Page 34 of Rough Daddy
"You want my actual opinion?"
"I want everything you're thinking." His voice drops. "You can tell me anything and everything."
Everything.If only he knew how impossible that was. How many secrets I'm keeping locked behind my smile.
The guilt starts to stack in my windpipe, stealing the air and keeping words from forming.
I refocus. He’s asking for my opinion on a sex toy, not the revelation of my duplicity. This, I can give him honestly.
"Okay. First, the motor needs to be repositioned. And the silicone is fine, but the texture is wrong. Too smooth. There should be strategic raised areas for increased sensation."
His eyebrows climb toward his hairline, and I catch a flash of something that looks like pride. "Keep going, smart girl."
"The controls are completely unintuitive. Why wouldn't you have customizable patterns? The battery compartment looks weak, too. It needs more waterproofing." I feel a smirk tugging at my lips. “We don’t want another CHARGING EQUIPMENT FAULT, do we?”
"Jesus Christ." He rests his chin on the top of my head. "You never used a toy before the other night? You’re telling the truth?"
Heat crawls up my neck. "Yes. I told you, I'm book smart. I read about engineering and electronics like other people keep up with their favorite football team. And I have the prerequisite… anatomy, too. So I have an advantage here, specifically."
"That's my brilliant girl." His hands glide around, flattening over my tummy. "You're incredible, baby. You make me proud."
"I'm just applying basic engineering principles to—"
"To revolutionize an entire industry." His hands frame my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Do you realize what you just described? A completely new approach that actually considers what women need instead of what men think they want."
My heart starts racing, and not just from his touch. "It's just theoretical. I mean, I've never actually built anything—"
"I have." His eyes are bright with possibility and excitement. Not just about the idea but… aboutus, about what we could build together. "I can prototype anything you design. Testmaterials, perfect mechanisms. Hell, I've already taken apart half the competition."
The idea hits me like lightning. A real future. A real partnership. Something I could build that I want.
"I’m not sure,” I tell him, trying to be practical, trying not to get caught up in the moment. “Takes more than book smarts to do something like this.”
He spins me around, frames my face with his hands, and the way he's looking at me makes me feel like the most important person in the world. "You’re brilliant, little girl. You and me together, we’ll be a force."
His brilliant little girl.No one has ever been proud of my brain before. Not like this.
I could actually help make this work. My social media following, even after the scandal, is still in the millions. I could be the face of the brand, re-launch myself, build authentic trust with customers who've been burned by fake reviews and corporate manipulation.
Sex toys designed by a woman, for women, tested honestly by someone who's not afraid to talk about pleasure.
This is what I’ve been trying to tell my parents for years. The world wants authenticity. Not staged moments. If they want the real Tessa, I can give it to them. With Beau standing next to me, it feels like it could happen.
It's brilliant. It's revolutionary. And all it would require is for me to step back into the very spotlight I've been running from.
The same spotlight that destroyed me over a few bathing suit videos.
The trolls would have a field day. The headlines write themselves:Disgraced Influencer's Desperate New Low.
But maybe... maybe that's exactly why it would work. I'm already the girl who got canceled for being too sexual, even when I was being nothing of the sort. What do I have left to lose?
"You're serious."
"Dead serious." He picks up one of the motor components, turning it over with the same careful attention he gives everything I say. "Think about it. You've got the brains, I've got the skills. And there's a massive market of women who aren't being served by current products."
My mind starts racing, seeing possibilities I never imagined. The way he's looking at me, like we're true partners, like my ideas matter, makes me want to build this dream with him.
"We could start small. Direct sales, custom designs. Limited editions. User reviews, content, socials…”
