“Then I will happily agree to join you on Saturday.” She patted his chest and yawned. “But right now, I’m going to collapse face-first on my bed. Someone wore me the hell out.”
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Get some rest, neighbor.”
“Sweet dreams, Hill.”
She went inside, and he waited until he heard the lock click and her alarm activated. For the first time in a while, he didn’t dread the night. His body was sated, his sheets smelled like Andi, and he had a date Saturday night. Things were looking up.
***
Andi woke up early the next morning and edited the cooking video she’d made with Hill, grinning through the whole process. She knew they’d had fun together, but seeing it on-screen underlined how right she was. Hill would be great at teaching people to cook. He was so patient with her, gently guiding her through the process without making her feel inept when he had to step in and help. Plus, he looked fantastic on camera.
She posted the video to her readers and podcast followers and then went back to working on her manuscript. Over the last two weeks, she’d hit a bit of a stride with it and felt like if she kept it up, she’d have something sellable to present to her agent. Today, she’d decided to put in a love scene between the heroine and the guy who was helping her evade the killer. She hadn’t planned for a romance between the two, but somehow, there it was.
She blamed her neighbor.
An hour and a half into writing, she took a break to get a refill on coffee and opened up the video again. Comments had poured in.
shura_blaese: Whoa, who’s the hot chef?
HorrorBelle4Life: Omg, y’all are so cute together!
Dariaduzdetecting: What dis? More murder pls.
marvinasakitas00: Never trust a man who knows how to handle a knife that well.
Andi smirked at that one. Her followers were her people—always looking for the murderous potential in others.
Lizzy_Boredom: Get it, girl. I hope dragon noodles were followed by canoodling. Ha. See what I did there?
Andi snorted, recognizing the screen name Eliza used on her nonprofessional accounts.
TruCrymDiva: Where can I find his channel? And his number? :-p
Andi texted Hill the link.
Andi: You’re a star, dahling. Everyone wants a taste of what you’re cooking.
He didn’t immediately respond so she continued to scroll the comments, knowing she needed to get back to work but the pull of the internet was too strong to resist. It was too much fun reading what people thought of Hill.
Andi skimmed along a few more comments, smiling to herself, but then her gaze snagged on one.
KingXLeer: Ooh, Man-Hater let a guy near her. Don’t get 2 close, dude. She’ll cut ur dick off & serve it 4 breakfast.
Andi’s jaw clenched. “What the hell?”
A few of her followers had commented back to the guy with a few STFU’s and orders for him to run back to his troll cave. But supporters had also chimed in for him.
ShanetheReaper67: Inorite? All she does is whine about how horrible men are. A dude probably can’t hold dis bitch’s hand without being called a rapist. Prediction: this guy will be charged with something b4 she’s done with him. Run, man!
KingXLeer: I’d like 2 give Man-Hater something to cry rape about.
A sick feeling rolled through Andi. She was used to people being assholes on the internet. Being a woman online meant creepers and haters thought they had a right to come at you, especially when you were traipsing around in the male-dominated land of horror fiction. But the anger and threat behind these comments stirred a different kind of unease. This felt more personal than the garden-variety trolls who sometimes popped up.
Her phone rang in her hand, making her jump, and Hill’s name lit up the screen. She swallowed past the anxiety the comments had sparked and answered the phone, trying to sound upbeat. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said, tone clipped. “I got your text. Those comments—”
“Yeah, I saw,” she said, cutting him off. “I didn’t see the bad ones until after I texted you the link. I’m about to flag them and delete them.”
“What the hell was that about?” Frustration filled his voice. “Who the fuck thinks it’s okay to say shit like that?”
“Idiots on the internet,” she said tiredly. “I’m mostly used to it. The Man-Hater guy has been in my comments before but never with a direct threat. He seems personally affronted that I try to help women learn how to protect themselves. I mean, how dare I tell women how to stay safe. The nerve of me.”
“I guess you’re really getting in the way of his date-rape plans,” Hill said grimly.
“God, I hope he’s not out there in the world dating actual women,” she said, leaning back in her desk chair and pinching the bridge of her nose, a headache forming. “I’m hoping he’s got all this anger because people sense what a disgusting human he is and no women come near him.”
“Yeah, but either way, that sounds like a time bomb,” Hill said, tone concerned. “He outright threatened you. Is there any way to report him?”
“Not really. I mean, I’ll flag the comment, but that just means he’ll pop up again with a new name or when he’s let back on the platform.” Her computer screen went dark, her book disappearing from the screen. “He probably lives in some dank basement far away. If I had to worry about every person who made a creepy comment to me on the internet, I’d literally never leave my house. And I use a pen name so people online can’t just look up the real me.”
Hill sighed. “I know you’re smart and watch out for yourself, but I still wish I could get some time alone in a room with this guy. Teach him some manners.”
“The best thing that I can do is continue my podcast,” she said, appreciating Hill’s protective instincts but knowing there was nothing to be done about it. “People like him want me to stop. That’s why they come for me. They want to shut me up.” She smirked. “But I won’t. Instead, I’ll probably put him in my next novel and have him murdered in a really humiliating way. Ooh, maybe I’ll write an internet-troll-hunting vigilante. That actually could fit in the book I’m currently working on.”
Hill laughed. “I like this evil, vindictive side. I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior so I don’t make it into one of your books.”
She smiled. “Well, I wrote a love scene this morning, so you’re already serving as great inspiration. But I promise, I won’t murder you in a book—or, you know, in person, man-hater that I am.”
“A love scene inspired by last night, huh? And how can I preorder this book?” he said in a mock-formal voice. “I need to write this down.”