B-Roll to B-Sides (PR Girls & Instalove 2)

It really was. A three-lane bowling alley decked out in full mid-fifties splendor, f

rom the hand-painted mural along one side to the black and white floor tiles near the soda fountain counter.

“This is amazing,” I said, tipping my face up to smile at Owen just as he was leaning in to kiss my forehead. “Well...I needed to take you somewhere you’d never been before for our first date,” he smiled.

“I thought we were working.” I didn’t want to be a buzzkill, but it was strange how he was so familiar with me so quickly.

“Can’t it be both?”

He led us to the benches at the first lane, and pulled out his camera. “We can shoot some fifties footage while getting to know each other,” he said. “They’re closed on Wednesdays, but I know Arthur from a music video I shot here last year. Once I told him how beautiful you are, and that it was a dating emergency, he said we could have the run of the place for the night.”

Looking around, I couldn’t believe this was happening. It really was an excellent date spot, and I almost wished we didn’t have to work while we were here. On the other hand, it would give me something to talk about and focus on so that I didn’t get nervous.

Arthur was setting out some pretzels and chips on the bar. “Can I get you folks a drink?”

Once I had a glass of white wine and Owen had a beer, Arthur said, “I’ll be back in an hour or so to see if you need anything else. Or help yourself and let me know whatever you took later. I’ll be in the back office catching up on those confounded taxes.”

“Wow,” I said after taking a sip of wine, “This is surprisingly good. It’s also amazing that he just lets you take over the whole alley.”

“See?” Owen said, taking a swig of his beer. “That’s proof that I’m very trustworthy.”

I laughed with him, then we started setting up a few shots around the room. He was easy to work with, and I adored his habit of speaking very quickly when he was excited.

It was also endearing how he stopped to stare at me constantly. He seemed genuinely infatuated with me, which was ridiculous. But it made my heart bounce around my chest awkwardly.

If he was treating this like a date instead of a work session, what was he going to expect at the end of the night?

4

_____

Owen

Brynn was an absolute dream to work with. Maybe it was a bit sneaky of me, but I wanted to spend both social and work time with her immediately, to fast forward our relationship.

I’ve always found that you can tell a lot from a person by how they react to a project, and how they target problems. When we found a great shot, but the background was too busy, Brynn simply moved some chairs around to clear an open space.

She grabbed a damp cloth from behind the bar to polish a slightly dusty antique lamp. She didn’t mind getting her hands dirty. Brynn also listened well, and had many helpful ideas.

She was clearly a bit taken aback by the way I was openly pursuing her romantically. But once we started shooting and she had something to direct her attention on, Brynn loosened right up and became chatty.

Just watching her delicate fingers tuck her hair behind her ear made my stomach clench. She was so precious, so sweetly feminine, that I was totally infatuated.

After a few short and annoying relationships in my early twenties, I decided not to waste my time with women who were too uptight to let themselves have fun.

Watching Brynn singing along with an old song, doing the twist for a second during the chorus, I just knew that we were meant to be together.

Setting my camera down on the table, I took her hand, and we danced along with the rest of the song. Her creamy skin became slightly flushed as she looked up at me, as my arm circled her waist to pull her close.

“Is this normal?” she asked softly as the song ended.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…we only met this morning. And we’re working together. It’s just, you seem so…” She paused, biting her lip and looking down at her shoes.

Placing a fingertip on her chin, I tilted her face up to mine. “I think the word you’re looking for is smitten,” I said gently. “Sweetheart, it’s not just that you’re gorgeous. Every single thing about you makes me smile.”

She shook her head, giggling sweetly. “See, that’s what I mean. It’s not really normal to say things like that, is it?”