Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Enough Awful Tales
IRINA
“La dracu!” I cursed when the pan clattered to the floor, catching my toe on the way down.
I didn’t need another throbbing appendage.
I downed what was left in my wine glass, popping the empty pan back up on the stove and turning to the chopping board when someone knocked at the door in a rapid pattern.
There was only one person who knocked like that.
Skin crawling at the thought of seeing her again, I wished nothing more than to just ignore her.
But with Kat in her bedroom right next to the front door, and Rumi being the type to try and break the door down before she gave up on confronting me, there was nothing for it but to face whatever awful music she had for me.
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” I snapped, hoping my voice wasn’t trembling as I wiped my hands on a tea towel and headed past Kat’s closed door down the hallway. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, I opened the door.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rumi snarled.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice tight.
Rumi held up her phone, showing me one of my Tickle posts.
One where I’d been riding Nikolai, propped up in a toy mount for hands-free fun.
No one could see below the waist—that was becoming one of my favourite public post tactics—but I’d been topless, and my boobs were bouncing vigorously.
I’d added an extra flair to this post by roleplaying that I was talking to a real man under me, and not just the best vibrator I’d ever owned.
And the conversation had gotten very dirty with Nikolai.
It was one of my most liked posts. I was very proud of my acting skills. I had plans for a part two … when my bruised and battered clit was back to working order.
“Are you telling me that you’d rather whore yourself than take me up on my offer to help you become a permanent resident and get yourself a legal job?” Rumi demanded.
Fury burned under my skin, searing away any fear I felt about having to confront her again. I snatched the phone from her, locking it so the screen went black before shoving it back at her. “I don’t have time for this, I’m trying to cook dinner. And what I’m doing isn’t illegal.”
Rumi snorted. “Fuck off, Irina! Outstaying your student visa is illegal. And let’s not even get started on the way you’re making money right now! You’re a lesbian, performing for men!”
My fists clenched at my sides. Here she was, still trying to make me fit the mould she had set out for me.
My first instinct was to scream, and slap her, and tell her to fuck off out of my apartment and out of my life.
But meeting her fury with more of mine, that was only going to give her ammunition.
I inhaled deeply, trying to find some calm.
Don’t let her walk all over you. But keep your cool while you do it.
“I’m bisexual, Rumi—I made that clear to you from the start. If I fuck men, it’s because I enjoy it, not because I’m pandering to their fetishes. And I was always upfront that I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I don’t know about you, but I would call marriage a fairly serious relationship.”
Rumi’s cheeks flamed. “To help you stay in Australia and away from your toxic fucking family! I was trying to be supportive of your need to stay here. But no, you’d rather lurk under the radar and turn into a porn star to support yourself!”
“Rumi, we are over. You told me we were over if I wouldn’t commit to you. I told you I wasn’t interested in a commitment. What I’m doing with my life now is none of your goddamned business!”
I reached out to grab the edge of the door, ready to herd her outside and close it in her face. “And I’m not a porn star. I’m an adult content creator.”
“Same fucking difference, Irina!”
Kat’s door flew open, distracting both of us.
“I think it’s time for you to leave, Rumi,” Kat said, coming out to stand in the hallway beside me. The squeeze of her fingers against mine was all the support I needed. Rumi glared at our joined hands, face twisting.
“Careful, Kat,” she muttered. “She might have a disease, the way she’s been sleeping around the last few weeks.”
And that was the limit of my Rumi-bullshit tolerance.
“Get out,” I hissed. “You’re not welcome here anymore.”
Rumi eyed Kat with that bad-smell-under-her-nose expression before she turned and stormed out the door, slamming it so hard the bowl of keys on the side table tipped over the edge and shattered on the floor.
“You still up?” Kat asked tentatively through my door.
“Yep!” I called out, eyes fixed on my phone where I was editing the post I’d just made of cleaning my clit piercing. “Come in.”
The door opened, and the bed moved. “Whatcha doing?” she asked.
“Just putting the finishing touches on my clit-piercing care one-oh-one post. Want a sneak peak?” There was so much relief in not having to hide the Tickle stuff from Kat now.
Rumi running her mouth off in front of Kat was a blessing in disguise.
