Holly sighs. “Are you okay? Has he guilted you into giving up Chris?”
“No, he made me realize even more that Chris is what I want. It’s just, Chris demanded I be honest with him, telling him everything I want and god, I don’t even know what he wants me to say. All I know is he wants me to be honest with him and myself, which I totally need to be, but I can’t tell him that I love him. He’s looking for fun and a fuck. If I tell him I’m in love with him, he’ll run as fast as he can.”
Her gasp is loud in my ear. “Are you sure?”
“One hundred percent, right down to my bones. What the hell do I do?”
“You just don’t tell him.”
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much. He’s never going to ask you if you are in love with him. The man will avoid the question like it’s the flu. You tell him you want his body, you tell him that you’re willing to take what he gives without asking for more. The hardest part will be sticking to it, because eventually you will want more. Just pretend he’s opposing counsel and don’t give in by asking for it—make him give it to you.”
“I don’t know. Where he’s concerned my brain cells overheat, causing them to malfunction.”
Holly laughs. “Oh, I know how that goes. Every time your brother gave me a hundred feet of room I had plans formulated, words rehearsed, then he’d get close and it all went poof. Don’t worry about it for now. You need to figure out how to get him to give you another chance. Any ideas?”
“I was kind of planning on going over
to his house and throwing myself on his mercy.”
“Oh god, I’m glad I called you first then. Sit down and take some notes.”
***
Chris
My cell ringing startles me. The fuck? It’s almost midnight. It’s Regina, and my anxiety kicks up. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“Good, you’re still awake.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
Tension eases inside. “Dude, what the fuck are you calling so late for then?”
“Quit being a baby, I was sure you’d be awake. Insomnia.”
It’s not a question. “How’d you know I’d have insomnia tonight?” I toss my book away, letting my head fall back against the cushion. “You psychic?”
“No, Travis said you were giving up on the Amelia chick. Which is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done, and you’ve done some pretty stupid crap. I knew you’d be up moping about it.”
“What? I’m not moping. The chick said she wasn’t interested. No means no, Regina. This is the age of women screaming rape and assault if you eye fuck them. I’m not up to dealing with a woman who doesn’t know what the fuck she wants. I don’t need her waking up the next morning screaming she meant no out of regret. I want a grown-ass woman who screams yes and means it. Amelia Bishop...she’s more trouble than she’s worth.”
“God, you are such a baby sometimes. Once, one dumb bimbo who sooo totally didn’t deserve you fucks you over, and it’s lights out on trying again. Caroline might have been pretty, but she won an Oscar for a reason, she’s an actress, and she didn’t stop when she wasn’t in front of the camera. Five years, it’s time to close the coffin on all the crap she put you through.”
“You don’t know shit about what went down with me and Caroline. I got over it a long time ago. It’s done, it’s in the past.”
“Bullshit.”
“Did Travis ever tell you about Ruby Donato?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard the story. You fucked her for so long you got dehydrated. Ever the stud you are.”
“I asked her to marry me. She laughed.” Regina gasps. “She said I was an awesome fuck but she needed more than that. She asked why I had to get all serious, wasn’t I supposed to be a bad boy? Yeah, women wanted to fuck a bad boy but no one wanted to marry one.
“That’s pretty much the same thing Caroline said. All I ever told you guys was she wasn’t interested in doing the long-distance thing when I got traded to New York. I asked her to marry me. I got down on one knee, had the ring and the champagne, the whole thing. Anyway, she laughed. She didn’t mean to, she said, it was a nervous, reflex laugh you do when someone says something so absurd you can’t believe they said it.”