Page 18 of Playing With My Heart Strings

“Best of luck to you, Dusty.” He gestures to the house as the doors open and the first woman walks out.

She’s stunning, and I shield my eyes to make sure I’m seeing her clearly.Why the fuck would they have me facing the sun?I take in her long legs and suntanned skin. She’s wearing a denim skirt and a flowy white top, and her caramel-colored hair falls just below her shoulders.

“Hi, Dusty.” She smiles as she takes my hands. “I’m Katherine. It’s so nice to meet you.”

I remember her voice from the second day of auditions. “You look stunning.” I’m not even sure what comes out of my mouth next, but I do know I need to get a grip, otherwise I’m not going to remember anything from these conversations besides how gorgeous they are. That’s not what I’m here for.

Our five minutes feel like thirty seconds, and I’m not convinced that I didn’t black out for half of the conversation. All I remember is her saying she’s not from Tennessee, but she was so glad that she made the trip out here for the show.

“I’m so glad we got to talk. I’ll see you later?”

I nod, and she smiles as she says goodbye then walks back into the house.

Jarrod comes out of nowhere. “So, first lady of the day? What’s going through your head right now?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I may have blacked out for those five minutes,” I reply, to which he laughs.

“How about we move so you can sit for your next conversations. Maybe that’ll take some of the pressure off?” he suggests, and I nod.

We walk to a shaded area where benches are already set up. Thank God, because if I had to stand out in the sun any longer, I’d start sweating through my clothes.Thatwould not look good on television.

“All right, man, I’ll check back in with you later.” With that, he’s gone, and the next contestant, a tall, fair-skinned blonde, is walking out.

“Hi! I’m Jordan.” Instead of taking my hands like Katherine did, she pulls me in for a hug.

It takes me a moment to gather myself, but I hug her back, getting a whiff of her perfume. It smells like peaches and florals. I blink to prevent myself from sneezing.

“How are you, Jordan?” I ask as she releases me from the hug and I gesture for us to sit.

“I’m great! Super excited for this opportunity.” Her bubbly voice reminds me of sunshine.Shereminds me of sunshine with her bright hair and big, expressive eyes.

“Where are you from?”

“I’m originally from Knoxville, but I made my way out to Nashville a few years ago to try to pursue music. Now I’m here.”

I know a lot of the women who came on the show are musicians, but it has me curious about how many of them are here just to move their music career forward. Not that it reallymatters to me, because at the end of the day, that’s all I’m trying to do, too.

“How has that gone so far?” I’m hoping she’ll give me an idea of her intentions, if not for myself, then for the show. People love speculating whether contestants are “here for the right reasons” or not. At least, that’s what I’ve heard from my cousin who watches a lot of dating shows.

“You know, it hasn’t exactly been successful, hence why I’m here and not doing my own concerts or recording albums. But I truly came here to meet you, the record deal was just an extra benefit.”

She seems sincere, but I feel like they always do. Then, once the experience gets more stressful, you learn their true motives.

“Well, it was great to meet you, Jordan, but I think our time is up.” I stand, giving her a quick hug. Our conversation was pleasant, and now that the nerves have started to dissipate, I’m finding myself eager to meet the rest of the women.

Six conversations later, and I’m exhausted. My social battery is starting to deplete, and it’s like I ran five miles instead of simply talking for a couple hours.

“Only two more. You can do this.” I take a deep breath, trying to calm the pounding in my chest. We changed locations a couple more times, and the last place they have me sitting is in a lounge chair by the pool.

“Rolling,” the director calls out as the next woman starts walking, nogliding, down the stairs.

“Hello.”

I instantly recognize her voice. How could I forget it?Aspen.I thought her voice was captivating, but it doesn’t even compare to her looks.

“H-hi.”Get yourself together, man.I can’t stop staring at her whirlpool eyes.

“How are you?” She walks over to me and pulls me in for a hug, which I welcome, wrapping myself in her scent—lavender and vanilla.

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