Chapter Three
My heart is hammering so hard, I seriously think it’s
going to beat right out of my chest. I reach out and frantically grab Jen’s arm
to get her to stop without saying the words. I know my eyes are wide, and she
has no idea why I’m acting this way. So, I quickly blurt out, “Oh, hi,
Christian. Sure, yes, this is a good time to talk.”
Jen starts excitedly jumping up and down, even as she steps
around me and unlocks the apartment door, silently ushering me back inside. I
don’t know whether I should stand or sit, so I end up pacing.
He doesn’t say anything for a moment, and I wonder if he’s
still there.
“Christian?”
He lets out a small laugh before speaking. “So, um…this is a
little strange. It’s definitely an interesting way…to meet someone.”
Sitting down, I smile. “I agree. I was afraid that doing
things this way would be a deterrent to you. Please know I’m not the kind of
person who does the whole ‘have your people call my people’ thing.” Then I’m
not sure what to say because it’s obvious we’re both a little nervous.
“That’s a relief,” he murmurs with a hint of amusement.
And then he’s quiet again. I’m trying to come up with
something witty to say, but he continues.
“I’ll be honest with you, Ella, my publicist mentioned us
going to a movie premiere together, and…well…that’s not really my thing. I’m
sure you’re a very nice person, and I didn’t want to not call, but I’m
not really comfortable with a blind date on the red carpet.”
“Then let’s go out before it,” I blurt. “It doesn’t have to
be anything big. Just coffee or something. And, for what it’s worth, I wasn’t
particularly comfortable with our first date being at the premiere, either. It
didn’t seem like a great way to get to know someone.”
“Exactly,” he replies, and I think he’s starting to relax. “I
don’t know many actresses, but I’m guessing your schedule is potentially as
busy as mine.”
“I’m shooting an episode for a sitcom this coming week and
will be on set for several days. What about you? What’s your schedule like?”
“This is the last
week of the season. We didn’t make the playoffs, so our final game is on
Sunday.”
This isn’t as simple as I thought it would be, but I’m
determined to find a time for us to at least meet. Even if he doesn’t want to,
or can’t, go to the premiere with me, I feel like I need to meet him.
“How about dinner Monday night?” he suggests. “I’ve got a
game, but you can come and watch me play, and then we can go out to dinner
after the game.”
I’m so ready to say yes, but…Monday’s my birthday.
My golden birthday.
It’s the one I’ve been waiting for since the fourth grade.
Is Christian Lucas the great thing that will happen to me? For me?
Do I even mention that it’s my birthday? Or would that
totally scare him off?
Talk about pressure, right? I’m not sure I’d want to go out
on a first date with someone on their big day.
“Are you still there, Ella?” His uncertainty is back.
“I would love to go to dinner with you on Monday,” I tell
him. “Just let me know the details, and I’ll be there.”
“Oh, great. Yeah, that’s great,” he says, clearly relieved.
“The game starts at six. Will that work?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll text you all the details, tell you where to park, how
to get around the complex, and where to pick up your tickets. It’s not too hard
to find your way around, but…”
“I’ve actually been to a game recently,” I tell him, feeling
a little proud of myself.
“Really? That’s awesome. Did we win?” He chuckles.
I can’t help but smile. “You did.” I almost blurt out that
we made eye contact, but I decide to keep that to myself, too. It’s like I’m
holding in all these details and coincidences until I get to know him.
“Well, all right. Good for us.” He laughs softly.
“Sounds good. Monday at six. Okay.”
“Okay,” he agrees in that deep voice of his, and I wish he’d
say something else so I can hear it again.
But now we’re both silent. It somehow feels wrong to be
saying goodbye already, even though I know we should.
“I’m really looking forward to this,” I say. “Thank you for
calling and for even considering us going out.”
“Like I said, it’s not the most conventional thing I’ve ever
done, but I’m looking forward to meeting you, Ella.” It sounds like he means
it. “I’ll see you Monday at the stadium.”
“See you then. Bye!” I can hear how high-pitched my voice
is, but I can’t help it. I hang up quickly and hope he won’t hold it against
me.
Jen is casually hovering a few feet away. When I turn and
face her, I know I’m still smiling, but now I can jump up and scream, too.
“You’re going out with a baseball player! You’re going out
with a baseball player!” she chants, our hands clutching each other’s arms as
we jump around.
“We’re going to dinner Monday night. Gah!”
More jumping. Clearly, we’re both super excited, so when Jen
stops and stares at me with wide eyes, I’m confused.
“Now you need two outfits.”
Oh, my goodness, she’s right.
I step away and pick up my purse, phone, and water, then
announce, “And now, we shop.”
