Page 65 of Riley

Would I always wonder what could have been, if I had put myself first, above my job?

“Yeah, maybe,” I said, and Chris smirked.

“Sometimes, in football, there are really hard calls to make. Ones that you know will benefit the team, but might not benefit certain players individually,” he said seriously. “Sometimes the risk pays off. And sometimes it doesn’t.”

I looked at him with my own seriousness and intensity.

“What play do you think I should make, coach?” I asked.

Chris dropped from the counter, standing tall as he slid his hands in his pants pockets.

“I can’t tell you that, Evans. That’s up to you. But I can tell you that you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”

“Are you quoting The Office to me?” I asked, flashing him with a smile.

“Michael Scott had to get it from somewhere.” He winked as the bell rang.

“Thanks, Chris,” I said, feeling a little bit better.

“Mhmm,” he said as he tapped the top of my glass like it was a basketball hoop, once more.

My brother, Chris... they were both right.

Eric was worth it.

Wewere worth it, weren’t we?

CHAPTER 29

Eric

“You what?”Julie gasped on the other end of the phone.

“You heard me,” I said, tinkering with the cables in my studio as I unhooked my equipment.

Finally, the AC had been fixed, and with my sudden departure from my long-time job, I didn’t think I neededeverythinganymore. Just keeping a ring light and a professional mic would be enough for recording my content now.

Jordan had introduced me via email to the founder Only4U, a platform which housed more than just Jordan, Sticky, and I, and covered more than just Only Fans.

The owner, Paris, had intentions of launching her platform with courses that covered content creation on all platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and more. Courses were curated and taught by those who were bigger names on their prospective platforms. Jordan, Sticky, and I were a team, our course content specifically geared toward creating different types of marketable OF contentand how to get your content shown and in regular rotation with the algos—even if your content wasn’t sex.

Most people tended to think of Only Fans as being a sort of porn hub, and while they wouldn’t be incorrect, plenty of people have a variety of non-sexual accounts and content on there—and while sex may have been what we sold for a long time, I didn’t start out that way, and neither had the boys.

“How do you feel about this transition?” she asked, surprise still evident in her voice.

“Good, I guess. I mean, maybe a change of pace is good for me. I’m not going to be young forever,” I lamented. “Guess I really do work in social media now,” I said with a chuckle.

Julie snickered. “Please, like there aren’t thirty-something or fifty-something dudes out there making steamyDaddycontent.”

“And you would know this how, Jules?” I teased.

She snickered on the other end of the phone. “I might be taken, but I ain’t dead, Eric.”

I laughed a deep, rib-splitting laugh at her words. Julie was truly something else, and a part of me was glad to have a friend like her in my life.

Always supportive, and always a fucking hoot.

Then her tone shifted, changing like the chameleon she truly was.

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