Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
She laughs. “It’s for the best, trust me.” Fizzy stands, rounding the table to embrace him. “There are probably a lot of confused people watching this right now,” she says once they’re sitting across from each other.
Evan smiles down at the table and blushes. A few feet behind me, one of the female crew members releases a breathy sigh.
Looking up again, he grins at Fizzy. “Then people should know that I had a rather unfortunate tattoo in a very unfortunate place, and Fizzy was the only person who was honest with me. In fact, I should thank her feedback for ninety percent of the sex I’ve had in the years since we broke up.”
Fizzy laughs into her hands. “I’m happy for everyone involved.”
“Speaking of happy for everyone…” He motions to the lights and cameras pointed at them. “How’s this whole celebrity thing treating you?”
“You know,” she says, “I get to sit here all professionally dolled up while scores of suitors are brought in one after another. I’ve been worse.” She smiles, more at ease now. I don’t sense any romantic sparks, but they already look comfortable together, which the audience will love. “What have you been up to lately?”
“After we dated and I picked up the pieces of my life,” he says with a sly smile, “I tried my hand as a part-time barista while continuing to better myself as a student at UCSD. I’ve been there for about eight years now.”
“Eight years is a lot of bettering yourself.”
“Lots of people go to school for eight years,” he says.
“And they have their own parking spaces at hospitals and the word doctor in front of their name.”
Evan leans in. “Have you been talking to my mother?”
The crew holds in their laughter, and I let out a long, steady exhale. Fizzy is a bloody star.
* * *
ARJUN: MR. DARCY
Date two of the day shows up in a custom Gucci suit and alligator oxfords that cost more than most people’s first car. Fizzy is visibly unimpressed. At the end of the date, she gives me a flat stare that, by now, I can correctly interpret as Mr. Darcy was grumpy but kind. That guy was an egomaniac.
Date number three is promising.
COLBY: NAVY SEAL
Colby is well over six feet tall and a wall of muscle. His black hair is cut short, his tan the combination of an olive complexion and early mornings spent battling the currents at Breakers Beach. When he takes a seat across from Fizzy, I have to tamp down a wave of pure jealous irritation over how good they look together. But their conversation is, well… frankly it’s boring. To her credit, Fizzy really tries to carry the tepid back-and-forth, but lets out an audible gasp when he admits he hasn’t read a real book since The Da Vinci Code was published in 2003.
The producer in me really needs this next one to hit it out of the park.
But the guy who kissed Fizzy two nights ago secretly hopes it all goes down in flames. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t. Enter:
NICK: CINNAMON ROLL
Nick is everything he was in his audition, and when he walks in, he drags along with him an aura of affability and a haze of sexuality that seems to shimmer across the room. Fizzy begins to stand, seemingly without realizing it, the second she spots him. They greet each other with a lingering hug, and I’m hit with the sense that I’m seeing something immediate and intimate. It’s the kind of connection that makes me want to watch them have sex, and then my reflexes kick me in the mental balls for the thought.
The crew is spellbound. At some point Nick tells her about a litter of puppies they’re expecting at his office, and Fizzy makes him promise that he’ll keep her updated.
In an act of self-preservation, I manage to tune out the rest of their date.
Next, we get:
JUDE: VAMPIRE
I’m not sure what Fizzy was expecting when she put vampire on the list of archetypes, but I’m hoping Jude fits the bill. I think I might even surprise her. Jude walks through the door and crosses to Fizzy in a few strides. Beaming, she stands and greets him with a hug. His ears glitter with silver piercings, he has a lip ring and a nose ring, and he’s dressed in expensive monochromatic black from head to toe. He has the same cool edge about him that Fizzy does.
Jude pulls out Fizzy’s chair before moving to his own, and I am on tenterhooks waiting for the reveal.
“So, you’re my Vampire.” Fizzy gives him an appreciative once-over. One of the cameras is zoomed in close enough to catch the way she crosses her legs under the table, her high-heeled foot casually coming to rest against his leg. Great for ratings, terrible for my mental health.