Page 11 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
WEEK ONE
First Impressions and a First Date
Chapter 3
Roan loosed apathetic groan when the alarm on his phone woke him at six am. The cover beneath him stuck to his skin, and the back of his neck was wet. When he sat up to turn the damn thing off, his hair flopped about on top of his head. Nothing like going to sleep with wet hair.
He was surprised to have slept at all, but after he watched four episodes ofNaked and Afraid,consumed more vending machine treats, jerked off and showered again, he’d passed into a shaky, broken, sugared-up sleep. He was so tired now he considered rolling over for another ten minutes, but he needed to take extra care getting ready. Today was the day he’d meet his cowboy, and he aimed to make the best first impression he could. So he swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and stumbled to the bathroom.
He’d chosen his outfit carefully before leaving Ohio and mourned the fact that he’d have to leave the cardigan out of it. It was a little cashmere beauty, but the heat forestalled any further thought of it. Besides, the short-sleeved shirt with the bow tie and suspenders would work perfectly on their own too. His jeans were tight, but not too skinny, just enough to show off his long legs and narrow hips. He folded over the cuffs of his jeans once, then set about taming his black hair. It was longer at the top but cut close to his head on the sides, and he liked to create a puff of careful waves in the middle. The style made his cheekbones and hazel eyes stand out.
With his pinky finger he applied the faintest sheen of lip gloss, then smacked his lips with a pop, and smoothed his shirt down. Finally, he added the glasses he’d picked up the week before at a cute boutique. They’d cost a bundle, but they made him look adorable as hell, if he did say so himself.
The instructions for the meet and greet had suggested wearing a suit, but Roan didn’t own one, and he figured he’d stand out more in his own clothes.
At seven thirty, he was all packed up and ready to go downstairs. His stomach churned with nerves and hunger, but it was too late for breakfast. He sent a quick, final “I love you” text to his mom, not knowing when he’d get the chance to communicate with her again. He assumed they’d be confiscating their phones that morning since they were headed to the filming location. With a quick prayer, he left the safety of his hotel room behind.
Downstairs, a bunch of people hung around the lounge. They were obviously connected to the filming of the show, given the bags of equipment laying around, but he wasn’t sure if there were other contestants in the mix or not.
Where they’d all been the night before when he’d been eager for some entertaining company to keep his mind off things, he didn’t know. They sure would have been a relief to see then. He could have chatted with them, charmed them, and maybe gotten some information about his competition in advance. Something that would have given him an edge. But oh well.
He joined the crowd now, shifting his bag on his shoulder awkwardly and plastering on a fake smile.
“Hi,” someone said right in his ear, and Roan startled. He spun around to find himself face-to-face with a blond jock-type with a hyper-bleached smile.
“Hi.” Roan surreptitiously eyed the guy. Was he a crew member? No, probably another contestant. He looked more like a professional model or something. What with his stupidly handsome face and his insanely even skin tone. Who even really looked like that outside of airbrushed pictures in magazines? This guy apparently.
“I’m Chad. You’re here for the show, right?”
“Right.” Roan took the offered hand. Chad’s handshake was dry and firm. Shit, Roan was going to have to shake his cowboy’s hand at some point, and by then he’d probably be all sweaty. He could already feel the humidity getting to him, making his jeans feel like they were plastered on. His gut rushed with butterflies, and his upper lip stung with sudden sweat. Great, here came the nerves again, too.
Chad lifted a brow at him and chuckled kindly.
Crap. He hadn’t even introduced himself. Off to a great start already. So much for being the smart contestant who stayed cool under pressure. “Oh, I’m Roan.”
Chad laughed. “Nice to meet you, Roan. Can I just say, you look confused?”
“I guess I am?” He was expecting things to be well-organized; instead, he got the impression he was leaving on a school trip. Everyone was on their phones, either talking a mile a minute or texting with irritation written all over their face. He supposed the grumpy ones were the crew members. A few other guys were obviously saying goodbye to whatever family might miss them over the next six weeks, and those must be his fellow contestants. Or at least some of them.
“It’s a mess, from what I can tell,” Chad said with a shrug. “But it always feels that way at the start of a project.”
So Chad was familiar with this kind of thing. Maybe he was an actor then. Roan pushed at the glasses. They were very hipsterish, and he thought they made him look pretty darn sweet, but the moisture from the air was not his friend, and they slipped down again.
Chad smirked a little but wasn’t unkind when he asked, “Are those glasses real? Like do you need them to see?”
“Uh. No.”
“Friendly tip. Lose them. They’re super cute, just like you, but they’re very city slicker.” He flicked an imaginary cap. “You’re heading to a farm now, boy,” he said in a strong twang that sounded nothing like the accents Roan had heard since stepping off the plane in Louisiana.
“Oh. Okay.” Roan took the glasses off and stuffed them in one of his bags. “Thanks.”
“No problem, man. I’m here to have fun. I’m not going to trample anyone on my way to the end of the race, you know?”
“Sure.” Roan sucked his bottom lip and turned toward the group again.
Chad laughed. “Relax, you’ll be fine. Come on, meet the others before Twinkle Toes shows up.”
“Who?”
