but I was still a seat filler and probably shouldn’t be caught on camera saying something like that. I wasn’t Noah’s date.
Even if it kind of felt like I was.
Sure enough, Chase Covington’s name was called as the winner. He kissed Zoe, and she stood up and loudly cheered for him, ignoring the cameras that were capturing her every move.
When the applause died down and Chase began his acceptance speech, I said to Noah, “I’m sorry you didn’t win.”
Then I did something that shocked me. I rested my hand on top of his to comfort him. It was something I would have done for Shelby or my mom if they’d just lost a contest. It was just a natural reaction.
But then he put his other big, warm hand over mine, and it caused my stomach to hollow out and my galloping heartbeat to thump so hard in my throat it felt like it would strangle me. What was I doing? I counted out my breaths, inhaling one, two, three and then exhaling one, two, three before carefully extricating myself. I didn’t jerk my hand away, which I thought was pretty impressive, given all the rampaging and conflicting feelings that were happening inside me.
Chase ended his speech and exited the stage as the music played, and the lights went down. Zoe jokingly told me to save her seat, as she was going to find a restroom.
“Tell Chase congratulations from me when you see him,” Noah said, and she smiled and promised she would.
I thought that was very big of him. “I wouldn’t have guessed that you’re a good sport. I bet you’re that guy that every time you have a game night you lose friends.”
He blinked slowly, as if considering what I said. “In this situation it really is an honor just to be nominated.”
“But you would have liked winning, right?”
“When you join the army, there is no such thing as losing or defeat. My company used to say we were only doing a tactical retreat. So yes, it sucks, and I would have much preferred winning.” That sly smile of his played at the ends of his mouth.
“How competitive would you rate yourself? Like, on a scale of one to five?”
“To be fair, it would depend on what I’m doing and how much it mattered, but in general I’d say I’m maybe like a three.” He paused. “Or a five-plus all the time.”
I laughed at this, glad to know that Noah Douglas wasn’t perfect and might actually have some flaws.
“Same,” I told him. I’d always hated my sense of competitiveness, and it was a relief to find someone who operated on the same wavelength.
Somebody called his name, and Noah said hello to an older man. I briefly wondered what he did for a living—studio executive? Producer? Director? Screenwriter? As I ran through potential jobs for him, it occurred to me that there was only one more award to be given out, Best Picture, and then this night would be over.
I felt a twinge of sadness at the idea this whole thing was coming to a close. I pulled up the Uber app to see if I could schedule a ride when we finished here.
“That’s not going to work.”
The feeling of him so close to my neck did funny things to my gut, but I didn’t even scold Noah for looking over my shoulder. “Why not?”
“The streets are all cordoned off for blocks. Only cars with permits are allowed in. And then once you get past all of the barriers, nothing will be available nearby. There’s too many people affiliated with the show who don’t have limos and will need rides.”
He turned out to be right. Every ride I tried to schedule for my location canceled after I’d requested it.
“Great.” I sighed. “I don’t have a way of getting home.”
“I could give you a lift. I just have to go to this one little thing first, if that’s okay.”
I should tell him no, thank you. I could figure this out on my own. I also felt bad about him going so out of his way to take me home. “I’m in Pasadena. It’s not nearby.”
“We’re in LA. Thanks to traffic, nothing’s nearby.”
Wrestling with the decision, I blurted out, “That would be great. Thank you.” And it actually was great. I didn’t want tonight to come to an end just yet.
And even though I knew very little about men and their emotions, the look on his face made me think he was