Page 194 of Pure Recklessness

And when Jake stepped on the stage, everyone went feral.

I knew this was a big deal, but the reaction was even more insane than I could’ve imagined.

As Jake waved to the crowd, the volume of screams shot up by a thousand decibels. He blew them kisses before coming over to Blake and giving him one of those manly back-slapping hugs.

Jake held the cordless microphone and tried to speak, but the screams were still deafening.

Now I knew how it felt to attend one of those boyband concerts I missed out on going to when I was younger.

Whilst he was waiting for the excitement to fade, Jake smiled, laughed and made the prayer sign with his hands to express his gratitude for their enthusiasm.

‘Wow. Is it always like this?’ I asked Halle who was beside me.

‘Yep. Pretty much.’ She smiled.

‘How do you deal with it?’ I asked, seriously considering whether I needed to stuff some tissue in my ears before my eardrums burst.

‘I just do.’ She shrugged. ‘And I know how much this means to him. When we met, his career was in the toilet and no one wanted to play his music. So seeing how far he’s come and how much his fans connect with his songs now makes everything worth it. When you love someone, it doesn’t matter what challenges are thrown at you. You just know you’ll get through them. Together.’

Hearing Halle’s wise words made hope flood my chest.

She was right.

When you loved someone, you could get through anything.

Blake and I were going to be fine.

Ever since we bumped into his ex on Sunday, I’d been fretting about him telling his family about us. Although he’d reassured me that we’d be okay, I had a knot in my stomach.

I’d already checked that Dana and Joe were still free to meet for a drink tomorrow night and suggested we go somewhere away from the office.

Although I was sure that by the end of the week most of the Sated work force would know about my relationship with Blake, I wanted to tell them first. And I didn’t want to worry about other colleagues eavesdropping when I did.

At some point, I’d have to work out how to break the news to my parents. My stomach tensed as I imagined their reaction.

Even if I told them I was in love and our relationship was always consensual, they’d automatically assume that Blake was a creepy, predator older boss who’d corrupted their pure, innocent daughter.

Anyway, that was a problem for future me to worry about.

When the crowd’s screams finally died down, Jake spoke.

‘What’s up, London?’ he boomed. ‘How y’all doing?’

The audience erupted again. You’d think this venue was filled with teenage groupies, not adults. But I totally understood why they were excited. If I wasn’t here in a professional capacity and dating a man like Blake, I’d be screaming too.

‘I’ve been truly blessed with the opportunity to narrate a SatisFya short story, written by the incredible D.D. Desire. And I gotta tell you, this story is fire! It’s so hot, I had to stuff a pack of ice cubes down my pants whilst I was recording. And I swear that even the mic started melting!’ Everyone burst out laughing. ‘Seriously though, you’re gonna love it. But that’s not the only exciting news that we have to share. I’ll let Blake explain.’

‘Thank you,’ Blake said. ‘We’ll be opening subscriptions for SatisFya tomorrow at 2 p.m. GMT. There will be three different subscription tiers. And the first one hundred members to subscribe to our Platinum tier will receive a personalised version of the short story narrated by Jake. Which means it could be your name he’s screaming during those steamy scenes.’

If I thought the audience was feral before, now they were completely delirious.

Cries of ‘no way!’ and ‘oh my God’ echoed around the venue.

I hope the subscriptions team was ready. Based on this reaction, those slots would sell out in milliseconds.

Pride flooded my veins. SatisFya was going to be a huge success. I could just feel it. Everyone had worked so hard and I couldn’t wait for it pay off.

‘So I’m guessing that you’re excited?’ Blake joked. The audience cheered again. ‘Excellent. I’d like to invite you all to share news of the app far and wide to your followers, readers, neighbours, friends – anyone who you think will enjoy our sexy stories. If you scan the QR code on the screen,’ Blake pointed, ‘it will take you directly to the Media Hub where you’ll find the press release about SatisFya which includes information about Jake’s involvement and exclusive photos of the man himself that we shot just for this campaign. And tomorrow, members will also be able to pre-order exclusive merch for Jake’s story, which will include signed posters.’