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A lex settles onto the sofa and sighs in satisfaction. “That was delicious,” she chimes with a wide smile. My mind immediately goes through all the dirty things we do together but it is short-lived when Molly’s words from last night pop into my head.

I head to my room and get dressed before walking out to the balcony and light a cigarette, enjoying the afternoon sun while my mind goes a thousand miles an hour.

We need to rethink our plan. Even if we get a one in a million chance, and by some miracle, we manage to bring Hush down, the internet is forever. Our content is out there.

Alex and Fin are chatting in the living room now. I exhale a deep sigh as I kill the smoke and head back inside to join them.

“We need to talk about Hush,” I say, feeling terrible at how fast their smiles fall at my words.

“Sure.” Fintan clears his throat as I join them on the sofa. Alex remains silent but her serious expression urges me to continue. “I have been thinking about what Molly said about our plan.”

“Yeah, me too. I think we need to come up with something more aggressive to work our way in,” Alex cuts me off as she turns to face us with her legs crossed on the cushion.

“You have something in that pretty little head of yours, Dove?” Fintan asks with a curious smirk and Alex giggles in response to his flirting.

“Guys, this is serious. I don’t know if we can bring down a site like Hush,” I say and their expressions fall again.

“We have no way of knowing how many people work for them or how many are watching the content. Joel isn’t being much help to us by staying on the sidelines and let’s be honest with ourselves.

It’s the internet. Our content will probably outlive us.

We need to be okay with that if we are going to be posting more. ”

Fintan’s brow furrows as he thinks over my words, while Alex looks like she’s seconds away from bursting into tears. The three of us sit in this tense silence for minutes that feel like they might never end.

Fintan clears his throat, breaking the deafening silence.

“Joel said he suggested a new payment structure for the content. Let’s hold off on posting until we know if his changes have been implemented.

I think we are resilient enough to see out our plan, even if it takes years.

We can do this,” he says, placing one hand on Alex’s thigh and the other on mine.

“We can’t give up. We have to keep trying and I’ll do whatever it takes,” Alex says as a tear rolls down her cheek. “I know, baby. We’ll get our revenge,” I say, trying to reassure her that I believe in our goal.

I offer Kieran a small smile. “I will give Joel a call,” I say, dropping my legs off the side of the couch before standing and heading toward Fintan’s room to grab my phone off the nightstand.

“We’ll check in on our video and see what is happening in our comment section,” Fintan says. “It’s probably pure chaos,” Kieran adds before I disappear into the bedroom.

I dial Joel’s number and wait anxiously as it rings once, twice, three times before he picks up. His voice sounds tired but alert. “Hey Alex, what’s up?” Joel greets me casually.

“We wanted to check in on the new payment structure suggestion you made to Hush,” I say, getting straight to the point.

There’s a pause on the other end of the line before Joel responds, “It might take some time for them to implement it fully, but they seem interested.”

“How much time?” I ask, my voice echoing frustration and impatience.

“A few days, maybe a week or two. I’m not sure.

But listen, they said they are willing to introduce a tipping option for the viewers but they will only allow that option for live footage and not previously posted videos,” Joel says with a sigh and his words ring in my ears for a moment before I am able to comprehend the implications.

“You still there?” he asks after a few minutes of silence. “Yeah, sorry… Hold on, I need to tell the guys,” I respond in a cold tone. My voice lacks emotion as I speak and I feel numb.

I walk back to the living room and relay this information back to Kieran and Fintan. They seem intrigued by my words and the prospect of this new angle for content.

Am I the only one disappointed and disgusted by this news?

Shaking it off, I take a deep breath before speaking again. “Thank you, Joel. Please keep me updated on the changes,” I say, trying to sound as casual as possible before ending the call.

Staring at the two of them with the phone still gripped in my hand, I open my mouth to speak but shake my head as my brows draw together and I decide against it.

“You okay?” Kieran asks when he notices my unease. Fintan looks over and mirrors my expression while I remain stunned in silence and try to gather my thoughts.

“How are you so calm? Am I the only one thinking the news from Joel is not good news?” I finally say.

“Little Dove,” Fintan starts. “Any changes they make to their platform is good news. A small win for us. We made it happen and it means we are a step closer.”

Disgust morphs my features before understanding smooths out my expression and I breathe out a heavy sigh. “I suppose… but live videos? That would make the other actors worse, wouldn’t it? We’re trying to put a stop to the abusive, not to mention, illegal content, not encourage it.”

