Olivia Thirlby: Alone in a Crowd

This story is entirely fictional and is in no way connected with the subject. This story contains adult material and is only suitable for people over the age of 18. If you are under 18 please stop reading now. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living, dead, or undead, is purely coincidental. All characters portrayed in this story are over 18. Do not use this without my permission. (c) Copyright Viper_Noj 2002 onwards.

Now, on with the story!

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It was hot; even early in the morning, not even eight yet, it was hot. The temperature was building for what promised to be another hot, humid day and whilst occupying a convention centre with thousands of excited, closely-packed fans for a comic con event it was bound to only get worse. He was already looking forward to his shower later back at his hotel, taking a moment to think about the cool, refreshing sensation for a moment.

"Look alive, doors will be open soon, gotta be ready!" someone said in an irritatingly cheerful voice as they passed him, one of the people helping co-ordinate the event.

"Yeah yeah," he muttered, taking a sip of his coffee, "asshole," he added under his breath. It was far too early for people as chipper as that. He was a stunt co-ordinator, scheduled to spend some time chatting with fans and such at a table linked with a film he was working on currently, though he didn't know quite who was that interested in talking to him. As he made his way through the hall he noticed the Dredd stand, with cut-outs and other items from the set surrounding the table where the people would sit and sign autographs. He didn't know who was slated to appear, he'd heard a few mumbles of people but they so often dropped out due to other filming commitments.

He had worked on Dredd, among other things; He was really pleased how that film had turned out, how gritty and direct the action had been, and working with the actors had been a treat as they'd been professional, passionate and dedicated to the picture. He had to admit, he'd especially enjoyed working with Olivia Thirlby, not just because she'd been excellent fun, but because she was gorgeous, sexy and had flirted up a storm with him during their close working relationship, during which time he'd got up close and personal with the curves of her toned, feminine body. That was all back in South Africa though, on location, again in the heat as they'd worked through the atmospheric filming of Dredd. They were pleasant memories to accompany him as he walked through the rest of the stands and tables to find where he would be working, sipping his coffee as he made his way to his seat and got ready to face the hoards of fans that would soon swarm the massive arena.

It was exactly as he'd anticipated, with the centre rapidly filling up with borderline rabid fans, all eager to get a certain autograph, piece of memorabilia or place at a talk by some of their favourite stars. He was pleased to see people so passionate for everything, especially given he'd worked on some of it, but it was gonna be a long day. He spent the first few hours with barely a moments break as he worked with the others on his stand meeting and greeting fans. Whilst he wasn't signing autographs so much, he was still involved with lots of chats, finding that a lot of the people making their way to their stand were quite knowledgable, leading to lots of interesting talk that melted the time away rapidly. When they broke for lunch, he paused to take a breath, realising how hungry he was in that moment.

Standing up from the table, he gave a stretch and a quick wave to the fans still waiting about, presumably for them to restart afterwards, then walked off through the now packed arena area to find some lunch. As he worked his way through the heaving throng of people, wearing all sorts of costumes from every TV show, movie or comic book imaginable, including some people that perhaps shouldn't have been, he headed back past the Dredd stand once more, and that's where he saw her; Olivia Thirlby, in all her beauty, feverishly signing autographs for a long queue of fans, hair dyed golden blonde and wearing her full Judge Anderson outfit as she was also doing photographs at extra cost. His feet paused of their own accord as he stared at her for a moment, taking her in, watching her smile for the fans as she hastily signed photographs for them, other members of the Dredd team doing the same down the table. It was a joy to see her again, and looking like she'd stepped out of his memories at that, just as gorgeous and compelling as she had ever been.

