by D. C. Renee
book boyfriend
Copyright 2015 DC Renee
Published by DC Renee at Kindle
Kindle Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
Other Works by DC Renee
Excerpt from Let Me Go
Excerpt from Let It Go
Excerpt from A Brutal Betrayal
Coming Soon: Three Loving Words
Connect with DC Renee
Dedication
As always, to my Babulya.
And to my Deda.
We miss you both.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my family. They support me in everything that I do, think my writing is magic, and believe I’m truly something special. If it wasn’t for my hubby, my sister, my parents, and my in-laws, I wouldn’t be where I am today. A special shout-out to my sister though because my stories wouldn’t be mine without her ideas, insight, critique, and praise.
If it weren’t for Jenny Sims, my editor (Editing4Indies), and Rebecca Marie, my cover creator (The Final Wrap), my words would just be stories on a page.
Thank you also to Carrie Sutton at Graphics by Carrie and also the ladies at Saints and Sinners Books for helping with my promo!
There are quite a few phenomenal ladies I’ve met along the way that I’m proud to call friends. They deserve a major shout-out too for all their help, advice, support, pimping and just being awesome! Catherine Gray, Suleika Santana, Janett Gomez, Rebecca Bennett, Sheri Hursh, Heather Cicio, Elaine Hudson York, Jennifer Hagen, Shelly Wygant, Jen Wildner, Monica Perez, Jettie Woodruff, my book club – On The Same Page.
I wish I had a phenomenal memory and could name every single blog that has helped me along the way, but alas, I don’t, but know that I appreciate you all. Thank you so much to all the blogs out there that reached out to help Indie authors like me! I need to mention a few that I’ve had a special relationship with over the years: All About Books, Author Groupies, Just One More Page, Three Chicks and Their Books, Nichole’s Sizzling Pages Book Blog, Red Cheeks Reads, Literary Love/Melt Your Heart Book Blog, Nerd Girl, BJ’s Book Blog…and so many more!
Most importantly, thank you so much to all the readers who’ve taken their time to check out my books!
prologue
What would you do if you met one of your favorite book boyfriends in real life? You’d scream, cry, drool, or maybe a combination of all three. You’d go all Fifty Shades style with a tie, handcuffs, and an assortment of kinky toys. You’d insist on being his only female friend to guard your heart … and maybe other parts as well. You’d suddenly believe in vampires or angels, and maybe sexy demons as well. You’d play hard to get. You’d cheer on his band and punch out any groupie hanging on him. You’d watch all his games and cheer the loudest. You’d wait for him to open up to you all while being frustrated he hasn’t yet. You’d revel in his god-like body and piercing stare because what’s a book boyfriend without those two defining qualities? You’d get him to fall head over heels for you. And of course, in true book fashion, you’d fall heads over heels for him.
What did I do?
I ran.
Literally.
chapter one
I knew I wasn’t typically hot, but I was a decent looker. My nose was a bit crooked and my forehead was kind of big, but I had blue-green eyes and full lips, high cheekbones, and a curvy but skinny body. All my features somehow managed to come together nicely. And with the right makeup, hair, and clothes, I could pull off sexy. As long as you didn’t catch me in the mornings—that was when I was tired, my hair was a mess, and the bags under my eyes didn’t match my bubbly personality. All that being said, I was a sophomore in college, and although I hadn’t gained the “freshman fifteen,” I was still worried that eating would catch up with me sooner or later. So I decided one day to go to the gym on campus.
I walked in wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. My hair was pulled up, and I was wearing no makeup. Ha! Shocker! I know, I’m not stupid. I realized that the campus gym was like the in-person version of a dating website. The guys all wore tight shirts to show off their bodies while the girls looked more like they were walking a runway than trying to sweat off some calories. But, to me, I wanted to get in shape and I didn’t really care about getting picked up by some hottie at the gym. I could go out any night to a club with my friends and fake ID, flaunt my C cups, and get a guy. So, I was pretty much one of about five girls who looked “real” at the gym that day.
I was never one to work out, so I decided to get a feel for the lay of the land and then determine which machine to tackle first. I walked by a “butt blaster,” and my ten-year-old mind snickered before I made a mental note to actually use that machine later. Yes, I am secretly that much of a dork. As I approached what looked like a ring, there was a circle of spectators—people who had stopped working out to watch the “show.” What they were really watching were two guys kicking the shit out of each other. I didn’t really much care for it, but the fact that there were about twenty people watching piqued my interest. It also didn’t hurt that the two guys fighting had abs that could cut diamonds. Hey, I liked eye candy as much as the next girl did. Unfortunately, the bruises and cuts didn’t do much for me. Both guys were lean and muscular. And both sported tattoos that covered much of their arms and some of their chest, but with how quickly they moved, I couldn’t make out what they were. After about a minute of watching, I caught sight of a friend—well, more like a classmate from my biology class—standing a few feet away. I made my way over. “Hi, Brent.”
