Page 57 of Stripped

“I already have a yoga video,” he said, his expression grim. “It doesn't sell.”

“I'm not talking about a VHS tape you send through the mail.” His frown let me know I'd nailed the nature of his workout video. “I'm talking about a video we post online. You get enough followers and you'll get advertisers wanting to pay you to hop onto your videos. It will bring in a steady stream of income.”

“A sexy yoga video? That's not what yoga is about. It sounds cheap and trashy, like selling out.”

His tone was harsh, snippy, and I could feel my own anger rise. “Everything is about sex, Zane. Once you have a following, put your shirt back on if you want. You could make instructional videos about meditation, maybe even teach online. There are a ton of options, but you have to put yourself out there.”

“I'm not interested in selling my body. I'm good at what I do, I shouldn't have to take my clothes off like some sort of whore.”

That one struck its target hard. I got that he was upset with me, that he had different expectations of our relationship than I did, but that didn't give him the right to be a jerk. “I'm the only whore in the room, I guess.” I kept my tone light, like I didn't give a shit, but I saw Zane's expression change like he hadn't realized what he'd said could hurt me. That made it worse, because it meant he really felt that way and wasn't just taking a dig at me. “I'm also good at what I do and I made actual money doing it. If you want to continue to be broke, by all means, keep your clothes on and continue doing what you're doing.”

“Abby, —”

I turned to Paulie and Clarissa. “How about you guys? What do you do?”

They told me what they did and gave me a list of other skilled people in town. We discussed ways the town could utilize those talents to make money and other ideas about leveraging the reality show buzz to generate income aside from those talents. I thought we came up with some pretty good ideas.

After the discussion, Paulie and Clarissa left, but Axel stayed behind with more questions. I answered them as best I could and he seemed to relax into my ideas, including increasing his prices.

“Thanks,” Axel said, standing. “You've been a huge help, Abby.”

“Any chance you find me trustworthy enough that you'll let me go to Denver?”

Axel slowly lowered himself back into his seat. He glanced at Zane, but turned his attention quickly back to me. “I don't want you to feel like a prisoner, Abby, but we don't know what Leopold is going to do when you don't show up on Wednesday. I'm as worried about your safety as I am about the pack's safety. You can leave on Friday, once we're sure Leopold won't try to retaliate for you not showing up.”

What he was saying made too much sense for me to argue. “Can I at least look for apartments and a job online?”

“Abby,” Zane said, but I didn't look at him. I couldn't. I needed to get out of this town. I was so sick and tired of small towns and their intolerance.

Axel hesitated just a moment, giving me time to answer Zane. When I didn't, he shook his head and sighed. “That's fine, Abby. Just don't advertise where you're currently staying.”

“About that,” I said. “Any chance you can find me another place to stay here in town?”

“No,” Zane said. I finally looked at him and his glare softened as soon as my gaze met his. “I fucked up, Abby, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did.”

“It doesn't matter so much that you said it. It matters that you meant it.”

His hands clenched into fists. “I didn't mean it the way you think. Can we just talk about this?”

“I'd like to see Alice and Carly. Are they still locked up?”

“We've moved them to the barn,” Axel said. “They seem to be free of the compulsion, but we're concerned that if they go back to Aspens Whiten, Leopold will just pull them in again. We were hoping you might have some idea of their options.”

“I'll talk to them,” I said. “Can I stay with them until I'm free to leave for Denver?”

“Damn it, Abby,” Zane said.

Axel didn't even look at Zane. “Of course. I can take you over as soon as you get your stuff together.”

“I'll take her,” Julie said. She looked at me. “If you want?”

“That would be great.”

I stood and went back to the bedroom. I went to the bathroom first, grabbed my toiletries, and stuffed them in a bag. When I turned, Zane was standing in the doorway, blocking my path. He looked furious and I faltered, because he also looked hurt and scared. “You're just going to walk away because I made one idiotic comment?”

“It's not just about what you said. It's better that we end this now. I'll be leaving for Denver in less than a week.”

“And I told you I was willing to move to Denver. For you. I'm still willing to move to Denver.”

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