Page 119 of Tips and Trysts

“Like,videos.The alley, at least.”

“The alley,” she murmurs, eyes drifting to the side before her brows rise abruptly.

I nod. “I couldn’t let him do that to you. It was meant to be an attack on my campaign, but I don’t give a shit about the election anymore. That night…” I trail off.

“My first time,” she murmurs, reminding me of the revelation she shared a few weeks ago.

Right then, my love for everyone in the room multiplies tenfold. Nobody mentions how Cora’s livelihood comes from people seeing her naked and coming her brains out. They all get it. Cora cams on her terms, but she didn’t consent to sharing that video of us—and that’s a huge difference.

“Your father would seriously release a video of you fucking?” Essie chimes in from an armchair by the bookshelves. “He wouldn’t be uncomfortable with the idea of someone seeing his son’s…”

“Surprisingly nice dick,” Dalton fills in as he falls into the chair next to Essie.

“Yeah, that,” Essie finishes. “I mean, he’s yourdad.”

“Didn’t occur to me.” But then again, he picked a video where I was clothed, but Cora’s tits and ass were out. He picked one where I choked her. Spit on her. Took her asshole. Degraded her.

In a malevolent, vile way, my father picked a video where I met his expectations for a man.

“The thing you have to understand about my family, Essie, is I’m only useful to my father as a political tool. I’m a thoroughbred. And when a thoroughbred can’t run…” I raise my shoulders. “It gets put down. A video of me doing anal in an alley would effectively destroy my political aspirations, but it wouldn’t hurt my father’s career or turn his voter base against him. He planned on releasing it and denouncing me. Hands clean.”

Dalton’s eyebrows are high enough to summit Denali. “Ev, you did anal in an alley?”

“You can do anal anywhere if you put your mind to it,” Lander chimes in, which prompts Valeria to slap him on the arm for a second time tonight, but it’s playful this time. Lander responds by wrapping his arms around her.

Valeria faces me with my best friend dangling over her like the world’s biggest, most classically handsome backpack. “What’s the plan?”

“Well, I was thinking we could box the leftover desserts and go watch David Attenborough,” I reply, gesturing over my shoulder.

The room is silent until Essie clears her throat. “That’s it. You’re just…done.”

“Sure, but I have Cora now. She’s all I need.”

“Are you kidding me?” Valeria blurts out, raising her voice. Her expression looks pained.

Lander’s face pulls into a frown. “Baby—”

“Don’t,” she objects, shaking him off before she faces me. “Everett, you’re going to let your psychopathic father blackmail you into silence? You’re going to let him threaten my best friend’s dignity?”

I glance at Cora before I look back at our friends. “Obviously, I would do anything for her, but it would just be revenge.” I face Cora again. “You were the one who said revenge wasn’t healthy. I assumed we would let it go.”

Dalton lets out a swooping whistle. “Everett Logan taking the high road? Wow, Cora, I want to commend you on undoing two centuries of cutthroat, elitist Ivy League breeding in a matter of weeks.”

“Dalton…” she begins, sighing.

“Seriously,” he continues. “I’ve taken longer solving the Wordle than Everett did getting his dick pierced.”

“Oh my god,” she blurts out. “Can you please stop and let me talk some sense into him?”

Dalton sinks into his chair. “Sorry, sorry.”

Cora faces me again, and this time, her expression is stoic—but there’s a spark of energy in her narrowed eyes. “I want revenge.”

“Since when?”

“Since someone hurt you,” she answers, succinct in her response. “You know how this feels.”

She’s right. If an opportunity to destroy Felix arose, I’d pursue it as aggressively as I’ve pursued Cora. Still, Warren E. Logan is untouchable.

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