This is the fourteenth installment in a series. If you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, and Part XIII before continuing.
“You will never guess who I met today.”
“Tom Cruise,” Angela said without hesitation.
“Ew. Way better than that.”
“Say what you will about the man, I still say he’s a fox. Even if he is crazy. And possibly a closet homosexual.”
“Sometimes you say things and I just lose all hope in you.”
“What? Seven billion people in the world and you ask me to guess which one of them you just met? I said the first thing that came to mind.”
“You were never good at improv.”
“I don’t see you hosting SNL. Oh! Is that who you met? Was it Tina Fey? Amy Poehler? Will Ferrell.”
“No, and none of those people are on SNL anymore. It was Roger Stevens.”
There was a pause. Then Angela said, “OK, I know you can’t see me right now, but my jaw just dropped to the floor.”
Eliza giggled. “I bet. I tried to play it cool, but I’m pretty sure I failed.”
“Tell me everything. What did he say? What did you say? Was there eye contact?”
“Oh, plenty of that.”
Angela hesitated before venturing, “Lip contact?”
“I wish. No. I was just hanging out in this bar, waiting to meet up with my agent, and all of the sudden I look over my shoulder and see Roger Stevens heading straight for me.”
“And then you fainted.”
“No, because I couldn’t believe he was actually looking at me. I kept looking around, thinking he must be looking at someone else, but he walked right up to me.”
“And then you fainted.”
“No, but there was definitely some stammering between him introducing himself and me being able to remember my name.”
“And then you died of shame.”
“Surprisingly, no. I laughed it off and he told me he already knew my name because he loves my show.”
Angela’s jaw dropped again and hung in midair for a moment before she said, “He watches your show?”
“I know! So then we had this great conversation about my show and his show and then we traded cell numbers when my agent showed up.”
Angela felt suddenly uncertain about which way was down and flung out an arm to support herself against her kitchen counter. “Oh my god. You have Roger Stevens’s number in your phone?”
“Yep.” Eliza’s voice was smug..
“Right now?”
“Yep.”
“And you’re wasting time talking to me?”
“I needed someone to brag to. Besides, if I pester him with constant calls and messages, he’ll just change his number and then I’ll get a reputation for being that girl.”
“Oh, but think of the things you could say to him before all that happens…”
Eliza laughed. “Not worth it.”
Angela whistled. “I admire your self restraint.”
“Oh, please. Like you haven’t met dozens of celebrities by now.”
“Yeah, but just to escort them around the studio. Only a few of them have made eye contact with me and none of them have told me they’re fans of my work.”
“I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before you manage to captivate some cute guy and sweet talk him into giving you his number.”
“Way ahead of you.”
“Wait. What? Really? When? Why haven’t I heard about this?”
“You were too busy bragging about how you’re making Roger Stevens fall in love with you.”
“I’m done bragging. Tell me everything.”
To be continued…
Thanks for reading! If you like what you see here, you can sign up for my newsletter at the top of this page. You’ll never miss an update and you’ll get a free short story every month that won’t be posted on the website. No spam, I promise!

