#ThePickup: An Enemies to Lovers Story

By Kelly Papyrus

Aidan has the perfect hustle going, producing online prank videos with his best friend and spending the rest of his time picking up any woman he wants. A natural born charmer, Aidan’s personality and looks are almost enough to land them a sponsorship that will make their lives so much easier. All they have to do is convince everyone online they can pick up any girl, no matter who she is.

Sabrina is vying for the same sponsorship, with a brand centered around being kind and spreading positivity. Sheltered and spoiled, she doesn’t know the same kind of struggle as the boys. Her good looks and large following make her an ideal target for Aidan. But as the two get to know each other, they start to find that opposites attract, and they just might be soul mates. The sponsorship can bring either of them fame, fortune and success, but is that more important than finding love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Shorts
• Release date: Jul 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781094411408

Kelly Papyrus

Kelly Papyrus is a writer whose stories feature diverse characters and people of color. She loves learning about new cultures and writing about them. She lives in Florida and loves dogs.

Book preview

Part One: Click Like and Subscribe

Aidan

So, tell me, what makes your channel stand out?

Hudson sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, staring at me and Kenny with this shit-eating grin that made me want to punch him. There was no question that if some douche gave me that look on the basketball court or outside a bar on a Saturday night, we’d fuck him up.

But that wasn’t the plan for today. The plan was to hustle the fuck out of this college boy. So, I just took a deep breath and listened as Kenny started the little speech we had practiced.

Our subscribers love us, man. We have such a wide cross section of people in our audience, and they don’t just watch our pranks and gaming videos. They want to know what we’re doing every minute. People are always asking Aidan for help and advice. Plus, the chicks love him.

Hudson leaned in toward us, his face open and eager, buying it like the chump he was.

Have you ever thought about leaning into that, Aidan? he asked.

I had no fucking clue what he meant, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of asking.

My main focus right now is our partnership and the Prankiful brand. I don’t want to take my attention away from it and have our product suffer, I said confidently. Saying things confidently was half the key to hustling someone.

That’s smart — at least, in the situation you guys have found yourselves in up until now. Working on your own, it’s all about how many eyes you can get on your content. How many people you can get to mash that subscribe button, right?

Hudson nodded to answer his own question, and I had to remind myself not to roll my eyes.

Working with us here, our aim is different. We want to work with creators who are polished and appeal to more than just the instinct to laugh when someone gets hit in the face with a frying pan or whatever. He waved one hand in the air like the details of a channel that captured millions of subscribers were so unimportant.

Let me get into the details with you in just a sec. I have to step out and hop on a call. I’ll be right back. Molly will get you anything you want to drink. Coffee? Water?

I’d love a Fiji water, Molly, if you have it, I said, biting my tongue to keep from saying please. Mom had raised me to have good manners, but rich assholes didn’t thank people for doing their jobs, and they hated it when you reminded them how basic manners worked.

Me, too, Kenny said, winking at me.

As soon as Hudson and his assistant left the room, we both burst into laughter.

A Fiji water, if you have it, Kenny said, using a stuck up accent as he did an impression of me. "Bro, you know they have it. They have everything here."

Sure do, I said, turning in my seat to check out Hudson’s office in full.

The wall behind me was mostly windows, giving an unbelievable view of Manhattan that some lifelong New Yorkers would never get to see. Up here, the whole city looked small and conquerable, which probably contributed to Hudson’s superiority complex. Molly came back in with our waters and fancy drinking glasses on a tray, her hands shaking, and I got up to help her set them on the desk.

Thanks, she said, flashing me a grateful smile. Hudson insists on classy presentation, but I’m not a waitress. I’m always nervous I’m going to break one of those stupid thousand-dollar glasses, and he’ll take the cost out of my pay.

Would he really do that? What a prick, I said, and she snorted with laughter.

I’m so glad someone said it, she said, passing me the water. Everyone who comes in here needs something from him, so they act like he’s the greatest. It gets really annoying after a while.

I bet, I said, raising my glass of water to her. You seem so much smarter than him.

She blushed, just like I knew she would. Somehow, it just wasn’t hard for me. I knew the steps and how to execute them perfectly — all without seeming like I’d done it before. It never failed.

I’m just working here to save up some money and make connections, she said, lowering her voice so I had to move closer to hear. I knew that was exactly what Molly wanted. I put my hand on top of hers, just briefly, and watched her breathe in quickly.

See, that’s smart. I knew it, I said.

Molly looked up quickly, as if she’d realized suddenly that we were in the middle of her boss’ office,