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Most people would get defensive and argue against any statements that weren’t flattering to their character, but here he was, actually agreeing with me when I wasn’t being necessarily kind.
“Well, I am impressive.”
That made me laugh. “Your costume is for sure. You did a really great job. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
He glanced downward at his body before looking back up at me. “Thank you. I worked hard on it. Had to be just right.”
“Big Star Wars fan?” I asked, suppressing a yawn. I wasn’t really interested in anything this guy had to say, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I kept up the conversation.
“Isn’t everyone?”
I cocked my head to the side and gave him a half-hearted shrug. “No. Definitely not.”
The part of his mouth that I could see dropped open in some sort of mock shock. “That’s just preposterous. Absurd.”
“Is it really though?” I asked, calling him out on his comment because there were a lot of people who didn’t enjoy science fiction and it wasn’t a secret.
“I guess not,” he relented. “But you’re obviously a fan.” He waved a cloaked arm in my direction.
When I didn’t say anything in return, he shifted on his feet, as if unsure of what to say next.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt you out here. I guess I should probably leave you alone.” His accent hung in the air between us, and I realized that I’d been more than a little unfriendly. It wasn’t like me at all.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so hostile,” I apologized before scooting over on the bench to give him room to sit down if he wanted.
This guy truly hadn’t done anything to warrant my sour mood. I was projecting my feelings toward one particular actor onto him.
“I understand. You’re a woman, sitting out here by yourself, and I snuck up on you without any warning in my terrifying costume and started talking your ear off,” he said, overexaggerating the situation a tad.
“I wouldn’t go that far.” I offered a gentle smile.
“May I?”
He gestured toward the space next to me, and I nodded before he sat down, our legs brushing for only a moment. But something sparked to life, and I had to clear my throat before I started choking on whatever it was. The last thing I wanted to feel was any kind of electricity with someone who acted for a living.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Fine,” I said, studying him.
There was something familiar, but I resigned myself to the fact that it was simply because he was an actor and I’d most likely seen him on the big screen before. That happened a lot out here.
I’d embarrassed myself at the grocery store one afternoon a couple of years back when I couldn’t stop staring at this woman, convinced that I knew her from high school or from going to camp when we had been kids. I’d even been stupid enough to ask her before I realized that she had been the star on a hit show back in the ’90s and my dumb brain had thought I recognized her from somewhere more familiar than my teenage television set.
I wouldn’t be making that mistake again. If this fake Anakin guy felt familiar, it was because he was famous. And to be honest, I didn’t really care who he was and had no plans on asking him. Actors were on my DO NOT DATE list. Granted, they were the only ones on said list, but after Tyson, they had to be.
I’d yet to make an exception.
“So, how do you know Greg?” Fake Anakin asked.
I crossed and then uncrossed my legs, unsure of how much I wanted to reveal to him about who I was.
Even though I was fairly certain this guy was harmless, you never really knew. Telling him that I had decorated this party meant that he could look up my business and find me after tonight if he wanted to. Not saying that he would do anything like that, but as a single woman, safety and security were always in the forefront of my mind.
And, yes, I realized the irony of my having business cards on display and my being introduced to strangers all night, but for some reason, this felt different… more intimate somehow. Telling this guy felt likeexposingmyself. Like I would be throwing away any kind of anonymity that I currently had.
I must have taken too long, lost in my thoughts and talking to myself, because he added, “You don’t have to tell me. I was just curious.”
“You must think I’m some kind of nutcase,” I said with a slight laugh. Never in my life had I acted so awkward and off-putting. I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t seem to stop behaving like that.
