Page 69 of The Money Shot

“We didn’t get much time,” I said, my voice dropping. “I lived with my family, and he lived with Vera, of course. But when we were alone...” I trailed off, feeling the heat rise in my face. “When we were alone, it was like nothing else mattered. Like the world could end, and we wouldn’t care.”

Nova sighed, her face dreamy. “That’s beautiful.”

“It was,” I admitted. For a moment, I let myself sit in the memory, the way his hands felt on my face, his breath warm against my ear.

“What happened to him?” she murmured.

The words hit me like an icy wind. My chest tightened, and I felt the shutters go up inside me. I shook my head, staring down at the bar.

“My memories are mine,” I spat. “If I share them, I lose them. And I can’t lose any more of Petyr.”

Nova opened her mouth as if to protest, but thought better of it. She nodded, her expression unreadable. Vince, ever the silent observer, slid another shot of vodka in front of me. I downed it without a word, the burn in my throat a welcome distraction.

After a moment, I let out a bitter laugh. “This generation,” I said, waving vaguely at the crowd. “They don’t know what love is. Genuine passion, genuine romance. They think it’s something you can find on a screen. Something you can swipe left or right on. Fools.”

Nova raised an eyebrow, but stayed quiet.

“Everything’s like porn now,” I went on, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “Blank faces, dead eyes. No feeling, no... soul. Just empty gestures. Do you know what it’s like to look into someone’s eyes and see your entire world staring back at you? They don’t.” I slammed my hand on the bar for emphasis. “They wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

Nova reached out again, this time her touch landing on my arm. “You’re wrong, Dimi.”

I glanced at her, my vision a little blurry from the vodka.

“There are still people who feel that kind of love,” she said. “You just have to believe it’s out there.”

I scoffed, reaching for my beer. “Belief is for children.”

Nova rolled her eyes, her perfectly painted lips twisting into a smirk. “You’re such a dinosaur, Dimi,” she said, pulling her phone out of her glittery clutch. Her nails, painted a shocking electric blue, clicked against the screen as she tapped away.

“What are you doing?” I asked, eyeing her warily.

“I found this video online,” she said, not looking up. “While, um, researching.”

“Researching what?”

She finally met my gaze, her expression sly. “Porn, darling.”

I groaned and leaned back in my chair, waving her off. “Love isn’t porn.”

“No, it’s not,” she agreed, holding her phone out toward me. “But I think you should watch this, anyway.”

I stared at the screen like it might bite me. “I’m not interested.”

Nova didn’t budge, her arm stretched out like a challenge. “Oh, you’ll be interested,” she said, a knowing glint in her eye.

Sighing heavily, I took the phone, my fingers brushing against hers. The screen glowed softly in the dim light of the bar, and I hesitated before pressing play on the video.

At first, I shook my head, muttering under my breath about the absurdity of it all. But then I saw them. Two men. Bare-chested, their bodies strong and graceful as they moved together. The first, with messy dark hair and a cocky smirk, kissed the other, who was more muscular, fairer, with eyes that seemed to hold the entire world.

I frowned, leaning closer. They looked familiar, though I couldn’t place them right away. And then it hit me. Those tenants on the tenth floor. What were their names? Jack and...something. Liam. Yes, that was it. Vanessa never shut up about them.

The thought was fleeting because what held me now wasn’t recognition. It was the way they looked at each other.

Their movements were intimate, yes, but it was more than that. The way Jack’s hand lingered on Liam’s cheek, how Liam’s eyes closed, as if savoring the touch—it wasn’t like anything I’d seen before. Not in any porn video.

My chest tightened, and I felt a strange, unwelcome heat behind my eyes. It wasn’t the physicality that gripped me, though it was impossible not to notice. It was their connection. You could see it in their eyes. That look. That damn look.

It pulled me back, through years and oceans, to the nights with Petyr. To the way he would touch me, like I was something precious. The way he would kiss me, as if the world could end and he wouldn’t care as long as I was in his arms.

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