Page 5 of Beneath the Fame

It was my alarm.

Groaning, I pulled myself up and grabbed the device, punching in my code to make it go quiet. When my career was solely focused on music, I only had to get up this early for the occasional video shoot, or maybe a studio session if something was on a tight deadline.

This TV shit had me up at the asscrack of dawn every day.

And yet…I loved it.

Wouldlove it, once I’d done my morning yoga and had a little matcha to start my morning. I purposely ignored the backlog of notifications on my phone, taking my time through the routine that helped keep me balanced through the rest of my day.

Yoga.

Tea latte.

Shower.

Get dressed.

There was no guarantee it wouldn’t still be a day from hell, but at least I’d frontloadedsomethinggood before the BS seeped in.

And itdefinitelyseeped in.

As soon as I gave those notifications my attention.

I was inundated with them on a day-to-day basis anyway, but today there seemed to be more than usual—I quickly realized the sizzle reel from the interview with Arnez and Arizona had gone live the previous night.

With a platform of their size, those things were planned and scheduled, never impromptu. So, undoubtedly it was on the daily update I got from my publicity team, but I was hit or miss when it came to actually reviewing them.

This was a time I wished I had.

Maybe then I would’ve been prepared for the hundreds,thousands,of comments I’d been tagged in on the video clips from the interview, handpicked as always for the absolute most controversy.

A bit too much liquor had made that night a blur, so I didn’t quite remember most of the conversation.

But watching those clips?

I…wasn’t surprised Alec and I had people talking.

There were provocative soundbites from the parts of the interview that didn’t necessarily entwine with each other, and they were interesting enough on their own. But what had people stirred up was this one particular moment that evenIhad to admit was outright dripping with barely constrained lust.

“With your chance, and of course, her consent…what would be the first thing you’d do to Vanity?”

The way Alec looked at me after that question, I…

I hadn’t realized the man could give off a vibe like that.

Obviously, I’d seen him in the role of Jude on the show, and Jude was…not a good guy, by any stretch. Alecsankinto that role, to the point that it was damn near unnerving to see him step in and out, so I knew he had it in him as an actor.

But that…wasn’t acting.

He looked at me like he wanted to spread me wide open, which…Alec Everett?

Handsome, charming, all that, no doubt, but…X-rated?

Apparently, it was catching a lot of people by surprise, all through the comments.

“She’d better take a pregnancy test after a look like that OMG.”

“I would like to see it.”

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