BLOCK: Social Media #3 Read Online Free Page B

Heavily.
    And when we get to the hotel I go straight to my room. I have one hour to dress and prep for the rehearsal dinner. I need to change into my midnight-blue sheath dress and my discount shoes. It’s professional, not at all flashy. And while the shoes are pretty in a Target sort of way, they do not have red soles.
    And that makes me sad all over again, because I really fell for the shoes Vaughn bought for me on the island. I have them with me, but I can’t. Not after the ultimate betrayal I just saw online. And that phone call. That woman, Jasinda, she thinks I’m the other woman.
    I hit the minibar, grab a few bottles, fill a glass with ice, and fall back on the bed with my laptop.
    Don’t do it, Grace, that little voice in my head says. Don’t look.
    But of course, I absolutely am going to look. I pull up the webpage and just stare at the picture of Vaughn. It was taken recently because it’s a promo for IM2 . He’s smiling and happy. His female co-star is in the picture with him, but they cut her off so they could do the side-by-side shot of the girlfriend.
    I scroll down to read the article.
     
    Ms. Gonzales says her relationship with Vaughn Asher began almost a year ago on the island of Saint Thomas—
     
    I pour the contents of the little bottle into the glass and take a long swallow before I can continue reading. Of course she met him on Saint Thomas. It’s where he gets all his girls.
    I wipe my mouth and return to the article.
     
    —where he propositioned her to become his sexual submissive in exchange for money and gifts. "I was required to sign a nondisclosure agreement," the teary-eyed Gonzales explains. "He told me people won’t understand the type of sexual relationship we have together. He said what we had was special and not something he did with just anyone. But I’ve seen him with other submissives on the island. Many of them. He has a sexual appetite that can’t be quenched and he insisted that he not have to use a condom, so of course, I find myself pregnant."
    Is he the father?
    "He is," she says as the tears roll down her face. "I haven’t been with anyone else but him. And when I told him about the baby, he was very excited. And at first that made me happy, but I now know he’s unfit to be a father. I need him out of my life and I will fight for the right to raise our child alone."
     
    I close my laptop and guzzle the rest of my drink.
    What did I think? How did I think this movie-star fling would end? I mean, wake the fuck up, Grace! He’s a user. He says whatever he needs to in order to get his way. He probably has girls stashed all over the world. He probably has dozens of kids, because that whole not using a condom thing she said, that’s true. He never used one with me.
    And Jesus Christ, I need to get myself to the doctor as soon as I get home to make sure I’m not infected with some sexually transmitted disease.
    I make myself another drink and then strip out of my clothes so I can change into my dress. I struggle with the zipper for a few minutes, but finally contort my body enough to pull it all the way up. It feels tighter than it was at the fitting last week. My body is slim, so the dress looks good, but I really need to put all this Asher stuff behind me and get back into my normal exercise routine. It doesn’t help that Kristi has been taking me out to lunch with her every day, and she eats like a pregnant woman.
    I smile at that. I like Kristi, but I hate her husband-to-be. I’ve still never met him. He’s much too busy to concern himself with a wedding. I’ve spent the last two weeks with her planning the big day and that jerk has yet to show up for so much as a cake-tasting. Kristi and I, on the other hand, have been inseparable and she’s starting to feel like a friend. We’ve come to Vegas four times on day trips to iron out wedding details, and everything is perfectly planned, but I can honestly say that this wedding is a disaster waiting to