"Damn," he muttered to himself, feeling all those lustful desires creep back into him as he gazed at her, lost in her work. Stirring his feet again, he continued walking, working his way through the mass of people to get lunch as he'd planned. He managed to find himself a sandwich and a drink, heading to a quieter spot to eat it. Luckily they had an area away from the fans, so they could enjoy a quick break in peace, allowing him to take pleasure in his sandwich given his empty stomach. After enjoying that and finishing his cold drink, much needed in the heat of the place now it was packed with people, he took a couple of minutes to just rest and recuperate, his thoughts straying unrelentingly to Olivia. Seeing her again just brought back so many memories, not just of her directly but the great time they'd had working on Dredd in Cape Town. He also felt the anxious, irritating desire for a cigarette; he'd smoked casually for a few years despite his fitness, but was trying to quit now, doing well overall but sometimes he just needed a cigarette and now was one of those times.

Taking leave of the lunch area, he made his way through some more people to a door into a staging area outside the main hall. It was quiet, thankfully, and with a small amount of relief he pulled the slender packet of cigarettes out of his pocket, putting one into his mouth before finding his lighter. With a few snaps it ignited, eliciting a nice flame which he touched to the end of the cigarette, immediately soaking through the paper and letting him draw in a deep, relieving breath of tobacco smoke, feeling the sensation spread through him as he closed his eyes and stuffed his lighter back into his pocket. Just holding his breath, he relished that first inhale, even if he knew he shouldn't and needed to kick the habit. Idly starting to walk about a little, he took another deep drag of the cigarette, feeling his tension melting away and relaxing as he sucked at it. Pulling his phone out, he skimmed through it, seeing what people were up to and essentially looking at it for the sake of looking at it until he heard footsteps. He didn't turn to look until he heard a voice.

"Still smoking then," she asked. Turning, his eyes widened and heart squeezed as it skipped a beat as his gaze stopped on Olivia Thirlby, approaching him slowly with a smile. He pushed his phone back into his pocket as he took a moment to suck another breath through his cigarette, letting his eyes scan up and down her as he did.

"Still smoking hot then," he replied with a smile, blowing the smoke up away from them. Olivia's smile turned to a bashful grin as she walked up, her Dredd costume creaking a little.

"How you doing?" she asked, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.

"I'm doing good thanks, how are you? Didn't know you'd make it to this," he said, returning her embrace and taking her in again.

"Yeah they're pushing the movie so they wanted me to come to this. It's cool, but this costume's a lot to deal with when I have to wear it all day...as you know," she finished, rolling her shoulders to shift the weight of the leather on her body. He did know, since he'd worked closely with her to help her move effectively in the hefty, restrictive costume.

"Yeah I remember, it was tough back when we were filming," he said, remembering the trouble with it.

"Yeah, though I was a bit more active back then. All I have to do today is sign autographs and pose for photos with people," she said.

"And make sure they don't grab your ass," he said with a smile, pulling the last drag from his cigarette and dropping the butt, grinding it under his foot.

"They wouldn't dare," she responded with a laugh. He raised his eyebrows and gave another glance down her toned body, suggesting that perhaps he'd try it given their chance.

"So how many of these things do they want you to do?" he asked, since it sounded like she'd be busy with them for a bit.

"I'm not sure, certainly a few over the summer, all as promotion for the movie," she said.

"Fair enough, all part of the gig really," he replied.

"True. How about you, what you doing here?" she asked.

"Just here with the production company for this film, I'm filling in because they asked, but I don't typically have to do these things. Nobody knows who I am, unlike you," he replied, giving a smile.

"People know your work though, whether they realise or not," she said, then gestured to herself with a smile.

"I guess so, and there's certainly enough to do, lots of people to talk to out there," he said, realising that whilst he may not be recognised he was known in a way.

"There are, so many," she said with a knowing, somewhat hopeless smile, knowing they'd never get through everyone.

"I bet there's a lot more here to see you than me," he said with a smile.

"Perhaps," she said quietly, looking away a little shyly as he took her in again, looking over her Anderson outfit. He glanced at his watch and realised he should be getting back, silently cursing that it would break this moment between them.

"I gotta get back to the stand, meet those fans," he said, unable to hide all the disappointment from his voice.

