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CHAPTER EIGHT
Taking a break from writing, I found Kip vacuuming in the den. He pretended to hate it, but I knew he loved it when I interrupted his cleaning for a little afternoon delight. Peppering kisses down the column of his slender throat, I had just peeled away his t-shirt when my bedroom door banged open.
"We have come for you, Smoak!" It was Donnan, and Mira peeking from behind his shoulder.
Kip dug his hand in my shirt obviously mortified at having been caught in the act. I on the other hand was furious at having been interrupted.
Donnan sauntered in, sitting on the foot of the bed. "Come on, let's go. Let's go now. I'll give you ten minutes. Hurry and get ready."
I scowled at him. "Donnan, can't you see what I'm doing right now?" Kip was trying his damnedest to get out of the bed, most likely to high tail it out of there. I held him firmly against me, ignoring his struggling.
"Hm, let's see... You were about to devour this youth?" Donnan was tapping his finger on his chin as though he was really having to think about it.
"And knowing that, you would stick around?"
"I would." Kip tried to say something, but I put my hand over his mouth. He pointed that finger at me. "Anyway, just hurry up and get ready. I've got a car waiting downstairs."
"And just where do you think you're hauling me off to?"
"Where, you ask?" He was enjoying this far too much. "Where else? The commemoration party for the great author Alistor Smoak winning the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal! Hosted by Penguin Books, held at the Fairmont Hotel!"
I stared at him for three solid seconds before grabbing the covers and pulling them completely over Kip and I.
"Smoak, you bastard!" He pulled the covers off us. "You're not getting out of this, and I mean it this time!"
I got in his face. "When and where did I ever agree to attend such a thing?"
"You don't have to do anything. Just deliver a speech and be suitably sociable, and it'll all go smoothly."
Kip attempted to make a getaway again; I held him in my lap. "That's the part I hate the most, and you know it!"
Mira, looking compassionately at Kip and offered, "Kip, let's go eat some good food!" She was apparently happy letting Donnan be the bad guy. I let Kip go and he sprinted out of the room.
"The actual party is tomorrow. For today, please relax and enjoy a day of leisure in your super-luxurious hotel suite. You'll have a 360-degree panoramic night view all to yourself. Mm, how romantic," he added the last bit with a lecherous expression.
"You think I'd be enticed by such a thing?" I lipped a cigarette out of the box.
"Well, a hotel suite might be nothing special for you, but what if Shorty says he wants to go? I actually asked him once before if he'd like to go with you."
"When?" I was disbelieving.
"When you weren't around." How specific. "Shorty's such a good kid. What do you think he said? 'Well sure, I never get to go to places like that, so I'd like it if we could go, but Ali's busy and I don't want to be a bother. Still, it wouldn't be any fun without Ali.'" He scooted next to me, placing an arm around my shoulders. I blew smoke in his face. "Come on, how about letting him experience luxury for once? I bet it'd make Shorty really happy."
I hated for him to think he was right, but it would be nice to spend the night with Kip in an extravagant suite. I had planned on going to the party all along, I just didn't appreciate being barged in on when I was about to be ass deep in Kip. I supposed this manipulation of giving Kip a night out was a good enough one to make him think it was his idea.
I was on my way to the train stop with my garment bag holding my suit to take it to the Fairmont to meet up with Ali who left a couple of hours ago. I felt kind of reluctant about this. I've never attended anything like this party. What am I supposed to do there? For that matter, should I even be attending it at all? I'll totally stick out like a sore thumb. I should've just said no.
While Ali got ready, Donnan came downstairs to harass me while I was painting. I didn't want to talk to him at all knowing he had just walked in on Ali and me making out, but he didn't give me a choice. "Please, Shorty!" I hated when he called me that.
"This is about Ali, right? It's none of my business." I kept my eyes focused on the canvas.
"He just has a deep aversion for these things. If you say you want to go, Smoak will go for sure! I'm begging you!"
"Well, if he doesn't want to go, I don't think you should force him. Besides..." Donnan dropped his face into his hands, dejected. "Wh-what is it?"
"This upcoming party is important for the company, too. Tons of exceedingly distinguished authors and VIPs will be there. If I can't get the star of the event to come...I...I won't be able to stay with the company anymore!" He looked on the verge of tears.
What a loser, especially if he thinks I'm buying this bullshit. But if he's going to go through this whole song and dance... "Alright! I'll go! For fuck's sake. Happy now?"
He turned and gave Mira a thumb's up.
I hate that I let myself get duped into all this.
I noticed a florist shop on the way to the station. I haven't given Ali anything to congratulate him. A bouquet isn't very creative, but it's a good, safe option, right? If it's about $30... Going in I went to the counter. "Um, excuse me."
