Page 46 of The Influencer

She huffs. “You know what I mean. He’s your brother, not mine.”

“He’d be your brother, too, if you get what you want.”

“Well, until then, I’d rather not bask in his newly engaged glow. You of all people should understand how hard this is for me.”

“Right,” I grit out. “You’re free to leave whenever. You can take the car. I’ll find a ride.”

“Oh, really? And what are you gonna do after I leave? Chat up the queers and the music moguls?” She laughs. “Okay.”

“You know what?” I snap. “I think you should go?—”

“What, and let your brother try to talk you into breaking up with me again? No thanks, I’ll stay put.”

She’s quick. I’ll give her that. But I also want her the fuck away from me right now, and I can feel all my backed-up resentment rising up my throat.

Meanwhile, Jade and a few other dancers are showing their dance moves off on the pool deck. Ridiculous jeans aside, the man can move, and watching him glide, spin, and twerk gets my juices flowing. Of all the eye candy at this party, he’s the sweetest, and I’m having trouble dragging my gaze away from him.

He does not appear to be having the same issue. He’s popular, of course. He’s outrageous and fun. So, naturally, he’s the life of the damn party. And I’m the dud. I might as well have brought three screaming toddlers with me for how isolated and out of place I feel. Instead, all I’ve got is a bitchy girlfriend who’s kind of a homophobe, not that she’d ever admit it because we’re all God’s children.

“If we’re staying, I’m getting another drink,” Olivia says abruptly and walks away. I can either stand by myself, or mingle, and Adam is already waving me over.

I join him and his friends with an unassuming smile and try to follow the conversation, which is baseball related. When Olivia joins the group, however, the tone of the conversation shifts to something no longer so casual. “How’s work been, Liv?” Adam asks.

Olivia manages the Starbucks where we first met, and she hates her job. She’s got no problem bitching about it for five solid minutes either while the other men listen politely even as their eyes glaze over. Finally, I make the decision to end everyone’s suffering, my own included.

“Actually, we should get going. I have some work to finish up this weekend, and I’m way behind.”

Adam scowls at me. “Before you go, can I have a minute? Best man business.”

He’s lying, but I don’t care. I have no desire to sit with Olivia in traffic for an hour either. I walk with him down to the pool deck, and we take seats on two lounge chairs. “You look fucking miserable,” he says.

“Wow, thanks. You’re glowing, as usual.”

“You know what I mean, Ash.”

“Yeah,” I bite out. “I get it.”

“Is this what you want the rest of your life to look like?”

When he puts it like that…

I glance at the crowd across the pool. Jade has his shirt off now, his torso glistening, and his hot pink nipples crying out to me. Just looking at him makes me hard. I see it in flashes—his bare thigh in my hand, his hand over his face, his brilliant smile, his cum on his skirt.

It’s like an erotic Instagram reel on repeat, and the soundtrack is his soft sighs and moans. Adam’s gaze follows mine. “Who are you watching?”

“No one,” I say, but I don’t stop staring at Jade. I’d give my right arm to suck his cock again. Find a room in this mansion and strip those stupid jeans off his perfectly sculpted legs and suck him into my throat. Fuck, I want him so bad right now, I’d probably even agree to let him record me. At least if he posted it, it’d be proof I exist. That I’m more than this sad fuck no one wants to talk to with a girlfriend everybody hates.

“Kiki?” Adam guesses.

“Sure, yeah. I’m staring at Kiki. Did you have anything else you wanted to talk to me about, Adam?” I ask, looking back at my brother.

“You seem more unhappy than the last time I saw you. Is there something going on?”

“I slept with someone.”

Adam’s eyes fly open. “You did what?”

“I paid someone to have sex with me,” I tell him.

---