Page 84 of The Casting Couch

“You’re safe,” Nico murmured against my skin.“I’m not going anywhere.”

I shut my eyes, and my throat suddenly felt thick.

“You’re wanted,” he added, a little quieter.

I didn’t believe it.Not really.But it felt nice to hear, like being offered a blanket even if you’re too cold to feel it.

“I just got off the phone with Jack,” Nico continued, his voice low and soothing.“He wants to line up more work for you.Fast.”

I tensed.

Nico chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest like a warm purr.“No.Not another bukkake scene.I swear.Never again.”

I huffed a breath that was almost a laugh.

“He pitched a new series,” Nico said.“Something a little more romantic.Focused on couples.There’ll still be sex—obviously—but it’s got more of a story.More connection.Intimacy.Less glaze and chaos.”

I snorted softly.“I have no shame left in me, so… yeah.Whatever I have to do, I’ll do it.If it pays.”

“You know,” he said, “the pay is actually amazing.Look around.”

I opened my eyes and glanced around the bedroom.Hardwood floors.Plush bedding.Art on the walls.A closet door cracked just enough to reveal a very organized wardrobe.

“This place?”he continued.“Paid for by porn.And maybe some jokes.But mostly porn.”

I rolled over slowly, careful not to disturb the fragile quiet that had settled between us.Our faces were inches apart now, breath mingling in the dim light.

There was a long pause.

“You don’t really want to do porn,” I whispered.“You want to make people laugh.Entertain them.”

He sighed, not in annoyance but like I’d touched something true.

“You’re right,” he breathed.“But if getting naked on camera pays the bills and buys me time to write and tour and bomb open mics until I succeed?Then so be it.I’m not above it.Not anymore.”

He reached up and brushed his fingers through my hair, the motion tender in a way I wasn’t used to.

“What about you?”he asked.“What do you really want?”

My lips parted.I wanted to say love.Or peace.Or to go back in time and make every different choice I possibly could.But the truth was simpler.Uglier.And heavier.

“To survive,” I said.“That’s my sole goal right now.Just… survive.That’s it.Nothing else matters.”

Nico didn’t flinch.He didn’t correct me or call me dramatic or broken.

He reached out instead and gently touched my cheek.His thumb brushed just under my eye.The contact made something in me ache.

Then, slowly, he leaned in and kissed me.

Soft.Careful.No pressure.No expectation.

But it was enough to light my entire body on fire.

I kissed him back—tentatively at first, then deeper.All kinds of feelings slammed into me like waves.Shame.Hope.Fear.Lust.Desperation.Gratitude.Grief.Need.Every part of me that had been hollow for years suddenly felt full, and it was overwhelming.

When the kiss ended, I kept my eyes closed, like maybe I could hold the moment longer that way.

“Go back to sleep,” Nico whispered.

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