There was a guy a few years older than me, wrapping a small bouquet in blue paper. "Yes? Welcome!"
"Is it possible to get a bouquet for about $30?"
"Yes, it's possible." He smiled. "Is it a present?"
"Uh, yes."
"What kind of bouquet would you like?"
When I thought Ali, I thought extravagant, which made me think of roses. "I'd like roses."
"Alright. Roses it is. How about this kind?" He picked up a bloom that was light, creamy yellow with delicate pink edges. "It's a rose called Baby Romantica."
They were beautiful. "Yes, sure." I wonder if he'll like them, even though lots of other people have given him gifts that are so much more lavish.
Delicately carrying my bouquet down into the station, I went over to the board to see which train I needed to take. Finding the information I needed, I noticed a gentleman who was there before me just staring at the board. What's with this guy? There are a lot of people here, and he was kind of in the way. I think the poor guys needed some help. "Excuse me, sir? If you'd like, I can help find which train you need to take."
"Hm?" he looked over at me, then back to the list. "No, I know. I want to go to the Fairmont Hotel, but..."
"Then that's the Powell Station."
"I see," he told me and then back to staring.
What is going on? Could it be that he's never taken a train? He was wearing an exceedingly nice suit and had a spiffy haircut. He was as tall as Ali and he wore glasses, so I knew he can see the board. I felt bad for him for some reason. "Ah, I'm going to the Fairmont Hotel, too, so if it's okay, would you like to go the rest of the way together?"
He nodded and followed me around, not so much like a lost puppy, but like a guy on the verge of some sort of breakdown. We sat next to each other on the train and he stared ahead saying nothing. "Do you not take the train much?" I asked him.
"You could say that. A car usually comes to pick me up." Rich guy. Or mental patient.
I guess people like him really do exist. I've never known anyone like that. What was I thinking? Yes, I do. I wonder if Ali's ever taken the train? I have a feeling he's never been on a BART train.
At a stop, an older woman with cane came on and I automatically stood. "Here you go." I offered her my seat.
"Thank you young man." She patted my arm.
Holding onto a pole I was surprised to see my travel buddy stand. "No, you can stay seated." But the moment he stood up a guy wearing headphones slipped into his seat.
"Do you always give up your seat in this way?"
Strange question. "Well, depending on the situation and timing..."
He must've noticed Ali's bouquet because he questioned, "Do you like flowers?"
"These are for someone else, but I don't dislike them. I think almost everyone likes to receive flowers."
"I see." He went back to staring out the window.
He's not exactly easy to talk to.
Noticing the advertisement that had been over our heads when we were sitting, I saw that it was an ad for The Box that Shelters the Moon, by Alistor Smoak, American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal winner, from Penguin Books. "An exciting discovery!" it said. I took a picture of it with my phone to show Ali later. My travel buddy watched me. "It's incredible, isn't it? He wins an award, and they waste no time with the advertising blitz."
"He's an insipid writer," he stated bluntly.
Come again? I reminded myself to keep my manners. "Oh, have you read his books?"
"They're not even worth reading."
What the hell? Sure, he may have his preferences, but what's up with saying they're not worth reading when he hasn't even read them? It's not like I'm being biased because it's Ali, but saying stuff like that doesn't seem right. What's with this guy? I had to remind myself that it wasn't worth it, and kept my mouth shut.
"I'm going to the front desk," I let him know when we reached the hotel.
"I'll go with you."
"Ah, no, you don't need to..." but he was already on his way.
Oh, well. I pulled out my phone to call Ali and let him know that I'm here. "Hey, it's me. I just got here." Walking past a bay of elevators, one opened and there stood Ali and Donnan.
"Hey you," he greeted me. "It's you; awesome!" "Shorty! What a coincidence!"
Ali threw a glare over my shoulder. I turned to see my travel buddy, at first, look surprised, and then scowl right back.
Donnan made a noise of surprise. "Hey!"
"Dorsey? What are you doing here?"
"Work. I've got a certain esteemed author here, and..."
"Why are you together?" Ali interrupted him.
I was totally confused. "We sort of met when we were getting on the train and we were going to the same place. Do you know him?"
"'Do you know him?' This guy is Halston Smoak, his big brother." Halston gazed down at me with steely grey eyes.
What? The? Hell? Ali's brother? Him? No way!
Now that I was comparing the two, I guess maybe they're not entirely dissimilar. They were the same height. They both had grey eyes, though Halston's were darker. They had the same sharp jaw and slanting brow.
"Did you get the date wrong, by chance? The party's tomorrow," Donnan inquired.
"Party? For what?"
"I sent you an invitation. Did you not even look at it? To commemorate Alistor winning the award."
