Friday
I woke up the next morning early and refreshed, thank goodness. I grabbed a bottle of water, headed into the home gym, put on a morning show, and hopped on the treadmill, since today's date wouldn't be as physically demanding as the last two had been. It also promised to be a mentally somewhat easier day, since I was finally going on a one-on-one.
After my workout, I showered, and by then Hair and Makeup were there to do their thing. I'd learned to put in some ear buds, queue up some music, and go to my happy place of conjuring my next novel, while they did their thing on my head. Next up was Wardrobe, and then I was just about ready to head up to the big house.
"What's that?" I asked Troy, pointing to a paper plate on the side table by the door.
"Camera guys saw Trevor come down the path and knock on your door last evening. When you didn't answer, he left it at the door and went back up the path."
I walked over and looked at the offering. "Is that steak and grilled vegetables?"
"Yeah, that's what we sent up to them yesterday for dinner."
"Oh man, that sure beats the PB&J I had."
"The crew had leftovers they packed up. I'll have some meals boxed up for you and put in your fridge. There's no reason for you to worry about making something for yourself when you're too tired to bother cooking for one."
"I know," I said with a sigh. "I guess I'm just used to fending for myself."
"Well, get over it for awhile."
I laughed.
"You ready?"
I nodded. "Let's roll."
Some wonderful soul had laid a griddle across the stovetop and Phillip now stood there, making French toast. Ardent stood, offering his stool at the island. Liam put down a plate in front of me that held French toast with powdered sugar, syrup, butter, whipped cream, and freshly sliced strawberries on top.
I was in the company of some truly excellent men. I mean, I'm sure the catering department probably sliced the berries, but still, I was enjoying myself.
"So," Mike sidled up to me and said, "who's on the docket for today?"
"You are," I turned to him and said.
His eyes swept down and over me before meeting my eyes again. "Casual clothes?"
"Yep, and bring some swim trunks."
"Well, all right," he said and headed for the stairs.
"Twenty minutes," I called after him.
Less than an hour later, our driver was pulling into a parking spot. "The aquarium?" he asked.
"Don't knock it. I've got some cool stuff planned."
"All right."
We spent a couple hours touring around, feeding lorikeets and sharks, and soon it was time for our first behind the scenes encounter. We got to go pet the penguins, feed them, and watch the trainers working with the willing ones. I enjoyed the experience, but Mike didn't look so enthused. We'd talked, but I didn't really feel like his heart was in it.
We grabbed a snack in the cafeteria and found a spot for the two of us, positioned so that the camera could spy, without catching many people in the background.
"You don't look like you're having a good time," I remarked as casually as I could.
"I'm liking it just fine," he said, but he couldn't even look me in the eye when he said it.
"Something's bothering you."
"I guess I just had different expectations."
My eyes darted down and to the side, my lips pursed, and I started slowly nodding my head.
"Circus stunts and a Mudrun, that's what the others got to do. I get the aquarium."
"The trapeze class is set up for a group. So was the Mudrun. They very easily lent themselves to be group dates. I wanted a one-on-one date with you. That was my choice."
"What's Stephen doing with you tomorrow?"
"Something that won't take nearly as long as everything we're doing today."
"You know where I'm going with this."
"Production had a concern about the leg, I didn't. I knew which two guys I wanted the one-on-one dates with, and of the two of you, you're the only one with open water scuba certification."
"We're diving?" he asked, the first hint of a true smile on his face.
"Yeah, that's our next animal encounter. We're scuba diving in the tropical reef habitat. Four of you guys are scuba certified high enough to go, but you're the only one of them I wanted a one-on-one with this week. Walking around was intended to give us a good amount of time to get to know each other, and then what comes after this is a bit more involved than sitting on a beach or outside a bar."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why am I the one that gets the most time and attention?"
"Bottom line, I want to know if my attention was caught solely by the uniform and the idea of the Purple Heart, or not."
He sat back in his chair. "And I've been quiet and stewing, instead of taking advantage of the time I've been given."
I leaned forward in my chair and lowered my voice. "The leg doesn't bother me. It doesn't freak me out, and it doesn't make me feel sorry for you. I am impressed with the sacrifice you made for this country, but it's not going to make me fall at your remaining foot in adoration. The amount it interferes in our relationship is solely up to you."
"Okay, I get it. I hear you. It's my hang up, not yours."
I smirked at him. "Hey, you know, if you want to be included in group dates from here on out, I can certainly make sure you get them."
His eyes danced a little. "Far be it from me to question your judgment again. If you want one-on-one time with me, I'll take it."
I started gathering our trash. "In the meantime, we have a dive and another activity to get to."
He took the trash out of my hands got up to throw it away. "Let's get to it."
He was more at ease throughout our dive in the main exhibit and guided tour. And on our private whale watching tour - with the boat and camera crews along for the ride - he really seemed to loosen up and started showing his sense of humor as our eyes searched the waters, hoping to spot a blue whale.
