“I think Mom will be a huge part of your life from now on. She can poke her nose into everyone’s business but she means well…” he trailed off. It was meant to be a warning. Katherine had always been popular with parents so she didn’t mind in the least bit.

“I won’t mind,” she said firmly. It would be refreshing to have a boyfriend’s mother who was amicable and actually liked her. Weren’t mothers-in-laws seen to be as evil and whatnot? She would like to break away from that stereotype.

“I think she likes you more than she likes me,” he huffed. Katherine laughed at the idea.

“Why do I feel like you will be the number one man in both our lives?” she taunted.

“Can’t blame you for having good taste,” he sang. She could hear rustling in the background and knew immediately that he was taking his clothes off. She didn’t comment on it and let him continue. Who knew a phonetic striptease could be so tantalizing?

“Oh. I ran into Nathanial again,” she admitted. She didn’t want to hide this from him lest Cage was offended upon finding out later.

“Oh?” he simply replied. But his tone said it was.

“Nothing to worry about. I don’t think he got the message. He just wants to keep pining for me or something. Wanted me to bring you to a party and whatnot…” There was silence. “I let him know that we are private and I am uncomfortable because of him.”

“You did good, love.” He sounded a bit relieved. “Keep me informed. If anything changes, I’ll assign someone to look after you. With your videos going up… I will have to fend off waves of men pining for you.”

“Don’t exaggerate. It’s just a small channel.”

Cage scoffed. “You have seventy thousand followers already. Once you start uploading consistently… you’re going to be the new poster girl for gaming content on the platform.”

“You think too highly of me,” she retorted. She didn’t believe that would ever happen.

“Love, believe me. I have been in this industry for a long time. So has Stephen. We know how people work. You’ll be a sensation soon.” He sounded convinced. There was no fear there, only pride.

“Will that be okay with you?” she said suddenly. Would he mind?

“I don’t mind in the least. I met you before you were famous and you love me despite my being famous.”

‘It will put us at an equal advantage,’ Katherine thought to herself.

“I would like that,” she said in a low, breathy voice. Cage would like that too.

– – – – –

1.5 Months Later

The camera followed her as she cooked herself and her friends’ dinner. On tonight’s menu was Chicken, Eggs, and Greens. Well, it was mostly a stir-fry with the least bit of oil and a whole of nutrients which tasted amazing. In an attempt to give herself more flavor while she followed the dietary restrictions that Cage did, she had to come up with great recipes that worked. Lily was always up for the task of filming her cooking… which usually took around fifteen minutes of her time. The rest was left to Katherine.

Post shooting the cooking video, Katherine covered Lily and Angelina’s portions and took hers to her bedroom where she would start filming her video.

“Hello, my aliens,” she said, looking straight at the camera with a wicked smile. She had slowly got into the habit of filming every day. She rarely got to speak to Cage, so showing him how she cooked, what she played, and leaving him small messages in her videos was all she could do.

“Tonight, we are venturing into the dark dungeons of the game…” she continued to speak. She filmed for another hour before stopping the recording and stretching. Next, she would have to edit the whole thing and post it. Now, she had two full-time jobs, from the look of it.

She walked out of her room to find her roommates in the dining area.

“That was fast,” Lily commented. “You’re a natural at this, aren’t you?” she commented as she broke into the omelet.

“Thank you.” Katherine took a deep breath. “I still feel nervous when I film and upload.” She shrugged. “It’s been one and a half months.” She wanted to groan. During that time, she had already posted forty-five videos and there were only two weeks left for the CoG competition to begin.

“It’s been a short period of time,” Angelina shrugged. “I still feel like an imposter when I post on my social media.” And she was a model. It was obvious that Katherine would struggle with this newfound influence she had.

“How did you make the sauce?” Angelina asked, poking at the food curiously. “It’s amazing.” She had the audacity to moan. Angelina was trying to learn how to cook for some reason. She hadn’t told anyone why.

“Watch the video to learn,” Katherine taunted. “I need you to watch all the ads so that I get money.”

“You already have half a million followers. It will only be a matter of time until you make tons of money. You don’t need my views for that.” She stopped and turned to Katherine with a gleam in her eye. “I just remembered, I got some clothes that will fit you perfectly. I’ll go grab them after dinner.”

“I don’t need new clothes,” Katherine grumbled as she took a seat. “I have everything that I need.”

“Stop,” Angelina warned. “As an influencer, you are supposed to look a certain way. Your brand might be eccentric but down to earth. Yet it doesn’t mean that you can’t look pretty. Put some effort into the way you dress will make a world of difference. The followers will swarm to you like flies.”

Katherine knew she could trust Angelina but feared that the clothes her friend would recommend would be outlandish and not to her taste.

“I’ll have you know, the hottest man on the planet thinks I look amazing in ratty clothes,” she announced proudly. “I don’t need fancy clothes to be eye candy.” The smugness made her friends look at her in disdain.