Fact or Fiction?

I was a hot mess the next day. I was incredibly nervous about dinner with Zackary. I hadn’t been on a date since high school.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I groaned, touching up my makeup in the bathroom when it was getting close to the end of the day.

“Aw, you’ll be fine,” Lucy said, watching Marcey carefully as she talked to a customer.

I stopped talking and poked my head around the corner.

“Yeah, I really enjoyed Pride and Prejudice,” she was saying. “I read it for my project last semester. I’m doing a new project now and-” I cleared my throat loudly and she jumped, turning pink. “Um- I- That’ll be $15.87, please.”

I nodded and looked back in the mirror. I made sure my eyeliner was straight and my phone beeped, alerting me that we closed in thirty minutes. I whimpered a little but started closing up.

Outside, we saw Zackary looking at his phone and I turned my back.

“Never mind,” I said in a high pitched voice. “Not gonna do this.”

“Shut up,” she hissed and suddenly pulled my shirt down.

“Hey!”

She rolled her eyes. “You’ve got a rack any chick would be jealous of,” she said. “You might as well take advantage of that.”

I glared at her and fixed my shirt just as the door opened.

“Sorry I’m late,” I heard Zackary sigh and I turned around. He smiled. “You look great. You ready?”

“Er… actually, I-”

“See you in the morning,” Lucy said, shoving my coat in my hands and pushing me toward the door. “I’ll lock up for you.”

I sighed and shook my head, putting my coat on. Zackary held the door open for me and led me down Main Street. I bit on my lower lip nervously. I had no idea what to say and he didn’t speak, either. People waved at me and I returned them, trying desperately to think of an interesting topic.

Finally, we reached a small diner and he smiled, holding the door open again. I had been to the diner a couple times and knew enough to know they had really good food.

“Two please,” Zackary said with a smile.

The hostess led us to a table then winked at him. I narrowed my eyes at her as she walked away and he laughed.

“Already jealous?” he asked and I rolled my eyes.

“Hardly. What kind of woman flirts with a guy when he’s on a date?”

He laughed again, looking at his menu. “Yeah, you’ve got a point there.”

We sat in silence as we waited for our waitress. I sighed and tugged on my black hair, looking around for inspiration.

“Are all authors so poor at conversation?” he said after we ordered.

I scoffed. “Like you’re doing any better.”

He smiled at me. “Tell me something: why is your picture never on any of your books?”

“I don’t like having my picture taken.”

“Why not?”

I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not very photogenic.”

“You know, I’d have to disagree with that.”

I blushed. “Besides, it’s harder to get stalkers that way.”

He laughed. “Have you had any yet?”

“One,” I said proudly. “She was a freak on my last tour.”

“You sound so proud of that,” he said as our food was placed in front of us.

I held up a fry. “Have a stalker is, like, star status.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep. So, tell me how you’re doing with your lawyer-ing.”

He chuckled. “Well, I’m doing okay. I have someone that wants to partner with me but I’m not sure if I want to.”

“Why not?”

“She’s a little… odd,” he said with a laugh.

“Translation: She flirts with me all the time.”

He smiled. “How’d you know?”

“Remember who you’re talking to here.”

“Gotcha,” he laughed and shook his head. “I want a professional work atmosphere,” he said, suddenly very serious. “I don’t want to be always on edge, worried the person is going to try and make a pass. It’s not professional. Those two lives need to be separated and- What?”

I was leaning forward, my head tilted to the side, as I listened.

“You don’t hear that much these days,” I shrugged, taking a bite of my burger. “It’s refreshing to hear.”

“What about you? Have you ever had an employee like that?”

I laughed. “I’ll wait until you’re done eating.”

He looked confused but we finished our meal in a more comfortable silence.

“Do you want to go on a walk?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck as we stood outside of the diner.

I bit my lower lip but nodded. “Sure,” I said. “There’s a park about a block away.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” he asked and held out his hand.

I knew enough about romance to know that this was the moment where I had to make a decision. Accept his hand and start down the road of a possible relationship, or reject it and risk missing out on something wonderful.

I took a deep breath and held his hand. He grinned and we headed toward the park. As we walked, though, I was worried this was happening because I was his favorite author.

“Where did you move here from?” I asked as we strolled down the park’s walkway.

“Minnesota,” he answered and I laughed a little.

“Wow. Then this weather is nothing to you!”

He smiled. “Yeah, I’m used to this kind of stuff. This is spring time in Minnesota. Have you been there?”

“Not yet,” I said. “I want to and my manager is going to try and find a place that will take me. Of course, after Edge of Reason and all the success from it, maybe I’ll finally get the chance to go.”

“What’s the best place you’ve been to?”

“Well, last tour I went to Bora Bora but Charles didn’t let me stay.”

“Now that’s rude.”

I giggled. “I’d have to go with LA, though. I liked the hustle bustle of it all.”

He nodded. “It sounds like a good place to visit.”

“Why did you become a lawyer?”

He sighed. “My little sister got mixed up with the wrong people,” he said. “They framed her for a car theft. It escalated quickly, though, when the stolen car ended up being used to kill someone.”

I stopped walking, my jaw dropped.

“You’re kidding,” I breathed and he shook his head.

“No. So, we hired a good lawyer for my sister. She was 18 at the time and could have faced many, many years in prison.” He shook his head again. “She’s a great woman; she just made a bad decision. She almost lost the case, though, and it was then I decided to learn everything I could about it.”

“I’m really sorry,” I whispered.

We were walking back towards my house. I was a little nervous about that. What if he turned out to be a crazy stalker?

“Thanks,” he said. “But she’s straight, now. Even though it’s on her record, she found a good family to help with their business. They’re old so need as much help as possible.”

I bit my lip and pulled to a stop. We were a block away from my house and he frowned.

“Perhaps you should just drop me off here,” I said and he looked confused for a second.

Then he smirked. “Think I’ll stalk you?”

I smiled apologetically. “You can’t be too careful; especially since I’m your favorite author. Any fan would kill for a chance to take their favorite celebrity to dinner and-”

“Whoa, back up,” he said, frowning again. “You think I asked you to dinner because of who you are?” I stared at him, not sure what to say, and he shook his head with a sigh. Suddenly, he was hugging me. “Nope. You’re a beautiful woman. Any man would ask you on a date.” I blushed. “If it will make you feel better, though, we’ll part ways here.”

I stepped out of his arms and smiled up at him. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Of course,” he whispered then leaned forward to kiss my cheek. “Good night, Ophelia.”

“Good night,” I whispered back and he waved, turning down the street and walking back.

I bit my lip and walked home, touching my cheek. When I got home, the book was glowing. I hesitated then opened it.

Zackary felt bad for her. Had she been used before? Sadly, it wouldn’t surprise him. He watched her walk away and wondered if he should pursue this. What if she never trusted him? Seeing those beautiful blue eyes looking mistrustful hurt. Perhaps tomorrow he’d-

I shut the book again and sighed heavily.

“Stop it,” I snapped at the book when it glowed again.