A Theatrical Performance Of An Intimate Moment

Part 6

Some of Taylor's label people attend a few dates of the second North American tour. There's a guy, Michael, he works in the A&R department. He's nice and the fact he's probably the most attractive man she's ever seen doesn't hurt.

She'd been running around the venue during yet another rain show and was soaked through. Her white shirt left nothing to imagination, turning completely translucent in the weather, and he had offered his sweater. He said that he runs hot and didn't need it, even though he was clearly lying, goosebumps prickling his skin. She had accepted it anyway.

The next day he had found her and asked her out with a shy smile. She denied his offer, but he asked again the following morning. It becomes a bit of a running joke between them, laughter over coffee and ignoring the sexual tension between them that becomes so strong that it gets harder to say no.

When she finally says yes, he makes a big deal of it, telling everyone in the room that he finally got her. They shake his hand and congratulate him, and it's like something out of a movie.

~~~

He "picks her up" from their hotel lobby at 4pm after telling her to dress comfortably. She doesn't really know what that means, but hopes that her jeans and sneakers will do. He kisses her cheek when she exits the elevator and tells her she looks beautiful. He seems so genuine that it makes her cheeks turn pink, and she looks to her feet for a second before his hand is on the small of her back, guiding them to a car waiting.

They make small talk as they drive, where they're from and what they did before Taylor Swift came into their lives. Britt glosses over her life in Australia, asking Michael questions instead. He takes the hint and leaps heartily into growing up in upstate New York. His accent gets thick when he talks about his family, and she laughs when he imitates his older brother who works on Wall St.

They pull up to a carnival, and when she opens the door, the sounds of children screaming gleefully on the rides assault her ears. There are a few camera flashes in her direction, and this is a little more public than she's been in the last few months.

Her skin prickles in discomfort, but Michael grabs her hand, twisting their fingers together and smiles warmly. They walk through the park, and she ignores the whispers from teenage girls with their iPhone's pointed in her direction and the glares from women on dates with boyfriends who can't look away from her.

She forgets all about her anxiety with every game her date loses. Michael can't get the rings around the milk bottles nor get the ball into the bucket without it bouncing back out again. He fails when throwing darts at the balloons, and she almost wants to put him out of his misery, but he seems determined to win her a giant stuffed animal, that frankly, she has no idea of how she'd carry around on tour with her.

They share cotton candy while they wait to go on a rollercoaster, and he promises that he's not scared, despite his hand being clammy in her own. Michael doesn't scream during the ride, but he does go silent, and hold the handlebar with a white-knuckled grip. She doesn't mean to laugh at him when he darts straight into the bathroom when the ride ends, but it's almost comical how hard he's trying to impress her.

A group of girls run up to her when she's waiting for his return, and her breath catches in her chest.

"Hi! Can we get a photo?"

They all smile at her so eagerly that it takes her by surprise.

"Uh, sure?"

They all squeal and line up together, arms thrown around each other and grinning so widely that Brittany can't help by join in. They all talk a mile a minute after the photos, and she's very conscious of the girl who hasn't really spoken, but kept her camera trained on Brittany's every move since they're arrival.