Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“I think it’s awesome,” Nora praises, as if I need some positive affirmation over my choices. Because if left up to Tacker, he’d probably shame me out of seeing her by convincing me doing so would make me lose some inherent part of myself.
I sip at my beer while Tacker gets control of himself. “So… there’s an interesting thing about Clarke.”
“What’s that?” Nora asks brightly, perhaps cutting off any potential snide remarks from Tacker.
“She had something really humiliating happen to her a few years back,” I say hesitantly, not wanting to betray her confidence.
Except it’s not exactly a betrayal or a secret, because everyone in the world apparently knows about what happened to her.
Or at least the millions who watched the show and the subsequent masses who used that horrid meme, which I’d googled. It burns me the fuck up, and I can barely look at it anymore.
But I’d really love their advice, and there aren’t any others I’d trust more to keep this in confidence.
“So, there was a reality TV show called Celebrity Proposal—”
“I know that show,” Nora interjects. “I watched it for a few seasons.”
Now I’m the one in shock. I never would have thought she would be into reality TV. But I shake my head and continue. “She was a contestant on the show, and—”
“Oh my God,” Nora exclaims in horror, her face immediately morphing into sympathy. “I thought Clarke looked familiar when you first introduced us, but I couldn’t place it.”
I grimace, realizing Nora knows exactly what I’m talking about. Her expression confirms it was even worse than I suspected.
“That’s why I refused to watch that show again,” Nora says quietly. “I couldn’t stomach what they did to her. The producers really played it up as if she were such a lost cause and someone to be pitied. And then what that guy did—”
“What the fuck are you two talking about?” Tacker growls, feeding into the distress in Nora’s tone. He’s not laughing anymore. He understands that whatever we’re talking about isn’t a laughing matter.
Nora turns in her chair to face Tacker, explaining the premise of the show. I can see by the distaste in his expression that he thinks it’s as idiotic as I do.
“Anyway,” she explains. “Clarke was a contestant, and she made it all the way to near the end.”
“Final four,” I supply. “And that’s when they have these overnight dates, and she got intimate with the guy.”
“Ugh,” Nora exclaims in solidarity with Clarke. “That guy was such a dick. A horrible human being.”
“What did he do?” Tacker asks.
“After their… um… night together,” I continue, my stomach tightening even thinking about Clarke giving up her precious innocence to that freak. “He cut her from the show.”
Tacker frowns.
“That’s not the bad part,” I say. “He went on a drunken video rant afterward about how awful she was. She was a virgin—”
“What in the crazy fuck shit is that?” Tacker snarls. Nora shakes her head in distress, not over his vulgarity, but because she has one of the most tender hearts of anyone I know.
I take a long pull on my beer. “Needless to say, it devastated Clarke. What’s worse, they made a meme about her that went viral.”
“It was awful,” Nora confesses.
“What was the meme?” Tacker asks curiously. I dig out my phone, pull up the screenshot I’d saved when I’d googled it, and hold it out for him to see. He examines it before grimacing and looking away.
I tuck my phone back in my pocket. “Please don’t ever let Clarke know I told you about this. I mean, it’s not like an unknown, protected secret, but it’s so humiliating for her. I just want some advice on how to handle it. She’s skittish and mistrustful. I’m not in a rush or anything, but I don’t want to scare her off either.”
Tacker’s mouth parts slightly, his eyes turning a shade warmer. “Dude… you really like her.”
“Yeah, I do,” I admit, which isn’t a hardship to do. I trust Tacker and Nora with my vulnerabilities. Not sure I’d be expressing my feelings to many others, but I know these two are solid.
“And you two are talking about this?” Nora asks, slipping into counseling mode.
“Well, yeah… I mean, she told me all about it and how it made her feel. I pursued her even knowing about it, and I got her to go out with me to dinner last night. I don’t know if this will turn into anything, but I do know I still want to see her.”
“Seems you’re doing everything right if you’re talking about it,” Tacker says.
“Yes,” Nora agrees. “But that was traumatic for her, so there could be triggers.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I admit. “I’m not worried about how I’ll treat her. I think I’ve shown her respect, and I know I’m gaining her trust. But she has it all tangled in her head that the guy’s lack of human decency is tied to the fact he was a famous celebrity. Sometimes, she projects that on to me.”