I have to work to tune out how good Tiana's feeling, even from this distance, and focus in on my "job". It's not me hauling things with Rax. I haven't even left my apartment.

I'm staring down the barrel of a lens, hoping inspiration will hit.

Because today is the first day that I'm gonna vlog.

It's the first day that I'm going to be a 'personality'. The way that #Kiana took off meant the interest in 'me' as a brand skyrocketed. Any day now, I'm going to have 100,000 followers. It's way too much.

And I don't know how to get my jaw to move. It just sits there.

Because I'm fucking terrified of saying the wrong thing.

Most people are going to see this and think that I'm speaking for everyone like me. That's the appeal, right? And that's not okay, but it's why I have a platform.

Well, that and because a bunch of horny lesbians want me and Tiana to fuck.

I check in again and Tiana's feeling nothing but mindless bliss and wave after wave of pleasure... Which means that Lis must be doing something really right. Now, more than ever, I wish that one time I casted teleport was more than a fluke from a mortally wounded woman on the run.

I look to the camera.

My tail twitches, hungry and wanting.

Maybe, perhaps, my first video can wait for a few minutes.

I stop trying to tune out the sensations I'm feeling from Tiana and Lis, and let it overtake me. Normally, I'm not one for masochism.

Feeling it radiate off Tiana, I reconsider.

She's so good at taking it that briefly I think I want that, too. Soon enough, I'm rubbing my tip and shuddering as I feel Tiana's orgasm building.

I let every touch, every caress that carries across our bond paint the vivid picture: Lis on top, thrusting into Tiana.

Ragged moans and claws dug in.

Fuck, it's so hot. As the heat grows, my inhibitions recede and fantasies of what I could do dance through my mind.

If I was there, I'd take her most of the way while Lis continued to fuck her cunt. I fantasize about what I could do if I pumped my Decay into her brain...

And I cum.

Hard.

My Decay spatters over the towel I laid out. Ggod, so much and I feel so...

Perfect.

Complete.

Weightless.

It's not just me, either. All those miles away, Tiana's feeling just as floaty. We're just as connected.

I'm so happy she's happy. After everything with Lis' mention of OCD, she's been...

Well, she's been going through a lot.

And part of that is the forceful waves of denial that I feel, shoving away and crowding out any positive emotions that might counteract it.

All of it centered around that damn dark thing at the core of her.

I wish I could solve it.

I wish I could fix it.

As the afterglow fades, and all I'm left with are faint echoes of Tiana's emotions, I realize what I just got off to — and my stomach goes into freefall.

How could I want that?

Even if I'm into doing a lot of things that would absolutely destroy what public credibility I have, I can't want THAT.

It's wrong.

I'd be violating whatever part of her is the most sacrosanct thing she has to offer.

And for what?

She's not broken. She's not something I'm supposed to fix.

I know that.

Really, I know that. And I know that I'm not to blame for any of this, but I can't help feel some guilt.

But I can't do anything about it except clean off the towel as best I can, take a shower, and focus.

It's just as I'm finished washing that my phone buzzes with a text message.

Jessica (Agent): Hello my lovely client. Give me a call when you get a chance?

I sigh. This can't be good news.

Regardless, it's better than worrying about whatever that hell made me get off to THAT, so I give her a call.

"I have good news!" Jessica's voice is always bright and cheerful, and I'm a bit taken aback.

"You... Do...?" I prod, cautiously.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Nobody ever calls with good news."

"Kam, I'm only going to say this once, and I mean no disrespect to whoever's in your circle, but you really gotta meet some more positive people, okay?"

She says it with just enough tease that I don't register it as a dig. Instead, I laugh. "Okay, yeah. Sure. What's up?"

"So, the commercial..."

"Right, yeah..."

Jessica pauses. "What's with that tone?"

"I just... Are you sure that people would want... me?"

"Yes. Anyway, we're all booked. It's going to be a luxury brand. Alicia squared everything away."

"What brand?"

"Alchemilla Lingerie."

I grip the phone tight. "So it is bad news."

"It doesn't have to b—"

"Their CEO wanted to lock up Rax. Wants to lock me up. She said if she could get away with it, she'd put me and every single person like me in a sweatshop. No. Hell no."

"I can tell them that you're not going to be there."

"You should do just that." I hang up the phone.

Annoyed, I head back to my bedroom to change.

And that's when I see the camera on the stand. The one Jessica got sent over. I turn it on and hit record.

"I just turned down a brand deal. Its life-changing money for me, but I said no."

I keep going. By the time I'm done, hours have passed.

Still simmering, I pop out the SD card and follow the tutorial Jessica sent about how to get the footage off it.

It takes me hours after that to figure out how to do the most basic edits. I can tell it's sloppy. I don't know if anyone will care.

And maybe I'm burning it all down... but I post it.

I pace back and forth, scared and worried and bouncing between nobody caring and the fear of what happens when a big corporation sues your ass.

Then I feel something else. Pride. Not my own, but someone else's. Distant.

And then my phone buzzes.

T: You're amazing, you know that?

I almost cry.

Instead, I type back.

K: I love you so much
T: Love you, too <3
T: What did Jessica say when you showed it to her?
K: Uhhhhh...

My phone rings.

Its Jessica.

Maybe a life of soul-crushing debt from angering a bigot will be a character growth moment for me.

I slide to pick up the call.

"Hey," Jessica says.

"Hey. I'm sorry. I was just so pissed off and, like... I know I'm your first client and I don't want to fuck up things between you and Alicia or get Tiana into any trouble, but Alchemilla's just the fucking worst and I—"

"Kam." Jessica's voice is firm, but not stern.

"Yeah?"

"Take like... A half-dozen deep breaths."

"I—"

"Ah, ah, ah. C'mon. In through the nose..."

I follow her instructions.

"Good. Do me a favor?"

"Okay."

"Go to the video."

I do as she asks.

"What am I looking f— Oh."

A million views. It got a million views. I got a million views.

"So, we've found your brand," Jessica says.

"I... What?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I tricked ya a bit. I nixed the Alchemilla deal a few days ago."

"You..." My mind's still struggling to figure it out.

"I had a feeling you were gonna struggle, so... I gave you a nudge."

"That's..."

"Devious?"

"Yeah."

"Eh, comes with the territory. I knew it'd unstick ya."

"So I'm not... In trouble...?"

"With those numbers? Nah, but next time?"

"...Run it by you?"

"Yes, run it by me. Tiana's teaching you well."

"Yeah. How did you...?"

"Educated guess. Aaaanyway, can I tell you about the real commercial?"

I throw my hands up in defeat, even though she can't see it, utterly mystified. "Yeah. Sure."