Runaway (4 page)

‘I can’t just go for a meal in town, people will recognise me. We came here to get away, remember?’

‘Nobody’s gonna know who you are, we’re in the middle of nowhere. I’ve totally given up phone signal for you, I hope you realise that.’

‘You’re a terrible influence,’ I laughed, downing the last of my wine, ‘Fine. We get some food, have
one
drink, and then we’ll head back. I’m pretty tired, anyways.’

‘Deal,’ Casey said, drinking the last of her wine too. But a deal with Casey was a lenient one at best.

Especially when it came to drinking.

Chapter Five

It turned out that Watertown wasn’t so quiet after all, even if it was Sunday night.

The warm summer afternoon had turned into a warm summer’s evening, and Main Street was only a ten minute walk from the lake. I had changed into a different pair of jeans, casual shoes and a blouse, my hair tied up in a ponytail and my makeup a little more toned down than usual – that was a compromise I wasn’t so crazy about, but the less chance of looking the way I did on screen, the better.

We stopped off at a place called Tracy’s café, I feeling positively terrified about anybody’s eyes lingering on me in that expression I so grown to know – it came in stages.

First there was a look. Then a double take that turned into a lingering stare. And then a huge grin, possibly accompanied by red cheeks and ‘can I have your autograph?’

I know, it sounds terrible, me saying all of this stuff. A lot of people would love this kind of attention, and I feel like a total asshole being so entitled about it all… Honestly, I did enjoy it when it happened. Having total strangers come up and take pictures with you is awesome, and I felt very privileged to have such a life.

But right now, I was loving the thought of a week away from it all.

Lucky for me, nobody noticed. There wasn’t a second glance other than to smile at me politely in that awesome smalltown way, and Casey and I enjoyed a quiet dinner, laughing and talking in our usual way.

But things were about to change in the most unexpected of ways. And it was all thanks to my best friend’s ability to convince me to have a drink.

‘Come
on,
Emma,’ Casey said, as we left the diner, sauntering in the slowest of manner down the sidewalk, ‘Just one drink won’t do any harm.’

‘I’m not so sure anymore…’

‘What do you mean? You’ll be fine.’

‘I’m not worried about me, I’m worried about you. I don’t want you taking one shot of whisky and declaring to the world who I am.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Casey laughed. ‘I promise I won’t.’

‘Fine…’ I sighed, ‘
One.’

We moved up the sidewalk, finding the place a few doors down. It was a cosy, warm-looking place called
The Woodsman,
a fitting name for a local pub in a town right next to a logging community. From within we heard voices and laughter, and all of a sudden I felt a little more at ease.

‘It looks pretty cool, let’s check it out,’ Casey said, pushing the door open and going inside as I followed her in. And she was actually right.

We were in a spacious, cosy area, filled with warm, orange light and patrons drinking at tables in groups. On the far side of the room was a bar that covered the whole wall, the back end lined with all manner of drinks and bottles. And on top of it all, nobody gave either of us a second glance.

Casey and I smiled at each other, pleasantly surprised by how warm and greeting the place was as we headed over to the bar. We were greeted by a friendly, middle-aged greying bartender, who slung a towel over his shoulder as he turned to smile at us.

‘Evening, ladies, what can I get for you?’

‘One drink,’ I said to Casey, ‘You decide.’

‘You’re gonna regret saying that,’ she winked at me, brushing her hair over her ear before turning to the bartender. ‘We’ll take two double Johnnie Walker Black’s. Neat.’

‘Coming up!’

I bit my lip at the sound of her words, watching as the bartender pulled some glasses out of nowhere and snatched up the bottle from behind the counter.

‘Are you kidding me?’ I said, ‘I’d like to be able to walk back on my own feet, y’know?’

‘Shut up and drink,’ she laughed, sweeping up her glass the moment the liquid had finished filling it. I smiled at her, eyeing my glass on the counter as the bartender took the bottle away. I picked it up, watching Casey raise her glass and I bringing up to meet hers with a smile…

And the way I remember it, that was when everything seemed to slow down tenfold.

