A few days later...
New York looked different when neither of them had anywhere important to be.
There were no meetings waiting for them, no production emergencies threatening to steal the day, no scripts needing approval, and no executives calling every fifteen minutes with problems that somehow only became urgent after midnight.
For once, the day belonged entirely to them.
Scarlett sat in the passenger seat of Alex's car with one arm resting against the open window, letting the warm late-summer air move through her hair. The city had disappeared behind them nearly an hour ago, replaced by long stretches of highway, small towns, and green countryside that seemed to roll on forever beneath the afternoon sun.
A playlist hummed softly through the speakers while Alex drove.
Neither of them rushed to fill the silence.
That was the nice part.
Their lives were usually loud in one way or another. Cameras, meetings, interviews, phone calls, schedules, deadlines, people needing answers before either of them had even finished breakfast. Silence had become rare enough to feel almost expensive.
The silence between them did not feel empty. It felt familiar, comfortable, and strangely precious.
Scarlett glanced toward Alex and smiled faintly.
"You know what's weird?"
Alex kept his eyes on the road, though his mouth curved slightly.
"What?"
"I can't remember the last time we did absolutely nothing."
He let out a quiet laugh.
"That's because we never do absolutely nothing."
"Fair point," Scarlett said, looking back through the windshield. "But I think I missed it."
Alex glanced at her for a second before returning his attention to the road.
"Doing nothing?"
"No," she said softly. "Not having to be anyone for a little while."
That stayed between them for a moment.
Alex understood what she meant without needing her to explain it. They both spent so much time being watched, discussed, scheduled, styled, filmed, photographed, and measured by people who thought they knew them. A day without expectations felt less like free time and more like slipping out of a costume they had been wearing too long.
A few minutes later, they pulled into a small roadside restaurant overlooking a lake.
It was not fancy. The sign outside was faded, the parking lot had more pickup trucks than luxury cars, and the windows looked like they had seen a thousand summers come and go.
That was exactly why Scarlett liked it.
The smell of food reached them the moment they stepped inside. Warm bread, grilled meat, fried chicken, coffee, melted cheese, and something sweet coming from the kitchen. It was the kind of place where nobody cared about red carpets or magazine covers. People looked up, noticed them, and then went back to eating because lunch mattered more than celebrity.
Scarlett loved that more than she expected.
They took a booth near the window, where the lake shimmered in the afternoon light. Scarlett ordered lemon chicken wings and a cheeseburger without staring at the menu for ten minutes or trying to talk herself into something smaller.
Alex ordered a jumbo pizza.
Scarlett gave him a long look.
When the food arrived, she stared at the pizza first, then at Alex, then back at the pizza as if it had personally offended her.
"Are you feeding an entire basketball team?"
Alex picked up a slice like the size of the thing was perfectly normal.
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure."
Scarlett laughed and took a bite of her burger.
For the first time in months, she was not checking nutrition labels in her head. She was not calculating calories or mentally bargaining with herself over what she was allowed to enjoy later. She was just sitting across from someone she loved, eating food that smelled incredible, with sunlight on the table and no one telling her what she should look like tomorrow.
Comfort came without work attached.
Alex noticed the quiet shift in her expression.
"You okay?"
Scarlett chewed slowly, then nodded.
"Yeah," she said after swallowing. "I think I am."
He studied her for a second, gentle concern softening his face, but he did not push. That was one of the things she loved about him. Alex could tease her until she wanted to throw a napkin at his face, but when something mattered, he always seemed to know when silence was kinder than questions.
Under the table, Scarlett's foot brushed lightly against his leg.
The movement was casual enough to be innocent.
The little smile she gave him afterward was absolutely not.
Alex noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
He looked down for half a second, then back at her with a faint smirk.
"Really?"
Scarlett reached for a chicken wing and looked beautifully innocent.
"Really what?"
"You're not subtle."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Liar."
"Prove it."
Alex shook his head, laughing under his breath.
A few minutes later, Scarlett leaned back in her seat and looked at the pizza again. Somehow, even after Alex had eaten several slices, the thing still looked enormous.
"Okay, serious question."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"That usually means trouble."
"How many calories are in that thing?"
He glanced down at the pizza.
"I've no idea... A lot?"
"A lot isn't a number."
"It's the number my heart chose."
Scarlett pointed at the pizza with theatrical suspicion. "That thing could support a small village."
