Page 14 of Damsel in Defense
Datehim.
Why does that idea make my stomach flip?
I’m going to blame his biceps.And his smile.That combo is lethal to the rational mind.A body like his, honed for peak performance, is an amazing thing to behold.
He’s so much more too.He’s kind, understanding.Knew exactly when I needed support and when to let me just be.
But that isn’t enough to sayyes.Those are all the qualities of a budding friendship too.We could just be friends…maybe?
“Ahh!You’re being ridiculous, Victoria,” I groan to myself, pressing the palms of my hands into my eyelids.I’m going over the same facts and coming up with zero new definitive answers.Lying on the floor is obviously not my best thinking spot.
Dragging myself up, I stomp to the kitchen and reach for the open, waiting bag of Hint of Lime chips.Doesn’t matter to me that I’ve just worked out—I need them.
They are my comfort food and my life-changing-thinking chips.One of my tall stools around the small kitchen island isn’t going to cut it, so I drag myself back to the couch.
As I fall into the plush cushions, something hard hits against my hip bone.Reaching under me, I pull out my cell phone.I totally forgot I put it here.
I’m about to place my phone on the coffee table when the screen lights up in my hand.Cece is calling.Glaring at the phone, I contemplate whether I want to pick it up.
When she calls for the third time in a row, I decide I’ve let her suffer enough.
“That was rude,” she grumbles.“You did that on purpose.”
“I would never,” I tell her with mock insult.“You are one of my most cherished and beloved friends.”
“Beloved, my ass.”I chuckle to myself at how annoyed she sounds.“I will forgive you,this once,” she emphasizes, “since you are an absolute genius.How did you come up with it?”
“I’ll agree, I am a genius.But I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’re trending, Tori.Trending in agoodway.You’re practically America’s Sweetheart who stumbled into a Canadian prince.Connecting yourself to Mason Warren is such a better idea than what I came up with.”
“Prince?”I snort.“The man saved me from drowning in a panic fountain.”
“Amazing.Such a good meet-cute moment.”
“I was in the middle of a panic attack, Cece.There was nothing cute about it.”
“Well, I’m glad you had someone there to help you.I’m sorry.But this is going to change everything!It’s giving vulnerable.It’s giving redemption arc.It’s giving soft girl era.”
I shovel more chips into my mouth.“It’s giving nausea.”
Cece pauses.“Why are you so grumpy about this?You connected with him.It may have been a random act of Fate, but the narrative has already changed.This couldreallyhelp your image.”
My stomach twists.Her words hit me square in the chest, causing a sad ache—but she isn’t wrong either.My reputation has been a slow-motion implosion ever since the paparazzi started tracking me like I was some kind of tragic reality star.
And lately…it’s been easier to let them think I’m spiralling than to admit the truth.
That I’ve been grieving.
That I’m lost.
That I miss Grandma Angie so much I can’t evenbreathesome days.
That I couldn’t write.Words had been eluding me for months.
So maybe Cece has a point.
If fake-dating Mason Warren buys me time to pull myself together, to take the spotlight off the mess and onto the maybe…why not?
