Me: Watching you.
“Oh my god.” Luc grabs a cushion and slams his face into it, then groans, “Joder…Dios.”
Val stares at me, so does Kaiden, both with their mouths slightly parted. It’s strange… I don’t think I’ve ever seen them look at me like that.
“What?” I ask, genuinely confused.
“Sylvan, do you realise how that makes us sound?” Val says, voice even deeper than usual, like his growl is building.
I frown. “No?”
“Like we’re deranged stalkers,” Luc muffles out, face still buried in the cushion.
I look down at our chat.
“Revea’s typing,” I say, and Luc throws the cushion, catching her message the same moment we all do.
Revea: You stayed up late to watch my session?
Revea: That’s really sweet X
Luc pounces on me. “Sylvan, I do not know how you keep doing this.”
I grin, trying to stop his arm from wrapping around my throat.
“But you—” He kisses my cheek hard. “—you are my fucking hero.”
I smile. Good. I like it when they’re happy.
Revea
They’ve watched my session. At first, I thought it was only Sylvan, but he replied to say it was all of them. They’ve all stayed up late, just so they could watch me.
I spend the rest of my break grabbing something to eat while replying to their messages, and I find my steps feel a little lighter when I head back on stage.
My model Estelle has had her hair washed and mostly blow-dried, still leaving it damp enough for styling. I run my fingers through it, checking my balayage has set correctly and planning my next steps.
“Who’s got you smiling like that?” she asks, tilting her head back.
I didn’t even realise I was still smiling. “This colour and how well it suits you.”
“Shut up,” she says, grinning. “Seriously, who is it?”
“Just my p—friends.” I freeze over my stumble, then continue finger-combing her hair. “They were watching my session online.”
“Aw, cute! Wait, back in the UK?” I nod. “But it’s like… 4 AM there?” I keep nodding as her smile slides into something sly. “Maybe you should give yourfriendsa message? Y’know, seeing as they’re watching.”
I give a soft laugh. “Yeah, maybe I will.”
***
“Welcome back, everyone. Just look how beautiful Estelle is.”
The crowd erupts into wolf whistles and applause as my model dramatically swishes her hair from side to side.
“Now the colour is perfect, it’s time for styling. I’m going to show you how I achieve a nice, big blow-out. The type that’ll last for days…” I cast a minuscule glance at the camera facing me. “Even during a heat.”
Wolf whistles pierce the room again as I chuckle.
