The Boyfriend Designer - Christopher Harlan Page 0,48
are not. It’s like a second date, and I don’t know much about you. If you want there to be a third, I need to know some things.”
“I’m an open book, so ask away. Just let me get my drink ready.”
He pours himself a glass and sits down on the couch next to me. The wind he creates wafts the most amazing smell into my nose. I could seriously breathe that in all day.
“I did some thinking yesterday after our last date. If I’m going to do this, I need to know more about you and how your channel came about.”
“Okay. But what is ‘this’? Do you mean us seeing each other, or the whole Conor Challenge thing?”
“Both,” I tell him. “They’re kind of hard to separate, and that’s why I want to talk.”
“Gotcha. Hit me with your best shot.”
“Dammit!” I yell.
“What?”
“Now I’m going to have Joan Jett stuck in my head this entire conversation.”
“It’s Pat Benatar, actually, but I know what you mean and I’m sorry. Forget I said that.”
Oh my God. Did he just music correct me? I usually do that to people. Challenge accepted Mr. Durden.
“Right. That’s what I meant. Pat Benatar. That’s totally what I said. Anyways, how did this whole thing come about?”
He smiles. I love when he smiles. “Straight to the chase, huh?”
“Always. What’s the point of beating around the bush?”
“That’s what he said.”
My turn to smile. “Very funny. But now answer me.”
“You mean how did I come up with the idea for my content? I told you, I watched. . .”
“Some obscure movie from the 90’s, I know. But there’s no movie that can make you make a whole career out of one idea. There has to be more to it. When did you actually start the channel?”
“Five years ago. If you dig deep enough into the archives you can see my very first video. I know you probably haven’t seen many of them, but you could search ‘Zero to Hero’ — that’s the title of my flagship video.”
Damn. I must have missed that one when I was obsessing at VidCon. “No, I didn’t see. Who was the hero and the zero?”
“Both were my best friend James. He was my first case study. Now he helps me when I make speeches.”
“Wait I don’t get it? What do you mean case study?”
“You’re right, it wasn’t just that obscure 90’s movie—which is awesome, by the way, but it did get the ball rolling in my head. After I watched it, I started to think about how I could be like the Tom Cruise character, only less sleazy.”
Interesting. “So what did you come up with?”
“Have an audience. Talk about issues that affect guys. Make sure they know that they don’t have to apologize to anyone for being what men are meant to be. But I also wanted to be influential, it wasn’t just some self-help crap—I knew the way to make a business out of that idea had to include giving guys some direction on what would help make them more attractive to women. Trust me, if you can sell guys on increasing their ability to get laid, you can sell them the Brooklyn Bridge.”
“I see. So that’s when you made over your friend? Was he in need of a makeover?”
He chuckles. “Oh God, yes. Even by guy standards—which are usually pretty low when it comes to appearance—he was a mess. A total mess.”
“And so what? You fixed him?”
“Turns out I have a talent for fashion and grooming—who would’ve guessed? If you’d have told my parents that when I was just a dumb jock lacrosse player back in high school they would have laughed their asses off.”
Oooh. Wait. A background clue.
“You played lacrosse?”
“Oh yeah, from fourth grade all the way to senior year in high school. I thought I was going to get a scholarship, but it turns out I wasn’t as good as I thought I was—I was just the best player on a really mediocre team. Who knew?”
He laughs. It’s a genuine laugh, and I feel like I’m seeing him for the first time. “So you were probably pretty popular with the ladies even back then?”
“My sixteen-year-old self thanks you for that—even though it’s not true at all.”
“Oh, come on.”
“I’m being totally serious, I promise. There were no ladies to be a ladies’ man with. I wish there had been.”
“But—and I can’t believe I’m about to say this—you’re really good looking.”