Her neighbors two doors down, three dudes who shared an apartment, seemed to have parties every night. And one of them always magically seemed to be outside when she left for her early-morning shifts. This one, Fred, had the look of a stereotypical small-town mechanic—greasy everything, tan skin smudged with oil and grime, and just handsome and tall enough to make you think about him twice.

An evolutionary and genetic mistake designed to get you caught up.

“Oh wow, you’re actually talking to me today,” he said.

“Not really.” She opened her door.

“Can I ask you something?”

One foot in. “As long as you stay over there.”

“Harsh.” But he laughed. “I know you’re not cool coming to our parties, which I totally respect, but my sister is having a get-together at a restaurant for her birthday. I thought you might want to come.”

His sister, Daphne, was the only decent thing about him. They’d met by accident in the laundry room and hit it off immediately. Unfortunately, getting close to girls who had skeevy brothers was always a tragedy waiting to happen.

A tragedy of the “Well, what were you wearing?” variety.

Besides, Dinner Parties cost at least thirty dollars and some were shady, making everyone split the check equally regardless of what they ordered. Disposable income was a thing for other people to enjoy. The bulk of her money went to her astronomical rent—a studio apartment in a decent-ish part of town that cost nearly 70 percent of her total pay per month.

“I can’t. Just paid my rent, and I kind of want to stay home to enjoy my purchase.”

Fred nodded, still watching her as she slid into her seat, closing and locking the door immediately. He kept watching as she started the car, placed her phone in its holder, and reversed out of her space.

“Creep.” Nicole frowned as she turned the heater on full blast. Her phone chimed—someone had sent her a private message on Golden Rule.

Except that should have been impossible.

Nicole had disabled her inbox the second she broke five hundred voyeurs. If they wanted to talk to her, it had to be public. Every interaction, upload, decision, and move she made inside Golden Rule had to count toward engagement. JadeTheBabe didn’t become the most followed account on the app by sheer luck.

Well, being fair, of course luck and timing had a little something to do with it, but everything else? That was all Nicole.

And now Jewel Van Hanen had sent her a message.

Nicole waited until she reached a red stoplight and clicked on it. She passively watched the video—Jewel gushing about how much she loved JadeTheBabe’s videos before inviting her to an all-expenses-paid trip, Golden Weekend X.

When it was over, Nicole didn’t even have to think about her answer. She pressed the RECORD button, right then and there, and filmed her quick reply: “No, thanks.”