Block by J.A. Huss
(Social Media #3)
Publication date: September 24th 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
(Social Media #3)
Publication date: September 24th 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary,
Synopsis:
Grace @FilthyBlueBird
@VaughnAsher #YouAreCaredFor So the movie star says. But his idea of cared for isn’t the same as mine. Obviously a #Douche.
MovieStar @VaughnAsher
@FilthyBlueBird #BehindTheScenesIsMyScene The Blue Bird has trust issues. And tantrum issues. And commitment issues.
Grace @FilthyBlueBird
@VaughnAsher #SaidTheKettleToThePot
MovieStar @VaughnAsher
@FilthyBlueBird #YouAreMine and I won’t let you forget it.
Grace @FilthyBlueBird
@VaughnAsher #YouMustShitUnicorns that’s how delusional your fairy tale is. #GetAGripOnReality I’m outtie.
MovieStar @VaughnAsher
@FilthyBlueBird You’re an #Innie #Sweetheart My tongue licked all your #CuteLittleButtons.
#ForTheLoveOfFilth
Why is he so damn sexy? How will I ever get out from under Asher’s thumb if I can’t stop thinking about his tongue on my buttons? #HottiesNeedToPlayFair
@VaughnAsher #YouAreCaredFor So the movie star says. But his idea of cared for isn’t the same as mine. Obviously a #Douche.
MovieStar @VaughnAsher
@FilthyBlueBird #BehindTheScenesIsMyScene The Blue Bird has trust issues. And tantrum issues. And commitment issues.
Grace @FilthyBlueBird
@VaughnAsher #SaidTheKettleToThePot
MovieStar @VaughnAsher
@FilthyBlueBird #YouAreMine and I won’t let you forget it.
Grace @FilthyBlueBird
@VaughnAsher #YouMustShitUnicorns that’s how delusional your fairy tale is. #GetAGripOnReality I’m outtie.
MovieStar @VaughnAsher
@FilthyBlueBird You’re an #Innie #Sweetheart My tongue licked all your #CuteLittleButtons.
#ForTheLoveOfFilth
Why is he so damn sexy? How will I ever get out from under Asher’s thumb if I can’t stop thinking about his tongue on my buttons? #HottiesNeedToPlayFair
BLOCK
EXCERPT ONE:
Prepare.
In nine hours I blow your mind with surprises.
Surprises,
hmmm. He left all sorts of surprises in my apartment last night as well. Boxes
and boxes of gifts, and the new bedsheets and comforter did not escape me
either. It might’ve
been my best night of sleep ever. I’m just not sure if it’s because I was fucked unconscious, because of the new
bedding, or because living a fantasy is exhausting. But either way, dragging my
butt up out of bed was difficult.
I
text back, I can’t
help it.
You’re #OnMyMind, is that good or bad?
I
press send and then immediately wish I could take it back. I should not discuss
my feelings with him. He’s
made it very clear we’re
just fucking, and the fact that I’m having feelings is going to put an end to this as soon as
he figures it out. In fact he might be debating that right now. Should I
cancel our tweet date? he’s
probably wondering. Is she getting clingy already?
Way
to go, Grace.
My
phone buzzes and I look down.
I’m smiling, Grace. You made me smile.
What’s that mean?
And
then my phone dings a noise I’ve
never heard before and an alert comes through.
FaceTime,
Accept?
I
didn’t even know I had FaceTime. I press
accept and a view of Los Angeles appears. "Are you alone?" Vaughn
asks.
"Yes,"
I giggle back.
His
face comes into view and he grins at me. "You look nice today. What are
you up to?"
I
bite my lip and look around. I’m
fucking FaceTiming with Vaughn Asher in public. "Um…" And then I spot
Kristi coming out of the bathroom. "I’m looking at flowers with a client. And she’s coming back from the restroom, so I can’t really talk."
"Mmmmm,"
he says back. "I want to fuck you right now."
"Shhh,"
I say, looking around to make sure no one can hear him.
"Tweet
me something special when you ditch the friend." And then the screen goes
black and cycles back to home.
BLOCK
EXCERPT TWO:
He’s gone. And what did I figure? That I’d be the girl to change him? That I’d be the girl he falls in love with? That I’d be the girl who could claim his heart, even though
countless others have tried and failed?
I’m an idiot.
For
years, my Dirty Heaven was Vaughn Asher. I lived and breathed for those
Saturday nights and ever since I met him in person, my fantasy faded away, one
disappointment at a time.
He’s a jerk.
He’s a sexual deviant—and even though I did like that date we had, a BDSM relationship
was never part of my perfect fantasy. I didn’t exactly dream of wedding bells and diapers, but it was a
monogamous partnership kind of dream. I would live in Denver and build my
career, flying out to see him in Hollywood every weekend for parties and fun.
Then he’d
fly back with me on Sunday nights to fuck me in ways that did not involve
kneeling at his feet or having bite-sized morsels placed on my tongue. He’d kiss me goodnight on my doorstep like the perfect Prince
Charming and fly home for a week of hard work and I’d do the same here in my own little corner of the world.
