Chapter 26
SAM
The time had finally come for the news Sam had been dreading.
She was confident about how her book was going, channeling all of her energy the past few days into a writing frenzy to distract herself from everything else going on in her life.
Things between her and Charlie were normal…
ish. She’d rationalized, and rationalized more, about what Charlie had written on her back when he’d thought she was asleep.
She was still half asleep herself, so who knows if that was actually what he’d written?
Who knows if he was writing anything at all?
He could’ve been just connecting the dots with the freckles on her back for all she knew.
It was fortunate that Charlie had to run into the office for a few hours—something about an outage and the data lab.
It had taken most of the morning to reassure him that she would be perfectly fine by herself, especially after the most recent update, but she was secretly glad for the few minutes to herself to talk to Angel.
She just needed a little girl time, that’s all.
Plus, she wanted to calm herself as much as possible before this call.
She positioned her laptop on the coffee table and settled onto the floor, crossing her legs. She was doing anything and everything she could think of to calm herself.
Grounding herself to the floor?
Check.
A warm and fluffy pillow nearby that she could clutch if she needed to hug something?
Her fingers traced the seam of the pillow she’d borrowed from Charlie’s bed, ensuring it was strategically positioned within arms reach.
Check.
A cold and fizzy drink to sip on if the nerves started making her stomach feel sour?
She reached for the bottle of seltzer Charlie had given her before leaving and took a preemptive sip to get ahead of the curve.
Check.
She was as ready as she could be for whatever news Angel brought. The black video screen in front of her displayed the “waiting for host” message at the top as she settled into her spot.
Her phone dinged next to her, startling her from the thoughts running rampant in her head. A smile finally spread across her face as she opened the message.
Relax, they’ll love it
She laughed and quickly shot off a reply, keeping an eye on the screen as she did.
Easy for you to say!
How did you know I was sitting here, freaking out?
I have met you recently… haven’t I?
Rude
You know you’ve got it in the bag
You said Angel loved it
I did, but Angel is biased
She’s not the one publishing my book
You’ve got this. We’ll figure it out even if they don’t
Sam laughed, trying not to let the butterflies in her gut mean anything more than the anticipation of the news she was waiting on.
Tell Angel I said hi
As soon as Sam put her phone back down, the screen finally lit up with Angel’s sunny disposition.
The background was different from Angel’s usual view of Manhattan behind her.
Instead, she’d opted for what appeared to be a green screen.
Angel’s form melded in with an angelic-looking scene of clouds floating around her, the olive-colored turtle-neck she had on contrasting starkly with the dream-like purples and pinks surrounding her.
A golden halo glittered above her head in the most ridiculous—yet very stylistic—choice that already had Angel giving Sam a self-satisfied grin.
“I hope this was on purpose and not just because your nickname is Angel?” Sam immediately asked.
Angel’s grin widened somehow, appearing far too pleased with herself. “You know, I honestly didn’t think of it that way, but thank you for making this choice even better. I think I’m gonna add it to my repertoire.”
“Definitely quite the sight,” Sam agreed, unable to hide the eye roll she gave her friend.
“Well, I just wanted to do something special, so you remembered how much of an angel I am.”
Sam laughed. “Only if you come bearing good news?”
“I had a nice long conversation with the team, and they are thrilled with the pages you’ve sent,” Angel confirmed, shimmying her shoulders.
The tension in Sam’s gut finally unraveled. “Oh my God, really? They liked it?”
“They fucking ate it up!” Angel exclaimed, emphasizing each word with a clap in between. “They loved the idea of you trying your hand at romance. And, on top of the many other reasons why you love me, they also agreed to let you pick whatever pen name you want to use.”
“Angel, you’ve outdone yourself!” she squealed, bouncing in her seat.
Angel fluffed her hair. “I know.”
“Does that mean that my contract is safe?”
“It means they’re updating it with this current project of yours as we speak.”
Sam pumped a fist into the air. It was a dip in the pool in comparison with all the other things going on, but the relief she felt was swift. The sheer weight of it washed over her like a tidal wave with tears stinging the back of her eyes.
She wouldn’t lose her dream job after all.
On the verge of celebration, she noticed Angel was holding up a tentative finger. “There’s just… one catch…”
Of course there would be—it had sounded almost too easy.
