Across the bed laid several dresses selected for the scheduled date later on this week. All of them had their own positives and negatives, but picking the right one was harder than she thought. Jasmine frowned as she glanced at the far end of the bed where a bright pink dress laid out. Purchased two years ago during a period when clubbing was a getaway, the dress number was a hit when it came to getting attention. The drawback, however, was the fact that it often brought about the wrong type. And thanks to a bit of weight gained over the last year, her once trim and fit backside turned into what her friend affectionately referred to as a 'bubble table'. Embarassing. That was a definite no. Without a nice coat, there was no way to hide it, either. The next outfit was a little more low-key, flattering without too much attention drawn to her physical attributes, but overall rather bland in comparison to the vibrant selections. If she wanted to make an impression dressing like a business executive was certainly not going to do her any favors.

“And today the city prepares itself for the arrival of Michael Jackson who is expected to arrive sometime later this evening by private jet.”

A sudden roar of cheering fans drown out the reporter for a second.

“As you can see out here, Tom, many of his fans are eagerly anticipating his arrival with a series of posters and Michael memorabilia in hopes of getting a signature from the King of P—“

No one cares, thought Jasmine as she flipped to the next station. Well, at least not her, for the moment. Such a distracting name and one that was turning rather viral thanks to the local news stations that were covering it. For the last few days it had been a nonstop update on that man’s state of affairs. As amazing as his music was growing up to, she couldn’t be bothered to hear for the umpteenth time about some celebrity’s expected visit. After a bit of surfing through stations, she settled on a network station rerunning a popular sitcom. Much better. Now to the dresses.

It was a tough choice but she had succeeded in narrowing it down between two dresses. This evening she would either don a simple black dress number with a bit of gold jewelry or a white gown. The question was determining which one would allow her to stand out in a crowd.

When he sees me, I want him to never forget.

. . .

“That snowstorm was quite the storm,” said Denice sourly. “Girl, I have my fridge stocked with food thinking it was going to be Alaska by tomorrow. Now what am I going to do?”

Jasmine laughed softly at her foolish friend, quick to believe the hype without looking out her window. “Eat it, obviously.”

Denice sucked her teeth at her friend but quickly joined her in that heartfelt laugh.

What was supposed to be a city wide shut down had instead turned into a bust. Roads salted for no reason, streets vaguely empty due to closings, and a plethora of angry citizens scattered the streets in attempt to make do with their free day off. For Jasmine, work had reversed its original decision to shut down and instead gave its employees the option to come in. Many had chosen to take advantage of the free day, but Jasmine had far too much on her mind to consider staying home again. For her, this was an easy way to speed the day along so that evening could get here sooner. She had plans, after all.

Seated outside at a trendy café, the pair was engrossed in conversation ranging from topics on the weather, work politics, and among other things that kept them entertained while waiting for the arrival of their food.

“So you still talking to that dude over the internet?” asked Denice rather suddenly, a brow parked high over the other as she took the moment to sip a bit of water from the glass. Jasmine knew that look all too well. Highly skeptical as usual.

“You mean Damien? Yeah, we’re still talking.” She paused. Tact was needed if she was to get through this part of the discussion without revealing all. “I mean there’s nothing wrong with talking to people on the internet, Denice.”

A roll of the eyes told her what she thought before a word could even be said. “Mmhmm.” Chimed her friend in that know-it-all fashion. It was the cue for a delightful earful she had heard many times before. “You better watch out. Just because you see those commercials where they’re all happy talking about how they found each other doesn’t mean that’s going to be you. Hell, you might end up on the news instead.”

“Don’t play like that,” scolded Jasmine as she looked away, a crippling fear she had placed in the back of her head ever since she sent the first email. There was always a chance of danger when it came to meeting strangers, but the same could be said for encounters at bars and other havens. It took some convincing for her to accept that life was worth taking chances, including with matters of the heart. Still, that fear lingered.

Feeling as though her words had made somewhat of an impact, Denice wasted no time in drilling to her point. “Look, I love you like a sister, but it’s been several months of this. You’ve never even met him yet.”

“That’s changing.” Shit.

“What do you mean by that?” Asked Denice, catching on immediately.

It was too late to back out now. “I’m just saying that it’s changing, that’s all.”

A pause fell and Jasmine turned now to drink from her water and avoid eye contact. As for Denice, her quick detective work by the reluctance to explain revealed everything.

“Oh no. No, no, hell no! … Don’t TELL me you’re going to meet this guy.”

Well that cat was out of the bag. “I didn’t tell you anything.” Jasmine fronted.

“But you’re also not denying it, either. Jasmine!”

“Denice?”

“What has gotten into you? Are you crazy? You can’t be making arrangements like that without taking proper precautions first.”

Jasmine groaned and looked to the time on her cell phone. Their food was taking too damn long. And where were the endless breadsticks when you needed to stuff someone’s mouth? “You assume too much over two words.”

“But that’s what you meant, right? You don’t meet some stranger off the internet! This that shit that make movies!” exclaimed Denice. “Remember that one movie where they go online and some scary shit come out or whatever it was—what’s that name … damn.”

