Page 9 of Shy Girls Can't Date Celebrities
I slowly descend the stairs as Mom moves toward the front door.
“Who the heck is coming here this late?” Mom asks. She opens the door and her demeanor softens. “Oh, Kylie, Parker, hi.”
I hurry to the first floor landing as my best friend and her boyfriend enter our home.
“Oh my gosh.” I gasp, pulling Kylie into a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“This is huge,” Kylie blurts into my ear. “How did you expect us not to come right over?”
I pull out of the hug. “But weren’t you two on a date?”
“Are you kidding?” Parker says excitedly. “We have too many questions to wait for text message replies.”
“I don’t know if I have many answers,” I say, leading them upstairs and toward my bedroom. “This has all come out of the blue.”
“Whoa,” Parker puffs, jolting back as he takes in my bedroom. “Someone’s obsessed.”
Kylie laughs and elbows his ribs. “What did you expect? I told you, she’s a superfan.”
“Not stalker vibes at all,” Parker mutters.
I click my tongue, folding my clothes. “I’m not a stalker.”
“Well, something’s off,” Parker says, walking into my bedroom and gesturing at the pictures on the wall. “You’ve pasted your face over the girl in his arms.”
My jaw rocks as I look at the body of the popstar Portia with my face covering hers.
“There’s nothing wrong with fantasy,” Kylie defends.
“Don’t you think it’d freak him out if he saw all of this?” Parker asks.
I cringe. “He’d never see this.”
Parker wriggles his eyebrows. “What if you hit it off and he wants to visit your home?”
Kylie gasps. “Oh my gosh, what if Wyatt Hayes comes back to Victoria Falls?”
I shiver. “Why are you guys trying to freak me out?”
Kylie wraps an arm around me. “Sorry, Josie. This is just so surreal. You’re leaving on a private plane to visit a celebrity. Our minds are running wild.”
“I just don’t need speculation right now,” I say with a sigh. “I need to focus on Wyatt and what his condition actually means. He’s forgotten his life, but he remembers me. I need to take this one step at a time.”
Kylie grins. “You know, we’re gonna need pictures.”
I giggle, thinking about being close to Wyatt again. “I’m not going to immediately ask for a selfie.”
“Yeah, but you’re walking into glitz and glamor,” she replies. “We need to see it all.”
“He’s still in the hospital, or clinic, whatever it’s called,” I reason. “It’s not like I’m going to a red carpet event.”
Parker smirks. “Didn’t you text Kylie something about a presidential suite? Sounds pretty swanky to me.”
I cup a hand over my mouth as a flood of giggles spill out. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“You never lost faith in seeing him again,” Kylie whispers with wonder in her eyes. “Now you’re getting your wish.”
My heart sinks as I frown at her. “But I never wanted it like this. I’d do anything to reverse his pain.”
