Page 49 of Taken Off Camera
Saint reaches over to ruffle my hair, the gesture familiar and comforting. “Yeah, well. Someone has to keep your ass alive long enough for you to realize you could do better than a guy who hid his face from the camera for a year.”
I throw a pillow at him, which he catches with a laugh. “Shut up and watch the movie.”
As the opening credits roll, I steal glances at Saint, relief filling me as the tension in his shoulders melts away. Whatever concerns he still harbors about Sebastian, he’s setting them aside for now, trusting my judgment enough to give him a chance.
It’s all I can ask for from the person who’s been my only family for so long.
13
After Saint leaves for work the next evening, I find myself hyper-aware of the cameras. Not in a paranoid way, but with a strange excitement. I’m used to performing for my streams, used to the knowledge people are watching me, but this feels different.
More intimate, somehow.
The next morning, I make coffee wearing only boxers, stretching more than needed as I reach for mugs on the top shelf. I dance through the living room to invisible music, swinging my hips with extra flourish. When I work out, I position my yoga mat within view of the living room camera, arching my back into every pose.
Each time my phone buzzes with a text from Sebastian.
Sebastian
08:15 AM
Camera feed is working great. Motion sensor triggered at 08:13 when you walked into the kitchen. System’s working.
08:17 AM
You should use a step stool for the top shelf. Less risk than climbing counters.
09:21 AM
You know I can see you stretching, right?
09:22 AM
Not a complaint.
10:04 AM
Living room camera angle caught your workout. Your form on those backbends is… distracting.
10:06 AM
I meant effective. Your form is effective.
Throughout the week, it becomes a game. I stroll from the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel, andpause to adjust it in front of the hallway camera. I prepare elaborate ramen dishes just to mess with him, dropping utensils just so I have to bend over to pick them up.
Sometimes, I stare right at a camera and wink, blowing a kiss toward the lens.
The game helps me ignore the pings of notifications on my phone, alerting me to another subscription cancellation, another reminder of how my income only flows when I go live.
Sebastian
Sent you a present to tide you over until this weekend.
I stare at the message, my pulse quickening. I had invited Sebastian to my Heat app a few days ago, alerting him that it would be coming soon, and he said he’d work hard to clear his calendar.
When a knock sounds on the door, I check the hallway camera to find a package in the hallway. Eager to discover what he sent me, I undo the locks to bring it inside.
Setting it on the coffee table, I slice through the packing tape and suck in a sharp breath at the contents. Six silicone dildos wait inside, nested inblack velvet and arranged from modest to intimidating, with a handwritten note card tucked beside them.
