You & I

Awards season is the most hectic part of my entire year, and right now I'm in the midst of it.
As I've said before, it's not all it's cracked up to be. I was exhausted after two days of running around like a headless chicken, trying to fulfill Cooper's every request. And, thanks to my ridiculous roommates I had been unable to get any peace from the rare moments I was home.

Then came my reward. Finally.

Cooper was so busy trying to make a rather demanding music show diva happy, that he entrusted me with the task of styling another client. She wasn't anyone of influence, but I was in no position to complain and hey, hair is hair after all. Her name was Carrie and she told me that she had just landed a recurring role on a popular cable show. Carrie gave me a few suggestions as to how to style her chestnut tresses, as a lot of clients do, even with Cooper. But she was good enough to trust my judgement and cooed when she saw how her long waves had been styled in to a sleek chignon.

"I love it!" Carrie gushed, looking at her hair from various angles. "It's usually a big frizzy mess."

When Cooper was done he came over. Carrie went to on to tell him that I had talent, while I stood there doing the awkward dance. I find it difficult to take a compliment. Outwardly, I try to act like I don't give a shit about what people think of me, but I'm human, I do give a shit, and this rare bit of praise was making me blush like a fool.
I'm not sure how much of it Cooper was listening to, but afterwards he actually gave me a smile and told me to take a break.

Surreal moment complete.

Almost.

"Are you stalking me Grace?"

He spotted me before I saw him. "How did you know?" I turned to Chris, rolling my eyes. A grin broke out across his face. Damn. Did that grin have to be so contagious?

"I was hoping you'd be here."

Try not to turn the colour of a tomato Grace.

"Do you require more dinosaur tips before you go out in front of the cameras?"

"Thankfully, I'm not presenting tonight," he said with relief in his voice. "What about you, do you like working these events?"

"Yes and no," I shrugged, watching a stunning couple walk by. "As strange as it sounds, I like working under pressure, and I love what I do which is always a bonus. But I'm not a big fan of the celebrity lifestyle, I value my privacy too much. Another plus is the fact I hear a lot of secrets, that's why my hair's so big." I ran a hand through my mass of blonde hair.

"It is an impressive head of hair," he commented with a chuckle.

"What about you? It's obvious you're not a fan of these things."

"Not a fan of the spotlight, but I love acting," he said.

"Yeah, that's understandable."

"How come I'd never seen you around before last week?"

"Maybe you weren't looking."
-Holy crap, that sounded far too confident coming from my lips. I heard one of the team call me. "I should-"

"Do you want to get coffee tomorrow?" It came out abruptly, and Chris seemed slightly shocked by his own question,. Yet it was nowhere near the level of disbelief I was feeling. I don't know what he read on my face because he instantly began to backtrack.
"I mean, because I like talking to you and it's hard to meet genuine people in this town. I'd like us to be friends."

Oh right, friends. Yeah, that makes perfect sense, the story of my life really. Forget the bridesmaid tag, mine was always the friend, never considered for the staring role. Did I feel disappointed? I didn't expect anything from Chris anyway so why should I? I've come to not expect anything from anyone. But he was easy to talk to -when I had the rambling under control anyway.

I held out my hand. "Give me your cell."