Luna
My eyes flutter open, the sun streaming in through my windows.
I stretch, my body deliciously sore from another night of mind-blowing sex.
I shift, rolling over to find Dante sleeping soundly.
He looks at peace and ethereal; his porcelain skin, contrasting with his tattoos, makes him look even more otherworldly.
The past week we’ve spent together, this is the first time he hasn’t been awake before me, and it’s a welcome change. As many times as I catch him staring at me, it’s my turn; it’s only fair.
But what a week it’s been.
We’ve been inseparable, and it’s honestly been the best week of my life.
Dante has been cooking us breakfast, lunch, and dinner here in my apartment, instashopping most of it, but we did go out for ice cream with Olivia last night, and that was fun.
She was so impressed with him and gave me her stamp of approval, which means a lot to me.
Enough gawking, Luna, it's time to get up and find something productive to do.
I’ve fallen behind this week on my writing, but I’ve managed to start writing book three in between all the sexcapades.
I quietly get out of bed, putting on my nightdress Dante tore off me last night, and make my way to the kitchen.
Binx is already there, meowing for his breakfast. “Good morning, sweet boy,” I say, cracking open a can of his favorite cat food for him.
I place it on the floor next to his water bowl, grab my sweater from the back of the chair, slip it on, and move to sit on the couch.
My phone sits on my coffee table, and I pick it up, intending to doomscroll to start my day, when I see my inbox is filled with nasty messages from different people telling me to stay away from Wolfy, to keep BookTok and MaskTok separate, and that I’m a horrible writer.
There are hundreds of them, and I can’t help but read them.
I check the tea pages, and so many of them have created their own narratives or rumors about what’s really going on between Wolfy and me.
Some have said this is all publicity for my book, which, duh, of course it is, but they make it seem as if I have malicious intent beyond just selling my books, as if I’m here to steal their precious creator from them, like I’m some kind of MaskTok succubus.
I’m going to have to make a video today to explain everything and end my hiatus, but I don’t know how to do that with Dante here.
I haven’t told him about my online presence, nor have I told him I’m planning to meet a strange man in a week to create content for it.
The thought makes me nervous, but I’m sure once I explain everything, he will be okay with it.
But I still have that nagging voice in the back of my mind that tells me differently.
“Luna?” Dante’s voice breaks my train of thought, and I turn to find him standing in my bedroom doorway.
“Good morning,” I say, trying to force a smile. “Would you like me to make you some coffee?”
“What’s wrong?” Dante asks, his brows furrowed, disregarding my question.
“Nothing–I, well, I need to talk to you about something,” I say, dropping my phone into my lap.
Here goes nothing.
Dante sits next to me, pulling my legs into his lap as he’s done many times this week, and it settles my nerves.
“I told you that I write books for a living, but what I haven’t told you is that I gained success in my author career from having an online presence on an app called VidTok.
Have you heard of VidTok?” Dante shakes his head and starts rubbing my foot.
“Well, it’s a place where people share videos online of things they like, or they join communities in the app, and I have a decent following in the BookTok community on VidTok. ”
“So you post videos about your books and people read them?”
“Yes, that’s how it started for me. But recently, an opportunity has come up, and I wanted to get your opinion on it.
” Dante nods again, and it makes me happy to see him actually listening to me.
“There’s another creator on the app, he’s called Wolfy by his fans, and he has reached out to me to do a collab.
He would like to meet in person to help create content for my book.
I’ll be dressed as my main character, Vera, and he will be dressed as my male main character, Liam, and I assume we’ll record videos in character.
I’ve never done this before, so it’s new to me, but I also wanted to ask you if you’d go… with me.”
Dante's hands still on my foot. He looks at me and nods, “Of course. I would love to go with you, especially if you’re meeting someone you’ve never met.”
I stare at him, waiting for him to say something about VidTok, but he doesn’t. “You don’t care that I post videos on the internet?”
Dante shakes his head, smiling at me. “No, Luna. Why would I? How you run your business is none of mine. Like I’ve said before, you’ve built a beautiful life for yourself. I am in awe of, and a bit envious of, your tenacity for life. I’m glad you told me.”
