Chapter 3
NOAH
Live streaming in general was not something I engaged in with my regular content these days.
My entire platform consisted of extreme danger and total anonymity, which really didn’t gel with the nature of live streaming, but I hadn’t always been NoFear.
Back when my whole identity was Norah Sparkle and the ClikByte platform was still fresh, I had frequently used it to speak with followers while curling my hair or learning a new dance routine.
The live stream for the Clik Games introductions was something totally different.
It wasn’t a phone on a tripod with a ring light. It was a full-scale production, probably on par with some movie sets or live televised content. In short, it was overwhelming as hell.
An enthusiastic MC announced our team over the microphone as everyone entered the main stage one by one…with me last. If Jared hadn’t been right there waiting with me, I’d have probably run away.
No, that wasn’t true. I wasn’t doing this whole thing because Jared said I had to. I was doing it to keep Miles safe. So I straightened my spine and channeled my very best big dick energy as I strode into the spotlight and smiled tightly at the camera.
Thankfully, it only took a moment, and then I was free to join my team on the tiered seating, sliding into the empty spot between Xavier and Minho.
“You okay?” Xavier asked quietly as the presenter read from his teleprompter with exaggerated excitement for the multiple cameras fixed on him.
I swallowed hard, all too aware of the sweat running down the back of my neck. “Yep, totally fine.”
He gave a soft snort. “You don’t look fine.”
“He’s right,” Minho murmured, barely even moving his lips as he spoke. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
Them saying it was only making it worse, so I gritted my teeth. When I said nothing, Minho turned slightly to look behind us, giving some sort of silent communication, because a moment later someone gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“Listen up, Eight,” Ace said in a whisper, leaning down so his head was near my ear.
I braced myself for threats or insults, so the gentle nature of his tone surprised me.
“This part will be over really quick, then we just have a shitload of waiting around while they do sound bites and interviews. Just hang in there for a few minutes, all right? We’ve got you. ”
What was with the supportive, encouraging shit? Everything I’d heard about Ace Hart was negative. Arrogant, conceited, short-tempered…not whatever this was. Were the rumors totally wrong about him? Or was this all an act for the cameras?
Whatever it was, it helped. His hand remained on my shoulder as Xavier leaned in to tell me quietly about how the presenter was once photographed with his dick in a jar of peanut butter.
It was such a random fact that a shocked laugh escaped me, and Xavier grinned widely, having achieved what he’d clearly intended.
Ace’s hand squeezed my shoulder again, like he was reassuring me, and it caused a really odd sensation to build inside me.
Like…like I could trust him, which was wild when we’d only met ten minutes ago.
He was right, though. The filming ended just a few minutes later, and we were told to return to green rooms for individual team interviews and reactions and God only knew what else.
I was painfully uninformed about everything involved with Clik Games, thanks to Rich’s bullshit in the months since Miles nearly died.
My whole damn focus had been taken up by the fact that I was apparently one of ClikByte: Adults Only’s top earners without ever knowing I had a profile… or content. Bastard.
“You okay, Noah?” Torin asked, slinging his arm over my shoulders as we filed out of the set stage with all the other teams.
“He’s fine,” Ace answered for me, which I appreciated since I was internally hyperventilating at the casual contact from Torin Mura. I needed to get my shit under control or these guys would catch me blushing and flirting.
Torin just extended his middle finger at Ace’s back as the team leader passed us, then glanced down at me. “Are you, though? You didn’t look fine in there.”
I swallowed hard, grimacing. “That’s not good. I’ll be a meme by the end of the day.”
Torin barked a laugh. “Nah, you’ll have the internet way too feral over your face to have anyone noticing how nervous you were. Besides, I think it’s to be expected.”
“How long have you been doing the anonymous masked-content thing, anyway?” August asked from my other side as we headed toward our green room.
I glanced his way, and my lips curved in a small grin. “As if you don’t know. I don’t believe for a second that I was the only one doing my research.”
“True, but I bet your research turned up a whole lot more useful information than ours did. You’re crazy private for someone with such a massive platform, you know?” August seemed genuinely confused about that fact, and my smile widened with amusement.
“Can you blame me? First thing out of Ace’s mouth was asking if I was fifteen.” I rolled my eyes like I was actually offended by the slight.
Torin chuckled, his arm still comfortably draped over my shoulders. “Fifteen is harsh, but you are very pretty for a dude so—”
“Torin!” a girl called out from behind us, making him stiffen ever so slightly before puffing out a short sigh. A glance behind us showed one of the girls from GeeGee making her way toward us with a determined look on her gorgeous face. “Aren’t you going to introduce your new member to me, baby?”
Torin’s jaw clenched when she called him that, and his smile was so forced it was more of a grimace than anything else. “I hadn’t planned to,” he admitted with a shrug as we turned to face her.
The girl just rolled her eyes, then aimed a downright sultry smile my way. She was shorter than me, even in chunky platform boots, and her skirt was so short it was more of a belt. If that was their team image, I was more relieved than ever to be blackmailed onto Olympus instead.
“Noah, right? I’m Sakura.” She fluttered her long, inky-black lashes and offered her hand.
“Fuck off, Sakura,” August snapped, clearly not as patient as Torin when it came to this woman.
I knew of her from my competitor research, but everything I’d seen of her was shallow and scripted.
She was a dancer…but that term was used very loosely.
She was pretty, had a great body, and could imitate choreography well enough, but other than that I was unclear how she’d amassed such a huge following.
