Chapter 28
XAVIER
Ace hadn’t been able to get any kind of advance viewing of the Camp Beaver footage, which was why he’d been in such a foul mood.
Lack of control over the group’s image always did that to him, but we had to trust that both Olympus Corp and ClikByte themselves had a vested interest in our team’s success.
That meant they would make the right choices to elevate our brand.
That was what I told him, and that was what I had to tell myself when the first episode aired and the comments started rolling in.
“Yeah, no, I’m aware,” he said in a tired voice, his phone to his ear as he sprawled across my new bed.
Noah’s old bed. I was unpacking my shit, and he was getting yelled at by our team manager, but honestly, better him than the rest of us.
“I understand that’s the ship you want to sell to the fans, but maybe if you’d let us review the footage before it aired then I could have pointed out the issues. ”
I raised a brow at him in question, and he rolled his eyes as Mr. Leight undoubtedly continued ranting down the phone at him.
This was yet another example of why he was best--suited as team leader and not me.
I didn’t have the patience for bullshit diplomacy and probably would have fired Leight years ago.
“Yes, I’m aware. Yes, I have seen the blowback.” Ace rubbed his eyes, drawing attention to the dark bags beneath them. He was taking the night--owl bit a little too far at the moment, even for him. Despite what he told the team, he did actually sleep before five a.m. some days. Just not a lot.
He blew out a long sigh, miming a gun to his head, which made me smirk.
“Tell him to get fucked, then hang up,” I whispered, not particularly caring if our manager heard me.
Ace grinned, shaking his head. “Yes, I agree. I’ll pass along the message and see what we can do to rectify things over the next week while we prepare for the charity challenge.
No, I can’t promise Noah will play along, and you know damn well that I won’t force the issue, Leight.
” His tone hardened for the first time on this call, and I squinted at him with curiosity.
Why did he suddenly give a fuck? He didn’t care last time Leight wanted to push the fictional idea of me and Noah as a couple, so why did he care now?
“Yeah, well, let’s see how that goes,” Ace muttered in response to whatever Mr. Leight had just said. “Don’t hold your breath, though. Anyway, I need to go. Bye.” He hung up without waiting for a response and tossed his phone onto the bed with a groan.
“Good chat?” I asked with heavy sarcasm, putting the last of my clothes into the closet.
“You know it,” Ace grumbled, burying his face underneath my pillow.
Noah’s pillow. We probably should swap all our bedding over, too.
Unless he didn’t care. It’s not like the sheets were dirty or anything.
Our cleaners changed them pretty regularly.
“Leight is pissed about all the shipping for Noah and Minho after the Camp Beaver footage aired.”
“No shit,” I grunted, sitting down on the side of Skye’s bed. He’d left for the airport an hour ago, but he’d only be gone for a week. “The comments are pretty brutal.”
Ace huffed. “Fucking haters. You watch, the same thing will happen when we push the two of you on--screen again.”
My brows lifted. “Is that what we’re doing, then? Turning it into some kind of triangle bullshit? I’m still failing to see how this is believable in the slightest, given Min’s history with women.”
My best friend scoffed. “Come on, Xavi. You’re not that blind.
Anyway, it’s what management wants. They think ratings are better so…
whatever. I know you know how to give a little with not a lot, but I just don’t think it’s a great idea for you and Noah to be forced into faking a flirtation just for the sake of Cliks.
It feels sleazy and not fair on you guys, when you clearly dislike each other. ”
I frowned, eyeing him with interest. “I don’t dislike Noah.”
Ace’s head jerked up so hard his neck clicked. “Excuse me?”
I shrugged. “I don’t dislike him. He clearly dislikes me, and he’s infuriating as fuck, and I do think he’s bad for the team.
But as a person, I don’t hate him. I actually think I’d like him if all that venom weren’t aimed my way all the time.
” Which was true. Arguing with the little dude was strangely enjoyable, and I sometimes found myself deliberately picking fights just to see how he’d react.
The look Ace gave me was unreadable, like he was torn about something and didn’t want to own up to what was on his mind. Which wasn’t unlike him, so I didn’t push the issue. Ace was always taking on the whole team’s issues and fixing them without sharing the burden.
