Page 4 of Home Run Fiancé
Toward the end of my freshman year at college, I started a YouTube channel on a whim. Just started showing the life of an undergrad, a girl living in Los Angeles trying to make her way in the world. Well, my audience grew and before you knew it, I was making darn good money just posting videos and getting millions of views. So much money, I decided to quit my job and school and devote all my time to growing my channel.
I hit play on my camera and got back to the task of building a flower crown with step-by-step instructions thrown in there when necessary. The magic of these videos is in the editing. I’ll cut it down to ten minutes or less and get it posted by tomorrow. Once the crown is complete, I model it and ham it up for the camera. Then I hit stop and turn off the huge ring light that nearly blinded me while I was filming.
A full hour or two of editing requires sustenance in the form of caffeine. I throw my MacBook in my leather satchel and it’s off to Hit Me, the coffee shop where I used to work. My best friend, Charlotte, still works there, which makes my visits frequent and long. She’s also the only one in the whole world who knows I dropped out of school.
I find an empty table toward the back of the shop and set up camp. I see a few regulars from my time there as a barista and smile my greeting. Charlotte finally looks up and sees me, her face morphing into a radiant smile. I hold up three fingers and she nods.
The girl is straight-up gorgeous, combining with that mysterious accent of hers to make for a total catch. Anytime we’ve gone out together, the men flock to her. I don’t mind playing second fiddle though because she doesn’t go home with any of them, or really give any of them the time of day. She’s the most curious girl I’ve ever met. We’re besties, but sometimes I feel like I don’t even know her.
By the time I boot up my laptop and download the raw video from my camera, Charlotte sits down at the table with a giant cup of coffee for me and a plate of goodies for her. Caramel latte, three shots, drizzle of caramel on top. I’m predictable, which some may say makes me basic, but thankfully I don’t buy into all that.
“What’s that on your head, girl?” Charlotte flicks her eyes up and I remember I’m wearing my flower crown.
See? Not basic at all. “Oh! My latest craft project and the video I’m about to edit.” I rub my hands together and then dive in to my coffee, that first sip like nectar. “How’s your day going and when are you going to dump this place and become a model?”
Charlotte smirks and takes a giant bite of scone, talking around it. “You know I can’t quit this place. I love it too much. I’m not made for stardom and photoshoots and people telling me to starve myself into a size zero.”
Setting down my coffee, I pull up my YouTube stats page. I chuckle at Charlotte’s idea of what modeling would be like, but she has a point. If someone wanted me to give up my lattes for the runway, I really would run away.
My gaze zeroes in on my estimated revenue and my eyes go round. “Holy crap, Charlotte. I did it!”
She leans forward, eyes sparkling. “Tell me!”
I take a deep breath and feel some of the guilt and doubt slide off my shoulders. “I’m on track to make five thousand dollars this month.”
Charlotte, who knows how huge this milestone is for me, jumps up and comes around the table to hug me, looking at the number on the screen herself.
“Oh my gosh, girl, I knew you’d do it.”
Her belief in me means everything, helps buoy me up on days I don’t believe in myself. I’d gotten my income up to four thousand dollars a month when I quit school at the end of the holidays. My goal is to increase it by a thousand a month until I hit the big 10k. Where I am now would pay my rent and for my car. Next up, pay for all my expenses so Asher isn’t helping me financially at all and I can start paying him back for my two years of college tuition. I want to stand on my own two feet.
I have tears in my eyes when Charlotte sits back down. “Makes my check from this place seem a little paltry.” She’s teasing, but I sense an unease in her that I’ve never been able to pull out. She won’t tell me much about her family or her past, but I know she can’t be living in LA with only the paycheck from Hit Me. She has money coming in from somewhere, but she’s never shared, which always bothers me. I tell her everything and she is such a source of encouragement for me, but I can’t give her much in return because she won’t open up.
Charlotte hops up and scoops up her empty plate. “I won’t interrupt you. Get that next video edited and uploaded so you can hit your next goal.”
She kisses the top of my head and takes off, grabbing her apron off the counter and getting back to work. I shake my head absentmindedly. She’s so beautiful and smart and personable. And it’s all going to waste in a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop.
I put thoughts of Charlotte aside and get busy editing, my headphones in place and my heart rate zooming with the latte on board. I’m just saving the final version when my phone screen lights up.
Asher’s calling again.
I look at the time and decide to take the call since I’d be out of class by now normally.
“Hey, Ash!” I infuse my voice with as much sunshine as I can, even while I feel bad for keeping things from him. I also try to keep my voice down so I’m not one of those people in a public space yelling into their cell phones and annoying everyone in a three-mile radius. Everyone tells me I have a loud voice anyway, so I put in the effort to dial it back.
“You’re a hard one to get ahold of these days, Rhys. Buckling down and studying hard?” His voice comes through the line, instantly calming me with its familiarity, then jacking my anxiety with his question.
“Oh, yeah, you know me…” I chuckle uneasily, but he moves the conversation along.
“I want to hear all about it, but first, I have a favor to ask.” I hear a horn honking somewhere in the background. He must be out and about seeing clients.
“Sure, what’s up?” I take a sip of my latte and find it’s mostly cold.
“Can you come over to dinner at my place on Friday?”
That’s weird. He sounds so formal about it when we normally get together all the time anyway.
“Friday sounds great. What can I bring?” Last week he made steaks and I brought dessert. Maybe this time I could make some sort of fancy dish and film how I made it for another YouTube video.
