Page 62 of Cam Girl

Going in, you figure point and shoot. Right?

You assume people will pay for anything as long as you show them some tits or ass. Then you start considering angles and lighting and costume changes. You bring in toys, a special light ring, and use some of the first big tips that come in to get really decent equipment.

All of which is back at my apartment.

Did those dudes go back and destroy things? Or are they still there waiting for me?

I shudder.

“By the way,” Aiden says, breaking our pleasant silence, “you did a piss poor job last night skipping stones, but that’s okay. I figure I can teach you.”

I chuckle. “There’s not a whole lot of water in the middle of Baltimore to practice.”

He gives what sounds like a contented sigh. “This place has always been special to us. Despite the bullshit with Uncle Alistair, we’ve always had the cabin, the lake.” Aiden’s eyes shoot to me. “You’ve never wanted to come before. Any reason?”

He’s done with me and offering me an opening I’d better take.

“If I tell you it has to do with my mother, would you believe me?”

His lips twitch. “What about her?”

“She’s Honey,” I say, taking another sip of coffee. “What else is there to say?”

“You know what? Yeah, I’ll believe it.” He laughs. “She’s a piece of work. She’s probably done a number on you. I try to keep my distance from her, too, if I’m honest.”

I twist around to look at him. “You travel in the same circles, with your relationship to Alistair. It’s got to be much harder for you to avoid her than it is for me.”

“Sometimes,” Aiden agrees.

Silence hangs between us for a long moment until Aiden turns to me, his face curious and open. The kind of expression that invites you to talk. But the eye contact…

It’s a bit too much for me.

I clear my throat and hike my glasses higher up my nose. He has questions. A whole heap of them I’m not ready to talk about yet. I’m not even sure I’m ready for another kiss.

“You’ve got a good relationship with your parents,though?” I ask, fumbling for something to keep him talking and not me.

He snorts and laces his hands behind his head. “Ah, there’s nothing like a deep dive into family history early in the morning.”

The tension in my chest softens the longer I’m with him. “Sure, but we’re here. What else do you want to talk about? Something surface level? Like what’s your favorite color?”

“Red, “Aiden answers automatically. He drops his eyes. “Surface level used to appeal to me once, back in high school and college when I thought I was the Shit. Capital S.”

I totally see it. “But that changed along the way?”

He stares at the lake for a long moment. “I have a good relationship with my parents,” he finally replies. “They stuck by me through some hard times, really had my back. The same with Soren.”

“I’d assume most parents generally support their kids. It hasn’t been my experience, but whatever.” I draw my knees up to my chest and rest my chin on the blanket.

“I wasn’t a nice man, Gilli,” Aiden says. “Probably not what you want to hear.”

“Oh?”

I wait for him to continue. This feels like a pivotal moment, somehow, one where I need to take a step back and actively listen rather than blithely talk.

“I used to have a big ego. Okay, I still have a big ego, but I learned that just because I want to act tough doesn’t mean I can put other people down to boost myself up.”

Aiden stops and reaches over to grab my coffee, stealing a sip before he returns it to me with a screwed up expression.The sweetener.

---