Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
“Our channel makes good money, that’s why it’s hard to let it go,” I explain.
“Oh? Do you want to let it go? I remember you saying you don’t plan to do it forever.”
A waiter brings in an amuse-bouche, telling us they’re caviar and crème fraîche tartlets, before leaving us alone again.
“Here’s another first for me,” Stella says when she raises one of the bites to her lips. After she tastes it and her nose crinkles, she says, “And maybe a last. I don’t think caviar is my thing.”
“Did you know that female sturgeons, who produce caviar, can live up to 150 years?” I say.
“Sure, Cam, everyone knows that,” Wyatt says, and Stella giggles.
She takes a sip of wine, probably to wash away the fish flavor, then asks us, “Why, if you can afford meals like this, do you live in such a modest neighborhood?”
“We like meeting women over our back fence,” Wyatt says.
“We like the neighborhood,” I tell her, “and we wanted to focus on building up our savings accounts and investing the money we earned.”
She nods, looking impressed, then asks, “How did you get into the work you do?”
“We started out making videos to appeal to all ages. Family-friendly stuff was our original intention,” Wyatt tells her.
“But we didn’t have much of a plan or a solid direction for our channel,” I say. “In one of our reels, Wyatt’s arms were prominent, and that caught the attention of female fans. Because our channel wasn’t growing as quickly as we wanted, we decided to lean into the female fanbase. We started subtly showing more muscle—”
“And then less subtly,” Wyatt adds.
“Eventually, it became all about that,” I explain, “though we wanted to keep ourselves entertained while we were doing it, and stand apart from all the guys making workout videos and doing pull-ups, so we kept building fun things and setting up oddball challenges.”
“But we’re making plans to leave all the thirst trap stuff behind,” Wyatt says. “We’re planning to transition back to the family-friendly content we originally intended.”
“I think kids would really enjoy watching the type of stunts and games you do,” Stella says.
I fish in the bread basket and pull out a roll. “That’s the goal, but we need to find a different audience, so the comments section stays family-friendly, too.”
The knowing and somewhat uneasy look on Stella’s face tells me that she’s read the comments.
“So, if all goes well, it’ll be little kids swarming you when you’re out, rather than women? You’ll have to wear disguises when you go to Disneyland.”
“We’ll be lucky if we can get a new channel to catch on. That's why it’s risky to make the change,” I say.
“I think you should do whatever you feel you’d like best, because I’m sure you’ll succeed in any direction you set your mind to. I know one kid who loves you, as you can probably tell.”
“That’s nice to hear,” I tell her.
I like that Stella’s not making the type of work we do a condition of our relationship. It seems that even if we keep doing what we’re doing, she’d be okay with it, but I don’t want to keep up the same work.
My heart’s definitely not in it anymore, and I don’t think Wyatt’s ever was. Even though we’re incredibly grateful to our followers, we hate looking at some of the viewer comments, and we definitely don’t want strange women continuing to show up at our door.
The food arrives, and Stella seems to enjoy it much more than the bite of caviar. “Have you been here before?” she asks after she’s a few bites into her pork loin.
“No,” Wyatt says, “but we heard it was a great place for a special date.”
Her brows lift. “Oh, is this date special?”
“Every date with you is special,” I tell her.
“We just wanted to do something nice with you,” Wyatt says, “to let you know we’re not all about amusement parks and games.”
I reach for her hand. “And we wanted to take the opportunity to say that we understand you may want to take things slow, and we know that being open about our relationship with your daughter is a big step, but we’re ready for that whenever you are.”
“No pressure,” Wyatt says, “but we’re all in, and we want you to know it.”
CHAPTER 47
STELLA
The night still feels like a fantasy, even though these men are so very real as they feed me bites of food, kiss me between bites, and touch my knee under the table.
This date isn’t like any date I’ve ever imagined having. Truth be told, I’m more comfortable walking the beach or playing games with them, but it’s quite impressive how smoothly they slide into this world, too. While I found myself wondering which utensil to use for the fancy courses of food that have been brought in, the men seem completely at ease.