“What?”
“Is this for real?” She’s still staring at her phone. “It says you guys have 412 million subscribers.”
“I didn’t realize it had gotten that high. I don’t know much about it, other than it’s less than Mr. Beast, and the only reason I know that is Elsie isn’t happy about it. She’s very competitive that way.”
Blondie’s gaze flicks to mine. This is the part where I usually see stars in a girl’s eyes like I’m some sort of prize they could win if they’re willing to abandon all self-respect. The thingswomen have whispered in my ear would make a porn star blush. I hate that, if for no other reason than it’s disingenuous. They’re not interested in me. They’re interested in an imaginary lifestyle that includes shopping sprees with no-limit credit cards, luxury travel in private jets, and an over-the-top yacht the size of a small city. If they knew anything about me, they’d know I’m not about any of that. My yacht is a kayak I built myself.
But fortunately, it’s not what I’m seeing in her. If anything, there’s a look of amusement in her eyes as she says, “You didn’t realize? Something tells me you’re the kind of guy who’s oblivious to what’s going on around him.”
I’m not sure what to make of that. I mean, when it comes to things like the business and how many subscribers our channel has, yeah, I don’t really care. My focus is elsewhere, but I’m not sure I would call it oblivious. Then again, what else would you call it? Maybe she’s right, maybe I am willfully oblivious. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Not necessarily.”
The warmest smile in her eyes ignites an odd feeling in my chest. She’s so, I don’t know, different—cute beyond words, sassy, fun, easy to talk to, and smart. I want to know everything about her.
But I know better.
I’d only end up hurting her.
CHAPTER9
Riggs
Now would be a good time to call it a day and walk Blondie back to the lodge where I say goodbye and wish her the best. That’s what I should do. So why don’t I?
She’s looking down at her phone, and out of the corner of my eye I can see that she’s scrolling through our channel. “The number of views is insane.”
“Are they?” I really haven’t paid any attention to them.
She stops and stares at her screen for a moment. “Is that an arrow through your leg? Wait, this video has over three hundred million views! What happened?”
I almost laugh at the memory of it, although it wasn’t funny at the time. “That was a hell of a trip. We spent two months in Tanzania with a local tribe. And in case you don’t know where that is, it’s a small country just below the Equator in East Africa. Anyway, it was the middle of the night and—”
She throws her hand up with, “Don’t tell me, you’ll ruin it.” Then she taps her screen, and music starts to play.
I try to crane a look, but I can’t seewhat’s happening from here. “There’s music? What’s that about?”
She taps her phone again to stop the video then turns to me like she’s trying to decide if I was born this dumb or if I suffered some sort of head trauma. “You haven’t watched your own video?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Hmm, good question. Why haven’t I? “I’m not sure. Ash and I haven’t watched any of the videos. I guess it’s never made sense, since, you know, we were there.”
“Yeah, but aren’t you curious to see what they’re like after all the editing?”
She has a good point. “You would think so. I’m curious now.”
Delight flashes in her eyes as she tilts her phone so we can both see it. “About time, don’t you think?”
I give her a nod and lean in for a better view.
But before she restarts the video, she brushes a loose strand of hair out of her face and slides it over her ear. It’s the second time she’s done that. It’s a simple act and one that I shouldn’t have even noticed, but somehow, it’s sexy as fuck, just like her perfectly heart-shaped lips when they part slightly while she’s scrolling on her phone. I kind of wish I was sitting closer. Hell, right now I’m wishing for a lot of things, and not all of them are the kind of wishes you’d tell your mother about.
“I can’t believe this is your first time,” she says with another tap to start it playing.
The music is a short intro that lasts no more than a few seconds. Words on the screen indicate this is episode four of a ten-episode series called “Tanzania.” Elsie always makes aseries out of each location we go to.
