Valentine's Theory by Shara Azod Read Free Book Online Page B

over the top, but she had to make it plausible right? Besides, it would be one hell of a memento if this was the only shot she had at being with the man she had grown to love.

Chapter Two
     
     
            Oh, God, I am going to throw up. Misha paced her living room. Goosebumps pebbled on her skin even though she felt as if she was raging with fever. Glancing at her phone, she noticed her hand was shaking. There was still time to call this off. She could tell Theo she had a virus or some such. She could tell him it was time for her cycle and she had forgotten. No, wait, that wouldn’t work. He knew when her cycle was, having that damnable app so he could remind her. One would think that was the most humiliating thing her best friend could know about her. Soon he would know another.
            It wasn't that she was a virgin. However, the amount of experience she’d had with sexual intercourse wouldn’t fill a single page in a research paper. Wouldn't fill a paragraph, really. She had given it three good attempts, found the entire experience wanting and decided she could live without it. Until Theo. Why hadn’t she considered that before coming up with this idiotic plan? And why couldn’t she just pick up the phone and tell him it was off?
    She was going to be sick. Feeling utterly ridiculous in one of the two pieces of lingerie she had purchased for the next two days, she turned on her heel and began to stalk back to her bedroom to change. When Theo got here, she would simply explain she couldn't go through with it.  She would tell him the truth. Partially. They were colleagues. Things could get awkward. Surely if they were compatible they would have given in to base instincts far before now.
    “Oh, God, I am so screwed,” she moaned, turning back and returning to the living room. Sinking down on the large overstuffed couch she buried her face in her hands.
    As scared as she was to go through with this, she was even more afraid to call it off. Normal everyday conversation didn't come to her like it did everyone else. Emotions were complicated and often defied logic. That left her at a loss. Her brain couldn’t process things that weren't logical very well; things like her feelings for Theo. She didn't understand why he made her feel all hot and sweaty, or why she felt as if something inside her was melting whenever he did something thoughtful. Having read about interpersonal relationships, studying it, she intellectually understood she had a crush, but usually crushes wore off. Hers only got worse with time.
    If she didn't go through with this, she may lose her only chance at that elusive thing other women were always prattling about. She wasn't about to even think the word because she was still not sure it existed. So in a way, this really was an experiment. Only she was the test subject in more ways than one. And she had involved the man she trusted most in the world under semi-false pretenses. She didn't want to see if people reacted differently on the commercialized holiday for lovers than any other day. She wanted to see if she was capable of having a full relationship with someone on a truly intimate level.
    Okay, that was another half-truth. She wanted Theo. She craved Theo. But was she capable of giving herself completely to another? If so, then it would truly be with Theo. He was her rock, her hero...
    The chime of the doorbell startled her out of her chain of thought. Oh God, he was here.
           
            Theo had driven around the block four times, turned around and started back home twice, and yet he ended up on the doorstep of Misha’s small cottage right on time. This was seriously twisted. As much as he wanted Misha—hell, want was putting it lightly—he shouldn’t be taking advantage of her like this. He should just walk in there and tell her exactly how he felt.
            Riiiiight. And watch her blank stare before she kicked him out of her life for good. As