Page 60 of From Notting Hill with Love…Actually
Sean pulled a wry face as I held my hand over my mouth in a vain attempt not to laugh.
“Do we have to tell anyone about this?” he asked. “I mean, no one need know.”
“I think people might notice when you turn up soaking wet for the party later.”
“I’ll just go back and change at the hotel.”
“You’ve got to get there first without anyone seeing you.”
The ride came to an end and I began to climb out.
“Scarlett,” Sean pleaded, still sitting in the boat with water pouring off him. “Help me, please!”
“Oh, so I’m not Red now then?” I asked, standing on the side looking down at him with my arms folded.
Sean just looked up at me with big puppy-dog eyes. “Please, Scarlett,” he said again. “I need you.”
Seventeen
“Nearly there,” I whispered to Sean, as I guided him out of the lift and along the corridor. “Where’s your key?” I asked as we reached his room.
“In my jeans pocket,” came back his muffled reply.
I felt inside his wet denims that I’d been carrying in my arms across the park, pulled out the key card, and let us both into his room.
“Phew,” I said, dropping his damp clothes on the floor. “I didn’t think we’d make it.”
“Do you think anyone noticed?” Sean asked, pulling off Goofy’s head.
I laughed. “Of course they noticed—you’re just lucky no one stopped and asked you for a photo.”
“I mean they didn’t know it was me?”
“I doubt it. But you have to get this costume back to that guy first thing tomorrow or he’ll lose his job.”
“But gain €300!”
“You’re getting €100 of that back on safe return of his costume, that was the deal.”
“Hmm, about that, couldn’t you have found somethinga bit cooler for me to disguise myself in than a seven-foot Goofy costume?”
“Are you kidding?” I said, flopping on the bed. “It was Goofy or nothing. You’re just lucky he was still on site; all the other characters have gone home.”
“Yeah I know. Thanks for helping me.”
“It’s OK. It was worth it just to see you dressed like that.” I grinned. “Who would have thought it, Mr. Sean ‘I hate movies’ Bond dressed as Goofy! What would your dad say if he knew? After all the stick you gave him at the wedding for dressing as Chewbacca too!”
Sean struggled with the suit. “Are you just going to lie there mocking me all night, or are you going to help unzip me from this thing?”
I tilted my head to one side as if I was considering it. “All right, all right, I’m coming,” I said when Goofy’s paws rested on his hips. I stood up again and undid the hidden zip at the back of the costume. “There you go, free again.”
Sean stepped out of Goofy’s body wearing just his underpants—I’d forgotten he wasn’t wearing anything else. Maurice—who had originally been wearing Goofy when we found him—had been wearing leggings and a T-shirt when he’d stepped out of the suit. I’d been keeping watch outside the men’s toilets while Maurice helped Sean zip himself back inside Goofy before we made our escape across the park.
I looked away—but not before I noticed what an extremely fine body Sean had. I’d realized he wasn’t exactly overweight when I’d seen him wearing T-shirts and jeans. But in the flesh—boy, did he scrub up well. He wasn’t overly muscular,but he was toned, and there were reasonably-sized bulges in all the places there should be.
“So what sort of view do you get from your window?” I hastily asked, going over to it and looking outside.
“Er, probably one much like yours,” Sean said as he went into the bathroom. “I’ll just take a shower to warm me up a bit—that water was bloody freezing.”
