Page 57 of Subscriber Wars

She sounds so serious that I throw my head back and laugh. “I should have remembered. You’re not a typical girl.”

She nods, examining the controls on the handset. “Don’t you forget it either.”

Her comment sends a jolt of memories through me and my grip on the controller tightens. She notices, but she doesn’t say anything and that’s good because we somehow need to get through this shoot without arguing.

“Okay,” Vee says, then exhales, as if preparing herself for this conversation. “In order for it to look super ‘coupl-y’ you need to change into those gray sweatpants you have and leave off the shirt.”

I can feel my eyes go wide. “What in the hell do sweatpants have to do with playing video games?”

She rolls her eyes. “Think about it, Bash. Do you think couples snuggle with a lot of clothes on?”

“We have to snuggle?” I am one hundred percent sure she did not mention that earlier when she was pitching the idea to me. “You didn’t mention any snuggling.”

Why is this an issue for me? I don’t know. I mean, on average, I’m not a cuddler, but with Valentina, I’mreallynot up for a cuddle session.

“Stop being a baby,” she says and rips off her shirt.

“Oh my God! What the fuck are you doing?” I toss the controller down and stand. “Put your shirt back on.”

Well, maybe wait a minute. No. No, she definitely needs to put it back on. Seeing her in a sports bra that dips dangerously low, showing two rounded hills of smooth skin that look like two ass cheeks squished together… I can’t be trusted with a bra like that.

It’s painful—literally painful, as my dick stands at attention. We’re not used to seeing Valentina Lambros in any other way than as a friend and the annoying neighbor. The bra and— “Why are you taking off your pants?”

She walks away, her panties on full display as she ignores me, pulling something out of her bag and slipping them on.

“Why are you changing into those shorts?”

Fuck me. These shorts are pink and girly and sit high on her thigh. I rake a hand through my hair. I can’t do this.

“We can shoot the scene without our faces,” I try to negotiate. “We can get Pam next door to do it.”

Vee isn’t having it, though, and comes to stand in front of me. “Shut up and strip. If you want to win the prize money, then you have to do what it takes.” She motions to her bra and bare stomach. “This is what it takes, Bash. Are you pussying out?”

I glare at her. “Don’t challenge me, Vee. You know I’ll rise to the occasion.”

Which she knows and that’s exactly why she said it. I snatch off my shirt and toss it somewhere toward the kitchen then stalk to my bedroom where I find those fucking sweatpants she was talking about and pull them on. When I’m done, I walk back into the living area to find that she has pushed the coffee table closer to the sofa and it looks cozy and date-like.

I hate it already.

“See? Was that so hard?” she asks, eyeing my bare chest before going back to the pillows she’s arranging.

“I need something to drink,” is all I respond with. Clearly my mood has plummeted into asshole territory. I’ve never been one to deprive myself or suffer, so I’m not eager for my neighbor’s half-dressed body to be pressed up against me while we shoot half an hour of footage that we’ll only use three minutes of.

“No alcohol,” she tells me, and it stops my steps to the kitchen.

“Why the hell not?” Alcohol is the only thing that is going to get me through this torture.

She doesn’t even spare me eye contact when she returns. “I don’t want you getting sloppy and debating stupid shit with me on camera. I know how you can get.”

Where is something I can throw?

I growl out something that sounds more like a muted scream. She does know how I get, and she’s also fallen prey to such arguments when we both were tipsy.

I take the last few steps to the kitchen and yank open the fridge and grab a fucking water because, apparently, this is going to suck epically. I down half of it in one go, before setting it on the counter and taking a deep breath.

One million dollars, dude. Los Angeles. A fresh start.

This will all be worth it. All you need to do is suffer through half an hour and then she can go home, back to her own space, and you can spray Lysol and attempt to get rid of her sweet smell in the house.

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