Page 77 of The Hopelessly Bromantic Duet
I’m dying, fucking dying, to ask William that, as well as the other questions about the guy who hasn’t left my head.
How is TJ doing? How often do you talk to him? Did he finish his book? Does he miss me as much as I miss him?
Instead, I smile and give William an offhand shrug. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
Olivia pulls me aside, whispers out of the corner of her mouth, “Are you okay? Do you need to text me and tell me you hope TJ’s watching it?”
I give a small laugh, wishing it weren’t so obvious, but glad I have someone to talk to. “Do you think he’s watching it?”
“Oh, love, you don’t want me to answer that.”
“But I do,” I say since I want her to say,of course, he is.
She shakes her head. “But I won’t, and that’s what you really need from me.”
“I know,” I say with a sigh. “I hope he’s watching it.”
Mostly, I hope he’s still writing his book. When I’m at the bookstore, I check trade reports in the publishing business to see if he sold his book even though I know it’s too soon. Still, I do it anyway.
And I read all his articles, though I don’t give a flying fuck about media and marketing conglomerates and holding companies and agencies and blah, blah, blah. I read them anyway, just to know what he’s up to. Reading his pieces makes me feel connected. But that’s part of my problem. My little obsession.
“Time to watch,” Olivia calls out.
I settle into the booth. The pub has arranged to stream the show on a big-screen TV so we can watch the first episode together.
“Go, Jude! Go get your android,” Alex calls out during a flirty scene between Lyra and me.
A little later, William gets in on the cheerleading. “Give her some tongue, mate.”
“Are you blushing?” Olivia asks, swatting my shoulder.
“Maybe a little,” I say.
“Snog her, Jude! Snog her so hard,” Olivia shouts, whistles at the telly, then turns to me with an evil grin. “Did that make you blush more?”
“Nothing you say makes me blush.”
“That only makes me more determined to try,” she says, and when I return my focus to the show, everything feels surreal.
All I want to do is reach out to TJ and tell him about tonight.
It happened, stud.It really happened, and I’m fucking proud of it, and I hope you are too.
But I don’t do that.
On the way home, I’m a little quiet. Olivia links her arm through mine. “Hey.”
“Hey you.”
“I hope he watched it too,” she says.
I give a faint smile. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“I know. I can tell you miss him extra tonight. Makes sense and all. He helped you get the part.”
“He did. And I want to thank him.” It feels good to admit that.
“I bet he’d appreciate it. I bet he’d love hearing from you.”