I sigh, not willing to admit he’s got me somewhat charmed. “Are you actually a news writer?”
He shakes his head. “No, I do write and edit, but for a website. We cover pretty much everything entertainment, movies, TV shows, comics, the works.”
“Really?” I perk up just a tad. “I’m kind of a pop culture nerd.”
Brian’s eyes spark at the mention of pop culture, and from there our conversation evolves easily, starting withour favorite TV shows and movies, leading into some spirited discussions about the direction of the MCU and where we each feel it needs to go. He scores a lot of points with me by not making the basic white-man criticism of too much pandering with all the new women-led projects. He doesn’t complain once about Captain Marvel, which basically makes him a unicorn among man-nerds. After our initial hiccup, the conversation flows effortlessly through dinner and dessert and even an after-dinner drink.
“So how did you first get into all of it? Books, movies, TV? Were your parents in the business?” Brian spins his wineglass around on the table.
It’s a fair question, especially when you live in LA. It’s not his fault he doesn’t know how much the simple inquiry stings.
I take another sip of wine. “No, my parents didn’t get me into it. The opposite actually.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Oh?”
I shrug like this whole line of conversation is no big deal. “Yeah. I was alone a lot as a kid. My dad was never in the picture and my mom was always traveling for work. I sort of turned to movies and books and TV to find a family?” I chuckle, even though nothing about it is funny. “That sounds really pathetic, doesn’t it?”
Brian reaches across the table and gives my hand a quick squeeze. “It’s not pathetic at all. I think a lot of us turn to the characters we see on the screen and the page to find some kind of acceptance.”
A smile spreads across my face and I’m surprised to find it’s actually genuine. “I never really thought of it like that.”
He swigs the last of his drink. “That’s what’s so great about art, the profound impact it can have on its audience.”
My smile fades just a tad. Even though I haven’t necessarily articulated it that way before, Brian’s summed up the main reason I want to be writing about my favorite entertainment enterprises. Because they do mean something to me, and they mean something to a lot of readers and viewers out there, much more than some stupid listicle featuring the ten best breakup songs.
Brian gives me a soft smile while I digest his words. “Should we head out?”
I nod, not quite able to return his grin.
After he pays the check, he walks me to my car and leaves me with a kiss on the cheek and a promise to text and set up a second date, to which I wholeheartedly agree. I was so worried about this blind date, and despite a disastrous start, it turned out better than I could’ve ever expected.
It isn’t until I’m home, face scrubbed clean and brushing my teeth, that a niggling little worry starts to poke at the edge of my brain. It makes sense that Seth would send one of his friends in to try to get me to back out of the task. But why would he chance sending someone like Brian, someone I could legitimately have a connection with? The question rolls around in my mind until I’m curled up in bed watching the latest episode ofTed Lasso.
And it hits me after a particularly poignant pep talk on-screen. I’m such an idiot. I’m a first-class moron. Of course Seth wouldn’t set me up with someone awful. My whole aim here is to stay single, and what better way to challenge that,to make me forfeit the competition, than to present me with a guy I could totally see myself in a relationship with?
Sneaky bastard. I can’t believe he would sink so low, play so dirty, right on my very first task.
And I can’t believe I not only fell for it but also had no qualms about accepting a second date with Brian. Competition aside, I’m supposed to be finding myself and shit, not jumping into another relationship I’m not actually ready for.
But it’s far easier to blame Seth for this mishap than to recognize my own patterns, so I go to bed vowing to get back at him tomorrow. He thinks he knows me, thinks I’m just going to roll over and give up, let him have this win.
Well, that motherfucker has another think coming.
9
As that one guy said that one time, all’s fair in love and war.
—Lana Parker, “How to Win Back Your Partner”
The morning after my slightly-too-successful blind date, I make two pit stops before driving over to Seth’s house. Armed with a set of sheets from Target and aFittoniaplant personally recommended by one of my favorite small plant shops, I knock on his door, plastering a sweet smile on my face as it swings open.
A smile that quickly freezes when it takes in a shirtless Seth, greeting me in nothing but a pair of baby-blue basketball shorts. Seth was an athlete all through school and always in great shape, but he still had a teenage lankiness to him. Now he has man muscles instead of boy muscles. Holy Hemsworth, I can actually see the outlines of his abs. Fuck me if he doesn’t have that perfect V, pointing directly where I know I shouldn’t be looking. And I probably shouldn’t bethinking the phrasefuck meanywhere near this whole situation.
With a self-satisfied smirk when he catches me gawking, he crosses his arms over his chest, further emphasizing the bulges of his biceps and shoulders. “I didn’t expect to see you here this morning. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
I clear my throat and force myself to meet his eyes. Eyes that are all twinkly with his misguided assumption that he’s pulled one over on me. He thought he could one-up me on my very first task, but last night he declared war. Even if he doesn’t know it.
“Well, my date with Brian went so well last night, I wanted to come over and say thank you.” I hand him the potted plant and a bag containing the sheet set, along with a sickly-sweet smile. “A combination housewarming and thank-you present. I thought I’d get ahead on the houseplant task and the woman at the shop said these are easy to care for.” I make sure I open my eyes just a tad wider than usual, turning up the innocent act as much as I dare without going overboard.
