“What was the scene about?”
“You mean you haven’t watched my shows?” I pull out the best dramatics I can muster without breaking and gasp at him.
“Even if I had, I would want to hear about it from you,” Preston says, sincerity ringing from his tone.
I know he means it too. Preston has a way of making me feel heard that no one else has ever shown me. He values what I say and wants to hear what I think. These little acknowledgements feel like huge accomplishments to me in this newfound independence. Maybe dad wouldn’t be mad. He has to know Preston better than I do and all I see is a good man.
“It was a scene where the characters finally broke down and confessed their feelings for each other. My character was caught in a love triangle between her best friend and his rival. It was all very angsty.”
“Who did she choose?”
“You’ll just have to watch to find out.” I wink at him.
“Sounds like we have a date with the TV tonight, Hollywood.”
Mortified, my eyes widen. “Oh my god, no. Not with me watching!”
“Why not?”
“It’s embarrassing!” The first few seasons of that project were some of my roughest work.
“Why is it embarrassing? It’s your work.”
“Yes, but it’s so weird to see yourself on screen, especially at that awkward teen, young adult phase. Some parts of that show are so cringe.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun. We can make fun of it together.”
I hesitate. Maybe with Preston, it’ll be okay. He makes everything light and fun. Subjecting myself to watching it might not be so bad if he’s sitting beside me.
“Ugh, fine. One episode for one of the movies I mentioned. I cannot believe you haven’t seen them. They are iconic, Preston! Pure cinematic brilliance.”
“We may be able to fit that into our very busy and demanding schedules,” he responds jokingly. “What is your favorite of the movies you mentioned?”
“Sweet Home Alabama. Hands down. It’s my comfort movie.”
“What’s a comfort movie?”
“Oh my god. You are killing me. Maybe by the time we leave I will have taught you there’s more to life than baseball.”
“I know there is more to life than baseball. I just don’t exactly have time to lay around and watch TV and movies. Between helping my parents and training, all my time is taken. This has been a whole new experience for me.”
“What about as a kid?”
“Much of the same honestly. I was always outside. Baseball is a hard sport to craft. The odds of a high school player making it to the bigs are about half a percent. If you’re lucky enough to play in college, it goes up to ten percent but those still aren’t great odds. When I wasn’t playing or practicing, there was always something to help with either at mom’s shop or around the house.” Preston’s upbringing doesn’t sound very different from mine, except the relationship with his mother. It’s not often I meet someone that understands the pressure of honing your craft and the stress of competing against others to succeed.
“I get it. I was working before I was really old enough to know what that meant. I just know movies because I’m in the industry. The arts are an escape.”
“It’s not that I don’t like movies. I just don’t have a lot of time to veg out.”
“Full veg starting now. What’s your favorite movie then?”
“Bull Durham.”
“Bull what?”
“‘I believe in the church of baseball?’ It’s one of the most iconic baseball movies of all time. Susan Sarandon. Kevin Costner.”
I stare blankly at him and it looks like Preston is five seconds from losing his mind.
