Welcome back to the bro-down!
Giant megatron bombs of gratitude to Twisha and SelimPensFiction for kicking my novice booty into completing this ever-so-humble draft. And love to Starships and Stopwatches for the gushy review of Ch1 ;)
Chapter 2:
"Bro, what do you think they're talking about over there?" Espo's roiling confidence grew a little impatient, when he noticed Cassandra, Kimi and the redhead congregating at the far end of the hall.
Ryan quipped, "That's easy. They're trying to decide how to let you down easy, man."
"It's you who'll be finding another way home tonight, partner." Esposito's voice climbed an octave, "Did you see that pint-sized honey fly up those steps? She ran straight to Cassandra to tell her that the answer-to-all-her-prayers has arrived."
"Then why did Ms. Stone's best friend tell me, to wait here for my introduction?"
"You mean that redhead? Well, maybe she hadn't got the memo yet, because the way she's over there shopping me right now, I'd say she's asking Ms. Stone if she can share some of this." Espo drew his fingers around his face and down his chest to indicate the merchandise in question.
"Aw partner, it's only a matter of time before you stuff those overly shiny loafers in your mouth, and blow your shot." Kevin clapped Javier's shoulder in mock empathy. "But don't worry, I'll be very comforting when she comes to me to clean up your mess."
Javi jerked his elbow in a circle to shirk off Kevin's condescending gesture. "Not tonight, bro. Tonight's gonna be different." Noticing Kimi headed toward him, he added "In fact, I believe that's my cue."
"Kimi, can you find out how much longer I need to endure this?" Cassandra complained. Her third balcony perch still wasn't far enough away from the crowd. Even with the velvet ropes, there had to be a dozen people on this floor she didn't know.
"Sure thing" Kimi started out expeditiously on her mission to find the hotel's point person. As the newest member of the entourage, she still found a few stars in her eyes when Ms. Stone spoke. Everyday she learned so much from her new friend. Today, her mind was chewing on Cassandra's latest confession. 'I can't fix me, I'm weird, just like everybody else, not special, not freakish, mostly just lucky. But when I treat my imperfections as immovable objects, I don't have to chase, I'm able to feast on the life right in front of me.' Kimi thoroughly enjoyed preparing tonight's feast, it felt amazing to be needed by a woman like Stone.
You see, the prominent feature of Cassandra Stone's strangeness, which her entourage was mainly employed to protect, was an almost clairvoyant sensitivity to touch, like psychometry, but with people. When Cassandra touched another person's skin, she was bombarded with sensations and images, that drew her into a bond with her counterpart. If the images were inviting, she was filled with a hunger to know them more completely, to grok them, which skipped over all the social prescriptions for polite chit chat about the weather and what inane thing one did for a living.
When Stone lavished her unique kind of enthusiastic, undivided attention on a person, it usually inspired a fierce loyalty to her, made people pliable. When she could give into her yearnings to dive even deeper, it was an intensely pleasurable experience for both parties, even when it didn't lead to something carnal. But the actress was usually too wrapped up in the experience to use it as a means of manipulation, except when strictly necessary to protect herself, of course.
Hence, Ms. Stone's erotic film experience at 17 had been transformative, for everyone. At first glance, her more experienced co-star, Jack 'The Electric' Hammer, mistook Stone for just another camera-shy, desperate teenager turning to porn in a futile search for power and solace. Hammer was completely unprepared for the level of intimacy she would evoke from him. It was no doubt his best performance ever, and he turned dangerously obsessive when shooting ended, especially when Cassandra turned her attentions elsewhere.
Cassandra fidgeted uncomfortably, "How did all these people get up here, anyway? Why don't they want to be downstairs, where the actual party is?"
"Aren't we right here with you?" Jaqui reassured, "No one is getting through us, unless you say so."
Thankfully, Jaqui had been there to kick Mr. Electric in the balls, grab his ridiculous Fabio hair, and drag him out of the room before he could force his attentions on the young actress. The first of many times her Jax, as she affectionately called her, would save her life.
Despite the close call, the sensitive starlet knew she had to get in front of a camera again, so she sought a slightly safer arena. A year later, it was again the indomitable redhead, that pushed her bestie, Cassie, into the audition that would catapult her film acting career into the stratosphere.
