Page 115 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

“Oh my God, are you all right?” Alex asks, appearing in my periphery like a poof of blonde. The next second, Jason is there, too, looking down at me in concern. I can hear a murmur of noise from the audience, but the MC takes that moment to bend down, picking up the fallen microphone.

“All right, folks,” he says, cutting through the din. “It looks like Mr. Bradley is going to be okay. Let’s take a quick ten-minute break, and then we’ll continue on with the auction.”

“What happened?” I ask Joey, deciding if I don’t look at the crowd, I can pretend they’re not there.

“You got a papercut,” Jason fills in as Joey brushes my hair off my forehead.

“And passed out, sweetums,” Alex adds.

“Yeah,” I say slowly, easing myself into a sitting position. Joey helps, rubbing my back as my vision swims. “I don’t do well with blood.”

“Here,” Cas says, having appeared next to the stage. He tosses a box of juice toward Joey, who grabs it and proceeds to open the straw, popping it into the top of the box. “I’ll be back with some food.”

Joey hands me the juice as Cas heads off to find a snack. I take a few sips, resolutely not looking down at my finger.

“It’s a good thing your knight in shining armor is so quick,” Alex says, glancing between me and Joey with a knowing expression. “He managed to stop your head from hitting the stage.”

“Small mercies,” I mumble, remembering the speech I had been giving when I passed out.Fuuuck. I didn’t even get to finish. “Uh, thanks for the save, Joey-roo.”

He squeezes the back of my neck, conversation continuing to buzz around us.

“Uh… Think we can maybe go somewhere a little less…public now?” I ask.

Joey nods quickly, standing and offering me his hand. I spot my speech on the stage beside me and grab it, shoving the paper in my pocket before Joey pulls me up.

“I’ll find a Band-Aid,” Jason murmurs, hurrying off ahead of us.

Alex sticks close as we make our way off the stage, the rest of the porn star crew giving me worried looks as we pass. I shoot them a reassuring smile and a wave before we round the corner out of the ballroom, heading toward the dressing room we were in earlier.

Once inside, Joey settles me onto the couch. I drink my juice, and Alex goes to grab some water.

“Doing okay?” Joey asks, wrapping a spare napkin around my finger while we wait for Jason to return.

“Embarrassed,” I admit. “And a little woozy. Otherwise fine. Sorry I botched your auction intro.”

“Hey, I’m not worried about that,” he says, his hand on my thigh squeezing gently. “In fact, I… I quite liked what you said. About me.”

“Yeah?”

He hums. “How’d you find out about that duck I carved?”

“Your mom. We talk most days.”

“Of course you do,” he mumbles around a smile. His expression turns a little pensive as he eyes me. “Did you really mean all that?”

I pull in a breath, my pulse hitching and my hand idly running over my pocket where the rest of my speech sits. “I, uh…”

“Found a first aid kit,” Jason says, unintentionally interrupting us as he comes into the room. He squats down in front of the couch, holding out his hand. I pass my own over and keep my gaze averted as he tends to my minor flesh wound.

“Water and a snack,” Alex announces, the next to rejoin our small group. He hands the items off to Joey. “I should get back out there, but you and I are going to have a little chat later,Mr. Bradley.”

The small blonde raises an eyebrow in challenge, and I huff a laugh. “You mean about my newfound appreciation for swordplay?”

Alex’s mouth drops open, a look of pure glee taking over his face. “Yes, I mean about that! When did this happen, sweet stuff? Tell me every single detail.”

“Well,” I start, thinking it over, “first there was Joey’s hammies. Or maybe it began with the cum gutter fantasies? You see—”

“Oh myGod,” Jason groans, giving my hand a hard pat before closing the first aid kit. “You’re all set.”

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