Page 118 of CHOICE Lover
“You don’t want that.” She shakes her head, glancing down the hallway at two men in bright orange jumpsuits who are gawking at them. The men turn, slipping around the corner out of sight. She takes a step toward him.
She clearly knows nothing of what he wants, because his inner Vorack is screaming,Yes, I can be the man who protects you.Considering she got scared and moved toward him, doessheeven know what she wants? He’s more than happy to solve the riddle for her, but he senses he needs to give her time to come to the determination on her own. He presses a hand to the small of her back, guiding her toward the elevators that lead to the SAT garages.
“It’s probably nothing. They most likely recognized one of us.” He clears his throat, eyeing her. “Now that you’re nearly as famous as me.”
“I know you don’t approve.” She grins. “Wait, are you teasing me?”
His palms itch to touch her. Back in his pockets they go. “Perhaps.”
When they’re safely behind the closed elevator door and moving between floors, she leans against the opposite wall. As she stares at him across the elevator car, her dark eyes don’t flash with the same fire as they had before, despite plans to get the ID she’s been wanting.
He can hardly take it, knowing he’s the cause. “Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t make it safe for you to tell me about your column. I know it’s important to you, and I’m glad you’re pursuing it. I understand why you didn’t tell me about it.”
“Thanks,” she says, staring at her feet. “What did James mean when he said you were helping them with the reincarnates?”
He shrugs, trying not to appear too eager to share the evidence of his growth. “MyfriendSable found out about a GROW recall, whichput the active reincarnates at risk. They needed manupartners made with the same DNA to surrender in their place, so Sable and I used their DNA samples to make them.”Because I care about real people!He mentally screams the words, trusting that she’ll infer as much. Romantic heroes should never overwhelm the heroine at this point in the story by trying to force her hand.
She bites the tip of her finger, clearly debating something. “We could have lunch? As friends, I mean.”
Tempting, so tempting. She doesn’t believe he wants her back in his home, and he’d rather shut down CHOICElover than settle for friends. There is so much more that needs saying. A conversation that even he understands can’t be had over lunch, and definitely not out in public.
“I can’t.” He doesn’t offer any further explanation as he follows her off the elevator. She doesn’t argue. When the next SAT is available, he helps her into it and returns to the glass enclosure to await the next one.
Her SAT zips out into the atmosphere, taking her away from him—hopefully for the last time.
He has a plan. The first three steps are complete. He’ll give her a few days to process his actions. Perhaps James will give him an answer about dinner. Then it’s time to properly grovel.
41 – The Pretty Man Grovels
Electra
January 20, 2391.
Between planning for the first official Dear Electra meet and greet, which sold out within an hour, and the convoluted process of getting her ID, she’s fallen behind on the column itself. The thought of dishing out advice like she knows what she’s talking about has become draining. She stares blankly at her full FrogBlog inbox.Are you even qualified to give out advice? He said you could come home, and you just sat there.
Technically, she offered to have lunch—as friends. Oh God, did she mess up the one chance she had? When he pulled her chair nearer like a Neanderthal, her heart stupidly tried to leap out of her chest.He’s choosing me!she thought. Then he rejected her lunch invitation twenty minuteslater. How pathetic can she possibly be? This isn’t impostor syndrome. It’s simply that she isn’t capable of running her own life, much less advising people on how to run theirs. Why does this always happen—nope. She mentally grabs the other shoe and tosses it over her shoulder.
At least she’s getting better at catching herself now. She can’t think that way. It doesn’t matter if some man chooses her. She needs to choose herself. The people of MSP clearly have. Her fans need her, and she refuses to give her writer’s block—regardless of the form it takes—fertile soil to take root. For every advice request in her inbox, there’s another reader writing to tell her how her words made them consider unexpected possibilities, or gave them hope. Janet would be proud of the work she’s doing.
With renewed vigor, she scrolls through her inbox until a message catches her eye.
HELP! I’m in love with a human woman.
Intrigued, she clicks on the message.
Dear Electra,
I’m a 120 y/o man, hopelessly in love with a 29 y/o human woman.
Electra’s heart catches in her throat. Username: @unknownerror2271. In case her memory is playing tricks on her, she finds the previous ID message from days ago to confirm. It’s him. Her pulse races as she returns to the message.
I think I might have fallen in love with her the moment she opened her eyes in my lab and I saw that spark that is distinctly hers. The draw I felt toward her scared the shit out of me. I’m such a coward that I’ve been fighting it ever since. My fear led me to hold back truths from her I wasn’t ready to admit to myself. She saw me though, and by seeing me, forced meto confront the parts of myself I felt ashamed of. I lashed out, and for that I’m deeply sorry. I insinuated I would trade her for someone else who’s lost to me, but I realize he’s gone. I’ve known it since that miserable day nearly a hundred years ago. The truth is, I would trade almost anything and anyone to get him back. He’s my twin—someone who feels like a missing half of my brain. But I’ve discovered that she’s the other half of my heart.
She brings a lightness to my life each day. She makes me laugh and keeps me guessing. When I’m with her, I feel alive in a way I haven’t felt for the longest time. Since Jerme.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be whole, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to show her I can be a better person. Someone who is worthy of her trust and affection. Maybe even her love.
For so long, I wasn’t willing to open up—to risk losing someone again. But she’s worth it. So please, Electra, tell me what I need to do to win her back.