The real problem for Ms. Stone was in her peripheral job requirements. Cassie was golden one-on-one or on display to millions. It was that middle distance of social interaction, like a press junket, or the soiree that Kevin and Javier entered tonight, where her 'gift' was an excruciating curse.
Jaqui took note of the tension gripping Cassandra's shoulders. "Hang in there, girl," she consoled. "You're doing fine, and I've got a very special catch on the line for you tonight." Jaqui flicked her head toward Ryan who was staring over the railing, waiting for the all clear. "That is, if he passes."
"Oh really?" Cassandra jumped at the chance to banter with her friend, visibly relieved by the distraction. "Well, Kimi seems to think that the hunky one next to him, is gonna win out." Cassandra traced Esposito's silhouette in the air with the hand holding her drink.
Jaqui indulged in a little leering at Espo, herself. "Maybe. They certainly both have merits." A blush rose in the redhead's cheeks with the memory of Ryan's knee accidentally brushing her inner thigh as they left their table a few moments before.
Kimi interjected, "You haven't touched them yet, right?" Tonight marked the first time one of her picks made it into the final round. She still hoped that Espo was her lucky ticket to the winners circle.
"Nope." Jaqui reassured. "They're over there...sweating bullets, by the looks of things."
Cassandra smiled, her friends had done well, as usual. She doubted her girls understood how truly lost she would be without them. Her heart bubbled to see them having fun with it. After a grueling six week promotional tour, that required an outstanding array of coping mechanisms, all of them deserved to order their favorite sensual pleasure off the menu tonight. They needed this.
But Cassie had to be careful, lest she become overwhelmed. At the slightest contact, a brush of a hand or a touch of the lips, she could lose her place in sentences, disappear into sensation. It wasn't completely debilitating, mind, she could still function, but it was awkward and uncomfortable for both parties, easier to simply avoid it altogether.
She developed a shyness and became reclusive to compensate. And in childhood, these subtle tactics were enough to get her through. But, she needed an entourage to protect her from the disproportionate attentions directed at a bonafide movie star.
"The hotel says the pre-show will start any minute now," Kimi reported. "All eyes will be on that floor show, and away from you, very soon. When the mirrored ball drops, you are off the hook, contract complete, studio happy, publicist appeased, and the rest of the night to do what turns you on." Ms. Stone's newest friend was very calming, good at walking her through the details, and keeping everyone's eye on the prize.
"You've made it through much worse than this," Jaqui jibed. "Remember Thailand?" The comment stole a little snort of comic recollection from both women, as the image of an overstuffed bus with chickens, snakes and a curiously handsy monkey popped into their heads.
Stone was willing to squeeze herself into just enough uncomfortable situations, to keep her career alive, and no more. But every time she accepted too many public appearances too close together, she bared her teeth like a caged animal and resolved to give up her career once and for all.
That's when Stone's entourage would step in, and take the necessary, if sometimes elaborate, measures that were needed to keep her sane and working. This lifestyle, although ridiculous at times, was fantastic for Cassandra and her close friends most of the time.
"Ah, this is it," Kimi announced, pointing out the shimmery disco lights painting the crowd below. "Show's starting. Now, all you have to do is choose one, before you are free to escape."
With a hug for both women, Kimi reminded, " Now, don't forget to text me when it's time for breakfast." On her way to the party downstairs, she gently touched Esposito's shoulder, sending him towards Stone.
"Lucky bastards have no idea." Jax said to herself with a wink at Ryan to give him the green light.
Cassie grabbed Jax' hand appreciatively. "I'm good now, go dance, enjoy the peacocks on parade. Better get your kicks in now before they all get too drunk and some poor fool snaps open your special can of whoop ass." Jax loved when Cassie talked beneath her schooling.
"Call me if you need anything at all." She kissed her Cassie on the cheek.
Ms. Stone settled herself back in a little corner, arms crossed. She stood uncomfortably against a door jam as far away as possible from the railing and the prying eyes below. This was the hardest part for her, even with all the layers of protection from her friends, and the secluded meeting place on her terms. She still had to decide in public. And now they were both standing in front of her at the same time. *Awkward*
Javier wasted no time. Lifting her hand in his, he humbled himself and slowly offered his most sincere, "Ms. Stone, my name is Javier Esposito. It is my pure pleasure to meet you."
