When Steven returned to his room, the first thing that he did was wash his hands. It was a part of his routine now because he was afraid of catching a disease. Once he was properly cleansed, he sat down at his desk and turned on the computer. He had a medical paper that he was working on but had been putting off. He hadn"t even opened the file, though, before someone knocked on the door. "Come in," he said.The door was pushed open, and Ethan strode in. Steven sat up straight, but Ethan just looked at him and said, "Settle down. You"re not in trouble. I just wanted you to know that Kylie is moving out in a few days."
"Pardon?" Steven gasped.
Ethan smiled, took out a cigarette, stuffed it into his mouth, lit it, and threw one to Steven. Steven caught the cigarette, thanked Ethan, lit the cigarette, and took a drag. Almost immediately, he began to cough, and as soon as he was able, he said, "Wow! These cigarettes are very strong!"
"You"ll get used to it," Ethan laughed.
"I don"t think so," Steven sighed as he put the cigarette out in an ashtray by his keyboard. He pushed the ashtray towards Ethan and said, "Here you go."
Ethan laughed. "Thanks."
Steven glanced at his computer and then back to Ethan. "Did you hear that Michael Cole was just released from prison?" He wondered.
Ethan glanced at the screen, and he said, "No. I hadn"t realized that, but I am seldom caught up with current events. But what does this have to do with anything?"
Steven said, "Nothing, I suppose…"
The room was silent for a while, and then Ethan got up to leave. He walked to the door, but as he opened it, he turned back and said, "There is no longer any need to investigate Stars."
When Ethan returned to his room, he found Kylie looking through the sc.r.a.pbook that Miller had given her. He sat beside her and looked through it with her. Every once in a while, she would point to a picture and say, "Look, this was from my first shoot as a model," or, "and here I am at my first audition," and "This one was just taken two months ago."
Ethan lay back on the bed with his fingers knit behind his face. He looked tired, and he seemed to be breathing heavily. Kylie put the alb.u.m aside, leaned against his chest, and asked him if he was okay. Ethan moaned but didn"t say anything.
Kylie slid her hand into his pants and squeezed his flaccid manhood. She laughed and said, "I told you that you could overdo it, but you didn"t believe me. Maybe you will take me a little bit more seriously next time! You better recover because, if you don"t, I will have to find someone else to "light my fire."
Kylie wrapped her arms around him and giggled so that he"d know that she"d only been joking. "What can I do to cheer you up?" she wondered.
Ethan frowned, and he said, "Nothing."
"You"re lying," she laughed as she slowly scratched his neck with her sharp fingernails. He flinched, and she said, "That was nothing. If I had an itch, I would scratch harder, so what is your problem? Why are you being so melancholy?"
Ethan grasped her hands tightly. He looked into her eyes with his own dark eyes. He didn"t speak. He simply looked at her.
"Say something," Kylie cried. "I"m worried about you."
"It is not what you think," Ethan finally said. "The share price of Garcia Entertainment is continuing to fall."
"What should I do?" Kylie wondered.
"There is nothing to do," Ethan replied.
Once he was alone again, Steven went to the washroom to clean up again. Once his hands were clean, he liberally applied hand sanitizers to them. Once he was done, he looked at them and started the process again. Even after his hands were red and raw, they still seemed dirty to him.
Finally, Stephen dried his hands, went to the miniature fridge next to his bed, and selected a wine bottle. He took off his shirt and pants and slid into a summer dress that was hanging in his closet. He turned on some soft music, and as he drank, he danced softly around the room. Every once in a while, he tweaked his own nipples and giggled.
By the time the first bottle was empty, he was drunk enough to pull out his cell to send the message that he"d been dreading. Upon turning his cell on, though, he saw that there were a lot of unread messages on his Facebook Messenger. He deleted his messages, one by one, without even bothering to see who they were from.
Kylie was lying in Ethan"s chest when her phone buzzed. She pulled out her phone and was excited to see that she"d received a message from Stars.
"Stars!" she shouted, startling Ethan. She looked at him and said, "I"ve finally gotten a response from Stars."
Ethan twisted his head so that he could read the message with her. It said, "Something has happened. I won"t be back any time soon."
"Why!" Kylie growled. "He said three times that he would come back soon, but now he says that he won"t be back anytime soon. What an a.s.shole!"
While complaining to Ethan, she typed, "What do you mean when you say, "I won"t be back anytime soon"?"
Stars replied very quickly. He said, "I"m not sure. I might never come back."
Kylie frowned, and she wrote, "You must come back. I want to introduce you to my husband."
Stars replied, "Your husband must be a good guy."
Kylie laughed and showed Ethan her phone. "Stars is praising you," She said, "He is a good guy, but he always bullies me!"
Ethan frowned, and he said, "How does he bully you?"
Kylie giggled, pinched Ethan"s cheeks, and said, "Not everyone a.s.sociates bullying with s.e.x. For most people, bullying is about intimidation and seeking to do someone harm. In Stars case, though, all I am saying is that he teases me playfully."
Steven read Kylie"s last message with blurry eyes. He poured himself another gla.s.s of wine and considered the mess that he"d gotten himself into. Ethan was an observant man. Sooner or later, he would catch Steven in a lie, and then it would be game over.
Steven thought about the day that had changed everything. Kylie had taken his arm and called him her "Plus One." She had looked at him, and her smile had been radiant. He had wanted that moment to last forever. Being her "Plus One" had been a dream come true. Just thinking about it, his little soldier came to attention, and he touched himself gently.
That night, Steven had called his butler and asked him to redecorate his house. He had known that if his home were wrecked, Ethan would invite him to stay with him. The next morning, after he"d moved in, he had b.u.mped into Kylie in the corridor. She had been sleepy, but he"d recognized her instantly. He had deliberately altered his appearance though so that she wouldn"t recognize him – and she hadn"t!
Time had pa.s.sed happily enough, and Steven often pretended that he was married to Kylie and that they were the masters of the house.
Stephen poured himself another gla.s.s of wine. He could barely stand, and his head was buzzing, but he held on to the thoughts he was thinking. He remembered when he"d first observed Ethan and Kylie together. His fantasies had been shattered.
When he"d held her hands today though, it had felt like all of the pieces had come together, and it had seemed right to him. He had wanted to hold her hand tight and never let her go. It was that thought that he held on to as he stroked his c.o.c.k.
When he saw Ethan, though, his heart had sunk, and his c.o.c.k withered in his hand. He was forced to admit that Kylie was not his, and as he scurried away, he"d counted the many ways he knew of that a person could take their own life.
Stephen finished his drink and threw himself on his bed. As he fell, he felt the contents come up from his stomach. He grabbed the garbage can by his bed. He vomited into it, and it slashed up onto his face and the frill of his dress. He put the can on the ground and reached for the water bottle on his nightstand. He drank it slowly, and his mind cleared.
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