The Boyfriend (The Camgirl Part 3)

Part LXIV: Confession

Blake

Blake took a deep breath, popping open the bag of Cheetos and handing it to her dad as she sat down across from him.

Despite how many times she'd come here, the exercises Dr. Cardaso had helped her through, And the way she was trying to keep her breathing even, Blake found her throat tight as she gazed at her father.

He smiled at her across the table, skin crinkling at the corners of his lips and eyes.

Those eyes told her how much he loved her; how proud of her he was. So much so that Blake didn't know if she would be able to say what she'd come here to talk about with him.

After their last conversation, she tried to " take more time for herself" as he'd asked, even if she was ignoring his objections to what she should do about the money.

She needed to talk with him, though. She couldn't open up to Liam about her dad without doing the same to her dad about Liam and everything she was going through.

"You don't look so good, kiddo," he said after smiling at her for a moment, "I would ask if you were alright, but..."

One Blake tried to force a smile out of habit, her dad just arched an eyebrow.

"What's eating you? Aside from what we talked about last time."

Remembering that last discussion made Blake's heart hurt. It must have shown on her face, because her father frowned.

"It's some of that," she admitted.

He gazed at her for a moment, expression unreadable, then relax back into his chair, "I know I maybe could have worded things better, but I'm not going to take back what I said."

He raised his hands, gesturing to the room around him, "I'm not going anywhere, Blake. I just want to make sure that doesn't prevent you from going wherever you want. I know you don't like coming here—this area, not here to see me—you don't really have any connections other than your grandparents and I, so there's no reason for you to feel like you need to be attached to this place."

He smiled, eyes crinkling again as he looked at her, "You're special, and I know that you're going to do big things. Bigger than me or your mom. And as much as I love seeing you, I love getting calls from you or your grandparents where I get to hear about the incredible life that you're having and all the new people in it."

Blake couldn't help the way her throat caught at those words. Or the way her eyes grew hot.

Her dad frowned, leaning forward, "Blake, what—"

"I'm fine. As fine as I can be. The new people in my life or actually what I wanted to talk to you about. To fully explain things, though—to make sure you know how great they are—I have to tell you some things you might not want to hear. As a dad."

She let that hang in the air as he gazed at her, eyes keen.

"Well, I've heard a lot of things I haven't wanted to hear in general over the past few years. None of them were important to you, though, so lay it on me."

Blake gave him a tight smile, then took a deep breath.

Am I really about to do this?

She bit her lip, looking around to make sure no one else could hear, then leaned in and took another deep breath to force them out.

"I'm an...online entertainer."

Blake braced herself for her dad's reaction, cheeks blazing. She watched, every muscle in her body tense, as he blinked, frowned, then cocked his head arching an eyebrow. Color bloomed in his cheeks, too.