Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Wilder: Chinese food next week?
I felt better after I hit send.
For … about two seconds.
Then I was pissed off at how pissed off I still felt. But rather than sit here and let shit gnaw at me, I decided to make good use of the anger and get a workout in. I wasn’t accomplishing shit this afternoon anyway. Plus, there was a gym in my building, so it was convenient—my word of the day. Bonus, it would stop me from clicking around this stupid computer anymore.
* * *
That night, I couldn’t sleep. Rolling over, I punched my pillow and stared at my cell on the nightstand. It had to be around four.
Maybe I’ll just check out her show for a minute.
It was probably almost over anyway.
See how dumb it is.
I’d had a decent amount of liquor Saturday night. I bet the woman wasn’t half as interesting as I remembered. And she wouldn’t even know I was there.
I chewed my bottom lip for a while, ultimately deciding if I didn’t check out the stupid YouTube show, I’d never get any sleep. And I had work to do tomorrow. So I gave in, got up, and clicked.
The screen immediately filled with Sloane’s face. She was covering her mouth, laughing. And I couldn’t help it, I smiled at the damn screen. But then, my eyes moved to her hand, her left hand. No ring. No engagement ring. Just like the night of the wedding.
“Okay, everyone,” she said. “We have about fifteen minutes left, so we’re going to open up the Q&A. You can ask any question you want about weddings. Nothing is off-limits, and there’s no such thing as a dumb question.” She pointed down. “Just type ’em in below, and I’ll pick a few to answer.”
The blank panel on the bottom half of the screen began to fill with questions. Sloane’s eyes moved back and forth for a minute before she read one aloud.
“Okay, first question is from Tatiana. ‘How do I gracefully tell the best man I don’t want him to give a speech? Ours is loud and crude, and I’m afraid he’ll offend my guests.’” Sloane looked at the camera. “Well, Tatiana, I’m not sure there is a gracious way, but if you’re not having any other speeches, you could simply tell him you’ve chosen not to include speeches as part of your wedding because you think it puts too much pressure on the speaker. Or, you might say speeches about you make you uncomfortable, so you’ve chosen to forego them.” She paused, and her eyes went back and forth over the laptop screen again before she smiled. “This next one is a great question. Lily asks, ‘Is it bad form to hook up with another member of the bridal party?’” Sloane grinned and looked back up at the camera. “Assuming you’re not talking about the bride or groom, I think a hookup between two consenting adults is okay, fun even. As long as you’re both clear on what it is.”
Hooking up at a wedding gave me an idea. I moved my cursor over to the Q&A box and typed.
Why don’t you wear your engagement ring when you’re hosting a show about weddings?
There must’ve been a delay, because it took a minute or two for my question to pop up on the screen. When it did, I watched Sloane’s face as she read it. She frowned. “NumberSeventeen asked why I don’t wear my engagement ring when I’m doing this show. Well, NumberSeventeen, that would be because I’m not engaged. I was, but things didn’t work out.”
My heart beat faster. She’s not engaged.
Screw it. I needed to know if I was the only one obsessing over the kiss last Saturday night. So I typed again:
Have you ever gone to a wedding and made out with a stranger? I almost hit enter, but then decided to make the question a two-parter. If so, how was it?
I tapped my fingers on the desk as I waited. Other questions scrolled past, so I wasn’t sure she would answer mine again. But when it came on the screen, a sly smile crept over her face.
“NumberSeventeen has another question. She wants to know if I’ve ever made out with a stranger.” Sloane looked into the camera. “In fact I have. Recently, too. And I highly recommend it.”
My chest puffed with pride. Generally speaking, I didn’t love weddings. An invitation in the mail was about as welcome as a speeding ticket. At least with those you could write a check and be done with it. But suddenly, I was back to looking forward to the next nuptials I had to attend—in three weeks.
7
SLOANE
“How were your last two weeks?” Dr. Amherst settled into her usual chair, picked up her notebook from the end table next to her, and opened to a fresh page before placing it on her lap.