"Yeah, I should as well, carry on with the autographs, photos and all," she said, taking a breath, steeling herself for it mentally. There was a pause, a moment between them, that he seized upon;

"You got time after? You know, grab a drink or something," he asked, his heart suddenly pounding, making sure to keep his voice calm and level, confident. It was a casual request, but realistically he knew he was asking her out. She paused a moment, looking at him, her own heart racing as she contemplated it momentarily.

"Sure, when we get done with all this. Send me a message," she said with a smile, since he did already have her number from their time in South Africa. Stepping forward, she craned up to press her lips to his cheek, leaving a soft kiss before she turned and walked away, back towards her duties.

"Will do," he said with a smile he couldn't restrain, watching her ass in the leather trousers as she headed back out the door to the ordered chaos of the main area. In the silence of being alone, he realised how fast his heart was beating, thumping against his rib cage in the aftermath of the somewhat bold move he'd put on Olivia Thirlby.

But it had worked. God it had worked.

He took a few deep breaths, slowing his heart, and then headed back towards the main area, out into the crowd to thread his way back through to his stand. He worked his way past the dozens of surging fans, past the stands and sellers, pausing as he passed the Dredd stand once more. Olivia was getting back into place, sitting down and having a word with someone, not even glancing his direction as he moved through and back to his own stand.

Resuming his own seat, settling into it, he got ready to face an afternoon much the same as the morning of talking about their new movie. His mind wandered to Olivia though, and it took a while before he properly focussed again, managing to set her aside for later and set his mind on the task at hand. Aside from a pause for a coffee in the afternoon, it rattled past in a hot, noisy barrage of questions and fan interest, the clock sweeping round and round as it ticked the hours away in the heat of the arena.

When it was all over, closing down about 6, with people buying their last items or grabbing final autographs before filing out, he walked from his stand through the now much-emptied arena. He of course checked in on the Dredd stand, but saw a line of people still waiting, queued up for their autograph or chance to be photographed with a now somewhat frazzled looking Olivia Thirlby. He figured she would be there a while and headed on out, working his way out into the fresh air; it was cool, fresh, enlivening. Taking it in, he headed down the street towards a bar, getting his phone out to text Olivia as she'd asked, figuring the worst that could happen was she'd ditch him if she changed her mind and he'd still get a beer. He messaged her to say where he would be going, explaining briefly where it was from the arena, and then headed there to sit down with a beer. It was pretty quiet, the evening having not got going yet, sipping through a cool, much-deserved drink in peace as he watched the muted telly, taking in the sporadically incorrect subtitles that flashed up on the feed.

He was into his second one by the time he felt his phone vibrate, flicking it on to see a message from Olivia, saying she'd be with him in a few minutes. His heart immediately surged, and he took a deliberate breath to calm down, keeping his cool as he sipped his beer like before. He barely took in the TV for the following minutes before she arrived, stepping into the bar and looking around. He paused in signalling to her, taking her in; her golden blonde hair, simple top and jeans thrown on after the day playing Anderson to hundreds of fans, just wanting to kick back. Putting his hand up, he waved to her, catching her eye, at which she immediately smiled, a broad, genuine smile and walked over to him, up the few steps to get to his table at the side of the bar.

"Hey," she greeted warmly as he stood up to meet her, lightly embracing her and kissing her softly on the cheek.

"Hey, been waiting long?" she asked, even though she knew based on when he'd text her earlier.

"Not too long, just enough to get through a beer and chill out a bit," he replied, signalling to the table.

"Yeah sorry, it took a bit to get away from all that, so many fans..." she trailed off, seeming a little caught out by the interest of the day.

"Yeah well, everyone wants their autograph. What you drinking?" he asked, pointing to the bottle indicatively.

"Just grab me a beer," she said casually, sliding onto the stool at his high table.

"Got it," he said with a smile and stepped down to the bar, starting to fill up now as the evening got going. He had to wait a couple of minutes, then grabbed a couple of bottles of beer and headed back to the table. Several of the other patrons were checking Olivia out as she casually swiped through her phone, oblivious to the attention she was getting. He sat back down and placed the cold beers on the table, watching as she took a last few seconds of going through her phone before closing the screen.

