Chapter One #3
she says, raising her glass of water to me. I raise mine right back.
“Thanks. It was time. We could have kept going, but…” I
shrug. “It just wasn’t there. We went to a baseball game, and when he took me
home, I knew it was time.”
“Wait, you went to a baseball game? I thought sports weren’t
really your thing.”
I shrug. “I mean, I enjoy going to games. I just don’t
follow sports. Jim had some complimentary tickets from work for the Magic game,
and a bunch of us went.”
I take a sip of my water, thinking about that night. I
glance at Whitney, and before I can stop myself, I blurt out the whole
eye-contact thing with Christian Lucas.
“I know it’s crazy, but it felt really intense,” I tell her.
“Like it was an important moment. And his number is twenty-two! Don’t you think
that’s crazy? What are the odds that he’s the one I made eye contact with?”
“Were you trying to make eye contact with him?” she says
with a suspicious laugh.
“What? NO!” I huff. “It just felt…it seemed like…” Another
huff.
“Use your words, Ella,” she teases.
“I don’t know how to explain it. It was like there was a
force pulling us to look at each other. And then it felt like no one else was
in the stadium but us.”
She takes another sip of her water. “Do you want to meet
him?”
“Who?”
“Christian Lucas. Isn’t that who we’re talking about?”
“Yes, but…why would you ask me that?”
“Because my husband, Ryan, knows him…well, kinda.” She pauses. “Ryan played baseball with him in
college. Small world, right? They’ve since lost touch, but Ryan loves to watch
him play. Since Christian signed with the Magic, Ryan and I have been going to
games a lot—or we watch them on TV. I was probably at the same game you were.”
“Wow, what a small world! I’m guessing we never talked about
it because you knew I wasn’t exactly into sports,” I reason.
Wait, am I suddenly into sports now?
Whitney whips out her phone, types something, then puts it
back down. “Your name has actually come up a time or two in my conversations
with Ryan.”
“Christian’s from Central Florida, too. Any time that comes
up, I mention that you grew up there, and we always joke that we should fix you
two up. How wild is that?”
“Um…very.”
She studies me for a moment. I don’t know why, but I squirm
under the scrutiny. “I think the two of you would really hit it off. Besides
the whole Florida connection, you seem to have the same…what’s the word…moral
compass? You’re both super sweet, very driven, and would give anyone the shirts
off your backs. We really should have tried to fix you two up by now.”
“So, why haven’t
you?”
“Ella, come on. Between auditions and working, you’re always
on the go. Now, you’re shooting a movie—which, by the way, I am so excited for
you! I haven’t landed anything in months. Pretty soon, I may have to go back to
working at The Cheesecake Factory,” she murmurs.
“Oh, stop. You’ll get something soon. I just know it. And
while this movie is great, it’s almost over. I’ll be back at the coffee shop
again any day.” I sigh. “I really wish someone would spot me on the street and
just gush that I’m exactly the type of person they need for their major motion
picture and hire me on the spot.”
Whitney sighs, too. “Yeah. That’s the dream. Unfortunately, the
only time things like that happen is in the actual movies.”
“I know.”
“Back to setting you up…the baseball schedule is really
intense. Christian is either in training, playing here, or traveling to play
somewhere else. I don’t know how easy it will be for him to find free time for
a date, but it’s worth a shot, right?”
We’re quiet for a moment, then she asks, “So? What do you
think? You get zero percent of the chances you don’t take. What if you made eye
contact for a reason? He could be your person. Look, the worst he can say is
no.”
“But Ryan doesn’t have his number, and that seems like a lot
of work to find a way to get in touch with him.” It’s tempting, but…I don’t
commit. “I’ll think about it.”
We enjoy the rest of our night and promise to get together
again soon. I finish filming two weeks later, and then I’m right back to
serving coffee—just like I said I would be.
A month later, my publicist calls to talk to me about the
movie premiere. Ava Mitchell has been my publicist for almost two years. She
and my agent are all about getting me seen, and I’m thankful for that. The
movie will have a limited theatrical run, but they’re still doing a red-carpet
thing for it that I’m looking forward to.
“Okay, so, the premiere,” she says excitedly. “Who are you
bringing as your date?”
“My date?”
“Oh, sweetie, you need to have a date for something like
this. Aren’t you dating anyone?”
“Um…no?” I squeak.
“We need to find you someone,” she says. “Anyone you’re
interested in? Someone you’ve maybe gone out on a date or two with? You know LA
is filled with guys who would love to go to a movie premiere and network with
the cast and crew.”
Not any of the guys I know, but I don’t tell her that.
“My friend Whitney was trying to convince me to let her fix
me up with this baseball player guy,” I say with a small laugh. “I saw him at a
game, and his number is my lucky number. We’re both from Central Florida…”
“Ella, that’s perfect! You need to go out with him.”
“Ava, I can’t. I’ve never even met him, and I don’t think a
movie premiere is the sort of thing you do on a blind date.”
“But it’s not a blind date. You’ve seen him, so you know who
he is. And…wait. Who is he?”
“Christian Lucas. He plays for the Magic. But…”
“If I put in a call to their PR team and hook the two of you
up, will you go out with him?”
Oh, Geez. Would I?
Should I?
“I don’t know, Ava. How Hollywood is it of me to
have my publicist call his publicist? He’s going to think I’m some sort of
stuck-up actress.”
“This is how things are done,” she states. “Now, should I
reach out to his team or not?”
“Um…”
“It would make a great story, Ella.”
I can’t even believe I’m considering this, but…I trust
Whitney’s opinion, and if she thinks this is something I should do, then I
should go with that, right?
Before I can second-guess myself, I say, “Okay, I’m in. Make
the call.”