Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 19169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 96(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19169 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 96(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
I don’t notice that Eloise has asked me a question until the room goes quiet.
“Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t catch that.”
“How much are you charging April for rent?”
“A few hundred a month.”
“That’s all?” Eloise cocks her head. “How long is the lease period for?”
“Six months,” April says. “And I fully expect rent to go up when the house is finished.”
Her stepmom gazes at the ceiling, like a caricature of someone pondering something important. “Let’s see. A few hundred a month, times six months, plus first and last month’s rent—”
“What are you doing?” April asks.
“I’m just trying to understand how you can afford rent, dear.”
April’s confused expression goes cold. My jaw clenches. I can only think of a handful of reasons why Eloise would choose this moment to bring up her stepdaughter’s very personal line of work, and none of them are charitable. I look to April’s sorry excuse for a sperm donor to cut in and shut this discussion down, but he seems content to eat his macaroni and stare at his plate.
“Can we not talk about this now?” April mumbles.
“I don’t see why not,” says Eloise, “since you’re no longer working your other job.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“You haven’t been at your desk in weeks. I assume that means you’ve found a new position.”
The pleading look April shoots her father is the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s true, she hasn’t streamed publicly since she started camming privately with me. But the only way Eloise would know that is if she’s been checking her stepdaughter’s Dream Cams Live channel—
Every day. Multiple times a day. For weeks.
“Is it here, with him?” She scowls at me. “Your new position.”
I level my gaze at Eloise. “If you’re suggesting that I would extort April in exchange for a room in my house, you can go straight to hell.”
Eloise has the nerve to look affronted. “How dare you speak to me that way.”
April tosses her fork down with a clang. “Are you fucking kidding me, Eloise? You think I’m prostituting myself for room and board?”
“Well, we know you’re willing to support yourself doing pornography.” She catches April’s nervous glance in my direction. “What? Your landlord deserves to know what sort of person he’s renting to—”
I slap the table with both hands and rise to my full height. Three pairs of eyes instantly turn toward me.
There are times when being a giant comes in handy. Like this moment, right here.
If April’s father won’t stand up for her, then it’s Daddy’s turn to step in the ring.
Because no one talks to my little girl that way.
“I know exactly what kind of person April is,” I growl. “She’s polite and responsible, and whip-smart. She’s kind. And she busted her ass to prepare for this dinner because she wanted to impress you. What a fucking waste of her precious time. Not to mention her hospitality.”
April sucks air through her nose. I can tell she’s trying hard not to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Jonathan,” she says.
I shake my head. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, baby girl.”
Her dark eyes go wide.
Eloise balks. “What did you just—”
“None of your goddamn business,” I say. “Just like April’s channel is none of your business. Now either you’ve got a sick fascination with your stepdaughter’s body, or you’re so fucking miserable in your own bag of bones that you can’t stand the thought of her being happy. Personally, I don’t care which one it is. But you’re gonna stop commenting on her appearance, assuming she’s even willing to speak to you after this.”
For once, Eloise appears to have nothing to say. How fucking refreshing.
“And you,” I say to Douglas. “Somehow you’ve managed to be an even bigger asshole than your wife. You’ve got a beautiful daughter who loves you, and you can’t find the time to make a quick call or send a text?”
He sighs. “I didn’t... I couldn’t...”
“I think you mean wouldn’t.” I shake my head. “You don’t deserve your daughter. She’s better than both of you.”
Eloise scowls at April, who’s too busy looking at me with an expression I can’t quite read to notice. All I know is that I’m terrified of what that look means for us.
Us... After this, there’ll be no more us. How could there be? She knows I’ve been lying, catfishing, pretending to be someone I’m not.
“Douglas,” Eloise says curtly. “We’re leaving.”
April’s parents rise from the table. They flee the kitchen like rats in a cat café, barely glancing at their daughter.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” I say.
The front door slams.
I sit back down at the table without tearing my gaze from April’s face. She’s still studying me with that look that makes me feel three feet tall.
“You’ve been Jay this whole time?” she says.
I scrub at my beard. “I found your webcam upstairs, and the site. I shouldn’t have looked you up, but... I knew it was the only way I’d ever get to be with you.”