GORGEOUS
TAYLOR SWIFT
The flashbulbs are even more blindingthan when we got out of the car, and I have no idea how Chase is seeing a damn thing or not getting a migraine. After what feels like an hour, but what is little more than a few seconds, the flashbulbs stop, but I can still hear the roar of the shutters as they snap closed over and over. I focus on the blue in front of me and follow his tie until I find his eyes. He’s standing in front of me, with his back to them as they yell his name.
“The flashes can be intense,” he explains over the noise. “I thought you’d like a moment to get used to them. Keep an eye on the floor when you walk. There are markers where they want us to stop. Remember, at the end?—”
“Don’t step away when they ask me to.”
“Damn fucking right, Sunshine. Let ‘em have it.”
He spins on his heel and slides back in place by my side. Being a teacher, I can pick out the voices as they shout random things at us.Over here! Look right! Give us a smile!Chase has told me he ignores most of them now. They’ve merged into the background noise except for the few he wants to hear.
Finally, they yell the questions we spent the entire ride here preparing for.
“Who’s the lady?”
“Hey Chase, who’s that?”
“Are you two a couple?”
“Is she your agent?”
Chase doesn’t hear the comments they’re making under their breath, but I can. Again, teacher’s hearing.
“Wow, why’s he with her?”
“This is a joke, right? His cousin or something?”
“Was this staged? He can’t be dating someone like her.”
“Bet she sucks dick like a Hoover.”
“I told you he was gay.”
With each flippant comment and backhanded compliment, my smirk grows until I’m grinning like a cartoon villain. Everything they say feeds my confidence, because I’m used to this bullshit. Those pricks can think whatever they want to about us; I’m going home and riding this man’s cock tonight. They’re not.
We make it to the end and sure enough, there’s a handler there telling me to keep moving and to step aside. They try to tell me that the photographers need pictures of just Chase, but that isn’t what we want, so to hell with them. We’re going to force our relationship right down their fucking throats. I prepared for this, but I’m still surprised when Chase grabs the sides of my face and plants a slow, passionate kiss on me that curled my toes and left me breathless as my knees tried to buckle.
“Alright, let’s go, goddess,” he says with a wink as we pull apart.
“Damn, Puppy,” I sputter, trying not to say it too loud. He kisses my forehead and offers me his arm again as our dopey, smiley selves walk away from the cameras, past the annoyed handler, and into the hall.
Once we’re in the door, another flute of champagne ends up in my hand. I take a sip, letting it tickle my nose and give me the giggles. The way I scrunch my nose up makes him laugh. It’s a warm laugh where his nose crinkles up to match mine, and the laugh lines around his eyes become more visible. He’s so fucking adorable, and we must look like a pair of nerdy weirdos who’ve crashed a very uppity party.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“I am. Lucky for me, I found myself a handsome man to stand next to me.” I take another drink. “Wait, is this stuff free?”
He laughs again, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “Yeah, Sunshine. It’s been paid for already by the organization throwing this thing. They like keeping us boozed up.”
“How much of this shit do they go through at one of these events?”
“More than I’d care to admit. It’s not the cheap stuff either, so you’re talking around three to five hundred a bottle.”
“I’ve had three glasses, Chase! I’m guzzling down hundreds of dollars!”
“Yep,” he says, emptying his own glass and grabbing us both new ones.
