Page 30 of Jake Forever
"It wasn't meant to fool you. But fooling those other people?" His tone grew mocking. "My fans? Yeah, I'll fool 'em all day long and sleep easy doing it."
"That doesn't make any sense," I said. "I don't even know what you're talking about."
"No? Then pretend you're me, and try again."
"I can't," I said, "because I don't have girls throwing themselves at me."
His voice grew quiet. "You think I liked that?"
I recalled the look on his face, that shit-eating grin, straight into the camera. "No. I think youlovedit." When he said nothing, I added, "At least, you sure looked like you loved it."
"Yeah? Well, lemme ask you something. Let's say I didn't love it. What then?"
"What do you mean, 'What then?'"
"Let's say I was disgusted, you think I'm gonna show it?"
I blinked. "Were you? Disgusted, I mean?"
"Hell yeah, I was disgusted. That chick was a mess. Sloppy as hell. Godawful perfume." He practically shuddered. "And you wanna hear something else? Chick almost barfed on me."
I stared up at him. His description was at such odds with what I'd seen on that video, I didn't know what to say.
"So yeah," Jake continued, "I was disgusted. You feel better now?"
Yes.
I paused.
And no.
Yes, because I'd rather have him disgusted than fawning over some other girl. And no, because even though I desperately wanted to, I couldn't quite believe what he was saying.
I gave him a dubious look. "You didn't look disgusted."
"Yeah," he said. "And thus, the six million views."
I tried to think. What was he telling me? That the whole thing was just an act?
I shook my head. That couldn’t be true. I knew Jake. He'd always been a hell-raiser. And his personality hadn't changed, not really. The only thing that was different now was the number of people who got to watch him.
Thinking aloud, I spoke slowly, trying to work it out in my own mind. "So with that girl, you just pretended to like it? Is that what you're saying?"
"Yeah. That's what I’m saying."
It felt like a lie – a pretty lie, designed to make me feel better. Still, I made myself ask, "But why?"
"You know why."
I made a sound of frustration. "Honestly, I don't."
"Alright. I'll spell it out. You know my fans. You think they're gonna line up to watch some guy whodoesn’tsmile when a hot girl plants her face against his cock?"
I drew back, disturbed at the image. And I couldn’t help but notice that he'd called the girl hot. Maybe it shouldn't have mattered, but I still didn't like it.
I looked away, gazing out toward the tall windows of his luxurious office suite. The day had been sunny when I'd arrived. But now, dark storm clouds were rolling in.
Good.
