MET had illustrated her point with a doctored photo, and he drew in a sharp breath when he saw what it depicted: Eric Thorn, shirtless, splayed across a bed, bound and gagged with duct tape.
A shudder passed through Eric’s frame as he glanced at the retweet count, hovering just north of 1K. How could there be a thousand people out there who didn’t find that image utterly repugnant? It was all fun and games until someone decided to act it out in real life. If anyone made an edit like that of Ariana Grande, they’d probably get arrested. But he was a guy, so that somehow made the sexploitation funny…and retweetable.
In the past, that picture would have sent him through the roof, but Eric felt surprisingly calm about it now. He merely rolled his eyes and tucked one arm behind his head as he slouched down farther on the couch.
Taylor: Ugh! He’s a human being! How is that pic supposed to make him feel?
Tessa H: I know. It’s gross. But he’s kind of asking for it in a way.
Taylor: Why? Because he messed up the song? That justifies sexual harassment?
Tessa H: No, but he’s the one who keeps flashing everybody. And why does he put his sex life into his song lyrics, if he doesn’t want to be objectified?
One of Eric’s eyebrows quirked up at that. His sex life? What was she talking about? He knew the tabloids liked to pair him off with a different female celebrity every week, but Tessa knew better than to believe that crap.
Taylor: What sex life??
Tessa H: Um, have you heard “Aloe Vera”? That song’s obviously about some girl he was sleeping with.
Taylor: C’mon, Tessa. You’re smarter than that.
Tessa H: What? You think it was about a man?
Eric hesitated. He’d never told another living soul the true meaning of “Aloe Vera.” Not even Maury. The record label probably wouldn’t have released the song if they’d known. It made his heart rate quicken to think about telling Tessa—unnerving but strangely exhilarating at the same time.
Taylor: Not a man…maybe THE man.
Tessa H: ????
Taylor: There’s more than one way to get screwed. That’s all I’m saying.
Tessa H: OK. So…now he got screwed by THE man?
Taylor: Listen to the words. “You said, ‘Baby, take your clothes off. Get rid of those tan lines.’”
Tessa H: So?
Taylor: Who told him to take his clothes off?
Tessa H: Ummm…Ariana Grande? :P
Taylor: All I know is, he was just this shy kid with an acoustic, and then he got signed by a major label, and the next thing you know, he’s prancing around half-naked all the time.
Tessa H: So you think his record label told him to take his clothes off?
Taylor: Think about it. “I fell asleep to the sound of your voice whispering to me.” Maybe he feels like they kinda seduced him with a bunch of sweet talk.
Tessa H: But the rest of it? “You left me there to blister. Ran off with the only key”?
Taylor: Right. They locked him in. To his RECORD DEAL.
Eric held his breath, waiting for her reaction. Would she get it? He had a feeling it would probably blow her mind. It was her favorite song, after all. She knew the lyrics almost as well as he did.
Tessa H: OMG, Taylor. Are you kidding me right now?
Taylor: I know, right? It totally fits!
Tessa H: Talk about projecting.
Taylor: How is this projecting?
Tessa H: Because YOU feel trapped by YOUR job. You’re talking about YOU. Eric Thorn is not YOU. Get it through your head!
Eric bowed his head in disappointment. Projecting. Tessa’s favorite word. She had the truth staring her in the face, but she didn’t see it. She couldn’t see it, he knew, because it was only a tiny sliver of the truth. Not the real secret that would blow her mind…
He shifted uncomfortably, unable to avoid the stab of guilt. Maybe he should tell her everything, right then and there. How amazing would that feel? He had the perfect opening right now. He knew exactly how to do it.
Eric switched back over to his real account, @EricThorn, and began to compose a new DM from there:
Eric: Not projecting if you’re actually talking about yourself, Tessa…
Eric stared at the words in his message bar, but he didn’t quite have the nerve to hit Send. Not yet. He wasn’t ready. Who knew how she might react? He hastily deleted the message, sucking in a shaky breath.
Still, he had to give her something—something more than ridiculous theories from Taylor the snarky fanboy. Tessa had become one of the most important people in his life, and he didn’t even follow her from his real account. He should’ve done it back when the #EricThornObsessed thing was trending. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember why he hadn’t. If any fan deserved a follow from @EricThorn, it was @TessaHeartsEric.
What would happen, he wondered, if he hit the Follow button now? A cautious smile crept onto his face as he imagined her reaction.
He couldn’t resist. His thumb made swift contact with the button.
? ? ?
Tessa lay on her stomach in front of the TV, bopping her feet in time to the music. She’d recorded tonight’s Christmas special, and she hit Rewind to play Eric’s performance of “White Christmas” once again, while she waited for Taylor’s next reply.
It was strange, she thought, the way Eric had forgotten the words tonight. It wasn’t like him. Hadn’t he rehearsed beforehand? Something must have happened to distract him. She studied the familiar face on the TV screen for clues. He started out the song slow and serious, with those hypnotic, ice-blue eyes staring straight into the camera—but then he faltered at the bridge, and he butchered the second verse.
Dum dum dum of a white Christmas.
The Christmas snowflakes all look…white…
Tessa couldn’t help but giggle as his expression gave way to a self-deprecating smile. What was going through his head, she wondered. Had he panicked on the inside? Or was that crooked grin of his for real?
She longed to ask Taylor for his take on the whole thing. He usually had a pet theory for everything Eric Thorn did. Pure fiction of course, but Tessa couldn’t deny that she found his ideas entertaining. Just look at the story he’d concocted about “Aloe Vera.” Tessa chuckled again at the thought. As if that song could be about anything other than a hot and heavy one-night stand.