Rewrite the Stars

“Ah, the infamous Evan,” he says knowingly. My eyebrows pinch together. “I figured as much. Heard you’re with the Eastlake boys,” he explains.

“Oh, yeah.” I nod.

“What do you do?” he asks, sliding in to straddle the bench seat, facing me.

“Face-painting,” I say flatly. “You?”

“Fire breather,” he says casually, and I almost choke on my turkey sandwich.

“How have I not seen that?”

He shrugs. “Not sure. You should come see me tomorrow.”

I know Sebastian told me not to trust anyone, but I get a good vibe from Miles. Besides the burlesque girls that I met briefly, he’s the only one who hasn’t skeeved me out or pissed me off or judged me. Or maybe he is judging me, but he hasn’t done it out loud. “Okay.”

Speaking of the burlesque girls, over his shoulder, I see one of them approaching. Kat, I think her name is. “This guy bothering you?” she says affectionately, as she hooks an arm around his neck. Miles circles her waist with one hand as she leans into him.

“You’ve met?” he asks, looking up at her.

“Mhm. Tried to get her to join us, but I think she’s a little shy.” She giggles.

“I’m not shy,” I correct. “I’m just…”

“Shy,” Miles states. “We’ll work on that. With a body like that, you shouldn’t be wasting your time face-painting.” The way he says it is so matter-of-fact and not smarmy that I don’t even feel like he’s giving me a compliment.

“Are you guys together?” I ask, motioning between them.

“Hell no.” Kat laughs. “We’re just friends.”

“Doesn’t stop her from letting me play hide the sausage, though,” Miles says, wiggling his brows. I almost spit out my drink, laughing.

“Oh my God,” she says, embarrassed. “Stop it. You’re going to scare our new friend away.”

We fall into easy conversation as I finish my lunch. Hanging out with Miles and Kat feels natural. Some of the other Vixen girls stop by for a few minutes, and to my surprise, they’re all nice. I thought they’d hate me by now. There’s no way Selina hasn’t warned them away from me.

By the time we’re done talking, the sun has started to set, and the Ferris wheel is nearly complete. As I walk back to the trailer, I feel lighter. And not so alone. It’s funny what a little kindness can do for the soul.

When I near the bunkhouse, it’s uncharacteristically quiet. I peek around the trailer to find that some of the bikes that were there this morning are gone. Good. I could use some alone time. I heft my suitcase out of its designated spot—the narrow closet next to the bunks—and dig out one of the few remaining pairs of clean sleep shorts and grab my laptop and headphones from the inside pocket. I kick my jeans off, stuffing them back into my suitcase, then slide my shorts up my legs. Sebastian’s mom came by the other day to collect the guys’ dirty clothes. She was taking them to a laundromat, but I was too weirded out by the thought of Sebastian’s mother, whom I’m pretty sure despises me—another one on the list—handling my dirty underwear. I’m regretting that decision now.

I eye the bunks, contemplating climbing into Sebastian’s to feed my rebellious streak, but I opt for Eros’ instead. He’s already offered it to me before. What’s the harm in using it if no one’s here? Throwing my laptop on top of his mattress, I climb up after it. I plug in my headphones and open up Netflix, scrolling through the independent category before selecting one of the few I’ve never seen before.

I snuggle under Eros’ blankets, hoping they could pass a blacklight test. Not likely. When the movie starts up, I’m surprised to find that the opening scene is a sex scene. I squint, cocking my head, trying to figure out exactly what I’m seeing before I realize that it’s an actual sex scene. This isn’t good angles and tricky lighting. This shit is unsimulated. Leave it to me to find the one porno on the whole site.

My hand i

s on the touchpad, hovering over the back button, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I can’t look away. The man pumps two fingers into her as she works his length with her hand. They seem like they’re in a trance, or maybe on some serious drugs. I squeeze my thighs together, remembering how it felt when Sebastian had his fingers inside me. My nipples tighten as I run my hand down my stomach to my thigh. My skin is hypersensitive, and I feel like I could explode at the slightest touch.

“Anything good?” I hear Sebastian’s voice just as he plucks the headphone from my ear. I snap my screen shut, my heart racing. Sebastian narrows his eyes, taking in my nervousness, my flushed face, and looks back at my laptop before lifting an eyebrow. “Well, well, well. We’ve got a little pervert on our hands.”

“Shut up.”

“You could’ve asked me if you needed a hand.”

I clench my jaw, throwing the blankets off me before hopping off the bunk. “Never going to happen.”

“Ah, but it already has, Princess. And you fucking loved it. I can still see it in my mind.” He slides his teeth across his bottom lip as if he’s picturing it.

“Won’t be making the same mistake twice,” I say, trying to shove past him, but he blocks my way, bracing his arm on the wall.