AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I grab the phone out of my back pocket and glance at the screen. I gasp—literally gasp—when I see Kohl’s name.
I’ve been thinking about you.
A second later, another text comes through. The ordering tone plain in the words:
Meet me for coffee.
Another one pops up immediately after.
Today. 3 p.m.
I stare at the words. How many times in the last few weeks have I prayed for a text—any text—from him? He’s ignored me for weeks. But he catches me with another guy, and now he’s suddenly blowing up my phone?
Oh, hells to the no. I’m not his little puppet, just sitting around waiting for him to text me.
My fingers hover over the screen. I’m tempted to reply fuck you, but in the end, after a ton of mental anguish, I decide no response at all would be more of a fuck you than anything I could ever type out. I do get a little satisfaction from flipping off my phone, however, as if he can somehow see it.
Once that decision is made, I scroll through my contacts, block him, and then delete his name and number from my phone. I don’t know the number by heart, so now there’s zero chance I’ll be tempted to text him back in a moment of weakness.
Shoving the phone into my back pocket, my heart feels heavy. The finality of deleting his name, of not being able to reach out to him, makes me feel…adrift. Lost. So horribly alone.
Pushing those thoughts away, I do the only thing I know how to do. I throw myself back into my work. Again.
The rest of the day passes in a blur, and I spend most of it trying not to think about Kohl. In every case, I fail miserably. Every other thought is of him. I can’t get the image of his face out of my mind. In that brief glimpse I got of him, he’d looked…tired. Unhappy.
I shake my head. Why should I fucking care? If he’s unhappy, that’s his own damn fault. But despite my better judgment, there’s still something inside me that cares about him.
I’m so fucked up.
Hours later, I’m still in the lab when Keith walks in, his laptop open and resting on his forearm. “Hey, Maddy, take a look at this.”
He sets the laptop in front of me on the worktable, and hits the play button. Instantly, an image of Kohl comes onto the screen, and I suck in air quickly in surprise. He’s sitting across from an interviewer in a small library. I recognize the locale immediately as the library here, at Caltech’s faculty club. I’ve been inside it many times for lunches and events. Now, Kohl is there, talking about the launch of the Asteria 3, his life, and his hopes for the future. One particular comment catches my attention.
“I know all the single ladies will flay me alive if I don’t ask—are you currently seeing anyone?”
There’s a long, uncomfortable pause, and I can see the myriad emotions playing across Kohl’s beautiful face. Finally, he looks up at the camera and says, “There is someone…” My heart drops, and I suddenly feel nauseous. “There was someone,” he corrects. “She is…beautiful, extraordinary. I’m in love with her. But I’ve been an arse and I’m afraid I’ve pushed her away forever.”
The interviewer blinks at Kohl, clearly not expecting such an honest answer. He laughs nervously. “Care to tell us who she is?”
“Her name is Madeline Swanson.”
Holy shit. I stumble back a little, shocked. So many things hit me at once. He admitted to being an ass. He called me out on national television. He just said he loved me.
“Can you fucking believe him?” Keith laughs, pausing the video. “He seriously thinks he can just declare his love or whatever and you’ll come running. What a douche.”
“When was that posted?” I ask, biting my bottom lip.
“Today. That’s why he was here. For the interview,” Keith says.
I nod absorbing that, then I blink up at Keith. Curiosity is eating at me. “Did he say anything else about me?”
He narrows his eyes at me, suspicious. “No, that’s it. The rest of the interview is about the Asteria 3. Why?”
I blink, shaking my head. I don’t know what to think or feel. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Oh God, Maddy. You’re not actually falling for his douche move, are you?”
“No. Yes.” I squint at him. “I don’t know. Am I an idiot?”
