RT and an undercover hottie

Hookay, so I'm back from RT and shoot do I have some stories. LOLLOL. However, being the nice author I am, I'll keep them to myself :)

I'm kidding. I didn't witness anything scandalous. I thought of a couple of scandalous things, though.

I'd have to say the highlight of RT this year was a cover model by the name of Sean Rao. Not because he was a hottie--I didn't think he was at first, but I soon learned differently.

OY.

I got to know ALL of the cover models. I needed to reassure myself they were well fed and cared for. The mother in me just couldn't allow otherwise. They were ALL nice guys. I want to say that upfront so if they ever encounter my blog, they know I loved them in my individual ways.

So, Sean...

Sean is part of the Renaissance festival in Kansas City and he was asked to compete as part of his appearance as Robin Hood in said festival.

I did much teasing and in general torturing the cover boys, so Sean wasn't immune to my wicked ways. Physically, he was the least buff of the bunch. He's lean and tall, but he has the most lucious long, dark hair. It was the envy of every woman there. He had an accent that we all thought was real and turned out to be what he used as part of the festival.

I played with the cover boys as I'm want to do, simply because having a sense of humor is crucial for me in my cover models. Oh, and I wanted pics with them. LMAO I'm not much for groping or coppin' a feel, so I demanded they give me their best cover model pose. They all complied, as did Sean, but in the most of gallant of ways. He sat me on his knee while he kneeled on the floor and took my hand...

Now I suppose most would swoon. All the girls were abuzz about him, but I wasn't yet convinced. I'm a skeptic and I ain't easy. Day two I saw him at the masquerade ball and from across the room I gave him the Dakota "sultry/smoldering" look. An exagerated Marilyn Monroe thing, ya know? Sean gave as good as I did and smoldered back. LOL. I remember thinking, this guy can play and that's all good by me. The other cover models played with me too and were always respectful, but Sean was just different. He came across the room to talk to me and I listened to his accent and asked him where he was from and he replied, "Kansas City." LOLLOL That's when he told me about the festival and his role in it.

Anyway, during our conversation I found that Sean was not only articulate, but also unaffected by the competition itself. He wasn't working me, nor was he overly flirty. My admiration grew, but I'm not an easy sell.

The next night, the night before the competition and AFTER the voting Sean came and sat with myself and some friends. One of the girls had called him over and he very nicely obliged. This particular night was when I decided Sean should be cloned and sold factory production like. LOL

Sean sat with us, but he didn't talk much about "him". He talked "with" us about life, the world at large and his lovely wife. My respect grew as did a niggle of , "Damn, this guy is sorta hot." Sean spent four solid hours with us. We didn't toddle off to bed until four in the A.M. There were times when we had him laughing so hard he was in tears. He had US laughing so hard we were in tears, but I went to sleep that night feeling like I'd just had one of the single best conversations I'd had at RT. He wasn't at all concerned that he would be tired for the competition, nor did he much seem to care that someone else might win. He spoke highly of his other competitors and when asked how he felt about all of these women fondling him he replied, "It's all in good fun and everyone has been really nice." We told Sean that we were the "safe" broads at the con and he could trust that no one in our circle would attempt to ravish/savage/ride him to victory. Though I'd suspect several of us would have loved the op were he single.

We girls decided that Sean should win the cover model thing at ALL costs and if we could, we'd see it happen. Hell, we were going to make it happen :) Cuz now he was our MAN.

The day of the competition we headed to that damn pageant like the force of reckoning we were. We lined up in rows of chairs and when the poor man came out on stage, all he had to do was breathe and we roared--did the wave--practically lit lighters in his honor.

When Sean had to do the pose-off, we cheered and the echo can still be heard if you listen closely.

And then, they announced the winners...Sean didn't win the competition with the judges. We chicks were unaware that it wasn't the readers who got to choose, but a panel of some RT folk. However, we women know what other women want, cuz Sean kicked ass and won the readers choice for hottie of 2005. I'm not sure people didn't leave deaf when we were done roaring and screaming. We left there like proud mothers of a young man who'd like won the Superbowl! We're all about the kill, baby :)

That night, as exhausted as we all were, we again convened in the bar (go figure) and Sean came and found us. He hugged us and kissed us all and thanked us for the support and again, he sat with us--this time until six in the morning...

As the night wore on and it was just myself, Sean and an editor from Triskelion, I sorta fell a bit in serious like/love with this guy. He sat next to me and each time he smiled at a joke we told, or told us one, my heart went pitter-pat. My heart only skips a beat when I think I've like lost my debit card. NEVER over a man...

Maybe it's because he's married and that's a safe thing for this girl. I'm not into messin' with anyone else's booty and he's got a fabulous wife that we kinda feel we know now via Sean and as a result, adore and respect. Sean became more appealing because he's a genuine guy and he loves his wife and that was so clear to us. I fell in love with the kind of man I now know still exists--because despite MUCH temptation during the week, Sean never once was innapropriate with ANYONE, but he was personable without coming on too strong. There is nothing smarmy about this guy. His abs weren't made of copper, let alone steel. He didn't have a bottled tan and he didn't give a crap. While the other guys pumped up before the competition, he said he sat in a chair and watched them with a soda. LMAO

Hear this author heave a BIG sigh over his "real-ness". I gotta tell ya, if there were two of him, I'd whack someone over the head with my FMP's to have him. If a marriage and six years didn't separate us, I'd have made those chicks at the con bleed before I was done chasing him down. LMAO

I'm only sort of kidding on the above because men like Sean are so rare they're almost extinct. If I hook up in this lifetime for serious ever again, I'd like to meet a man who has some of the qualities that Sean does. I fell in like/love with what Sean represents :)

No, I didn't think Sean was smokin' when I first met him. I didn't even think he was smokin' until I went to bed at six that morning and I realized that he genuinely liked us. Liked people overall, because he spent time with us when all was said and done and the competition was over. When no other cover model could be found...

Yep. I know when you guys pick up a romance novel you're not thinking about personality personified. You're thinking rippled abs and biceps to rival bowling balls. I am too, but if personality were what drew you to the cover--Sean would suck you in like a moth to a flame and he'd do it without even knowing he did.

I hope Sean keeps in touch with us and I hope we get to meet his lovely wife too. Cuz he's given me a new perspective on men who are married and faithful and can be trusted to behave like gentelman.

They DO exist and I for one am ever grateful for the knowing.

Dakota :)