Queens of Geek

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: CHARLIE

I step off the elevator and scan the numbers on the doors, searching for room five-four-six. When I see it at the end of the hall, I take in a shaky breath, smooth a hand over my hair and walk towards it, knocking lightly.

The door opens, and there she is. Dressed in a loose fitting grey t-shirt and leggings covered in a purple, starry galaxy print, she looks very relaxed and totally gorgeous.

"Hey," she says with a smile.

"Hi."

She steps aside and holds the door open for me, and I walk in coyly.

"Can I get you a drink?" she asks, closing the door behind me. "I've got soda, juice, water ... Or I can order some room service?"

"Um, just water is fine, thanks." I look around her room. It's huge—much bigger than mine. It's ultra sleek and modern, all whites and greys and sharp angles, with wide windows overlooking the city. "Wow, what a view!"

"You should see it at sunrise," she says as she opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of water. "Here you go."

"Thanks," I say. "So, where do you want to shoot?" I tap on my shoulder bag, filled with all my equipment.

She looks around. "Well, the light is best in this room. Maybe we can sit on the couch and set the camera up here?" She gestures to the coffee table, and I nod.

"Yeah, sounds good." I place my bag on the couch and start setting up. "I was thinking we could do a Q and A tag? Where we have about ten questions and each take turns answering them?"

Alyssa sits on the couch next to my bag and crosses her legs. "Awesome."

"Those videos are always pretty popular, plus they're a lot of fun."

Plus, it's a great way for me to get to know Alyssa better, without it being too obvious that I'm interested in her.

I set up my lighting and pull the camera and tripod out. "So," I say, glancing up at her from behind the tripod. "Are you enjoying SupaCon?"

Her face lights up. "Absolutely! This is my fifth year in a row, and I love it more and more every time." She leans forward, resting her arms on her knees. "But I miss being able to walk around the floor unrecognised. Hardly anybody knew who I was the first time, but now ..."

I nod. "Maybe you should cosplay it up. Pull a Bryan Cranston and wear a mask of yourself so no one knows it's you."

She laughs. "That would be awesome."

I place the camera on the tripod and press the on button to adjust the picture. I can see Alyssa on the screen, watching me. Her eyes run down my body, and I shiver as though her gaze was a physical touch. I swallow hard and look up at her. "Okay, you ready to start?"

"Let's do it."

I hit record and sit down next to her, pulling my phone out of my pocket and searching for random Q and A lists.

"All right," I say. "I've found a set of questions to answer. They're totally random, so if you don't feel comfortable answering one, just say pass and we can edit it out. Cool?"

Alyssa nods. "Cool."

I put my phone on the couch next to me. "Okay, I'm gonna do a quick intro. I'll say where we are, introduce you, you can wave or say hi or whatever you like, and then I'll introduce the tag and we'll start."

"Yep." She adjusts her position on the couch to be closer to me.

"Usually," I say, smiling nervously, "when I do collabs, the other person hides until I introduce them. But if you don't want to—"