Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
“Sophie—”
She grabs her clothes and rushes toward the bathroom. When she emerges, I take a piece of tissue paper from her and pat myself down. She’s back in her clothes. She dabs at the couch, looking at me with a cute, guilty look on her face.
“I want you,” I tell her. “Not just for the sex. If it weren’t for Paul, I’d take you on a date.”
“Really?” she says.
“Don’t sound so shocked, and don’t for a second think I’ll stop wanting you just because I’ve come.”
“I didn’t even say that,” she mutters.
“But you were thinking it.”
She nods. “It’s nice not having to explain myself all the time. Boys my age would never be sensitive enough to notice that.”
Nobody will ever touch you, your age or otherwise—only me. That’s what I want to say, but then Paul flits across my mind again, frowning.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sophie
I sit across from Kaleb in the chauffeured car, last night feeling like a dream. After we… did what we did, I said I needed to get some sleep. The truth was, I just needed some distance from him, some time alone with the guilt. I was so close to telling him to slide inside of me, my core aching, tingling all over. I just wanted him to slide in and…
Now, we’re driving to the studio. He sighs and adjusts his suit jacket. He looks calm and in control, except for the tightness in his mouth. I want to reach over and take his hand, but that would mean crossing yet another line. Anyway, we’re in public. We have to pretend.
I take a breath, preparing myself. This is getting so messy.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
“I’m not going to lie,” I reply. “I won’t let these people threaten me, whoever they are. If the video gets released, I’ll just say it was a silly crush. Nothing else.”
He nods, drumming his fingers against his leg. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I say, surprised. “I thought you would try to talk me out of it.”
“Just let me lead the way,” he replies. “We’ll find the right space for it.”
“Are you ready?” I ask.
He glances at me and looks away quickly. It’s like he can’t look at me for too long, or we’ll go back to last night. I felt silly when I was saying all that dirty stuff… at first, anyway. Then I saw the effect I was having on him. It’s good to know he’s more experienced. It makes me have to think about the sexual stuff less. He can lead the way, and that’s how I like it.
“Yeah,” he replies. “I think so. I just wish we could figure out who was behind this. The letter. The video.”
“You think they’re connected?” I ask.
“Two packages, both without a sender. It’s too much of a coincidence. Somebody is trying to take me down.”
“With a naked photo?”
“And an invitation. Maybe they were going to try to record me. They thought I was a scumbag. What happened to the letter, anyway?”
“I tore it up,” I tell him.
He smirks, looking so dashing and handsome, a youthful gleam in his eyes. “Jealous, were you?”
“Yes, actually,” I say, turning to the window again. “But don’t let that go to your head.”
I don’t have to look at him to know he’s smiling at me.
I keep wanting to remind people that I’m just a regular person, a film student, nothing special. The crew at the TV station fusses over me, powders me with makeup, and asks me countless times if I want something to eat or drink. The good part is, with the lights, the motion, and the urgency, I don’t have much time to think about what I’ve got to do—tell the truth. Tell Jane up-her-ass Larson that I threw her phone because she was rude.
“Would you like to change into one of our dresses?” a set member asks me.
Appearing in the doorway behind him, Kaleb is like a knight in his silver suit. “What’s wrong with what she’s wearing?” he snaps.
A tingle moves over me. I’m wearing a dignified dress. When it was time to leave this morning, Kaleb looked at me like he’d never seen anybody more beautiful. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn’t, probably because he knew it would only lead to more. It’s what we both want, but we shouldn’t.
“Nothing, sir,” the man says quickly.
Kaleb gives me a meaningful look, then says, “They want us out there in five. Jane is already here, apparently.”
“Okay,” I reply.
“Don’t forget what we talked about.”
Let him lead the way. That’s fine. I won’t butt into the conversation, but I’m going to make my point clear. I won’t be threatened. I threw that phone because I thought my brother might be seriously hurt, Kaleb thought his best friend might be, and all she cared about was her precious video.