Liquid Sunsets

Chapter 2/4

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June 26th, Sunday, 8:34 AM

Klavier's Villa / Beverly Hills

Ema awoke in a comfy bed, with a headache straight from hell. She groaned when she tried to get up, but her eyes fluttered shut and she sank into the bed again. She rolled to her side, only to find Klavier Gavin next to her, the steady rising and falling of his chest suggested he was still asleep. Slowly the pictures of the last night crawled into her mind and reminded her of her recklessness. She didn't need to uncover her body to know she was bare naked underneath. Ema sat up on the bed and started to search the room for her underwear. Pieces of clothing were everywhere scattered on the floor.

Klavier's bedroom was beautiful: a king sized bed, a large dresser with mirrors on them, a window that led the sun through the room. Ema got up from the bed and collected her outfit from the last night. She couldn't find her lab coat anywhere in the room, but decided she didn't need it to make her way home. She exited the room and made her way through the hallway. Ema had no idea where she was going, the house reminded her more and more of a maze. Somehow she ended up in a room full of trophies, awards and posters. "Shit." She muttered to herself, she was clearly lost. "Fräulein, the way out is the exact other way." Ema shrieked in surprise. "Shit, Klavier." She muttered again, this time it was directed to the man who startled her. "I got lost in your maze of a home. Just how many rooms do you have?" She asked, her clothing pile covering her abdomen area. "About ten, I think. Come on," He said, "I'll lead the way." He went ahead and grasped Ema's hand. He led her through another hallway until they were back in the living room. "I'll better cover up now before I leave." She said, hoping he would get the hint to leave her alone for a moment. "Yes, you should. Although I think people would love the view. I sure did." He grinned. Ema rolled her eyes. He didn't say anything else before he went to the kitchen to leave her alone.

She quickly put on her pants and shirt, followed by her shoes and jacket. Her purse was still laying around where she left it, on the ground next to the couch. She fetched it and slung it over her body. Now, the only thing she needed was her phone. She checked her bag, not there. She checked her jacket, still nothing. The door to her left opened and Klavier returned, wearing boxer shorts and carrying a tablet with coffee mugs on it. "Figured you might want some coffee." He said putting the tablet down on the couch table. Ema looked at her wristwatch, which was the only thing she did not take off last night. She still had some time before her weekly visit at the detention center. "Figured right. And an Aspirin please." She said, rubbing her temples. He smiled. "Be right back." with that he left the room and Ema way down on the couch. To her surprise,she felt something edgy poking her butt. Ema stood up and fetched her cell phone from underneath her. She sighed in relief and clutched her phone to her chest. Klavier came back a minute later with a handful of pills, a glass of water and what looked like a business card. He handed it the items to Ema who thanked him in response. She downed to pills with a sip of water and looked at the business card. "Give him a call. He'll connect you with that agency he told me about yesterday." Klavier explained the card. Ema nodded. "I still fail to see why an agency would want me. I'm obviously not trained." Klavier laughed, "Fräulein, I'm asking you to call the agency, not to sign with them or become famous." Ema sighed. "Alright, fop. A call won't do anything right?" She asked him. He nodded, displeased at her calling him a fop again. He hoped that they would have left that phase behind them, when he marked his way insider her. If she felt anything, even discomfort at the thought of last night, she hid it well. No one said a word about what they did last night, but Klavier wanted to. "Fräulein, I want to see you again."'he said, brushing her hand with his. Her eyes widened. She wasn't prepared for this, she didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. Klavier still looked at her, not letting it slide. When she still failed to respond he planted a soft kiss in her lips. The instinct of Ema's body immediately kicked him and she found herself kissing him back. She silently cursed her body for being responsive to every single touch. Their lips crashed against each other over and over again, tongues battling for dominance. Klavier later back on the Couch and pulled Ema on to his lap, so she was straddling him right on top. He kissed her again, this time more greedily. His hands traveled from her hips to her butt, which he cupped with his hands. Ema moaned against his lips, her own hands pulled down the hem of his boxer shorts, revealing his erected member. Klavier anted kisses down her neck and strived her jacket down and tossed it to the ground. A vibrating noise interrupted them, making Klavier groan. It was Ema's phone this time and she dutifully answered it. "Skye, hello?" She slowly got away from Klavier. "Yes, no problem. Can do, see you at 11. Bye." She hung up and fetched the jacket from the ground. "I have an appointment in a Bit, I'll have to leave now." She said, gaining another groan from Klavier. "You still haven't given me answer to my question, Fräulein." Ema put on her jacket and looked him in the eye. "I'll call you." Was all she said, before leaving his home. Klavier stood there for a moment, just watching the door.

