Page 38 of Naughty Nelle

Again, another outburst.

“Oh my God, sex on a stick!”

“I love him!”

An older woman fans herself. “Holy hotness Batman. He’s so amazing!”

“Totally!” gush several respondents in unison.

“What about Brandon Taylor, the actor who plays the part?” asks Libby.

Yet another uncontrollable outburst. A few of the women look like they’re going to swoon.

“Oh my God. I’d kill to meet him!” pants one.

A shiver skittles up my spine. I’m sure she doesn’t mean that literally, but the words of Detective Billings circle in my head. Would some crazy fan actually do that?

Another woman suspiciously stares at the one-way mirror. “Is he sitting behind that mirror watching us?”

Before Libby can respond, the women start shrieking. I swear they sound orgasmic. They wave and blow kisses. One even jumps out of her seat and presses her lips against the glass. She’s practically in my face. I feel myself flushing. On my next breath, they’re all out of their seats and peeking through the window in search of me.

Blake laughs. “Guess they’re infatuated with you.”

Obsessed is more like it. They’re like a pack of wild dogs in heat.

Convincingly denying my presence, Libby tells the ladies to sit back down and brings order to the unruly group. She continues to probe about my character’s appeal and then moves into a discussion about the other characters. After talking about Kurt’s late wife Alisha, she focuses on my assistant, Melanie, who I call Mel.

“I love her,” says one respondent.

“She’s so cute and funny,” says another.

“And she cares so much about Kurt,” adds yet another.

“I feel sorry for her,” comes the voice of the youngest respondent.

“Why is that?” asks Libby, totally poker faced.

“Because she’s madly in love with Kurt.”

“Do the rest of you agree?” Libby throws out the question to the group.

“Totally!” the respondents shout out in unison.

“Does Kurt know Mel is in love with him?”

The women chime in one after another.

“Maybe.”

“Not sure.”

“Yes. But he’s too in love with Alisha and feels guilty.”

“That’s what I think. He’s suppressing his feelings.”

It takes no prodding for the other respondents to agree. I listen carefully to what the insightful women are saying. The image of my own assistant Zoey unexpectedly flashes in my head, and it puts a smile on my face. The smile quickly fades. I’m sure she hates me. I treat her like crap.

Blake’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. “Here comes the big question.”

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