Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“You could’ve just said it was good, you know. Slaps doesn’t even make sense.”
“Sometimes you’re so millennial it’s offensive.”
I smirked. “I live to offend you.” As I pulled away from the curbside, I glanced over to Mano. “Thanks for that, by the way. For having my back.”
“You would’ve had mine, too.”
That was a fact.
We spent the evening flipping the television between New Year’s Eve specials and playing video games. I’d prided myself that Mano couldn’t beat me in Mario Kart, no matter how hard he tried. My millennial skills came in handy every now and then.
Around eleven thirty, the pizza we ordered hours ago finally arrived, and I paused the video game to head downstairs to get it. As I walked back into the building with the pizza in my hands, I turned around and saw Holly standing in pajamas, grabbing a stack of envelopes from her mailbox.
“Holly,” I called out.
She looked up toward me, widened her eyes, and hurried to the elevator. It opened right away, and she went to hop inside it. She wasn’t fast enough, though, and I slid inside with her and quickly hit the button for the elevator to close.
“Hi,” I breathed out.
“Hi, Kai.” She hit the twenty-fourth floor for me and then the twenty-fifth floor.
“That’s it? That’s all? We need to talk,” I urged. She looked beautiful. Gosh, it had only been four days or so since I’d last seen her, and she looked so beautiful in her sweats that it almost made me become a pathetic man and sob. I didn’t know it was possible to miss someone standing right before you until that moment.
“No, we don’t.”
“Yes, we do.”
“We had a short, weird holiday fake relationship, Kai. There’s nothing to talk about.” She hit the numbers to our floors again as if that would make the elevator move faster.
Without thought, I hit all the buttons on the elevator pad, trying to slow down the speed of everything. “What in the world are you doing?” she asked, bewildered by my actions.
“I don’t know. I don’t know, okay? I need to talk to you.”
“Kai, I’m not ready to talk.”
“Then when?”
The elevator opened to a random floor, then closed.
“I don’t know. I need space.”
I took a step backward. “Is that enough space?”
“Kai, stop.”
“No,” I shot back. “I’m not going to stop, Holly. I’m not going to stop until you talk to me,” I said, hitting the stop button on the elevator and making it come to a full halt.
“Are you insane?!” she questioned, and to be fair, yes, I was. At that very moment, I was a lunatic. I understood how ridiculous it was that I was pushing every single button on the elevator in an attempt to spend just one extra moment with Holly. I understood that I looked wild in the eyes as I stared her way, but I couldn’t help it. I was crazy in love with that woman, and if the only way I could get her to talk to me was to trap her in the elevator with me, so be it.
I’d do a lot crazier shit for real love.
I’d do insane things to get Holly to give me another shot.
“There’s nothing between Penelope and me, Holly. I promise you, there’s not, and I—”
“I know,” she said, hitting the button on the elevator pad to make us start moving again.
I slammed my hand against it, confused. “What? You know?”
“Yes, I know.” She pushed the button again. I pushed it back.
Slam.
“Then why aren’t we talking?” I placed the pizza box on the ground and stepped in front of the elevator pad, stopping her from making us move again. “What am I missing here?”
She looked up at me, and I saw the tremble in her bottom lip. Her nerves were so apparent as her eyes locked with mine. There was a slight shake of her head as she said, “I don’t think I could handle it.”
“Handle what?”
“A day when you woke up and no longer chose me. That’s what loving someone is at the end of the day—it’s a risk. It’s putting yourself out there with the possibility of someone one day waking up and saying they don’t want to do that anymore. It happened with Daniel and me. It happened with Penelope and you. Then, when I saw her kiss you, I felt crushed. For a split second, I felt it was happening all over again, and I don’t think my heart can withstand that kind of hurt again, Kai. So, it’s best to call it quits before we start.”
“No. That’s not happening.”
She gave me a soft smile that was soaked in sadness. “Unfortunately, you don’t get a say in that. It’s my choice.”
“No, it’s not. I’m not letting you choose that.”
“Kai—"
“No.” My heart pounded against my rib cage. “You don’t get to give up on us before we even get a real chance at this. You don’t get to walk away because you’re scared. I’m scared, too, Holly. Do you think this doesn’t terrify me? Do you think I don’t overthink how this could go wrong in a million ways and how one day, you can decide to leave me, too? I’ve thought of every outcome. I thought of every negative way this could end, and I still want you. I want every piece of you. And do you know why?