Summary:
ACT I: BRUNO
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Bruno arrives home late after failing to find his mystery woman and almost misses an important audition the following day.
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He arrived home past midnight. After his hasty escape, Bruno scoured through various clubs and bars within the area in search of the woman of his dreams. His destiny. By the fifth hotspot, however, he gave up and called a cab home.
He wasn't lucky today, but damn, he could not stop thinking about her and those red heels.
In the cool darkness, he imagined what could've been. He moaned as his eyes closed, his hands firmly gripping his hardness. He stroked himself and silent whispers rang in his ears. He never got a chance to approach her, and they never spoke, but he knew her voice would be as smooth as velvet.
At least, that was what he's imagining.
"Oh, Bruno…Ay, Papi…" She would cry out. "Faster, baby. Faster. Harder. Give it to me."
He would explore her body, leaving marks where it mattered. He would lay claim and make her his.
And he would never let her leave his bed.
Bruno's breathing suddenly becomes ragged as the thought of her submitting to her ecstasy crossed his mind. The world started to spin. His hips bucked forward and a groan escaped his lips.
If only it was real.
Exhausted, he slumped back down on the bed in the wee hours of a new day, ignoring the feeling of emptiness that followed right after the clarity. His heartbeat slowly steadied as he fell into dreams, satisfied for the time being, dreaming of the woman he'd never met, of her smile and blood-red skies.
…
The throbbing feeling in his head felt like it was getting worse by the minute. He pulled his cap lower, squinting at the brightness outside. He shouldn't have drunk so much last night, but that was past Bruno's poor decision making, and present Bruno's problem. How could he forget that he had somewhere to be in the morning?
Bruno tilted his phone to check again. Shit . He dressed himself as quickly as he could, but forgone the shades. It screamed pretentious, even if he truly needed it.
The morning was a disaster from the moment he opened his eyes. He was running too late to even take the train into the city. He rarely took rideshares, what with the traffic, but it was the only logical solution. He praised whatever deity was out there when he managed to get himself an Über quickly.
I guess there is some hope today.
As soon as he got to his destination, a man leaning against the building rushed toward him, yelling profanities. Bruno tried hard not to shrink himself, as the noise caught the pedestrians' attention.
"Fucking hell! Do you know how hard it was to get this call for you, and you dare to be late?" The man hissed. Well-dressed and impeccable, he looked like a celebrity in their downtime, wearing a crisp blazer over a simple shirt and jeans, paired with sneakers that are too fresh to beat. "You're lucky that they haven't called for you yet, ¡tu tarado!" He ran one hand through his short, wavy hair while he dragged Bruno inside, who remained silent the entire time. The man prattled on again when they got to the second floor, over to a line of people waiting outside a door. "You'd better have a good explanation for this, Madrigal."
"And good morning to you too, amigo," Bruno's jaw clenched. He knew this would happen the moment he saw the number of missed calls and angry texts. "Can you keep your voice down, Julián? I can hear you just fine."
Julián pressed his lips together tightly, arms lightly resting across his chest. "Did you even get some sleep last night? You look like shit." He stood imposingly over Bruno, which was easy, given he was a few good inches taller than him. "And before you go being a smart-ass, I'm asking you as your friend, not as your agent. What the fuck happened to you?"
"Nothing." Bruno shrugged nonchalantly, resisting the urge to lash out himself. "Just your usual Miércoles."
"Hm. And does the usual involve you getting to an audition hungover as fuck?"
More curious stares.
Bruno contemplated if he should tell Julián what happened last night. He knew he failed miserably at even getting up to talk to someone, and it wasn't typical behavior for an actor of his caliber. His friend might laugh at him for losing his touch, or be more pissed that Bruno almost missed out on the audition that might potentially be the break they were hoping for.
In the end, Bruno decided to be vague about it. There were too many ears around, and his migraine was getting worse. "No. And keep it down, will you?"
"Whatever. Care to explain why you were out drinking on a Wednesday night?" Julián clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "And you didn't even think to invite me?"
"It was…a sudden excursion?"
Julián didn't look convinced. "Bullshit, Madrigal. We both know you don't go out on a bender even if I dragged you out of your hermit hole."
"Whatever, man. Your idea of a bender is brunch on Sundays."
Both men stared each other down, willing the other to crack.
"Bruno…Madrigal?" Someone calling Bruno's name broke their odd conversation. "Is Bruno Madrigal here?"
"Yes, I'm here," Bruno responded, ignoring Julián's satisfied smirk. What a child.
A woman holding a clipboard motions him over. "You're up next! Follow me when you're ready."
"Huh." Julián tilted his head at the assistant waiting by the door, his earlier annoyance at Bruno's unprofessionalism dissipating, replaced with visible amusement. "Great timing, that's you. Good thing you've already arrived or I'll never hear the end of it. Alright, go do your worst. I'll just wait here."
Bruno fidgeted with the collar of his shirt, the nerves making him hot and sweaty. "Thanks for the pep talk." He responds sarcastically. Bruno nudged Julián as he walked off. "Hey, let's go get something after this. I'll tell you what went down yesterday. My treat for not inviting you. Deal?"
Julián smirked. In all the years they've known each other, Bruno was still the same as they were back in unibersidad. It didn't matter if Julián was a few years older, their personalities made them one heck of a duo that carried well on into their professional lives. "Fine, fine. La idea me parece chévere. You better make good on your word, Bruno."
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Glossary of terms (in order of appearance in-text):
Tu tarado - You a**hole/moron
Unibersidad - University
La idea me parece chévere - I like that idea/It seems like a cool idea
