Heart Shaped Spotlight

"You know me. There's no way in hell I want a bunch of people taking my photo and talking about me behind my back."

She cocked her head from side to side, staring at the ceiling. "Okay, yeah. That would be obnoxious even for regular people, but it would really drive you nuts."

Carrie took a sip of wine, then motioned for me to keep talking. When I paused, she reached out and tried to pinch my arm.

Jumping away from her, I laughed. "Alright. He was actually really cool about it. He came over and chatted to me as if he were just thanking me for running the live stream. But then he slipped me his phone number and hotel address."

Carrie's eyes flew wide. "You went to his hotel. Tell me you slept with him." She clutched her heart dramatically. "Oh God, tell me that the long lost lovers reunited and consummated their relationship."

"Lower your voice," I smirked. "If you stay quiet, I'll tell you that yes, there was some kissing."

"Well, it's a start. So, are you together again?"

My personal life was already becoming a drama. "He doesn't know what city his new band is going to end up staying in. He has an album to record, and then a probable tour coming up. There's a lot going on. So I think we're just going to sort of feel it out for now."

She shot me a look. "Girl, you better feel him out. And quick." Her hand gestured up and down my body. "You know this is going to rust if you don't use it, right?"

“Hush up,” I said quickly. “Come on now.”

Carrie was always pretty open with her sex life, but it couldn’t surprise her that I certainly wasn’t. “At least tell me that it was super dreamy and romantic,” she said more quietly. “Tell me that he’s everything you remembered, and treats you like a goddess.”

“You watch too many movies,” I said. “And yes.”

“Help,” she chirped, clutching her heart again.

"Settle down." A girlish part of me bubbled up, needing to tell her about the cutest thing of all. "He sent me a present today."

"Jewelry? Flowers? A token of his undying love?"

"Actually, he proved how well he knows me. It was a pack of four cans of compressed air."

Carrie's face fell. "Gosh," she said flatly. "The boy goes all out, doesn't he?"

There is no way I could contain my grin. "He must have someone in town that delivered it for him, because there was a note. He said that everyone he had to deal with in California was full of hot air, so I might as well use it to make my systems run."

"That's completely stupid."

"I know. When we first dated, he couldn't buy me any gifts that my parents would find. So he bought me school supplies, pretty notebooks, and things that didn't look romantic at all."

"Okay, that's adorable." Carrie looked genuinely touched. "Wait – didn't you say you couldn't meet me tomorrow because you were going out of town? Are you going to meet him?

"No. I'm going to the Vancouver station to set up their live streaming video system. Gary wants both places to match."

"Oh. Cool. Good for you," Carrie said. “Just be sure to send Nate sexy photos of you in lingerie at least every other day."

I had been trying to take a small sip of wine, and nearly choked. "That will never be happening."

"Come on," she insisted. “Give him a sneak preview."

"Knock it off. Now tell me how it's going with the guy you're seeing again. Brad, right?"

Her eyes flew wide. "We just started up again this past Saturday. How did you know?"

"Because you turn into a mouthy horn dog when you're dating a hot guy. Now dish."

It took another round of wine to get through the sordid tales of Carrie’s dating life. For once, I was actually taking mental notes for any tricks or moves I could use with Nate someday. I would never dare to ask about his sexual history. Yet he was obviously more experienced than I was. I didn't want to completely embarrass myself with my accidental innocence.

Hearing my phone buzz, I saw that my airplane tickets had been sent, along with an email from Karen that read, “Sorry about the early time, but we got a great deal.”