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding, and the tension in my body releases.
“Being online is a bit hectic at times, like right now, everyone thinks Wolfy and I are dating, and I’m trying to steal him from them.
It’s not true, obviously, but they don’t know that, and he left a comment under one of mine that has fueled a bunch of those rumors, but I think he’s a bit oblivious to what his following does because he has so many of them. ”
“You should send him a message, tell him to correct that. If he doesn’t, then you won’t meet with him.
You don’t deserve disrespect of any kind, no matter how many followers this guy has.
Rumors take a life of their own, so he should consider that the next time he leaves a comment.
” Dante continues rubbing my foot. “Are you sure you want to meet him?”
“I do. I think it will be good for my business, and my followers would love it. I’m glad you’ll be there with me, though. I feel much better about going now.”
“Good, but speaking about going, I got a message from my boss, and I’m needed on call today, so I have to head back to my apartment.
But I wanted to discuss something with you, too.
” I sit up, giving him my full attention.
“I want to take you away this weekend. I have an entire weekend planned for us, but I want to surprise you. I’ve already talked to Olivia about it, and she’s already given the go-ahead, but is sworn to secrecy, so don’t think about texting her. ”
I bite my lip, trying to contain my joy. “What’s the occasion? Is it your birthday or something?”
Dante laughs as he stops rubbing my foot and his hand finds mine, bringing it to his lips.
He leaves a small kiss on my knuckles and looks me in the eyes.
“I know this week has been unexpected for both of us, and if I can be honest with you, I don’t want it to stop, but I know titles are important to you, and what we have right now is unlabeled, so I want to take you away to show you what dating me would look like for real.
As much as I would like to spend forever here with you, but I don’t want to intrude on your space any more than I have without having the title of being your boyfriend. ”
“Oh, Dante.” My heart swells, the sting of tears pricking my eyes. I blink, take a deep breath, and rein in my emotions. “When do we leave?”
Dante smiles, dropping my hand and leaning in closer to me, “Tomorrow morning. Be ready by six.”
“Six? In the morning? The sun is barely up at that time,” I groan.
Dante captures my chin, pulling me in for a kiss. “Trust me, you’ll want to see what I have planned.” I hum my consent, and Dante pulls me in for another kiss. “I can be late for work, too.”
I giggle against his lips, pulling away. “No, you should go. I’ve kept you locked away this week, and I’m sure you’re needed as the top cyber securer.”
Dante laughs. “I’ll get dressed then, and head out. Don’t forget to eat breakfast since I’m sure you haven’t eaten yet. You can’t write on an empty stomach.” He gives me a wink and gets up, walking to my bedroom.
I can’t believe this is my life. I bite my thumb to keep myself from squealing, because what do you mean he planned a getaway weekend for me? For me? These kinds of things don’t happen to me, but it’s happening right in front of me!
I calm myself and get up from the couch to grab my robe.
I bump into Dante on the way into my room, and he catches my arms, pinning me against my bedroom wall.
He kisses my neck, and I let out a breathy moan.
Dante pulls back, looking me in the eyes.
His green eyes search mine, and I see his gaze flick back to my lips.
“Be a good girl for me while I’m gone. Write your book, drink your water, and pack your bag for the weekend, okay?
Pack warmly, and bring comfortable shoes.
I’ll see you in the morning, okay, angel? ”
I nod, and Dante smiles, “That’s my good girl.
” He kisses me softly, and it takes my breath away.
He lets go of my face, his fingers trailing down my arm, holding my hand, and I follow him to the front door.
He grabs his bag, shuffling it on his shoulder, and opens the door.
I lean against the frame as I watch him walk down the stairs until I can’t see him anymore.
I shut the door behind me, and I feel like I’m on cloud nine. Everything is falling into place as it should, and I don’t have anything to be afraid of.
The sound of a VidTok notification breaks my happy moment when I realize I have to confront the internet today—the terrifying, ruthless internet that currently hates me because they think I’m taking their man meat.
It’s fine. I can do this. I’m putting on my big girl panties, and I’ll set everyone straight.
