Polk Salad Annie

Chapter 10

She smiled at him and he stared at her beauty, now wearing a black dress. She sure looked good in any color. She was already in his dressing room with her back against the opposite wall. Conan looked at Matt without saying a word.

"I'll leave you guys alone." Matt said. "Your family will be waiting for you when you leave." He left, closing the door in his way out.

Annie gave a good look at Conan. His hair was messy, he was soaking wet, and his face was flushing, still trying hard to look presentable. He ran his fingers through his wet hair that didn't stay still and fell over his forehead repeatedly as an adorable fringe. He took his jacket off and rolled up his sleeves, and she could see the fabric of his t-shirt was soaked. She couldn't imagine how anxious he was.

"Thanks for coming." he said, nervously. "It means a lot."

"Welcome." she said. "I loved the show, by the way."

He nodded. "Thank you. As you can see... I'm a little nervous about it."

"No need to be." she smiled, sweetly. "I know you can pull this off."

He grabbed a towel that was next to the mirror and started drying his sweat. She watched silently as he dried his neck. She thought about the first thing that she wanted to ask him, it was in her head since Matt told her the truth.

She sighed. "Why didn't you tell me you were the host?"

He swallowed. "I didn't think you would believe me." He threw the towel over a chair nearby.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm a thirty-year-old with no experience and I'm taking over for one of the greatest comics in our generation." he said, faster than he intended, making his nervousness way more noticeable.

"Look at me, Annie." he continued. "I'm lucky if they don't cancel this in like... a week."

She shook her head. "You are the funniest guy I know... by far. Don't worry. This won't happen."

He was standing awkwardly in front of her; looking way different from the guy she met a couple of days prior. He was looking her in the eyes, but something about his gaze and posture and the redness of his face showed that he was actually terrified. He was breathing hard and loudly and all she wanted to do was to hug and comfort him, but she didn't know how to. She wanted to apologize to him for leaving his room the way she did, but she didn't know if he wanted to talk about it...

"Why did you leave... that day?" he asked, startling her. Maybe he noticed the look in her eyes. "Why did you leave like that?"

"I... I don't know. I was embarrassed." She looked down.

"Do you regret it?" he swallowed.

"What?"

"Do you regret having sex with me?" his flushed face and nervousness made everything even weirder.

She shook her head. "It's not that."

"What is it then?" he started to sweat again.

"I didn't think you would want to see me after all that happened... so I just left."

"You could've asked me." Conan said. "You could've waited... and asked me."

She was still staring at her feet. "I haven't had a good time with a man in years."

She paused, and she could feel him staring at her. "You were so kind to me, and I just... I just wanted you and..."

He stared at her, anxiously waiting for an answer.

"I'm not good for you, not enough." She finally said.

He was still staring at her. He didn't know what she was trying to say, acting like what they did was a crime. He thought about her leaving repeatedly and this particular reason never crossed his mind. He knew she was telling the truth, but this excuse was completely ridiculous.

"I lived in a three hundred dollar rented apartment; I was a writer for The Simpsons less than a year ago." he began.

She looked up and he was drying himself again with the same towel from earlier.

"When I came outside that evening and you were sitting on that sidewalk, I wasn't going to bother you at all. You didn't seem to want company."

He was now drying his face. "But I went there anyway, because something drew me into you."

She looked at him, still a bit shy. He continued.

"I'm not a fan of one night stands. I never really liked them; and then suddenly... I was fucking a girl that I didn't even know the name."

She hugged herself, feeling way more embarrassed.

"If I didn't want to have sex with you, I would've stopped you. I would've politely declined it and I would excuse myself to the living room."

She sighed, looking down again.

"I wanted to do it. It was incredible and I don't regret it. I would do it all over again." He said.

She felt herself blushing.

"I thought you were amazing. You are... amazing."

She remained silent

"I was hoping you would forget your shoes behind so I could have a reason to look for you."

He flushed a bit more when confessing this. "You're lovely, Annie."

She looked at him, finally.

"You had that fearless look in your eyes that morning. What are you afraid of?"

The question hit her. She had no reason to be afraid, but she couldn't answer him either. She didn't know what her fear was. Maybe it was the fear that her heart would be broken again, the fear that she wouldn't be a good company. She had awful past relationships and she didn't want him to deal with her like this. She got fond of him in a short period of time and it was insane. She didn't want to know how he felt because it could change her perspective. Based on this conversation, it sure did.

He noticed the dead silence. "I'm asking you this and I'm the one who's a wreck right now."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying you're sorry. You don't have anything to be sorry about." he paused. "Just tell me if I'll ever see you again." His lower lip was trembling.

The softness of the last part of his sentence made her feel guilty. It wasn't right to presume what he thought about the situation. She was captured by his sweetness, but for some reason, she didn't think he would feel the same.

She came closer to him and kissed him; she hugged him and felt the cold sweat of his body. He still smelled amazing. He was trembling, but kissed her back, and felt great about it. He wrapped his arms around her body and forgot the pressure of the world for a couple of seconds.

The kiss was sweet; he felt her warm lips against his, and her smell and her taste all over again. Her warm hands were on his face and he had never felt such a loving touch before. She looked at him in the eyes, those sweet beautiful blue eyes. Even though he was feeling a bit troubled, he couldn't help but melt as he looked at her. She tried her best to dry his forehead with her hand and he giggled.

"Come on. Your parents are waiting outside."