Lily is mainly focused on me, mutually ignoring Ryke, and in seconds, she accidentally rams into his bare chest. When she raises her head, she absorbs his shirtless, toned body, realizing he’s only in his underwear. She glances at her own sparse attire.
Really, I’m the only one properly dressed. I’m never surprised.
A deep shade of red blemishes her cheeks. “Ohmygod.” This time, she sounds mortified. “Why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”
“Animals generally don’t wear them,” I answer first.
Ryke flips me off casually, about the same moment that Daisy shoots up in alarm, incognizant of her new surroundings. Ryke hurriedly squats in front of his girlfriend, hands on her face so she focuses on something familiar.
“Oh shit.” Lily hesitates to rush to her sister’s aid, afraid to worsen the situation. I can read her guilt at the sight of Daisy’s distress and confusion, sweat beading her little sister’s forehead.
“Dais,” Ryke whispers. “You’re in our kitchen. Nothing bad fucking happened, I promise.”
Daisy blinks repeatedly, trying to listen instead of falling into a panic attack.
I place my palm on Lily’s back, directing her to the living room. She almost stumbles over her feet, in a slight fog.
“He’ll orient Daisy,” I say. “We don’t know what happened, but he does.” I’d rather Lily believe that someone else is on her side, no one casting blame her way for this small event.
Lily nods a couple times, focusing on the door ahead of us. “That’s a good idea.” She licks her chapped lips. “We shouldn’t overwhelm her.”
When we enter the living room, I shut the door behind us, no coffees with me. Living with two other couples has made life far from predictable. I can’t complain.
“Umm…” Lily puts a couple steps between us. She tugs at the hem of her sweatshirt, her thin legs pressed together, maybe out of habit more than arousal. She’s a sex addict, but very rarely has she ever admitted or been turned on by me.
I already know she’s here about the article since I’ve been waiting for it to publish. If Rose and I are going to handle this alone, Lily can’t be aware of this fact. “I’ve already put the Team Raisy sticker on my limo,” I tell her. She’s been on a Raisy crusade for the past year, in support of Ryke’s relationship with Daisy, just as we all are. Lo too. The public is more pro-Raisy than it used to be. Daisy getting older has helped.
“It’s not about the Raisy ship, but thank you.” She nods in appreciation and then pushes the tablet in my chest. “Just to be clear, I was online shopping for Black Friday deals, not actively snooping on the Celebrity Crush website. But I think you should see this before Rose does.”
I’m positive Rose has already seen the article and reread it a dozen times by now. I wear a blank expression and skim the screen, opened on People who reposted the original article. I click on the link that takes me to Celebrity Crush.
The headline: EXCLUSIVE! Connor Cobalt Caught Going Down on Rose Calloway in Public
My jaw muscles twitch. They used her maiden name. I understand she was famous before she married me, but I take pleasure knowing she’s Rose Cobalt because she chose it. What they published is inaccurate.
I purposefully let my irritation filter through. Rose and I already discussed what we’d say in defense of the night. I have to seem disgruntled, shocked, and briefly alarmed. All the normal sentiments that’d accompany this out-of-character situation.
“You look upset,” Lily notes. “Is it real? Not that I’m judging.” She raises her hands. “I’ve been there before, plenty of times, but never photographed…” Her eyes light up at the thought that Rose and I have somehow trumped her sexual escapades by a fraction. “This is strange.”
“The part where I went down on my wife or where I did it in public?” I ask easily.
Lily’s cheeks flush even more. “Uhh…both? No wait. That’s not the right answer, is it?”
I smile. “There is no wrong answer. It’s an opinion, but I like hearing yours.”
She relaxes and points to the tablet. “Have you read it yet?”
I shake my head, focusing on the photograph at first. They captured Rose at her climax, eyes closed, lips parted, and my hand clutching her neck. Her long legs extend out of frame, but you can see my head in between them, her panties on the dashboard. That’s all. Shadows and darkness conceal the majority of her features, enough to question the validity of the photo. As Lily just did.
The photographer is credited in small font beneath: Walter Aimes.
I read portions of the staff writer’s article, passing over the facts and concentrating on the opinions she’s constructed. With already four sex tapes released, it seems like Connor and Rose are trying to top the most notorious, sexual celebrity couple: Loren Hale & Lily Calloway.
Could this be a LiLo-Coballoway feud? It’s likely! An inside source of the family told Celebrity Crush, “Both sisters have newborn babies and they’re basically fighting over popularity in the media.”
As they battle for “favorite” among the fans, we’re expecting more scandalous photos, wild nights, and shocking events from the Calloway sisters and their men. Keep your eyes peeled!
That’s how they’re twisting this then.
“Soooo…” Lily draws out the word. “I know this is kind of awkward—”
“I don’t find it awkward,” I say, passing her tablet back.
She hugs the tablet to her chest and squints at me, possibly trying to narrow her eyes to no avail. “Is that a nerd star power?”
I understand almost everyone, but Lily and Lo throw out references that I have trouble recognizing. “I don’t know fandom references,” I remind her.
Her eyes grow big and she looks over her shoulder like someone spoke for her. And then she clears her throat and pulls back her shoulders, appearing half-an-inch taller. “I didn’t mean to say that. What I meant to say was, how can you not feel the awkwardness from this?” She raises her tablet. “I’d be embarrassed. Rose may be embarrassed, and I’m worried about her reaction when she reads the article.”
“She won’t be embarrassed. She’ll be pissed,” I say. “And I’ve personally never been embarrassed in my life. I won’t start now.”
Her lips almost form those same words: nerd star power. And they think I’m weird.
“I’m overly confident. Some call that arrogance. I call it four parts charm and six parts self-respect. I’m under the belief, and truth, that I’m superior to everyone and all things around me. Now, how can plankton make a shark embarrassed of itself? The correct answer is: it can’t.”
Lily squints more, reading into my words.
“Don’t fucking call her plankton,” Ryke retorts behind me.
I turn sideways, noticing Ryke’s arm wrapped around Daisy as she sips a Ziff: River Rush sports drink. “Don’t worry, I didn’t leave you out,” I say. “I called everyone plankton, including you and you.”
Ryke looks like he wants to punch me, probably for now calling Daisy a microscopic organism. He should be elated that he’s the same organism as his girlfriend.
“Except Rose, right?” Daisy says with a smile, more color to her skin.