This is the moment control slips through my fingers.
I stand.
I smile.
I walk.
The steps feel longer than physics should allow. The sound grows louder, heavier, pressing in from all sides. My heart is steady but fast, like it’s bracing for impact.
Dex meets me at the stage with an easy grin. “Let’s hear it for our brave contestant!”
Applause crashes over me.
I step into the light.
Dex lowers his voice just enough. “You good?”
I nod. “I’m good.”
He winks at the crowd, not at me, and launches into the rules.
“Behind this wall,” he says, gesturing grandly, “will be Nashville Outlaws. You won’t see them. You’ll hear them. You’ll ask questions. They’ll answer. At the end, you choose who wins the date.”
Cheers.
My pulse ticks up.
Dex lifts the mic again. “Alright, Outlaws, get up here. Let’s meet the voices behind the wall.”
The crowd cheers as the players walk out and take their seats.
All I can see is wood and stage lights and my own reflection in the polished surface. No faces. No reactions. No easy tells.
I touch the mic at my collar, grounding myself in the cool plastic. My heartbeat hasn’t sped up, but it hasn’t slowed either. It’s waiting.
So am I.
Because whatever happens next won’t be about smiles or shoulders or the way someone looks in a jersey.
It will be about voices. Answers. Presence.
And I’m not sure who that gives the advantage to.
This was never about love. I know that. It’s charity, exposure, optics.
But now that I’m here, now that I’m the one sitting in this chair with a microphone clipped to my dress, I can’t pretend the rest doesn’t matter. Whoever I choose, I’ll have to spend time with him. Talk to him. Sit across from him.
So maybe I should actually listen. Maybe I should try.
Because professional or not, this part is real.
Chapter six
Colby
“ALRIGHT, NASHVILLE!” Dex booms, voice ricocheting off the rafters like he’s been waiting his whole life for this mic. “Are you ready to playThe Dating Game, Outlaws style?”
The crowd explodes before he can even finish the sentence.
