Page 98 of Love at First Sighting
“Great.”
“You know, Marcus never deserved your love.” Her voice is blunt and final, and she’s not going to be talked out of this. “It’s not your fault for trusting him or not seeing this coming. It’s not like you had anything else to hold on to. But I don’t want you to spend another day doing that. You deserve so much more.”
“I have more,” I say. “Now I do.”
She pushes a few strands of hair out of my face and kisses the uninjured side of my head.
“I love you,” she says. When she says it, it sounds like a new beginning. And it sounds like something I’m not afraid to say back. Years and years of holding feelings in, and now they can pour out with abandon. I see plenty of word vomit in my future, but if it’s dousing her in love and affection, I think she might be okay with it.
El should know I love her with or without filters. Sponsored content or not. Picture perfect or candid.
“I love you, too.”
She works her way down the side of my face before finally finding my lips. Mine are dry and cracked, but she tastes like minty gum and cherry-sweet lip gloss. I hope the stupid heart monitor doesn’t start to beep furiously and expose me as sad and horny. She whispers “I love you” between each kiss, and each time, it feels like it’s putting me back together.
“So, what’s next for you?” I ask. “Have you checked in and posted from the hospital yet?”
She blushes and rolls her eyes. “No. These arenotoptimal engagement hours.”
“Didn’t stop you the first night we met.” I raise an eyebrow and she giggles. “How are you even here? These aren’t visiting hours, either.”
She shrugs, pleased with herself. “I got all your nurses free FabFitFun boxes. I get to stay as long as I like.”
I laugh, and despite the jolt of pain it sends through my body, it feels like the best thing in the world. Her smile is bright and heavy with sleepy delirium as she squeezes my hand again.
“But seriously, there are far more important things than posting right about now. I think over the next couple of weeks, it’s going to be a little quiet. I’ll be busy enough taking care of you while you recover, and frankly, I don’t have the energy to photoshop my own injuries out of pictures.” She thinks on it some more. “Well, maybe I won’t. Nobody’s perfect. Maybe it’s time for a new brand.”
“Bold.”
“I know, but I think I’d like to be a girl who people canreallylike andreallyknow. I’d like to be a girl who is happy with what she has because it’s enough.”
“I like that, too.”
“Good. I think the only matter left to solve is, now that you’re no longer Mr. Secret Agent, maybe we should getyouon social media. I mean, you’re great at taking pictures and you even have a brand-new camera. You’ll be super popular because you’re also extremely hot. People willloveyou.”
I shrink into the bed. “I…”
“Do you…already have an account?”
I nod.
“Really? I’ve tried looking for you and have never found you. Likeeveryvariation of your name. Even your phone number!”
“Okay,” I sigh. The truth was going to come out eventually. “You’re going to have to search Tripp Van Winkle.”
[Image: Notes app screenshot from @elohelmartin with message]
Hi, guys, I know I’ve taken you on a roller coaster these past few weeks, but if it’s any consolation, I’ve been on the ride, too. My brand hasn’t historically been UFO videos or drama, so I apologize for straying so far away from the norm.
However, I think it’s something I’m going to do a lot more of. As much as I love bringing you guys cool new products and sharing parts of my life, I’ve only been sharing part of it, and none of the million people following me know who I actually am. For a while, I wanted it to be that way. I didn’t want anyone to know the parts of my life that weren’t perfect, so a lot of it was fake.
No one’s happy all the time. No one looks photo shoot–ready all the time. I certainly don’t.
I know I will be a lot happier if I use this space and energy to be myself for a change. I’m going to be taking a break for a couple of weeks here. It’s not because my sponsors dropped me or because I’m going to rehab (not that there’s anything wrong with that). There are just things going on offline that are more important for me to focus my attention on for the time being.
Until then!
