A Little Dinged Up (gxg)

Chapter 17

I stood in front of the full body mirror checking out my choice of outfit for the awards show. I'd gone with a crossed halter top jumpsuit in white that would contrast perfectly with my standard cropped black leather jacket and the new black lotus tattoo. It also had a bare back, which makes me wish I'd had Liv put something there too! Maybe she could do that next time. 

"Okay, you look gorgeous!" Miki assured me. "Trish is going to be a puddle when she sees you!"

I glanced over at her, resplendent in a red mini dress that showed off her shapely legs to the best degree. Liv had been here earlier helping us do our makeup, and I was happy to have had her. I was too nervous to do it myself, and I would have ended up looking like a literal clown. I had to admit, seeing them together was adorable, because while Liv looked tough with all her tats, she was cute as hell around Miki. But then Miki would flirt nonstop with her, or lean down and whisper something, and I was pretty sure that Liv was using all her willpower to not jump the little Japanese cutie. Miki must be much naughtier than her appearance let on!

I had a feeling that all bets would be off when they got home.

Liv was going to be waiting for us, and I knew that she and Miki would go have a fun night afterwards. I didn't think that would be in my cards tonight, since I had zero confidence in anything being repaired enough with Trish to have that happen in a single night. Hell, I didn't even know if I'd want that right now, or if my ribs would let me!

"Miki, you're going to get several sponsors and collaboration offers tonight, I'd bet anything on it!" I told her. She'd already boosted her subscribers to seven million, and I had no doubt that would keep climbing as she expanded what she was doing. She would be out of school in a few months, and that would allow her the freedom to go anywhere she wanted and review things in different cities.

"I can't believe I'm going to this!" She was a bundle of nerves, and I was wishing Liv had stuck around a bit to calm her down because she looked like she was going to fly away as much as she was flapping her hands.

"Next year you'll get your own invite, and you can take Liv as your plus one," I assured her. "Now that your channel has already blown up, I'm sure you'll be there."

"Is tonight going to be crazy? Am I going to have to keep you from killing Max?" she asked with a nervous grin.

"Oh, no way. I'm too sore to punch anyone." Liv had tried to talk me into putting makeup on my ribs, but I liked the bruise. I messed up my stunt, and when I was done editing the clip everyone would know how. If anything, seeing the bruise would make people want to watch! Humans have a fascination for people getting injured. Had Max been smart, he would have aired the clip of his wipeout on his channel instead of letting Jill hand it over to TMZ for laughs. "Besides, Max is probably too injured to worry about still."

"What will you do if he is in too much pain to go, and Trish stays with him?"

I stood still for a moment at that thought. I hadn't even considered that! "I guess if that is the case I'll have to see if Madison can reach out to Trish for me. I'd prefer not to be so formal, but I can't go on waiting like this." Madison had already confirmed the rumor about Juliette being Max's mom for me. Evidently, she had divorced his father a dozen years ago and gone back to her maiden name, so there was no connection at first glance. I was still upset that I hadn't suspected that though. Did Trish know? She had to know by now, right? I mean, Jill could tell, and Trish was with them a lot more than that!

"Well, we'll find out soon!" Miki looked up from her phone. "Our Lyft is here!" Yes, I know, everyone uses Uber, but we go with Lyft because it has the Lyft Pink option to help women get drivers that they're more comfortable with. That was a good option for us!