Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Tatiana skated toward me in an empty arena, slept naked against my chest, and kissed me while we walked in a private park. In other shots, we swam naked in a hotel pool, laughed in a rainstorm, and sipped slushies at an off-road 7-Eleven.
When I reached the worst part of the album, my bottle of bourbon was empty.
There were screenshots of two text messages that still set my heart aflame to this day.
Text from Tati (Mine):
I’m so sorry for hanging up on you earlier, but I can’t handle this relationship anymore & I’d appreciate it if you never called me again.
Text from Tati (Mine):
Wait…I don’t think I’ll ever be able to 100% repay you for that special thing you did for me, but I meant what I said that night we were together in Tacoma. If you ever need a big favor in the future—even if we’re eighty years old—I’ll do it without question. It’ll never be too late to redeem.
I flipped past those images and continued scrolling through our memories.
It was four o’clock in the morning by the time I finished.
Scrolling down to Tatiana’s number, I hit call.
It went straight to voicemail.
“You’ve reached Tatiana Brave.” Her voicemail sounded. “Please leave your message at the sound of the beep!”
I hung up and considered calling her from my security guard’s phone.
Assuming that she wouldn’t answer that either, I called her again.
“You’ve reached Tatiana Brave. Please leave your message at the sound of the beep!”
Beep!
“Tatiana, it’s currently four o’clock in the morning, and I can’t sleep because I’m drunk and wide-awake thinking about you.”
“How I was almost yours, and you were almost mine.”
“My life is currently in shambles, and my entire fighting career is hanging in the balance. So, I have to make some huge changes.”
“Since you still owe me that favor from years ago, I need to cash it in now.”
“I need you to pretend to be my fiancée for ninety days.”
“Just ninety days.”
“We don’t have to talk behind closed doors, and we don’t have to try to be friends again. We don’t even have to kiss—even though I can guarantee no man has ever kissed you better…”
“I can promise that we won’t touch either. Although the last time we ran into each other, you looked like you wanted me all over again. Don’t deny it.”
“Anyway, I’m just cashing in that delayed ‘I.O.U.’ that you swore would ‘never be too late to redeem.’”
“I’m not asking for much. I just want you to pretend it’s real, for me.”
I ended the call, but then I called right back and left another message.
“It’s me again, Tatiana,” I said. “As you know, I’m not big on waiting, so you have until Monday to give me an answer.”
EIGHT
PRESENT DAY
TATIANA
Monday
Manhattan, New York
“We’ve already given you an extra sixty days of leniency, Miss Brave.” Someone who hated their job at the internet company groaned over the line. “That’s far past our usual policy and way more generous than we’ve been with anyone else.”
“Please.” I begged. “I just need a little more time. I can put fifty dollars on the bill sometime this weekend, and seventy on it sometime next week.”
“And if you continue paying at that rate, you’ll get your internet back in three months,” he said. “Anything else I can do for you?”
“Times are really hard for me, and I’m trying to pay as much as I can.”
“Ma’am, I get paid twelve dollars an hour. I don’t get paid enough to care.”
“Ughhhh!” I screamed as I ended the call.
Picking up the electric bill, I dialed the number and braced myself for another unsympathetic employee.
“Thank you for calling New York Lights,” a robotic voice answered. “We are currently experiencing a high call volume, but we appreciate your business. Please hold.”
A loud knock sounded at my door, so I placed the call on speaker.
“One second, Miss Lewis!” I grabbed the twenty dollars I’d borrowed last week and rushed to the door.
When I swung it open, I didn’t see my neighbor.
It was Travis.
Standing under an umbrella with his jaw clenched, he was wearing a dark grey hoodie and jeans. Instead of the devilish smile he’d worn in my fantasy last night, he looked pissed as hell.
“Your sister doesn’t live here,” I said. “Would you like her address?”
“I didn’t fly here for my sister.” He looked me over, and my nipples hardened under his gaze.
“Well, whatever you flew here for,” I said, crossing my arms, “is not in my apartment, so…” I started shutting the door, but he wedged his foot between the frame and pressed his hand on the knob.
“Your line doesn’t ring when I call,” he said. “Is my number still blocked?”
“I’m sure you’re not surprised.”
“Not in the slightest,” he said. “I left you a voicemail a few days ago, though. I’m waiting for an answer.”
“You and everyone else.”
“What does that mean?”