I shook my head, letting the barriers fall. “Yes and no. I’m an… and now don’t judge me for this,” — he chuckled — “I’m an influencer, but I’m also an art student at Liberty Grove, and I was invited for both reasons."
“A few of my pals went to Liberty. It’s a great school. Fine art department, too.”
“Yes, sir, it’s incredible.” I wondered if he could sense the hesitation in my voice.
Before he could speak, a woman dressed in a red velvet dress approached his side and whispered something. He nodded before patting her hand and turning back to me. “I’ve got to dash, Miss… sorry, Cora,” I nodded at him. “I helped produce this movie, so they need me for some interviews, but it was a pleasure meeting you.”
I nodded, my smile beaming. “It was for me too…”
He eyed me.
“Patrick.”
Before taking his popcorn and drink, he reached into his blazer pocket and handed me something. “In case you need anything or want to check up on my etiquette.” He sent a wink my way and another sweet smile. “Have a good night, Cora.”
“Thank you!” I called after him as he fled into the shadows of the theatre. My eyes dipped to the card in my hands, finding the address to his studio and a number printed along the navy slip.
And that right there was why I was supposed to listen to my gut.
If I’d had Marcus breathing down my neck this entire time, he would have screened and interrogated every person I spoke to, potentially scaring away an artist I admired and had now unintentionally networked with.
The sigh I let out felt otherworldly. Like that weight I’d had forced on my shoulders, limiting me, had now melted into nothing. I couldn’t contain my smile, or the stupid, giddy squeal I let out.
Marcus - 0
Cora - 800,001
Eventually, I pinned down my smile enough that it didn’t scare any children who were present, and made my way inside the screening room, finding my red velvet theatre seat decked out in merch and other goodies. Soon enough, the room was packed, famous faces I’d only ever seen through a screen were suddenly in my peripheral, and I couldn’t help but let the impostor syndrome take over.
Still, I smiled the entire time Jacob was on stage with the rest of the cast, and just as they exited and the round of applause fell quiet, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I turned to find a familiar set of ivy eyes and dark auburn curls that were a little looser than the first time I saw them.
“Either this is fate, or there’s someone playing matchmaker with the seating arrangements for these things.” Rainie beamed as she stole the seat next to me. “This is my seat, right?”
That charm made me smile. “Rainie, hi!” I swivelled to fully face her, checking out her silk skirt that matched her eyes and white blouse that, when she leaned a certain way, showed off the bra she was wearing. “And you do know that these seats are free game? Well, apart from the ones down the front by Nate Patricks and Asher Hartford. Obviously.”
Rainie pulled her face. “Eh, not my type anyway. But this seat, however…”
And just like that, butterflies roared in my stomach.
“I never did see you again at Prada.” She murmured as she sat, waves of vanilla and bergamot crashing down onto me. And all those butterflies fell to the pit of my stomach.
My eyes found hers as she slipped the straw from her mouth. “It wasn’t my fault, was it?”
I shook my head, almost too vigorously. “No, I promise. It was just…” That moment replayed in my head, and I tried with everything I could to not let the fear consume me and have me bolting back out of this event too.
So instead, I opted for the other truth.
“Something happened a few months ago that completely knocked my confidence, and I guess I just got a little freaked out. Not by you.” My hands flailed at her. “Just by the attention, the room, a little bit of everything, I guess.”
Her head nodded in a sympathetic way. “I think I know what you’re talking about.”
On cue, my eyes rolled, as I slipped deeper into the seat cushions. “Fabulous.”
Before I could register what happened, her hand was atop mine. “Hey, I think the fact that you were back dealing with all this so soon after is brave. If I were you, I wouldn’t have made it through the carpet, never mind actually found my seat.”
I tilted my head. “You’re just saying that because you fancy me.”
