Chapter two
Itwasahot,sunny, typical August afternoon in Baltimore. Jake had made his rounds, rubbing elbows with his producer Fran and the executives. He’d even got a little practice in for the cornhole tournament. Sweat was already dripping down the back of his white t-shirt. But finally the buffet had opened, and it was time to eat.
He stood in line patiently, waiting to get up to the long table of catered picnic food, and his gaze wandered over the crowd. Whole families had turned out for this. The shrieks of kids bouncing around the inflatable castle wafted across the field. A teenager ran past him with her face painted like a tiger. The station always made sure there was plenty for the kids to do.
Voices behind him caught his attention.
“Did you hearBlackfoxis coming to Crunchyroll?”
“No! When?”
“In about a month or so.”
Crunchyroll? They could only be talking about that streaming anime service Jake loved so much. The voices were female. Did they work at the station or were they here with someone? Maybe their family?
Ugh, it would be just his luck that the first time he ran into women that liked anime, they’d be the daughters of someone here. He refused to even flirt unless he could tell they were eighteen. And even that, at twenty-seven, would be too young for him.
Discussion of the movie continued behind him as he piled his plate high with a cheeseburger, a hot dog, some coleslaw, and the pasta salad. Go big or go home, right?
He slid a can of cold Coke into the pocket of his shorts, then made his way over to the tables. Tony spotted him and waved. He must have been one of the first in line. Well,nowJake couldn’t sit elsewhere without looking like an asshole. He slid onto the bench across from his co-anchor.
“Hey, Tony.”
“What up, Jake? You ready to lose today?”
Jake scoffed. “Hardly. That trophy is staying on my desk.”
As he dug into his coleslaw, two women he recognized from the accounting department sat down at their table at the opposite end. His cubicle was in the section next to theirs, but he never interacted with them so he didn’t know their names. The tall one with the reddish-brown hair was one of the women who’d been in line behind him, talking about anime. Jake recognized her voice. But the other woman’s voice didn’t match.
He didn’t have to wonder where the brunette’s friend was for long. There was a soft tap on his shoulder. “Excuse me. Mind if I sit next to my friend?”
Jake turned around, his eyes widening behind his mirrored aviators. He swallowed his coleslaw as he took in the thin, leggy blonde before him. His gaze drifted up to her short denim cut-offs and form-fittingG Gundamt-shirt, to her elegant diamond-shaped face where aquamarine eyes twinkled above a delicate, slender nose. Her blonde hair was twisted up into two buns on her head, and he had the insane urge to call her “Bun-head,” like Mamoru used to call Usagi before they fell in love onSailor Moon. Even if she did get the joke, it was used as an insult in the show, and no one else needed to know about his anime obsession.
She was blushing, biting her lip as she waited for his answer.Like what you see, Blondie?He grinned and waved his arm to let her know it was fine. His brain finally caught up to which mech was on her shirt. It was Nobel Gundam, from Neo-Sweden, and the not-so-subtle nod that franchise had made to the biggestshoujoanime ever to come out of Japan,Sailor Moon. Jake was both amused and intrigued by this girl. That wasn’t a design found in any mall. She had to be another anime enthusiast.
Nerd girls never talked to him in high school or college. Playing football and liking anime didn’t exactly mesh. The girls with the same geeky interests saw “football player” and ran in the opposite direction. He’d always ended up dating cheerleaders, and all they had in common were classes and sports.
He loved sports, especially football, but he always felt boxed in thanks to it. It didn’t help he got burned when he advertised his other interests.
Jake needed to talk to this woman, get to know her. She had an athletic body that showed she could keep up with his sport side,andshe watched anime! But Tony wasright there. He had to say this in such a way that Tony wouldn’t pick up on the fact Jake was a nerd as well. At the rate Tony liked to run his mouth, he’d make him the laughingstock of the network. Jake’s palms began to sweat. His tongue refused to move. And when she climbed in next to him, he blurted out the single worst thing you could ever say to a fan.
“Do you know what’s on your shirt?”
Icy eyes turned to him that glittered with a wave of barely restrained anger and suddenly this leggy, flirty blonde was shooting daggers at him. “I’m sure I have a better idea thanyoudo.” Her eyes perused his white Nike shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and sandals, before turning away from him, literally giving him the cold shoulder.
“That’s not what I was asking.” He almost slapped himself as soon as the words left his mouth. Why was it so fun to keep poking the bear?
Her head whipped around, the table now silent, watching their exchange. The brunette next to her was shooting a killer look at him between her friend’s buns like a laser scope. “Idon’thave to prove my knowledge to prove I’m a fan of a show.”
Mouth meet foot. He knew better, really. Never, ever question someone’s fandom. Gatekeepers abounded in nerd culture, and it was an automatic label of “asshole” to act like this. But his brain apparently short-circuited at the idea of a hot nerd. So many times he’d heard about women being questioned about their knowledge of a series by guys, whether it was anime, comic books, or video games. Those guys claimed because they were women, they weren’t real fans. Jake didn’t agree with those assholes, not that Blondie would know it. After all, it was his mom who introduced him to anime by way ofAkira. He tried not to think about how she’d be so disappointed with him right now.
Tony was the opposite of help and inserted himself into the conversation. “Touchy, touchy.” Although Jake’s glare begged him to shut up, it didn’t work, and Tony continued. “What department do you work in, nerdy girl?”
“Notyours, thank God.” The blonde retorted. As if on cue, her brunette friend rose, and with their plates still full, they sashayed away, with the third woman trailing behind. Leave it to him to find the only person actually worth starting a real conversation with at the entire damn picnic, then to completely screw it up.
Goddammit. What about this woman had him tongue-tied? And Tony had been no help at all, not that he’d expected any. Why had he butted in, anyway?
“Next time you want to help, keep your mouth shut. I was doing a fine job of fucking that up by myself.” Jake growled, taking his frustration out on both the closest target and the guy that made it worse.
