Seriously?" She laughed and looked shocked. "That was mean, Eddie!"
"Why?" He smirked, still holding on to her.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. "You said you'd kiss me..."
"And I did. I didn't specify where," he chuckled proudly while he winked at her.
"Suits me right for assuming, huh?" She laughed and tried to pull away from him. He wasn't going to let her go though, instead he pulled her even closer, leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. Her lips were warm and soft to the touch, just like he had fantasized about. She kissed him back, small soft kisses at first, but the intensity built and a fire started between them. Anna parted her lips, and their tongues met in a passionate kiss. Eddie let his hands travel down her back until they landed on her bottom. He squeezed lightly, and she giggled against his lips. He pulled away from the kiss to look at her, causing her to make a groan of disappointment.
"What?" He laughed, and looked at her, fighting the need to pull her back into bed. But he had promised both her and himself that they wouldn't rush things and that it would develop slowly; they had time.
"Don't stop," she whined obviously aware of the effect that would have, and how much of a struggle it was for him not to take it a step further.
He tucked a curl behind her ear, and kissed her again, struggling to keep a lid on how turned on he was. Her hands were in his hair, she was softly running her fingers through his curls. It was intoxicating to feel her touch and to finally kiss her. She wasn't making it easy for him, and she was very clearly turned on as well, pressing herself against him. He pulled away again, out of breath and looked at her.
"We have to hit the brakes, Doc. Or I won't be able to stop again." He stroked her cheek and smiled at her. "But you know I want you, right?"
She nodded and leaned closer expectantly, like she was waiting for him to crash his lips on hers again. "I'm not far away, you could just..." She smiled cheekily and leaned closer, her lips inches from his. "One more?" She asked, and he couldn't refuse her.
***
He was feeling high and elated when he went back to his suite. It had been the perfect night, with the perfect ending. He took a shower and stood for a long while, letting the water run down over him, while he still felt her kiss lingering on his lips. His body wanted more, and he could only dream of how lovely it would be once they took the next step. He smiled to himself and felt the excitement of seeing her at the venue shortly after.
Once he finished his shower, he got ready to go to the venue for a soundcheck. Ben offered to give him a ride there, so Eddie met up with him in the parking garage.
"Hey Ed, you look happy today," Ben said when Eddie got into his car.
Eddie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good. Excited for the show tonight." He didn't want to tell Ben about kissing Anna. It hadn't been many days since Ben kissed her, and Eddie was sure Ben had feelings for her, so telling him about their night would be inconsiderate.
But Ben was giving him the look. The knowing look of a friend through many years. He knew something was going on. "You know you can tell me, right?" He said a small smile on his face.
"Are you sure?" Eddie asked.
Ben nodded. "Mm-hmm, I'm sure. I see the good things she does for you."
"She's lovely," Eddie smiled shyly. "I'm not rushing things."
"But something has happened?" Ben chuckled and gave Eddie a questioning look.
Eddie grinned and shrugged. "I fell asleep in her room. And then I kissed her this morning."
Ben punched his shoulder and laughed. "Please tell me it was horrible!"
"Oh yeah, terrible! Absolutely dreadful. Worst kiss of my life," Eddie did an exaggerated eye roll.
Ben smiled and patted Eddie's knee. "I'm happy for you, man. I mean, I'm sorry for her getting the second best guy, but you know..."
Eddie laughed at him and felt relieved that they could talk about Anna without too much awkwardness.
***
Another successful show and Eddie looked forward to having a day off before the next one. His voice needed the break for a day, and his body needed the rest as well. It was physically draining doing two hour live shows in the tempo he performed in, but adding a heat wave made it even more challenging.
He overheard some of the crew discussing going on a field trip to Lake Michigan for a dip in the water. He quickly sussed out that Anna was going.
They had spoken a few times during the day of their kiss, but mostly they were sending each other looks and flirting from a distance. She was busy assisting crew members, who felt sick in the heat, but she would occasionally pop by and tell him to drink water. It was becoming clear to him, that taking care of him must be her love language.
He spotted her at the breakfast buffet where she was getting a bagel and coffee. He quickly found a plate and joined her.
"Good morning, Doc," he said and smiled at her.
She parted her bagel in two and put half on his plate. Then she added a scoop of fruit and a small cup of soy yogurt. He looked at his plate and followed her movements, as she made him a full plate of breakfast. She added a strawberry on top and looked up at him and smiled. He chuckled at her, and bit his lip. She was cute and he really wanted to kiss her. But he would save that for later.
"Are you going to Lake Michigan today?" He whispered as they sat down at a table to eat breakfast together.
"Yeah, are you coming?" She looked happy, which made him want to go with her even more.
He nodded. "Wouldn't miss a chance to see you in a bathing suit," he smirked at her, making her blush.
"As long as you'll be in swimming trunks as well, so there's something for me to fantasize about," she chuckled making him pull a shocked expression.
"Objectifying me over breakfast?" He exclaimed. "You really are trouble, Anna."