One To Watch(42)
“That you were meant to be on reality TV?”
“No, not that.”
He held Bea’s gaze—and part of her wanted to lean in and kiss him, to let herself believe that this sweet, incredibly attractive man was actually into her. But something in her gut told her not to, that this wasn’t the time, that maybe he was pretending. Like Luc, like Ray, like her. So she pointed out a fake tiger in the fake jungle on their fake adventure, and they let the moment pass. But Sam brought the conversation up again a few minutes later as they poked around the Mad Hatter’s Haberdashery, trying on increasingly large and ridiculous hats.
“What about you?” he asked. “You’re ready for marriage, kids, that whole bit?”
Bea pulled on a huge stuffed clownfish hat that was at least twice as tall as her head. “Marriage, yes, I think so. Kids, for sure eventually, but probably not right away. With my career, I’m lucky to travel all the time—London, Paris, New York. So I’d probably want to wait a few years.”
“Hmm, sounds like our timelines might not be so different,” Sam said. “Now, tell me what you think. This is the one, right?”
He was wearing a humongous Goofy head that dipped so low it covered half his face—Bea burst out laughing.
“If your goal was to make me take you more seriously, I’m not sure this is doing the trick.”
He reached out his arms and stumbled blindly toward the sound of her voice.
“What if my goal was just to make you happy?”
In the end, they went with the classic mouse-ear hats: Mickey for him, Minnie for her. As they stood in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle to film their last few shots before the park opened to the public, Sam pulled her close to him, near enough to feel the contours of his muscled body against her. This didn’t feel as straightforward as holding hands—it felt risky and exciting and decidedly un-platonic. Was it what she wanted? Was it way too much? Or was it even real?
Bea closed her eyes. “Do you think you’d like me if we were somewhere else? Instead of on TV?”
“If someone said, Hey Sam, here’s this hot boss career lady who works in fashion so her looks are always on point, she loves roller coasters and drives a convertible and wants to figure out how to balance family with trips to London and Paris? Um, yeah, I’m pretty sure I’d be interested.”
She looked up at his handsome, youthful face, his silly mustache that somehow worked on him, his Mickey ears and goofy smile.
“And you?” he prompted. “You think you’d like some guy who’s two years out of college and lives with his parents and has no idea what he wants to do with his life? You think I’m such a catch?”
“Wow, you live with your parents, huh?”
“Yeah, I left that part out earlier.”
“You really know how to charm a girl.”
“Nah, I don’t know. But I’m trying to figure it out.” He dipped his head, leaning his forehead against hers. “I really want to kiss you right now.”
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically small.
“What’s holding you back?” He wasn’t defensive, just genuinely inquisitive.
Bea’s chest felt tight with emotion, with some deeply buried feeling struggling to exorcise itself. She wanted to say something eloquent, but failing that, she said something honest: “I’m afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of making a fool of myself. Or believing in the wrong person. Or getting hurt.”
“And a kiss could lead to all that?”
Bea nodded, her eyes wet. She hated herself for not being able to do this simple thing that came so easily to so many people.
“Okay, then.” Sam took a step back, then dropped dramatically to one knee and kissed her hand. “That’ll have to do for today.”
Bea laughed through her tears. “What the hell are you doing?”
“We’re in front of a castle, Bea! You gotta let me do the Prince Charming bit.”
“And that’s enough for you?”
Sam stood up and stepped close to Bea.
“If time is what you need, I can give you that. If reassurance is what you need, I can give you that too.”
Bea threw her arms around Sam’s neck and hugged him tightly.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The sun was bright and warm, and Bea heard the distant shouts of children. The park was finally open, reminding Bea that this moment that had been just theirs would soon belong to everyone.
MAIN SQUEEZE FAN LAUNCHES PETITION TO BAN NASH & COOPER FROM SPIN-OFFS
by Amanda Tillman, vulture.com
Avid viewers of Main Squeeze know that aside from getting engaged and living happily ever after, there are two prizes that contestants on the show are hoping to win:
The first is more Instagram followers, which leads to more #SponCon (that’s sponsored content, wherein advertisers pay influencers up to $10,000 per post, depending how many followers they have). The second is more camera time (which translates to more fame, which translates to, you guessed it, more Instagram followers)—and, if you’re really lucky, a coveted spot on one of Main Squeeze’s many spin-off series, such as perennial favorite Main Squeeze Mansion, where twenty castoffs from previous seasons spend the summer in the mansion looking for love.