“Thanks for taking care of my drunk ass last night. I’m pretty sure I owe you more than breakfast, but we’ll start there.”
I grinned as I stood. “I could think up some manual labor at my house to make us even.”
“You’re cruel, woman.”
“In this case, I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
As we headed towards the doors, a guy in his mid-twenties stepped into our path. “Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt, but are you The Little Daredevil?”
I froze. The only time someone had recognized me from my channel was when I’d gone snowboarding up on Mount Hood. And it had only happened once.
Calder stiffened next to me.Shit, shit, shit.I forced a smile. “Sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The guy pulled out his phone where he had a photo of me from my solo trek along the PCT. “You look just like her.”
Calder bent forward, his eyes narrowing on the image. “Who is she?”
“She’s this totally badass extreme sports girl. She’s got over half a million followers onVoyeur.” He shrugged. “They say everyone has a doppelgänger.”
“I guess she’s mine.”
“No doubt.”
The man returned to his table of friends, and I walked stiffly towards the door. Once we were outside, Calder grabbed my elbow and tugged me into a small alcove next to the building. “What the hell was that?”
It felt as if the walls were closing in around me. I’d built this outlet for myself and me alone. No one in my real life was supposed to know about any of it. “Mistaken identity, I guess.”
“That’s what you’re really going with, Little Daredevil?”
I winced and looked up at Calder. “Please don’t tell anyone.”
“Don’t tell anyone what?”
“I have a channel on this platform. Toby and Jinx make these videos of different tricks and upload them there.”
“What, like some sort of social media?”
I nodded. “It’s a photo and video streaming site. Some people just share their lives. Others teach people how to do things. Mostly, it’s watching people who excel at something. Everything from video games to cooking to sports.”
“And half a million people follow you there?”
My teeth pressed into my bottom lip. “It’s closer to a million now.”
Calder’s jaw slackened. “And you just do it for fun?”
“Mostly. The site pays out some because people purchase subscriptions. And you can get sponsorship deals.”
“So, you’re making money doing this.”
I was making more than I would ever make as an EMT, but I wasn’t ready to share that tidbit with Calder. “Yeah.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “And your name is The Little Daredevil?”
It was too much. Even tucked away in this little alcove, I felt exposed. That this one tiny fact would tell Calder everything. That I’d never stopped loving him. That I’d never let go. But I refused to be ashamed about it. Instead, I looked him straight in the eyes.
“Yes.”
14