Page 52 of Ripped & Shipped
Alex and I both laugh.
“No woman goes unnoticed in their presence, whether she likes it or not,” Alex says.
“I can help you get on Instagram,” Courtney offers. “It’s really easy. But she’ll know you’re on her page if you follow her. Everyone can see their followers. Of course, anyone can look at her posts if she’s got a public account. She won’t be able to track that. I’m assuming you want to remain anonymous?”
“Definitely.”
Alex releases Courtney, and I hand her my phone. She sits on the couch next to me and walks me through creating an account. I don’t add a profile picture. I call myself @got.your.six.now.. It’s an Army saying, meaning I’ve got her back. I don’t explain that to Courtney, but Alex watches me like a hawk, and when he hears me say that phrase, his gaze narrows like he’s trying to ferret out something deeper going on here.
Once I have an account, Courtney helps me look up Ella Mae.
“Oh my gosh! She’s the one? Ella Mae? I follow her! She’s adorable. Such a character. Is she in danger?”
“She’s safe,” I say.
I don’t mind them thinking my motive is protecting Ella Mae. It makes sense they’d assume that’s what I’m up to. I am in cybersecurity for a living, and it’s my nature to protect vulnerable people. But that’s not why I’m creating this account. I just want to assess the fallout of our filming last week in case I need to do damage control. Ella Mae’s probably fine, I’m the one who might need protection.
“Wait!” Courtney exclaims. “That’s you!”
Before I can control the situation, Courtney’s scrolling and tapping on one of the videos of me and Ella Mae from last Wednesday.
“What?” Alex asks, pushing the control on his electric wheelchair to maneuver closer to us.
“Oh. My. Goodness! Chris St. James. Ella Mae was your date last week?” Courtney’s nearly giddy.
Awww, heck. Now what? I already said it was a date. What was I thinking?
“Looks like it,” I say.
Technically, I’m only saying what it looks like, not admitting or denying whether it was an actual date.
Courtney flashes the phone to her husband. Alex lets out a low whistle.
“Apparently, you don’t need to date one of Court’s hot friends. This woman’s way above your pay grade, Cap.”
“Insubordination,” I mumble.
Alex chuckles. “Nothing to be ashamed of. You look like you’re having fun. And if she’s half as sweet as she is nice looking, I’m happy for you.”
“She’s …” I don’t even know what to say. How do you explain Ella Mae to someone who hasn’t experienced her first hand?
Courtney steps in. “She’s amazing. Bright, positive, full of energy, always trying to inspire people. She’s the whole reason I started yoga again.”
“Well then, I owe her a personal thanks,” Alex says with a chuckle. “When are you bringing her by, Cap?”
“The twelfth of never,” I say loudly.
Both Alex and Court laugh. Then Courtney says, “Don’t rush him, Alex. This seems new. Let him get settled with her. Then we’ll have them to dinner.”
Um, no. No, I will not be bringing Ella Mae to dinner anywhere, especially not here.
Courtney grabs my phone back from Alex. She hits play on the video and starts watching it. I don’t even try to stop her. She’s got a phone. As soon as I leave, she’ll be looking this up anyway.
“You two are so cute.”
She continues watching, then looks up at me. “But this was an impromptu date. You stepped in when another guy canceled?”
“Yeah. This guy, Drake, was supposed to meet her there. He didn’t show, so I stepped in. She’s from my hometown. We’ve known one another forever. She’s Shannon’s age.”
