by Sarah Gagnon
“How does it feel to be chosen by Jeremy Bane, the most wanted rockstar in the country?”
I gulp and cough. “Good.” I cough some more and try to recover. “Jeremy is an amazing guy, whether he is a rockstar or not.” I push my hair away from my face. How do I feel? “I’m happy.”
“What will you do with the money?” he asks.
“I’m going to go to college for art.” I sit up straighter. Right now, I’m awesome. I accomplished all of this. My life will change.
The cameras keep filming, but I turn back to the TV. Jasmine stalks off the stage. Shelley moves closer to Jeremy, and all of a sudden, she jumps him.
He tips his head back and away, but she climbs him. Then she has him by the back of the head. My reaction shows on the screen above them, but all I can do is watch in horror while she kisses him.
Praline starts laughing. Security helps Jeremy untangle himself. Rod Bing stands next to him. “I guess that one was going to get the last say no matter what.”
Jeremy shakes his head and then smiles at the screen. “I’ll be over right after this,” he says to my picture.
I smile and wave back at him. “I’ll be here waiting for you.”
He blows me a kiss and the audience cheers. End credits roll and the cameras back out of the room.
Praline wraps her arm around me, squeezing.
“Ouch, ouch. New skin, remember?”
“He picked you. I knew he would.”
A new nurse sticks her head in. “Monet, you have a phone call, should I transfer it in?”
“Yes, please.”
My mom materializes on the bedside table. “You’re in the hospital? I saw you on the show in a hospital bed. Please tell me it was just a stunt for ratings.”
Praline picks up her tray. “I’ll leave you alone to talk to your mom.”
3-D Mom fades in and out. She can’t sit still again. “No, it wasn’t a lie, but I’m okay. It was the hurricane. I got cut by a piece of glass. No big deal.”
“Well, if you’re in the hospital it is a big deal. Someone should’ve contacted me immediately. How bad is this cut?”
I smile and shake my head. “It’s already healed.”
“Does it still hurt?”
I sit up straight, trying to exude healthiness. “No, I’m fine. It wasn’t that bad. And I got the cure for Fluxem.”
She fades in and out, bouncing around. “Already? But you just won the money a few seconds ago.”
“No, Jeremy took care of it.”
“I’m so proud. And he picked you! I knew he would. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Your father called. I assume he feels bad about being such a selfish ass on TV. He wants to talk to you again sometime…if you want to. We might be able to sue him for back child support if you want to go through the testing.”
“Uh, I don’t know about all that. Can’t we just leave it?”
“Why? That bastard deserves to pay.”
“Yeah, maybe. But I’ve got to go, now. I’m expecting Jeremy.”
“Ooh la la,” she says before clicking off.
I can’t get out of the bed to go to the bathroom and fix my hair. I do my best to finger comb out the snarls. I can’t stop grinning. He chose me! But what does that mean? I missed the final date, and he’s still a musician and I’m still me.
The nurse pokes her head back in. “You have another visitor. Let me remind you that it is after hours.” Jeremy walks in and the nurse shakes her finger at him. He drops his head submissively.
Jeremy pauses at my bedside. “Can I sit, or will it hurt?”
I wiggle over to make room, careful not to sit up and pull the new skin. Jeremy squeezes my hand. “I am so relieved you’re awake.” He hangs his head low and shakes it back and forth. “God. In the apartment, I didn’t know if you’d ever open your eyes again.”
I squeeze his hand back and smile. “I’m okay now. I hear you saved me. And you got me the cure for Fluxem. Thank you for that.”
He shrugs. “If I hadn’t brought you up to my apartment none of this would’ve happened.” He slouches low. “It’s all my fault. I knew there was a hurricane coming and I didn’t even think twice about it.”
I touch my fingers to his lips, lifting his face up to mine. “It’s not your fault.”
“But I suggested the movie. We would’ve been safer on the bed.”
I laugh. Hard to imagine climbing in bed with Jeremy as the safe option. “Will they be able to fix your apartment?”
“Who cares about that? I’m just worried about you.”
My chest tightens as our eyes meet. All the breath whooshes out of me. He’s so cute and my heart has been trapped in a week-long whirl spin. “So, you picked me, huh?”
“I did.” He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles, one after another.
“I think you know I’m crazy about you, but we need to talk first. I saw most of the dates, and I know you were having a good time, which is cool, but not if you and I are starting a relationship.”
He looks down at the bed. He just picked me to win a ton of money, and gave me a 20K gift for the Fluxem cure, and I’m getting picky about how many girls he makes out with. I suck in my saliva. My non-contagious saliva. Holy crap. I’m worth it, I don’t need to compromise.
He looks up and holds my eye contact for a moment. “I don’t know what to say about those dates. A lot of the time, I don’t want to disappoint people. I’m out with these girls, and they think that they love me so much. It doesn’t hurt to give them something back.” He flattens his lips. “Okay, wait, that sounds like I’m giving charity kisses.” He drops his head and runs his hand over his face. “Let me start over. The kisses are nice, but I prefer yours. If you want me, that’s that.”
“I want you.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, totally. But how am I ever going to see you again?” I flip his hand over and trace the lines on his palm. “We don’t exactly live next door to each other.”
“Yeah, I’ve been doing some thinking about that. Touring full-time drives me crazy. When you were sleeping yesterday and I was sitting here, I kept thinking about med school. I might try to take a few classes.”
That doesn’t answer my question, but… “That’s great. I think you should.”
“I did some research on my tablet about BU, and it really is a great school.”
“It is.”
“How would you feel about me moving closer to you? I mean, I couldn’t be around all the time. I’ll still need to tour some, and the cameras will still follow me, but I’d like to give this relationship a chance.”
I grin so wide. “That would be the most awesome thing ever. I was thinking of taking a few classes at BU, too.”
His smile matches mine and he takes my hand in his. “I know this is crazy, but during your interview, there was this one moment when you were staring right through the glass at me, and I felt like I got punched in the gut. If I could’ve ended the competition right then, I would have. I let the producers choose the rest of the girls. You were the only one I picked for me.”
My face heats and the machine by the bed beeps rapidly. There’s nothing I can say to top that. So I lean in and gently kiss his lips. He brushes my hair back from my face and pulls away. He takes in my expression and gives me his full smile. I melt.
“Does the smile mean you’ll be my girlfriend?”
“Oh, Jeremy.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Absolutely. I’m crazy about you!” I grab his T-shirt and pull him back in for another kiss. My boyfriend, Jeremy Bane.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to: Carla and Angie for your unwavering support and emergency pep talks. To my husband for tolerating writerly mood swings. My daughters for occasionally playing nicely. My mom and sister for buying me all those books. My editor, Danielle Ellison, and all the hardworking people at Spencer Hill Press. My agent, Nicole Resciniti, and all the h
elpful people at the Seymour Agency. I couldn’t have done this without any of you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Gagnon grew up in the frigid woods of Maine amidst snow and animal skins. As a small child she wrote ship-wrecked romances all while being stared down by a taxidermied duck. She has a BFA in photography and a minor in writing from the University of Southern Maine. She’s the mother of two tiny, feral children and two ill-behaved dogs. For fun she’s taken up construction and interior design. Her first project: moving into a dilapidated farmhouse with her computer-genius husband.
