Page 6 of The Final Draft

JB: Let’s make it the last half of the season. He’ll have to work harder to see her. I’ll complete on my character sheet and send it over shortly.

PRISCILLA: Great! I’ll do the same. So excited!

The best way to work on my character? Get familiar with my inspiration better. I text Harper.

Hey Harper! Julian here. Checking in to make sure you got home with no more incidents.

The bubbles start and stop for the next ten minutes. I can’t remember the last time I waited for a girl to text me back. It’s for research, I tell myself. Yeah, that’s it. But is it?

I picture those ruby red lips and wonder what they taste like. What the fuck is wrong with me? I need to focus on this project, not Harper.

Minor incident, but that’s New York for you.

My heart stops and I feel a twinge of panic. My fingers can’t move fast enough to text her back.

What kind of incident? Are you ok?

Fine. Just took the subway in the wrong direction. Only took me four stops to figure it out.

She’s taking the subway? Sure, millions of people do that every day, but it’s not safe for her. Especially not looking like a cross between the sweet girl next door and a sexy librarian. I grit my teeth and exhale through my nose. I need to calm down.

Where are you now?

Don’t start with me, Mr. Decker. I’ve got one overprotective brother. I don’t need another.

I’m definitely not thinking brotherly things about her right now. But she’s right. Where is this coming from?

Besides, Noodle will protect me.

The image on my screen shows a little brown wiener dog, its long body relaxed in her lap. I shake my head at her ridiculousness and write that on my character sheet. She’s naïve. But laced with a little sass.

Usually when I hear Mr. Decker, I look around for my father. But I can imagine her saying it to me, and another fantasy involving my desk comes to life.

Maybe my girl takes care of the hockey player’s dog when he travels. I add animal lover to her character traits. Kind, compassionate. A dog walker would have to hustle to make a living at it, so I add tenacious. Maybe even scrappy. Like a cuddly kitten that thinks it can scratch your eyes out but can’t really do much damage. They think they’re fierce, but they’re actually cute and cuddly.

An idea takes root. The characters don’t really see each other but leave notes for one another. The notes become flirty and suggestive. He comes home early, startles her, and she pepper sprays him in his own home. YES! I like where this is going.

I wouldn’t put all my faith in Noodle.

Noodle will take on anyone from the ankles down. I believe in Noodle power!

I’ll be the judge of that. Let me take you to dinner.

Thanks, but I can’t.

Not to sound cocky, but that’s the first time a woman has turned me down in, well, I don’t remember. Strangely, I’m intrigued. Is it really a can’t or more like a no thank you?

OK. Another time?

What does that mean? WTF does an emoji mean? I stand up and pace around my home office, clutching my phone.

I reach out to my friend Trevor, who owns the Savannah Pajamas baseball team. He uses emojis like they’re another language. I only understand half of his texts most days.

Hey T, what does it mean when I ask someone to dinner, they say no, I say another time, and they respond with this

I read his response, and have no choice but to concede defeat.

Yep.

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