Bender (Vegas Venom Book 4)

Thanks to Marco, my social media is blowing up and I’ve gained a shit ton of new followers. I’m used to being photographed, but who would have thought that my most-liked photos on any of my accounts would be the ones where I’m tagged with Marco?

Phoebe, my sister-in-law, FaceTimes me three days after the photos go up.

“Is it just me,” she asks without preamble, “or did you just gain almost a hundred thousand new followers overnight?”

“It wasn’t quite overnight.” I flop down on my sofa, the one on which those very photos were taken. “But yeah, it’s pretty crazy.”

“Are you doing anything to follow up on it?”

“Caesar’s Entertainment expanded my contract to appear in their new body-positive casino branding campaign, and my agent is looking into booking me on commercials.” I twirl a lock of hair around my finger. “I’d like to set myself up as a spokesperson in the long run, but we’re taking it one step at a time. It looks like I’ll be staying in Vegas a bit longer.”

Phoebe wiggles her eyebrows. “I was hoping you’d say something like that. I have an idea, if you’re interested. Are you on TikTok?”

“Not much,” I admit.

“Well, you should be. And what better way to kickstart that than with a TikTok live?” Phoebe shoots me one-handed finger guns. “I’d like to do a Q&A about body positivity. We could take questions about modeling, too, if you’re interested. You know that the industry is a numbers game, and the more followers you have, the more likely you are to get picked up. Before you know it, your spokesperson dream could become a reality.”

“True. Yeah, that’s a good idea.” The more I think about it, the better it sounds. “How does that work? Would I need to come out to Rochester?”

She shakes her head. “Nah, we could do a multi-guest stream. I’ll email you the details, and we can get it sorted out.”

“Perfect.” We talk about my brother and baby Austin for a little before she hangs up. I sink back on my couch and smile at the ceiling. I swear I can feel my whole world opening up in front of me.

And I can’t help appreciating the fact that this new surge of interest is going to keep me in Vegas and close to Marco longer than I originally thought. Sounds like a win-win if I ever heard one.

* * *

Phoebe and I settle on a Friday evening stream. I spend the afternoon getting set up, and Mare stops by to do my makeup. She also tries to help me set up for the video, although we end up calling Lara for some advice.

“You need a ring light,” she tells me. “If you’re going to get serious about this stuff, anyway. If you want some advice on content creation, I can help you out anytime.”

I pull my lower lip between my teeth. “Really? Are you sure? I don’t want to take advantage of you…”

“You boost me, I boost you,” she says in her matter-of-fact tone. “That’s how this works. And a shoutout wouldn’t hurt, either.”

She has a point, and after we hang up, I take a selfie for Insta explaining what I’m doing and tag her and Mare’s accounts in the comments.

“Crush it!” Mare says as she trots down the hall. “And when you make it to the big time, don’t forget the little people!”

I shake my head in amusement. Little people? The girl has over forty thousand followers on TikTok alone due to her amazing make-up tutorials, and I know that for a fact, since her account was one of the first I added. If I’m going to learn, I might as well learn from one of the best.

At six o’clock my time, Phoebe adds me to the stream and gestures for me to speak.

“Hi, everyone!” I offer my brightest smile to my phone camera. It’s weird talking to people I can’t see, but fortunately, Phoebe and I worked out an introduction ahead of time. “I’m live with Phoebe McKay. Today, we’ll be talking about body positivity, confidence, and some of the projects that got us where we are today.”

“Be sure to post your questions in the comments!” Phoebe chimes in. “We’ll pick some to respond to while we chat. And if you’re looking for information about working with or supporting Body Positive Rochester, the link is in my bio.”

The first few questions are mostly directed at Phoebe, focusing on the history of how Coach B+ came to be and how much they love supporting a company that caters to plus-sized people who want cute and functional athletic wear. Before long, though, people start engaging with me, too. The hour we set aside flies by as we respond to questions about our self-image, how we deal with negative comments, how we feel about the rash of body positivity influencers now losing massive amounts of weight on diet drugs, and what we’d like to see change in both the industry and society at large.

