Janice looked between them. “Ecstatic.”
“Christ alive,” Thomas muttered before stalking out of the room.
Scott went after him. “Are all your staff weird?”
“Yes,” Thomas replied without hesitation. He glanced over his shoulder at Scott. “I was coming to find you.”
He strolled into the kitchen, where he’d set up the laptop on the table.
“We’re ready to go live…”
Scott widened his eyes. “Really?”
Thomas sat down in front of the laptop. “Do you want to watch the cut? Check you’re happy with it?”
“Are you happy with it?”
Thomas nodded.
“Then I trust you. I don’t need to see it. I was there.”
Thomas smiled, then pressed firmly on the enter button.
Scott swallowed. “Is that it? Is it live?”
“Sure is.”
“Fuck…” Scott began pacing back and forth behind Thomas. “Has anyone subscribed?”
“Jesus, Scott.” Thomas chuckled. “Give people a minute.”
“A minute is too long. If we don’t hook them in the first three seconds, they’ll scroll off and pick someone else.”
Thomas caught him on the way past and dragged him onto his lap. “Sit.”
“I can’t. I’m too…” Scott wriggled his fingers.
“Anxious. I know,” Thomas replied. “That’s why you’re going to sit there and calm down. Look.” He pointed past Scott to the screen. “You’ve got a subscriber.”
Scott watched as the views for his teaser videos climbed into the hundreds.
“They’re eating you up,” Thomas mumbled. “It’s a good start.”
“Start?”
“We need more videos.”
“I thought you didn’t want to be involved.”
Thomas hummed. “Turns out I quite enjoy bossing you about. It’s fun. Filming, editing, finding a suitable soundtrack to drown out your off-putting moans the camera recorded –”
“Hey!”
Thomas laughed like a snake. “I’m enjoying it. We will have to try micing you up next time, as long as you promise not to fake anything. You were right when you said there is nothing hotter in life than the sound of a man getting close to coming, and from the small moans I heard when you weren’t faking, I know you’re going to sound incredible when I get you there.”
Scott was beyond thankful that he was wearing his hoodie, so his goosebump reaction to Thomas’s words had been kept secret. He swallowed, then asked, “Whenyouget me there?”
“I mean, I’ll talk you through it. It’ll be your touch, and your hands that make you explode up your chest, but I’d like to think I’m a good director who gets the best out of you.”
