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)
“It would appear so,” he says with a smirk. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Fizzy. I was getting so nervous. I didn’t think it was possible, but you’re even more beautiful in person.”
There isn’t an ounce of insincerity detectable. Watching next to me, Brenna makes a tiny, infatuated squeak before quickly covering her mouth. On the outside I am completely impassive. Inside I am flipping off Vampire Jude.
He lifts his coffee in a toast. “Here’s to hoping this is the first date of many.”
Visibly charmed, Fizzy clinks her mug with his and they both drink.
“Tell me about yourself, Jude. What exactly does a vampire do for a living these days?”
“I’m a phlebotomist, actually,” he says with a knowing grin.
And there it is. God, I’ve been waiting for this moment.
Fizzy slaps her hand on the table with a loud, surprised laugh, her eyes shifting just to the left of Jude to meet mine across the café.
That laughter is just for me.
twenty-five
Episode One Confessional Transcript
Connor Prince: Fizzy. How are you?
Fizzy Chen: I’m great now that you’re here.
Connor: [laughs] Since this is our first show, we should explain to the viewers what we’re doing. My name is Connor Prince and I’m one of the producers of The True Love Experiment. You’ll have to forgive me for being a little nervous. I wasn’t supposed to be on this side of the camera.
Fizzy: An oversight I’m glad I rectified.
Connor: As some of you watching may have discovered by now, Fizzy can be very persuasive.
Fizzy: You are not the first person to say that.
Connor: I believe it. You’ve met all eight of your Heroes by now. How are you feeling?
Fizzy: How am I feeling, let’s see. In my book Paradise Dreaming, the main character, Jacqueline, has been shipwrecked for three years. She’s tough, so she makes it through, but when she’s rescued and in the safety of the ship captain’s cabin, she’s so famished and overcome by all the delicacies on board that she gorges herself until she can’t remember her own name. I feel a little like that.
Connor: Too much of a good thing?
Fizzy: Maybe.
Connor: Isn’t the hero of that book the ship’s doctor?
Fizzy: He is! And he stays by her side all night and nurses-slash-bangs her back to health.
Connor: [laughs] This is a very Fizzy story.
Fizzy: I’ll take that as a compliment.
Connor: Good, because it is. We don’t want to sway our viewers, who will begin voting as soon as this episode airs. But tell me your first impressions of each of your Heroes. Let’s start with Dax, our Tattooed Bad Boy.
Fizzy: Oh, poor Dax. He got straight-out-of-the-gate, awkward Fizzy.
Connor: You didn’t look nervous at all. I’d say you two had a connection.
Fizzy: I think so, too. I’m definitely not going skydiving or rock climbing or bear wrestling with him, but he was great.
Connor: Next we had Isaac, Hot Nerd.
Fizzy: Also great. Did you see his arms?
Connor: I think all of America saw his arms.
Fizzy: All of America is lucky. Would it be too forward to ask that he be shirtless next time?
Connor: Maybe a bit. You two seemed to hit it off.
Fizzy: I think so, too.
Connor: Hero number three, Benji, aka Tex, our Cowboy.
Fizzy: I know I’m not supposed to influence the audience, so you can cut this part out, but he asked what my dad thinks about me writing romance. Inappropriate and weird.
Connor: Moving on! Next was Evan, The One That Got Away and the only one of our Heroes you’ve met before.
Fizzy: That’s right. We dated for a few months when we were in our late twenties. He’s a really good guy.
Connor: Who happened to have an unfortunate tattoo.
Fizzy: Ay, caramba.
Connor: Indeed. But he seemed grateful for your feedback.
Fizzy: [laughs] That’s because Evan is easygoing. His glass is always half-full.
Connor: I’d wager to say yours is, too.
Fizzy: That depends on what’s in the glass…
Connor: Cheeky. Let’s move on to Arjun, our Mr. Darcy. Thoughts?
Fizzy: That I bet he color codes his sock drawer.
Connor: [laughs] What about Nick, the Cinnamon Roll?
Fizzy: This archetype is a bit more inside baseball, so for the viewers who don’t know, a Cinnamon Roll is a hero who is sweet and supportive. He has the heroine’s best interests at heart.
Connor: Right.
Fizzy: You know, underneath those suits you have some definite Cinnamon Roll tendencies. So many layers, Connor Prince III. One might even say I find you hard to peg.
Connor: You know me, like an onion.
Fizzy: Or a cake. But back to Nick. I liked him.
Connor: That’s good, I’m sure it came across to the audience. Tell me about Colby, the Navy SEAL.
Fizzy: I would really like him to expand his reading choices.
Connor: [laughs] I’m sure he’d enjoy that, too. Then we had Jude.
Fizzy: The Vampire. He was very funny.
Connor: Is humor important to you?
Fizzy: Oh, absolutely. I need someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously, who can let go and have fun even if it’s out of his comfort zone.