1

The last thing I expected to see on my projector was my sex tape.

One second, my photos of the old harbor flicked across the screen, the next, there I was, naked, straddling Kole, the sound of my own breath filling the speakers.

My fingers slammed every button on the remote, my thumb slipping over the plastic as the screen refused to change.

The crowd went quiet. Chairs creaked as people shifted. Somewhere near the back, someone laughed under their breath. My stomach knotted so hard I thought I’d throw up.

“This isn’t...I don’t...” My voice cracked.

The gallery owner, Mrs. Halden, stood frozen by the wall, one hand gripping her clipboard so tight her knuckles went white.

A man in a suit, one of the judges, leaned forward in his seat, his eyebrows drawing together.

And the worst part wasn’t the room. It was the camera in the corner of the gallery, the red light blinking. The event was being streamed live to the festival’s website.

I turned toward the tech booth. “Turn it off!”

The young guy behind the laptop hesitated, his eyes wide, his hands hovering over the keyboard. “I… I don’t know how, someone replaced-”

My throat was dry, but the words pushed their way out. “That’s… that’s from prom night.” I didn’t even realize I’d said it until I heard my own voice.

Kole and I had been dating since we were in high school and not until we graduated three months ago on the night of our damn grad day did I finally let him have sex with me, I would never have expected that he had filmed our first night let alone that it'd be broadcasted to the public.

We’d gone back to his place after the dance, he’d taken his time, undressing me like he was unwrapping something he’d been waiting for. I never saw the camera.

“Miss Stowaway,” one of the judges called from the front row. “Is this some kind of… performance art?” His voice was careful, but his eyes stayed on the screen.

I didn’t wait for them to say anything else. I grabbed my camera bag from the floor, slung it over my shoulder, and walked out without looking back.

This was supposed to be a good night. The gallery had invited me to display my work as part of the summer arts festival. It was a huge chance, especially for someone my age. Tomorrow, I was starting college in the city. Tonight was supposed to be the perfect send-off, a celebration of the photographs I’d spent years taking.

Photography had been my escape for as long as I could remember, from my parents constant fights and now ten thousand people had seen my sex tape that I had no idea existed.

My hands trembled as I waved the nearest cab over to Kole's place, I didn't know where I was headed but I knew I wanted to kill him.

*

"Your pussy is tighter than Ember's."

That was the first thing I heard when I opened the door to my boyfriend’s apartment. My hand was still on the knob. The room was quiet except for the sounds coming from the bedroom. Moaning, skin hitting skin. Kole’s voice again.

"She just lays there. Like, no style, no fun. I mean the girl was a virgin but dude, it's been three fucking months, do some fucking research," he mocked.

I walked down the short hallway, the bedroom door was wide open.

Ava’s legs were in the air, Kole’s body was pressed between them. Her back arched, his hands gripped her thighs.

I blinked hard, it didn’t go away, it was real.

All three of us, Kole, my best friend Ava, and I were supposed to be leaving for Blackmoor college tomorrow and Kole was supposed to be driving us there I was supposed to spend the night at his place and this is what I got.

She was laughing. He was groaning. Her hair was all over the pillow, my pillow.

Kole looked like he was enjoying himself. He was saying things I never heard from him before.

"She’s so fucking boring in bed. I mean, she was a virgin. No rhythm, no taste for anything."

Ava moaned louder. She reached up, pulled his face down to hers, kissed him like I wasn’t supposed to exist.

They didn’t see me. Not yet. I was standing right there in the hallway, watching. I felt something in my stomach twist.

Then her eyes opened. She looked straight at me.

She gasped. "Oh my God. Ember!"

Kole jerked back. He looked over his shoulder. His face went pale as he scrambled for the sheet.

He almost tripped over his own clothes as he tried to scramble to me. I looked between them both, my eyes fixed on his erect dick before landing back on his eyes.

"Wait. Ember, I didn’t know you were coming this early."

"Why?" I found myself chuckling instead, laughing at his madness, "so you two could have wrapped up fucking in your bed much faster?"

I just looked at them. "I texted you. I called. Ten times."

"I wasn’t...my phone was on silent," he said. He grabbed a pillow, covering himself. "Look, this isn’t, it’s not what it looks like."

"You literally just said her pussy is tighter than mine, yeah I'm pretty sure this is what it looks like," I laughed again, surprising even myself.

Ava sat up. She had the sheet clutched to her chest. She looked like she was about to cry. "It just happened. We didn’t mean for it to."

"So it was an accident? You fell and your dick landed in her?"

I didn’t give him a second to speak. My hand cracked against his cheek, the sound echoing in the small hallway.

“How could you do this to me?” My voice shook, but it wasn’t from fear.

He rubbed his jaw, more amused than hurt. “Do what?”

“Don’t act like you don’t fucking know, the gallery, the tape, everyone saw it, Kole.”

He leaned against the doorframe. “Relax. It was a joke. I didn’t even know you’d use that camera for your little show.”

“A joke?” My laugh came out bitter. “You humiliated me in front of judges, strangers...Kole, the festival was streaming it.”

He shrugged. “You’re overreacting.”

“I’m overreacting?” I stepped closer, my bag sliding off my shoulder and thudding to the floor. “That was my first time. You didn’t even tell me you were recording. And you just, what, dump it into my work like it’s nothing?”

“Come on,” he said, pushing off the frame. “It’s not like anyone cares. Half the people there probably enjoyed it more than your pictures.”

My nails dug into my palms. How did I stay with a piece of shit like this and not see it?

"You two can keep going. I don’t want to ruin the rhythm."

I stared at him, breathing hard. There were a hundred things I wanted to say, but none of them mattered. I grabbed my bag, turned on my heel, and walked out, leaving the door open behind me.

The gallery on Fifth was still open. Late-night exhibit. I walked in, barely noticing the receptionist’s smile.

My eyes skimmed the walls, photos and paintings I didn’t register. I wasn’t here for the art. I just needed somewhere quiet, away from Kole and that mess.

In front of a black-and-white photo of a rainy street, my reflection stared back, pale and tight with anger.

I wanted to scream and forget it ever happened

I had watched my mom suffer under my bastard father, who fucked anything in a skirt, broke her down to nothing, and left me to pick up the pieces. I swore I would never fall for a man like him, yet here I was.

And Kole was not just any man. I had known him since middle school. I had known her since middle school. Both of them were traitors.

I moved to the far side of the room, where sculptures stood under warm light. That was when I saw him.

Leaning against the wall beside a massive metal piece, dressed in black, tattoo sleeves covering both arms. Jet-black hair, unreal green eyes, a jawline that looked like it had been carved with a knife.

I stared too long, his gaze caught mine and my thighs instantly clenched.

What magazine had this man walked out of? The gallery faded. Was I really being rewarded this soon after betrayal?

I didn’t think I didn't know why but I just stood up and walked over to him where he stood at the exit of the gallery.

He didn’t move but his eyes followed my movements until I had made my way to him.

Up close, he towered over my five-seven frame.

I grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him down, and crashed my lips into his.

He did not stop me. He tasted faintly of scotch. He did not kiss back, but he did not pull away.

I broke the kiss, sliding my hand down his chest, under his shirt, then into his waistband.

His eyes never left mine.

I leaned in. “Can you please fuck me tonight?”