“Oh, hey, Kim, what’s up? Never seen you at the gym before.”
“Yep, decided I’d try it out.” I shrugged. “What’s with the free show?” I asked.
“Oh, those guys? They’re both amateur MMA fighters. This is just practice, but they’re good, so they draw attention. See that one with the buzz cut.” Brent pointed to one of the guys. “He’s a buddy of mine, so I come to cheer him on and get a bit of a workout.”
“Gotcha, well, I think I’m heading for the treadmill. See you in class.” But just as I was about to walk away, the guys finished their fight and the buzz cut guy walked over to Brent. He had a cut over his eye, new and fading bruises on his body, and his knuckles were a mess. But there was a glin
t in his eyes that said he knew he was sexy, even when he looked like someone had run him over. And damn was he sexy. I stood, kind of frozen, not able to walk away as I had initially planned, and then I heard Brent call out, “Yo, Trav, that was good.” Trav? Huh? Couldn’t be.
And then Mr. Buzz Cut fighter walked over to where I was standing next to Brent. He clapped Brent on the back and turned to me. I was still staring like an idiot and clearly checking him out. When I looked back up, he was smirking as if he knew what I was thinking. He probably did. I wanted to eat him, every inch. And by the looks he was getting from all the giggling women at the gym, they wanted to, too. And he knew it. He couldn’t not know it.
I was still speechless when Brent cleared his throat and introduced us. “Travis, this is Kim. Kim, this is Travis.” And then it hit me. This was a real-life Travis Maddox from Beautiful Disaster. The irony of his name DID NOT escape me.
“Travis? Really?” I squeaked out.
Both guys had exchanged some kind of look before Travis held out his hand. “Yep, name’s Travis. Nice to meet you.”
And that was when I flipped. “Holy shit! Travis Maddox! Beautiful Disaster! You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.” And now both guys were staring at me like I was some kind of freak. Which, really, I was.
“Oh God, I’m sorry. I’m an idiot. Nice to meet you, too. Gotta go, bye.” And that was when I turned and ran, not so graciously, toward the door. Right until I tripped over a dumbbell and fell flat on my face. Yes, a dumbbell, and this time, the dumbbell wasn’t me. Someone had left a real dumbbell on the floor, conveniently blocking my escape.
Two seconds later, Travis and Brent were at my side, helping me up. And I was mortified. “Kim, you all right?” Brent asked, trying to sound worried, but I heard the laughter he suppressed as I stood up. And I stared right at both of their smirking faces.
“Damn! First, I rant at you like a dummy, and now I can’t even manage an escape without being an idiot. Could this be any more humiliating?” Yes, I actually said that out loud.
“Well, if you were looking to get noticed, you got it.” Travis snickered as people around us were laughing and murmuring.
“Ugh! Okay, this can’t possibly get any worse, so I’ll just explain. You,” I said pointing at Travis, “are a real-life book boyfriend.”
“Not following,” he said as his eyebrows drew together in confusion, and then he winced, probably from the cut on his face.
“A book boyfriend is the male lead in a romance fiction book or novel that makes us girl readers fall head over heels in love with his character. In other words, those guys are our secret crushes, fake or not. Don’t believe me? Ask any one of the non-brainless bimbos around here who actually read and they’ll tell you it’s a real thing.”
“Okay, still not following.”
“Usually ‘real’ book boyfriends just refer to a type, like the preppy, good all-around college boy, or the bad-boy rocker, the football star, etc. You get the point. You, however, are way too freaking ironic. There is a very popular book called Beautiful Disaster—great book, by the way—and the male lead in that book is an underground fighter with a lean, muscular build, buzz cut brown hair, and brown eyes. He’s good looking, which thus gets him lots and lots of girls, which means he’s a player. And I’m going to take a wild guess and say that fits you pretty well. And the kicker … wait for it … dun, dun, dun … his first name is Travis. You get what I’m saying here?”
Travis smiled wide as Brent looked a bit shocked.
“Seriously, you guys? No one ever made the connection before?”
“Nope,” Travis said right before he burst out laughing, followed by Brent.
“I do not really see what’s so funny.”
They laughed for a few more minutes before Travis finally spoke. “So, let me get this straight. You and a bunch of other girls have a crush on some book version of me, and when you meet the real me, you freak, scream, and run?”
“Well, I’m sure there is a ton of girls who have a crush on the real you, but yep, that about sums it up. So, yeah, now that I have thoroughly and completely embarrassed myself to the max, I think I’ll be heading out now. Feel free to forget this little ordeal. God knows I’ll pray to. So, Travis, it was nice to meet you. Well, sort of. Brent, I’ll be sure to hide from you in biology, at least for the foreseeable future. You both have a nice day.”
