Page 108 of Nathan
Nathan smiled. “Ireland, actually.”
Only now did Tyrell look at me, and I could see surprise turn into doubt. “Did anyone ever tell you that you look a lot like Serena Star?”
Pushing my hoodie back, I removed the cap and gave him a smile. “Yes, I hear that all the time. Nathan here gets compared to Will Smith, or at least he did tonight.”
Tyrell looked lost for words, which I imagined was a first for someone like him.
“We don’t want to take too much of your time. We just thought it was funny that you talked about us,” Nathan explained.
“But you don’t have an Irish accent,” Tyrell finally said.
“I know. Long story.” Without blinking, Nathan switched over and now spoke with an Irish lilt. “I can speak with an Irish accent if ye prefer.”
“Dude, that’s sick. You’re really him.” Tyrell turned to the others, who were following the exchange.
“The nobody himself,” Nathan declared with a laugh.
Tyrell grabbed Nathan’s shoulders and flashed his teeth with the gold front tooth. “I can’t believe you’re here. I was just testing out new material tonight, and the audience loved it, but if I’d known you were here… dude, that’s so random.”
“It really is random, but we had a good laugh, and it was refreshing not to be portrayed as the bad guy for once.”
The others came over to shake our hands. “Can we have a selfie with you two?” the female comedian with the large afro asked us.
Nathan looked to me.
I squeezed his hand. “It’s your call.”
“I have nothing to hide.”
“Okay then. Are we doing it?” Tyrell asked with excitement.
The five of us gathered close, and Tyrell positioned himself between Nathan and me with an arm around our shoulders while the woman took the selfie of the five of us.
We stayed to chat a few more minutes before we left to get back to our hotel.
“You know that picture will be all over the media tomorrow, right?” Nathan asked when we lay face to face in the hotel bed later.
“Mhmm, and you know what the best part is?”
“What?” He let a finger trail down my jaw and looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“Anyone in the industry is going to know that it’s not a staged photo. We weren’t styled, and the lighting was awful in that room.”
“And yet, you looked gorgeous as ever.”
I smiled. “For someone insisting that he’s not a romantic, you sure know how to say the right thing.”
“Just stating the facts.”
I covered a yawn. “We should get some sleep. Over these past three weeks, the press has been through the entire back catalog of our exes, old teachers, classmates, and psychologists who never met us. TheNew York Timesarticle is already three days old, and it’s not that I feel bad for Storm, but I’m sure he’s sick and tired of the headlines with all the men claiming to be his lover. If Tyrell posts that picture, it’ll give away that we’re in New York, and that means tomorrow we’ll have the press chasing us like chickens with their heads cut off.”
Nathan yawned too. “I’m not scared. To be honest, I can’t wait for the world to know that we’re together now. I want them to see that we’re serious about each other.”
“Okay, but I should warn you. If the world knows, my mom and sister are going to know too, and they’re not your biggest fans.”
“No, you told me.” Nathan rubbed his nose and yawned. “Maybe we should send them tickets to see Tyrell’s show.”
I leaned my forehead against his and smiled. “That’s not a bad idea.”
