Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
A hand rubs my arm. I gasp as I look to my right. Kylie is there.
“That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about.” She bats her eyelashes innocently, but her eyes tell it all. She knew about this.
“Kylie, what in the hell is this?” I point at the large poster.
“That’s Doomsday, sweetie,” she responds. She turns me in her direction, gripping my shoulders.
My drink sloshes all over the floor, running over my fingers. I turn my head to look at him again. God, it’s been so long since I saw him.
Kylie grabs my chin and forces my eyes back on hers. “Babe, listen. When Oscar told me about the MMA fight for a ‘friend’, he actually meant Drake. I knew you’d see the poster somehow while you were here. I just… didn’t know how to tell you.”
“He’s here?” I ask, breathlessly.
“Yes. Here in the city somewhere.”
“Oh my goodness.”
“Look—don’t worry, okay. I doubt you’ll even get the chance to run into him like that. He’s so busy now—so popular. The crowds will be all over him. It will be crazy.”
“He doesn’t know I’m here, does he?”
“I don’t know.”
“He doesn’t need to know.” I look at the poster again. “Are you going to the fight?”
“I have tickets.” She smiles warily. “Oscar got us front row.”
“Us?” I frown and back away. “No, Kylie. Hell, no. I am not going to that fight.”
“I told him you wouldn’t, but he got one for you anyway.” She pauses, drawing in a deep breath. “Look, why not, you know? I thought about it and I’m sure he’d like to see you after so many years.”
“That doesn’t matter. I don’t want to see him!”
Her eyebrow quirks up and she folds her arms. “You are such a terrible liar, you know that?”
I shake my head, swallowing hard. I bring my drink up to my lips and finish it off, slamming the empty glass down on a nearby table. Then I step away and walk around her.
“I’ve gotta go. Shane is waiting.” It’s now that I realize my hands are trembling.
“Wait—what?” She catches up with me. “Jen, think about this! It’s your chance to make things right with him again. Make them better. Every time we see each other you are wondering about something that involves him. Why not get answers for yourself? You don’t even hate him, you just want to. You can pretend you do, but I know you don’t.”
“No—Kylie. No. I don’t want to see him! Why would I want to, after what he did to me? And especially now when he’s obviously become some big shot? He might have changed—he’s probably worse now.”
“Oscar says he hasn’t changed a bit—at least not in a bad way. And that he mentions you often.”
“I doubt that.” But I can’t help but feel my heart skip a beat when she says that. Is it true? Does he talk about me? Does he miss me?
“He’s not over you. You know it.”
“Well he should have proved that to me the day he decided to stand me up.”
Kylie narrows her eyes. “You really think he wanted to do that to you?” She exhales. “Life probably just got in the way, Jen. You never know.”
“I don’t care,” I mumble.
She shrugs. “Something tells me if you go to this fight, and Oscar can get us to the back to see Drake, he will explain everything when he sees you. You never gave him the chance, Jenny. He called, Oscar told me. He called and texted you so many times, but you didn’t respond.”
“Because I changed my number. You know this.”
“Right. And you also removed yourself from all forms of social media. It’s like you disappeared off the face of the earth for a while. How was he ever supposed to reach out to you, especially when you told me not to give him your information? I stayed true to my word and to you, but things are different now, Jen. We aren’t eighteen anymore.”
“I had to do that.” I look down at my feet.
“I know.” She gives me a sympathetic smile. “Look. Ditch Shane and come with me to the fight. I think you two should talk things out. Clear the air, like Oscar and I did. We are on better terms now. We’re taking things slowly and it’s nice to be reacquainted with him again.”
She smiles gently, with a sparkle in her eyes. One that makes my stomach twist in knots.
“You don’t understand.” I step towards her. “At least Oscar had the balls to end it with you the right way. Drake left me, Kylie. He stood me up on that bridge that night. He made me feel like a fool.”
“You say that all time, but you act like it didn’t hurt him just as much as it did you. Look where he is now!” She points at the poster. “You think he got here overnight? Something tells me that him getting into MMA had something to do with why he left—and why he couldn’t meet you that night!”