As our glasses chinked together I looked over her shoulder, further down the bar. I had seen a couple of people leaning against the bartop, but I hadn’t care to notice them.

Until now, that is.

Because, even though there was no reason on Earth that I should have noticed him, I couldn’t help but finding myself staring infallibly into a pair of dark, piercing eyes, belonging to the rugged face of a man who I only half caught. But our gaze was unmistakable, our faces flat and unjudging. There was nothing in that moment, no emotions or feelings to analyse. It was just a look.

And it changed everything.

Things returned to normal all of a sudden, I bringing the glass to my mouth and taking a deep breath as I downed the fiery liquid, feeling it’s hotness sear my throat as I dropped the glass back down on the table.

‘Woo!’ Casey shrieked, squinting and shaking her head as I clenched my eyes shut, coughing lightly. ‘What did you think of that?’

‘But I didn’t say anything. I was too busy looking over at the guy further up the bar, leaning against it, and talking to somebody else. He wasn’t looking at me anymore – heck, I could hardly even see him. But for some reason I couldn’t keep myself from looking over at his chiselled face, raw and rugged beneath the stubble that crowded around his jawline.

‘Emma?’ Casey said, looking at me and then over her shoulder at the two guys.

She promptly whipped her head around to face me again. ‘You minx,’ she laughed, ‘Were you checking him out?’

‘What-? No!’ I stuttered, ‘Absolutely not!’

‘Just go over and talk to him,’ she said, ‘You’re Emma Clarke, it’s not like he’s gonna turn you down.’

‘Don’t be stupid,’ I said, ‘That doesn’t matter… Besides, it’s like you said, he won’t even know who I am.’

‘Exactly,’ Casey said, ‘I didn’t mean that you’re Emma Clarke, the movie star, or anything. I meant that you’re
you.
What guy wouldn’t want you? And, true, he won’t know who you are, which is
great.
You can just go and have a conversation with him without all that stuff…’

‘I… No…’ I said, smiling and turning my head away, unable to keep my cheeks from running red with embarrassment.

‘Come on,’ Casey said, taking my hand, ‘He’s got a cute friend, anyways, maybe we could figure something out…’

‘You really are awful,’ I laughed, finally giving in and letting her drag me over to the two of them.

‘Hi,’ Casey said, as we stood side by side before the two guys. They had both been leaning against the bar, talking with each other, and they both turned their heads and looked over at us inquisitively the moment Casey spoke. The one facing away from me was a brawny muscular guy with a clean-shaven face and polite eyes. The other, that is, the one whose eyes I had caught just moments ago... Well, if I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off his back then, I could hardly take them off his face now. He was indeed rugged looking, with stubble covering his jawline, thick and short dark hair, and dark eyes that seemed to look mine as if they were staring out of a window that gave a view for miles. He wasn’t as muscular as his friend, but it was easy to tell that he was toned and lean beneath his lumberjack shirt and worn jeans, which hung off him perfectly.

But above it all, it was that look that he gave me, as if I was some kind of machine that he was fascinated by…

‘Hi,’ the guy’s friend said, ‘What’s up?’

‘Well, my friend and I were just having a discussion. She thinks that you’re really hot,’ Casey said, looking over at the guy. If my face hadn’t been red before, it certainly was now. – ‘And I told her that I thought you were cuter,’ she continued, turning to the bigger guy and running a hand over his arm.

‘I don’t-… I don’t think that…’ I quickly said, looking at the guy. In front of the camera I could be somebody else… But out here, I had to be me. And I hated that.

‘So you don’t think that I’m really hot?’ The guy said, smirking at me.

‘What? No, that wasn’t…- I didn’t mean…’ My words trailed off, my heart racing ridiculously, as I looked over at him and then back to the other guy.

‘What do we call you two boys, anyway?’ Casey smiled.

‘I’m Rory,’ the bigger guy said, ‘And this is Jack. Can we get you two a drink?’

‘Sure,’ Casey said, I still trying to scrape up what little pride I had left, ‘I’m Casey, and this is
Emma.’

