Or naked and in my bed.
The latter would be my preference right now.
I’d been riding a high since we spoke. The interview had been a gamble, but there had been nothing said that wasn’t the truth or elaborated. Sending it Nate had been trickier. I knew he and Ryan were close; Ryan had shared a bit about him over the last few months, telling me about his past with Chan and how he was handling being a single dad. I’d reached out to Nate via social media, sent him the link to the article as soon as it was published, and asked him what he thought.
I’d felt like a teenager, asking her crush’s best friend to find out if he liked her. But it had worked, I’d had the response I’d wanted.
I knew there was a high chance I’d receive an award tonight, for either the film or the series, but I was more excited about seeing Ryan afterwards. I was nervous, as well.
Leoni contoured my cheeks, going for a non-subtle glam look that would match the old Hollywood vibe of my dress. Tonight could be the best night of my life, and I was scared that I’d end up disappointed. If I didn’t win an award, I would be disappointed – who wouldn’t? – but I was young and had so many projects lined up and more in the pipeline, nominations would possibly happen again.
“You look like a legend.” Lila fanned herself with a piece of paper, looking at me from eyes that were definitely smouldering. Leoni had already finished with Lila, meaning that Li could now get stuck into the champagne that had been sent to the suite. I had a glass of water, avoiding alcohol right now.
We’d be plied with it, discreetly of course. When we got to the Royal Opera House there would be champagne flutes floating into any empty hand, and I didn’t want to get on stage, should I win, slightly squiffy.
“Thank you.” I glanced at myself in the mirror. Leoni really did know how to do her job.
I was wearing a champagne, full length, fish tail dress, with the tiniest sequins sewn onto the material. It gave me an hourglass figure without making me feel as if I was about to be asphyxiated, and my hair had been styled into a tight wave. I loved it, as would some of the media, although some would find plenty to criticise – I just wouldn’t read what they had to say.
“I love it.” I really did. I’d loved dressing up as a kid, so to have experiences like this as part of my job was just incredible. A dream. I knew how lucky I was, to be in this hotel, about to go to an awards ceremony where I’d been nominated and to be meeting the man I knew I was in love with after.
Lila glared at me. “You need to get that lovestruck expression off your face before the press start speculating. You’re glowing far too much.” She leaned forward. “Can you get pregnant just from a text?”
I shot her the dirtiest look I could manage. “Do not use me as material in your shows.”
Her smile was angelic, which meant she’d be doing exactly that. “I can get a good run out of you and Ryan. Just need to meet a few of his footballer mates and do some research there.”
I would’ve shaken my head, but Leoni was doing something else to my face. “No. Stay away.” I knew my words would be pointless.
She shrugged, smoothing down her hair that had simply been given volume and straightened. Lila was gorgeous, had big boobs and was hilarious, a combination men either drooled over or couldn’t handle. She was single, mainly because she hadn’t met anyone who could cope with the amount of extremes she had, but also because no one had ever been quite up to her standard. Except one man, but we didn’t talk about him.
We had a limo take us to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. I’d been to the BAFTAs a couple of times before, when productions I’d been involved in had been nominated, which gave me an element of confidence. Lila was there as my plus one, as well as being there in her own right, with an invite from the association.
We walked down the red carpet together, posing for photographs, some separate, some together. Li had her boobs on display, as per, because why not.
“Are you nervous, Otter?” One journo asked, snapping a photo on his phone. “Think you’ll win?”
“You know, I left my crystal ball at home, so we’ll just have to see what happens.” I gave him a cheeky wink to make up for my sarcasm, and then turned and walked into the building with Lila, my heart hammering and pulse fluttering.
Inside, the media was more controlled, not having access to certain areas to enable attendees to have more privacy and be able to enjoy the awards. Lila passed me a glass of champagne with the instructions to drink it, which I took and did, trying not to sling it back in one.
“The second half has almost ended, by the way.”
I nodded. I knew the half time result, or just before half time. Ryan had scored, helping England to a two-nil lead against Turkey. England had already qualified as top in their group, so today’s result wouldn’t affect any standings, just morale.
“If I start looking, I’ll be on my phone all the time.”
Lila smiled. “I know. You need to put Ryan right out of your head and enjoy the night. Shit like this doesn’t happen all the time, babe.” She slipped her hand through my arm. “He’s meeting you at the after party?”
“About eleven. The match should end any time now, and from what he said, it’s showers and straight to the airport. Four hours back to Gatwick. Then he’ll come straight here.”
Lila smiled smugly. “Then you’ll ditch me for a night of passion with lover-boy. I know when I’m being used.”
I laughed. “Exactly. Just own it.”
“Oh, I have plans of my own tonight. Might even let you in on them.”
The high of the night so far was winning the award for best supporting actress. It was one of the most surreal moments when my name was called out, and although I’d practiced an acceptance speech several times in the shower in the last few weeks, I still didn’t quite know what to say when I got on stage, so I just thanked everyone I knew, and praised the British film industry. It seemed to go okay, judging by Lila’s applause and the few comments she yelled as I walked back down the stairs to our seats.
