Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 147734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
31
VAUGHN
Yulian, answer my calls.
Where are you staying? I’ll come meet you.
Listen, I know you’re upset by what I said, but it’s the truth of where we are. We can’t change our identities, and we can’t live openly in the public eye. Even you must know that we have to be careful. But understand this—I love being with you. It’s not only about sex, and you’re not just a casual fling to me.
I care about you, Yulian, okay? I care about you a lot.
I want to go back to the house, where it’s only the two of us. I’ll take a few days off during the week and make up for my absence this weekend. How does that sound?
Is it so bad to just have each other without the outside world interfering in what we have?
He ignored me.
Didn’t even read my texts.
It’s the following day, and he still hasn’t picked up my calls. His phone goes straight to voicemail, so maybe he’s on a flight back to the island.
I pace the length of my childhood room after a sleepless, restless night. I’d rather be in my own place, but Mom insisted I stay.
Insisted, as in she and Dad barely took their eyes off me after that sudden meeting with Yulian. I tried to act composed, but undoing my bow tie and checking my phone every two minutes for his name didn’t exactly help. Their suspicions only grew, which is why I’m here now—tucked under their watchful wings, where they think I’m safer.
And it’s all because Yulian decided to crash the party.
Honestly, I should’ve suspected that he might show up, but then again, he’s so unpredictable sometimes, I don’t know what the hell to expect.
But I don’t like the silence. It’s not like him.
I’d rather he’s upset with me while talking to me instead of this complete withdrawal.
Stopping in the middle of the room, I text Gareth, as himself. He called me for help the other time, shattering the illusion between real-life Gareth and the Reddit one. And now, we just talk normally, as friends, and I need a friend right now.
I complained to him once about how Yulian draws attention like a magnet. People hit on him even when he’s in a damn helmet.
Gareth called him a fuckboy and said that I deserve better.
But that’s not true. Yulian’s been loyal since the moment this started. He never flirts back—though he does smile, and I hate that.
Those smiles are mine.
What? I don’t share.
Me
I think I messed up.
Gaz
Tell me more.
Yulian crashed a gallery opening I attended with my parents in NYC just because I’m taking a weekend off, then demanded I say I have feelings for him, and when I pointed out this situationship is temporary, he got mad and left. Now, he won’t answer my calls or texts.
Yikes. Looks like he’s not a puppy now.
Gaz…
What? You’re the one who said he follows you around like a puppy. You took that for granted, my man.
What do you mean?
It’s obvious he’s always liked you more. He chased more, let you get away with more, probably waiting for you to catch up, and when you didn’t, well, maybe he got fed up.
He can’t be fed up.
Totes can.
So what now? It’s over?
I don’t know. Do you want it to be over?
Of course not.
Then you have to compromise. He probably wants you to be all in.
How do you know that?
I’m smart. Besides, it’s kind of obvious. You always seemed to have a foot out the door, ready to bolt if things got too complicated.
It’s not that. I just don’t want to put either of us at a disadvantage or in danger.
Well, that ship has sailed. If you feel you’re at a disadvantage or in danger, walk away.
I can’t just walk away.
Aw, is our baby Vaughn in love?
I’m not in love.
Bro, you’ve been fixated on this guy for months. You bought a beach house just for privacy, fly out every weekend to see him, even picked up riding motorcycles—something so not you—just for the thrill of being with him. Not to mention that most of your conversations center around him. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is. But hey, take your time. Took me forever to admit the heart palpitations I get around Kayden aren’t about wanting to strangle him—they’re about loving him, too much for my own good.
I’m staring at Gareth’s texts when a knock sounds on the door.
“Come in,” I say, pocketing my phone.
Lidya’s shock of purple hair slips past the doorframe before she barges in. She’s smaller than me but built with muscles that make her presence impossible to ignore. Vest, pressed pants, restless energy. She’s always been like this—fun, reckless, a proud tomboy to the core.
She’s entirely different than me. Ever since we were kids, I’d be reading quietly while she’d be testing gravity. She definitely loves sparring and boxing more than I do.