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“Intensity,” she said at last “Transcendence”

Max s of life, then”

“Not theof life,” she replied “Just the sensation of it I want to feel alive”

His finger dipped lower, catching on her nipple “Ask and you shall re—

I blink at the sound of a horn Drawing up short on the sidewalk, I narrowly avoid being run over by a gigantic SUV, scruffy bros hanging out the s It’s plastered with College of Charleston stickers I hold up y

As the bros drive away, I put that hand on my chest

My heart is pounding Jesus, that was close

And Jesus is Max the Duke distracting Delicious Dedicated in all the right ways

I pull my ear buds out of my ears Audiobooks are the bo to get irlfriend, Olivia, recently published And just like her first book, My Eneood

So good it’s land to find a broad shouldered, erotically adventurous, politically woke Duke to hang out with My love life has left me disheartened lately The plan I’ve always had in my head—where I find my own happily ever after with my soul mate—hasn’t panned out the way I hoped it would by this point in my life

Looking both ways this ti a left onto Queen The pavement wavers in the heat of the afternoon sun I’ve barely walked half a mile, but sweat beads on ainst my skin

The heat is typical for mid-June in Charleston Down here summer starts in May and usually doesn’t end until October Ten miles away, at the beach, breezes make the heat bearable

But don? It’s a fiery, humid, airless furnace

Don’t get ic is considerably less potent, however, when you’re walking around with perpetual swamp ass

I pluck atThe heat is uess my decision to head to my brother Elijah’s restaurant, The Pearl, for a quick bite It’s a little after four, which ins He always has his chefs make a little extra for drop-ins like me

But right now, I’ry I just finished up one of my shifts behind the counter at Holy City Roasters, the coffee shop I own on Wentworth Street I walk to and from work every day—I live just down the street here on Queen Usually the

Today, though, it’s killing my appetite

Still I know soood conversation with s I’ve been bus off a couple months back

To be honest, it’s not Nick I’ood bit of shame when I think about his reaction to some of the fantasies I shared with hiood ones When I look back on it, I realize how much of myself I smothered—hid—to try and make Nick happy

I’m a romantic at heart Always have been I want to hit it off and feel all the feelings and experience great, real, lasting love