Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Actually, tons of people I know are just meh. So much meh. But I know what you’re saying.” She crosses her arms. “I think you’re a remarkable man. I wouldn’t have been so forgiving. That scenario would have frustrated me until I had a nervous breakdown. I don’t like feeling helpless or powerless. I’ve been in that situation exactly once, and it wasn’t great. It was you who saved me. But I get why you almost didn’t show up. In your office, I mean, when you thought it was an act.”
“I’m not remarkable,” I snort. “I’m just another spoiled rich guy who was given everything. Every opportunity. I haven’t done enough. I’ve barely done anything at all.”
She crosses her arms and taps her foot. I’m not sure what that means, but is foot-tapping ever a good thing? “That might be as relative as normal.” She indicates the dog. “I wouldn’t call that nothing. I’d call it pretty freaking cool.”
“It’s just a few steps above high school level science fair projects.”
“Oh my freaking god.” She can’t hold in her laughter. It bursts out of her, but it’s not mean. Her eyes are all lit up and sparkly. “I don’t know what kind of school you went to, but the rest of us aren’t tech geniuses. In high school, I was making freaking volcanos and potato clocks.”
“Very noble projects.”
“Which you were probably doing in kindergarten. If you can build something like this, you can build anything.”
“It’s not that hard, really. For me, at any rate. The software on the computer just comes down to coding and programming—”
“They happen to be impossible,” she interrupts.
“Putting the parts together is a matter of mechanics.”
“Even if I went to college for eighty years, that would be above my pay grade.”
“Alright,” I cede. I’m not going to win this argument. If she’s trying to point out that maybe I’m above average when it comes to computers, engineering, and mechanics, then that’s fair. I’m good at it. It’s why I pursued it as a degree. It’s why I’ve made it my hobby.
“I think this robot dog is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. And I like that it’s a dog and not a person or something that’s obviously supposed to be a robot. Dogs are sweet. I love Booty Sue so much.”
“I’ve always wanted a dog.” My face is doing something funky.
I think it might be…might be going soft. I’ve already told Amalphia things I shouldn’t have, and I kept going with it long past the point where I should have shut up. Why not just let down my guard fully? It’s not like I’ve been emotionally stunted and found it impossible or anything. It’s not as though I haven’t struggled with human connection my whole life.
After what happened, I waited until I was nearly twenty-six years old to lose my virginity. Seriously. She was a few years older than me. We met at a refrigeration convention. She relentlessly dropped hints about sleeping together throughout the whole weekend, and then finally, at the end of the convention, she was straight up about it. She wanted something with no strings attached. She was busy and had no time for a relationship. I was pretty much terrified during the whole thing. I pretty much laid there like a statue, even though she was incredibly vocal about it being what she wanted. About me being what she wanted. Afterward, she kissed me, thanked me for the incredible time, wished me well, and suggested we attend the same conference the next year and see each other again.
It worked for me.
The next time, I wasn’t scared half to death. I wasn’t so stoic. I was actually able to enjoy myself.
The next year, it was better.
And so on, until she drew me out of myself.
Both of us knew it wasn’t love. It wouldn’t ever be love. It wouldn’t ever be a relationship.
She met someone and got married three years ago. I was genuinely happy for her when she brought her husband to the conference. I was happy she was happy. She’d found love unexpectedly, and it was a beautiful thing.
I’ve been okay with being on my own. I didn’t give up hope of ever finding someone because I never had that hope in the first place.
It was enough. For years, it was enough.
Until right now. Until Amalphia’s deep brown eyes and the gentle curl of her lips. Until she listened. Until her compassion.
“Warrick?” she asks softly.
I’m in my head, but that seems to be okay with her. She understands there’s a whole lot of sensory overload going on in places I’ve shut down completely.
“Sorry.” My chest is so beyond tight that my ribs are starting to hurt.
There are different kinds of pain, and I don’t think this is the bad kind. It’s hope. No other emotion could be so beautiful or devastating, but Amalphia isn’t going to dash it. She’s not going to make me believe something and steal it away. I know she’s little more than a stranger. Worse, she’s an employee and my son’s ex-girlfriend. She could crush me now if she wanted to. I’ve given her more than enough ammunition.