The Write Stuff (10 page)

C
hapter Nine

"I don't know why you're even arguing. You know as well as I do it's a good idea," Olivia stated, pausing the movie we had been watching.

"
Liv, you know releases are stressful enough for me. The fact that I'm doing three back-to-back events is already freaking me out. I have no idea how I'm supposed to keep up with the blog tour and all the other promo stuff you set up while I'm gone for three whole weeks. There's no way in hell I'm going to add Alec into the mix."

Olivia sighed.
"Seriously, Nicole, you need to grow up. This isn't high school. Haven't we moved past the whole
he doesn't like me, therefore I'll never speak to him again
phase? The next three weeks are bigger than the silliness you're still holding on to. I'm not just saying this because you're my best friend. I truly believe in you, and
Wicked Lovely
is your best book yet. Don't get me wrong. You know I adore your writing like a mommy elephant loves her two-ton baby, but this book is special. It's like you dug down deep and wrote from your gut. It's raw, beautiful and true love at its finest."

"
Did you steal that from a review for another book?"

"
I'm serious, whore. You owe it to this book to give it your all. If that means biting the bullet to bring your cover model along, so be it." I tried to interrupt again, but she held up her hand. "You need to do this."

I mulled over her words
, gnawing on my bottom lip. I knew she was right. There was stiff competition in the book market and if I wanted
Wicked Lovely
to get the launch it deserved, I needed an advantage. I hated being boxed in a corner, but Alec provided that advantage. "I can't believe I agreed to all of this," I sighed. "Three signings back to back. I hope you'll miss me when all this kills me. Good luck finding another best friend who watches polygamy shows obsessively with you like I do."

"
I know you said before if you die I get all your stuff, but do I have to take Severus?" She glared at my cat, who took a swipe at her hand when she reached out to pet him. They had never been terribly close. "Keep it up, fleabag, and I'll turn you into a rug."

I laughed when Severus turned his back in response, making me think
cats were the superior species.

Olivia took another sip of her wine.
"That little shit just basically gave me the cat version of the finger, didn't he? All right, if you accepted your fate, I'll book Alec's side of the trip, okay?"

"
Are you sure we have enough cash in the marketing budget?" I already knew the answer, but I was grasping for one last out.

"
More than enough. Putting aside twenty percent of your earnings has given you a nice nest egg. If this book does what I'm hoping it will, that nest egg will become a dozen
.
This trip couldn't have come at a better time."

I raised my own glass of wine but didn
't take a sip right away. I absently ran my thumb over the stem. I wished I were as optimistic as she was. The entire trip had the makings of a nightmare as far as I was concerned.

***

"Doughnut?" Alec opened the wax-covered paper bag and held it out to me.

I sat back in
my seat at the airport, crossing my arms over my chest. "No, thanks. I'm not hungry." My rumbling stomach said otherwise, but I felt too nervous to eat.

"
You sure?" He gave me a sideways look after hearing the evidence of my empty stomach.

"
I'm sure. I can't believe you eat those anyway. I would have pegged you for a healthier eater."

"
Usually, but I love me some Krispy Kreme."

I looked out the large floor
-to-ceiling window. The sun hadn't come up yet, so it was still too dark outside to see anything but my reflection staring back at me. Our flight to Nashville was due to leave in forty-five minutes and everyone at our gate seemed eager to start boarding. A fluttering of panic settled in my stomach, which increased in intensity as the minutes clanked by. If I left now I could go back to my nice, safe apartment. It wasn't that I was afraid of flying. It was the idea of spending the next twenty-one days with someone I couldn't connect with that had my mood as black as the sky outside.

Alec
, on the other hand, was like the freaking sun. "You know, we don't have to be enemies," he said, taking a large bite of his dreamy glazed breakfast. My mouth watered. Krispy Kreme doughnuts were one of my weaknesses.

I tore my eyes away from the enticing glistening pastry
. "We're not enemies. I don't even know you well enough to be your enemy. I don't want to know you well enough to be enemies, or anything else for that matter." I hated being mean. That wasn't my personality. Everyone who knew me would say the same thing. Most of the time I would bend over backward to make sure everyone was happy. My mom said I was a born people pleaser. She liked to joke that nice ran through my DNA like fleas on a dog.

Alec didn
't reply right away, but his eyes bore into me as he rolled up his paper bag. "Nicole, shouldn't you be happy I wasn't willing to take things further? That you weren't wasting yourself on a one-night stand?"

I couldn
't help looking around in embarrassment. It wasn't like we were sitting at an empty gate. "What do you want, a thank you?" I hissed through gritted teeth.

"
I'm just saying you should be glad I wasn't a dick. I'm not saying you have to thank me, but surely you realize I did us both a favor."

Laughter erupted out of me. He had to be kidding.
"A favor? Of course. Why hadn't I seen it before? Rejecting me was like getting an extra slice of birthday cake. I'm so glad you stopped things when you did." I stood up angrily, no longer worried about the people sitting around us.

Gripping the handle of my carry-on suitcase
, I stomped away, much like a child threatening to run away. What a bullshit way to justify what happened between us that night. He basically told me I wasn't worthy of having sex with and then wanted to tell me he did me a favor. I walked past the filled rows of seats to stand by the window. In the reflection of the glass, I saw that someone had taken the empty seat I had vacated next to Alec.

