Page 120 of Felix

“Holy shit,” I mutter. “Is it always like this?”

“People love their porn,” Emil answers, lips twitching.

It’s not mayhem as we step out of the vehicle, but a few cameras spin our way. I notice Trevor up ahead, a slim redhead on his arm as they walk through the doors.

“Felix, Vixen,” one reporter calls. Honestly, I’m surprised they even know my name. “Is it true the two of you are a couple?”

Emil bumps up his glasses. “It’s true.”

“Vixen, who made your outfit?” the same reporter asks.

“Oh. I made it myself.”

“He’s an incredibly talented seamster,” Emil adds.

I give his arm a little pinch, but he looks unrepentant as he leads me past the flashing cameras. Someone asks if our relationship is open outside of the studio, but Emil tugs me forward, so I follow his cue, heading with him into the hotel lobby.

“It’s mostly gossip columns,” Emil tells me once we’re inside. “Hardly anyone reads it.”

“Still, I kinda feel like a star.”

He gives me a smile before his gaze catches across the room. “Oh, there’s Alex. C’mon.”

Our blonde coworker squeals when he sees us coming, disentangling from his boyfriends to meet us halfway. “You guys look amazing. Christian, that skirt!”

“Thanks,” I say, giving it a swoosh. “Is everybody here already?”

Alex nods, inserting himself between Emil and I and leading us forward like a gentlemanly guide. “They’re inside at our tables. I was waiting for you two. Mal is here tonight. And Cas.”

I know from what Emil’s told me that Mal was a performer before my time. Cas, of course, I’ve met. With Jason and Jason’s…Brad.

Alex’s boyfriends follow us hand in hand as we make our way into the ballroom, Alex keeping up commentary the whole time about who’s here from competing studios and those who are slated to win awards tonight. Apparently Alex is in the running for a scene he did involving fisting, and Dixon and Niko are up for an innovation award for a video in which they fucked inside a zero gravity booth. I’ll have to check that one out later.

Our coworkers are split amongst three large tables inside the ballroom, and we get a cheer as we join. Emil introduces me to Mal and Henrik. I notice a cane beside Henrik’s chair, as well as the fact that his bright green eyes wander in a way that suggests he might be blind. Mal, who looks like a surfer if I ever saw one, has a smile on his face as Alex regales us with a detailed explanation of how Henrik and Mal met while Mal was escorting.

“It was love at first sight,” Henrik adds when Alex finishes his story, to which Mal snorts.

“And you two?” Mal asks, his hand laced with Henrik’s on the table. “Did you meet at the studio?”

“Oh, no,” I answer, giving my boyfriend a smirk. “We met before that when Emil gave me a pornographic peep show.”

Emil groans, dropping his head into his hands.

“Most days for three months, actually,” I go on with a grin. “We’re neighbors, so I watched him through the window. He didn’t even know who I was until I started at Elite 8 Studios.”

“Wait, what?” Alex squawks, eyes bouncing wide. To Emil, he says, “You didn’t tell me it was more than once!”

“How freakin’ sweet,” Niko interjects. “I don’t think fate could have handed you a better meet-cute, Emil.”

Alex cocks his head. “And why’s that?”

Niko takes a sip of his drink before answering. “Because he’s an exhibitionist.”

A beat of silence passes—a long beat—and then Alex goes, “What?”

Niko looks around the table. “We didn’t all know that?”

Alex’s wide eyes swing Emil’s way. I muffle a laugh against my palm as Emil’s cheeks redden.

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