Jasmine chuckled and slowly shook her head. “Look, if  it happens I promise I’ll give you a call. I’m not going to do anything stupid. I’m grown, Denice.”

“And stupid.” Denice retorted.

“But grown,” said Jasmine firmly. “Besides, if I can do blind dates then I don’t see the difference here.”

“Mhm. Alright. If you say so.” Murmured Denice.

Jasmine glanced at her phone again. Damn. It was cutting too close. Normally their food was done quicker than this. The glass of water was quickly drained before setting it on the table along with a few dollars. “Here, that will cover my meal. I need to get back to work!”

“You’re not eating?”

Jasmine sighed as she reached for her phone yet not without pausing to admire the alluring face that made up her wallpaper. “Obviously. I’ll grab a Snickers and call it a day.”

Denice frowned but couldn’t argue. When it came to Jasmine, she knew that her work took priority, even if it meant skipping lunch. “Alright girl. Give me a call when you get home today. And I mean when you get HOME.”

“Yeah, yeah. Take care!”

 . . .

It was a quick walk up the street back to her building. Back to work where the only thing to do for that evening was browse the web and snoop on the gossip spilled by co-workers. A crowd could be seen a ways ahead along with a ton of shouting. The Four Seasons Hotel was just a block from where she worked and normally teeming with some sort of activity. It was a popular hotel for celebrities and important political figureheads, but judging from the sheer size of the people present, one would think that royalty was on their way.

Royalty. A King.

Thanks to the repetitive reminder by the news, she remembered the recent hype over a certain celebrity who was supposedly in town for a while. While the chances were unlikely, it only seemed to make sense that a crowd this huge had to be here for someone like him. The streets were lined with various new station vans, cameramen, reporters, and just a wave of activity that literally clogged the street to the point that even traffic was slowing down just to see what the buzz was about. Curious if her assumptions were true, she began to weave through the crowds in hopes of getting a better look. Some were simply curious what the buzz was about while others seemed perfectly aware to the nature of what was going on.

Suddenly, a fleet of black vans rolled up to the front of the hotel. Like a hive of bees, the crowds began to stir and flock in anticipation. It was as if the city took a breath in unison and, for a split second, all was quiet.

“Oh my god, it’s him! It’s him!” Stammered a random woman in excitement. That was all she needed to hear to confirm her suspicions. Perfect timing. A reward to make up for her lack of lunch in the form of getting to see a world star celebrity. Even if the clock was ticking fast, this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. How often does one get the chance to say they’ve seen the King of Pop? Eager to get in on the action, Jasmine began to make her way through the loitering numbers in hopes of making it to the very front of the police barrier that sectioned the public away from the prized star. It took a bit of force and a lot of squeezing through tight ends, but her work paid off so that she was given a front row seat to the arrival of the pop star.

The vans were suddenly surrounded by a number of rather tall and overly bulky men garbed in suits. Bodyguards. They had to be. Judging from the way they scanned the perimeter and murmured into their microphones, it wasn’t hard to tell. As soon as the front doors opened to reveal a hand, the roar of fans hit her ears like a crash of a tsunami wave.

There he was, garbed in some elaborate ensemble with gold trimming and medals. His signature fedora sat atop his head along with a surgical mask he was so notoriously known for wearing. It was interesting seeing this all upfront. For years she had only seen the man on television, so the experience was certainly interesting. She watched as he began to make his way up the path that lead to the glass doors of the hotel. Waves were given, kisses blown, and the crowd ate it up while screaming for more. He stopped and took the moment to blow another kiss towards a small crowd seen in the far back waving signs. Seeing it on television was one thing, but being there firsthand made her realize just how big of a deal this man was.

“We love you, Michael!” cried his fans.

“I love you more!” he countered.

Jasmine watched from the back as he slowly paced himself up the ramp. Unlike other celebrities, who had often just hurried off, it was clear that he preferred to take his time and give the audience as much attention as possible before disappearing. It was oddly endearing to see firsthand, to say the least.

As he made his way up to the doors, their eyes suddenly met and locked in a titillating moment of acknowledgement. Her eyes widened at the contact to which he mimicked with the same regard. In the awkwardness of the extended moment, Jasmine quickly flashed a friendly smile and a nod in his direction in which he returned in kind. She watched as he was quickly hurried through the glass doors where another group of people eagerly greeted him.

What an encounter.

Probably the first and last time in her lifetime she would ever see the man in person, but the experience was certainly one to add to her list of celebrity sightings. This one ranking higher than that time she had attended a Ginuwine concert in her youth. With another glance at the watch on her smart phone, she quickly began to weave through the remaining crowds. The staff wouldn’t mind if she was a few minutes late. Besides, she had quite the story to share with them all that would surely detract away from her obvious tardiness.  

A glance was given to her phone wall paper. In a few hours, this man was going to be standing right before her. She had the dress picked out and the accessories waiting for her at home. Tonight was going to be perfect and simply couldn’t get here soon enough. Damn the fears instilled in her by Denice, she had to believe this was fate, as cheesy as that may have been to think. ‘I can’t wait to meet you,’ she thought to herself, then hurriedly skittered back to the office building.

Unbeknownst to her, that very celebrity watched as she departed from the other side of the doors.