Chapter 25
Sebastian
The Misdirection
“What?”
“Huh?” I attempted to correct with more playful energy, but I was stumbling over my words and thoughts, and she was scowling at me.
There wasn’t time to say anything else. The timer on the screen dropped to one then went live.
I put my arm around her and forced a smile that just moments before had been real.
Under the water, I pinched my thigh for being so fucking stupid.
“Convince them you love me.” I’d tried to be playful, but I’d fallen on my face.
“I should get drinks,” I muttered and hopped out, flashing the viewers my boxers.
My heart was going wild with embarrassment as I dug through my fridge for beer.
I pulled out two brown bottles and hurried back.
I relaxed in an instant when I saw Evie bobbing in front of the camera, talking excitedly to the viewers.
“Oh, good, you’re back!” She turned, slurring her words some. I cocked my head and matched her energy. Acting drunk was easy.
“Yeah, babe, of course.” I handed her a beer and slid back into the hot tub.
“I was just telling them all about the movie,” she said.
“What movie?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Slice Slice Baby, the one we just went and saw tonight!” She laughed. “Have you forgotten already?”
“Baby.” I took a long sip of my beer. “I think imma have a hard time remembering anything tomorrow.”
She fell back against me, and I caught her, wrapping my arms around her waist. “You should remember...some stuff, I would think.”
My cock hardened under the water, and I shifted to press it against her thigh. The knowledge that she wasn’t wearing any panties was not lost on either of us. She stiffened when she felt me then shifted away.
“Anyway, I wanted to give my review of the movie and tell everyone they need to go watch it. It was so good,” she said, facing the live feed again. “I told Sebastian I wanted to do it earlier, right after the movie, but then he—”
“I’d do it with you anytime.” I nuzzled my nose into her neck.
She giggled and fought to get away. “Stop! You’re tickling me! I meant talk about the movie!” She escaped my grasp for just a moment. Her beautiful smile was sending me places I shouldn’t go. Less sexy places. More…
I pulled her back onto my lap. She kicked and giggled, and I nuzzled her neck, softer this time, careful not to brush my stubble too hard against her skin.
“There were more pressing things,” I said, raising my eyes like I’d been trained to do in order to look smoldering. Hearts, stars, and crowns flooded the screen as people gave us gifts and wrote comments.
“Stop, you goof!” Evie pushed me back and went to the phone. “People are asking about our movie. Should we do a little Q&A about Simon Says Six?”
“Six Six,” I replied and then shrugged. “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass.”
She turned to look back at me and stuck her tongue out playfully. “And we’re all out of bubblegum. Okay, let’s answer some questions. Ask away.”
I leaned forward to read the comments that were popping up at lightning speed. I glanced at the viewer counter: 250k.
“Someone wants to know if we’re done filming,” she asked.
I looked at her. “We haven’t even gotten to the spicy stuff yet.”
She giggled and swatted me.
I picked the next question. “They want to know where our castmates are.”
“Bryce and Skye? Well—uh...” She blushed, and I wasn’t sure if it was fake or not. I found my hand drifting to her hair, pushing the damp strands behind her ear, showing off her beautiful face to the camera.
“It was a private party,” I told the fans.
“Maybe we should have gone to one of the after-parties,” she said.
“Nah, those are always boring. I prefer a more...” I smirked at the camera “Intimate gathering.”
Oh, people were going to eat this up. Between the red-carpet ass squeeze and this livestream, the rumors were going to go wild. I bet I could get the PR team to give us bonuses.
“Are we dating? No. Sorry, guys, Sebastian just needed a date, and I had nothing to do tonight, so I agreed to go with him. We’re just friends,” Evie said.
The comments turned from the constant questions to skepticism.
“I know, I know, it’s not what you want to hear,” I added, wrapping my arms around her from behind. “But, like she said, just friends.” I gave an exaggerated pout, then, when she wasn’t looking directly at the screen, I winked at the stream.
“Who’s the best person to work with on set?” she read off.
We continued answering questions about the movie from true horror fans, and between those, we answered a few flirty ones. We made sure to keep denying any relationship outside of work, all the while touching and flirting.
Finally, she complained about wrinkles from being in the water too long, and we got ready to shut the livestream off.
“We’ve got an early call time, so we should attempt an hour or so of sleep.” She yawned. There was a barrage of comments with various forms of sleep isn’t going to happen if you share a bed.
“She’s staying in my guest room, guys. I’m a gentleman, I swear,” I joked.
But just as Evie was about to shut off the stream, she froze.
“What is it?” I asked.
She didn’t say anything for a long moment, but then, seeming to come to, she shut the stream off and sat back, her eyes blank and unfocused. I checked the phone to make sure it was off then turned to her.
“Evie, what’s wrong? Did someone comment something gross? You just gotta ignore them. They’re just trolls.”
She was stiff, and despite being in the boiling water, she had goose bumps. “I murdered someone today. On purpose.”
I narrowed my gaze. “How does that make you feel?” I asked.
A slow smile parted her lips, and a thrilling chill slid up my spine. The question seemed to pull her from the daze she’d been under.
“Good. Scared, but…also good. Sebastian, I need them to know it’s me coming after them. I want them to be scared. I know we just established an alibi, but I kind of hope the men on my list start to realize they’re being targeted.”
We dried off, and I gave her another shirt to wear.
I directed her up the stairs and down the hall to one of the guest rooms, but she insisted she sleep in the living room instead.
The couch was apparently too comfy to move from.
The dogs loved it, and the moment she lay down, they joined her, Precious at her feet and Cujo near her head.
I stood and stared, watching her sleep. She wasn’t quite at peace yet, but she’d gotten one step closer tonight. She was practically glowing.
I hoped one day, after all those names were crossed off, being with me would have the same effect.
Maybe I could be her peace.
In time, I said to myself as I left her to snag a few hours of sleep. In time.