{ six }

                                        

                                              
excitement bubbles up in my chest and i return chris's smile with a huge one of my own. 
"bree, you made it," chris says, coming forward and giving me a gentle hug just like nick gave georgia. the moment of contact, along with the fact that he remembers my name, sends my heart into a frenzy. 
"chris! how are you?" i ask as we pull away. 
"i'm good. glad you're here." you look cute when you're nervous, i remember him saying to me. sometimes, i wonder if i only imagined that coming out of his mouth. 
i feel my cheeks heat up at the memory. "glad to be here." 
i introduce chris to georgia, and soon matt makes an appearance, too. someone cranks the music up and nick points out where to find soda and snacks, and people begin to disperse into smaller groups. like metal drawn to a magnet, i find myself drifting towards chris. he takes a seat on one of the couches, and i linger indecisively next to it. 
he glances up and we make eye contact. smiling, he moves over a little bit, a casual invitation in case i want to sit down. my stomach ties up in a knot of anticipation. i don't really know anyone else here, so it would make sense to talk to him for a little bit . . .
"so, what's up?" chris asks as i sit down. "what have you been up to since you last braved the roller coasters of six flags?" 
i laugh. "nothing as daring as that, unfortunately. just work and school. and then more work, and then more school." 
chris shudders dramatically. "dropping out of school is probably the best decision i've ever made." 
"hey, don't tempt me. i need this degree if i want to go anywhere in life." my stomach clenches at the thought of my uncertain future, so i quickly change the subject. "what about you? been doing stuff for youtube?" 
"pretty much, yeah. filming, brainstorming. we do a lot of that." 
"but you enjoy it?" 
chris nods. "oh yeah. one hundred percent." 
"i'm glad you're doing something that you love." 
he must notice a wistful hint in my voice because he tilts his head. "what is it that you want to do?" he asks. 
just like the other week, his question brings a flurry of thoughts swarming through my head. when he had asked what i was doing currently, i had responded that i was a student, not wanting to explain how my failed dreams were going. after i hesitated, he had responded, "i'll figure out your secret." 
It's not much of a secret more than an embarrassing fact about my life. i try to cut myself some slack, knowing that i'm still young and that i have a lot of time ahead of me, but enough rejections really start to sting. 
"i want to be an actress," i finally say. 
chris gazes at me, a smile on his lips. "that suits you." 
"in what way?" i ask. he's only met me once. "because you think i'm fake?" 
"no, not at all," he responds earnestly. "it's just that— i can tell you feel things deeply, if that makes sense. and that makes for good acting." 
chris hit the nail on the head. i do feel things deeply, even when they're just pretend and i'm only playing a role. he must be observant if he noticed that about me in our first few hours of meeting, but it's true. 
i smile, surprised at his ability to read me so well. "well thanks for saying that." i shrug. "we'll see how it goes." 
"do you have family here?" he asks.