—-

June 26th, Sunday, 11 AM

Los Angeles Detention Center

"Hello, Lana." Ema greeted her sister through the invisible glass wall. Lana smiled at her little sister. "Hey Em, tried a new hairstyle?" She asked with a small laugh. Emas face lit up in confusion. "You have a bad case of bed hair." Lana added. Ema tried to sort out her hair, but decided that no one except Lana would see or care. "I had the craziest 24 hours, Lana."

Lana broke out in a grin. "What's the tea, sis?" Ema raised her eyebrow. "Did you honestly just ask me what the tea is? Who are you and where's my sister?" Ema jokingly said. She couldn't help but notice how much her sister had changed in prison. Despite being locked up for almost 8 years, Lana still kept up to date with pop colture. Usually new inmates would teach Lana about the world outside, in return Lana would teach them how to get settled into prison, helping them out with food and necessities.

Ema told Lana the whole ordeal, she left no detail out, even the embarrassing one, she told her. Lana was Ema's only living relative, everyone else vanished into the nothingness of death.

She kept her sister as close in her life as the prison made it possible for her. Lana was her sister and her best friend, and sadly her only friend.

"But all of these things sound wonderful! A modeling job! My sister will be in magazines! That's amazing. And about your boss, ex boss, next boyfriend..that was bound to happen one day." Lana gushed. Ema shot her a look that said 'careful'. "It wasn't bound to happen. And he's not my future boyfriend. We had a good night, filled with booze. And that's it." She said, emphasizing the words 'that's it'. "At least you can admit, that it was a good night." Lana said shrugging.

A familiar guard came in, smiling friendly at Ema and Lana.

"Time is up Ladies." He said, showing the keys to Lana's cell. This particular guard, name tag "Jerry Johnson", was probably the friendliest guard of the whole facility. Most guards and officers treated the inmates horribly, like they were worthless and evil. But anytime Jerry was around, she felt a little better for Lana. From prosecutor to inmate, that was hard enough already, but Lana never complained.

Ema and Lana said their goodbyes, and Lana was brought back to her cell again, leaving Ema alone in the detention room.

—-

—-

June 30th.

Four days had passed since the photo shoot with Klavier and Ema's life has already begun to see changes. She received more phone calls in four days, than in her whole life. She accepted the offer the model agency had for her: a job to test out the whole concept of being a model. If she enjoyed the job, she could sign under them, if not, she'd be under no obligation to continue with modeling. It seemed too good, to be true.

That's a lesson though, she won't learn until later.

Her very first photoshoot focused solely on her had been a catastrophe and she contemplated changing her name after this fiasco.

A female photographer with short black hair greeted her rather unfriendly. "You're late. And you're a lot... thicker than I thought." Ema shot her a glare. "I have a perfectly normal height to weight ratio!" She exclaimed, wanting to smack her in the face. "A plus size model then. Not what I was hoping for. "the woman said, "As you may already know, I'm Terry. Just Terry. Changing rooms are-" Just Terry pointed time a door on the far left of the room are there."

Ema took a deep breath and headed for the door.

The changing room held other problems for Ema: the dresses were ill fitting and in her own humble opinion: ugly. Frilly neon green skirts, tennis sneakers with more neon green and an arrangement of rhinestones. There were a lot more, numbered outfits, and she hated every single one of them. The price tags were still attached to the items. All in all, the room was full of clothing that combined was more worth, than all her organs on the black market.

The shooting itself was over fast enough. Just Terry was a pleasure to work with, efficient in every way. At least, until she opens her mouth.

"For a newbie, you held your own quite well." Terry complimented her towards the end of their appointment.

"If you lose just a little weight, you could be the next big thing.

What's your name again, darling?" She continued.

