Page 18 of Scandalous

Marryme.now: That’s rich coming from you @The.Brit. You are a self-proclaimed asshole. What would you know about what Aurora wants?

The.Brit: I know what she doesn’t want. To marry you. She has better taste than that.

My breath catches. That’s the first time he’s complimented me.

“All right, guys. Let’s tone it down. Thank you for asking, but I don’t give out my number. Thank you, Ezra, for jumping on to have my back.”

That’s when it hits me. Ezra jumped on to defend me. That means he was watching with one of the other guys.

Could this mean that he likes me?

The.Brit: Don’t let it go to your head, Princess. I just don’t like dickheads being predators to women.

My heart falls. Still, I force a smile on my face.

“I’d never let anything you say go to my head. We all know you don’t know how to be nice to anyone. Anyway, moving on. Anyone else want to chat? Let these men have their ego trips on their own?”

Alexis.The.One: Forget the men. You have school to focus on. How’s it going?

“Aw, thank you for asking about school, Alexis. It’s going well. I won’t lie, it’s crazy to think about the fact I’m about to be a senior in college. Only one more year and I’ll be a graduate. It’s scary, yet I’m ready for it. I don’t know how I will fill in my studying time though. It will be an adjustment.”

Low.Low: How do you like New York? You’ve mentioned you’re from a small town so it has to be quite the change.

I smile. “New York has been a great experience for me, and I’ve made some killer friends. It took some time to get used to it always being noisy and the cramped living space, but I find that I enjoy it. I don’t keep junk I don’t need because I don’t have the space. I also love that at any time of the day, I can walk down the street and find a pizza place. So while I do sometimes miss my quiet little town, I wouldn’t trade New York for it.”

DeeDee2.0: Hey, The.Aussie, The.American, The.Brit, and The.Boricua are you guys inviting Aurora.Blake to any of your parties this year? I’m waiting to buy tickets to see which one to go to if so.

“Oh, that’s a great question, DeeDee two-point-oh!” I smirk at the camera. “What do you say, boys? Am I being invited?” I wink.

The timer beeps, and I groan. “Looks like they’ve been saved by the bell. Maybe we will get an answer out of them next time. Let’s see how our cobbler came out.”

I grab the oven mitt and reach in and grab the bubbling pan. “Doesn’t this look amazing?” I say, holding it up to the camera before setting it down on a cooling rack. “Do you know what would go great with this? Some vanilla ice cream.”

I glance down to see several people agreeing when a different response comes through.

The.Boricua: Or whipped cream.

“I’m fresh out of whipped cream, Santi, but feel free to bring some over.” I wink over my shoulder as I grab the ice cream from the freezer.

“Now, usually you would want this to cool a bit, but I have an impulse control problem. I love eating food fresh from the oven, even if it burns my mouth. So let’s plate some up.”

Back at the counter, I place some of the cobbler in a bowl and put a small scoop of ice cream on top.

Dipping my spoon in, I make sure to grab a large bite. Then I hold it up before shoving it into my mouth. I groan as the spices burst against my tongue. It’s perfect, just like Grandma made it.

“It came out so well. I want to see how yours turned out. Show me the pictures below or just comment and let me know how it went. I’ll be checking comments for the next hour or so before I have to get some rest. That’s all for tonight. Thanks for joining me. Until next time,” I say as I raise a spoon before ending the feed.

With the camera off, I take a deep breath and shake my head as I stare at the beautiful dessert.

How is this my life?

* * *

But feel free to bring some over.

What would she do if I knocked on her door with a can of whipped cream?

Looking down at my phone, I open Google and start looking at flights.

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