Page 87 of Seeking Stars
"It's Ely," Ana announced. "She's wondering if you're settling in nicely."
"That's nice. Say thanks from me, please."
"How do you feel about meeting her?" she asked as she typed a message back to Ely.
"I'd like that. She's close to you, and I think she'd be fun to spend time with."
"Maybe we could invite her over for brunch tomorrow."
Ana tossed her phone and reached for another slice of pizza. She glanced up at Liam, who had a deep wrinkle between his eyebrows. He stared at her but his eyes seemed glazed over, and he held his phone against his chest. Whatever was on his mind, it appeared to worry him.
"Are you really fine with seeing Ely?"
His eyes refocused on her and cleared up. His eyebrows relaxed.
"Yeah, brunch sounds really good."
She squinted at him. "I'll text her later."
He must have still been half-thinking of whatever nagged his brain, because he only nodded.
"What's going on?" she insisted.
He glanced at her again with furrowed eyebrows. "I want to tell you something."
"Sounds serious."
"I hope it isn't, but I'd feel better if I share this with you."
"Okay…" She chewed on her food slowly, waiting for him to speak.
He reached for another slice of pizza but left it on the plate next to him. His other hand scratched his eyebrow.
"Uh oh, you're scratching your eyebrow. Out with it," she said.
He let a chuckle out. "I don't know how to begin without sounding like an asshole."
"Just say it."
"I sometimes get suggestive pictures from people, inviting me to, you know… go out with them or just do as I please with them."
She had to force the mouthful of food down her throat. "What?!"
He unlocked his phone, scrolled and tapped on it, before giving it to Ana.
A picture of a blonde, gorgeous woman filled the screen. She lay naked in bed, prone, her breasts half-hidden by white sheets. The camera angle overlooked the coy curve of her shoulder, providing a clear view of her ass. She looked at the lens with sparkly, mischievous eyes. The text underneath simply read,at your disposal.
"Who is this?" She aimed for a curious tone rather than accusatory, but she doubted she'd been successful. She hadn't been able to erase a certain shrill from it.
"I don't know. I don't know how they got my number, either."
"How often does this happen?" The timestamp on the text read only half an hour ago.
"Less and less since I stopped dating, but often enough that it's still an issue. I usually just block them, but I really wouldn't want you to come across one of them one day and think I welcome them."
"Usually?" she asked despite herself.
He let out a soft laugh. "I always erase them. To be honest, I didn't use to block them, before… but I never took anyone up on their offer, either. Even before the last person I dated; I've never responded to one of these texts."