"Sorry, always things to catch up on," she said, putting it away into her bag.

"Yeah the world never stops, but you can ignore it," he said, referring to the way he liked to escape from everything by just letting it pass him by sometimes.

"We all need to really don't we?" she said, taking a sip of her cold, refreshing beer.

"Definitely. So how was the con today?" he said, referring to the convention they'd spent the day getting through.

"Hot, that outfit is tough to wear and when it's in a hot arena like that, it makes it tough," she said, taking another sip of her beer.

"Well, it doesn't show," he said, since she looked pretty damn fantastic.

"Thanks, but I'm sure I look like crap. It's been so hot, and all those fanboys that try to squeeze my ass when having a photo with me," she said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head before another deep slug of her beer.

"Maybe you need to give them some of those moves we worked on, Judge Anderson," he said with a smile, taking a drink of his own beer.

"Yeah I'm sure that'll go over well. I might not get invited back, but then I wouldn't have to spend days like this," she mused, casually drinking as she considered it.

"I think they might like it, getting their ass kicked by the sexy Judge Anderson," he said with a smile, teasing her.

"Yeah right, I'm sure that's a real fantasy for them," she said, tipping her bottle up again.

"I bet it's something they've jerked off to dozens of time, sexy Anderson placing them under arrest," he said with a grin. She almost choked on her beer and put her bottle down, wiping her mouth.

"Oh god stop. I don't even wanna know what some of them have thought about," she said, waving her hand and giving a laugh.

"I bet not, but take what you can get, be flattered," he said with a smile.

"I could look at it that way," she said, with a little, hidden smile as she sipped at her beer to pretty much drain the bottle. There was a silence between them as he drank his beer, just taking a moment.

"God it's been a long day," she commented, giving a stretch and rubbing at her neck.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to a nice shower now," he replied, feeling the day all over himself.

"Same, once I get to whatever hotel it is, it's way out on the side of town. I guess they grabbed it last minute," she said, giving a sigh at it all.

"Well, you can come and shower at mine if you want," he said, his heart skipping a beat as he gave her what was a fairly weakly concealed proposition, an invitation to come back to his hotel with him. She stopped stretching, opening her eyes again and looking at him, holding a seeking look without seeming to stare. There was a few seconds that seemed to stretch forever as he waited to see what she'd say to it.

"Sure, I can come and shower at yours," she said softly, but with the slightest tremble, as if it was what she'd nervously hoped for.

"Yeah?" he asked, silently cursing himself immediately for daring to question it.

"Yeah, but I mean we'd better shower together, to you know, save water," she said, loving it now as she took the last drain of her beer. His heart was thumping hard in his chest but he kept his cool as he drained his own bottle in a couple of mouthfuls, Olivia simply waiting with the hint of a naughty smile on her lips as he stood it down on the table.

"You wanna get out of here?" he said after a moment, steeling himself and taking a confident lead of the situation to get what he wanted; her.

"Sure, take me," she said with the smile spreading, adding just a little edge of naughty humour to the situation. She followed him out of the bar onto the street, feeling the heat still in the air and between them as his hand slipped into hers, taking a confident hold that made her heart flutter, her legs following as he led the way towards his hotel. The evening was warm as the sun ebbed away into sunset, strolling through the baked concrete streets as he led the gorgeous blonde back to his hotel, the few minutes passing in a knowing silence. Getting back to his hotel, they took the stairs to get up to his room, since it wasn't the fanciest hotel and didn't have a lift. They got to his room and he opened the door, showing her inside as he flicked the lights on.

"Not the fanciest place, but it's pretty good. Bet it's nothing compared to the place they put you up in," he commented with a smile, since she was the big star and he was just another crew member.

"I dunno, I haven't seen it yet. This is nice," she said, walking into the fairly spacious accommodation and looking around. He locked the door and followed her in, throwing his wallet and stuff down onto the table in the main room.

"It'll do for a couple of nights while I'm here for this convention thing," he said, standing in the doorway of the main room.