Clio glances at me, and I nod once. We can do the drama pivot. It’ll help me.
“Aura has a situation,” Clio says in a dramatic tone.
“Oh, no,” I say, feigning shock. “What kind?”
“My situation?” Aura lifts her brows. “Really? Are we pretending one of you isn’t the one with the situation?”
“Nope,” Clio says.
“I’m absolutely going there.” Aura pulls her phone from her back pocket and swipes across it with the smug precision of a person who has been waiting all day to ruin someone’s peace. “Adelaide. Look at this.”
She comes over and turns the screen toward me. The photo is of a man from the neck down wearing approximately one responsible decision’s worth of fabric. Broad chest. Carved stomach. One vein running up his forearm, hand resting low on his abs in a pose that was so calculated it probably had a storyboard.
Clio is sighing, trying to push Aura’s arm away.
“Who’s the hunk?” I ask.
“Clio’s new obsession.”
Clio half groans, half laughs. “So not true and out of context.”
Aura taps the screen with a teal nail and opens up the comments, scrolls, then points to one. “Her exact words were, and I quote, ‘You can break into my bedroom anytime. Obsessed.’?”
“Oh my God, that was a joke.” She’s laughing, doing that fake look as she glances my way.
“You were trying to pick up this gorgeous thirst trap.”
“Okay, well, I’m invested and need to know. Clio, I thought we said no secrets!” I grin her way, and she’s blushing. Love that for her.
Clio sighs and tucks her hair behind her ear. “Okay, fine. There’s a guy, and he’s on the streaming platform I use.”
“Which you said you quit,” I clarify.
“I un-quit.” She shrugs, and I raise my eyebrows.
“Since when?”
“About two months ago.”
“Clio, the last time you were on that platform, someone mailed a dead bouquet of roses to your PO box.”
“That was two years ago,” she says, “and I have much better safety protocols now. Also, this time I do soft content. I play games, wear something cute, and chat with nice regulars. It’s a much calmer version of my bad decisions.”
“Okay,” I say, choosing my battles. “So back to the thirst trap.”
“He’s a performer on the same platform, which is unusual because performers basically never interact publicly. But he commented on my last stream, and it’s a bigger deal than it sounds, then he messaged me.”
“See?” Aura blurts, already swiping through more of his content and turning the phone toward me again, and dear God, the man looks like he was handcrafted to make women lose their panties.
I stare for half a second too long. “Okay. Yeah. He could absolutely get a tax-paying adult woman into trouble.”
“Thank you,” Aura says, vindicated. “That’s what I’ve been saying.”
Clio rolls her eyes, but she’s trying not to smile and failing. “I told you—it’s not that serious.”
“I toldyouto be careful,” Aura shoots back. “And before you say it, yes, I know you are.”
“I am,” Clio says, sitting up straighter. “Trust me, after last time on there, I am being extremely careful. But also…” She lifts one shoulder. “How else are we supposed to meet hot Alphas?”
