Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 93713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“Relationships are too much damn work.” I groaned, the same sound my ex-football player dad made hefting himself out of a recliner.
“Can’t disagree there.” Malik shrugged before offering a crooked, more bashful smile. “But I still like being with someone.”
“I know.” My head flopped forward, too heavy for my neck. “Fuck. I was actually looking forward to Valentine’s Day. Can you believe it? Now it’s just another sucky night. Frozen pizza and the rest of this prairie dog documentary I found the other night. Yippee.”
Malik’s expression turned thoughtful. “I’ll take the title of that show, but you’re not going to stay in and wallow.”
“Yeah, I am. I’m not gonna go troll for a V-Day hookup just to have one. Even I’m not that desperate.”
“No rebound hookups allowed.” He held up a finger like he was listing off rules. “But let me take you out. There’s a new place I’m dying to try, and I hate eating alone.”
“Two single dudes out on Valentine’s Day?” I flexed my fingers, trying to decide how I felt about this prospect.
“Yeah.” Malik nodded. “Not a date or anything like that. Bachelor solidarity. Stag night. Get Venus off your mind and let both of us forget it’s Valentine’s.” He bumped my shoulder. “What do you say?”
Chapter Two
Malik
Avery might be a SEAL, but he was also one of the most clueless dudes I’d ever met, especially regarding romance. I’d known that Venus, whose real name was Veronica, was bad news the first time I met her. Avery, however, had fallen head over ass in love. And now we had the predictable result: one heartbroken SEAL dumped right before Valentine’s Day by an upwardly mobile actress who’d been all wrong for him from the jump.
But I wasn’t the I-told-you-so type. More like the buy-a-buddy-a-beer-and-distract-him type, which was why I had offered. Not that Avery and I were exactly buddies, but we worked well enough together, and I still didn’t know too many people in LA. A night out would do us both good and might count as my helpful deed for the month.
“So, what do you say?” I prompted. “I can get us a reservation.”
I had my mother’s superpower of getting reservations at popular joints even where other patrons had weeks-long waits. But Avery didn’t appear all that impressed as he shrugged.
“Not like I have anything else to do.”
“Gee. Thanks.” I gave him a hard stare until his cheeks turned pink.
“Sorry, man. I didn’t mean… It’s been a day.”
“I get it. I lost a few brain cells over Lacey too.” Not to the point of rudeness, but I didn’t think Avery’s bluntness had been intentional.
“Thanks. I’m sorry. Guess I thought this time my luck might be different.” He sounded so sad that my sympathy instantly returned to full force. Poor clueless kid. He wasn’t all that much younger than me, but he sure as hell did a good impression of a heartbroken teen.
“Aww.” I made a noise similar to one Lacey would have offered. He was twisting my heart here, even if I thought he needed way better taste in partners. “Don’t beat yourself up.”
“Security?” My walkie-talkie crackled to life, a young female voice sounding uncertain. “We’ve got a problem over in craft services. An argument between extras.”
“We’re on it.” As I removed my finger from the Talk button, I spotted a PA in a red T-shirt down the hall, so I flagged her over. “We need you to watch the gate.”
I could have asked Avery to stay and check IDs. He was technically supposed to still be on break, but he was so down and dejected that I didn’t want to leave him behind. I knew his type well. He needed the win and adrenaline rush of an actual situation, not the drudgery of signing people in and out.
I was still getting used to the rhythm of working security. On deployment, there was a fair bit of hurry-up-and-wait, but the undercurrent of danger kept one’s body on red alert. Working security stateside didn’t have the same pulse-pounding urgency. I’d walked away from the navy for many complicated reasons, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to missing that life more than I’d expected.
Accordingly, I broke into a jog, eager for action, Avery close behind me as we headed to what had been the old school cafeteria. He was shorter than me but more of a natural runner with wiry limbs and a slim build. And like most of the spec ops personnel I’d worked with over the years, he had lithium battery pack-worthy endurance, barely even breathing hard when we reached the cafeteria on the other side of the building.
Craft services had taken over the area to provide food and drinks for cast and crew waiting between takes, and the big room was filled with chipped plastic tables and kid-sized chairs. And chaos.