I grab my phone and open VidTok, scrolling through my messages to get to Wolfy:
I toss my phone onto my bed on the way to my closet, putting on sweatpants and a black long-sleeve shirt to film this video. I’m not trying to look cute this time, going to show up as my authentic, raw self, no cuts or edits.
I head to my bathroom and rake my brush through my hair, twisting it up into a clip.
My eyes have dark circles around them, from the lack of sleep I’ve been getting lately, but I’m not complaining; nothing a little concealer can’t fix.
I dab a few dots under my eyes, blending them out with my finger, and add a little mascara to wake them up.
I head back to my room, turn on my ring light, and set up my filming spot. I pick up my phone from my bed and see a new message on VidTok:
With that out of the way, I can film my video now.
I slide my phone into the mount, open the camera, and hit record, “Hey Vixxens, and welcome new followers from MaskTok! What an interesting week it’s been.
Firstly, I‘ll address the elephant in the room, which is Wolfy. How amazing is his cosplay? It’s so spot on, and exactly how I picture Detective Liam Moore while writing the book.
And while that's exciting, there have been some rumors going around recently, and it’s made people less kind in my inbox.
I would like to remind everyone that I am human.
I did not force your favorite content creator to do a book-character cosplay; he did it of his own accord because he is a fan of my books.
I did not reach out to him; I’m not paying him either, even though I offered after he posted the first video, but he declined.
This was such a weird drama to see unfold over the last week on my hiatus, but I’ve come back on here today to say that no one on BookTok knows who I really am, except for Olivia, or as most of you know her, LivLovesCliterature.
She’s the only one who will be giving statements on my behalf, not tea-pages or drama channels.
So let this video be a reminder to be kind and not attack someone you don’t know.
Secondly, I would like to announce that Wolfy and I have been in touch, and we will be working on content together, cosplaying as Vera and Liam.
This is all professional, strictly business for both of us, and we would appreciate it if you all kept it that way.
I’m unsure of when the videos will be done, or if we will even get good shots, because I’m a terrible actress, but I’m doing it for you guys, my Vixxens.
But anyway, thank you to everyone who has come to my defense this week.
I see you, and I love you. And I hope you’ll all love the Vera and Liam content coming your way in the near future!
” I hit stop, and post the video with no caption or hashtags, the algorithm will send it off where it needs to go.
I watch the video finish uploading, and then I close out of the app, determined not to look at my phone until later today.
I sent Olivia a text letting her know I'd posted a video, but I would be off my phone for the rest of the day to work on book three. “Now that that’s over with, back to a more pressing matter, my book."
It’s late at night; my laptop clock says it’s almost eleven. I stretch, rubbing the dryness out of my eyes from staring at my screen too long.
Binx is curled up contentedly in my lap, and I hate to move him when he’s being so sweet, but my legs are asleep. “Come on, on the bed you go,” I say, shifting him to his pillow. He grumbles softly, letting me know he's unhappy but too tired to care.
I close my laptop and head to my closet to find my overnight bag.
I find it in the back, unzip it, take it out of my closet, and place it on my bed.
It’s only a weekend trip, so I shouldn’t go overboard with the clothes, and Dante said I should dress comfortably. I think four outfits should be enough.
I return to my closet when I hear my phone ding. I pull my phone from my pocket and see that Olivia messaged me:
I don’t even bother asking her where he’s taking me; Dante already told me she wouldn’t tell me. Before I put my phone away, I open VidTok and send a message to Wolfy:
I send him another message saying how he can’t control his fans, but I'm glad he didn’t hate me for bringing it up, and regarding the meetup that I’ll be bringing Dante. I call him my boyfriend in the message to set a clear boundary.
The message says "read," it’s been a few minutes, and he hasn’t responded yet. I hope he’s not put off by me bringing Dante. A few more minutes go by, and he still hasn’t responded. I bite on my nail, watching the message, until I see the bubbles appear that indicate he’s typing:
Oh, thank fuck, I thought he was about to turn into a horny creep. My anxiety wave finally crashes, and I feel like a weight has been lifted.
I exit the app, slip my phone back into my pocket, and get to work on packing my clothes.