Episode 22: D-Day

Episode 22: D-Day

It was D-Day.

Meaning that it was convention day.

Just the mere thought of it finally being here turned Leslie into a jittery mess.

The number of times she felt the urge to throw up since the sun had risen was immeasurable.

And she was keeping count, unfortunately.

She hadn't felt this level of anxiety in years and that said a lot with her being a natural at handling social events and requirements.

It felt like she was doing a PowerPoint presentation in front of all her college classmates and professors all over again.

Absolutely petrifying.

In the worst case scenario at that—because knowing her luck of giving PPTs, the dean would find it the right time to sit in and listen to the class' progress.

One wouldn't know the weight of that situation unless they've been in it.

It's not the best one to experience to say the least.

Leslie felt a small pat on her shoulders and she looked around to see James smiling reassuringly down at her. "You'll be fine." He affirmed, hoping to dispel her fears. She appreciated his support but it was going to take more than that to calm her down. It was strange because she wasn't usually the nervous type when it came to stuff like this, but knowing how much everyone was anticipating her victory or at least a top 3 position got to her.

Leslie felt like she had to win at this point.

She boarded the bus provided by the company which was taking them to their destination. It was about an hour away so she willed herself to get comfortable while facing the damp window with a deep breath.

You can do this, Leslie. You've written your heart out with this piece. All you've got to do is deliver it with the same sentiments.

Like most things in life, that was easier said than done.

During the entire ride, it rained and she was in a comfortable cocoon beside James who had fallen into a deep sleep but she couldn't even doze.

Her fingertips traced the patterns of the droplets as she became absentminded.

She was pulled out of her daydreaming when her phone buzzed.

Due to the phone's setting she could see a preview of the message from the sender without unlocking it.

Good luck.

Two simple words that resonated deep within her.

She felt her toes curl seeing as how he had woken up at dawn just to bid her such a charming message.

Had he always been capable of such sweet acts?

The fact that he had made it his duty to send her good wishes on such an important day alluded to that.

He wasn't the type of man to express his emotions well verbally, and was even more reserved when it came to doing it without any form of stimulus. This was from his own free will. It made her insanely giddy in the head.

Had she been the first thing he thought about this morning?

Thinking that way had her way more flattered than she should've been. Her stomach erupted in a fine frenzy with butterflies.

Why did it cause more of a reaction from her than the lengthy call Eddie had given her this morning, taunting her that he'd finally have the apartment to himself?

"Good, maybe then you'll be able to get laid," she had joked to her roommate, causing him to scoff.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Me getting laid has never been a problem that stemmed from us living together."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe."

Leslie always felt that her presence has caused him major hesitancy in bringing women over due to the embarrassment of the situation.

If only she knew it went much deeper than she could have ever imagined...

"Leslie, I don't bring anyone here because it'd be inappropriate. We live together, for Christ's sake!"

"Tell me something I don't know..." she sang, then her brows furrowed in thought.

"And are you indirectly saying me bringing any man over would be disrespectful?"

He sighed.

"I'm not saying anything like that."

"Sure sounds like it. I guess I should apologize then...you know, about Christopher."

It was like she felt his flinch from the other side of the line and frowned.

"Are you still there?" she asked when he failed to respond.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah...um, I'm still here. And he doesn't count. You said nothing happened between you two."

Did she mention that she forgot to tell Eddie that something had indeed happened that night after she kissed him in his sleep? And even more so after that?

She felt like a terrible friend for holding information back from him pertaining to her personal life.

At one point, they'd discuss everything with each other.

However, she couldn't shake the feeling that her relationship with Christopher wasn't every day gossip.

Call it her intuition, but Leslie felt she should hold off on that until it became serious enough.

"I guess..." she drawled. "But I'm gonna apologize anyway. Sorry for bringing someone into our private space without your permission."

"Oh, you can be such a pain in the ass! I said it was fine!"

She chuckled at his obvious frustration.

"I'll talk to you after you've won that prize."

He had a way of having her grin like a complete fool sometimes.

"Thanks, Ed."

"Good luck, Les."

