Page 51 of Not My Fault

“Thanks, this is my fanciest suit.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Kenzie laughs. “You both look happy together.”

“Thank you, I think we are,” I say with ease.

“I hate to break up this party, but we have to say hello to a lot more people tonight. I’m fundraising for the event and the more hands I shake, the more we make,” Kenzie says interrupting Barbie and Emily exchanging numbers.

“We’re going to get tea someday,” Emily says smiling at me.

“Sounds amazing.”

The event itself is sort of boring. It’s mostly rich people talking to other rich people about how rich they are. Emily doesn’t know anyone except a few influencers who are too busy documenting everything to say hello. I’m silently grateful Cari isn’t one of the influencers here. I don’t want to see her again anytime soon. She’s texted me a few times to apologize, but I’ve left them unread. I don’t want to look back at my past with her. I’m moving on to my future with Emily.

“Do you wanna get out of here?” Emily whispers halfway through the dinner.

“What? I thought we couldn’t leave,” I whisper back.

“We can sneak out the side entrance. Go get tacos instead of this food I can’t even eat,” she whispers seductively. Or maybe it just sounds seductive because it’s my girl whispering in my ear about tacos.

I nod, and she stands first, taking my hand. We duck down as we make our way out of the room. If anyone cares, no one says anything. Emily stops to place a check in the donation bin and then leaves with her hand in mine. If I had the money she does, I’d give back too, but I need all the money I have for now. Emily leads us out of the service entrance, and as we’re leaving, she sees a lone paparazzi, so she pulls me out of the way to hide. Her body presses against mine, my back on the brick building, and I hold my hands on her bare skin.

The silk of her dress feels like a Godsend as I grip it tightly in my hands. Her mouth is only inches from mine, and I can’t resist. I lean in to kiss her, drawing all of her in and eliciting a strong moan from her. I silence her with my tongue, my hands on her ass, holding her still as we wait for the paparazzi to pass. At least that’s what I tell myself. In reality, I’m trying to get every last second with her. I don’t want to wait to touch her, being tortured all night long with this fabric that leaves nothing to the imagination. Or maybe that’s just me because I’ve committed to memory exactly what’s underneath.

I don’t care how she displays her body, because once we get home, I know it’s mine. She’s a good slut in the bedroom, only wanting to please me. So her fans and whoever can see what she lets them see. But I’m the only one allowed to touch. I rake my hands over her breasts and her nipples are already hard for me. I toss her blonde curls over her shoulder, and I see a hickey she failed to cover up.

“I already left my mark on you, I see,” I whisper in her ear.

“I wanted everyone to see it and know I’m yours,” she whispers back.

Using all the strength I have left not to fuck her right here in this doorway, I grab her hand and pull her toward home. We can order something later; right now I need to get us back to the apartment so I can show her all the ways that affectsme. She giggles as she sees how turned on I am, and I smack her ass on the way out the door. I’m sure that would make the papers tomorrow but neither of us care. Let the world see how my girl likes to get her ass slapped with a big smile on her face. Hopefully that’s a big enoughfuck youto Viv.

TWENTY-FIVE

Emily

Rehearsal is a little tense today, but I’m not sure why. It seems like everyone is on edge this week even though nothing seems to have changed. The only people who have some sense of normalcy are Viv, Gus, and Georgie. G is visiting me today since they couldn’t make the shows this weekend. She hands me a bottle of water as we finish up for the day. Everyone sort of disperses and I look at her with an eyebrow raised. We do that best friend communication where we don’t have to say anything out loud. She’s not sure what’s going on with anyone either but she’s going to look and see if there’s a full moon tonight. As she pulls out her phone, one of Viv’s assistants walks over.

“Do you think we could go somewhere and talk?” she asks quietly, looking over her shoulder, but no one is there.

“Uh sure.” I nod. “I’ll be back,” I tell Georgie, who just nods.

“Look, there’s something I want to run by you, and I don’t know how to say it,” Viv’s assistant says.

“I’m sorry, you have to remind me your name.” I feel like an asshole for not knowing, but I know it’s better to ask now than later.

“It’s Marsha. I’m sorry, I know it’s not like Viv ever lets us talk to you.” She sighs.

“Marsha, hi. Why don’t you come to my dressing room and we can chat in private?” I suggest.

She nods and follows me. I unlock the door and let her in behind me. She takes a seat on the couch and pulls out a yellow envelope. The kind people use to transport paperwork and important documents. It’s filled tightly, which makes me nervous, like she was about to serve me with jury duty papers or something like that.

“So, what’s going on?” I sit down across from her.

“It’s not really my place but I was afraid if this got out and you didn’t know, it would be worse for you. But the stage crew is planning a walk out.” She sighs.

“What?” My jaw drops. My crew? What the hell happened?

“They haven’t been paid in the last thirty days and can’t afford to wait any longer.” She hands me a thick document with a lot of numbers and names.

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