One less thing to keep from her made all the other secrets feel a little more manageable.
Kat giggled, covering her eyes. “I love you, Ri, and our chat over dinner about this new venture of yours was fascinating … but I really don’t need a front-row seat to your freshly stabbed ladybits.”
I shrugged, saving the post to my drafts and tossing my phone aside. “Your loss—it’s for followers only, so you’re missing out on a free glimpse at exclusive paid content.”
“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” Kat asked. I rolled onto my side, meeting her eyes.
“I think I feel more sexually liberated doing this than I have anything else I’ve done with other people. Plus”—I waggled my brows. “It’s hot to know you’re being watched, even if it’s through a phone screen.”
“But … aren’t you worried that someone back home is going to see? I mean, you’re clearly popular, isn’t it a risk?”
I swallowed. “Everything in life is a risk, Kat,” I explained, aiming for a breezy tone. She saw right through me and cocked a disbelieving eyebrow.
I sighed. “The app allows creators to choose which regions their posts appear in. I’ve locked out Romania …
and a couple of the surrounding countries, too.
My family does a lot of their … business just across the Romanian border.
” I forced my face to remain impassive, and thankfully this time Kat bought it.
“Okay … I mean, if you feel like you’ve got this under control, then I’m not going to harass you about it.”
I made a snorting sound, and Kat shrugged. “Well, not more than I already have, anyway.”
“I love you for worrying about me,” I admitted. “I just … I need this.”
I did need it. I needed it as a reminder that I was in charge of my life, and my future. I could do this. I could keep myself afloat until I worked out a more permanent solution. One that meant I never had to go back there.
“How long do you think you have before they start wondering why you haven’t returned home?” Kat asked.
“I’ll worry about that when … if it happens.” I hoped I was convincing her, because I wasn’t convincing myself
My phone buzzed. I looked down, my blood chilling when I saw the Romanian words lighting up the text bubble.
Stefan: When does your visa expire? Dad is asking when we can expect you home.
“Everything okay?” Kat asked, wrapping her fingers around my arm. “You suddenly went bone white.”
I managed a little guffaw. “It’s just my cousin, trolling me.” I tapped out a quick response.
Irina: I’ve had to extend for six months. Failed a class last semester, have to take it again.
I hoped he wouldn’t ask too many more questions, that my lie would be enough to hold my uncle at bay until I had a better plan in place.
Stefan: They’re going to want some sort of proof
Stefan: Have you got any?
Stefan: I want to help you stay to finish your degree, but you’re not making it easy
“Cacat!” I muttered, gnawing on my lip. He was right, and it wasn’t just my uncle who would want evidence. I really hadn’t thought this plan through.
Irina: Leave it with me. I’ll try to get a letter from the head of the faculty.
I put my phone under my pillow, smiling brightly up at Kat, who frowned at me.
“Is everything alright?”
I hitched my grin higher. “Yeah! Just cousins being cousins, you know what it’s like.”
Her lips twitched, and I was sure she was seeing right through me. She opened her mouth to say as much when I snatched my phone out again.
“Shit! I have, like, five personal videos to film tonight! I totally forgot.” I patted the bed beside me. “Want to stay and listen to me tell the story of my first period—in Romanian—to some dude who probably thinks I’m describing all the ways I want to suck his cock?”
Kat’s face twisted comically. “Uh, I think I’ll pass, but thanks for the offer. And hey, if you ever need ideas, I have a tonne of horrendous period stories you could use.”
I reached out and squeezed her hand. “Thank you … but I have enough awful tales to last me a lifetime.”
I dropped my eyes to my phone then, pretending to be engrossed in something on the screen. If Kat saw the haunted look that I just knew was lurking in my expression, she’d push me for details.
But after a long silence, she left the room, the door shutting quietly behind her.
I closed my eyes, exhaling. I didn’t need to drag poor Kat deeper into the sordid web that was my life, but sometimes my mouth ran away with me, and dropped tiny little pearls of truth along the way.
And one day, Kat would string them all together, and she’d know too much.
My phone buzzed.
Fuck.
If it was Stefan again …
I cracked an eye open, holding my breath.
It wasn’t Stefan.
It was a Tickle notification. And when I clicked through, both my eyes snapped wide open.
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