I visibly cringed at hearing the sound of my name, but my best friend was already turning towards the bigger guy. I knew that she liked bigger, muscular guys – just her type I guess. As she sorted out the drinks with Rory, she looked over at Jack.

‘Jack,’ she smiled, ‘Emma wants to talk to you.’

God,
I hated her…

‘Is that right?’ Jack said, raising his eyebrows analytically and looking me up and down. I could already tell from the way he spoke that he was smart, but I didn’t know what the heck to do right now.

Until he told me.

‘Come on over here, Emma,’ he said confidently, turning back towards the bar as I stayed where I was, looking over at him. He hadn’t even batted an eye.

Well, I guess it would be rude not to…

I took a deep breath and headed over to his side by the bar, Jack standing between me and Casey and Rory, who were already laughing and joking around with the bartender like they’d known each other for years.

It was only as I came to stand by Jack’s side that I realised how tall he was, his domineering frame hunched over the bar in a pleasant, brooding way.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said, ‘It’s my friend, she get’s a little, uhh… Enthusiastic at bars… And I didn’t mean that you weren’t cute or anything, I just…’

‘Relax,’ Jack said abruptly, looking over at me again, ‘I know what you meant. It’s okay, don’t worry about it…’

His voice was deep and husky, the kind that made you understand that he was measuring his words before he spoke them… And the kind that masked any overt emotion that might accidentally come creeping through.

‘So what’s your story?’ He asked, passing my second double whisky over to me that had just been poured thanks to Rory.

‘My… My story?’ I asked simply.

‘Yeah. What I mean is you don’t really look like you’re from round here.’

‘Oh…’ I said, briefly thinking that he knew who I was, ‘Yeah, we’re just up here from the city for a week or so, maybe. Just trying to get away from the noise and stuff…’

The noise and stuff?
I thought, taking a sip of my drink and trying to relax,
Smooth…

‘Fair enough,’ he smiled, taking a sip of his beer, ‘Seems like an odd place to come to for a holiday, though.’

I bit my lip, smiling as I looked up at him, he looking back at me, feeling a little relaxed… And a little intimidated by his domineering presence.

‘Well… That’s beside the point. I mean, you’re here too, aren’t you?’

‘True, but I’ve got a reason for being here.’

‘Which is?’

‘I work here.’

‘Oh…’ I said, ‘Where?’

A brief smile came to Jack’s face, a grin, as if he was holding something back from me as he took another sip of his beer and set the bottle back down on the table.

‘Down at the logging commune,’ he said, nodding at me. ‘Not exactly the most glamorous of places, but it’s good work, and I keep myself busy.’

‘Yeah…’ I said, ‘No, that’s… That’s cool.’ What I said next I didn’t mean to in the slightest – but in my flustered state, having a drink with this strange guy, it sort of just spilled out in a mess of words. ‘So do you have a girlfriend-wife… A-a family? Or anything?’

I cursed myself internally for asking something so ridiculous… But in all honesty I had no idea what I was doing right then. It had been so long since I had had a normal conversation with somebody who treated me as just
Emma,
rather than
Emma Clarke, actress extraordinaire.
It was like trying to ride a bicycle for the first time in years, and I felt like a prize idiot for being this way.

But what caught me more was Jack’s response to my question. I expected him to laugh or smile or something. But that never happened. I could literally see his face fall flat as I went quiet, his eyes focusing in harshly on the bartop for a moment that I couldn’t explain.

‘I’m sorry…’ I said quickly, ‘That’s kind of a personal question… I hardly know you, I shouldn’t be asking those kinds of things…’

‘No,’ he said, forcing a smile, ‘No, it’s fine, really. But no, no family. Mom and Dad, back in the Midwest, but no, uhh… No girlfriend to speak of.’

I nodded, knowing that there was something he wasn’t saying but deciding not pursue it any further. I watched as he stared absent-mindedly at the drink in his hand, frowning a little, running my eyes over his profile. Now that I had a second to see him in the dim light of the bar, his face drenched in shadow, it was evident how handsome Jack really was. Usually guys like this would be falling at my feet, crowding around me like I was some kind of new fairground attraction… But here he was, coolly distant, wholly detached.