Stubbornly, I remained by the window until the boarding of our flight was announced
. The first rays of the sun were beginning to peek through the horizon, filling the sky with delicate shades of pink and creamsicle orange. My actions felt more and more childish the longer I stood there. Regardless of our history, I had to figure out a way to make it through this trip. Olivia had been right. This wasn't high school.

Thirty mi
nutes later, I probably would have jumped from the plane without a parachute if given the chance. A hard thump hit the back of my seat, jolting me for about the hundredth time since we had taken off.

"
Johnny, please stop kicking the poor lady's seat."

"
Nooooooooo," Johnny bellowed, making several passengers turn to look at the offending row where he was currently tormenting his mother.

"
Sorry. He's just excited to be flying," Johnny the Kicker's mom said, peeking between our seats.

"
It's fine," I said, flashing her a tight-lipped smile. Alec shook with silent laughter. Without thinking, I swung my foot out bringing it smartly against his shin.

"
Damn, woman," he said, rubbing his shin. The way Johnny's mom gasped, it sounded like she may have thought Alec was talking to her. Regardless, it was enough to make me smile.

Alec leaned in
conspiratorially to whisper into my ear. "You know you could tell her it's not okay?"

"
Or you could just switch seats with me," I said out of the corner of my mouth.

"
Not on your life. Johnny might find himself strapped to the wing of the plane if we did that."

I could
n't help snorting with laughter, nearly losing my iPad from my lap.

"
What are you working on?"

"
Nothing much. I planned on starting the sequel to
Wicked Lovely
, but my brain is refusing to cooperate. I'm never very productive when I have a lot going on. I should probably resign myself to the fact that I won't get any writing done for the next few weeks," I said, closing my iPad.

"
How many books do you write a year?" He stretched his long legs out in the limited space.

"
I seem to be averaging one every four to five months start to finish."

He whistled through his teeth.
"Impressive."

"
That's nothing. I have friends who release more than that. It makes my head spin sometimes. Readers seem to love it though."

"
I guess I didn't realize books were produced that fast. I feel like I have to wait forever for some of my favorite authors to put a book out."

"
That's traditionally published books. They tend to move slower because of the way they fill their release calendar. Indie-published authors have the autonomy to release whenever they want." The conversation felt odd. We were talking like we were friends.

He held out the bag w
ith the remaining doughnut inside. Unable to deny my hunger any longer, I accepted it and made him grin when I devoured the tasty treat in two bites.

"
Impressive," he said, crumpling up the bag.

"
Sorry. I really was hungry. Thanks."

"
So, is that why you decided to indie publish, so you can release whenever you want?"

I shrugged, licking the glaze off my fingers.
"Partly. At first I was too impatient to try the traditional route, but I wouldn't say no to an offer now. I've always been one of those people who wants something as soon as I've made up my mind. I'm an instant gratification kind of girl." I regretted the words the moment they left my runaway mouth.

Even
Alec sat in silence. Probably pondering what he thought was a hidden meaning in my explanation. I opened my mouth to clarify what I meant when an object flew over the seat hitting him in the side of the head.

This time his curse words were more colorful and an octave louder.

"Do you mind?" Johnny's mom asked, glaring at Alec through the seats. "My son is young and impressionable."

"
He's going to have a Spider-Man shoved up his young impressionable ass in a minute," Alec mumbled under his breath as I handed Johnny's mother the offending action figure. It was refreshing to see Alec flustered since it was normally me embarrassing myself when we were together.

By the time we
landed in Nashville an hour later, both Alec and I were long past ready to get off the plane. We were both up and out of our seats as soon as the pilot turned off the fasten seatbelts sign. In hindsight, it may have been a better idea to let Johnny and his mom go first, because he screamed the entire way down the narrow aisle.

"
I now know of another good use for duct tape."

"
Wow, tell me how you really feel about kids." I was teasing of course, but Johnny had been enough to drive anyone batty.

"
Hey, don't get me wrong. I like kids, but that one was like the reincarnation of Chucky."  

"
You're comparing a screaming kid to a freaky killer doll? He wasn't that bad."

Alec
shot me an incredulous look as he walked purposefully through the terminal. "Were you just on the same flight as me? That kid made my sperm run and hide in fear. He was a walking, screaming endorsement for safe sex, or better yet, abstinence."

"
Well, that shouldn't be a hard stretch for you." It was a catty comment, but I couldn't seem to help myself. I was fine having a normal conversation with him, but bring up the word "sex" and my inner bitch showed up to the party.

"
Would it help if I let you punch me in the nuts?"

Not sure I heard him right, I
stopped in the middle of the terminal, causing several annoyed passengers to go around me. "What did you say?"

"
If I let you punch me in the nuts, will you forgive me for leading you on? I'd like to be friends with you, Nicole, but I don't think that's possible until you've had your revenge. If that means I take a shot to the nuts, so be it."

"
You're willing to sacrifice your jewels to be friends? Is it even possible for a man and woman who almost slept together to be friends?" We stepped back into the flow of walking traffic after an aggravated man dressed in a business suit tripped over my rolling suitcase.

"
Sure, it's possible. Don't you have any male friends?"

"
No," I answered, trying to keep up with his long strides toward baggage claim. "Are you telling me you have female friends? Females you haven't slept with? And I'm not talking about the girls your buddies are dating."