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)
I keep every person in my life at a distance to protect myself. I don’t want to get hurt if they decide to change personalities on me like he has or if they unexpectedly pass away like my mom. My skating career brings enough pain and stress to my heart, and I’m not a masochist.
“Tell me.” Travis kisses my forehead.
“I don’t think I’m in a good place for a relationship right now,” I say. “I’m going through a lot and you are too. Your sister recently lost both of her parents.”
“They were my parents, too.”
“I can only imagine that level of pain since I’ve only lost my mom, but Penelope still cries in her sleep,” I say, leaving out the part when I overheard her last night and couldn’t help but hug her until she stopped. “I mean, that’s what it seems like from afar, and you should be there for her.”
“What are you trying to say, Tatiana?”
“A lot.”
He stares at me, confused.
“You shouldn’t be dating,” I say. “Neither of us should be and there’s more important things in life, so…” I can’t think of a good way to wrap up this line of thought, so I stop talking.
“I’m in a shit ton of pain,” he says. “And I’m there for Penelope in the best and only way that I can be right now. As far as ‘more important things in life, the only thing that makes me feel like my life is worth living is standing right in front of me, threatening to take it all away.”
“Travis—”
“For no fucking reason.” He stamps his mouth over mine and kisses me, making me regret ever suggesting that we end this. When he finally pulls away, he whispers, “Are your dad and Elaine doing something reckless again?”
I nod.
“Do you want me to handle it with my fists?”
“No, Travis.” I smile.
“In that case, I’ll handle you with my mouth later, but can you please tell me what happened without threatening to break up with me?”
He doesn’t give me a chance to answer. Instead, he kisses me again, a lot softer this time, until all my tears have dried.
—
THE SNARKY GLOVE
#1 UFC & MMA GOSSIP SOURCE FOR FANGIRLS
Dearest Fans,
It’s official.
Travis Carter is (GASP) a married man!
According to our sources, he and former figure-skating champion Tatiana Brave eloped this weekend outside of Vegas.
Our most dedicated fangirls will undoubtedly recognize this woman as his youngest sister’s fiercest & most-hated competitor on the ice, so we have to assume that time has thawed relations between those two.
We’re also beginning to wonder if perhaps Travis and Tatiana knew each other intimately before…
What’s the likelihood of this? Is anyone else curious enough to look into it?
Alas, as much as we hate to admit it, his wife is a fucking vision & we are seething with envy.
We’re committed to watching their relationship like hawks.
Stay tuned for more news & updates,
The Snarky Glove
EIGHTEEN
THREE DAYS AFTER SAYING “I DO”
TRAVIS
Humble City Fitness
Las Vegas, Nevada
I decided to write a coping guide on being married to the sexiest woman on the planet, for any other man who found himself resorting to cold showers and nights alone.
Step one. Accept that you’ll have a rock-hard dick that’s absolutely useless whenever you see her.
Step two. Avoid looking at her sexy-ass mouth, especially when she spews her special brand of sarcasm that turns you on.
Step three. Stay out of your house—your.own.goddamn.house.—to avoid seeing her as much as possible.
Step four. Repeat.
It was day three of this torture-fest, and I was running on a treadmill, miles away from my condo and Tatiana’s mouth.
I was determined to spend any free time in my secondary gym whenever I wasn’t training for my rematch.
When I reached mile ten, I stepped off the machine and grabbed a towel. I walked downstairs to the resistance area, admiring the floor-to-ceiling “No Excuses” mural my superfans painted last year.
As I was wiping down a bench, Penelope requested a video chat.
“Yeah?” I answered.
“I want a reason, and I want it now.”
“I’m in the middle of a workout session, Crown,” I said. “I’ll have to call you back about whatever this is later.”
I hung up before she could say another word.
Seconds later, her signature ringtone sounded again.
“Penelope,” I answered, waiting for her face to appear onscreen, “I told you that—”
“Tatiana hasn’t answered my texts or returned my calls since you got married,” she interrupted. “What have you done to her?”
“I haven’t done anything with her.” Unfortunately.
“Well, when was the last time you saw her?”
“It hasn’t been that long.” I shrugged. “Two and a half days ago.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “How is that even possible, Travis?”
“Because I don’t see a need to torture—” I caught myself. “There’s no need to see her outside of our schedule. I’m sure she’s fine.”
“It’s unlike her to ghost me.” She frowned. “So, either you’ve done something terrible and she’s mulling it over alone because she doesn’t want to make things awkward by bringing it up with me, or…No, you’ve definitely done something.”