Eddie had delivered the same exact words and more to her this morning, so why did Christopher's have a deeper effect?

Because you like him, silly, her mind spoke up confidently. There's a big difference between a friend and a lover wishing you well.

The woman's cheeks burned as she typed something back to him.

Thank you, she wrote to Christopher and smiled down at her phone once it was delivered.

On the other side of the city, the man had indeed risen early to catch her before she started her day.

With a cup of coffee in his hand, delaying a sip to his lips at her reply, he felt warm fuzzies overtaking him. Though dressed in padded clothes, Christopher couldn't have felt warmer because of her two words.

He liked the fact that they could say so much at one point then so little the next yet it still held the same weight of emotions.

It was a task only few people could accomplish.

To read in between the lines, especially when, theoretically, only one existed.

When his smiling lips met the cup, he knew that Leslie Quinn had successfully gotten under his skin and wormed her way into his heart.

It was laughable really.

The effortless way she did it.

But then again, it wasn't that easy, was it?

She had done some hard prodding at a supposed beast like him.

Had walked with a flame of words to melt his iceberg of a heart.

It wasn't his fault he had trust issues when it came to women— scratch that, people in general.

It was how he was programmed since he was little with all that had happened in a span of a few years.

He was genuinely relieved seeing that he now had someone he knew was on his side as much as he was on hers.

God, he really wished she won this thing.

He knew how hard she worked for it.

According to Collin's she had been pulling all-nighters, barely getting enough sleep to function properly the next morning. He felt it was his duty to hear about her through such a primary source, but also not to disturb her during this process. He was busy himself but any little free time he had was spent trying not to call her, thus he intentionally let his phone battery run out. And didn't bother to charge it.

Not to sound narcissistic, but Christopher knew he was as much of a distraction to her as she was to him.

He knew she didn't need that right now.

What she needed the most was seclusion and as little influencers as possible with the exception of small tokens of encouragement.

That's what his text was meant to be anyway.

As much as he wanted her to win this competition, if she ended up not doing so that was okay too.

He had already come up with a plan for whatever the outcome was.

The man would make sure that she was thoroughly distracted then.

Unbeknownst to Christopher's thoughts, Leslie was focused on one task and one only now.

To win.

Upon arrival, there was already a crowd of people gathered. It was a busy entrance and they could hardly wrap their heads around how popular this event had become over the years. The venue wasn't as quaint as they had expected, but this time they had invested in a fancy building with so much to boast just from its exterior design.

James came up from behind her and helped with her luggage despite its small size.

"I guess everyone's betting on that resort this year." He whistled, impressed.

She swallowed harshly, trying not to be intimidated by the unexpected number of competitors.

It wouldn't be the first time she had outdone a large number of people.

And it definitely won't be the last.

"Let's go. We're falling behind." She indicated to the group they came with who was now walking way ahead of them towards the entrance.

"Damn it," he cursed and dragged her luggage alongside his in a comical move.

He almost tripped over himself on the pavement and she laughed.

And Leslie thought she was clumsy.

"Wait up!" She yelled before running after him.

***

It was intimidating.

In the grand scheme of things, it was impossible for this event not to be.

The convention had begun and they were finished with the traditional meet and greets.

At the conference, they had opened up an entire exhibition. There were writers at every stage in their career. From authors who published several best sellers to those who haven't actually finished their first manuscript. Despite all of that, there was always something to learn from. Activities such as workshops, lectures, one-on-one manuscript critiques, and happy hours with comprehensive writers were a few. They made it convenient to gain knowledge.

Leslie was grateful to learn from these peripheral literary services that she may not have considered before, but it was torture to wait for the final event which she was a part of.

The hours of socializing passed by and she felt a mixture of relief and fear.

There came the presenter — about the same age as Mr. Collin was — stepping up to the microphone that was placed in the dead center of the venue.

She was wearing a beautiful, silver sequin dress.

Upon seeing her, the guests got the cue and took a seat at their designated tables.

It came as a huge surprise to Leslie when she felt a tap on her shoulder and she whirled around her to see none other than Noah Taylor.