“I need to think on it,” he muttered eventually, pushing up from my new bed with a sigh. “Maybe I’ll take a nap first. We have the skate center booked for this evening. Can you make sure you wake me up before six?”
“Of course. Don’t stress over the Noah shit, bro. We can work it out between the three of us.” I grinned in what I hoped would be a reassuring way, but Ace looked even more stressed than ever as he left the room.
Maybe I’d been going too hard on antagonizing the little dude lately? I could ease off a bit…if he could agree to do the same.
I should talk to him about it. Even if it was just for the sake of Ace’s blood pressure. Poor dude was going to have a heart attack before he turned thirty at this rate.
With that plan in mind, I went looking for Noah. Maybe make amends and work out what his issue was with me so we could be less hostile. At least on camera, anyway. Off camera, gloves were off. I bet he’d actually be pretty good at boxing, come to think of it, despite how little he was.
“Hey, you guys seen Little Dude?” I asked Torin and August when I found them in the kitchen, making a huge pile of homemade pasta.
Augie shrugged, while Torin narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion. “Why?”
“None of your business, Tor. Have you seen him or not?”
“Yeah, he’s in the pool,” Torin replied, and I took a whole five steps toward the back patio before realizing what he’d just said.
“Ha ha, very funny,” I snapped with irritation. “Where is he actually?”
Augie elbowed Tor with reprimand, then turned his attention my way. “He’s helping Minnie with some dance content, but they did ask not to be interrupted. Creative flow or something.”
That was irritating. Part of me was tempted to go interrupt them anyway, but considering the whole point was to forge some kind of professional truce between us, that may not be the best way to start out.
With a sigh of frustration, I grabbed an energy drink from the fridge and headed back upstairs. Maybe Z wanted to come for a ride with me if he wasn’t busy with his girlfriend.
Just as I reached the top of the staircase, my phone chimed in my pocket with a familiar sound—-one I hadn’t heard in months. It made me pause and second--guess whether I’d just imagined it, then it sounded again.
“What the fuck?” I murmured, finishing out my phone while my heart stuttered in my chest. Her account was deleted, so there was no way I could have just received a private message from Peaches, was there?
And yet. There was the new message notification sitting on my home screen, just like she’d never disappeared in the first place. I stood there for far too long, staring at my phone in disbelief as my pulse raced and my mouth went dry with nervous energy. Why was she back? Why had she left?
Did it matter?
Swallowing hard, I abandoned my plan to look for Z and hurried back to my bedroom, silently thanking fate that Skye had already left for his trip and I had the whole bedroom to myself.
Anxious excitement filled my chest as I closed the door firmly, then crossed to the bed nearest the window, flopping down against the pillows before opening the CB:AO notifications.
I hadn’t closed my account because part of me had been sure she’d be back eventually, and apparently I was right. That first notification was what I’d been waiting to see all these months since her abrupt disappearance.
An account you subscribe to has been reactivated.
“You’re back,” I whispered, hardly believing what I was seeing. “I knew you’d be back.”
The second notification sent my pulse racing even faster, and my dick stirred in anticipation.
has sent you a private message. To open, please relink your credit card and tip your creator.
Panic rippled through me as I scrambled to update my credit card information, because the stupid thing had expired just a couple weeks ago.
My hands shook as I typed in the new numbers, every part of me convinced the message would disappear if I took too long to pay.
That wasn’t how the platform worked, but I wasn’t capable of logical thinking when it came to her.
The requested tip to open her message was a lot higher than she used to charge, but I didn’t hesitate before paying.
She was worth every cent, and I’d told her that on dozens of occasions.
Hell, the amount of money I’d offered if she would meet me in person was almost embarrassing, but I could afford it.
Once my payment processed, her message appeared and my heart damn near stopped.
Peaches: I’ve missed you so much, . Have you missed me too?
Okay, I had some regrets over my choice of username, but I needed to play to the trends so no one would actually know it was Xavier Stone subscribing to pornographic content.
I waited for more of the message to appear, but after a minute it became apparent there was nothing more. Not even a tit--pic to accompany her return. Not that I wouldn’t happily pay anything she asked for, but after such a long absence, it raised alarm bells.
StoneHardCock69: Of course I did. You just disappeared without a word. I was worried. What happened? Are you okay? Do you need help?
has sent you a private message. To open, please tip the creator.