Page 18 of His Choice

“Don’t make me slap you upside the head again,” he cautioned, then tsked me. “You’ve been very bitchy since this whole adventure started. You said people at work even asked why you were taking a vacation to do His Choice, since you sounded so miserable about it.”

I had shared that information with Aaron, along with my own parents’ disbelief that the show would cast me as a potential suitor to a rich, handsome multi-millionaire.

I massaged my closed eyes with my fingers. “Sorry. You’ve done all this work to get me on the show, and I’m seeming ungrateful. I’m not. It’s just that I’m going to make a fool of myself. And everyone in the United States will be watching wondering the same thing my mom and dad did… What the heck were the producers thinking? It’s going to be humiliating.”

Aaron got off the chair, then grabbed my arm to pull me up. I resisted.

“Stand up,” he commanded.

“Why?” I asked, though I had already given in and risen, Aaron’s hand still on my arm. He dragged me to an old-fashioned full-length mirror encased in cherry wood, perched on a stand. “Take a look at yourself. Not at what you grew up believing about your appearance. See who you are now.”

I sighed. “I see a much better-looking guy standing behind me.”

Aaron slapped the back of my head, making some of the hairs stand up.

“Stop it!” I barked, patting the hair back in place. “We have our first introductions to Cliff Walker tonight, on camera. With all the hairspray in my hair to keep it from curling, you’ll have it permanently looking like Albert Einstein’s.”

“Then Walker will think you’re smart,” he countered. “Will you stop being a whiney poop and just take a good look at yourself? Mikey, you’re a catch. I promise you. If Cliff Walker doesn’t see it, then let him run off with geezer-guy. His loss.”

I smiled, though it made me feel guilty that I was joining in on trashing someone we didn’t know. “And what if he chooses you, despite however you plan to dissuade him? I still think it blows that the producers are adding this plot twist. If you end up winning and announcing you’re not into men, the viewers will end up hating you.”

Aaron grinned. “I already have a plan how to prevent that from happening. You know how they’re going to have ongoing camera confessionals, where each of us tells the viewers what we’re thinking at different points in the show?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, they made us sign an NDA that we wouldn’t tell Walker or other contestants that I’m straight, but it didn’t say anything about keeping the information hidden from the viewers. When the show is live, they won’t be able to stop me from blabbing the truth to everyone. And I’m going to share that I think it’s a crappy thing to do, too,” he added.

I squinted back at him. “But then they’ll wonder why you’re doing it.”

“I’ll tell them what I said to my parents in confidence a couple of days ago. I’m here rooting for the best guy to win, and that happens to be my best friend. I’ll explain that my goal is to play you up so much, Walker will think I’m falling for you instead of him. That will keep him from making the mistake of choosing me. It’s an opportunity to help you and thwart the producers’ slimy trick. People will see me as a hero. You’ll win the guy you’re creaming over, and I’ll win the viewers’ hearts. Maybe it will even lead to something for me in television later.”

“Yeah.” I thought about it, and it made some sense, if his plan went off without a hitch. “Wait, did you agree to do this program just to achieve your goal of landing an acting gig?”

Aaron looked hurt. “Mikey, you wound me. I’d do this stunt whether it leads to anything for me or not.”

I could tell from his expression that he was sincere. “Have I ever told you that aside from all the annoying things you do, you’re like one of the greatest people I’ve ever met?”

He jerked his head back in surprise. “What do you mean, one of the greatest?”

I laughed. “Thus, the qualifier.”

Aaron smirked. “Confidence shouldn’t be a detractor. Let some of mine rub off on you. That should be easy for you, seeing as rubbing off is the one thing you’ve mastered.”

I scowled. “Speaking of, don’t you dare do that in our bed. I don’t want Mr. Walker’s cleaning staff thinking I’m the sleaze who’d messed their sheets. Besides, I need to sleep on them, too.”

“Please. You’d love it,” he countered. “Now, for the last time, will you take an honest look at yourself in the mirror?”

I exhaled, then turned back to face my reflection. I wasn’t my type, but I could see where I might be to others now that I was polished up. “I guess some guys might think I’m cute. A twunk, as they say.”

“There you go,” he whispered, patting my shoulder. “Don’t forget that when you meet with Walker later. Assume he’s one of those guys who’s drawn to twunks.”

Chapter Seven

Cliff

“I think this look is better,” Simone said when I emerged from the bathroom.

The director, Marvin Jacobs, had given me a choice of two outfits to wear for the premiere. Either I could greet contestants in a formal black suit, which I had just modeled for Simone and my mother, or I could select the more casual outfit I had on now.