“No.” I cup his face in my free hand as he sets me down just inside the bedroom. “No lies. That’s rule number one of the No Longer Fake Relationship.”
He smiles. “I like that rule. Rule number two: you tell me right away if my dick is ever starting to lose favorite dick status. I want the chance to level up my game before you go looking for greener pastures.”
I press my mug into his hand, another wave of emotion swelling in my chest as I watch him drain the last of my coffee. “Stop it. There are no greener pastures. This dick isthedick.”
“Thedick?” he asks, his eyes dancing as he takes my hand, pulling me toward the bed.
I nod. “The dick of legend. The one dick to rule them all.”
“And if I don’t want to rule them all?” He sets the mug on the nightstand and pulls me close. “If I just want to make my favorite woman come for as long as she’ll let me?”
“That sounds perfect,” I whisper.
And it’s the truth.
Seventeen
From the texts of Archer Blue
and Baylor Nix
Blue: Hi. Do you have a minute?
Nix: Sure! I have several. Charlotte, Bea, and I are just hanging out at my place, watching serial killer documentaries.
Blue: Oh. Wow.
Nix: Yeah, I know. Not my favorite, either, but for some reason, Beatrice is obsessed. Charlotte’s pretty into them, too. What is it with women and getting into the mind of a monster?
Blue: Maybe they’re being proactive. Knowing the enemy.
Nix: I didn’t think of it that way, but it makes sense, I guess. Fucked up sense, but…
Blue: A lot of men are fucked up.
Nix: You don’t have to tell me, brother.
Blue: I know. That’s actually why I’m reaching out. Ever since Sierra’s post of Beatrice and me singing went viral, I’ve been getting some strange email.
Nix: What kind of strange?
Blue: Bad, strange. Everything from threatening to expose ugly things from my past to a promise to cut my dick off if I get it anywhere near Beatrice again.
Nix: WHAT?! What the actual fuck? Your dick was never anywhere near her. And even if it were, what the fuck? That’s insane.
Blue: Agreed.
Nix: And what kind of “ugly things” from your past? I honestly can’t imagine you having skeletons in the closet, Blue. You’re one of the most decent people I know.
Blue: I’ve done things I’m not proud of, just like anyone, but there’s nothing I’ve deliberately hidden. Nothing I’m worried about facing if it comes to light. I’m more concerned by the mentions of Beatrice.
Nix: No offense, but me, too. I know she has some fans who take the parasocial relationship too far, but she’s never said anything about threatening emails.
Blue: There’s more. The things he knew about my past aren’t easily accessible.
Nix: They wouldn’t pop up on a Google search?
Blue: No. The incident he referenced happened when I was still a minor. The records were sealed by the court when I was sixteen.