“This should be a walk in the park for you,” Angel added quickly, as if she could see the gears in Sam’s head turning.
Sam narrowed her eyes. “And that would be?”
“The book is supposed to be a spicy romance… So, they just want to see one of the spicy scenes just to make sure they’re totally happy with everything, especially since the book isn’t technically finished yet.”
Sam groaned and ran a hand through her hair. “Great. I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”
“Well, I’d hop along to it.”
“How soon do they want it by?”
Angel grimaced. “End of the week.”
Sam’s eyes bulged. “That’s in three days, Angel!”
“If push comes to shove, I’ll see if I can do some publishing magic to convince them to drop the matter, but you know I can’t guarantee it,” Angel stated, quickly adding in, “And if you decide to cut the scene later, you always can. As long as they have something to read for the time being, I think they’ll be satisfied. ”
It made sense, and the fact that it was all they wanted was far better than what she’d feared.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Angel prompted, snapping her bright-pink manicure in front of the camera.
“Sorry, no, you’re right—something is better than nothing, and I don’t have to keep it if it doesn’t make sense with the story.”
“But…” her friend drawled.
“But… I just... I mean... You know that I’ve read my fair share of spicy romances over the years…”
Angel nodded. “More than your fair share.”
“But now that I’m at the point where I actually need to write that scene, it’s a little daunting,” Sam admitted.
“Well, speaking of,” Angel started as she waggled her eyebrows at Sam. “Think that’s something your experiment partner might be able to help you with?”
She rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the flutter in her stomach. “Don’t even start with me on that.”
Angel shrugged, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Why not?”
“This is sounding eerily less like talking me through writing a sex scene and much more like a fucking pep talk,” Sam snapped, rubbing her forehead.
“Well, who else are you gonna talk to about it? I’m putting my self-appointed other best friend hat on now. Stop talking to me like your agent. Tell me what’s going on. You look… stressed.”
Sam was stressed. Everything was so muddled down that she suddenly wasn’t sure why she was hesitating.
Was it because there had been so much going on lately that her body felt constantly on alert?
Maybe it was that she was still trying to discern whether Charlie had told her something significant with his finger drawings or if she had completely lost her marbles?
Or was it because she’d have to say what her feelings were out loud, and that prospect suddenly terrified her more than she thought.
“I think… I think this fake-dating thing of ours was a huge mistake.”
Angel cocked her head. “Why do you say that?”
Sam bit her lip. “Because I knew my feelings would get in the way, and they are… Big time.”
Angel clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh my God, finally. Tell me everything!”
“I’m not telling you everything; that’s private.”
The speakers nearly burst as Angel squealed. “You slept with him?!”
Sam waved her hands. “No! No! We haven’t slept together! Jeez, Angel.”
Angel immediately pouted. “No fun. Why not? Sweetie, he was a teenager when he told Peter that he didn’t see you as more than a friend. Don’t you think there’s the remote possibility that his feelings have changed?””
“Because,” Sam hissed, “Charlie and I started this experiment as friends. We’re ending it as friends. That’s all he sees me as anyway, so it doesn’t even matter.”
The sting that accompanied that statement was overwhelming.
“Jesus Christ, you are so fucking dense.” Angel groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I love you, you know that, so I say this with love, but you are so dumb.”
The bluntness of that statement forced a strangled laugh out of Sam. “Rude.”
“Okay,” Angel started after noisily letting out a breath. “Put that aside for a minute. You clearly have a hard time separating different aspects of relationships—but you said he only sees you as a friend. What about you?”
Sam blinked a few times. “Wait, what is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I’ve been your best friend since college, but you have the worst time sometimes towing that line between us being friends and working together. I’m not Charlie-level best friend, but you’re still my best friend nonetheless.”
Sam’s entire body shrank in on itself. “That’s different.”
“How?” Angel asked, folding her arms across her chest.
Sam shrugged sheepishly. “It just is.”
Angel laughed, but there was a sudden venom in her eyes that surprised Sam. “It really isn’t. We used to tell each other everything! Hell, you get a fucking stalker, and it didn’t even cross your mind to tell me until days later?”
Sam flinched at that one. “In my defense, I didn’t tell Charlie about it either…”