It’s my birthday, and my friends have gone out of
their way to make my day wonderful. Jen picked up coffee and freshly baked
cinnamon rolls for us for breakfast, and now we’re meeting up with Penny and
Freya for lunch.
“Are you ready for tonight?” Penny asks.
We’re crammed around a tiny table at Café Mosaic. It’s one
of my absolute favorite places to eat. It’s very boho chic with exposed brick,
lots of bold, jewel-toned colors, and tons of local art and photography hanging
on the walls, framed in mismatched wood and metal. The furniture leans toward
functional, but it’s artsy: small, round café tables with wobbly metal bases,
mismatched wooden chairs, and a couple of couches in the corner with slightly
worn upholstery. The vibe isn’t polished. It feels lived-in, like a place where
you could spend hours reading or talking.
It’s the perfect hangout for when you’re with friends.
There’s so much to see, and there’s a chalkboard menu behind the counter with
all the daily specials and drinks in slightly smudged handwriting. They serve
some of the best sandwiches and salads, and we’ve ordered a plate of sweet
potato fries for the table.
The only drawback is that it’s super crowded. That’s not
unusual, but it seems like there are way more people filling the space and
sitting on every available chair today.
We opted for a table that is essentially for two and
squeezed a few extra chairs around it. Otherwise, we would have been waiting
for at least an hour.
“I think so,” I tell her. “I have three different outfits
picked out, all casual, but I haven’t been able to decide which one I like the
best yet. It depends on my mood later.”
“I have a favorite,” Jen chimes in around a bite of her
turkey and brie on ciabatta. “But I’m keeping it to myself until you’re ready.
And of course, I’m going to do your hair and makeup.”
“Just make sure you leave super early,” Freya says, shaking
a fry at me. “You know the traffic is going to be a beast. Plus, it’s always
smart to take your own car when you’re going on a blind date.”
Trust me, I’ve watched enough episodes of Dateline
to know how to be safe.
I’m happily picking through my lunch, an Asian chicken salad
with the yummiest crispy wontons, but every time I try to take a bite, someone
asks me something.
“Are we still calling it that?” Jen ponders. “I mean, you’ve
seen him, he’s kind of seen you, you have mutual friends…”
“I’m still calling it that since we haven’t met
face-to-face,” I state, longingly looking at my forkful of chicken. “But I
can’t wait to finally meet him. Between him being number twenty-two, the whole
thing when I went to the game, and then finally talking to him, I just feel
this…connection, you know? And he has such a great voice.”
“Seriously? A great voice?” Freya asks. “Is he British?
Because anyone with a British accent has a great voice. Other than that, I’m
not usually impressed.”
“What about Australian?” Penny tosses out. “I’m a sucker for
a good Aussie accent.” Then she proceeds to imitate the accent. Badly.
“He doesn’t have an accent,” I clarify. Even now, I can
still hear his voice: rich, steady, and husky in all the right ways. I can’t
wait to hear it again. “He just…he sounds kind.”
I don’t think I’ve ever thought about anyone’s voice before,
unless it involves singing, but something about Christian’s seems nice. And I’d
be lying if I didn’t add—hot.
Ugh. I seriously have it bad. I hope I’m not building things
up too much in my head. It would be a real bummer if we didn’t connect after
all of this. And there is nothing worse than sitting through a bad date when
all you want to do is pack up and go home.
There’s finally a lull in the conversation, so I quickly
take a bite of my lunch. Sweet ginger dressing, crispy goodness. I sigh
happily.
“Do you know what you’re going to talk about tonight?” Penny
asks. “Do you think he’s only going to want to talk about baseball? Or that
he’ll want to know all the famous people you’ve worked with?”
I hold up my finger so I can finish chewing. At this rate, I
may never finish my salad.
“I really haven’t thought about it. I’m hoping we won’t only
talk about our careers. Personally, I’m very curious about what his life is
like when he’s not on the field. And, you know, he’s famous, so I
seriously doubt he’s going to be impressed by anything I’ve done so far.”
“Okay, but that’s like…sports famous,” Penny reasons. “I
don’t think it’s the same.”
I disagree. If anything, I’m pretty sure he’s been around
way more famous people than I have.
“Have you gone online and looked him up? You can probably find
out everything about him before you go. This way, you’ll have some guaranteed
conversation starters.” Freya looks at all of us. “What? That’s what I’d do.”
“Believe it or not, I haven’t. I don’t want to read about
Christian because we all know you can’t trust everything you read online. When
I meet him tonight, I want it to be authentic, you know? I don’t want to go
into this with random facts or preconceived notions. Is that weird?”