Page 23

Aiden

T oday was the day. My insides fluttered with nerves to know that Joe was uploading the photos I’d taken, and the world would not only see him that way, but my art. Because it was art. I’d taken those naughty photos, and I was even in some of them.

What would his fans think? He had a decent following, but leading up to this, all his photos and videos had been him by himself. Would it impact things for him if he suddenly had a partner?

When Joe had asked me the other day if there was anything else I’d wanted out of him, I’d chickened out. It felt forced and awkward to say it outright. If it came up in the heat of the moment, maybe I wouldn’t be so scared. How did you go about telling someone that you liked the idea of them getting you pregnant, even if it wasn’t possible?

My phone pinged with a notification.

yourdarknight24 has uploaded a new file.

My heart pounded wildly. That was it. People were free to see. To judge. Make comments about if they liked what they saw.

I gave it a good ten minutes before I opened the app and pulled up Joe’s page. The cover for the album was the shot of him on his knees, pushing down the front of his shorts so that his dark pubic hair and the base of his dick were on display.

My palms sweated as I clicked on the album. It was strange because it wasn’t my first time seeing them, but this was other people seeing photos I took. They weren’t innocent family photos. They were photos of the guy I’d slept with, the man I’d fucked on that beach. Some of those pictures were even included.

HungHero42: Hot. Why haven’t you done anything like this before? Destination photos? Yes, please.

SuckItToMe12: Fuck me. This is some of your best stuff yet.

I settled as I continued to scroll and see the positive feedback. It was hard to complain when a hot body like Joe’s was on display. Not that it’s all that was good about him. Would all these people think any differently of him if they knew just how sweet and caring he was outside of all this?

A little further down the page, and my heart stopped. That was where the pictures started, the ones where I was involved. I was nothing more than hands and a dick. There was no way anyone could identify me, but it made me nervous all the same.

More comments. So much more room for judgment, but no one was saying anything negative. It was all mostly praise for doing something different and including a partner. How many of them wanted to see who was with him? Some expressed jealousy and wishes that they were in my place .

I nearly dropped my phone when it rang in my hand. Joe’s name lit up my screen and I quickly answered it, holding it to my ear.

“He—hey.”

“You’re looking at them again, aren’t you?”

I huffed out a laugh. “I wanted to know what people were saying.”

Joe was quiet for a long moment. “Does it bother you? That other people get to see me that way?”

My mind buzzed around the question. It would be logical. When you start a relationship with someone, there’s this expectation that they’ll be exclusive to only you. Joe had been doing this, and it was how he made his money. Maybe I was doing something wrong if he was questioning if I was okay with it. I thought I’d made it clear.

“I’m in those pictures, too. So if it doesn’t bother you that people can see parts of me, I don’t have room to talk.”

Another long stretch of silence filled the line before Joe spoke again.

“So, what does this mean for us? Is this a thing we do together, or…?”

Yeah, that was something we needed to discuss. Because if I wanted a relationship with Joe, that would be part of it.

“I wouldn’t mind doing it together. ”

Joe’s chuckle gave me goosebumps. “Is that so, sweetheart? You want to get naked on camera with me and put on a show? That’s quite the leap in the last week.”

It was, but the proof was already right there online. On his page. In full color. I swallowed thickly because this was my opportunity to be brave.

“Maybe—maybe we can experiment with some different things.” I’d been pacing around my room the entire fucking time, and now that it was out there, I needed to sit.

“We can definitely visit that.”

I took a shuddery breath, nodding before realizing that Joe couldn’t see me. “I’d... like that.”

We finished our call and disconnected.

There was a commotion out in the living room, so I got up to see what was going on. Mom had pulled out a box and was going through whatever was in it. Dad stood over her shoulder, watching every last move.

“Casey, come on now. Would you relax?”

“How can I relax?”

My eyes widened. What had my mom so worked up and what was she searching for so frantically?

“It has to be around here. I swear. You don’t just misplace something like that. ”

I cleared my throat and both of my parents stood bolt upright. Mom attempted to shove the box behind her back and only succeeded in spilling the contents all over the floor.

“Everything okay?”

“Things are fine. Your mother just thinks she’s losing it.”

Mom glared at Dad. “Don’t say that. I swear. I should have given it to him months ago and you’re not helping right now.”

“Given who, what?” They had my interest.

Mom slapped a hand over her forehead. “Your grandpa had this really old camera... It’s film. I know you mostly work with digital stuff. I’d meant to give it to you for your birthday. I think I’ve just been a scrambled mess since this summer.”

I nodded. Outside of Nathan’s rekindling things with Chase, our Uncle Drew had suffered a heart attack. He was Mom’s brother, and it freaked her out that she’d almost lost him. Again. The man had a history of bad health and all this other crazy family drama came out in the process.

“That’s cool. I’d like to see it.”

Mom nodded, looking at the dumped box on the floor. “And I’d like to show you. If I can only remember where I put it.”

I laughed as I left them to handle things. Mom always misplaced things. It wasn’t anything new.

W alking out of the building, I stuffed my laptop into my bag. In true Washington fashion, it was drizzling out. I already missed the sunny beach in Mexico and days like this only made me miss it more. My professor had been impressed with some of the shots I’d taken on the trip. I’d panicked for a few minutes, hoping I’d remembered to transfer all of Joe’s dirty pictures to another drive.

I stumbled over my feet when my eyes landed on the man leaning against a tree up ahead. It was as if my thoughts had summoned him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, coming to a stop at his side.

“Can’t I walk with you?”

I grinned. “I was just surprised to see you, is all.”

Joe wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me to his side. His scent of musk and something uniquely his washed over me as I melted into his warmth. “Get used to it, sweetheart.”

My stomach did a little flip. This had to be why people liked being in relationships. It was nice to be spoiled by someone and have someone who wanted to spend time with you. And not just as a friend.

“I showed my professor the pictures I took on the trip today.”

Joe stopped moving, and I realized what I’d said. I rushed to fix things. “Not those photos. But I am worried about it. I kept wondering the whole time if I’d forgotten to take them off my computer. That’s the last thing he needs to see. Unless he’s into that. I don’t want to know if he is—”

My rambling only stopped when Joe placed his hand over my mouth. “It’s all right, sweetheart. I wouldn’t think you’d show him those. Might make things a little more interesting, though. Sounds like something I would do.”

We both laughed and continued to walk. The rain was still falling in a fine mist, but it wasn’t enough to bother either of us. When you were raised experiencing weather like that all the time, you barely noticed it.