Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“I didn’t want to talk about it. I thought we could just …” There’s a subtle tip of her head toward my bedroom as her words trail off.
“We definitely can, but whatever’s bothering you, I want to help. Come in.”
After ushering her inside, I step back to give Kai and Thorn room to greet her.
“Something to drink?” I ask after they’ve both given her hugs and kisses.
“Some of your juice? Maybe with vodka or tequila in it?”
“You really have had a bad day,” Thorn says, keeping her tucked under his arm as he steers her to the sofa.
“I’m fine.”
Kai sits on her other side, turning her toward him, his hands gripping her thighs. “You’ve said that, but we know better, Lexy. What’s going on?”
As I fetch her requested drink, I listen in, only to hear Lexy attempt to evade Kai’s questioning. She called me stubborn, but it’s the two of them who truly are, if only with each other.
She accepts the juiced-up juice from me with another watery smile, and immediately takes a long drink.
All three of us are staring at her expectantly as she slides a coaster across the coffee table and sets the glass on it.
“It’s something I need to work out,” she says finally.
“And we can help you,” Kai says.
“I just want to forget about it.”
“Lay it out there, we’ll work through it with you, and then we can move onto other things.” Kai punctuates this by sliding a hand further up her leg, his thumb pressing into her inner thigh and stroking.
Her eyes flicker over to Thorn before she glares at Kai and lets out an exasperated sigh. “You’re so frustrating.”
“Yes, I am. Talk.”
After another sip of her drink, she asks, “Have you seen the stuff on social media about us? The pictures of us together?”
Kai shakes his head. “I don’t look at any of that stuff.”
“We hire someone to handle our social accounts,” I explain.
“I’ve seen some posts,” Thorn says, his eyes sympathetic as he strokes Lexy’s hair back from her shoulder. “There’s a lot of shit out there,” he explains to Kai and me. “I’ve learned to ignore all the negative stuff, but it’s hard at first.”
“What negative stuff?” I ask, as Kai’s expression turns dark.
“There are pictures of me with each of you. Pictures that make it clear we’ve … expanded our friendship.”
“What the fuck? Someone’s spying on us?” Kai gets up, his hands clenching into fists.
“I’m pretty sure it’s your groupies taking the pictures.” There’s an accusatory undertone to Lexy’s words.
I take Kai’s vacated spot on the sofa. “I’m sure the pictures weren’t anything explicit, right? We all have excellent security at our homes.”
“No, nothing explicit, but together, the pictures make it clear that I’ve been dating all three of you, and I’m worried about how that could affect things for you.”
“For us?”
“For your work. Your reputations.”
Kai snorts. “I don’t give a fuck.”
“Well, you should,” Lexy says. “Clare said something to me today about the posts, warning me to keep my private life private, and my dad’s probably seen them. It’s only a matter of time before your parents find out about us.”
“Again, I don’t give a fuck,” Kai says, growing more heated. “What we do is none of Clare’s business either. We’re only together on your personal time, and she has nothing to say about that.”
“She does if it hurts her business,” Lexy says, moving to get up. “I should probably go. I’m not in the mood to argue about this.”
Thorn reaches for her hand. “Stay, Lexy. Ignore him. Being alone to stress about this isn’t going to make you feel better.”
“I don’t know how you all handle it,” she says, letting him pull her back against him in a front-to-back hug.
I pull her feet into my lap and press my thumbs into her arches, the way I know she likes it. “Just like Thorn said, we learn to ignore it. I used to look at reviews and comments, back when our show was first on. Eventually I decided it was better for my peace of mind not to read any of it.”
“But it affects us. It could affect all of you.” Lexy’s still bothered, but she’s starting to succumb to the relaxing powers of my foot massage, and Thorn is rubbing her shoulders. “And I don’t know how you stand being in the public eye,” she adds. “I hate it.”
I glide my thumb over the hollow of her ankle with light pressure. “Let’s figure something out.”
KAI
We won’t be having the discussion I wanted to have tonight.
In fact, tonight’s conversation is going to result in us taking a big step backward, but I’m not that much of a selfish asshole to push Lexy into a situation she’s not comfortable with.
I don’t give a fuck about privacy when it comes to how I feel about her. I want the world to know. I want to tattoo our names on her forehead, and hers on mine.