Page 100 of The Influencer

Jade

Is this a group text? Why are you sharing this with me?

Oh, I do love it when he’s sassy.

Asher

Thought you might be interested.

Jade

Do I look desperate to you?

He sends a selfie with his hair all perfect and glossy, a black cat eye, and lips slick with gloss. My dick actually twitches. Like he’s got a string attached to it that he knows exactly when to pull.

Asher

Not at all. Just thought I’d let you know I’m a little desperate for you.

Asher

Jadey baby.

Jade

Fuck. You.

Jade

When do you land?

I grin. Winning.

Asher

Nine. And I’m still homeless, but I went to Target and got some clothes and stuff while I was here.

Jade

See you when you get here.

29

jade

If Asher thinks I’m going to fuck him just because he shows back up, he better think again. He’ll be lucky if he gets a kiss. What I will do, however, is make him as uncomfortable as humanly possible.

I put on a pajama set—navy blue with white piping. It has short sleeves and short shorts. I bought it in the women’s section of Nordstrom. It’s cotton and soft as butter, and I look fucking adorable in it. Like give me a teddy bear, and I can take some very, very niche photos.

But this is just for Asher. Torture. Like not hearing from him for four days has been torturing me. He will suffer. No one puts this baby in a corner.

“Fuck me,” he mutters when I open the door.

“You wish.” I toss my head in a way that I know makes my hair bounce and fall perfectly around my face as I assess him. Duffel bag in hand, he’s rumpled from travel and scruffier than usual. I don’t hate it. “Well, come in.”

I spin away from him and walk down the hall, straight to the couch where I sit down and train my attention on the documentary about Japan I’ve had on in the background while scrolling my phone. I pat the space beside me and wait for him to join me.

His expression is both heated and baffled, but he sits. I take the opportunity to snuggle into him, arm around his waist, head on his chest, and thighs tucked up against his. “Hold me,” I demand. Okay, so maybe torturing him feels a lot like torturing myself. But it seems I might actually have needs that extend beyond sex, at least where Asher is concerned. And anyway, he owes me.

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