—-

Ema was relieved to get home that night. She was a mixture of emotions: rage, hate, self doubt, self appreciating things, as well as a wave of disgust. At who or what, Ema wasn't sure . Just Terry was probably her number one reason.

She was getting the impression, that the media and the movies might just be right about the stereotype of a fashion industry model. What she experienced today, a dozen other girls had already experienced it and a good deal was to follow on the future. That's what kept Hollywood alive. Ema thought to herself, sinking down into the couch in her living room.

Maybe she should lose weight, maybe Terry was right. Another thought that hasn't left her side, since Terry suggested it.

„You could be the next big thing" Ema didn't even think about being anything, other than a forensic detective. But the sound of these words made Ema wonder, if she couldn't be a model at the same time. The vibration of her phone interrupted her from her sea of thoughts. It was a text message from Gavin. „ I'm on my way." wait, what? She texted him back: „I think you've got the wrong number, fop". His response came almost immediately: "no, I don't". Ema put her phone down and searched the room manically for an answer to whatever was going on right now. She found none, only more questions.

A couple of minutes later, Klavier stumbled to Ema's doorstep, ringing the bell like a maniac.

Why would he show up at her house out of nowhere? Why show up at all?

Klavier Gavin appeared at her door in his usual rockstar / prosecutor attire, a purple mess, as she liked to call it. He smelled of cigars and whiskey, when he entered the door and passed by her. "Well, hello, Fräulein." He purred leaning closer to her neck. Ema's first instinct was to inch away from him. "Are you drunk, glimmerous fop?" She asked, sliding away from him.

He smiled. "Maybe." Before Ema could say anything in response, he continued: "or maybe it's solely due to the fact, that you did not call. Pick one, they're both accurate." Klavier Gavin gave himself the permission to sit down on the couch and leaned back. "Lovely home, you've got there." He said, looking around the room. Ema did not say anything, she silently grabbed two bottles of beer from her fridge in the kitchen and returned to the living room. She handed him a bottle and he took it from her with his typical grin.

She wasn't sure if offering him even more alcoholic beverages was such a good idea, but Ema decided that she didn't care. He was an adult after all, even though he didn't really act like one just now.

Klavier sat down next to Ema, still holding the bottle in his hands. "May I ask why you chose to be drunk here, in my home?" Ema gestured around her living room. Klavier brought the beer to his mouth, "If you would have experienced a day in my life, especially one like today, you'd be drunk too. And I prefer the company of a beautiful woman while I'm at it."

Ema's cheek heated up and tinted themselves in a shade of red. "You could have the company of a billion woman if you'd want to." Klavier chuckled, "sure, but I'm here now. And right now, I can only see one woman and quite frankly, that's the way I like it."

Ema shook her head with a smile. "You had a rough day, I had a rough day, we should just go to sleep and let it pass."

"Is that an invitation?" Klavier asked. Ema rolled her eyes. "No. What I meant with that is, you should go home. I'm calling you a cab." She already had her phone in her hand, ready to call for a cab, when his hand reached out to her phone and gently took it away from her. "Can I sleep here for tonight?" He asked her, his blue eyes searching hers. There was a sadness in them, Ema never noticed before. She had seen them in other people, but rarely in her boss. A part of her wondered, what made him get so drunk in the first place, another made her wonder how he remained rather composed for his state. Ema was sure he must have had experience with this and it scared her a little bit.

"I'm not exactly thrilled about company, but I guess you can stay." Ema sighed in resignation and featured towards the door. "Guest room and a guest bathroom are right through this door. Help yourself. I'm taking a shower. And no, that wasn't an invitation."

June 30th

The guest room, as Ema now called it, was her sister Lana's former bedroom. It still displayed the same photographs and memories. Ema left the room exactly as it was ten years ago, when Lana still lived in this house. The bedding changed of course, but besides that, the room screamed her name.

It was a cozy, feminine bedroom, the walls painted in a muted mint color and wooden furniture.

She did not dare to touch anything deeply personal that belonged to Lana, it felt like an intrusion into her life.

Ema led Klavier into the bedroom and motioned for the bed.

"Make yourself at home, I guess." She said nonchalantly and left him standing in the doorframe.