Chapter 219:
Showing Emotions
Chris’s POV:
I never felt that one day I’d stand in Megan’s posh penthouse with the New York skyline painting the backdrop behind us. Worlds of dingy apartments and coffee-stained manuscripts seemed galaxies away from her worlds of glitz and glamour. Yet here I was, her ghostwriter, fake boyfriend-maybe something more if I was being honest with myself.
“Chris, are you even listening?” Megan’s voice snapped me back to reality. Her pacing across the room with fists balled in frustration: “What’s wrong with that guy?” Quiet I remained other than trying to keep my voice leveled.
“You are always thinking. What I need right now is for you to talk to me,” she shot back, her eyes fastening with mine, avoiding hearing the sudden increase in my racing heartbeat.
“All right, all right,” I said, surrendering and throwing my arms in the air. “What is it now?”
She sighed deeply and shrugged. “It’s just. everything. The media, the constant scrutiny, this fake thing. Sometimes, I wonder if I am even cut out for this anymore.”
I took another step closer, but aware all the time that this had to be done gently; I had to be there for her. “Megan, really, you are one of the strongest people that I know-one who’s been through hell in that ring. This? This is just noise.”
She turned from pacing around the room to face me, her eyes searching in mine for reassurance or understanding. “It’s not just noise, Chris. It’s my life. And right now, it feels like it’s spiraling out of control.”
I reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Then let’s take back control. Together.
She met my eyes for what felt like a very long time before slowly nodding. “All right, together; but there’s something I must ask you.”
“Anything,” I replied. My heart was thudding.
“Why did you go along with this? With me?” Her voice was soft, almost vulnerable.
I took a deep breath. Another moment of truth. “In the beginning, it was just the money, an opportunity. I really just wanted to get my name out there. But now…. now, it means so much more.”
She stared at me with open eyes; “What do you mean?”
“Do you know, I care about you, Megan. More than I ever thought I’d be able to. This sham of a relationship? It’s starting to feel kinda real,” I finally admitted very softly.
There was the silence before Megan closed the space between us. Those cocksucking green eyes of hers raked into mine, searching. “Chris, I-”
Just as she was getting into it, the doorbell went off, breaking that tension. Stepping back, Megan’s expression was clearly one of frustration and relief. “Who can that be?” she muttered and walked toward the door.
I followed her as my mind raced at lightspeed. Had I screwed up royally? Would this wreck everything?
She opened the door, and there was her ex, Miles, clutching a bouquet of flowers. “Megan, we need to talk,” he said, sincerity oozing out from his voice.
I felt anger and jealousy running in my blood. “What the hell are you doing here, Miles?” I demanded, stepping in front of Megan.
Miles raised an eyebrow. “I’m here to talk with Megan, not you. So why don’t you back off?
“Not now, Miles,” Megan groaned. “We don’t have anything to talk about.”
“Oh, I think we do,” Miles said, his gaze cutting from me to her. “I’ve done some stupid stuff, but I want to make it right.”
I could feel this in her, this wrestle of two sides, love and anger; it tore my heart into two. “Megan, you don’t owe him anything,” I said softly.
“Chris, please,” she said, lifting a hand. “Miles, you need to leave.”
Miles looked like he was going to argue with her before he just then sighed and nodded. “Alright, but this isn’t over, Megan. I’ll be back.”
He turned to go, and I turned to Megan. “You all right?”
She nodded, although her eyes were a million miles away. “Yeah, I just…I need a minute.”
She went to the window, stood there looking out over the city. Every fiber of my body ached to go to her, console her, but I didn’t know if she’d appreciate it.
After some two minutes, she finally turned to me, fire in her eyes. “Chris, we need to focus on the book. Let’s get back to work.”
I nodded because I know this was her way of rising above things. “Alright, let’s do it.
We stayed working on her memoir for the next couple of hours. It was much easier now that the air between us had somewhat been cleared; the words flowed abundantly. We made good headway into it, considering her pace, when Megan suddenly closed her laptop and looked at me.
“Chris, about what you said earlier.” she began, her voice hesitant.
“Yeah?” I urged again, and my heart started racing once more.
“I care about you, too. More than I thought I would,” she stated with a focused look on mine.
Hope bloomed within me. “What does that mean for us?”
She smiled, not wide but small and real. “It means we take it one day at a time. No more pretending. Let’s see where this goes, for real.”
“I’d like that, Megan. I’d like that a lot.”
We just sat there, holding hands, looking out over the city. And for a moment, I thought maybe-just maybe-this whole crazy, jacked-up situation really could somehow turn into something real and lasting. For the first time in forever, I felt hopeful about the future.
As the evening wore long and closer to my way out, Megan walked me towards the door.
“Thank you for today,” Megan breathed out. “For everything.”
I smiled at her. “Anytime, Megan. Anytime.”.
It was that moment I stepped out into the hallway where I felt all the weird emotions: relief, excitement, and maybe just a little bit of fear. More than anything, it was hopeful. For this was to be the first time Megan and I stood looking at the future as two lovers in a real relationship.
And that, I began to see, was what real love is- of the best kind.