The letter from the university was burning a hole in my pocket. Had he been the one to post it? How had he managed to make it happen? And … why?

“Are you even listening to me, Jemma?” Joe snapped, rubbing at his temples with the middle finger and thumb of one hand.

“Sorry, I’ve had an eventful week,” I mumbled. Darn you, sticky brain!

Joe sighed. “Look, I don’t usually try to get involved in your personal life⁠—”

I snorted loudly, crossing my arms, while Luci hissed in his direction.

Joe flashed us a weary sneer. “But this is just a step too far. You’re making a fool out of yourself.”

I opened my mouth to protest, to argue, to back answer, but words died in my throat when he lifted his phone to show me.

“Is that all?” I asked, an incredulous giggle bubbling out of me. His phone screen read ‘Inaugural Ferretcon: A Convention for Ferret and Cosplay enthusiasts alike’. Below was a … well, it was an objectively provocative picture of slutty devil Jemma with my angelic sidekick Luci-Fur. But it wasn’t enough to get so worked up over. “Jules got that up way faster than I expected!”

“You know about this? You allowed them to use your image like … like this?” He brandished the phone like a weapon at me. I took a hasty step back. Not that I thought he was trying to hurt me with it, but he seemed so … out of control, that I wasn’t sure if he might accidentally whack me with it while gesticulating.

“I’m in partnership with them.” I put one hand on my hip, eyeing him. “Apparently I’ve made quite a name for myself in both ferret-having and cosplaying circles, and so I’m helping to promote their event in return for getting a prime space at the convention, as well as a cut of the ticket sales.”

“They’re sexualising you for profit!” he snarled, spinning to pace the room. “They’re …”

I stormed up to him, shoving him back onto the lounge. Even catching him off-guard, it was still an effort to force him down. “Gosh, you really are hitting the gym every spare minute! That chest is rock solid!”

“Stop trying to change the subject, Jemma! What were you thinking?”

“First, no one is sexualising me … except maybe you, you creep! It’s cosplay! Second, I was thinking that I’d get to make some money, that’s what I was thinking!” My fingers flexed by my sides. “Aren’t you always telling me that I need to find ways to monetise my ‘hobby’? Hell, you took me to a café run by a thieving slimeball, and you tried to tell me to be more like him!”

Joe’s face screwed up in incomprehension. “What … a slimeball? You barely knew him except for taking a few classes with him at uni, didn’t you?”