Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 148962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
On Tuesday, I video call Eros, and he makes me read him my favorite spicy scene from this week’s book. On Wednesday, I find another gift waiting for me in my cubby—a pink Swarovski teddy bear necklace. I saved it to my Pinterest board a while ago, so I guess he found that too.
By Thursday, I’m counting down the minutes until Friday, but I can’t shake the anxious feeling in my chest.
What if he bails after I tell him the brutally honest truth?
The thought of never hearing from him again triggers definitely-not-as-casual-as-it-should-be feelings. I’ve become so used to talking to him every day, the idea of going without makes me feel lonely.
But it shouldn’t.
Shoving those worries aside, I distract myself by video calling him. It takes him a minute to answer, and when he does, I can see that he’s walking somewhere. Tonight, he’s wearing the balaclava.
“Do you carry that mask with you all the time?” I ask.
“Never know when I might need it.” A hint of humor slips through the altered voice.
“Are you busy?”
“No.”
“Want to watch a movie?”
He glances at the screen, and I rush out an explanation before he turns me down. “There’s an app we can use to watch it together.”
“What movie?” he asks.
“I was thinking…the original Scream? Halloween is coming up, and I usually do a horror movie marathon.”
“Send me the invite,” he says.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to if you have things to do—”
“Gabriela, I wouldn’t have told you yes if I didn’t want to. Now stop being apologetic and send me the invite.”
“Okay.” I offer him a small smile. “Talk to you in a minute?”
He nods, and I disconnect the call. A few minutes later, we’re all set up and ready to go. I pull the big, fluffy comforter around Beppe and me and hide under the covers as the movie starts.
To my surprise, Eros actually seems into it, offering his strange commentary like, “that’s not how people bleed out” or “those are theater wounds.” I tell him I’m not sure I want to know how he knows that, and he laughs.
It’s weirdly comfortable, but also empty.
“What’s the matter?” he asks.
I didn’t realize I’d sighed so loudly.
“Nothing. I was just thinking it would be so much better if you were here.”
There’s a pause, and then his voice, but not where it should be.
“Yeah?”
I nearly jump ten feet in the air when he pulls the covers off my head, and I stare back at him with wide eyes.
“Oh my god.” I clap a hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing too loudly. “You could have given me a little warning.”
“Maybe I just like to hear you scream.”
I bite back a smile as my eyes roam over his body. It’s crazy what a difference a few days can make. I feel desperate to have him close right now.
“Are you going to stay a while?”
In response, he reaches down, unlaces his boots, and climbs into the bed behind me. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he tugs me back against his warmth, tucking my head beneath his chin.
“We still have five more movies in the franchise to watch,” he says. “If you really want a marathon.”
“Sounds like an all-nighter.” I close my eyes and let out a contented little sigh. “That will be perfect since we both have tomorrow off.”
He nods, but doesn’t answer, which makes me wonder if he even knew about the Faculty Development Day. He’d only know if he was really a student.
Regardless, I don’t care right now. An entire night of watching horror movies with him pressed against me won’t be a hardship.
As it turns out, we only make it through two before I notice the time on the phone.
“Hey, it’s after midnight,” I tell him. “It’s officially Friday.”
“You have your three reasons?” he murmurs.
I bite my lip and nod.
“Let’s hear them then.”
A note of tension edges his voice, and it gives me the impression he’s dreading what I might say. That only adds to the pressure. But he asked me to be honest, so that’s what I’ll do. All I can hope is that the truth doesn’t scare him off.
“Okay, here we go.” I blow out a breath. “The first thing you should know is I’m bound to an arranged marriage, which will happen after I graduate. I don’t love him, and he isn’t who I would have chosen for myself, but I can’t change it. I want the time that I have left to be with someone I choose. I realize that might be too messy, so I understand if you don’t want to get involved.”
His arm tightens around me, and it feels almost…protective.
“And the other two reasons?” he asks.
I swallow hard, knowing we survived the first part, but I’m not sure about the second.
“You said you thought you were a placeholder for someone else. The truth is, I’ve had my heart broken before, and it was brutal. It took me years to get to a point where I finally accepted that loss. I won’t lie to you and say I’m over it. Honestly, I’m not sure I ever will be. But I also know that he and I will never be together. Things are complicated with him, but they are final. Something happened, and now he hates me.”