But no. Nate won’t guess that.There’s a reason this story works; everyone believes it, because they want to.
“Maybe everyone’s scared, though,” I say, “just for different reasons. Do all the girls say that they are?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m actually new.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed. You’re so good at this.” I’ve been able to forget for stretches of time that there are cameras filming my every move.Talking to Nate is like talking to a friend. A really hot friend.
I wonder if I would actually be comfortable on a date, if it was with him?
“Thanks,” he says, and his smile does nothing to discourage this train of thought. “I’m not new as a producer, just on this show. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the YouTube show,Jason Climbs Sh!t, but—” He blinks over atThea and Rosie.Thea raises her eyebrow—Kristin did translate it, though spelling the last word out with the exclamation point—and Rosie’s mouth forms a little “o.”Though, really, it’s not like they’ve never heard that word from me before.
“Sorry,” he says, cringing. “Is there a swear jar I can put money in?”
Now Rosie gapes even wider. “A what? You put money in a jar?”
“Yeah,” he says. “Or I should definitely start now.” He shoots me a side-eye and looks relieved when he sees I’m barely holding in a laugh. He looks back at Rosie. “If you get a jar, I’ll put some money in it, because I said a bad word.”
Rosie dances in place and looks around desperately.
“There’s the glitter jar,”Thea signs at Rosie. “It’s probably empty now.”
“Oh my god,” I say, as Rosie dashes back to her bedroom. “I’d actually managed to forget that I’m covered in glitter.”
Nate’s grin turns devilish. “Yep.”
“I really should have cleaned it all off,” I say with a sigh, resisting a look down to see how much is clumped in my cleavage.
“Could you, though?” Nate asks. “It’sglitter.”
Dustin, one of the cameramen, makes a snorting laugh from behind the camera—their existence was something I’d also managed to forget, having essentially just melded in my mind into the cameras themselves.
“Good point,” I say.
Rosie runs back in the room with the glitter jar. Which is empty, if you don’t count the glitter stuck all up the sides of it. She waggles it in front of Nate, and he takes his wallet out.
“Whoa,” she says, her jaw dropping again as he puts a dollar in the jar. She doesn’t totally understand the varying values of money, but she definitely knows that the bills are better to have than the coins. “Say another bad word!” She shakes the jar again.
I nod. “This is why we don’t have a swear jar. I know my kids too well.”
Nate chuckles and sets his wallet out on the table. “You just leave that jar there, kid, and we’ll see.”
Rosie giggles and starts playing with some Barbies that were apparently hidden under the loveseat. She even manages to getThea to hold one, which seems to intrigue her enough to climb down off the loveseat and play a little. For all thatThea acts like she’s drowning in ennui (at ten!) she actually loves dolls—most of these are hers.
I don’t imagine she’s going to stop paying attention to us, though.
“So,” I say to Nate. “You’ve worked on Jason’s show.That’s awesome!”
“You’ve seen it.” He looks impressed, even though it’s a pretty well-known YouTube show.
“A couple episodes. I was a huge fan of thatStarving with the Starsseason he was in. I had to check out everyone on that show, like what they were known for.” I smile. “Jason’s show—well, your show, too—is great. I was legitimately shocked that he survived every time.”
“You’re not the only one,” he says with a laugh. “But no, Jason’s actually a great climber and pretty responsible. Not that you’d know it from the show. I was the one always egging him on.”
“I remember you!” I say, with possibly too much Rosie-like bouncing enthusiasm, especially given that my boobs are covered in glitter. “That’s awesome. But you’re new toPrince Charming, then.”
“Yep. You’re my first interview. I guess I got lucky.”
My heart skips a couple beats, and my face goes warm. Along with the rest of me—some parts more than others.