He brought his lips to her hand, kissed it slowly, and turned his mocha eyes toward her to convey the rest of his covetous intentions. Kimi had warned him that anything more than a dozen words would most likely disqualify him. 'Be sincere, open, and to the point,' she had coached.
To Cassandra, Esposito's hand felt like lava pouring into her, the longer he held it, the further it climbed into her arm, then her chest. When he kissed the back of her hand, magma dropped deep into her stomach. She lost herself for a moment. Standing there melting, she felt that her feet may have slipped away. She could swear that a hot wind was blowing through her, like she was riding a magic carpet, and his hand was the only thing to hold onto.
When her fingers slipped out of Javi's grasp, the room reappeared and she found herself back where she started. But now she was flushed and a little hungover from the ride. She began to cringe as her senses confronted the suddenly too bright lights, garish brass doorknobs, and scratchy carpet. She wanted to retreat from the now seemingly crass reality of the hallway.
Seeing that Espo was a step ahead of him, Ryan panicked. With a surreptitious elbow, he nudged his partner back a few steps, allowing just enough room to wedge himself between the two. Ryan purposely eclipsed Esposito's view, so he could stand directly in front of Ms. Stone. Having been similarly coached on how to approach her, Ryan scooped her hand into his, and held it to his chest. Trying to create some semblance of privacy, he leaned them both against the wall conspiratorially.
"My name is Ryan, Kevin Ryan. And we've met actually." His left eye brow raised characteristically, Irish eyes glinting, punctuating his sentence with irresistible Ryanesque charm.
Cassandra was suddenly inches away from those hypnotic blue eyes. They were cool antidote to Javi's heat, which was still pulsing through her. She fell in, head first, floating in the crystalline waters of his iris. The swirling eddies made her head swim. Trying to rebalance herself, she followed Ryan's scent, which reminded her of clean linen and comfort.
For a moment, Ryan's touch and smell transported her. She heard the sounds of the waves from the porch of a seaside cottage. She found herself staring at a vase of white daffodils on an antique wooden table. She was wrapped in a wool blanket. The hide-away world he created in her was illuminated by diffuse light through grey clouds. Everything was quiet. Under the weight of his hand, his chest muscles felt steady like a safe harbor.
The signature of Kevin's touch was everything opposite of the overdone publicity circus she had to endure earlier in the day. She wanted to stay there, in this universe created by their connection. Everything came into quiet focus there. She desperately wanted that clarity.
Kevin continued to press her hand firmly against his heart, but Javier's spiced-latte voice broke through the trance with steamed heat.
"Cassandra, may I call you Cassandra? I believe you would be more comfortable somewhere private." He tucked himself behind her, so his words could breathe into her ear and her back could feel the heat of his chest.
Ryan, still locked in his gaze, reassured her with words he had rehearsed a hundred times in the mirror.
"Don't worry. I can protect you. If you'll let me."
She was woozy from the undertow of both of them, they were saying and doing all the right things. It all felt right. But the aching weight of having to choose was obfuscating all the fun, all the intimacy. So she wrested herself away from both of them, and started walking away from the party, up the hall, attempting to clear her head.
"Bro! I had her," Javi hissed.
"No way," Kevin shot back.
Over her shoulder, Cassandra heard their angry whispers. She spun around, eyes aglow.
"You know each other?" she demanded.
Kevin and Javier both felt their hopes drop into the pits of their stomachs with a heavy thud. Slowly, and guiltily they shook their heads, "Yes."
"Come with me." she said flatly.
She unlocked the door behind Javi, and shut it when all three of them were inside. Immediately, she was more at ease. In a darkened room, with only the hallway light overhead, and a door to shut out the world - she was free. She could be anyone she wanted. She thrust Kevin against the wall, and kissed him longingly on the mouth.
In an instant, she was behind Javier roughly tracing the perfect curve of his backside, around his hips until she could squeeze his inner thighs hungrily. Javi's eyes bulged as every part of him came to full attention.
Kevin still hadn't caught his breath yet. Damn she moved fast.
