PEACHES: I can’t. Sometimes I see it in my nightmares. You and I getting changed at my house and me spotting you in the same Hanes Her Way as my grandmother.

I sent her the middle finger emoji.

PEACHES: I’m so happy for you. Honestly. Get it. Get it good. I’m glad one of us is going to know what Austin is like in bed. I hope you stretch and like, eat protein. There’s an old rumor that pineapples make the boom box taste like heaven.

ME: I heard the same. I think it is an old wives’ tale. But I’ll swallow a few for science.

Peaches sent back an emoji with the tongue sticking out.

PEACHES: Swallow, baby. Sometimes it’s worth it.

I told her good night and headed into the shower. Austin was busy enhancing a drop of water on my crown.

* * *

This was going to be a long week. And a short one. It made perfect sense to go to a beach house with Austin. I was an adult. I was able to do these things on a whim. It’d be great to put some distance between me and my concerns about Roberta and Endgame. I did a deep condition and took off my nail polish.

When I came out in my pajamas, Austin took the nail polish remover and took off his remnants of polish.

“I do you, you do me?” He gave me a wink that somehow let me into his world even more.

21

TAYLOR

Austin set up his friends to pick me to and from class every day. Some I had met before; some were new to me. He knew a lot of people. He seemed to be selecting the beefiest of his man friends to do the work. He was in deep with planning the campaign with Stars Unlimited and was also taking calls from a place in France that was interested in working with him.

Judging from the four packages he received that were stuffed full of free products, Roberta wasn’t wrong about Austin being sort of famous. Hell, I saw him manufacture an obscene amount of cash to save Endgame.

Speaking of Endgame, he came and went with a grumble, though I saw him more than once sneak a pet on Axel’s head. Plus, he came into the apartment covering his crotch. Well, that was a habit everyone had. It was low-key hilarious to watch back the video footage of the front door that Austin had because everyone was ready for the attack.

I was going to have to work on that. I checked in with Raven and she was happy to have a break from Axel, but I sent her a few videos anyway.