And somehow, though he wasn’t sure how because he was still thinking about his botched kiss with Sophia, he managed to reply honestly, if a little shyly, grinning as he said, “It was all right.”
“All right, he says,” Jin teased with an amused eyebrow raise. “Look at that smile. You look positively chuffed.”
Ejiro grew even more embarrassed. “I’m going to change.”
The men’s playful jeers followed him out of the room. He made it all the way up the stairs before Ameri yelled, “Cut!”
Ejiro nearly sank to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He hadn’t realised how tense he’d been until the filming had ended.
As Ameri gave him a rundown of what to expect for filming his cutaways tomorrow, Ejiro found himself nodding and responding when he was expected. But his mind was stuck on the kiss he’d given Sophia, despite how hard he was trying not to think about it.
He didn’t know how he felt. His stomach churned—with butterflies? Probably. Yes. Obviously butterflies. He tried to remember the touch of her lips, the darkening of her eyes, and felt his heart give a sickening jolt.
Yes. Definitely butterflies.
ELEVEN
“WELCOME BACK, EVERYONE, TO ANOTHER episode of Cupid Calling!” Ameri Shae announced to the sound of thunderous applause. “We’re here on episode three with a live studio audience—say hi to the folks at home everyone!—where our bachelorette is going to get to know our bachelors a little better during a blind date style Q & A.”
On cue, the audience “oohed”.
“Our bachelors will be divided into four groups of five, and will be hidden from the bachelorette via a thin panel. The bachelors’ voices will also be altered, so our bachelorette won’t be biased when picking her winners. Sorry, Chris Wu!” The audience laughed. “Speaking of winners, for each set of five, the winning bachelor will of course get the grand prize of having the opportunity to take our bachelorette on a private date!” Another “oooh” from the audience. “Now, without further ado, let’s welcome our bachelorette, Sophia Bailey!”
Cheers rose.
From backstage, despite the staff rushing back and forth, finishing up the last touches of makeup for the bachelors, and the general air of anxiety hovering about, Obiora found that he wasn’t nervous at all.
Part of that was due to the fact that over the past few days, he had come to realise that his attraction to Ejiro—which he had since stopped denying—had built him some immunity to the beauty and charm of the bachelorette. And since Ejiro was most likely straight as a pole, Obiora wasn’t in danger of having his interest returned.
He was a grown ass man. Just because he found Ejiro deeply compelling and at times disarmingly sexy—even more so because Ejiro didn’t even seem to be aware of his own appeal—it didn’t mean Obiora had to act on it.
So, with his interest in Ejiro doing anything but waning, he could coast along during the competition without the risk of putting his heart on the line, take advantage of the free days for his vacation, then do something to get himself eliminated when he was done resting. It was almost so easy it made him want to laugh.
“Come on, gentlemen! Time to pick a number; you know the drill.”
The bachelors, all dressed sharply in suits as Ameri had required, walked up to where Diana, Ameri’s right hand and second director slash producer, was standing, holding a familiar fish bowl.
Obiora picked number six. He would be in the second group.
“Bachelors one to five, please wait here for your cue. The rest of you, please follow me.”
Obiora instinctively looked for Ejiro. When Ejiro followed after Diana, he didn’t know whether to feel relieved or not. As usual, Ejiro was beside Chris Wu and they were chatting amicably; it seemed, amongst all the bachelors, that Ejiro had made quick friends with the Chinese-Brit. Hell, it seemed Ejiro was only close to his roommates, treating the other men civilly but more like acquaintances. With how shy he was, Obiora didn’t find that too surprising. The only other person apart from his roommates that he didn’t treat so civilly was Obiora himself, though he tried not to let it get to his head.
It was probably because of their rocky start; something about their semi-rivalry at the beginning of the show, and then Obiora apologising and forming a truce had removed most of the masks Ejiro held in place for the other bachelors. That did not make Obiora special in any way.
Nope. It didn’t. Not special. Not at all.
If he kept repeating it, perhaps his delusional head would eventually believe it.
Obiora looked at him again, unable to help it. Ejiro cleaned up really fucking nicely, wearing a deep burgundy suit that brought out the warmth underneath his dark brown skin. Unlike the other men, he’d gone with a matching bowtie rather than a necktie. Obiora couldn’t help but imagine tugging that bowtie loose, and using the straps to reel him into a kiss.
Ugh, Obiora. Pull yourself together.
“Please welcome our non-competing bachelors!”
At Ameri’s cue, Diana led the bachelors onto a section of the stage to the sound of the live audience’s applause.
Ameri must’ve made them sign some really tough non-disclosure agreements because that was a lot of people. There had to be at least a hundred of them minus the cast and crew.
