A Match Made in Heaven

It was too bad that he had to vote Janelle off. He liked her, she seemed to like him too. He turned on the bathroom light before flipping on the shower. The warm spray quickly steamed up the large bathroom. The shower stood separately from the tub. That was big, round and deep with jets. He stepped into the shower before closing the glass door behind him.

The day had a been a long one. He thought back to the other contestants. They’d been the reason that he’d signed up for the show, but he couldn’t really think of one of them that had caught his attention. All he could think about was Janelle’s nervous voice saying the first thing that came to her mind. Honest. That’s what she was, Reece thought as he rinsed soap off of his brown skin.

He stepped out before wrapping a thick, green towel around his body. Stepping back into his bedroom, he rooted around in his drawers to find a pair of pajama bottoms. The house was pleasantly warm from the heat, but he still shivered as he slipped into the pants.

Reece sighed as he climbed into bed. As he slipped beneath the blanket, he couldn’t help but see Janelle’s smile. He imagined touching her face, kissing her lips. The thought brought a smile to his face. What would it be like, he wondered, to sleep beside her? To have someone to wrap his arms around at night? The woman had gotten inside his head without even trying.

As Reece tried to force himself to go to sleep, he wondered if Janelle felt anything too? It had only been one day that they’d spent together, but Reece had felt more at home with her than the society sharks he’d grown accustomed to being around. Maybe things would change, he thought. Reece knew one thing for sure, he wanted to see where things could go.

*****

Janelle was in a panic. She ran around her apartment, rooting through her closet for something different to wear. Usually, she didn’t much care what she wore, what her hair and makeup looked like. Her abilities had taken her as far as she’d gotten, not her looks.

That morning however, she couldn’t get Reece out of her mind. She wanted to look nice, wanted to wow him. Her heart thudded in her chest. She knew it was foolish, stupid really to have a crush on a contestant on a dating show. Still, she couldn’t stop the fluttering she felt in her belly every time she thought about him.

Since the day promised to be warm and Janelle had to be on TV again, she settled on a yellow sun dress. It stopped just above her knees and had spaghetti straps. She grabbed a pair of red flats, slipped them on before she headed to the bathroom to fix her hair and makeup.

Janelle reached for her contact case. “Sh*t!”

The woman watched one of her contacts pop out of the case. It rolled down the sink as she watched on in horror. Janelle could feel her blood pressure rising. Why this morning? She always wore her contacts at work, had for years. Even if they made her eyes itch and annoyed her to put them in, they’d been a necessary evil in her life.

Reluctantly, she reached into the medicine cabinet. The glasses on the top shelf stared back at her menacingly. Janelle sighed, slumped her shoulders as she grabbed them. She slipped the square frames on her face before she looked at herself in the mirror.

Janelle groaned. “I look like I’m back in middle school!”

Mulder meowed as he circled her ankles. Even his purring, which usually reassured her, didn’t help. She didn’t like the reflection staring back at her, not today.

“Don’t try to make me feel better,” she mumbled to Mulder. “I haven’t worn glasses in years.”

Janelle’s phone rang, making her jump. She walked out of the bathroom to the kitchen counter where it lay buzzing and ringing away. Looking at the number, she knew who it was instantly.

“Excuse me, but if I may ask. Where the hell are you?”

“I’m on my way Clark.”

“The other contestants are already here. We only have so long to shoot today. There’s a lot of editing to be-”

“I’m on my way!”

“Don’t get snippy with me girl. Hurry up!”

Janelle sighed as she hung up the phone. Bossy Clark as usual. The man loved his schedules. She wandered back into the bathroom. There was nothing that she could do about the glasses right now, they’d have to do.

Quickly, Janelle brushed out and flat ironed her black hair so that it was straight for once. She pushed a red flower into her hair when she was done. The woman kept her make up light, she didn’t want to look like some of the other women who seemed to put the entire makeup aisle on their faces. All it would do is irritate and frustrate her. When she was done, she leaned back to gaze at her reflection.

Janelle smiled. She looked different than her normal self. Usually, a swipe of lipstick, a bun and jeans and a tee were her usual wear. This was different and not bad. She could hear her phone ringing again. Janelle rolled her eyes.

Moving quicker now, she dumped her things into her bag before she grabbed her purse and car keys. The sun was already shining brilliantly when she stepped outside. It was enough to almost make her want to skip work and head to the park to daydream at the water. Her phone ringing for the third time that morning told her that wasn’t going to happen. Janelle knew for a fact that Clark would kill her. Besides, with as much work as they had to do, it would be impossible.

Janelle pulled up to the studio a little after ten. When she stepped inside, the contestants were already heading out to the stage. Clark waved her over quickly. He looked impeccable in a coal, gray suit, his blond hair neat, every strand in place.

“What took you so long?” He raised an eyebrow as he looked her up and down. “Never mind,” he said with a grin.

Janelle swatted at him. “Shut up!” She said between clenched teeth. “I’m still on TV, remember? I can’t exactly do the whole t-shirt and jeans thing.”

“Whatever you say,” Clark said with a grin.