Page 24 of Who's Playing You
“But… like I’m flattered but also, that’s a lot of money to pay when all you need is one spot. I mean, you could’ve just reached out and asked for a one-on-one class or session, and it would have been a hell of a lot cheaper for you, to be honest,” I awkwardly chuckled because I was trying to make sense of all of this, but the math wasn’t mathing.
“No, no, it’s totally fine. I was happy to pay,” he replied confidently and a shy smile took over his face and I was yet again drawn into this man.
Who stood mere inches from me.
He smelled so good, like pure male. A little bit of citrus mixed with a woodsy scent.
I just kept staring into his eyes like some weirdo in a trance.
Once I snapped myself out of it to compute what he’d just said, I finally managed, “Okay, I appreciate that, but… umm… do you mind me asking… why?”
He looked to the ground as he chuckled once more. “You can ask me anything you like, Scottie. I’ll gladly answer any and every question that you have. And, well, let’s just say that I need the privacy.”
“Privacy?”
“Yeah,” he dragged out. “So you can understand why it wasn’t exactly an option to share you, I mean, share this time and space with a dozen other people. It’d be a distraction.”
“Oh. Well, okay. If you say so.” I answered on a quiet exhale, still a bit confused and not wanting to pry any further.
He must have realized that when he added, “I’m like… a little bit famous…” and he let that just linger in the small space between us.
It took me by surprise because my head involuntarily moved back slightly in surprise. “Ohh. Umm. Oh okay.” I replied, not knowing what else I could or should say. But managed to perfectly conquer the role of looking like a fish out of water, a floundering dummy - if you will - because I didn’t know if me not recognizing him made me look like some form of idiot who lived under a rock, or if he liked that I didn’t know who he was but I was just being awkward.
Gah!
“I gather you have no idea who I am, huh?” he spared me when he asked in the most gentle and kind way while his smile hit mega-watt status. This man really should be a model, on every billboard and on every cover.
Oh shit!Maybe he was.
But I had enough wits about me to at least show some humility when I embarrassingly replied, “No. Sorry…” To which his smile just grew and then he started laughing.
“Scottie, can I be honest with you?”
“Always.”
“Can we forget that I even said anything? Can we start over? Can you just forget the last two minutes and any mention of quasi-celebrity?”
This caught me slightly by surprise but his request was so genuine that I immediately replied, “Of course. We’re all people, putting one sock on at a time and all that. I just…”
He inched closer to me and touched my arm, “No, please. Go on.”
I looked down for a moment’s reprieve, to break our eye contact and saw his index finger as it gently stroked my arm. And why did it feel so natural? I shook the thought away as I softly shook my head and looked back at him. “I hope that I didn’t offend you because I didn’t recognize you… I try to treat everyone the same, regardless of their backgrounds or… well, or whatever. To me, when I meet someone, I find it so exciting to just get to know them - on their terms - and also during our shared experience. What people reveal to you when you interact with them, that’s what tells me all that I need to know about someone. So I hope that me not knowing who you are hasn’t offended you and that we’re still starting off with a blank slate and can just get to know one another?”
“I love that, Scottie. And yes, most certainly!” He beamed at me. “And honestly, I prefer your approach. So! That said, hi. My name’s Nicholas. I’m very excited to meet you. And I can’t wait to … well, what are we doing today?”
I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped my lips.Giggle?Oh my God, who was I? I didn’t giggle.
“Right! Hi! Nicholas, so lovely to meet you,” I said as I took his extended hand and shook it. “I’m Scottie and today I had intended to bring our group of twelve to the overlook that’s about a mile up the trail here, but…”
“But?”
“You look like a pretty fit guy. Would you be up for a bit of a deviation from the original plan?”
He full-on grinned at me now. “A deviation from the plan? Scottie, are you telling me you’re not a rule follower?”
I couldn’t help another giggle that escaped. “Well, I’m more of a ‘go with the flow’ type of gal, but there’s another spot, it’s a little further up the trail. It’s my favorite spot here, actually. But it’s a bit smaller, so it wouldn’t have been ideal for twelve people. But since it’s just us, I think we can manage to bring the materials we need and not to judge, but you look like you could stand to hike another two miles while carrying some supplies. I promise it’ll be worth it.”
“I’ll follow you anywhere you want to go, Scottie,” he replied in earnest.
