Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Chapter Twelve
Zoe
“Hello?” I answer my phone while I wait for the light to change from red to green so I can walk across the street.
“Hey there.” Viktor’s voice fills my ear. “Am I interrupting the coffee date?”
I groan. “It wasn’t a date.” I take a sip of the refresher that I left with. “It was a twenty-minute sit-down of me trying to catch my breath from my workout.” I leave out that the only thing I kept thinking about was him.
“Listen, I was wondering if you could come by and pick up the key for Monday?” he says. “If you have time either today or tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I can head there now,” I tell him. “I was just going to go home, but I can swing by your place before I head back home.” My heart starts to pick up just a touch, knowing I’m about to see him.
“Perfect,” he says and disconnects. I make my way over to his house, trying to keep my mind off the nerves starting in my stomach or the fact that my heart beats faster than it should. I also make a mental note to get my head out of the clouds and stop overthinking Viktor. I use the buzzer and then walk to the elevator. Seeing my reflection in the mirror, I can’t believe I left the gym like this. I should have changed from my black yoga capris and gray long-sleeved hooded sweater. It goes long in the front but is cut in the back. I threw on the sweater on top of my sports bra after the workout. My braided hair hangs over my shoulder. I get in the elevator, and I look up, seeing the numbers move from floor to floor. I try to calm down just a bit, my stomach feeling weird almost like flutters.
I don’t have to knock because Viktor is at the door waiting for me. My smile appears automatically when I see him, and I want to kick myself, so I look down, then up to bring the poker face back. “You weren’t kidding about being in workout clothes.”
I roll my eyes. “I was not kidding.” I smile at him and walk into the house. The balloons are still all over the place. “I like what you did to the place,” I joke with him and put my bag on the stool.
“I just finished in my bedroom,” he says. “Want to see?”
“Is this a trick?” I ask. This is good, I think to myself. I’m going to joke with him like I would any other guy who I wasn’t interested in. “Are you going to ask me to lie on it naked to see if it’s comfortable?” I fold my arms over my chest. “Because I have to say I’ve heard that one before.”
He throws his head back, and he laughs, the sound making me smile even more. “Well, this makes the second part of why I asked you to come over a little easier.” I look at him and see that his eyes are a lighter shade of blue today, and the circles under his eyes have slowly started to disappear.
“Wait, you asked me to come over to get the key and get naked?” I joke with him, not wanting that smile to disappear from his face.
“Jesus, you are a nut,” he says. “I just … I didn’t want …” His mouth snaps shut, and he shoves a hand through his hair.
“I think you need to relax,” I tell him, reaching out and grabbing his arm. “Just relax.”
“We can’t date each other,” he says. I don’t know why it bothers me, but my hand falls from his arm. “I mean, you’re hot and all that, but I can’t date you.”
“Um …” I start, ignoring the echoing of my heart in my ears. Ignoring that crushing feeling in my chest. I pull out the Zoe that just lets things not bother her, the fake Zoe, the Zoe everyone has met. “One, thank you, I guess, for thinking I’m hot.” He smiles, and now I put on my fake smile, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “And two, when did we say we would date each other?”
“I …” he starts. “Never really but I wanted to make sure you knew it was never a possibility.” I nod at him because I can’t say anything. The lump in my throat just gets thicker. “You can’t fall in love with me.”
I laugh and look down at my feet, giving myself an internal pep talk. Put the poker face on, Zoe. I channel it as much as I can. “I am a touch confused with this conversation, but just so we are perfectly clear”—I hold up my hands—“I don’t want to date you. You are good looking, but you aren’t anything that I …” I try to find the words.