Spiral Bound Journal

The View of Relationships

"So...you finally decided to come clean about it."

Dana nodded and set her tea mug on the slate tabletop. "Yeah, we did. Dating while famous kinda sucks."

"I suppose there is that," Gus considered. "I met Fiona so long ago that there were lots of people back in England who had no idea of my existence."

"Meanwhile, even though I haven't been in as many high profile events I am still a public figure, I have to be careful. And boy, do some photographers bitch about the influx of celebrities getting photography gigs between Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Junior, and what not. God, is it annoying."

At that, Gus arched an eyebrow. "Really? I had no idea."

"Admittedly, you have to be a pretty big photography nerd to have knowledge of this. Or get fed photography-stuff through algorithms and all that. Anyway, so yeah, I'm a public figure. Morgan's a public figure. We needed that year out of the spotlight to make sure we had what it takes to make this work."

"How does Quinn feel about this relationship?"

Dana gave her friend a soft grin. "That's another thing. Morgan and Quinn have had a couple years to get to know each other before Morgan and I started dating. By the time that actually happened, the guys were on good terms with each other, even if they didn't consider themselves best buds. It's cordial, and Quinn trusts that Morgan will treat me with respect."

"Now that makes sense, easing into it like that. I only met Quinn once, and he struck me as almost shy, really."

"He kind of is," Dana conceded. "For him, though, it can be a struggle to find the right words for his thoughts. I ended up giving up that ghost a while ago."

Gus laughed, slapping his thigh in the process. "I guess being in your position you ended up having no other choice."

"Well," Dana replied, "I'd say it started well before that, but by the time I got thrust into the spotlight I had enough experience just getting out there and talking that I could almost handle the press."

"Key word almost."

"True story."

With that, Dana picked up her mug and sipped some more of the mint blend the café had available. She glanced out the window, watching the moseying pace of pedestrians along State Street. A young couple —both with deep brown hair— passed the window near where she and Gus were seated. On any other day, Dana figured that she and Morgan would be partaking in similar strolls on a Sunday. It would more likely be a Sunday afternoon to account for Morgan going to church, but that was okay with her. It gave her time to get other things done. On this Sunday after VidCon, though, such a Sunday was spent away from Morgan and catching up with Gus. Dana figured Morgan was hanging out with HarHar or some of the newer commentary YouTubers that joined the Chicago lineup this year. To Dana's surprise, this space just south of Uptown provided enough anonymity for both her and Gus, a real relief for both of them.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Gus asked.

Dana snorted. "In this economy? Those start at five bucks, although I could be a bit of a dick and make it five pounds."

"Would you give Matthew a discount?"

"Maybe," Dana sighed. "I must admit seeing his reaction almost made me regret going public. Not gonna lie after spotting his crestfallen face from across the room when I walked in with Morgan? That haunted me. I'm surprised I'm not wildly hung over today given that I probably drank a bit more than I should have."

Gus rested his hands on the table. "I admit I wasn't expecting to hear you say that. More to the point, I wasn't expecting to hear what you're not saying."

Dana furrowed her eyebrows and cocked her head.

"You know what I'm talking about here."

"That last sentence was weirdly worded."

"No dodging me here. I can tell you wish that there was more room in your life to have Matthew around as well."

Dana sighed. "That's not something I want to discuss in public."

"You don't need to, not with me. I've already started to piece it together. Plus Fiona was keeping an eye out in your general direction throughout the party." "

Gus took a long draw of his black coffee before continuing.

"She noticed that when Morgan was talking you occasionally checked out and looked over at Matthew's table. And she also spotted you and Matthew chatting a bit during the dessert hour. While I don't necessarily think you'll have a lot to worry about on that front, I'd still be careful. Compared to this time two years ago, I've seen you wear your heart on your sleeve more."

"Yeah, I don't like that," Dana mumbled.

"I bet not. You know, that sounds very, very British."

"It does, but I guess things shift around when you start dating a part Cuban guy."

That got a chuckle out of Gus. "I bet. From what I can tell, they tend to be a rather expressive lot."

"Oh, they are. When I lived in Miami, sometimes I'd just stand there when with my coworkers and attempt to keep up with the conversation because there was no way in hell I was getting a word in edgewise."

"Ha!"

"And that's just when they were talking in English. When they switched to Spanish, that was when I'd go use the bathroom or something. In hindsight, that might not have been the best idea, as now I have even less of a clue how to pay attention to Cuban Spanish, but oh well."

"Yes, I've heard Cuban Spanish is a ridiculously hard dialect to grasp."

"You are correct. Even Cubans themselves know this and actively tell people to learn Spanish from people who speak other dialects."

"Note to self...."

Dana giggled. "In any case, yeah, maybe some of that candor and expressiveness has rubbed off on me."

Gus snorted into his coffee mug as he attempted to take another sip.

"Not in that way," Dana mock chastised her friend. "Moving along! Anyway, so yeah, I guess I need to be careful. It looks like I have yet another year of returning home from VidCon with more intense conversations to be had."

"Sounds like it. You always seem to have some sort of intrigue or personal dilemma in the wake of this event."

"I sure do. One day it won't be so easy for me to stumble down these types of rabbit holes. I suspect, though, that it will be a while before that happens."