Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Aleks.”
“Aleks.”
“So he just lived with you for two years?”
I nodded. “Yep. From the time we were sixteen until we graduated.”
“I mean, it would make sense that your father put some boundaries in place. It had to be a hard decision as a father to have a teenage boy living under the same roof as his daughter.”
“Aleks never crossed any lines,” I said, almost smiling at the memory of that boy he used to be. “He was too focused on hockey.”
“But you tried to kiss him.”
I cringed, picking at my nails before Isabella swatted my hand for me to stop. “I tried to kiss him,” I confirmed. “He was right to stop it. Like I said — I was not in the right mind to consent to anything. And we weren’t right for each other. He was going into the league as a top draft pick, I was focused on my music…” I shrugged. “I was just a silly drunk girl with a crush on a hot boy who happened to live with me. I mean, come on — it would happen to anyone. Seeing Aleks Suter walk around in nothing but basketball shorts after a shower? That’s like every teenage girl’s wet dream.”
Isabella smirked, but let out a long, heavy sigh. “If I’d have known all this, I wouldn’t have proposed—”
“It’s fine,” I promised again. “There’s no one I’d trust to do this with other than him.”
“But?”
“No buts.”
She flattened her lips again.
“I’m just a little nervous about the whole pretending thing, okay?” I said on what I hoped was a light laugh, tossing my hood back and taking a calmer sip of the water that had been refilled by our flight attendant. “I’m not immune to getting butterflies from him. That’s all it is. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fun. And knowing him, he’ll make some smart-ass remark to make me growl at him and remember why I’m glad nothing ever happened between us. He’s infuriating,” I reminded her. “And I’m sure he’ll take any chance he can to annoy me. It’s his specialty.”
Isabella didn’t look convinced as she sat back in her seat. “Okay,” she said on another sigh. “But… if at any point this gets to be too much…”
“It won’t.”
“But if it does…”
“It won’t,” I said again, grabbing her arm in a gentle squeeze. “Now, can you hush? Your client needs a beauty nap.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re always beautiful, but yes, I’ll let you sleep. Wake you when we’re starting descent?”
I nodded, and with a kiss on my cheek, Isabella left me in the row alone as she went to join where my manager, Rina, and my booking agent, Glo, were no doubt going over every step of the evening.
I waited until she was deep in conversation, and then I pulled up my phone, reading the last texts from Aleks.
Aleks: Made it to NYC. Your security team is insane. They act like you’re a world-famous pop star or something.
Me: Wonder what gave them that idea.
Aleks: Surely not your dance skills.
Me: Better than your golf skills, judging by that video your teammate posted.
Aleks: Scrolling through my social media looking for ex-girlfriends already?
Me: I’d come up empty-handed if that was my goal, wouldn’t I? Unless one night of drunken sex counts as a relationship to you.
Aleks: Drunken sex is fun. You should try it.
Aleks: I volunteer as teacher if you find yourself curious.
Me: Tempting, but I’d hate for you to pull a muscle trying to keep up.
Aleks: Coach wouldn’t be happy with me then, would he?
I’d smiled, setting my phone down then, but he followed up with another text.
Aleks: In all seriousness… are you ready for this?
It had taken me a long time to write back to that, wondering if he could sense my anxiety from across the country.
Me: I think so. Are you?
Aleks: Been dreaming about making that punk reporter cry. I’d much rather kick him right in the teeth, but I’ll play by your rules, I suppose.
I’d chuckled at that, tucking my phone away.
But a few minutes later, it’d vibrated again.
Aleks: I’ve got your back, Strings. Always.
My heart squeezed as I stared at that text again now. I stared at it a long moment before thumbing up to look at older conversations. I made it all the way to when he’d texted me the night news broke about mine and Austin’s breakup last summer before I clicked the screen off and sighed.
Then, I sank farther into my seat, pulled my hood back up, and dreamed about the boy I used to know.
• • •
When we touched down in New York, I felt like a haggard beast.
I had thankfully scrubbed away the drool on my chin, but I knew my face was puffy and my hair was a mess from hiding it under my hood all that time. I found myself counting the blessings of my incredible hair and makeup artists who would no doubt have me looking like a million bucks by showtime as my team and I filed off the jet.