She put down her magazine and came closer, squinting at me. “Your hair is all flat. Wig day?”
“Yeah.” I told her all about filming the Halloween special while I got up and rummaged through my fridge, looking for something to snack on. I settled on a string cheese, like she had.
Willa picked up her leather jacket and glanced at the door. “Now that you’re here, I should go.”
“Just like hanging out with my apartment and not me, huh?”
“I stayed for the cat,” she said with a small smile. We had our own mini staring contest while I challenged her on that answer.
Her shoulders dropped. “What do you want me to say, Doug?”
“Say you’ll order takeout and wait while I shower. It’s only been a couple of days, but I missed you.”
Her eyes kind of bugged out and I quickly added. “You know, in a totally platonic way.”
“Of course.” She shooed me down the hall, and I took a last bite of my string cheese and went into my room to gather a clean set of clothes so I wouldn’t have to come out in a towel and make things more awkward than they already were. I did have platonic feelings for Willa, and also some very non-platonic feelings hidden behind those.
I meant to take a quick shower but I may have dozed off for a minute or two under the hot water. By the time I dried off, combed my wet hair, and dressed, Willa had already made a run to a great Mexican place close by and returned with the food. She smiled as she crumpled up the note she’d left for me, knowing I hadn’t gotten out of the shower in time to see it.
I loved that we didn’t have to discuss what to get. Food-wise, we were totally compatible.
Leaning over opposite sides of the counter, we ate tacos and chips with guacamole and swapped stories about our days at Strength Warriors and Chad’s latest efforts to seduce the new makeup artist.
Which reminded me of my conversation with him today. As casually as possible, I pulled out my phone and Googled our names. Sure enough, the memes and the celebrity articles Chad mentioned to me came up with very little effort.
“What are you looking at?” Like a pick pocket, she stole the phone out of my hand before I could react. “You didn’t think I knew about these?” she asked as she scrolled down the page. “All part of Alan’s plan for world domination. Just wait until he leaks photos of us kissing behind the tinted windows of my car. Etcetera, etcetera.” She smirked at me while I tried not to react.
“Should we expect paparazzi soon?” I asked, motioning toward the kitchen window with the open blinds.
Willa laughed. “Yeah, not yet. Alan called in favors for what he didn’t post himself. Nobody actually cares about us, but everything Alan wants people to know about the show and the two of us will already be floating around when they start looking for it. Perception is reality and all that. Alan’s always talking about that garbage. He’s done the same with Justin and Victoria and some of the more promising auditioners—pulling down posts he doesn’t like and adding content he thinks will help out their image. Do you remember the tiny girl with the huge voice in Austin? He even got a dinky newspaper that did an article on her sick mom to edit out a quote he didn’t like.”
“He’s the real deal, isn’t he?” I didn’t mean it as a compliment.
Willa nodded. “I think it’s best if we stay on his good side.” She crumbled up the paper wrapping from her taco and swept up the shredded lettuce from the counter with her hand, depositing both in the trash.
If only it were that simple. Staying on his good side probably meant staying in his pocket for years to come. Maybe Willa was thinking the same thing, because we both were quiet while we finished up and moved back into the living room.
She sat on my couch and tucked her legs under her. I kept a candy dish with cinnamon red hots on my coffee table and we each took a handful. I laughed when she fanned her tongue after putting four or five in her mouth.
“I forgot how hot these things are!”
“Baby.”
“Whatever. It’s a good burn, but it still burns.” She popped another one in her mouth with a defiant smile. “Okay, where are your cards? Let’s play rummy or something.”
I went to my bedroom closet. The top shelf was devoted to my game collection, which Willa would never see if I could help it. Most of these were too hard core for casual play—world building and strategy that would take too long to explain. I pulled down the plastic tub where I kept my card games and brought it out to her on the couch. She eyed the tub with amusement.
“Don’t say it.”
“I was going to compliment you on your extensive card collection.”
“Sure you were.” I let her go through it, despite the fact that I had them meticulously organized.
“Awkward Hugs?” She pulled out the yellow box and studied it.
“It’s a party game, and actually, it’s Nelson’s. He’s still waiting for the opportunity to be locked in an awkward hug with any unfortunate attractive guest I might have over. It’s never gonna happen. They might as well rename this Nerd Fantasy.”
Willa laughed and opened the box. “Okay, now I have to see these things.” Out came the cards, still wrapped in cellophane, and then the two nylon belts with the locks on the front that fit together. She put one around her own waist and reached out with the other for me.
