Unedited.
Chapter Two – First Date
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Landed. See you tonight.
The text came in around four this afternoon. With an hour and a half drive from the airport, there was plenty of time. We weren't supposed to meet until 8 with a car coming to pick me up at 7:30. The kids were off with their dad for the weekend and after not seeing Grady for two months, a mixture of emotion swirled inside me. The most overwhelming one: excitement.
Nervousness placed a key second.
But mostly excitement.
The tour wouldn't be over until the end of the summer, early fall. This wasn't the first "breatheable" for him to sensibly visit. I kept putting it off, to see him again or for me to go see him, and he went with it.
I was ashamed to say it surprised me.
That he didn't push.
That he wasn't labeling us.
We were allowing ourselves to test the waters so to speak.
Baby steps.
"Are you ok?"
I blinked at myself in the mirror. I didn't look remotely familiar, far from my usual appearance. There was a skirt involved, a nice blouse, and I came very close to frying my hair thanks to being distracted. Sterling videoed in from her office to oversee my preparations but she scowled every time she glanced at the screen. She helped me pick out my outfit. Helped get me ready—scowled.
"No." I sighed and relaxed from the tips of my toes. "Maybe this isn't a good idea."
"Which part? The skirt or the shirt? The whole thing?"
"The first—the second—all of it." I sighed. "This is stupid."
"You're just nervous." She signed some piece of paper then focused on me. "You want to do this."
"What if it doesn't go well? What if he sees me again and changes his mind? What if—"
"Would you stop? If he planned on changing his mind upon seeing you, he wouldn't Skype every chance he gets. Which, by the way, he does a lot. More than you think a famous person could or has time for."
"He only videos every other day."
"That's the official time. You and I know different. The man is keeping tabs on you—"
"No he's not—"
"—and he's letting you keep tabs on him. You've finally Googled them, right?"
I leaned closer to the mirror so she couldn't see the blush. "No."
"Page!"
"What?! Googling is an invasion of his privacy."
"He's expecting you to."
"No, he's not."
"Why else is he taking you to dinner instead of bed?"
Really? Because that could be the only reason he would fly to see me? "We're taking it slow."
"Slow? Slow. You two—how can you take it slow? You've already been pelvic!"
"Not since the reunion."
"Uh-huh. Don't. He convinced you to go to the next tour date in D.C. with him. You can't tell me—"
"We didn't." I looked her in the eyes. "It's when we came up with the plan."