It was night by the time we returned to the houses. But, since I didn't have to exhaust myself mentally by trying to hold five simultaneous dates throughout the day, I was still in the mood to spend time with the guys. I followed Mike through the main house, as the camera crew assigned to me trailed behind us, and out onto the back patio, where the guys had themselves a little barbecue and pool party going on.
Mike had been holding my hand since we'd exited the car, but he let go as soon as we came into view of the others.
They all called out to me when they saw me coming, happy to have me join them.
"Hungry?" Phillip called out.
"Absolutely," I answered. Mike and I hadn't eaten since we'd grabbed snacks around lunchtime.
Liam got up and ushered me into his vacated patio chair. Drake had been behind the bar and brought a plastic cup filled with cola over to me.
I thanked them and took a healthy gulp of the soda. I looked back over to Drake and grinned at him when I realized he'd spiked it with amaretto.
Drake winked at me and went back to the bar.
Now, I could take this one of two ways. One, the man was spiking a woman's drink, or, two, he'd somehow taken it upon himself to find out what my favorite drink was and had wanted me to know it. I thought back to his group date and how he'd tried to take care of my needs.
Phillip brought a large plate over to me filled with a loaded baked potato, grilled pineapple, and ribs.
I almost drooled. I'd never be able to eat it all, but I was more than willing to let somebody in production wrap up my leftovers and make it magically appear in my fridge. I took a bite off the first rib and sighed. It was better than any restaurant rib I'd ever tasted. "Phillip, is this your masterpiece I'm tasting?"
He smiled, "Yes, Ma'am, it is."
I looked over to the closest crewmember. "Somebody find that man a red flower."
Most of the guys at least chuckled. Though, in retrospect,
they probably only did so for my benefit. Outwardly saying that Phillip was safe through the next round of elimination, and reminding them that they weren't, probably wasn't that amusing to them.
The guys had kept up a continuous flow of conversation with me as I ate. I'd just finished when Jared caught my attention.
He'd started chuckling as he looked towards the far corner of the house. "Here she comes."
Mitch picked up a tennis ball and hurled it into the pool as Goldie came around the corner at full speed. The dog saw it and headed straight for it, launching herself from the edge of the pool and belly flopping in. She clamped her teeth around the ball and swam to the built-in steps. She climbed out and spotted me. The ball hit the ground and she flew into my lap before she put her paws on my stomach and shook herself, water flying everywhere.
Three guys started for me, probably to rescue me from the dog. But I just giggled and threw my arms around Goldie, letting her soak me. The guys stopped and smiled at me before looking at each other, silently agreeing to let the dog be.
Goldie started licking at my face and I heard one of the camera guys cue up their walkie-talkie and tell everyone listening that they needed the makeup artist down by the main pool.
That just made me laugh all the more. I continued to give the dog some more loving until Jared grabbed a Frisbee, whistled, and sent the disc sailing across the lawn. Goldie seemed to think I was worthless after that because she left me to go play in the night with the guys.
The makeup artist appeared by my side. She took one look at me and muttered that they'd need someone from wardrobe down here as well.
"You may as well not even bother," I said. "I have my bikini on under the clothes. I'll just get in the pool."
"All right. Go ahead and take your shirt off before I touch up your makeup."
I rolled my eyes as I shed the outfit. She touched up my face and went back to her trailer. I went over, got in the pool, and settled myself on a built-in seat at the far corner. The lay of the lights left the corner in shadows. One-by-one, the guys began to take it as the cue I'd meant it to be and took turns sitting on the seat with me, chatting so we could get to know each other a little more.
Trevor, Stephen, and Mike all hung back. Trevor, I'd imagine, because of the same reasons he'd kept most of our known meetings short and sweet. Mike, I was guessing, because he'd spent the entire day with me and didn't want to rock the boat by trying to steal even more time. And I was guessing Stephen had figured he'd get all the time he needed tomorrow on his one-on-one. But, I also noticed that Mack wasn't trying to join me in the shadows at all. I stared at him a little, mentally tagging him with a white flower.
Somebody's cell phone rang when I was on my fifth guy. When I looked up, Ardent had a phone to his ear, talking into it as he took a seat nearby to talk. I continued my conversation with Drake, but I was distracted every once in a while, wondering why Ardent had chosen a patio chair so close to us when everyone else was being reasonably respectful of keeping a distance from my corner. On the other hand, he wasn't paying us any mind, and he was keeping his voice low. So I just figured maybe a family member had called and he was looking for a little privacy of his own in the shadows. I refocused my attention on Drake and finished our conversation.
As soon as Drake left my side, Ardent raised his voice. "Ok, Chloe, she's done with him, so you can talk to her now. It was good getting to know you."
My jaw dropped before I started laughing at him as he rose to bring me my own cell phone.
He handed the phone to me. "Hey, others standby and wait for you to have an empty seat beside you. I saw an opening through your sister and took it."
At least you did it in front of my face and not behind my back, I thought as I grasped my phone and put it to my ear. "Hey."
"Hey!" Chloe said. "I like him. He's the one that digs in the dirt, right?"
I smiled and glanced around, realizing they were all watching me. "A few of them dig in the dirt. But, yes, he's one of them."
