I was a wide eyed tourist as I walked through the streets of New York. It was my first time here. In all of my life I'd never been to a city quite like it. The worst part about it though was at the moment I was lost.
For two years I'd been an Instagram influencer for an athletic brand. The rise of followers has the company, Get Fit, wanting to create a line for me. I was thrilled by the opportunity. No longer did I have to bartend due to this. Plus a line of my own is a crazy dream.
I groan in frustration as I stared down at the screen on my iPhone. The stupid thing kept telling me that my destination was one block away. Not to bad except it had been saying that for about thirty blocks. I wish they'd sent me instructions not just an address. They'd offered to send a car to my hotel but what kind of fitness influencer would I be if I didn't walk. A smart one apparently.
"Need help?" Someone offers.
"Ugh yes. I keep looking for the Abrams building but I've been lost for like thirty minutes." I say, looking up at the stranger. "Shit, you're Pete Davidson."
"Yeah." He says. "Abrams is right across from 30 Rock if you want I can show you."
"You, sir, are a life savor." I tell him. "I'm supposed to be at a meeting in twenty minutes."
"Not that I'm any judge on professionalism, but is a sports bra and leggings really meeting attire?" He questions, looking me up and down.
I laugh. "I guess not but it's a meeting with the fitness company Get Fit. We are collaborating together on an athletic line."
"That would explain it." He grins at me.
We made small chat as we walked. I told him that I was a giant Saturday Night Live nerd when he asked why I recognized him. He asked me about my life. I told him that I started getting recognition and followers due to a YouTube series I did of crazy workout trends -anything from goat yoga to Zumba and anything in between.
"Well this is it." Pete says as we stop in front of a large sky scraper.
"Thank you so much." I told him. "Ten minutes to spare."
"Good luck with your meeting." He said.
"Have fun at work." I respond, turning to leave.
"Wait." He grabs my arm to stop me. "You never even told me your name."
"It's Ali Long." I tell him. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime."
He smiles at that. "I'd like that."
With that we parted ways. I headed up to my meeting, not quite as nervous as I had been. A silly grin was on my face something that had happened since Pete smiled at me. I don't know why but it was the confidence boost I needed before going into the meeting.
The meeting was amazing we discussed all the different options for the line as well as possible patterns and cuts. It was only the first day for the planning meeting but everything went amazing. I even got to take home one of the prototypes of the outfits.
I left the meeting with the outfit as well as a notebook of other possible designs to go through. To celebrate I went to a coffee shop I remember passing with Pete. I got a cold brew, deciding to sit there and enjoy it before I have to figure out how to get back to my hotel.
As usual, I had to go through social media. It's how I got to this point in my career. It was normal to see new followers on Instagram. That was an every day occurrence. What caught my eye was the name.
Pete Davidson is now following you.
He's deleted his social media a long time ago. Now suddenly he reactivates everything. I tried not to think too much into it. I did click follow back though.
Pete only had one photo. A silly selfie with a caption of 'why did I do this to myself'. I laughed at it, accidentally liking the photo in the process. After doing that I couldn't just unlike it. So instead I quickly closed the app, hoping I didn't seem like a creepy stalker.
Finishing my coffee, I decided to head back to my hotel. It only took me an hour of wondering until I finally got back to the hotel. I dropped off my stuff in my hotel room and grabbed my book, deciding to head upstairs to the rooftop to watch the sunset.
The view was incredible. The sun had started to set, giving the entire area a golden glow. I got one of the hotel employees to use my phone to take a photo of me. I edited the photo continues to set, only lightening me in the photo. I tried not to edit the photos too much. Finally happy with it, I posted it with the caption 'Never seen such a beautiful skyline.'
With every new post there was always a rush of notifications. I tried not to watch them come in. It was just a nice little thing though, knowing that you're like. I peaked at the notification, seeing a comment that caught my eye.
@PeteDavidson: not just the skyline
