Page 23 of A Ballad of Betrayal and Beauty

Only the Lonely

DUSTY

“Naughty girls are waiting to speak to you now. They’re excited to hear from you. So excited that we’re going to give you three free minutes on this call. Enter your credit card information now or at any time during this message.”

I pick at a hangnail while I hear the person on the other line enter their credit card information, then clear my throat at the sound of theding.

“Hey, sweetheart, how are you doing?” I ask without much enthusiasm. It’s been a long night and it’s almost four in the morning.

“Better if you call meBabyagain,” the caller says, and my stomach jolts. The gravelly, smooth cadence of his voice. It’s the same guy who called last week. He’s back.

“Baby! Oh, how I’ve missed you.” I perk up in my chair.

“Have you? I . . . this is going to sound really lame but—I kind of missed you too.”

“Now, now,” I tsk. “Why would that be a lame thing to say? Especially if it’s honest.”

He sighs. “You’re right. It’s . . . I guess it’s just something that’s hard to admit.”

“I can understand that,” I say. “So what prompted you to give me another call? Feeling lonely again?”

“I was out with my friends—couples—they’re so fucking happy . . .”

My eyebrow quirks. “You sound mad at them for being happy.”

He scoffs.

“Or maybe you’re jealous?”

A long pause stretches over the line. “I told my friend I don’t believe in love. That it’s not real. But I don’t really think that.”

“No? You don’t believe love is just some made up feeling by the Hallmark company?”

A breathy laugh comes through the phone. “No, I know it’s real. I had it once.”

My heart thuds extra hard. Ah, so here’s the real reason he calls me instead of running out to pick up any girl he wants. He loved someone and it didn’t work out and he can’t get over it. It’s all starting to make sense.

“Well, I’m here now,” I encourage. “And I’ve been ever so bored until you called.”

“Bored, huh?”

“Mm-hmm, I’ve been so bored I could almost fall asleep.”

“You won’t fall asleep onme, will you?”

I lean forward, placing my elbows on the desk. “I guess that depends.”

“On?”

“Will you entertain me, Baby?”

His voice rumbles through the speaker and it’s like adrenaline shoots down my spine. “No.”

I blink. Wait, what? “No?”

“No.”

I pull at a split end, trying to figure out what to say. Maybe that connection we shared a moment ago isn’t what I thought. Maybe it’s backfiring. They’ve never really covered this in the handbook. I’ve never had to pull it out of a guy before.

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