A strong hand gripped the back of my neck, jerking me away from Sakura and making me stumble. “Sakura, why are you eye-fucking my new team member?” Ace asked with an edge of irritation. “I’ll save you the energy. He’s already signed his contract with Olympus, which means—”
Sakura rolled her heavily lined eyes. “No fucking around. I’m well aware. But rules are meant to be broken, Ace, you said—”
“Bye, Sakura!” Ace boomed, all but hauling me into our green room by the scruff of my neck. Torin and August followed quickly behind, closing the door before Ace released me.
“Was that necessary?” I snapped, rubbing the nape of my neck as I glared up at our team leader.
“Yes,” he responded with a scowl. “There was a cameraman on his way to catch that little interaction, and I figured you wouldn’t want a dating rumor on your first day.”
My lips parted, but no sound came out. That hadn’t even crossed my mind…
“Look, if you were interested, I’m sure Torin can give you her number, just keep it on the down-low, all right?” Ace patted me on the shoulder with a lot less aggression than he’d just shown the back of my neck.
Jared approached from where he’d been on the phone, casting a worried look between Ace and me. “Everything okay, Noah?”
I jerked a quick nod. “Yeah, of course. Just…not used to this kind of shit.”
“Get used to it,” Skye said from where he was sprawled on the sofa with his phone in hand. “For the next twelve months, your every waking moment will be on camera for the fans to pick apart and micro-analyze. Hope you don’t have any secrets or bad habits you were planning to keep under wraps.”
The other guys chuckled, but I locked eyes with Jared as panic tightened my chest. The contracts around their content filming had been so vague it was unclear what exactly I’d signed up for, and our main focus had been all the clauses around keeping Miles out of legal danger…
but every waking moment? Surely that was just a dramatic exaggeration.
“You’ll be fine,” Jared reassured me, ignoring the boys.
The loaded look he gave me said everything I knew he was thinking.
Olympus management knew perfectly well who I was, and this whole farce of presenting me as a dude was their idea in the first place.
They wouldn’t do anything to risk that secret getting out…
so long as I didn’t do anything to force the issue.
I nodded as convincingly as possible. “Yeah, of course. Totally fine. I’ve got this. How’s Kelly doing?” With impeccable timing, Jared’s wife was nine months pregnant and due any day. So that meant I was heading into Mount Olympus without my manager.
His brow drew tight with frustration. “She’s fine. She said there’s no rush, so if you need me—”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “She’s lying. I’m fine here, honestly. Go and be with your wife! Make sure you don’t miss your baby’s birth.”
“You’re expecting a baby?” Zeth asked, having clearly been eavesdropping while pretending to browse the minifridge. He was still giving me suspicious glances, and I had an uncomfortable feeling he was going to be the one who figured me out first.
Jared nodded. “Yeah, sure am. First one, too, so my wife is… a little anxious.”
“Congratulations, man, that’s awesome.” Zeth clapped Jared on the shoulder in that manly version of a hug that guys did, and Jared grinned with pride. “Don’t worry about Noah. We’ll look after him.”
“Sure will,” Ace agreed, offering me a bottle of water. “The company has already assigned an extra manager and stylist anyway.”
Jared sighed, giving me yet another worried glance.
“Noah’s stylist will still be on call, but she’s also planned ahead for everything scheduled over the next month.
” And considering my stylist was one of the few people who knew I was actually a woman, that was a fairly crucial role in the whole silly game.
“Well, then, nothing to worry about,” Ace said as I accepted the water from him. “Noah is part of the Olympus family now, regardless of how it came about, and we take care of our own.”
His ice-blue eyes locked with mine for the briefest moment, and I sighed internally. I guess Ace was fully aware that I’d been blackmailed into joining their team. Which was disappointing, because it made me think a lot less of him as a leader for allowing that sort of slimy business.
Or maybe I was reading too much into it? I’d told him myself that I was there under duress, but I’d just assumed he didn’t register that fact in the midst of processing the new “kid” on his team.
Jared’s phone chimed in his hand, and he glanced down at the screen with a tortured expression. He needed to be there for Kelly, but he also didn’t want to leave me alone. It was sweet but unnecessary.
“Go home, Jared,” I told him firmly. “Despite what Ace thinks, I’m an adult, and I can take care of myself. Besides, you can always call to check in.”
Ace chuckled, shooting me a grin as he shrugged. “Calling it how I see it, baby face.”
Zeth was squinting at me again, so I quickly ushered Jared out and in the process removed myself from Zeth’s scrutiny. Maybe he was just fascinated by how smooth my face was and wanted to swap hair removal tips later? Yeah. Probably that.
Jared made me promise to check in when we eventually returned to the house and assured me that my luggage had already been sent ahead, but it still took everything in me not to drag him back as he exited the green room. Shit. I really was on my own now.
“You good, Noah?” Minho asked as I drifted over to a vacant armchair with my pulse hammering in my throat.
I forced a tight smile to my lips. “Yep.” Then, because I was starting to sweat under his beautiful dark gaze, I searched for a distraction. “So, what can you tell me about the team? I figure I should at least pretend I know you all when we have to do team interviews, right?”
His head tilted to the side, such an elegant motion on him. Then again, this was a man who’d started dance training when he was barely three years old, so it stood to reason his every movement was fluid. “Yes, you’re right. And us, you. Ace! Noah needs a crash course in all things Olympus.”
I nearly choked. My attempt at distraction had just turned into a team meeting with me at the center. Great.