A Match Made in Heaven

Janelle rolled her eyes before he pushed her towards the stage. The other women had settled down in their chairs and were chatting quietly before they brought Reece out. She could feel the nervous excitement run though the group. It was kind of fun, she had to admit.

“Let’s bring out our bachelor!” Clark was announcing, his brilliant smile shining.

Janelle could hear Reece taking a seat. Her heart starting thudding against her chest quickly. The woman bit her lip. Why was she having that reaction? She liked him sure, but it was just a crush. Right?

“Okay Reece. You can start asking these lovely ladies your questions!”

Unlike the first time, Janelle actually paid attention to what Reece was saying this time. His rich, deep voice made her want to shiver. When it was her turn, she could almost hear the smile on his lips.

“Tara, why don’t you tell me some of your hobbies?”

Janelle grinned. “I don’t have very many hobbies. I like to read. Staying healthy is kind of important to me so I like jogging. Mostly, I enjoy drawing. I’ve been doing that for a while, but I’ve never showed anyone.”

“Wow, really? What do you draw?”

“Just about everything I suppose. People are my favorite subjects though.”

“That’s really interesting,” Reece said.

“Okay, let’s move on to our next contestant,” Clark was saying.

Janelle couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. The longer the show went on, the more she realized just how much they had in common. They both liked the same kinds of food, the same movies, they loved the same cities. It was odd to be so compatible with someone.

In the back of her mind, Janelle wished that she could stay a little longer. She didn’t want to be off of the show so soon, not when it was so fun getting to know Reece. Still, she knew that it had to be done. It was her show after all. The more she was sitting on the stage, the less time she had to make sure that the show ran smoothly.

“Okay, Reece. You’ve gotten to talk to all of our contestants. Now, it’s time for you to tell us who you’ll be eliminating tonight?”

“Well,” Reece said slowly, “I had a good time, talking to all of you. There is one person who stands out in my mind so far. I’m going to have to say goodbye to Tara. Sorry Tara.”

Janelle nodded. “I enjoyed my time here,” she said with a smile.

The woman nodded as she waved and walked off of the stage. She had been expecting it, but it had still been unpleasant. The thought of him sitting up there, chatting with the other women was a little annoying, but it had to be done. She walked back towards her office.

Mya was already glancing at the tapes, making notes. She glanced up when Janelle walked in then returned to work. Quickly, the woman did a double take.

“Well, look at you,” Mya said with a grin.

“Don’t start,” Janelle said as she took a seat and picked up a headset. “Don’t even start.”

Mya grinned. “Fine. I won’t say anything.”

They worked in silence, but every once in a while she would catch Mya glancing at her. Janelle glared as she tried to work. They were driving her crazy. She knew that tomorrow she’d be back to her jeans and tees. Janelle wasn’t used to all of the attention and it was starting to irritate her.

“What do you think?” Mya asked as the filming finished up.

“It’s not bad. Get everyone back for these parts, here and here,” she said pointing. “The audio faded out for a minute. Can you check on that?”

“Sure thing. I’ll have everyone reset in ten?”

Janelle nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Janelle,” Clark said as he stuck his head inside of the door, “Reece wants to speak with you.”

“Okay. I’ll head there now. We’re resetting in ten.”

“Roger, Captain,” Clark said before he disappeared.

“I’ll be back,” Janelle called as she left out of the office.

The nervousness was back as she headed towards Reece’s dressing room. She knocked on the door lightly before his filtered ‘come in’ came through the door. Janelle pushed the door open and stepped inside. She paused.

Reece was standing there, without his shirt on. She felt her face get hot. The muscles that she’d suspected were beneath his clothes were enticing. He began to button up the new shirt quickly.

“Sorry about that. I thought I’d try this one. One of your interns said the other one was too dark.”

Janelle nodded dumbly. “Yeah, you look good. It! It looks good. I like the…shirt,” she cleared her throat. “You wanted to talk to me?”

Reece was grinning. “Yeah. I wanted to know if you would maybe want to get together. Catch dinner? I feel like I owe you something nice after having to eliminate you.”

She laughed. “Oh, really now?” Janelle shook her head. “Well, I wish I could. I don’t really have the funds at the moment…,” she said slowly.

“That’s okay. I don’t want to pressure you.”

“If you want though,” she said, pushing herself to speak up, “we could order take in, sit on my couch and watch TV with Mulder.”

Reece’s grin spread. “That sounds good.”

“Good. I’ll see you tonight. Oh, here’s my address, I should probably give you that,” she mumbled as she pulled a piece of paper out and began to scribble it down. When she was done, she handed it to him, that old nervousness back once again.

He gazed at the paper for a minute. “Is eight okay?”

She smiled. “Eight is fine.”

“Can I bring anything?”

“Wine would not be turned down,” she said with a laugh. “Oh, I have to get back to work. We’re resetting in ten, well seven now. Okay?”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you out there.”

Janelle couldn’t seem to stop the grin that had taken up permanent residence on her lips. She stepped out of his dressing room before she closed the door behind herself. Janelle shook her head. She didn’t know what she was thinking, but it had almost been an impulse to invite him over. She was glad that she had.