"Would you stay with me tonight?"
"Me?" the men asked in unison, both pointing a finger at their own chest.
"Yes." She answered, disappearing into the bedroom.
Javier pulled Kevin into the bathroom and shut the door. In a loud whisper, he warned:
" Bro, if we do this, we need ground rules."
"Agreed. What are you thinking?"
" Rule one. No one's dick enters any part, whatsoever, of the other dude"
Kevin nodded, then added his own, "Rule two. We take this to our graves."
Javi added quickly, "Rule Three. I get to go first," as he scooted out the door, into the bedroom, and closed the door behind him. Kevin was three steps behind when the door latched closed in his face.
"Damnit, Javi! Not cool" he hissed to himself, curling his fist in frustration, totally unsure what to do with himself in this highly unusual situation.
The bedroom was mostly dark, moonlight pouring in from the balcony to Javier's left. Cassandra was standing in front of the fireplace on the far wall. But she didn't turn to look at him.
"Would you like some ice water?" She held up her glass.
He walked directly to her, still full of adrenaline. He pressed himself behind her, fit his mouth behind her ear, and reached his hand under the glass. Breathing in her scent, Espo answered a weighty and committed, "Yes."
His muscular body was a column of heat behind her, closing her in with the heat from the fire at her toes. He drank some water, and placed the glass on the mantle, leaning them both closer to the flames. But Javi saved a strategic ice cube in his teeth. With his right hand, he swept the hair off her neck. His left arm wrapped around her waist strongly. 'Let's see if she's still the girl I remember,' Javi mused silently.
When he pressed the cold ice behind her ear, a little gasp escaped her throat. His teeth ran the melting cube down the right side of her neck, and across the back of her hairline to the exact spot he remembered marking all those years ago. He thrilled to see her involuntarily quiver, in exactly the same way that she had on screen. The memory was etched in stone, indelible in his mind. And he had just affected a reenactment with his own real-life lips. 'Please tell me this is really happening' he implored himself.
When she squirmed sensually, his arm tightened around her waist. Melting ice droplets were her only salvation against the heat. His swelling behind her increased the heat, making her a little dizzy. Her hands searched over his hard thighs for something to steady herself. But the heat became too much, all the air was being sucked out of the room, she couldn't breathe.
She broke away, forcing her lungs into deep breaths, racing to the cool side of the room. When Cassie flung open the door, she found Kevin standing in front of it, with an unsure look, apparently still deciding what to do. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him into the room. Holding on for dear life, panting on Kevin's chest, she rinsed off Javi's scorch in the cool blue moonlight. Finally, when Ryan returned her embrace, and ran his hands along her back soothingly, her breath returned, and her autonomy renewed.
She whispered in Kevin's ear, "Will you stay?"
Kevin nodded, swallowing his apprehension about what a trio might mean, his eyes solemnly committed to hers. "Yeah, I'll stay."
With that, Cassandra turned to Javier with a thrilled smile.
Javi tried to mask his ambivalence with a casual, "Can I make you a drink?" turning toward the mini bar.
"No!" she shut him down. She could feel him shifting gears into a polite let's-get-to-know-each-other type conversation.
Infuriated by the invasion of meaningless, distance-creating words, she flashed.
Of course, most women wanted conversation and lots of foreplay. But to Cassandra, that seemed really backwards. She was inclined to fuck first, ask questions later. Not because she wasn't interested in what he had to say. On the contrary, she wanted to dive into all of it, all the meaty layers of his drives, fears, quirks and tastes, and Kevin's too. But if Cassandra was going to get any pleasure out of it, she had to obey her own built in command for a specific order of operations. Touching, not talking, had to come first.
Luckily, her fame and money allowed her the luxury of her taboo whims. But her Hollywood world was so fake. She wanted to taste the real Javier & Kevin. And in her experience, bodies were the only part of people that couldn't lie.
To regain control, she ran over to Esposito, grabbed the back of his neck, and gathered his lips into an exuberant kiss. Javi passionately kissed back, running his hands up and down the sides of her body, shuddering in gratitude that he didn't have to maneuver his way through a minefield of calculating chit chat, while his body was aching for something much more direct.
But, ultimately, Javi would have to wait.