The security team was probably getting a kick out of the whole situation. It’d be another hit video.
Best not to think about that.
I waved with the clog. “Get out of here before you split your pants, Mr. Muscle Man.”
“Hey, you should be nicer to your fake boyfriend,” he said, sauntering off with a heavy dose of side-eye.
Heat shot from my cheeks to my toes. “You’re not my boyfriend. Or my fake boyfriend. You’re…”
He grinned over his shoulder. A silent, happy dare.Say it.
I swallowed back a few choice options and settled on, “Obnoxious.”
He rolled his eyes and vaguely waved. “Yeah. Thanks again, Nic.”
No. No more thanks. From now on, I wasn’t doing anything nice for him. No holding the door. No compliments. If, and when, he did that for me—as he was obsessed with being such a gentleman—I would pretend I didn’t notice.
If only he wasn’t so damned big.
17
Profile Puzzlement
That night at home, I cuddled up with my phone. The internet offered access to millions of hot, cool people, and yet there was nothing of interest on my feed tonight, just manicures, sexy outfits, and pensive looks into the light.
I sighed and rubbed one foot against the other in the portable tub I’d set up by the couch.
It wasn’t like my social media content was wildly different from most influencers. So what about that video with Zack had captured people? Even if we never shared so much as another pic with one another, I wanted to know what this audience liked and stuff that might help an agency market me better.
I clicked on various profiles who’d liked and commented on my video. There were some cute selfies, but most of their feeds were friends, pets, and hobbies.
I flexed my toes.Hobbies.Feet pics and fashion probably didn’t count. Was I supposed to do hair and makeup tutorials? I didn’t have that much to say about filters or lighting. Most of it was self-explanatory.
Another notification popped up by the heart icon. Someone liked the video. I clicked on the user's profile and inhaled sharply in surprise.
It was Sparkles—er, Shelby, Zack’s cousin. Had I popped up in her ‘People You May Know’ feed or had he told her about the video today? What else might he have told her about me?
A flurry of other notifications came in. She liked a lot of my pics and followed me. Was that a good sign? Or was she laughing with Zack and sending this video to their whole family?
In her profile picture, she poked her flushed cheeks as if she was extending her silly grin. But the rest of her profile was private. I hit the ‘request follow’ button and braced myself.
Why didn’t she use socials to market her party princess gig? Maybe there was a separate account. Soon enough, my request was approved, and the rest of her pics populated the grid.
Well, damn.The cutesy mall elf persona wasn’t an act.
Her page was populated with mini adventures: a sleigh ride with her boyfriend, sparkly lights, stuffed animals piled up on a mall kiosk, homemade cookies, and photos in her new and old costumes. One slideshow included a bunch of cousins, some of whose faces were covered by stickers, piled on top of coats for a charity drive. I wrinkled my brow at the pics. Was the entire family this wholesome? In the background of another shot, a square-shouldered guy shoveled the driveway. That had to be Zack.
I flipped through more slides in search of his familiar face, although he generally seemed to avoid the camera outside of special occasions. Often, he wrangled the kids. But he wasn’t overly present on her grid. For someone who didn’t have social media or particularly want his photo taken, that made sense. She did have a birthday post for him. He gave the camera a deadpankill-me-nowglare as Shelby trapped his arm in a side hug. Thecaption read: Happy birthday to this bundle of fun. Love you, cuz. <3 :P
I chuckled and eased onto the couch. Was he always so gruff?
On the rare occasion I’d caught his attention in high school, he’d glared back. Maybe it was my staring that annoyed him. Or the content of the class. It was often crowded in the hallway, so glaring could’ve been his neutral way of ‘asserting dominance.’ A resting bitch face for a quarterback.
After all, he looked that way with the people he loved. From Shelby’s photos and his overall protectiveness when she came in for shoes, it was obvious their family was close. Therefore, he had probably told her all about my attempts to secure a fake boyfriend. Although he wasn’t very chatty. Maybe he kept the whole incident private. After all, he was big on being classy.
I rubbed my screen and inhaled deeply. Would it be weird to like his birthday pic? It wasn’t her most recent. I shouldn’t like anything. But Icouldlike a bunch of stuff with him just so happening to be in the mix. I liked random pics on her timeline and added a comment to her princess party outfit with heart-eyes and a ‘goddess!’ for good measure.
There. I was decidedly not cyber-stalking either cousin.
