Chapter 6
SIX
Emerson
I’m honestly shocked. Bewildered. Flummoxed.
The silly little video I posted to get under Twila’s skin has gone viral, getting over one-point-two million views in the first twenty-four hours. I didn’t know that was even possible. Especially for me.
I had to turn my push notifications off yesterday because my phone was blowing up, driving me crazy. I tried responding to the comments for the first couple of hours or so, but it quickly became overwhelming. I gave up and stayed off the app until this morning.
Everyone wants to know for whom the video was made. There are so many guesses, so many creators tagged…the BingBang community is shipping me with more than a dozen different women. Including Twila Greene.
My roommates shuffle into the living room together, and I shut the app down as the twins bookend me on the couch, and Ritchie slumps into one of the two oversized chairs, plopping his feet up on the ottoman.
It feels a lot like an ambush as they all stare at me without speaking for several long beats. Or maybe it’s an intervention.
“What?” I ask finally when they continue to just stare at me in silence.
Ritchie sighs. “Your BingBang from yesterday is doing well.”
“Really well,” Mason adds.
“Yeah? That’s a good thing, right?” I ask, looking at each of them in confusion.
What is this?
“We just want you to be careful,” Stone says, uncharacteristically reserved.
“Careful of what?” I ask, the words slow and measured.
I honestly have no idea what they’re getting at. Are they afraid a single mega-viral video is going to change me, or something?
“You tend to jump into things with your whole heart,” Mason says, his voice soft and filled with affection. “We love that about you, man, but we’re worried about you getting hurt with this whole thing.”
My eyebrows lower as my forehead scrunches. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. How could I get hurt?”
“You like her. We could see it on your face yesterday while you were trying to convince us you were just fucking with her as some kind of inside joke. You’ve had one short message exchange, and now, you’re obsessing,” Mason says, and I’m shaking my head before he even finishes speaking.
“I am not obsessing.”
“Infatuated, then,” Ritchie says, and I roll my eyes as I heave a sigh.
“You guys are being ridiculous. It was a joke. A joke that had amazing results. I’m not obsessed with Twila. I don’t even know her. But…”
“But what?” Stone asks when my words trail off.
My mind is spinning, so it takes me a few moments to answer. “What if we can capitalize off of this?”
“What do you mean?” Mason asks, and I shake my head slowly.
“I’m not sure, exactly,” I say. “But the views and engagement don’t lie. This is just what I’ve needed to boost myself to the next level. I could put Kennedy through college if this luck continues, and I get some influencer deals.”
Thinking of helping my little sister and, of course, our mom sends excitement rushing through me. Kennedy got some financial aid to attend community college, but she dreams of transferring to a state university. I could make that happen for her.
The guys just stare at me with matching narrowed expressions, but I can’t afford to be cautious right now.
I literally can’t afford it.
I need the money, and the risk is worth the reward here. For both Twila and me.
I’ve kept track of her account. I have to in order to find videos to which I want to react.
It’s nothing you’d notice if you weren’t looking for it, but her numbers are slipping.
Her reach is down. Her engagement is less than it was this time last year.
She may not be struggling yet, but if her account continues on this trajectory, she’s going to have problems.
Maybe we can help each other.
“I’m not sure I like the look on your face right now, brother,” Mason says, and I shake my head to clear it.
“I’m fine. I promise. This is all about work and earning money.”
“Okay,” Ritchie says like he doesn’t actually believe me.
“I’m serious, guys,” I say, looking at each of them. “My heart isn’t involved, and it’s never going to be.”
I honestly love the close relationship we all have and how much these guys care about me, but damn, I’m twenty-six years old. I can handle myself.
I’m not going to fall in love with Twila Greene.
If she agrees to the scheme I’m putting together in my head, and she will, I’m sure of it, it’ll be nothing but a business arrangement. Something that will take us both to the next level.
And I need it. I need it to work. For my mom and Kennedy.
I can’t let anything, not even Twila Greene, herself, get in the way of our combined success.