Method - Kate Stewart Page 0,63
torturing me with delayed gratification before we collapse in a heap, limbs tangled, whispering softly before we drift to sleep.
On my last night in Cairo, once filming has wrapped for the day, Lucas rushes us back to the hotel to freshen up. Just as I tie my sandals, he enters the room with a black insulated bag.
“What’s in there?” I ask, gathering my hair into a loose bun on top of my head.
“You’ll have to wait and see.” He takes my hand. “Ready?”
“Yes, I just need to grab my purse.”
“You don’t need it,” he says before tugging my hand and whisking me into the back of a waiting SUV. Once we’re in, the driver takes off without a word.
“What’s going on? Where are we going?”
He strokes my wrist with his thumb putting me at ease but doesn’t answer.
“Can you at least tell me if I’m dressed okay?” I didn’t get a chance to pack well with our time crunch. He leans in and kisses me silent, and I let him. Within the hour we’re stopped, the darkness outside making it impossible to see where we are through the thick tint of the windows.
Lucas gets out with the bag and leans in on the frame of the door.
“Hold on a second.”
“Okay.”
He shuts it, and the driver joins him. They exchange words at the back of the car where the trunk is lifted briefly and then closed. Lucas opens my door with a thick comforter in hand, one that matches the type at our hotel, and ushers me out the SUV. When I see what waits outside, my jaw drops. He’s standing in front of the pyramids shadowed by the full moon. “Oh, my God. Lucas, oh my GOD!” Lucas seems satisfied with my reaction, a dazzling smile lighting up his face. “It’s pretty incredible, right?”
“I can’t believe this.”
“How about we taste some wine here?”
I’m already nodding. “Yes, please.”
We are parked directly in front of the Sphinx, and I see the towering Giza pyramid ahead, the smaller of the two pyramids to the left of it. The driver speaks briefly with a few waiting guards, and then we’re led to an easy access entrance before we’re set free to explore for ourselves. The view is indescribable. It’s like walking through a screen saver. We stroll along the rough terrain for a few minutes until we’re lined up with the marvels that point heaven’s way.
“This is incredible.” I look at him thoroughly impressed. “You bring me to one of the Seven Wonders of the World? You’ve outdone yourself already, Hollywood,” I say jokingly. “It’s all downhill from here.”
“We got lucky with that moon, or else we wouldn’t have been able to see shit.”
“You planned this?”
He grins at me. “Always have a plan, but this one was tricky.” He spreads the comforter, which looks ridiculous on the sand, situates the cooler and then himself on it before he pulls me down into his lap. Snugly between his legs, he rests his chin on my shoulder, and I rest my hands on his thighs.
“Are you having fun?” he asks softly.
“God, yes, this has been so incredible. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” he whispers, “too impersonal. And I fucking hate that you’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Me too.”
“So stay,” he urges, pulling me tighter into him.
“You know I can’t. This is your life, not mine.”
We sit for a few quiet moments equally in awe of our surroundings. The smooth rumble of his voice sounds from behind me, but it feels so far away.
“I never thought I would see this,” he says softly. “Never. This is not something I ever thought I’d experience in my lifetime.”
“Me neither.”
The air around us is as ancient as the free-standing structures, and the silence is surprisingly peaceful.
Lucas speaks up on a whisper. “They’re smaller than I thought they would be.”
“Does that ruin it for you?”
“No,” he says. “It just goes to show what builds in the mind and surfaces in reality can be so different.”
Unsure if we’re still talking about pyramids, I glance his way and see him mystified which stuns me silent. Lucas isn’t at all what I expected. He’s not accustomed to the life he’s leading, he doesn’t demand anything from anyone. He’s full of hope and just as in awe of this new world as I am. He’s humble, appreciative, highly affectionate, giving, and there’s not much more I need to know.
A few minutes later, I’m still admiring the view when Lucas gently shifts me from his lap and starts fishing around