Page 82 of Never Forget

To his credit, Cory doesn’t show any annoyance over having to repeat himself. “There’s been another privacy breach,” he says. His careful tone gives away the next part of the sentence before he says it. “This time it involves you.”

I’m not sure how to feel about that. Part of me is relieved it isn’t one of the other guys, who have already been through so much. Jesse and Ari, especially. They’ve been shredded by the media and tabloids, their personal histories and morality questioned.

Despite the tone of Cory’s voice, I’m not as worried as I should be. I don’t have nude photos or sex tapes floating around anywhere, and the few hookups I’ve had were all pleasant, consensual, good experiences that took place well over a year ago.

Whatever it is can’t be that bad. Unless it’s falsified. That would be painful to deal with, but we could eventually prove the lies just as we did with Ari’s past, and the news cycle would move on.

“Specifically, it involves both of you.”

That gets my attention. “Both of us?”

The press, tabloids, and fans are all pretty obsessed with ‘shipping’ me and Scott, even though there’s never been any acknowledgement or proof to confirm the rumors. The first article about it was clearly meant to paint our alleged relationship negatively, but fans loved the idea so much, it did nothing to discredit us. Now it’s just a silly news item that no one takes seriously.

“A recording of the two of you was leaked to all the major news sites and tabloids. We got the alert around seven this evening.”

“Shit.” Scott starts pacing, dragging his hands through his hair.

I’m by his side in an instant, pulling his hands down and getting in his face so he’ll look at me. “Hey. It’s okay,” I tell him. “Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad. It’s probably bullshit, and it’ll blow over.”

“It’s not great,” Cory says flatly. However much he might feel sorry for me and the rest of the guys for what we’ve been through, it’s clear that he doesn’t extend that same compassion towards his employee.

I know what he’s thinking by the way he’s looking at Scott. This is potentially another black mark on his record. An employee he hired and vouched for has now found himself in hot water for the third time, fourth if you count the initial discovery that Scott and I were sleeping together. Neither of us disclosed it because it wasn’t serious, and in my mind it kind of felt like another dynamic of his protective service.

Okay, that makes it sound like I’m paying Scott to have sex with me. Obviously, that’s not it. But the dynamic between us wasn’t romantic. It was Scott taking care of me in a different way, getting me out of my head so I could relax when things got too heavy.

It’s sexual in nature, yes. We both get off. Regularly. But it’s not really the point, and I am almost positive Scott would do it even if it wasn’t sexual. It just so happens that Scott’s way of getting me out of my head also makes my dick hard. And so does the humiliation of him making me do degrading things to earn the privilege of getting off.

But that’s not the point. And it’s not anyone’s business.

“Not helping,” I tell Cory.

Shrugging, Cory takes a seat in an armchair and crosses his arms. “I’m just telling it like it is. This doesn’t look good for any of you. The label is pissed.”

“Good thing Blake fired me then,” Scott deadpans, pulling away from me gently. He squeezes my forearm reassuringly before walking over to sit on the couch to face Cory. I follow and take the seat next to him, close enough to let them both know I’m on his side, but not close enough to give the impression that I’m too attached.

Because I’m not. Maybe the lines and boundaries we initially had in place for this arrangement are blurring some, but it’s not like my world revolves around him. We aren’t a couple.

He told Blake he’d fallen in love with me.

Trying not to be too obvious, I scoot an inch to the left, putting a little more space between us. Then, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees, I look at Cory.

“So what’s the damage?”

Cory is silent for a moment, probably thinking about how to break this news. However unimpressed or upset with Scott he is, Cory is a nice guy who cares a lot about his duty and the people he protects. He’s had to watch his main charge fall apart under the scrutiny of strangers that almost ruined him. And then he had to face not one, but two seemingly credible attacks on Jesse’s life.

Even if we know now that the bomb was missing several components needed to make it legitimate, that doesn’t take away the fear we felt when it was discovered. Maybe the drones with the fireworks were only meant to scare us, but they proved our information wasn’t secure and caused an accident that could have been much worse.

Ever since Jesse got out of rehab and the band had a resurgence of popularity, the attacks have been never-ending. At first, it was political backlash against us for speaking out about the awful things happening in our country. The harder the conservative talking heads and politicians tried to put us down, the louder we got, and the more personal the attacks became. They’ve tried to tear us apart from the inside, and once or twice it almost seemed like it was working, but we keep coming back stronger.

They targeted Jesse and his relationship with Luc, then turned the spotlight on Ari and Will. My life hasn’t become a target because I don’t have anything they can use. My background isn’t exciting, and other than the band, I don’t have many personal connections. There isn’t anything they can use to hurt me.

Except, it seems, my pride.

Because when Cory sets his phone on the coffee table and opens a browser to show the multiple articles, videos, and posts about the newest leak exposing the members of Lest Is Moore, I hear it.

“Come on now, pet. Let me hear you beg some more.”

“Fuck. Scott… Mmmphh.”