Hidden Gem Short Story Collection (9781301405985) Read Online Free PDF

and out. You’re a fucking woman.” He blinked the
water out of his eyes. “And I’m gonna make sure I’m a fucking man
for you,” he laughed, a hint of sheepishness in it. “I’m gonna get
my ass an internship at Klein Sports and I’m gonna rake in the big
bucks – my own big bucks – and I’m gonna buy you a fucking house and we’re
going to fill it with crazy, rabid kids ‘cause you are a fucking
amazing, inspirational woman and I love you.”
    Zoe stared, suddenly breathless. She hadn’t
heard the words from him yet but there they were, full of zeal,
laced with profanity and exactly as she would’ve expected them from
Gavin. Biting her lower lip, she tried to suppress the absolutely
massive grin spreading her face. She couldn’t.
    “ Love me?” Gavin asked,
breathless as he held her in the water, his eyes bright, his own
face lit with a sudden and brilliant energy.
    “ I love you so much,” Zoe
breathed, suddenly filled to the brim with that love – to the point
where she was having crazy thoughts. Eloping. Going back in the
house and starting on those kids.
    Yeah. The sex was crazy
that night , Zoe recalled as she applied
Tyler’s words to her memory. The conversation had in fact been
foreplay to their foreplay. It hadn’t been her only meaningful
conversation with Gavin but it was certainly the most memorable,
probably because she’d finally heard a boy mean it when he said
that he loved her. She actually hadn’t seen anyone mean any words
more than Gavin had with those. And for once, she’d meant the words
herself. The only other time she’d spoken them were to Marco
Donovan but she had been sixteen and blind to the fact that Marco
actually treated her like shit, that she’d merely idealized him for
years, having crushed hard on him since he’d been cast as her love
interest on the show.
    “ Thinking about
Gavin?”
    Zoe narrowed her eyes at Tyler’s question.
She put on a sassy look. “You think you’re so smart, Tyler Chase,”
she said, though she couldn’t keep a straight face for the majority
of the sentence. She swallowed, trying to suppress her memory of
that night at the lake in order to breathe somewhat normally again.
“Well. You are.” She shook her head at his satisfied expression.
“You smug asshole.”
    “ You should try it again
with him,” Tyler said with a shrug as he finished his
coffee.
    “ Yeah, don’t think so. He
dumped me and I’m presently promoting a film while technically
homeless, so I’m not sure if now is the best time to have a
relationship with anyone.”
    Tyler leaned back in his chair and smirked.
“Fair enough.” He crossed his arms. “But now that I’ve forced you
to remember how rewarding an actual relationship can be, will you
at least tell me I’m right about the quick fix guys? That they’re
not worth it?”
    “ And you’re not some
freakshow for not tapping every piece of cute ass that throws
itself at you? Fine,” Zoe said, crossing her own arms. “You are so
super right, Tyler Chase, and you’re the smartest man
alive.”
    He grinned. “That felt insincere but I’ll
take it.”
    “ You should.”
    He tossed his empty coffee cup into the
trashcan from ten feet away. “And you should try turning your phone
off tonight. Chilling in your hotel room with a movie. Glass of
wine, maybe. No quick fix tonight. Swear ‘em off for a bit.”
    “ Aw man, what?” Zoe gave
an exaggerated groan and an incredulous look. “What’s it to you,
anyway, Tyler? A girl has her needs.”
    “ Yeah. I have a feeling
you’ve indulged them all thus far.”
    “ Hey. Screw
you.”
    Tyler laughed. “I’m just saying. Let
yourself be alone for a night and remember things. What you really
like in a guy. What’s actually important to you beyond the physical
stuff. See if it changes the way you think about relationships.
And, you know. Love.”
    Zoe heaved a sigh and shook her head. “No
wonder you have all those crazy fangirls.” She snorted.