Page 34 of Christmas Crisis
Braden glanced over from the volleyball game. He must have noticed a random guy sitting next to me because he raised his brows, giving me ayou okay?look. I nodded subtly. Braden obviously didn’t recognize my companion, because all my friends would have raced over if they knew I was talking to Stone Caseman.
When Stone didn’t say more but also didn’t make a move to leave, I asked, “So the interview went well?”
“I think so. Everyone knows Jerry is a nice guy. He has that reputation. I was just trying to be respectful, so he’d think I was more than some stupid kid with a YouTube channel.”
His candor was another surprise. “I get it,” I said. “You don’t want to be theWhich One of These Fruits Looks Most Like a Dick?guy forever.”
“Duuuuuuuuuude.” Red-cheeked, he face-planted into his knees. “Of all the things to go viral.”
I snickered teasingly. “Hey, every hero has their humble origin story, right? Besides, surfing with Jerry and interviewing him is a long way from that. I’m sure it will be great.”
“I hope so.” Stone scooted slightly closer, and I registered him giving me an appreciative up and down—not in a skeevy way, but in a normal checking someone out way. I straightened my shoulders and sucked in my stomach. “When I first started the channel, I had a lot of different types of content. But it was always the stunts and nonsense that took off and got the views. Now that I have a big enough following and can afford to lose a few, I’d like to transition away from that.”
His voice changed as he went on. Like the leisurely drawl he used on his channel faded as his thoughts solidified into sentences.
Clearly, the Stone Caseman people saw on social media was only one version of him. Just like @theadventurousmiranda.
As we continued talking, I gave him my name and also shared my online identity with him. Turned out, he recognized the handle and already followed but hadn’t recognized me. I took no offense, considering how small my numbers were compared to his. Plus, I didn’t have a YouTube channel. Or even a TikTok. I’d chosen to stick to pictures and not videos a long time ago. That was a place where Stone and I diverged. He wanted to growhis following and make his living as the online version of Stone Caseman, whereas I wanted to wind down my page.
My friends began arguing, and I knew their game would be over soon.
“You should probably take off,” I said to Stone. “I mean, you’re welcome to stay for our bonfire if you want, but my friends will definitely recognize you, so you’ll get stuck telling a bunch of stories and whatnot.”
He stood, brushing the sand from his backside. “I should get home and start editing this interview anyway. My PA wants to look at it too. Make sure it hits. There’s an indie movie I might get cast in, so I’m trying to keep focused.”
“An indie movie sounds cool. Congrats. Probably fits in with your master plan to make a living at all this.”
Stone gave me a pointed look. “Yeah, actually. It does.” He pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them on. “It was really nice talking to you, Miranda. Thanks.”
“Same. And good luck.”
With that, he walked away. When Raven asked me later about the hottie I’d been talking to, I told her I hadn’t caught his name.
Two weeks later, Stone reached out via DM to ask me to coffee. I replied that I’d love to see him but suggested he come to my apartment (clarifying that this was not an invitation for anything other than coffee). My reasoning was simple. With his rising popularity, he was sure to be recognized in public. The last thing I wanted was for my online persona to be linked with his. I didn’t need my follower numbers to go up solely because of a connection to Stone. I’d worked too hard to build up my brand on my own terms.
I supposed the easiest path would have been to turn him down, but his offer intrigued me, because he’d already been more “real” with me than he was with his audience.
Plus, he was gorgeous. Even though I’d sworn off casual encounters, I could imagine making an exception for someone with Stone’s perfect body and smile. Remembering the way he’d looked at me made me shiver. He was interested. Maybe a relationship that needed to be kept behind closed doors was a good thing. We could explore the possibilities between us without external pressure.
If Stone was even interested in that. Perhaps he was only after a hookup.
I hoped he wasn’t just looking for a friend. If that were the case, I wasn’t the girl for him.
Because I already had a best friend who knew me in a way the rest of the world didn’t. And I didn’t want that with anyone else. Only my sweet, perfect Leo-Bear.
Chapter ten
Leo
NOW
Miranda and I decided not to drive into Seattle. Instead, we opted to get pancakes at the little diner by my house, which we’d been to before.
When we walked in, a harried middle-aged server carrying a steaming coffee pot told us to sit “wherever.” She paid us little mind, but the younger server on the other side of the restaurant looked up and did an immediate double take.
“I guess that’s what we wanted,” Miranda said under her breath. “To be recognized.”
We sat down, shedding our coats, and I recalled the first time I’d brought Miranda here nearly two years ago. She’d exclaimed over the sticky plastic menus “with nary a QR code in sight.”
