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Stars

I finished adjusting the collar of my shirt for the ten billionth time. Fidgeting is just part of my nature I guess. Is it too late to cancel? I mean, we could do this another time, and I've never taken a guy out before so I should probably just postpone, right?

No Malic, get your shit together and get in your car. You want to take this guy out, you want to have a nice evening with him. Go!

Are we sure? I mean I could always just tell him I'm sic-

The sound of my key in the ignition signifies my final decision with a stomach-churning rumble. A few moments later I am blindly following the directions of my GPS.

Why am I so nervous anyway? I've been on plenty dates before.

Dates set up by my marketing agency count right?

God, I really haven't been on a date before, have I? I mean what 25 years old hasn't gone on a date. Oh, that's right, one with famous parents who forced them into stardom from a young age... so me?

I mean, it's just like a meeting, except I'm thinking about the numerous ways I can put my face on their face, impress them, talk them home, and not so subtly show that I really enjoy them in every sense of the word. So yeah, exactly like a meeting.

I need to stop psyching myself out? If anything I should be the one who isn't nervous. I mean I am the head of a multimillion dollar franchise, and the product is me. I shouldn't be terrified by meeting anyone, so why am I? Is it because of the incredible personality or gorgeous face? Is it the clear sense of individuality possessed by him or the fact that he looks at me unlike anyone else.? Why can't I ignore this feeling in my belly?

Stop in 50 feet

I gently applied pressure to the brake pedal and coasted to a stop in front of an apartment complex. I felt my gaze scan the building as I took a deep breath. You can do this.

I popped open my door and sauntered to the buzzer on the gate, pressed the apartment number I had gotten from his messages, and pushed the intercom button.

"Hello."

"Hey, it's, uh, Malic."

The shift in the tone of his voice was quite clear, from a cautious murmur to a high-pitched chirp, "Okay, I'll be right down."

I continued to wait, tapping my foot to distract myself from the night I was about to have. I need to think of something else. Uh, wow, what a nice sunset. Well, that's a nice car. Hm, maybe there's a-

"Hey." I take my time turning around, trying to collect myself before I make eye contact with this man. He stands there, smiling, in some black jeans that fit him tightly, a black shirt, and a tan bomber jacket. He looks stunning.

"Uh, hi," I say, launching out of my daze, yet we still stand there looking at each other for longer than necessary, "So uh, ready to go?" I ask.

"Yeah," he nods as we walk towards my car and I open his door for him. He makes a sarcastic display of royalty as he steps into the passenger seat, eliciting a chuckle from the both of us. I quickly move around the car and get behind the wheel.

"So, how are you?"

"I've been good," I answer, "And you?"

"Good... so where are we going?"

"Oh, right," I chuckle at my silliness, "There's this little Italian place in this area, sound good?"

"Sounds wonderful," He says looking at me.

Soon enough we fall into comfortable conversation, nothing major just the basic exchanging of small talk intermittent with occasional "You look wonderful" and the such. There is something so nice about the monotony of conversations like this. You don't have to worry about how you speak and what you say, everything is surface level and the overall ease of the back and forth flow of questions and answers distracts from any sense of nervousness or excitement that comes with most interactions. I rarely experience a conversation like this, it's such a stark contrast from the intellectual nature of most of my meetings and the such. The only time I don't have to worry about my answers is when I'm meeting fans, and that's less of a conversation and more of a one-sided compliment off, with lots of screaming.