“One thing I’d love is for people to stop critiquing each other,” I explain. “There are so many different, beautiful body types in the world. I don’t need everyone to think that I’m beautiful. People are allowed to have their preferences, obviously. If you don’t want to look at me, that’s okay, but there’s no reason to leave negative comments. Your opinion or preference is just that… yours and yours alone. When you spout off only to hurt someone else, that’s not cool. And listen, I’m over it. I don’t care what trolls say. But other people are out there hearing what you say and reading your words, and it can hurt folks who are still learning how to love themselves.”

Phoebe snaps her fingers over her head. “Yes, yes, yes! This is what I’m saying! We can’t change the haters, but we can empower each other to look our bullies in the eye and say, ‘I don’t care about you. You have no power here. I am worthy simply by existing. I am here on Earth following my passions and making it happen with or without your approval.’”

The comments section goes crazy, but it’s the alert that pops up on my phone that draws my attention. It’s a text from Marco: I am outside. Can I come up?

I pick up my phone and hastily type out, Of course. The Q&A is still going. Let yourself in.

Marco: Good. I am here to ask my question for you.

“Sorry about the weird angle,” I say aloud as I set the phone back in its place. “Marco’s going to join us.” I’m not sure what he has in mind, but I’m happy to see him, and I’m already looking forward to ending the live stream. Maybe we can pick up where we left off in The Proposal… or in bed. It seems that as soon as we’re done having sex, I want him again in record time.

A flood of comments with Marco’s name and heart emojis pour in, and Phoebe laughs. “An unexpected guest appearance! That’s a bonus. Just so you know, I’m going to have to get going here soon, but I want to at least say hi to him before I do.”

The door of the apartment opens and closes, and a few seconds later, Marco settles down on the couch next to me and waves to Phoebe. “Ciao, Phoebe! Ciao, TikityTok!”

“Hey, Marco.” Phoebe winks. “Glad you could stop by. What brings you here?”

“Madison is telling me that there is a time for questions and answers now, and I have a question.”

Baby Austin cries out in the background of Phoebe’s connection. “In that case, I’ll let the two of you finish this out since we were about to wrap up anyway,” Phoebe says. “It’s time to feed the baby. Have a great night, everyone, and thanks for joining in! Until next time!” She signs off, and Marco and I expand to fill the screen.

“Now is a good time for asking my question?” Marco asks.

“On the stream?” I ask.

He nods. “Yes, this is a question not just from me, but from my fans. The ones who are liking our photographs.”

“Then go for it!” I nod to the phone. “I would never want to let down the fans.”

Marco plants his palms on his knees and turns to the camera. “One of the women I am working for has given me an idea. She is in the front office for the Vegas Venom. She says that the fans, they like to see us together, and why not? I am popular from the sport, you are so pretty and so talented, of course, they like to see us. So Julie is asking if I can take you on a date. Or, no, three dates.” He holds up three fingers.

I’d love to go out with Marco, but this is a strange request. I consider my answer carefully before I respond. “Is this to make the fans happy? Or do you want to go out with me again on official dates?” We haven’t really talked about the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing since that conversation went down and we kind of decided to assign it a label.

“It is both. I would like to go out with you. I would like to stay in with you.” His brown eyes sparkle. “I would like to go—”

“We’re live!” I remind him before he can say what I think he’s about to say.

“Si, si. But I would like to go with you even if you say non. But listen to her idea. The fans will make a suggest for dates, and then they will vote. It will be nothing bad, Julie is promising. We will go, we will take pictures, and everyone will see how much fun we are having. Is this okay?”

I play with my hair, feeling a little put on the spot. “What do you think?”

“I think I will be happy with your deciding, cara mia,” he says. “If you do not want to, then I will not want to. But I am thinking it could be fun, non?”

“Would I be able to veto any ideas that I’m not comfortable with?” I ask.

He nods. “Of course. I am never to make you do anything you would not want to do.”

I nudge him gently with my shoulder. “Then why not? If I can survive the Goodwill Challenge, I don’t mind doing something a little out there.”

“Good.” Marco claps his hands. “Then it is a date! Three dates! Three surprise dates!”

“Three dates with the nicest guy I know, as determined by you, our supporters.” I plant a kiss on Marco’s cheek, then wink at the camera as I reach for the button that will end the live stream. “See what confidence can get you, followers?”