best counter
Search
Report & Feedback

Chapter no 9

Kiss the Sky

CONNOR COBALT

When we climb up the stairs to the main level, I find Rose and Daisy talking in hushed tones near the fireplace mantel. Daisy shifts her body to block the camera, sidestepping every single time Ben tries to get a shot of Rose.

I rub my lips as I study my girlfriend. She holds in a breath, her neck stiff as she listens to her sister.

And she actually wears pants, dressed in a Calloway Couture black sweater and a different brandโ€™s skinny jeans. Sheโ€™s afraid of flashing the cameras, and sheโ€™s expressed, more than once, that the only dances she knows are from cotillion. The waltz and foxtrot.

Grinding is out of her repertoire.

Lily suddenly appears and slams her fist into Loโ€™s shoulder. He mock cringes. โ€œOw, what the hell was that for?โ€

โ€œFor making this stupid bet,โ€ Lily hisses, lowering her voice as Brett zooms in on her, a boom mic attached to his steadicam. But it doesnโ€™t matter if he captures her words or not. Weโ€™re all wearing microphones thatโ€™ll pick up her voice. And the house is littered with sound equipment.

Scott sits on the leather couch. His eyes meet mine, and he plasters on a smug smile.

I hide everything in my featuresโ€”especially the anger that threatens to surface.

โ€œWhat is Daisy doing?โ€ Ryke asks.

Lily holds onto Lorenโ€™s hand. โ€œGiving Rose advice.โ€

Rykeโ€™s brows furrow. โ€œYouโ€™re the fucking sex addict. Shouldnโ€™t you be giving the advice?โ€

โ€œHey,โ€ Lo warns with a glare.

He extends his arms. โ€œItโ€™s an honest question.โ€ โ€œItโ€™s also rude.โ€

โ€œIโ€™ll ask nicely then.โ€ He looks back at Lily. โ€œYouโ€™re clearly more experienced than your little sister. So why the fuck arenโ€™t you instructing Rose?โ€

Lo shakes his head. โ€œPathetic.โ€ โ€œThatโ€™s the best I have.โ€

Lily touches her chest. โ€œI like club dancing, but Iโ€™ve never personally given a lap dance.โ€

โ€œAnd Daisy has?โ€ Ryke asks in disbelief.

โ€œShe said she did it once.โ€ Lily relaxes against Loโ€™s chest, and he holds her close.

Ryke lets out an angry breath. โ€œYou do realize that ninety-percent of a lap dance is basically the same thing as when a girl fucks on top? You

know,ย ridingย the guy.โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t think Rose wants to take the lap dance to that level on camera.โ€

Our talk is cut off by a scraping noise. I watch Scott drag a dining chair into the living room, the legs scratching the hardwood.

When he places it in the center, he taps the frame of the chair. โ€œTake a seat, Connor.โ€

I donโ€™t take kindly to orders unless thereโ€™s a greater benefit for me. And in this instance, thereโ€™s none.

All eyes and cameras hit me, waiting for my reaction, wondering, quietly, if Iโ€™ll adhere to Scott Van Wrightโ€™s simple request. Rose stands

impeccably straight, her bones hardened and stiff. All I see is fear, something that I desperately want to take away.

I stare right at Scott and break the strained silence with a few words. โ€œTake a seat, Rose.โ€ My gaze never leaves Scott, not even as the humor abandons his eyes.

โ€œThat wasnโ€™t the bet,โ€ Scott says. โ€œIโ€™m amending the terms.โ€

Roseโ€™s heels clap against the hardwood as she struts to the chair. She sits down with her shoulders pulled back and her ankles crossed as if she just took her fucking throne.

My body heats just watching her.

I redirect my attention to Lo, who has his arms splayed over Lilyโ€™s shoulders. โ€œYouโ€™re still going to see a lap dance. You okay with that?โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s all I want.โ€

โ€œWait.โ€ Daisy holds up her hands and then points at me. โ€œYouโ€™reย giving Rose a lap dance?โ€

โ€œYes.โ€ I untuck my black button-down from my slacks.

She smiles brightly. โ€œOkay, we have to record this.โ€ She turns as if sheโ€™s going to get a camera, and her elbow knocks into Savannahโ€™s Canon Rebel. โ€œOhโ€ฆrightโ€ฆnever mind.โ€ Only Daisy, a girl whoโ€™s swarmed by

photographers for her job, would momentarily forget that weโ€™re all being filmed.

โ€œThis I have to fucking see,โ€ Ryke says, settling on the couch next to Scott. Everyone takes seats, ready for the show.

But I lock eyes only with Rose as I approach her. She white-knuckles the side of the wooden chair, afraid and anxious and aroused.

She trails my body as I unbutton my shirt, and her breathing deepens. The unknown is frightening for her.

But it can be the wildest, most tempestuous out-of-body experience sheโ€™ll ever have.

Get ready, darling. This may spin your head.

You'll Also Like