Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 57139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57139 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
I shifted, trying not to lose my damn mind.
She scooted closer, wrapped her arms around my waist, face pressed just above where I was hardest.
“Mmm.”
I stayed still until she fell asleep.
Every painful breath reminded me—if I didn’t try one last time, I’d regret it forever.
I’d be Vex. I’d save her from herself, from humiliation—and maybe from me.
I grabbed my phone, opened the group chat with my crypto-addicted brother and his wife.
Avengers Assemble.
Two thumbs up. No questions asked.
CHAPTER
TEN
EZRA
Huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, did you mean to text me that pic? EMILIOOOOOO a;lsdkfja;sldkfhasd;khfasig;lkjasdfkj;ad. We should bang.
—Connor
My brother’s house was so big it had its own echo.
And a smell—like money, chlorine, and faintly burnt sourdough.
Three kids worth of swim bags littered the entryway. A stack of trophies gleamed on a side table like someone had raided Michael Phelps’ storage unit.
“Uncle Ez!” A blur of small limbs shot past me, followed by the splash of a distant pool.
I followed the sound to the kitchen, where my brother—Cedric, his hair too perfect for a man who didn’t work for a living—was eating grapes one at a time like he was auditioning for a cologne ad.
His wife, Maya—beautiful, grounded, far too good for him—was perched on the counter in leggings and an oversized sweater, scrolling her phone. She was the kind of woman who could silence a room with a look and also knew the best way to unclog your sink.
“We’ve been watching,” she said without looking up.
“Watching what?” I asked warily.
“The dates,” she said, finally meeting my eyes. “Like it’s our version of Single’s Inferno. Whole group chat. Kids aren’t allowed, obviously.”
My brother grinned like a man about to start trouble. “What’s the plan, Ez? Because this is better than premium cable.”
I dropped into a chair. “The plan is—I’m going to be Vex.”
Maya’s head jerked back. “Vex?”
“Because Vex doesn’t exist,” I said. “And because she deserves a Vex. And I want her.”
Maya let out a sound somewhere between a screech and a clap. “Yes. Oh my God. Makeover?”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
My brother burst out laughing. “She already likes you. Why change?”
“You know I’m better looking than you,” I said flatly, “and you know I hate attention. Ever since—”
“Going dark, disappearing, turning your back on all the fan—.” he started smirking.
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Scrubbed the internet hard for those videos.”
True. I’d been kinda famous for my face, of all things. Perfect lighting, perfect angles, and suddenly no one cared I could string a sentence together. It was all: be in my video, be my boyfriend, be my trophy. One YouTube channel and a few life changing decisions later, I vanished.
And then there was Harper.
She’d met me after I’d disappeared. No clue I was the same guy she’d followed as a tween. To this day, she’d never said a word. We met in college, after I transferred from Yale and decided to start over, and became fast friends. She was bummed my channel had gone dark—a conversation that had me questioning if she knew, but by then I’d grown my hair out, added the glasses, and blended into the background. She never recognized me.
Or if she did, she never said.
And I sure as hell wasn’t telling her.
Until now.
Now I was coming out of hiding. Twelve years later. Different man. Different game.
What could possibly go wrong?
My brother handed me a flask of whiskey.
Then shoved another into my other pocket.
Then slapped me on the ass like he was sending me onto the field in the Super Bowl.
“Boys,” he said gravely to his sons, “you don’t need to see this.”
“Where’s Uncle Ez going?” the older one asked.
“This,” my brother said, “is the day your mom makes Uncle Ez into a man.”
“Ewww!” both boys shouted in unison.
“Don’t do it, Uncle Ez!” the younger one wailed. “She’ll make you put on deodorant!”
“Showers are non-negotiable!” the older one chimed in. “And she only gives you five minutes so you don’t play with your Peter!”
“Run away, Uncle Ez!”
I sighed, but my brother was already steering me toward the waiting SUV like a bouncer ejecting a drunk.
“Godspeed,” he said. “May the Force be with you. I said a prayer in front of Master Yoda and did a mental Captain’s Log—Captain Picard style, complete with the British accent. If you die, I think we could use it as part of the eulogy.”
I stared him down. “I’m touched.”
He nodded. “It may have inspired a new app. Off you go!”
The door slammed, and I was alone in the car with Maya.
For the first five minutes, she didn’t say a word. Which was suspicious.
Finally, I broke. “Spill it.”
She sighed. “It’s just… you really like her. That’s a lot of pressure if it goes south.”
I didn’t finish her sentence out loud, but mentally: Like last time.
“You mean like last time?” I said anyway. “When my heart got annihilated? I should have never told you that.”