“I’m good.” I nodded, frowning at him. “Are you?”
He pulled away, almost fast enough for me to not catch the twist in his brow. “Fine.”
I readjusted my cardigan to hide my nipples pointing through the stretchy fabric of my top.
“We could clean up a bit,” Dakota explained with a little wavering still in his voice. “Get a backdrop positioned against the wall. And maybe bring a few nicer house plants to decorate around the outer edges.”
My eyes studied the space, putting two and two together as he explained his vision. “You think this would be a good place to film the interviews?”
He paused for a moment, scratching his head. “Yeah. You don’t think so?”
“I do, definitely,” I said, quickly. “It’s beautiful and airy. But… you mentioned this place was your sanctuary.”
“And?” Dakota looked confused.
“Do you really what some random film student who wants to record personal interviews taking up your space?”
“Yes,” he said, with no hesitation in sight.
I laughed, appreciative of his willingness to share his private space. “It’d be okay if you weren’t. If I had a place on campus that rarely anyone visited, I’d be hyper-protective.”
“It’s my sanctuary because it’s peaceful,” he explained, coming closer to me once more. My fingers begged for permission to turn back on the camera. Nothing killed a conversation faster than a lens, I knew that. But I also hated the idea of missing a chance to document him in this light.
Dakota’s dark hair brightened under the light of the moon. His dark eyes also took on a lighter color when he turned his head ever so slightly. The healing cut on his forehead was also highlighted by the light. I wanted to trace my fingers along the route from his hairline to his brow. I wanted to trace other things too, like the tattoos on his wrist and the sweet smile he was giving me.
“If you’re conducting difficult interviews, you’ll need a space that makes people feel safe and hopeful.” Dakota stopped a foot in front of me. “I’m sure there are filming rooms on campus.”
“There are,” I confirmed.
“But are they this comforting? This beautiful?”
The way he said ‘beautiful’ made my belly warm. “Not even close.”
“Then, we have a winner?” he grinned.
I looked around the space one more time but there was no use in denying it. Once my eyes fell on his again, I nodded and confirmed, “We have a winner.”
Chapter 14
Mypitsweresweatyenough to see through my sleeves. So, despite the unseasonal warmth, I kept my jean jacket on as I hurried through campus. I usually didn’t get this nervous when meeting new people. Ever since I could remember, I moved with grace from social group to social group growing up. But, since the break-up, I started sweating whenever I was tasked making a first impression. The sweating was small at first, just on my fingers. Nothing a quick hand-washing run to the bathroom wouldn’t fix.
I was going to my first BWDC meeting on-campus today. Which meant a whole hour of new impressions with women I wanted to like me. If they were anything like Yara, then I wanted to be friends. Not like the kind of friends I had back at home. Ones that didn’t say one thing and mean another.
Just try your best.
It felt childish to want friends so bad that I would sweat through my bra. I hadn’t thought about socializing this hard since first grade.
When I got to the meeting room, it shocked me to see only a handful of girls seated in bright patterned conference chairs. Yara stood at a podium in conversation with a girl that had locs long enough to graze her butt. I slipped into an empty seat that didn’t have a neighbor on either end. A few girls gave me welcoming smiles but most scrolled through their phones as they waited for the meeting to begin.
According to their socials, this would be BWDC’s first meeting of the year. An introduction to what this org stood for and what it offered its members.
“Thanks for coming out, ladies.” Yara stood on her toes as she spoke, trying to make sure we could hear her over the shielding of the wooden podium. “My name’s Yara Every, and I’m the president of this chapter of BWDC. Before I go on my spiel, I want to learn everyone’s names, year, major, and what they’re looking for in this organization. So, let’s go around starting with…”
She scanned the room and once her eyes fell on me she smiled, and I knew I would be going first.
“Go ahead. You got this.” Yara grinned knowingly at me. “Kick us off.”
I wiped my hands on my jeans. “I’m Emmy. This will be my first year and I’m a film studies major. I’m looking….”
