The Last Round by Emmy L. Montes Read Free Book Online

in my power to make things right again. I know you feel like you’re done with us, but I’m not. I’m not done with what we have, it may be ugly sometimes, but it’s worth it. Give me a chance to prove myself to you.”
    “I want nothing more than to fix things, Julian,” I confess. “I wanted it for two years and in those two years, you didn’t listen. Why now?”
    “I don’t know why now, but I do know I don’t want to throw away the last twelve years. Whatever you want, I promise I will give you 150% of me, all of me. Just give me a chance. Meet me tonight.”
    “I can’t tonight. I’m meeting with a co-worker to discuss our roles; we begin filming first thing in the morning.”
    “Then meet me for dinner tomorrow night,” he says, his voice is low and filled with so much vulnerability.
    What the hell? My mind races with so much doubt, so much fear, and so much guilt. “Okay, we can meet up for dinner tomorrow,” I finally say. “But this doesn’t mean everything is better, Julian. It’s just a chance for us to talk, like adults,” I rush out after the sound of relief escapes his mouth.
    “I know,” he responds, but faith still lingers to his words.
    “I have to go,” I clench the phone, “Julian?”
    “Yeah?”
    “I do love you,” I confess, because I do, with all of me.
    “I love you too.” We’re silent for a moment, before he goes on. “Have a great first day tomorrow. I know you’ll be great.”
    I smile at his encouraging words. “Thank you. Good night.”
    “Night.”

    I down my second glass of wine as Liam discusses his experiences of his last role. He played a superhero and it was a big challenge for him. He explains that playing such a role is difficult, not of the role itself, but because there are so much expectations to be better than the original, or those who played the Hero before him. It’s a lot of pressure to be great. I can understand that. As an artist, you are not only trying to be a better you, but to be better than your competition. Some may disagree, but we all know the truth. We smile at our competitors in their face, but secretly bust our ass to be better behind their back.
    As sweet as Liam is, and he is a genuinely good guy, I can’t help but think of Julian. Who is he staying with? Will he stay out of trouble while he’s in Philly? Will he be okay? How will tomorrow’s dinner go? I can’t help it; I desperately try to forget about him for just fifteen minutes, but my mind slowly comes up with some reason to bring him up in my thoughts. I worry about him. I’ve always worried about him for so many years. It’s embedded within me to do so.
    “Here you go.” The waiter interrupts my thoughts and places a large dish of a variety of sushi between us. I smile and thank him. “Anything else?”
    “I’ll have another glass of Merlot. Thank you.” The waiter nods at my request and runs off to grab me another glass.
    “This looks so good!” Liam exclaims, pulling apart his chopsticks then rubbing them together, before he digs right in.
    “It does,” I add, eyeing over the beautiful display.
    “So,” Liam says after popping a Dragon roll into his mouth. “How do you like living in LA? I’m thinking of buying a vacation home in Casablanca. That’s where you live, right?”
    I nod, chewing a delicious mouthwatering shrimp tempura. “Yes. We purchased the house about three years ago. It’s an awesome area to live in, but I don’t know . . .” I shrug, trying to find the right words to say.
    “What?” he asks, a smile tilts on the left side of his face.
    “It just gets a bit lonely sometimes. Big house, just the two of us, and all of our family lives here.”
    Liam nods in understanding; he picks up another piece of sushi and takes a bite. “Have you ever thought of moving close by? Maybe New York?”
    I laugh. “As much as I love New York to visit, because who doesn’t? It has everything a woman loves fashion, art, history and music. I