Helpless

Breaking the Ice

I kept replaying every word that Johnny had said to me earlier that day. The way he looked at me, his smile, his eyes. The way he would frown as he concentrated before continuing with his story. He was gorgeous.
I couldn't deny the way he made me feel.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard my cell phone ring. It was Lin-Manuel. My best friend.

"Hey!"

"You know, I kept thinking you were going to text me earlier today. But the text never came. So here we are. On the phone." His sarcastic tone always managed to make me laugh.
That was Lin. Sarcastic and witty. And always ready to snap me back to reality. He was now known as the genius I always knew he was. The creator of Hamilton and In the Heights. The director to Tick Tick...Boom. And the songwriter to Moana and Encanto. But to me, he was my best friend. My brother from another family. My confident.

"I'm sorry, I worked later than I thought I would."

"How's the movie going? How's the cast?"

"It's going great! The cast is amazing, and the set is ridiculous. You would appreciate it so much. It's our vibe."

"And that's why I was calling you," he sang in excitement. "I am going to be in LA next week. I was wondering if Vanessa, the kids, and I could visit the set."

"Really?!" I smiled. "Of course! You guys should come and check out the set. The kiddos would love it!"

"No more so than me," he laughed. "We will see you next Tuesday then."

"Sounds like a plan. I can't wait"

"Oh, and Jen"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, please shoot me a text. It takes like a minute or less to do so. I promise. It's super easy."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I laughed. "I promise I will text you back the minute I get them."

The next morning, Tim told me that he had planned a dinner for the cast that night and he wanted me to join them. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea. But Tim insisted and I finally agreed.
I drove back home and took a quick shower. I decided I wanted to wear one of my favorite dresses. It was burgundy and knee height. And it showed off my curves. I wore my hair down and wavy. And decided to do a smoky eye with a pink lip gloss.

When I arrived at the restaurant, Tim, Javier, Tom, Paul, Elizabeth, and Zoe were all there. Everyone except Johnny. I said hello to everyone and took my seat next to Tim.

"I love your dress," Elizabeth leaned in to tell me.

"Thank you," I smiled.

I was disappointed that Johnny wasn't there. Maybe he didn't do dinners. Maybe he chose to stay home and rest. He did have a long day on set today.

We were all chatting and getting to know each other when Tim announced, "ah there he is! Late as usual."

"Sorry," Johnny smiled. "It took me a while to settle some things back at home. But I'm here now."

"There's a chair right over here," Tim pointed to the seat next to me. My heart started pounding. Johnny sat next to me, and he smiled "Hey, Jen."

"Hey," I smiled back. "We didn't think you would make it."

"He's always late," Paul whined.

"Always. That's why he is never invited to Latino parties," Javier chimed in. "Can you imagine what our abuelitas and tias would think of him?"

We all laughed.

We continued to chat over dinner and laughing at each other's jokes. I was thankful that I had decided to join them. Occasionally, though, I felt Johnny staring at me. And every time I would turn around to him, he would look down or look away. I knew he was shy, but this was more than I expected. I decided to be bold and break the ice.

I leaned into him and whispered, "I caught you staring, Depp. What's up?"

He looked surprised and he let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Mmm-hmmm," I laughed. "That usually translates to 'I'm not going to tell you."

"No, no," he laughed. He then looked at me and said, "you look beautiful tonight."

I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I knew I was holding my breath. But I couldn't help it. I was not expecting him to compliment me that way. So outwardly. So sincerely. I felt a chill running down my spine. How do I reply to that?

"Thank you," I said looking down at my plate.

"I'm only being honest," he whispered.

I looked at him and he smiled.

"So, I was thinking," he looked nervous again. "Since you play guitar if maybe you wanted to join me and maybe we could jam together."

"Yeah, that'd be great. I'd love that."

Was it me or did he seem relieved?

"We could meet up tomorrow at my place since we won't be shooting until next week."

"Okay, yeah. Definitely. I should probably give you my cell phone number so that you can you text me your address."

"That'd be great," he smiled. We exchanged phone numbers and settled for 5pm for the next day. He lived in LA, and I lived a couple of minutes away. I wasn't comfortable living in LA since I wasn't particularly fond of the media.

Dinner was coming to an end, and I didn't want the night to end. Well, I was not ready to say good night to Johnny. Would I be too bold and forward to ask Johnny if he wanted to walk around one of the beaches nearby? The crowds were almost nonexistent at this time of the night.

"What are you doing after dinner?" I finally asked him.

"Nothing."

"I wanted to walk on the pier nearby, wanna join me?"

"I'd love to," he smiled.