Savior (The Savior Series Book 1) by A. King Bradley

belongs to my buddy Jason Kilpatrick's dad. Jason put everything together, though. I figured this would be a nice place for us to hang out too. That is, if you’re okay with it.”
    “Well, tell Jason I said thanks for the surprise,” Monica joked.
    “This is merely the venue, my dear. This is the surprise,” I stated as I reached in my backpack and withdrew a copy of “Frozen Sky,” the latest 3D concert film by the international pop sensation Travis.
    Monica's face was suddenly flushed with excitement.
    “How did you know?! Who told you I liked Travis?!” Monica asked as she snatched the copy from my hands and studied every inch of the package.
    “I cheated. I read your profile online.”
    “So you're okay watching this too, Adam? Are you telling me that you’re a closet Travis fan?”
    “Absolutely not! This is just how far I'm willing to go in order to win your forgiveness.”
    “Well in that case, Mister, I suppose you’re forgiven.”
    “Can I get that in writing? I'm sure you understand my concern,” I grinned.
    “Keep that up and I'll change my mind.” Monica playfully shoved me and made a b-line for the couch. “Can we watch it on this?” she asked, pointing at the massive projector screen on the wall in front of the couch.
    “That's the plan,” I said calmly. I was surprised at how smoothly the words came out. I fought the urge to tell her that we could do anything she wanted. I didn't want to seem too desperate, even though that was clearly the case. Luckily, I was getting pretty good at pretending to be something that I wasn't.
    Travis was actually not a bad singer by any stretch. The problem for me was that his fan base was mostly comprised of teenage girls. The fact that almost every female on the planet loved his music made most guys hate it by default. My hate for Travis' concert film wasn’t nearly as strong as my desire to spend time with Monica, however. I would have watched a marathon of his concerts if it meant I got to spend time with her.
    As the film started, the 3D projection of Travis suddenly appeared before us. I couldn’t help but hate everything about him. I hated the way he danced. Hated the way he sang. I even hated the way his slightly tanned skin blended perfectly with his sandy blond, flawlessly cropped hair. But she loved him, and that was all that mattered. I noticed her smiling and looking at me as I endured the agony of Travis’ 3D avatar seemingly dancing a few feet away from us.
    “What are you smiling about?” I asked.
    “I was just thinking that I was completely wrong about you. After you were such an enormous jerk the other day, I didn’t even think you were capable of something like this,” she said warmly.
    “There are a lot of things you don't know about me,” I casually replied. Like the fact that I almost lifted a pickup truck above my head yesterday, I thought to myself. As we continued to watch the concert, the urge to divulge my secret to her kept swelling inside of my chest. The only thing holding me back was the fear of her thinking that I was a freak. How could she not think that? I weighed over 700 pounds. Who wants to date a half-ton skinny guy?
    She would probably be afraid to be intimate with me out of fear of being crushed under my inexplicable weight. And who could blame her? Who wants to be with someone that could possibly kill them just by lying on top of them?
    Besides, I was already doing such a good job of convincing her that I was normal. Maybe I didn’t have to be able to bench press several thousands of pounds in order to garner her affection.
    I continued to watch her as she gawked at the 3D projection of Travis as he sang his hit single “Say You Will.” He was everything that I wasn't. My hair wasn't nearly as perfect. I had put on a bit of muscle in the past few days, but I wasn't nearly as chiseled as the Greek god-like figure that held the girl of my dreams in such a trance.
    I'm not sure why I tried it. Perhaps it