Page 36 of The Emerson Effect
TWENTY
Emerson
I’m ready to take this BingBang courtship to the next level and confirm the girl I’ve been pining over is, in fact, Twila Greene. While most of my viewersthinkthey know it’s Twila, thanks to my Easter eggs and her decision to like the comment made by the first viewer to connect the dots, we’re still shrouded in fog because neither of us has actuallyconfirmedanything.
I’m locked and ready to corroborate it, but at the same time, Twila only agreed to this deal a week ago. I don’t want to rush her. And I definitely don’t want to scare her off.
A small voice in my head tells me to be patient, to drag this out as long as I can. But I also don’t want to lose the interest of the public by drawing it out for too long. Social media is a fast-paced world, and if we don’t get the timing right, this could all be for nothing.
The majority of the comments prove that people areherefor a romance between Twila and me. Hell, they’re starved for it.
And it’s in my nature to make people happy. But in this case, doing so benefits me as well as them. It benefits Twila, too.
In the two days since she interacted with my video and the comment that named her as my secret crush, both of our follower counts took a huge jump. I need to post something else, something that will give another hint without giving away the whole enchilada…
Or are we ready for that?
Fuck, I don’t know. And that gives me the perfect excuse to call Twila.
“Hey, you,” she greets me with a wide smile that makes my heart stutter.
“Hey,” I reply after clearing my throat. “You got a minute?”
“Sure,” she says. “What’s up?”
“Okay, I’m struggling with what to do next. I’m ready to confirm you’re my crush, but I’m not sure if it’s too soon. But I also don’t want to keep doing what I’m doing for so long that people get bored with it. Know what I mean?”
She nods slowly, and I can practically see the wheels spinning in her head as she thinks. “So, we need to come up with something that moves this thing forward, but doesn’t take too big of a leap.”
“Exactly,” I say. “But I’m drawing a blank. Any ideas?”
She stares at my face in her screen for several long moments, then her gaze flits up to her camera lens. It feels like she’s staring into my eyes, and an involuntary shiver ripples down my spine.
“I think I might have something,” she says. “What if you DM me? Like an initial contact? You could screenshot it and put a sticker over my name and profile picture.”
I’m nodding before she finishes. “It’s a definite step forward without revealing too much.”
“Yes,” she says, her nod enthusiastic.
“That’s…you’re brilliant,” I say, and twin spots of color bloom on her cheeks.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she replies, and her voice is quiet. Almost breathless.
“What should I say?” I ask, getting back to business before this gets uncomfortable.
I grab my tablet and open BingBang, then I navigate to Twila’s page and open our message thread. It’s blank because I kept my promise to delete our messages when we switched to phone and video calls.
“It should be something sweet and romantic.”
“But not too cheesy,” I add. “I do have a reputation to uphold.”
“A reputation? Of what? Being a goofball?” she counters, and I laugh.
“Maybe,” I say as my laughter winds down, “but that was before. I’ll have you know I have mesmerized the women of BingBang since I started crushing on you.”
“Mesmerized, huh?” she asks, a twinkle in her eyes I can’t resist.
I dip my chin and give her a disbelieving look. “Come on, Twila. I know you’ve seen the comments.”
