Jacqueline:Sounds like your job keeps things interesting… never a dull moment, huh?
You’ll have to tell me more about what you actually do sometime.
Anyway, random question of the day… what’s your favorite fruit?
A laugh bursts out of me, loud and unrestrained, as Nate shakes his head in mock disbelief. Ignoring him, I start furiously typing a reply, my fingers flying over the screen.
He rinses his bowl in the sink, turning back with a knowing smirk. “I’m done talking,” he says, grabbing his keys. “I’ve got to head to the gallery. Just… try not to get too caught up too fast, okay?”
His words hang in the air, a mix of concern and teasing, but I wave him off without looking up, already lost in my reply.
“Yeah, yeah, go to work. I gotta go into the office anyway to catch up with the boys and Oliver. I’ll see you tonight.”
After I hit send, I grab my keys and walk out of the house. Sliding into my car, I try to keep off my cell while I drive to theoffice even though the urge is strong. But as soon as I get there, I recheck my messages to see if another has arrived, and I quickly reply as I walk through the halls.
Stepping into the kitchen where Lunar and Danger are standing, I turn to them while putting my cell down for a moment. “Hey, what’s happening today?” I ask.
“Not a hell of a lot, actually. Tillie has called a meeting to discuss a new marketing campaign she wants to develop. She’d like Nate to be here, but she knows with the gallery that he’s needed there and that you’re kinda his proxy vote in all this shit. So yeah, I think that’s on the agenda today,” Danger answers, and I nod.
My cell alerts me to another incoming message fromLovepessimist. Jacqueline tells me to please call her Jaci and explains in more detail what she has planned for the day.
Danger and Lunar look at me and chuckle. “What’s going on there, Matty Moo? That cute grin you have going on tells me that’s not Nate you’re messaging,” Lunar teases.
“Nah, definitely not Nate. It’s a chick I met last night.”
“Oh, where?” Lunar asks excitedly.
“The internet,” I explain while still typing into my cell.
The general lack of conversation thrown back at me as the room falls silent makes me look up. They are staring at me with furrowed brows and quizzical looks. “What?” I ask.
“Theinternet?” Danger questions his voice rising slightly on the last word.
“Yeah, Lovepessimist dot com.”
They both stare at me, expressions shifting as if they’re trying to decide whether I’m joking. With an exaggerated sigh, I roll my eyes and turn my phone around to show them the app. Their gazes lock onto the screen, and their eyes widen even more in unison.
“Matt, seriously? You’re a celebrity rock star. You can have any girl that walks in off the street, and you’re resorting to the damninternet?” Danger asks, that inflection there again.
Lunar scoffs, smacking him over the back of the head.
“What?” Danger asks, looking at Lunar.
“Matt, what Danger means to say is finding a girl comes a lot easier for guys like you. Why are you resorting to the internet?”
I shake my head. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. Finding a particular type of girl is easy for a guy like me. Finding the girl Iwant?Well, that’s a lot harder. The girls that come with being famous, yeah, they’re not the girls I want to have hanging off my arm. You know… groupies, women in the industry, I don’t want one like that. No. I want someone who doesn’t want me for my fame. Someone who wants me for me and not for who I am or what I can do for them.”
“We get that, we do, but there are other ways.” Danger runs his fingers through his hair. “Theinternet? People on there are going to know who you are, Matt.”
“Eventually, but not as they get to know me. They will know me for me. Like me for the person I am before they find out who I really am. See how it works?”
“So you’re basically catfishing them? But in a kinda reverse way, because you actuallyarethe celebrity.” Lunar giggles.
I shrug. “I suppose, but I’ll make them like my personality so much that they won’t care, and they’ll just accept me for me when they do eventually find out.”
“This is a big risk, Matt.” Danger sighs.
“If anyone has shown me love is worth the risk, it’s you and Lunar. Fuck, even Ryan and Tillie put it all on the line for love. Why can’t I do the same?”
