I spare a moment to mourn the fact that of all the things I could have been wearing in a viral picture of me kissing my boyfriend as he leaves my hotel room at the crack of dawn, it had to be this. But only a moment. Because there are bigger things to mourn—my reputation, my dignity, my future at Friends of Flavor, you name it. I’d like to believe that all is not lost, but I know how it goes when there’s just hearsay and speculation. And this is a picture—it’s tangible proof.
Like a glutton for punishment, I start to scroll through the replies. What. A.Wreck.
There are, to their credit, a few people who defend us, saying that the picture is an invasion of privacy and other fans shouldleave the two interns alone. But way more vocal is the mob all fired up over the compromising position they’ve finally caught us in. Some tease or chastise Benny, but most have taken up their torches and pitchforks and begun a Reese Roast.
wait lmao he’s def doing a walk of shame
LOL NIIICE, BENNY
knew she seemed easy
Reese lmk when you want better company
is that really what she sleeps in? #classy
He could do so much better smh
But like is anyone surprised the hot blond intern is a slut
She’s been a skank forever, nothings changed ask anyone from our school
lolll he hit that
Shes prob sleeping w someone up top too right? Only way they keep her around
I drop my phone. It’s like they’re circling sharks and the blood in the water is the implication that a young woman has a sex life. Which I don’t! It wouldn’t be deserved either way, but still. I’ve got to be the most slut-shamed virgin there ever was.
I think for a second about going to watch the UltiCon stream of our demo, but figure I’d only be setting myself up for more of the same. So I sit there, letting the convention pass me by as I continue to stare at the wall and sip my water, thinking of all the damage this could cause. What are the other Friends thinking? Will Aiden be upset with us—or worse, with just me, while his bro Benny gets a fist bump? Will Margie question how serious I am about the job or lose respect for me entirely?
I rest my chin in my palm and close my eyes as if I can undo the events of today. But it’s not like this mess can be fixed with another pep talk and impromptu movie night.
I don’t know that it can be fixed at all.
A couple more cups of water and one real bathroom break later, I nearly fall off the stool when a hand lands on my shoulder.
“Hey there,” Benny says softly. “I’ve been looking for you all over. Found a good place to chill, I take it?”
I sigh, rolling my empty cup between my palms. “Honestly, this bar sucks. They don’t even have juice boxes.”
He smirks and settles onto the stool next to mine, then his expression turns more serious. “Reese…”
“Today’s been a hoot and a half, hasn’t it?”
“Where’s your head?” he asks. He reaches out as if to take my hand or touch my arm before he seems to realize that might not be the best move right now.
“Attached to my neck still, far as I can tell.”
Benny frowns at my attempted brush-off, and for a moment, I want to lean into him. I want to rest my head on his shoulder, let him wrap his arms around me, tell me that this isn’t alarge-scale repeat of my freshman-year drama. But then I remember myself. Remember that letting myself be vulnerable, trying the whole romance thing again, is what landed me back in this position. If I’d stayed firmly in the No Feelings Zone, none of this would have happened. So I straighten my spine, tip my chin up, and meet his gaze.
“I don’t know, Benny. That sucked back there at the demo, and the stuff online sucks even more, and you can tell me that it’s stupid and we shouldn’t care what one loser speculates, but it still doesn’t feel great to have your business broadcast to thousands of people. People who, by the way, already haveplentyof opinions. But there’s nothing to do about it now.”
He looks away then, and I watch his gaze harden, see a muscle in his jaw tick. Benny isn’t just worried about me; he is pissed in his own right.
“I feel like I should’ve been able to stop this from becoming a thing this morning. I—”
Just then, a group of people in hand-painted Friends of Flavor T-shirts appears beside the table seemingly out of nowhere.
“Benny!” they cheer, before noticing Sulky McSulkerson. “Reese!”
