Page 97 of Worth Every Game
He sighs like I’m asking for the world, pretending it’s such a hardship when we both know it isn’t, and says, “Only because I love you.” The words make me swoon, and when he lifts a bunch of bananas from the fruit bowl and reveals a pile of condoms beneath, I’m too turned on to even laugh.
He rips one open and sheaths himself, taking me there on the counter. Quick and hot and sweaty, and we come together, groaning, screaming and gasping as though there isn’t enough oxygen in the room.
Afterwards, Jack rests his head on my shoulder, and I whisper into his ear. “I love you too.”
He chuckles. “It was the condoms in the fruit bowl that finally did it, wasn’t it?”
I’ve never felt this happy. “Yes. Absolutely. That’s what it was.”
34
JACK
Kate and I are standing at the back of Nico’s party venue. The enormous ballroom is empty, aside from the band and Elly, up on the stage. There are a couple of lighting and sound technicians flitting around, making sure everything is perfect for tonight.
“You know, I never thought you and Elly would be a thing that worked.” Kate doesn’t look up at me as she runs a pen down the side of a clipboard, ticking off items on her party to-do list. She taps the pen twice when she reaches the bottom and finally looks at me. “Is she going to stay with you after her lease ends?”
Unease wriggles up my spine.I haven’t thought about what happens after.“Are you going to bring this up every time you see me? We’ve been together for a month and I’m already sick of hearing it.”
“Maybe. It blows my mind.” She sighs and glances at Elly, who’s dominating the stage, singing her heart out during her sound check.I can’t believe I’m sleeping with that goddess. “She sounds really good. How’s she getting on with all the other stuff?”
“She’s been putting out social media content consistently, which is a step in the right direction. Derek’s helping her out and people are actually listening to her music. The reception has been good so far. I think that helps, but she’s nervous about tonight.”
“She’ll be fine,” Kate announces confidently.
I really hope so.
“Those videos are really good, by the way. One of them is getting loads of views,” Kate says, tucking her clipboard under one arm and pulling her phone from her pocket to bring up one of Elly’s videos. It’s simple; just her strumming the guitar and singing, but Derek’s done some clever editing which adds an edge of glamour to it.
“Shit, that is loads,” I say, noticing the viewer count in the corner. It’s nearly fifty thousand. I refresh it and the number jumps. “Derek’s uploading the best ones tonight. They might catch the momentum.”
“Good idea. People love her sound too. Look.” Kate scrolls to the comments then frowns.
“What? What is it?”
Kate’s frowns deepens. “Trolls.”
I snatch the phone and look myself. There are loads of great comments, but there’s a barrage calling Elly a slut. An ugly whore. And others saying she can’t sing, which is patently untrue. “Has Elly seen this?”
Kate flips one hand palm upwards. “I have no idea.”
“Shit.” I hand Kate back her phone, pull my own from my pocket, and dial Derek. “Mate, quick favour,” I say when he answers. Kate’s quietly watching me. Potentially judging, but I ignore her. “Can you log into Elly’s account and delete those comments? Yeah? About halfway down. Block the users. You’re supposed to be watching this shit.” I wait as Derek tells me he’s doing it.
“That’s all done,” he says, when he finishes, “But there is something odd about some of this stuff coming through.”
“Oh yeah?” A chill prickles its way down my spine. Kate’s still watching me, intrigued.
“It looks like a lot of it is the same person, or a group of people. Deliberately going after her account.”
Bizarre.Who would do that?“Block them all. Look, I’ve got to go. Can you keep your eye on it? Tonight is a big night for Elly. I don’t want any distractions.”
Derek agrees, and I hang up, although there’s an unpleasant feeling lingering in my gut.
Kate squints at me. “You’ve got him censoring the comments? I can’t work out if that’s fucked up or thoughtful. How long has he been doing that?”
“A few weeks. He has all her login details. He posts most of the videos and all that shit. I don’t think she’d do it otherwise.”
Kate levels a serious look my way. “You can’t fix everything for her. You won’t be able to protect her from that stuff forever. And you’re going behind her back to hide it.”