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 know.”
“You just never finish them.”
“I know that too.”
Neither of us talked after that. We just sat in silence surrounded by fake dates, bad decisions, too much caffeine, and a maybe too perfect AI boyfriend named Vex.
What had my life come to?
At least I had my best friend by my side, neon glasses and all—as long as I had him and kept the apartment—I’d be fine.
CHAPTER
TWO
HARPER
Message received. Been using that contraption for your eyes on my fingers, getting them nice and strong the way you like them, see? I can read the signs! Text me back if you wanna check my grip, ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
—Jaxon
The theater was dark except for the glow of overpriced previews and the unmistakable sound of someone trying to open a Twizzlers bag like they were trying to disarm a bomb as loudly as possible. It’s always the licorice or chips, always. Between that, and the loud chewing brought to you by Dots from the early 2000s, and I was already on edge.
I glanced around at the couples—hands linked over cupholders, soft giggles and heads leaned in like the atmosphere alone was enough to triple their serotonin intake and repeatedly smack their dopamine like a hammer on a bender.
“Don’t you ever want to date?” I whispered, side-eyeing Ezra over a bucket of popcorn he was guarding like it contained state secrets. He sniffed it, then slowly brought it over to me. Was he offering or testing me then getting ready to zap me if I tried to take some?
He didn’t look over at my line of sight. “I am dating. Her name’s Excel. We’re in a committed, formula-based relationship. So. Hot. Sometimes she gets so excited when I use my fingers, she freezes altogether.”
I snorted. “First off, gross, second, you’ve never dated anyone except Charly from senior year in college, and that was like what, one date? Are you permanently married to your computer with your spreadsheet as your side piece?”
He finally looked over at me, mouth drawn all serious. “First of all, the spreadsheet is the wife. The computer is the sidepiece. Have you no morals? I would never cheat.”
“Pardon me good sir, my mistake.” I nudged him with my elbow. He looked down and moved his arm.
“And second,” he added shaking his arm before grabbing a handful of popcorn, “maybe I do have the perfect woman built up in my head. Like your little AI boyfriend, Vex.”
Well, that’s more than he’s said on this subject in, like, years. “Well, we know you’re not gay after that one time you accidentally took ecstasy and—”
“You swore,” he hissed, eyes wide.
I grin and gently shove his hand down. “It was a really nice dick, Ezra. She said so. Like, twice. And begged you for it before you passed out and had to be carried into the ER for dehydration.”
He groaned into his hoodie like he wanted to disappear. It was funny then, still funny now.
“Can’t believe it actually happened.” I added with a smirk and nudge into his ribs.
He jerked away. “Not that you would know, but I do clean up nicely. And don’t be shocked but I own a brush. I just haven’t used it for a while.”
I shake my head and let out a gasp. “You mean, since I’ve known you? That’s more than a while. You know how to clean up. But I haven’t seen your eyes in years, not with those highlighter-colored glasses and all that hair. You basically wear a disguise every day. Wonder what would happen if you took it off?”
He exhaled like he’s heard this before, which he has, over and over again like a broken record. His claim that he’s too beautiful for words is starting to get old. “Screaming. Rejection. Immediate tears. Apocalypse, maybe.”
“Or,” I said in a light voice, “people would just see you.”
He doesn’t respond.
The previews end, and we settled into a nice silence as blocky pixelated characters took over the screen.
“This is Minecraft,” I whispered.
“You picked it.”
“It has zombies.”
He cursed. “Are you going to be like this the whole time?”
“Hold my hand if I get scared?” I asked.
“It’s a PG animated movie.”
“Still counts.” I scooted closer and nestled my head on his shoulder. He went still for a mere second before finally relaxing beneath me.
The screen suddenly came to life, lighting up in soft green tones. Around twenty minutes in, sheep were attacked, zombies groaned, I learned I would be a terrible miner, and amidst the crunching of nachos and smell of popcorn and broken dreams—I finally relaxed and didn’t feel like my life just got set on fire and shoved over a cliff.
I had Ezra to thank and for just a few seconds, I held onto him a little bit tighter.
CHAPTER
THREE
HARPER
Hey babe. I just wanted to say sorry about cutting your hair that one time you were sleeping, but everyone has a fetish. I think you should be more accepting, and I wasn’t burning it, it caught fire when I was lighting my joint, the cops saw nothing!