Chapter 44 #2
There’s a short pause before she asks softly, “I know you said you want to go back to modeling after your time here but… is there a chance, even the smallest one, that maybe you could see yourself doing something else?”
At this, I pause. Why is she asking me this? I shoot her a glance over my shoulder and catch her checking out my ass. She notices I've caught her staring and immediately jerks her head away. A veil of her hair falls into her face but not before I catch yet another smile pulling at her mouth.
I’ve earned two smiles and laughter today? If I wasn’t so fucking pissed at her, I’d feel like this was a victory. I turn back to my dresser and pull out a button up. This will do.
“The only thing that comes after modeling would be scraping together sponsorships and living off royalties or being a modeling coach. I’m not there yet,” I snap. “I’m in my prime, Everly. Why would I settle for anything less than being the best?”
She sighs, “Well, there’s got to be something else you could do, right? Would you consider being a camboy, or whatever the equivalent of a camgirl would be?”
The question is so random and wild coming from the shy, awkward woman that I can’t stop the bark of laughter as it slips past my lips.
“A camboy ?” I repeat mockingly. “Why the fuck would I want to do that?”
“I don’t know. I guess it could be a fall back in case one day you couldn’t show your face or?—”
“Everly, the day I can’t model anymore is the day I kill myself. Got it? Modeling is what I do and what I love. I wouldn’t give it up for the world. Now go hang out in the living room while I get ready.”
With that, I cross the room and head for the bathroom.
It’s not until I’ve finished cleaning up and am reaching for the doorknob that it hits me. Everly wasn’t just making some mundane conversation. She was testing me. She was asking if I could live a life in the shadows with her, a life where I would have to stay out of the spotlight.
My hand drops away from the knob, and I stare at the door.
Everly didn’t ask if I would run away with her.
She didn’t tell me about whatever escape plan is in place tonight either.
Rather, she was putting out feelers to see if I would be open to the idea of life on the run, probably trying to judge if it was worth bringing the rest of it up to me at all.
Her outrageous suggestion of being a camboy was a middle ground.
I could still show off my body, use it to draw in a crowd and get paid.
It would be a job where I could hide my face too.
She was trying to find a way to open the door to the conversation.
And I shut it down before it could even start. Fuck .
But she did try to bring it up which means, on some level, Everly wants me to come with her, right? A stillness settles over me. Everly, the girl I’ve captured and claimed, is considering a life with me beyond the walls of Serenity Falls.
The heat from my anger—at least toward her—cools.
With a growl of annoyance directed at myself, I open the bathroom door.
Quickly, I change into my outfit for the evening then stomp over to the boxes of clothes meant for her.
I rummage through them, grab a blue dress—one that matches both my shirt and hair—and throw it over my shoulder.
When I leave my room, I find Everly staring out the stained-glass windows.
“Here,” I snap, tossing the dress onto the couch.
She turns around slowly. I’ve caught her deep in thought and watch as her brows slowly unfurrow and the tension bleeds from her body.
Whatever she was thinking about, it vanishes as she looks at me.
As she takes me in, her eyes soften in a way that makes me catch my breath.
Suddenly, I feel weirdly exposed—like she can see more than just me.
After years under the spotlight, wearing all types of outfits or none at all, you’d think I’d be used to being stared at.
But Everly isn’t viewing me like the rest of the world does.
She can see through the bullshit and it’s unnerving.
“You look good, Rowan,” she says, with soft sincerity.
Her compliment, simple and to the point, sends an unexpected rush of heat through me. It creeps up into my face and causes my palms to sweat.
Looking away, I wave a hand toward the dress and say, “Change into that.”
It’s much less revealing than the one she’s wearing and would cover all her scars.
There’s a short pause. “Oh, but I thought you said?—”
“I changed my mind.”
Destroying Everly’s self-esteem isn’t how I want my court to treat their new queen. I might be pissed at her, but she’s mine and no one else is allowed to tear her down. There are other ways to put Everly in her place.
Turning on my heels, I head back into my room to finish getting ready.
I’m not letting Everly leave Serenity Falls.
Whatever plan she and Braum have with Vick is doomed to fail, I’ve made sure of that.
But Everly wants me, at least on some level.
Enough to come up with a solution that would make me happy while being apart from the very thing I love to do.
The consideration means something. It’s more than I’ve gotten from anyone else in my life.
I’ll be damned if I can’t return the favor no matter how mad I am at her.