Page 106 of Mr. Picture Perfect
“That can be arranged,” I finally assure him. Then the pair of us kiss one last time before I go.
The kiss isn’t a short one.
Cole makes me so happy, I don’t even know who I am anymore.
Of course, I peek my head out to check the hall before letting myself out. The McPhersons have this small guesthouse located just behind the pavilion, which is being used as a green room and dressing room for their events. Of course, by “small”, I mean it is twice the size of my actual house, and looks pristine and clean down to the very corners of every room, top to bottom. Cole was given the farthest away room to use as his changing area, while Dean and Anthony share two larger adjoining rooms united by a bathroom on the other side of the house. Strangely, no big battles have broken out between them, though I think that’s largely due to everyone’s focus being on the event. To be honest, I think every person involved is significantly more nervous than they let on. Comparatively, Cole’s anxiety is the least of anyone’s concerns. In fact, I’d say he’s downright confident compared to the other two.
He has nothing to worry about at all.
Somehow, that very fact gives me confidence. I walk with my head held higher than usual (as in: not dragging on the ground) as I make my way out of the house. The path leads quickly to the side of the pavilion, where I enter the dim backstage area. I spot Nadine by the large speakers discussing something with one of the sound technicians, while Malcolm calmly takes notes next to her on his tablet, now and then muttering, “Yes, ma’am, yep, you bet, one step ahead of you, got it, yes, on top of it …” They’re too busy to notice me squeezing by on my way through. I nod at the other workers I happen to pass, each of them busy walking around the stage organizing and configuring things, but no one pays me any attention or nods back.
That’s okay. I’m used to that.
I may even enjoy being invisible to everyone except Cole.
He’s the only person in all of Texas who needs to see me.
I come out from the backstage area. The sun is nearly set, the sky only mildly lit by the day’s last glow of amber sunlight on the horizon, so the nearly-empty pavilion has a warm atmosphere about it, making it feel safe and unthreatening. I come down the side steps of the stage into the audience, where maybe thirty or so guests are scattered among the chairs and tables. They are mostly friends and family who were invited to view the rehearsal and act as a pretend audience for the bachelors to warm them to the idea of a real audience in a few days. Among them sits a couple of guys I was told are friends of Anthony’s, though it’s difficult to imagine that guy having any. I also see Tyrone, Dean’s nephew, though he’s come without his husband tonight, from the looks of it. I spot Tanner with his younger brother Jimmy at a table along with two other guys I’m not familiar with, the four of them chatting loudly and laughing as they wait for the next section to begin. At a table all by himself sits TJ McPherson, who I guess is home from college for the weekend, appearing absorbed in a game on his phone.
I find the newspaper people where I left them: at a table we claimed by the edge of the pavilion, Patrick and Tamika being its sole occupants at the moment. No one seems to have noticed my unusually long departure. I guess Burton and his father took off to do something, maybe iron out last-minute promotional details with Mrs. McPherson in the main house. I take a seat as Tamika and Patrick carry on talking like I’m still trapped in some kind of unfathomable bathroom hell. I don’t mind not being noticed.
After a minute passes, I decide to pull out my phone and send a sword and shield emoji to Cole. He reads it nearly immediately and responds with a dragon and three flame emojis. It’s become our thing now over the past few weeks since the movie, a way to say without words that we’re thinking of each other, rooting for each other, and encouraging the other to be strong.
I can’t help but smile down at my phone. Is it too soon to rush back to the house tonotuse the bathroom again?
“What do the little swords and flames mean?”
I slap my phone to my chest, turning to find Tamika moved into the chair right by my side.Oh,nowshe chooses to notice me?Patrick, his round face pale and sickly, bags under his eyes, always looking like he achieved less than an hour of sleep the night before, sits on her other side. He looks like he’d rather hear an announcement that everything has been canceled and we can all go home than hear about emojis.
“It’s just … It’s just a friend that I’m—”
“I know, I saw it’s Cole,” says Tamika. “I was just wondering what it meant.”
I sputter through a few awkward responses before settling on the very intelligently stated: “Uh, I—I don’t know.”
Tamika blinks. “You don’t know …?”
I stuff my phone away. “I was just …” I shrug. “We’ve just been talking about—um—I was wishing him luck. That’s all. Swords and fiery dragons. Y’know. To, uh, be brave, and fight, and …”I should really stop talking. “I don’t know.”
“Ugh, sorry, am I being nosy?” She laughs self-consciously. “I mean, I know you guys are chummy, but I didn’t realize you guys aretalk-to-each-other-with-just-emojischummy.”
I realize I’m being unnecessarily weird. I take a breath and try to be a normal human being who engages in casual conversation. “We saw a movie a while ago. Well, half of a movie because the power went out. It was several weeks ago. It was about a sorcerer with demon magic and a conflicted paladin. So we started texting swords and flames at each other. It’s an inside-joke thing.”
“Aww, that’s so cute,” sings Tamika, crossing her arms on the table and grinning. “I didn’t know! I mean, Ishould’ve, but I guess I’ve just been too busy doing a hundred other things. This is just between us—and Patrick, I guess—but Burton’s dad apparently has his eye on me. I guess I might be able to call this a legitimate job by the summer, but …” She sighs. “Then there are also my classes. I had to miss one this week and another last week just to keep up with everything going on here. Not to mention an exam I have tomorrow that I’vebarelyhad time to study for …”
I take firm hold of her shift in topic to my advantage, pulling the spotlight off of me and Cole. “Can’t you take the rest of the evening off? Burton doesn’t need his hand held. Patrick and I are here if anything else needs to be done. I can cover for you.”
Tamika’s eyes turn syrupy with joy. “Really? You’d do that?”
“Of course.”
She glances up at the stage once more, her foot bouncing in place under the table. “Screw it, yeah, I’ll leave while there’s still a tiny bit of sun left. These back roads get so dark.” She reaches over and squeezes my arm. “Thanks, Noah. I owe you.”
I think about the sticky note she wrote me that one day, how it’s still stuck to my drawer—You got this! Keep smiling!—and all of the times it gave me the push I needed to face my day. “You don’t owe me anything, Tamika. Have fun.”
“Fun?” She snorts. “What’s fun about digital flashcards and being two chapters behind in my—You know what? It’s not even worth explaining. Thanks again, Noah, and Idoowe you.” With a wink, she sweeps away from the table, heading off.
I smile, feeling satisfied, then turn my attention back toward the stage just in time to discover that the bachelors have returned. It seems like Nadine and a couple of the crew members are having a chat with them at the side of the stage, probably to go over the details. After all, that’s where they say the devil is.