And then I turned and left very quickly before either of them had a chance to laugh in my face anymore.
chapter two
I rushed all the way back to my room, where thankfully, my roommate, who was also my best friend, Lauren, was studying. I spilled the entire fiasco to her where she proceeded to laugh her ass off.
“Hardy har har, I’m so glad you find my misery hilarious,” I said dryly.
To which she only laughed harder.
After about a good five minutes or so, she finally started to calm down and then spoke, still snickering and gulping for air. “Seriously, Kim? Seriously?” She shook her head in mock disgust. “I don’t get it. You put on a skimpy dress and some mascara and you ooze confidence and sex and can walk in sky-high heels as if your life depended on it. But you put on tennis shoes, I repeat, tennis shoes—things that are made for running—and you manage to somehow fall on your ass while doing the exact thing they are made for—running.”
“Face,” I grumbled.
“What?”
“I fell flat on my face, not my ass.”
She chuckled. “Oh, even better. So, what are going to do Miss ‘Oh My God, you’re a real book boyfriend, oh no!’?”
“Hope the earth opens up and swallows me whole?” I looked at Lauren, and she just shook her head. “No?”
“No.”
“Drat!” Yes, I actually used words like “drat” in real life. “I’m going to avoid Brent until he forgets this happened. I am also not going back to the gym for a long, long time so I won’t see Travis, and there, problem solved.”
“Oh, and exactly how are you going to avoid Brent when he’s in your bio class and you guys study together sometimes?”
“Easy, with this,” I said as I took out a very large floppy hat, the kind some rich woman would wear to the Kentucky Derby or something but much larger and much cheaper.
“Oh, yeah, real subtle. No one will notice you with that. Not at all. Can you scream, ‘Hey, look at me’ any more? And, freakin-a, Kim, where the hell did you get that hat and why?”
“It was cute and on sale. Okay, nixing the hat. Seriously, I’ll just walk into class at the last minute, sit in the back, and leave first. Luckily, we don’t have a midterm for another two weeks, and I shouldn’t be so mortified by then.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
And that’s exactly what I did for the next week. And it worked, too!
Then I was sitting at one of the coffee shops on campus, where I was supposed to be studying. But I was, in fact, reading another book with another drop-dead gorgeous male lead who was, of course, broken but just needed a good girl to get him to open up. Swoon.
“Is this one about me this time?”
Yep, totally didn’t hear anyone sneak up behind me, and I certainly wasn’t expecting anyone to speak into my ear, so naturally, I did what any sane person would do. I screamed. Sane, all right. But I didn’t just stop at that; I jumped in my chair, causing it to lose balance and it went down, with me still in it. I, of course, looked absolutely graceful, you know, with flailing arms and legs and a loud thud when I connected. At least I fall nicely.
And then I looked up and saw Travis and Brent trying desperately to hold back their laughter.
“Oh, for the love of God, why does this keep happening to me? Okay, go ahead and laugh. I give you about one minute to get it out and then I’m cutting you off.”
And what did they do in response? They freaking laughed more! At least they helped me up while they did it. I brushed myself off as I spoke. “Why is it that every time I see you, I manage to
end up on the floor somehow?”
Brent snorted and Travis smirked.
“Oh God, pervs,” I said even though I had totally walked right into that one.
“You said it,” Travis responded, then cocked his head to the side like he was thinking before adding, “Maybe it’s because you like to worship at my feet?”
“Yeah, not so much.”
“So like I said, am I the book boyfriend this time?” Brent asked, pointing at the book that somehow managed to fall on the table instead of the floor. Brent was definitely good looking. He was tall and built, light brown hair that was grown out a bit with hazel eyes and a strong jawline. He knew it too, which was why he shamelessly flirted with me the first time we met in bio when he sat next to me. I knew he was a player the instant I looked at him, same as Travis, so I didn’t let it get any further than flirting back and studying together. He was surprisingly smart. He figured out by about the third time when he tried to not-so-subtly hint that he wanted to take me back to his room that I loved to flirt just as much as he did. But I rarely acted on it. So that was why we managed to get along so well as acquaintances until now that is. I would have to rethink my acquaintances list.
“Why, oh why, did I ever tell you about the book boyfriend thing?” I moaned.
“Because you completely embarrassed yourself and needed to justify the reason,” Travis added.
“Thank you for that reminder,” I added sarcastically. “So what can I do for you guys?”
They didn’t answer. Instead, they pulled up chairs and sat down at my little table.
“So, let me get this straight. You have a crush on me?” Travis asked with a hint of a smile.
“What? Where the hell did that come from?”
“Well, you said you and all other women had crushes on your book boyfriends and then you told us that I was a real-life version of one of them. So, I may not be all that great at math, but if A equals B and B equals C, well, then you have a crush on me. Don’t worry. It’s kind of flattering.”
