Still not into you - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,59

to be a wealthy guy’s fiancée on the cruise?”

“Of course! I can’t believe you’re done with it already.” While I’ve been head-deep in my own drama, Tea managed to write a whole book. Imagine that!

“I’d love for you to read it,” she says.

“Oh my God. Yes, definitely!”

“I can send you an ePub version so you can read it on your phone,” she says.

“Perfect!”

Tea has been working on the book since January and it’s finally done. I’m awed by her dedication. In addition to her classes and Tanner, she has been working on this project and now it’s completed.

“Frankly, I’m really jealous,” I say when our food finally arrives. I ordered a tuna salad and she’s having a grilled chicken panini.

“What? Why?” she says, laughing.

“Because you went out there and did this awesome thing, while I’ve been burying my head in the sand and dealing with all of my stupid problems.”

“Well, another way to think about it is that you’ve been out there living life while I’ve just been writing about someone else’s.”

“Given how this semester has gone, I really wish I had some fictional drama in my life instead of real drama.”

“I know,” she says sympathetically. “It’s been really tough. I’m sorry. I’m sure that when you look back on all this next year, you’ll laugh about it.”

I smile. “Probably not next year. Maybe in ten years.”

“Okay, in ten years.” She smiles.

Tea sends me her book that evening and I plan on just reading a chapter or two, but seven hours later, well past my usual bedtime, I finally finish it. Wow. The characters are so vivid; they seem more real than real people. They practically jump from the page. I don’t remember the last time I devoured a book like that. It’s so different from all the books I’ve read for English classes. Unlike in the books that I’ve read before, the romance and the love in this one was real.

The characters weren’t just people on the page. When they spoke, I heard them. I saw them. I felt them. Their love is real. The girl, Savannah, acted just like I would, or anyone our age. The guy, Tatum, well, Tatum was definitely a better version of any guy I’ve met. It’s as if all of the best qualities of the guys I know, like Hudson and Dylan, were exaggerated to the ninth degree. Don’t get me wrong. He has some bad qualities, too, some insecurities, but nothing that his love can’t help him with.

I lie in bed for close to an hour after finishing Tea’s book, waiting to fall asleep. Unlike all those other sleepless nights I had, the ones that tore me up inside, the ones during which I spent hours beating myself up for all the things that I shouldn’t have said and done and all the things that I should’ve said and done, this night is different. I actually lie in bed thinking about the book. Imagining Tatum and Savannah’s love for each other, their first kiss, their first everything. Unlike all these other books, in this one, Tea didn’t shy away from fading to black. She took me everywhere, describing every touch, every feeling, every sensation, and every smell. In the end? I fell in love with Tatum and Savannah and I had to have more.

Why the hell did you write this book?

I text Tea even though it’s in the middle of the night. Hopefully, she has her phone off if she’s sleeping, but Tea writes back almost immediately.

What? You don’t like it?

No, I fucking love it!!!

Oh…ok. So, what’s the problem?

What’s the problem? The problem is that I can’t sleep. I love them. I want more.

More?

More about Tatum and Savannah. Are you writing another one? I can’t type fast enough.

Um…I haven’t thought about it much.

Well, think about it! I’m going to try to get some sleep now. Not likely though, thanks to your book. Sorry not sorry.

After putting down my phone, I still can’t get to sleep. This time my mind doesn’t wander. I know what I want. I want what Tatum and Savannah have. I want their kind of love for me. I want to be in love again. I want to feel butterflies over the possibility of touching someone again. I want to wonder how our first date went, whether it was as amazing for him as it was for me. I want to dance in the rain and kiss in a blizzard. I want to live inside a romance novel, but