“Huh?” I asked, confused.
“When you moved in the first time,” she explained. “You probably don’t remember, but I opened the bathroom door without knocking. You were just getting out of the shower. It was really awkward. For a hormone-filled teenage girl, at least.” She let out a self-deprecating laugh.
I remembered the incident. I had barely pulled a towel around my midsection when the door flew open. I knew it was a genuine accident because Erica froze in place, hand still on the bathroom doorknob and eyes as wide as engine gaskets. And I remembered the way her eyes raked over my body, down to my legs and then up my torso, creating goosebumps everywhere she looked.
“I don’t remember,” I lied. “So you have nothing to feel embarrassed about.”
“I wish you had told me that five years ago.” She laughed again and said, “There are fresh towels in the linen closet, and the sheets on the bed are clean. If you need anything else, I’m next door. Just like old times.”
“Just like old times,” I repeated. “Thanks, Erica. For everything.”
If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought she was blushing. But the touches of red on her supple cheeks were probably just from helping me move the boxes inside.
“Goodnight.”
She stepped out of my room and disappeared around the corner into her room, door closing softly. I walked to my door to close it, moving through the air she had just occupied. Her scent filled my nostrils, flowery and sweet. She was wearing perfume, now. Another sign that she had matured.
I lingered in the scent, letting it fill my lungs a moment longer, before pulling out my phone to call my manager.
“Hunter,” he said, stretching my name out into six syllables. “There’s my favorite YouTuber. How’s the Columbus pit stop? You all checked-in for your flight in the morning?”
“Actually, I’ve had a change of plans.”
I could sense my manager tensing on the other end. “Changes are bad, Hunter. You know I don’t like changes.”
I lowered my voice in case Erica could hear me through the wall. “What if I did a few videos here in Columbus?”
The silence on the line lasted five long seconds. “You want to do videos in Columbus?”
“Hear me out. I can do a series of videos around town, where I got my start. Like a callback to the first videos I ever released on my channel.”
“Is this a joke?”my manager asked. “This sounds like an idea you whipped up in five seconds.”
He was close to the truth. This idea had come to me while I was talking to Erica, trying to think up an excuse as to why I was back in town. I had seized on it because it gave me a reason to be around her, and to rent the room. It was a dumb reason to stay in Columbus, and I hadn’t worked out any of the details.
“I’ve worked out all the details,” I told him. “It’ll be a five-video series. Coming back here where I grew up? The fans will eat it up.”
“Hunter. Buddy. Listen to me. Nobody cares about where you started out. They just want to see how fast the new Ford SUV can go. You should do a video on that, like we discussed. Did you spend today filming?”
“Not yet. I’ve been brainstorming all day. Listen, this is something I really want to do. Something Ineedto do. All right?”
I heard him sigh. “Are you okay, Hunter?”
“I’m great. Never better.”
“Then why the sudden change of plans? This isn’t like you. Does it have anything to do with Carmen?”
“It has nothing to do with her,” I said, even though that was partially untrue. “I know I have a lot of events lined up in Portland and Seattle, but I need you to move them. Cancel them, if you have to. I’m staying here for a few weeks.”
“Nothing’s going to convince you this is a bad idea?”
“It’s not a bad idea. It’s a great idea.”
He sighed again. “All right. You’re the boss. But you’ll be done for the next Formula One event in Belgium, right?”
“How far away is that? Four weeks? That should be fine.”
“Good. Because I can cancel all your Portland and Seattle events no problem, but if you canceled on Formula Fucking One, it would burn a lot of bridges.”