Page 73 of Bookgasms

“Yeah, come on, Dani, don’t leave us hanging!”Maya adds.

I head to my car, climb inside, and wait for my phone to connect. “Am I on speakerphone?”

A chorus of yeses answers me, and I laugh.

“At least that means I only have to tell the story once.” With a laugh, I tell them about the interview, the job offer, and then about Jessica’s comments.

“Hell, yes!”Jason crows.“Sounds like your boss has good taste.”

“Whatever. I’m on my way home now. I should be there in about twenty minutes.”

Victor chuckles.“Dinner will be ready and waiting.”

“This definitely means celebratory sex, right?”Jason asks, and all I can do is shake my head.

“I love you all. I’ll see you soon.”

I disconnect the call, turning up the music as I pull out into the light traffic.

The last year has been…interesting, to say the least.

It took me months to recover physically from what Gary did to me. I’m still not convinced I’ve recovered mentally yet, which is why I continue to see my therapist.

Well, that, and I’m not sure if Maya would continue to see her if I weren’t also going. She’s doing a lot better with her commitment and trust issues, but she’s far from ready to stop going to therapy. It’s good for both of us, I think.

I was able to finish my classes quickly since I couldn’t do much else, but I couldn’t start my internship until a few months ago. I just wasn’t ready to leave the house every day.

Gary is locked in a high-security mental facility, but it took me a long time to stop worrying that he was going to break out and come for me again.

Mental scars are much harder to deal with than physical ones. It gives me a whole new appreciation for Maya and everything she’s been through.

My relationships with Maya, Victor, Jason, and Andrés have really grown over the last year. We’ve all put in the work andeffort needed, and I’m proud of how far we’ve come. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with them.

We’re discussing having a commitment ceremony since we can’t all be married to one another. We’re also thinking about possibly having kids in the next few years. We haven’t made any final decisions on that, but Maya and I are still young. It’s Victor’s biological clock that seems to be ticking down since he’s the one who keeps bringing it up. But I also know that if the two of us were to say we don’t want kids, he’ll be okay with it because he just wants us to be happy.

I also never returned to Behind the Lens, but thankfully, Lorna understood. During the investigation, the police found out that Gary was my very first subscriber on my channel, and I just can’t seem to unlink the two. Gary was able to see parts of me I wouldn’t have wanted him to.

It feels like he violated so many parts of my life, and that was one I could give up—so I did.

Maya, Victor, and Andrés are still going strong with the company, and that doesn’t bother me. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll even be able to appear on their channels.

It won’t be anytime soon, but never say never.