And
although I think he might be on board with the distance that I prefer in a
relationship, his unique sexual requests are not part of my long-term plan.
That is vacation sex. That is one-night-stand sex. That is not partnership sex.
So
it’s better this way. I’m perfectly happy like this. I’m going to find myself a new fantasy prince and give him all
my Dirty Heaven attention. Maybe a younger one this time. Someone more my age.
Someone who doesn’t
need to prove his sexual prowess with games.
"Earth
to Grace?"
I’m going to forget all about Vaughn Asher, wipe him right out
of my life.
"Hello?"
Which
is easier said than done when those stupid fucking Invisible Man 2
posters are all over this fucking airport.
"See
something you like up there? Because that’s my soon-to-be husband."
"What?"
I look over at Kristi who is handing me a cup of coffee from the Starbucks
while stuffing her face with a blueberry muffin. "No!" I laugh.
"No, I was looking at the IM2 poster next to Johnny Blazen’s Broncos."
"Oh,
yeah, that Vaughn Asher is a dream. I’d do him." She chuckles as we drag our luggage onto the
moving sidewalk that will take us down to the end of the concourse to the gate.
The Blazens have hired a jet to shuttle Denver friends and family over to Vegas
and they keep all the small airlines on the very edge of the concourse, making
the walk a long one.
Hmmm.
"He’s OK, I guess. Not quite my idea of a dream though.
BLOCK
EXCERPT THREE:
I
head towards the bar and Grace isn’t even paying attention. She’s chatting up the bartender, who sees me coming and excuses
himself as I take a seat two stools away from her.
"Hey,"
I say in a low voice. "I’m
sorry for picking you up back there. It was presumptuous to think you’d talk to me tonight, let alone come up to my room."
"Another
margarita," Grace calls out to the bartender.
I
catch his eye and hold up a finger. "Scotch, please. Top shelf."
"I’m not interested in your excuse, Vaughn. Truly." She
looks me in the eyes for the first time tonight. "Truly, I am not
interested. I’m
not playing a game with you. I’m
not playing hard to get. I’m
not pretending to be pissed. I’m not even pissed. I’m just not interested. You’re not the man I thought you were. And I get that I was
invested in the fantasy version of you. OK?" she says, shaking her head a
little. "I get that. It was my fault for turning you into some kind of
Prince Charming. So it’s
not fair that I had such high expectations of you. I’m sorry that I blamed you for something I caused."
The
bartender delivers our drinks and takes Grace’s empty glass away. I take a sip of my Scotch, then gulp it
all, and slide my glass on the bar. "Another, please." The bartender
nods and moves off to get that. I put my head in my hands. "Grace," I
say, rubbing my temples. "Just for the fun of it, tell me what that Prince
Charming version of me was like. How do I not measure up?" I look up at
her, but she’s
staring down into her pink drink, playing with the paper umbrella. "Was I
nicer? Was I more generous? What is the real Vaughn Asher missing?"
She
meets my gaze for a moment, but it’s a fleeting one. They drop back down just a
quickly and shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. The fantasy was… charming. Not
just in a princely way, either. But really, really charming. Saying witty
things, and being at ease with himself and others. He jokes with me and makes
me laugh. You…"
She doesn’t
look at me, just continues to stare into her drink. "You make me sad. You
make me feel inadequate. You make me feel stupid and small and pathetic."
Fuck.
"How though? How did I do that? Because that was not my intention.
OK?" I reach out and cover her small hand with mine. "I never wanted
to make you feel like that. I wanted to excite you."
She
looks up at my eyes and I almost wish she hadn’t. Her expression is overflowing with disappointment and she
looks tired. She does look sad. She looks like she cried very hard earlier and
the makeup can’t
quite hide that. "You wanted to excite yourself, Vaughn. You wanted
to please yourself. Not me. Everything you did, from picking out those
clothes to putting money in my bank account, all of it was for your benefit.
You lie to yourself, I think. You’re one long string of self-serving lies. I don’t know how you do it, or how you get so many girls to play
along. But all your best intentions were nothing but really good deceptions.
And even though I know in my heart" —she clenches her fist and holds it over her chest—"that the fairy tale is fake, that it doesn’t exist and I’m setting myself up for disappointment, I don’t care. Because I deserve that happy ending, Vaughn. I do.
You might not think so. You might think I’m just some silly girl who has no right to expect so much
from a man. But I don’t
care. Maybe that man doesn’t
exist and maybe I’ll
spend the rest of my life alone, waiting for my prince. I don’t care. I refuse to play this game with you."
And
then she reaches into her little clutch purse to grab her credit card and wave
it at the bartender. "I’m
done, Vaughn. And for what it’s
worth, I do believe you about that girl on the TV. Thank you for the charity
money. I will make sure it goes to worthy organizations and send you the
receipt so you can claim it on your taxes."
Goodreads: https://www.
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J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).
She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.
She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.
Author Links:
GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)
--Signed copies of Follow, Like, and Block
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