"First I've heard of it." He looked back over at Ali.
"Come on..." Donnan was skeptical.
"I'm only here because I have a meeting here today. I never imagined that I would run into you in a place like this, though." He said it so casually I almost believed him, but I had seen the way he was staring at the train schedule like he was deciding if he should come here.
Ali must not have believed it either because he sneered, "Thank you very much for going to the trouble of sending me flowers the other day."
"Flowers? Oh, my secretary probably sent them without telling me." He was as cool as a cucumber. "I know nothing of it."
The temperature felt like it was dropping as they glowered at each other. The mood was acutely frightening.
"Kip, let's go. Donnan, I'll be going on ahead to my room."
Ali started to turn when Halston stopped him. "Alistor, when do you intend to return home?"
"I am not going back. I've told you that several times, haven't I? Since I left, I have no further expectations, so do as you please with the rest of it."
"Be serious," Halston raised his voice. "So, you have no regard for me, and the fact that I have to clean up the aftermath and fill in for you?"
"If you don't like it, you could just quit. I don't recall forcing you to do anything."
"The one who fled can say whatever he pleases, after all, I suppose."
"Hey, stop it, both of you." Donnan tried to break it up before it became anymore heated.
Halston continued, "And as a result of running away, you became a writer?"
"Hey Halston!" Donnan tried again, and I think may have been trying to stop him before he said something that insulted both Ali and himself since he was Ali's editor.
Halston pressed on scathingly, "What a nice position to be in. Always flitting about imaginary worlds, turning away from reality. How easy that must be." What the fuck? Who says things like that?! "Weaving worthless sentences together, getting your insipid books published..." What's his problem?! "...and on top of all that, wallowing in your own self- satisfaction... You must be on top of the world," he quipped sardonically.
"Enough!" I had been listening to this guy put down Ali since we were on the train and I'd had it. "What the hell is your problem?! On the train earlier, you said you hadn't read any of Ali's books! If you haven't even read them, quit talking shit about them!" Halston's mouth fell open and he blinked his eyes several times as though he couldn't believe his eyes. "I bet you don't even know how hard Ali works to write them!" If I had been aware I would have seen Ali and Donnan having the same reaction. "He can go a week without sleeping sometimes. I've never seen anyone work as hard as he does!" I pressed the elevator button and dragged Ali into it with me. But before the doors closed I railed, "Don't talk like you know anything, based on unfounded assumptions! If you want to complain, at least go read one of his books first! Moron!" The doors closed.
Donnan laughed. "Awesome. No one's called Halston Smoak a moron since the last time I did it. Did you see that guy? He was furious! He was a quivering mess!"
"Who was that?"
"Alistor's special friend. Currently cohabitating."
"With Alistor? Surely not."
"But he is. I was shocked when I found out about it, too. I mean, he's a normal kid with nothing remarkable about him, but... Well, no, that's not right. I guess he has incredible talent just by the fact that he can actually live with Alistor."
"Hmph."
"He seriously pisses me off!" Kip was taking his rage out on one of the loveseat's innocent pillows. "What's with him? Is that guy really your brother? There are things you can and can't say even when your brothers! Besides, who says that kind of stuff in a situation like that?"
"Calm down, young man." He was really ranting.
"Like hell I'll calm down," he pouted. "And don't pay any attention to him, Ali. Your novel was great! Seriously, I'm not just saying that to be nice. I don't usually read books, but I was able to read this one all the way through."
"I'm fine," I assured him. Things have always been like that between him and me. We're the complete opposite of what you and your brother are like, aren't we?"
"Ali? Um...I don't know how to say this. I mean, I think I've talked about my brother quite a bit in the past, but if that made you feel bad because of your situation, I'm sorry." He grasped the poor abused pillow to his chest. "And if it bothers you for me to think this way, then I'm even more sorry. I don't know much about Halston, so I..."
He was irresistible. Going to him I ruffled his unshorn teal tresses. "You really are always trying to be solicitous to others, aren't you?"
"What are you smiling for?"
"I'm thinking that you're angry."
"Wh-what? Is there something funny about that? Don't smile, I'm serious. I said, don't smile!" There was no way I couldn't.
I leaned against him, resting my chin on his head. "It makes me happy that you were genuinely angry on my behalf."
"Why? It's nothing really." But he knew it was because he was blushing. "You're not making any sense."
"Brat."
'Agh!" He hit me in the chest. "Oh, wait," he spoke as though he suddenly remembered something. "Before I forget..." He went over to the door where he had dropped his bag and came back with an armful of flowers. "I'm sorry I took so long to do this. I know it's kind of late for this, but I thought I should do it properly. I thought your book was great. Allow me to formally say congratulations."
