Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
“Donnie sees the world a little differently. He sees colors where other people see dead space.”
Donnie leans forward, resting a hand around an inch from my hand. “Your aura is red most of the time, but when you touch Allie, it’s all pink.”
“Pink?”
“Yeah. You’re the one who finds the middle ground, right?” I nod, finding it weird that he’d be able to tell that about me just by looking. “But when you look at Allie, when you touch her, you’re all about the romance.”
I rub my upper arm and stare at my girl, watching as the makeup artist applies a pretty pink gloss to her lips. She’s dressed in a fuchsia pink blouse and shorts set, and her toned tanned legs are crossed at the ankles demurely. She has a vibrancy about her that the bright colors reflect, a light that pours from inside her that I find mesmerizing. Donnie’s right. When I look at Allie, all I feel is love and romance.
And when it’s my turn to make love to her, that time between us is all about forming a deep connection that tangles and twists like the jungle vines that mark my body.
“He’s romantic.” Allie presses her lips together, smushing the gloss. She touches the gold chain that hangs at her neck and the feather charm that adorns it. When I gave it to her, she asked why a feather. I told her it’s because she’s an angel to me, and also, it represents a quill, because she’s a writer. She hasn’t taken it off since.
Last night she asked me and Carson to tattoo her pretty skin; ten tiny stars along her spine.
I’m not a man who cries easily, but her request brought a lump to my throat that I had to swallow down quickly.
“I’m done,” the makeup artist says. “That’s the most faces I’ve worked on in one go for a long time.”
“The perils of working with insatiable women,” Laura quips, and we all laugh at the extra blush that colors Allie’s cheeks.
“Do you ever get used to everyone thinking you're some kind of nymphomaniac?” Allie asks as we head to the deck where everyone is gathering.
Laura rests her hand on Allie’s shoulder. “Just remember that every woman out there wishes they had even one man as good as any of the ten you have.”
When Allie nods and she turns to search me out, my heart swells like a balloon in my chest.
After the shoot is over, we travel back to the beach house in our luxury minibus, bought by Oliver to transport the group. We’re all buzzing from meeting the McGregor’s and hearing about their lives. While filming was in full swing, we shared what it feels like to be in a reverse harem relationship with more raw honesty than I expected. The McGregors are all so chill about being open in front of the cameras that it rubbed off on us. During filming, I worried that the press might twist our honesty against us, but now, I think it will work in our favor. Allie’s article was the start of trying to take back some power to control the narrative about us. This TV show will hopefully continue the progress.
“When will we see the finished show?” I ask Allie, who’s sitting next to Carson with her laptop open in front of her.
“I asked if we can see it before it airs. I got the agreement from the producers, but we won’t have any control over what it looks like. We knew that from preliminary discussions, though. It is what it is.”
“Yeah. I can’t see how they can twist anything. And I watched the first episodes of McGregors Uncovered, when their relationship was new, and they were trying to prove something to the world. The production team handled everything very respectfully.”
“I couldn’t be in front of the cameras all the time,” Allie admits.
“Me either.” Carson stretches his hands over his head and cracks his neck. “They did a good job but it felt really fake to me. The whole thing involved too much smiling and gushing over things that are just everyday life.”
“Everyday life to you,” I remind him. “But totally out of this world to the majority of the population.”
“I guess I forgot that part.”
I smile at my buddy.
It’s been a big upheaval to leave my job, but knowing Carson is in the same situation has made it easier. Oliver suggested we convert one of the small rooms in the basement to a tattoo studio so we can work from home. It’s taken a while to decorate and gather the equipment we need, but we’re almost up and running. Allie put us in touch with someone she knows whose boyfriends own the chain of tattoo parlors called Ink Factor, in case we’d consider a franchise. It was great to talk to the boss, Carl, but we’ve decided to do our own thing. I think we both need flexibility right now.