Page 56 of The Casting Couch

Just… Nico.

The way he walked, all lanky confidence and twitchy nerves.The way he talked like someone had uncorked his thoughts and they were all tumbling out, hilarious and way too real.And the way he looked under the stage lights—hair messy, eyes lit up, grin so big it dared you not to smile back.

And he was funny.Not just “made me snort beer through my nose” funny, but smart funny.Weird funny.Clever, sharp, fast funny.The kind of funny that made me forget where I was for a few seconds.Made me forget what I’d done, where I’d been.

And I liked him.Like, actually liked him.For real.Not in that “he’s hot, I’d hit it” kind of way, though—okay, that too.But it was more than that.

It’d been a long time since I’d made a friend.Like a real one.The kind where your guard doesn’t feel like a requirement.The kind where you don’t have to measure every word before you say it.Hell, the only people who’d ever gotten past my walls were Liam and Jack.And that had taken years, a jail sentence, and a lot of messy shit in between.

But Nico?He’d slipped past my defenses like it was nothing.

A creak from the bunk across from mine pulled me out of my spiral.One of my roommates—didn’t know his name, just that he snored like a dying engine—sat up and padded toward the door in socks.He left without a word, the door clicking shut behind him.

Probably off to jerk off in the bathroom or raid the vending machine.Honestly, same.

I sighed and rolled over, squeezing my eyes shut.Focus.Sleep.You need rest.Big day tomorrow.Just a normal, average work day.

...If your average work day involves being naked, surrounded by dudes all stroking it while aiming for your face like you’re a damn carnival game.Thank goodness we weren’t shooting tomorrow, but I had to go in for rehearsal.Like, how do you rehearse a bukkake scene?My stomach did a full somersault.I pulled the scratchy blanket up over my head like that could block out the intrusive mental image of the scene I’d agreed to perform.

Why the hell did I say yes?

Because the money was good.No—great.Because half my debt to Riley could vanish in one messy, humiliating afternoon.Because it might be the fastest way to get out of this damn hostel.And once I paid her off, I could breathe again.Eat something that didn’t come in a paper bag or a vending machine.Sleep on a real mattress.Not jump every time someone walked behind me.

I opened my eyes, staring into the dark, and took a slow breath.

This was my life now.Again.

But this time, I wasn’t flinching or fighting it.This time, I was going to lean in.Embrace the chaos.Embrace the porn and the absolute ridiculousness of being a human cum target for rent money.

Why not?

If I was going to survive this weird-ass chapter of my life, I couldn’t do it halfway.No shame, no regrets, and no pretending I was still the person I used to be.That version of me didn’t exist anymore, and maybe that was okay.

Maybe this version of me, broke, bruised, and rebranded, wasn’t so bad.And perhaps if I leaned hard enough into it, I could make something out of it.Maybe even make a career that lasted.

I let the tension bleed out of my shoulders and pulled the blanket tighter around me.

I thought about Nico.About his laugh.About the way his arms felt around me earlier, like I belonged there.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, I drifted off to sleep, not dreading tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, I stepped into the Boys On Film offices feeling about 60% human and 40% panic burrito.I hadn’t slept more than four straight hours, but hey, at least I hadn’t dreamt of tidal waves of jizz.That was something.

The front reception area was chaos.

There was an actual line of guys along the wall.Some were in tank tops, others wore leather harnesses, and a few were clearly fresh from the gym and still glistening.One dude was wearing flip-flops and socks, and I don’t know why, but that upset me the most.

Petry was behind the front desk, a human caffeine tornado.He was frantically asking names, scribbling stuff on forms, and handing out clipboards like they were raffle tickets.

“Next!You with the eyebrow ring and Born to Squirt tank top.What’s your name?No, your legal name, please.”

I blinked, taking in the scene, and quietly slid over to where Dimitri stood, arms crossed, watching the parade of dudes like he was at an aquarium he hadn’t agreed to visit.

“What the hell’s going on?”I muttered.

Dimitri shrugged.“Auditions, I guess.No one tells me anything.”

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