Kieran gets up from his seat and kills the distance between us before he places a reassuring hand on my shoulder, his eyes full of understanding.

“I know it’s not ideal, Alex. But we have to take the victories where we can get them.

Like Fintan said, It’s a small step in the right direction.

” His words offer a glimmer of hope in the midst of my frustration.

Fintan nods in agreement, his expression thoughtful. “We can’t change everything overnight, but we’re making progress. And who knows, maybe this tipping option for live videos can be good for us.”

I take a moment to let their words sink in, realizing that they’re right.

Change doesn’t happen all at once, and sometimes you have to work within the system to make a difference.

With a newfound sense of determination, I nod slowly.

“You’re both right. Let’s focus on what we can do with this opportunity and keep pushing for more changes. ”

“As long as Joel doesn’t back out of our deal, we’ll make this work,” I say as I move toward the two people I can’t imagine my life without anymore.

“We can make a killing while we destroy Hush. Sure, we might need to get more creative with the live streams but I’m confident that we’ll make it work.

Hell, if we make it insane enough, we could put the other actors out of work,” I say with a wicked smile before hanging my arm around Alex’s shoulder and pulling her close to place a kiss on her cheek.

My gaze lifts to Kieran’s and he has that look in his eyes that make me want to drop to my knees and make him feel as good as he makes me feel.

Alex senses the desire floating between us and smiles at us with a diabolic glimmer in her eyes. “Need me to get the camera?” she teases as she steps out of my hold.

Kieran huffs out a laugh, shaking his head and I look at her, my mind racing with ideas. “No, baby. I want to fuck you both until you scream for me. I want your screams to be real. No cameras—No eyes on us,” Kieran says in a low but smooth tone.

“Hmm, I think we can do that,” she giggles as she steps between the two of us, lifts her hands and trails her fingertips over the growing bulges in our pants.

“Oh you’re killing me, little Dove,” I groan before letting out a breath, trying to compose myself before speaking again. “I hate to be the downer here, but we need some rest and we should probably discuss our future posts and live streams. If they implement it, of course.”

Alex’s smile fades first but the heat in her eyes remains as she looks between me and Kieran. “No argument here. Maybe a discussion is needed, but we can’t exactly plan out our streams, it’ll look rehearsed. Fake.”

Kieran nods. “We don’t have to plan anything but we need to discuss boundaries at the very least. It’s not like any one of us can use a safe word on camera when Hush’s existence is purely for the depraved and vile members of society.

We need subtle cues we could use to communicate during streams that won’t catch their attention. ”

I run my fingers through my hair, feeling the tension building. “You’re right, we need to ensure we maintain our safety while giving the audience what they crave.”

Alex nods solemnly. “Agreed. How about a simple hand signal?”

Kieran frowns, considering this for a moment. “That might be too obvious, but it could work if we use different signs for different levels of discomfort.”

“Like a closed fist for ‘ stop’ and an open palm for ‘ keep going’ ?” Alex suggests, her eyes filled with determination.

I nod. “That might work. And since we will all be wearing masks or something to hide our identities, a wink can be our signal for changing things up.”

We all agree that our signals should be subtle enough not to alert the viewers, but clear enough for us to understand in the heat of the moment.

The seriousness of our discussion lingers in the air as we wrap up our conversation and decide to take a break from planning. We exchange lingering glances, each of us knowing what the other is thinking – despite the risks, the thrill of our newfound lifestyle is undeniably addictive.

Alex decides to go back to her place and spend the night by herself, working on ideas and coming up with something to tell her clients and the company she works for on why she will be taking on fewer projects.

Kieran heads downstairs to the studio for a client who called and booked a tattoo appointment and I resign myself to the sofa with a horror movie I’ve been meaning to watch for a while.

The rest of the evening is peaceful and after a few short hours, Kieran finishes yet another work of art and he joins me in the apartment again. “Want me to order some food while you find something else to watch?” I ask as the credits of the second movie I watched roll on the screen.

Kieran smiles as he sinks into the cushions beside me, placing his hand on my thigh. “Sounds good, I’m starving,” he says, leaning in to rest his head on my shoulder for a moment. His sigh sounds content as he picks up the remote control and starts looking for something to watch.

“You make me so fucking happy,” he says in a whispered tone and my heart skips at the words. Taking my hand, I lift his head off my shoulder, turning him to look at me. “I love you,” I say, meaning those three words more than I have in the past as I kiss him.