Alex laughed and took another bite. "I burn a lot of calories."
She rested her chin against her hand and studied him with exaggerated seriousness.
"I mean..."
She gestured vaguely at him.
"That's probably true."
Between the endless work hours, the constant movement, the stunt training, and whatever supernatural nonsense powered him these days, not to mention the sex and keeping his harem happy, Scarlett honestly was not sure normal calorie rules even applied to him anymore.
'Does he need to eat to maintain his super stamina?' She wondered.
Alex leaned back with the confidence of a man defending a sacred scientific principle. "See? This is basically survival."
"Sure," she said, rolling her eyes. "Very heroic. One man. One pizza. One noble battle."
He lifted his slice slightly.
"History will remember me."
"It will remember your cholesterol."
Alex laughed, and Scarlett felt something loosen inside her chest.
That was what she had missed most.
It wasn't the fancy dinners or the dates planned around work. It wasn't the parties, premieres, or the crowds of people pretending not to watch her. What she truly missed was this: the easy teasing and the way he made the world feel smaller without making her feel small inside it.
Her smile softened.
"You should eat a lot then."
Alex looked at her over the rim of his glass.
"Oh?"
Scarlett held his gaze for a moment, her expression playful but warmer now.
"We still have a long night ahead," she said, giving him a small wink.
Alex's smirk returned slowly as he understood her hints. "Looking forward to it."
Scarlett looked very pleased with herself after that.
Lunch continued without any real direction, which somehow made it better. They talked about movies, the mansion, Trixie somehow convincing half the staff to participate in her games when she dropped by last week, Nacho's ongoing campaign to steal food from absolutely everyone and hoarding them beside Asher's crib, and Max's weight gain.
Both of them were really happy.
Life no longer felt like a machine dragging them toward the next obligation. For once, it belonged to them.
When they finally left the restaurant, the afternoon sun hung lower in the sky, turning the lake into a sheet of gold. Scarlett slipped her hand into Alex's as they walked back toward the car, but neither of them got in right away.
They stopped near the edge of the parking lot, where the breeze moved gently across the water and carried the faint scent of grass, summer, and distant rain.
Scarlett leaned lightly against him.
"You know," she said softly, "I missed this."
Alex squeezed her hand.
"The peace?"
Scarlett smiled faintly. "Yeah. That most of all."
Their lives had become bigger than either of them had expected. Movies, studios, press events, franchises, audiences, headlines, and millions of strangers watching every step they took. From the outside, it looked like a dream. Sometimes it was. Sometimes it was beautiful and impossible and overwhelming in ways neither of them could explain without sounding ungrateful.
But dreams could still be heavy.
Fame could still feel lonely when every room was full.
Alex brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "I missed it too."
Scarlett looked up at him, and for a moment the teasing disappeared from her face. What remained was softer, more honest, and a little tired.
"I don't want us to forget how to have this."
"We won't."
"You say that like it's easy."
"It's not," Alex admitted. "But it's worth protecting."
That answer settled something inside her.
Scarlett rested her head briefly against his shoulder, letting herself enjoy the warmth of him beside her. For those few seconds, she was not thinking about whether someone would twist a photograph into a story by morning.
She was just there...
...With him.
For a few seconds, that was all she needed.
After a while, she looked up again.
"We should do this more often."
"We should."
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
She narrowed her eyes at him with playful suspicion.
"You're going to disappear into work again, aren't you?"
Alex considered it with far too much honesty.
"Probably not for a while. I plan to spend some time with my family."
Scarlett laughed, though there was affection in it now instead of frustration.
"More dates and cuddling?" She raised an eyebrow.
"That plus more kissing and sex," He replied casually.
"Huh?" She gave a side nod.
"Yep."
"Well, there are some things I want to try."
Alex looked down at her. "Kinky stuff?" He asked.
Scarlett looked up at him and nodded, "Very kinky."
Alex pulled her toward him and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Then, Alex pulled back, saying, "You naughty girl. I'm gonna spank you tonight."
Scarlett grinned against his lips. "Promise?"
Alex kissed her once more before saying, "Promise."
They climbed back into the car afterward and resumed their drive.
Scarlett settled comfortably into her seat, and after a little while, her hand found his again.
Alex held it without saying anything.
For the first time in a very long while, neither of them were thinking about tomorrow.
Today was enough.
--
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