He wasn’t a fool, despite what his parents and a good chunk of the world believed. And he wasn’t enough of an asshole to keep communicating with April under another name without her knowledge.
The way he’d prodded her for inside information about himself as a sort of test, the way he’d discovered her feelings about their second date and public scrutiny under false pretenses, all that was bad enough. He wasn’t doing worse. Not to the woman he’d been corresponding with for years, and not to the woman he’d met tonight.
If the second date didn’t work out, Book!Aeneas could return early from his business trip, and their online friendship could resume, with her none the wiser. And if the second datedidwork out...
Well, without all those DMs, he’d have more time to spend with April in person.
Face-to-face. Body to body. Finally.
Although he didn’t honestly know what he’d do without the Lavineas community and his writing. It was going to be a hard, hard adjustment. Worth it, though. For her.
Unapologetic Lavinia Stan:You won’t have internet access? Not even on your phone?
Book!AeneasWouldNever:I’m not allowed to contact anyone outside work, not on this job.
UnapologeticLavinia Stan:Uh
Unapologetic Lavinia Stan:Are you a spy, or
Unapologetic Lavinia Stan:Dammit.
Unapologetic Lavinia Stan:Look, BAWN, I want you to be honest with me.
Oh, no. No, no, no.
He didn’t want to lie to her more than he already had, but—
Unapologetic Lavinia Stan:Did you see those pictures of me, and think
Book!AeneasWouldNever:Think what?
Unapologetic Lavinia Stan:Think maybe you weren’t interested in talking to me anymore, because of them?
What?What the actual, ever-loving fuck was she talking about?
Book!AeneasWouldNever:NO.
Book!AeneasWouldNever:Absolutely not. JFC, Ulsie!
Unapologetic Lavinia Stan:Okay, so if that’s not it, is this about my second date with Marcus? Because if you wanted to meet in person, at Con of the Gates or wherever, whenever, if
UnapologeticLavinia Stan:If you were interested in me that way, I could DM him. Cancel the second date.
At the confirmation that she’d grown just as attached to him as he was to her, that she valued the man he’d shown himself to be online—his real self—morethan the gleaming star he’d put on display earlier that night, Marcus collapsed in on himself.
Chin to chest, he covered his face. Breathed deeply. Tried to recapture the certainty that had burned so brightly mere minutes ago.
Dude. Yourcareer.
He couldn’t meet her in person. He couldn’t.
Which meant he was going to have to hurt her now, in ways Marcus couldn’t yet soothe, and he wanted Ian to kick him again. Harder, this time.
Book!AeneasWouldNever:I can’t. I’m so sorry.
Unapologetic Lavinia Stan:Okay.
Unapologetic Lavinia Stan:Okay. I guess I’ll talk to you whenever, then.