"The one that doesn't do dinosaurs?"
"None of them 'do dinosaurs'," I answered, realizing this wasn't going to be a quick call.
"Em!" she hissed, frustration replacing her enjoyment.
I sighed and stood on the seat to step out of the pool. "The word is archaeologist."
The guys were realizing that I was about to leave them to go carry on my conversation in private. Ardent walked over to the patio chair I'd left my clothes on, got them, picked up my shoes from their spot next to the chair, and walked them over to me.
"You should give him a red flower, he's cool," Chloe said into my ear.
"Chloe..." I groaned into the phone as I took my shoes from Ardent's hand. I dropped them on the ground and braced my hand on his arm as I stepped into my shoes.
"I mean it. He seems good-natured, and I liked his sense of humor. My opinion has to count for something, right?"
I could hear the veiled laughter in her voice. "Yes, you're opinion counts for a lot," I said as I looked up into Ardent's eyes and accepted the clothing he was handing me. "But I'm not giving a man a red flower because he made you laugh."
Ardent smiled knowingly as he met my eye contact.
"Well, does it at least rate him a pink one?" she asked.
"Maybe, but he needs to get me to like him, not you," I said.
She harrumphed in my ear.
"But," I continued, maintaining Ardent's full attention, "I can say that he won't be earning a white flower. At least, not this week anyway."
Ardent winked, and I grinned back at him before turning and heading for the trail back to my house.
"All right, what's up?" I asked her as I made my way through the shadows and brush.
"You didn't call me last night after your group date. I need to know how to update my chart."
"I thought it was a notebook."
"There's a notebook, but now I've made a chart, too."
"Are your classes not challenging enough for you?"
"I need something to break up all the studying for finals. Let me live vicariously."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine."
"Good. So, who was on yesterday's group date?"
"Ardent... Um... Mitch and Mack... Jared and Phillip," I answered as I turned the handle and entered the cottage.
"You don't sound too sure. Do you have the names right?" she teased.
"Yeah. Yesterday was exhausting, but I've been studying their pictures and getting to know them more. It might take me a minute to make sure, but I think I pretty much have them down."
"Ok, so who's the frontrunner from yesterday?"
"Jared picked me up and carried me at the end. He loved the pizza and beer. And he broke past the pleasantries and started talking about how he lives and how his job and RVing work together. He's just... he's just all kinds of man, you know? He likes everything I've dished out and has jokingly promised a proposal because of it, which means that I know he likes me, and that's half the battle, right there."
"He's the mountain man?"
"No, the swamp boy."
"Got it. Who's next?"
"Phillip. We did a 5k Mudrun for cancer. He put it together that there must have been a reason I chose to do a fundraiser for cancer and we got to talking. He's a widower."
"And how is that good?"
"Because, he's thirty-seven. If he hasn't been at least in a very long-term relationship by now, I don't know that he'd be family-oriented enough for me. But beyond that, he opened up to me, which means he's beginning to trust me a little. Then, afterwards on the beach, everyone took me for a walk on the beach to talk. He made our time different and took me into the surf to get to know me better. I just like that he thought to change it up."
"Next?"
"Ardent. He and I had a cool conversation. It's very easy-going between us and I like it."
"All right, next?"
"Mitch seemed disappointed with the date, and it just wasn't one of Mack's strengths. There's not
hing really wrong with them, but they just aren't striking me as someone I'd normally go for."
"But, maybe that's why you should give them a chance. None of the guys you've ever gone for have ever turned into anything long-term."
I sighed. "Yeah, I guess, but I'm getting close to having to send some of them home. Do you want me sending guys home that I see something in?"
"I'm not saying do the opposite of what you're gut is telling you. I'm just saying, keep an open mind with them. Don't send them home just because they didn't like one activity, look at the week overall."
"I got it."
"All right. That leaves Mike and Stephan for dates. Who went today?"
"Mike. We went to the aquarium."
"How boring."
I rolled my eyes as I sat down at my computer to scan over the list of emails I'd gotten throughout the day. "That's what he thought, at first. He accused me of giving him a 'safe' date. Something he couldn't hurt his disabled body by doing."
"It sounds like you did."
I stared at a point on the wall. "I'm getting a little tired of defending my choice. I needed someone who was scuba certified to go with me. We dived in the main exhibit. And, it was the longest date because there was a three and a half hour whale watching tour afterwards. Doesn't that count for anything? Forgive me for wanting to pet the penguins!"
"You petted penguins on a whale watching tour?"
"We did a behind the scenes penguin tour before we dove."
"Was he the only one who was certified?"
I sighed. "No. But of the ones certified, he was the only one I wanted a one-on-one with this week."
"You wanted to know if you were hung up on the uniform, didn't you?"
"Yes."
Chloe's voice dropped down a bit. "Admiring his service and sacrifice is vastly different than living with him for the rest of your life."
I closed the lid on my laptop. "That's exactly why I wanted to be alone with him. I wanted to be able to focus on him and figure it out."
Walk of Shame Page 10