Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 133034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
We all are.
“Fuck sake, Heath,” he says. “This isn’t the best time to be making life choices. Emotions are heavy right now, we’re working on no sleep, all of us going mad because we’ve missed this so much.” He reaches for Heath’s hands again. “We need time, all of us. Clear heads. Then we can make plans that work, for all three of us.”
I nod, because I agree with him on that. If I was being true to my heart’s calling, I’d throw my arms around both Heath and Josh and say we all needed to be together, no matter what, but I need to follow Josh’s lead with some degree of sanity, because if Heath went through even half of what I did…
It doesn’t even bear thinking about.
“Fine. You win,” Heath says, and drops Josh’s hands. He gets up from the table and heads across to the dresser, the animosity like a dark cloud. “Let’s get us booked in for another proposal. Another crappy hotel room, yes? Play it nice and cool. I’ll be sure to tick some boxes this time, shall I? Set out the specifics in stone.”
“That isn’t how it is,” Josh replies. “Stop being a prick, Heath. We’re all feeling the same. Sick at the thought of leaving. I’m just about managing to keep my head together.”
Heath’s glare softens when he hears the emotion in Josh’s voice. Part of me screams inside, because this is so shit. So fucking sad.
“Alright,” he says, with less snarky sarcasm in his tone. “Let’s do it. Let’s get it booked in.”
Heath gets his phone, sighing as he taps at the screen.
Josh’s pings as soon as Heath has filled in a proposal form. He turns the screen to our client in a heartbeat with the accept button pressed. Seeing it on The Agency app like that feels so distant again, even though we’ve been closer than we have in months.
We schedule in the nearest possible date for all three of us. Just a week to wait this time. Venue to be decided.
“I need to get out of here soon,” Heath says. “I have a PR photo shoot tomorrow. I have to prepare for it.”
My guts lurch so bad it physically hurts. I’m plunging on the downward curve of a rollercoaster, dropping from the clouds, but at least I can see another high in the distance this time. That’s enough to keep hold of.
“I’m going to miss you every single second,” I tell my idol when I’m back in my stilettos, ready for the tragic walk down the corridor.
He holds me tight, crushing me in his vampiric arms.
“Me too, my sweet curva. Me, too.”
I watch Josh’s goodbye hug with a lump in my throat. Josh can play Mr Rational all he likes, and he needs to, but I know his heart is crying.
“I love you, Heathy baby, even when you’re being a prick,” he says. “I’m doing this for all of us, and you know it. Don’t punish me for it, please. You’ve already punished me enough tonight.”
“You’re one to talk.” Heath smirks. “You’re a much more stubborn prick than me, Joshy baby.”
“Good job I am, isn’t it? Or we’d all be losing our heads.”
Heath chuckles, his eyes warm.
“Yeah. It is. Even though it drives me round the bend.”
I’m holding my breath when Josh and I finally sneak away from Heath’s hotel suite, dashing down the corridor and back into our room. I don’t want to break down with yet another rack of sobs that need comforting, so I retreat to the bathroom to compose myself. Josh doesn’t need the overload. It’s not his job to wipe my tears every time they roll.
Just one week until we see Heath again. It’s alright. We can make it.
And we can think in the meantime. All three of us. We need to.
A rap sounds at the bathroom door.
“Nice try, Ells, but you never, ever close the bathroom door,” Josh says, and walks on in. “Don’t pretend you’re not crying.”
Only I’m not crying. Not the kind of crying I’ve become used to. My eyes might be brimming with tears, and my insides might feel like they’re panging with loss, but I’m not sobbing like a wreck. I don’t want to, not for either of us. What’s the point in dwelling on yet more heartache?
“We’ll work it out, like we agreed,” I say. “We’re on the road to recovery now, not the road to ruin. Me, you and Heath are back on track again, that’s all that really matters. No matter what form it comes in. It’s coming.”
“Very true,” Josh says and wraps me in his arms like a comfort blanket. “It’s a great place to be, isn’t it? Seeing him was the fucking best.”
I sigh against his chest. “Yeah, it is. It’s an amazing place to be. There were times I thought we’d never see him again.”