Chapter 83 - Magic Mike

"He… is better than Magic Mike. And I fawn over that movie…" She gulped. "Did you make sure that this is not a video off the internet?" Katherine nodded.

"I thought of that, too. But I found nothing."

"The editing looks so professional," she said with a weird expression on her face. She… this body was familiar.

"Why does this look so familiar?" she paused. And then she gasped. "Do you think he is a stripper and he does live shows?"

Katherine's eyes widened. "I… don't know… he never talks about what he does."

"Honey… he is a professional. These moves can't be faked!" Lily was jumping on the bed by this point.

"Is that why he doesn't want to show his face? Because he is a famous stripper?"

"Honey… I don't know who he is, but the man has got moves." Lily paused. "You're meeting him, right?"

"I thought you were against the idea!" Katherine laughed boisterously.

"Damn, I would be happy to die by his hand," she snickered.

"You have Jared, don't look at what's mine, okay?" Katherine gave an evil glare to her friend.

"Look at how possessive you are… Ooh, I like." These two bantered for the longest time. But as it was decided, the trip to the mountains was on.

- - -

How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?

"My mom is a classical musician," he confessed in a low voice, startling her. It was odd for him to give out information so freely to her. She smiled at his attempt to grow closer to her and disclose himself.

"What does she play?" she asked, knowing he would not comment any further. Yet, she found it impertinent to not ask. She knew how curious he was about why she didn't ask too many questions. Sometimes she thought that he was rather hurt by her non-intervention… which was sad, considering that all she did was restrain herself despite her curiosity eating away at her.

"I can't tell you that yet, but I am surely but slowly making up my mind to reveal myself to you," he said. She coughed, feeling self-conscious at the gentleness of his tone. Her heart thumped in her chest in rapid motion, telling her how much she would love to get to know him.

"You really want to tell me?" she squeaked, her voice back to her normal nervous self.

"Yes," he chuckled. The low rumbling noise in his throat sent shivers of delight down her spine.

"I can't tell you how pleased I am to hear that, to be honest. I always wonder why you keep everything from me, and I try to understand… but sometimes it's hard to comprehend as to why you would keep something so important from me even though you have known me for so long."

"I'm so sorry you feel like that. I have wondered, too, why you never ask me about myself. You didn't even comment on the video I sent you… I didn't know exactly what I should think." He sounded upset and she was having none of that. She had been right to assume that he was upset about her not asking him questions.

"I fear that you will not answer my questions if I come up with them, so I never ask. I am wildly curious about you. But I also don't want to be the cat who asked too many questions and found themselves in a ditch—dead and decomposing!" she laughed, but there was nothing funny about the situation.

"I understand. Let me give you a clue…" he paused for effect. "I have told you that I am famous, right? I fear that once you find out, you won't be able to see me for who I am and will see me as the celebrity that I am. That you will fangirl." He waited for her to reply.

"I live in H city and see starts on a regular basis walking down the street. I can't say that I get star-struck. I am more concerned about if you think I will go to the media and spill the beans!" she laughed.

"You think too lowly of me," he grumbled, but he knew her concerns were legit. If it were anyone else, he would have suspected them of a lot of things, but she seemed so different to him.

"I don't think lowly of you. It's just that I know that it's a possibility if you are famous that people try to expose you at every turn. That must be how it feels to be rich. You need all the receipts and constant media handling to see that no bad news comes out about you. And I can see you being cautious around a stranger," she reasoned. Whatever she was, she was not irrational.

"You're not a stranger."

"I was watching an episode of Dr. Phil on the internet and when he asked how two people had connected over the internet, I was stunned. They sounded like us, thinking each other their soulmates because of conversations they had from behind the screen and Dr. Phil kept asking about why they didn't find someone in their own community to date. At first, I was siding with the kids, but then, I love Dr. Phil and I could see sense too. He said that it was impossible to fall in love with someone or know them when it is all over the internet. And I feel conscious about this."

"We are a good match. I love the doctor, too, but even if he is right, I would want to explore this relationship with you in real life. Hell, I can't wait to meet you." He threw his hands into the air and dropped back onto his bed. He was frustrated by this conversation and the insecurity she had with their relationship. But who could stand against the ominous words of the good doctor who had forty years of experience under his belt?

"We could get to know each other in real life and fall in love all over again. I trust our connection." 'I don't want to lose you,' she thought in her head. She didn't know how she would be able to live without him anymore and they had not met yet. Maybe it was not love, but what was it? Infatuation? She had never felt anything this strong in her life. And she had truly believed that she was in love with Jonathan.