Page 2 of Unscripted Love

“Excuse me?”

“Call me Kyle.”

“Why? Because I blew you?” Too bad I said it right as Terry walked into the room with Harry’s prescription.

“Should I come back?” she asked sassily.

“No!” I said.

“Yes!”Kyleanswered at the same time.

“He signs my checks,” Terry said, pointing at Kyle. She laughed heartily then set the pill bottle on the exam table and left the room.

“Oh my God!” I’d always had a knack for saying the wrong thing at the right time. Or was it the right thing at the wrong time? No, I was pretty sure it was the wrong thing at the wrong time. “I just need to stop talking.”

“I like your mouth just fine,” Kyle responded.

“Well, at least someone does,” I muttered while placing Harry inside his carrier. “Do me a favor,” I told him. “Don’t tell my aunt, Sandra, that I brought Harry’s urine to you in a mason jar. She keeps me supplied with the best homemade strawberry jam if I return the jars to her so she can reuse them. I’ll tell her I accidentally broke one instead of telling her the truth.”

“My lips are sealed,” Kyle said. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but decided against it.

I’d never seen his playful side before, and I wasn’t sure what prompted him to show it to me that night. He was one of Josh’s clients at the salon, so I saw him on a semi-regular basis. Plus, we lived in a town with a population of just over six-thousand people, so I saw him around a lot, namely the diner. He was always friendly but usually serious. I liked the glimpse he showed me.

I started to tell him to have a good night, but his hand on the small of my back caused my words to stick in my throat. I had my winter coat on over a sweater, but I was convinced I still felt the heat of his hand. I’d had some pretty vivid dreams about Dr. Dimples, but I never thought they’d have a chance of coming true.Wait a minute. One flirty exchange and his hand on my back doesn’t equal my crush morphing into anything more than spank bank material.

That didn’t stop me from practically levitating off the floor in excitement when I exited the room. I’d never been high before, but I was certain the detached floating sensation had to be similar. Josh looked at me and did a double take then narrowed his eyes as he searched my face for clues about what happened in the exam room. Technically, nothing happened, butsomethingdid because from that night forward, it felt like a cosmic shift whenever we were in the same room.

I became even more aware of Kyle than before, and I had the impression that he experienced the same with me. Instead of it giving me more confidence, it made me feel more shy and awkward because I knew there was no way in hell anything would come out of the attraction. He was a respected town veterinarian, and I was a receptionist at a salon. It wasn’t that I didn’t have dreams, I just never expected them to come true.

I quickly learned that life was full of surprises—some of them were good, and some of them were exceptional. For the next few months, I spent my free time writing a book that I thought was sexy and suspenseful, but I felt it needed a bit more technical grit when it came to the subject matter. I figured the best way to get in the head of a hardcore gamer was to become one. I got more than I ever bargained for when I discovered that Kyle was playingWorld of Warcraft, I mean Doc Paws from B-Ville wasn’t exactly covert or anything.

We struck up a quick online friendship that became both addictive and dangerous. It was addictive because I craved the flirting banter between us more than alcohol or chocolate, and I loved fine wine and chocolate. It was dangerous because I had fallen fast and hard for a man I would never have, and worse, I allowed him to fall for me. I molded myself into the perfect guy for him because I already had the inside scoop on his favorite things and knew the secrets to his heart. I knew that Kyle would never forgive me if he found out that I had deceived him, but that didn’t stop me from taking the playful banter a step further.

Next thing I knew, we were meeting in private chat rooms and sharing moments that left me breathless one minute and filled with shame the next. Knowing that I was revving Kyle up and making him moan and come was the biggest turn on I’d ever had until I remembered that it wasn’tmethat drove him crazy. It was Drew from Columbus. I knew I’d gone too far when Kyle said that he wanted to take the next step and meet me in person.

I cut myself off from him cold turkey, and let me tell you that I had withdrawals for weeks afterward. Our online romance only lasted a short time, but I suspected it would taunt me for a lifetime. I’d shake hard every time I saw his messages pop up in the app on my phone, but I erased them before I read them and did something even more stupid like pick up the habit again. Kyle wasn’t one to give up easily and persistently messaged me daily for nearly a month before he stopped.

Ignoring his messages made me miserable, but it was nothing compared to the devastation I felt when they stopped coming altogether. I had myself a good cry and doubled down on my focus to finish my book. Once I was done writing it, I spent all my extra energy on editing it and researching how to self-publish the thing. I had zero expectations when I uploaded the book for sale, but I learned that another surprise was in store for me.

My book became a best seller, and people actually wanted to read more work from me. By that time, my best friend Josh and his detective had finally realized that they had something special and began a real relationship with dates and a trip to meet their families in Florida. I was so happy for him, but it drove home how lonely I was at night with just Harry and my latest manuscript.

Burning the midnight oil caught up to me and Meredith and Josh called me out on it after I was late to work and almost slept through Sunday family dinner. Meredith, our queen, wanted to take me to the hospital to get checked out because she thought I was sick, but I promised her I wasn’t ill. She and Josh demanded to know what was going on with me while Gabe silently watched our exchange. I had to come up with something, but I wasn’t ready to tell them about the book. It was still too new, and I had no idea where the hell it was going to take me.

I thought madly for an excuse and used the first one that came to mind. “I’m not sick,” I told Mere. “I was just up late last night—well, early this morning—playing video games.”

“Video games?” Meredith’s tone and demeanor had changed from distraught to disbelief in a second.

“Yeah, it helps me relieve stress,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Stress?” she asked me, placing her hands on her hips. I could tell she was about to give me a piece of her mind, but I pressed on anyway.

“Yes, stress,” I said defensively, not liking her tone one bit. “I don’t have a built-in stress reliever,” I said, pointing at Gabe, “like Jazz does, and I’m not as kickass as you are. Nothing seems to faze you, Mere.”

“That’s a bunch of bullshit if I ever heard it. Don’t make excuses for bad behavior and then play the poor pitiful me card,” Meredith told me. She was madder than a hornet, and I could tell she was just getting started. “Josh and I have been worried sick to death about you for months. You’ve turned us down to go out, you’ve been late to work, you’ve been absent-minded at times, and you nearly missed Sunday dinner with your family. You look physically ill right now, baby,” Meredith added, but with a softer tone of voice. “What can we do to help you?”

I felt the fight fade right out of me and flopped down on a kitchen chair. I had worried my friends sick over my behavior and then turned on them when they expressed their concern. Josh and Meredith moved to flank my sides and began comforting me.

“I feel so immature and ridiculous, but that’s what I’ve gotten caught up in.” I felt sick inside from lying to my friends. “I’m sorry for worrying you. I promise you that I’m not sick and I’ll do better about getting to work on time.”