He has to know the effect he has.Has to.And, yes, that glimmer in his eyes before he pulls me into a deep, longing kiss tells me he knows exactly what I’m distracted by.
He tugs on my bottom lip, then straightens.I manage to catch my laptop before it drops to the floor.
“All those articles you wrote, how many people do you think took them at face value?Wouldn’t you want a friend to help you understand if you were being led on?So, be that friend.”
Huh.He’s right.I don’t have his stage presence, but I have brains, a camera, and an internet connection.
Better people have done more with less.
“Help me set up my phone before you go?”
He kisses me again.“Happy to, love.”
* * *
I didn’t wake when he came home, but it must have been late.His boots were kicked off by the door.A half-finished glass of water sits beside his keys on the counter and a note.
The scribble is almost indecipherable, swirling across the page at an angle.It says,Wake me when you read this.Bring coffee.I pocket the note, unable to hold back a smile as I change the coffee filter and wait.
Lucky is sprawled across his bed the same way his words were, freely haphazard, and I place the coffee gently on his bedside table before jumping on the bed, straddling him.
Lucky is already gripping my hips before he blinks awake, a smile slowly curling up one side of his mouth.“Need you like this every morning.”
“Guess what.”
Lucky’s grip grounds me, the only thing keeping me from flying apart in the face of last night’s experiment and this morning’s rewards.
“I’m incredible, and you couldn’t wait another second to kiss me.”
“Obviously,” I tease, leaning down with the intention to keep things chaste, but Lucky slips one hand up into my hair and holds me there, sucking on my lower lip.I pull back, a thrill running through me at how dark his eyes are.“Check this out.”I pull my phone out of my back pocket, bringing up the video from last night.
After Lucky left, I followed through on his advice, filming an introduction and promising to share an insider’s look at what journalism has become.I’ve already planned it out.Using my own articles as examples, I’ll do an entire series, pointing out all the tricks used to hide advertising and consumer persuasion techniques.People deserve to know when they’re being manipulated, and from the analytics on last night’s video, they agree.
“Look at that view count, and it’s still climbing.Comments too.”
Lucky opens the comments section and starts to scroll.“Well done.You’ve given them enough to chew on, but left them wanting more, and, boy, do they.They’re scrambling to hear the rest.”The admiration in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine.“Have you planned out what you'll do after this?”
It’s a good question and one that kept me up last night.“Mostly.I was hoping I could run it by you though.I watched a lot of your videos last night, and you really know what you’re doing.It’s the perfect mix of vulnerable and fun.”
“As much as I like hearing you compliment me, I won’t pretend that I don’t get by mostly on looks.”
He’s not wrong; at least half his videos feature a half-buttoned shirt, filled with comments asking him to finish the job.
“I’m sure that’s what you want everyone to think, but you’re smart about what you share and how often you share it.I already know what I want to present, but you know what people respond well to.If I were writing this all down, it would be different—the medium changes things.But I want to reach more than a single article could, especially since I don’t have a platform to publish it right now.But this proves that there are people who want to hear what I have to say, and I really think this is going to be my best shot at doing what I want to do.”
Lucky takes my phone, discarding it on the side table and grabbing my ass with both hands.“Then put me to work, boss.”
The erection pressing into my thigh is a pleasant distraction, and I sink my fingers into his hair as I pull him up for a kiss.
“You got in late,” I say.“How did it go?”
Lucky pauses in his mission to cover my throat in kisses and groans.“Gig was great until Sterling showed up.”
“What?”
Lucky raises himself enough to make eye contact, but we’re still plastered together.“Bad timing all round, I’d say.Now, where were we?”
“Uh-uh-uh.”I hold him back, my hand on his chest.“What happened?”
