Page 136 of Pick Me

Epilogue

Thea

A Year Later

I slowed as I stepped into the room, blinking at the setup before me. Jackson was moving around and adjusting giant photography lights like he was about to film a full-blown production in our bedroom.

“Jackson, what’s going on?” I scanned the room, confusion morphing into a realization that hit me like a ton of bricks. “You know when I said we were so good at sex we should set up a couple’sOnlyStansaccount and make bank, I was joking, right?”

He turned to face me, his eyes trailing over my outfit before a wide grin spread across his face.

Yes, I was wearing my fluffy purple onesie.Again.But I was cold, and after months of living together, it had grown on Jackson. So much so, he’d ask me to wear it during foreplay… and once while I went down on him.

I couldn’t even count the number of times and places we’d had sex in this apartment. One year living together gave us plenty of time to find new positions and ways to do things. That wasn’t all, though. Since opening myself up to Jackson, I’d learned so much more about him, and as we were finishing our final semester of college, I was excited over what that would bring.

“Relax, Pyro. I know that. Believe me, I’m not about to share your moves with anyone else.” Jackson tapped a finger to his temple, throwing me a flirty smile. “Those images are for me and me only.”

I pointed at the two lights, my brows raised. “Then why have you set up the ring lights?” I took in a sharp breath. “Oh no. Please don’t tell meyou’restarting your own channel.”

His grin grew wider as he stepped toward me, and I raised my hands. “Look, you’re hot and I know you’d make a lot of money, I just don’t know. It would feel weird sharing you.”

When he got close enough, he clasped his hands in mine and kissed my knuckles. “You know you’re cute when you’re jealous. Don’t worry, I’m not selling myself for views. I leave the thirst traps for Liam.”

I hummed out, remembering the last one he did. “Mm-hm. You’re right. Those British flag speedos left little to the imagination.”

Jackson’s eyes flared with jealousy as he grabbed me by the hips, tickling my sides. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop checking out our co-host?”

“Someone needs to make sure the content is appropriate,” I said through giggles. “If I wasn’t looking through it, there’s no way we’d have been able to afford this apartment on our own.”

His fingers slowed. “I guess you’re right. I shouldn’t be too hard on that British beefcake. Sometimes even I can’t stop looking at them.”

I stepped out of Jackson’s reach, surveying the room once again. “You still haven’t explained the cameras,” I said, tapping the ring light.

“I had an idea.” My smile dropped. “Don’t give me that look.”

“What look?”

“The look that says you’ve already dismissed my idea before hearing it out.”

I crossed my arms, laughing. “Come on, Jackson. Last time you had an idea, I ended up introduced as the newest member of your gaming channel and tanking the views with all my complaints about the realism ofRide or Die.”

He held his hands out wide. “I fixed that, though, didn’t I?”

I pursed my lips since he had a point. I couldn’t complain about the 200,000 subscribers Jackson helped me to gain through doing reality TV reviews and gossip talk, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be part of any more of his games.

“So, back to my idea. You know how Tanner’s the talk of the NFL right now?When will they play him? Will he finally be QB1 this season?They can’t stop talking about it, and I think we should take advantage.”

Tanner’s rise in the NFL had been a slow burn, but from what I understood, that was by design. After drafting him, the Crossbills brought in a veteran quarterback, Jacob Miller, to mentor him and help with his development. A year had passed since Tanner signed his rookie contract, and aside from a handful of final-quarter appearances, he had barely seen the field. Now, people were starting to ask questions.

“Well, Liam and I thought it might be a cool idea to do a stream with his sister, also known asThea’s Thoughts, playing him in the new NFL gameRoughing the Passer.”

“Really? Me playing Tanner? Have you seen how beautiful they made him in that? I don’t think I can compete.”

“Believe me, Pyro. Your brother’s got that whole Thor thing going on, but you’re a goddess, and I still haven’t figured out why you’ve wasted your time with a baseball hat wearing idiot like me.”

I rolled my eyes, ignoring his compliments. We weren’t in bed. That was when I liked to hear about how much I rocked his world. “So that’s what you want to do for our Saturday night? Record me playing a video game?”

He looked at me as though I was being an idiot. “Um, I think you underestimate how insanely hot it is watching you play.”

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