He gets me in the heart every time. He makes me loss my cool like only he can. I had him on the bed, scattered rose petals among us. "I desperately try to convey myself through all sorts of words, but you're a man of few words."
"Leave me alone. So what if I've never gotten better than a D in English? I'm better at painting my emotions."
"That's not it." I brushed the hair out of his face. "Some things are better expressed with fewer words." I picked up a petal and held it to my lips.
"I don't get it."
"Because you're a brat."
"Don't taunt me!"
I pecked him on the lips before he could go off. He really was worked up tonight. "If anything, that was a compliment." I kissed him, teasing him with my tongue. "But you're still a brat."
"Shut up!"
"You're so cute," I informed him.
"Shut up! Shut up!" He grabbed my shirt front. "Don't treat me like a brat! Just watch. I've got a plan you know! Someday, for sure, I'll definitely, seriously..." he squeezed his eyes shut, unable to look at me, "...ravish you!" He pulled me down to his lips and gave me a small kiss.
"You really are so cute."
"Sorry the flowers are so cheap," I apologized to Ali the next morning from my cocoon on the bed. He was sitting on the edge holding them.
"Why?"
"Well, I was just thinking that they could've been a bit more extravagant."
"Anything you give me will make me happy." He smiled down at the blooms. "After all, you hesitated over whether or not to buy flowers, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"And you agonized about if roses were the way to go, didn't you?"
"Yeah." How did he know?
"That makes me happy." He stroked the pedals with his long, tapered fingers.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I guess that might also be difficult for a brat to understand."
I tumbled out of my cocoon. "There you go again, treating me like a brat!" I reprimanded incredulously.
He just laughed at me. "If you don't like it, then hurry up and grow up, and try making the first move on me."
"You're not making any sense." I heaved the covers back over my head. He kept laughing as he left the room.
So, I guess he more or less liked them? If he liked them, then that also makes me profoundly happy.
When I came out of the shower a little later, I discovered the sitting room covered in nearly two dozen garment boxes. A few of them were open and jackets and slacks were draped on the sofa. "Ah, Ali, what is this mountain of suits for?"
"I bought them for you."
"You bought them? All of them? For me?!" I was stunned.
"Wear whichever one you like to today's party."
"But, I brought the one you bought for me on our date."
"A new one would be better, wouldn't it?"
"Return them! Or, just give me the receipts and I'll do it myself."
"I have not such things."
"At least keep a log of what you spend!" He was unbelievable.
The doorbell for the suite chimed. I answered it, with Ali right behind me. "Room service. We were asked to deliver these flowers to Kip Lexington." She held up a bouquet of orange and pink blossoms that I didn't know the name of, but they were enormous and quite stunning.
"What? Don't you mean Alistor Smoak?"
"No, we were definitely asked to deliver them to Kip Lexington." She read the delivery notice, "The sender is one Halston Smoak."
"Why?"
"No idea," Ali grumbled.
We had lunch in the room because Ali was in a horrid mood. I ate as he left the food on his plate untouched, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. I must not provoke him right now. But that was easier said than done when he was surly like this.
"Really Ali... Drink or smoke. Pick one." He stared at me while he took a puff. I had to work at not rolling my eyes. "This party is part of your work, right?"
"I didn't ask for it," he observed waspishly.
"Hey, I don't think you should talk like that. It'd be good for you to partake of the world at large once in a while."
"Hmph. If I have the time to partake of that, I'd rather partake of your body."
I threw my fork down with a noisy clatter. "I've taken the time to come with you, so be good and go socialize! I'm done eating." I stomped into the bathroom to brush my teeth. "And it's not like I have a lot of free time, you know. I have to get ready for my second-term exams, too."
"It's okay once in a while, right? To savor being lovey-dovey lovers in a hotel suite."
"And just who are these lovey-dovey lovers?" I mumbled around my toothbrush.
He, of course, understood me perfectly. "Why are you so reluctant to admit it?"
"What do you mean?" I knew perfectly well what he meant, but I would never admit it.
"I have yet to hear you say that you love me."
"Wh-what? Why are you suddenly bringing that up? I-I've said it. Not that I remember when it was." I spit out my toothpaste. I didn't want to talk about this right now...possibly never.
"Your declarations of love are always preceded by 'might,' or followed by 'probably'."
"What does that matter? We're both men here, so let's be noncommittal." Jesus I was stretching for anything.
He came up behind me, leaning into me. I could easily feel his erection. "Why don't you admit to it already?" His voice was low.
"Admit to it? To what?" How long could I go on pretending I had no clue what he was talking about.
"'I love you, Ali. When I think about you, Ali, I get all fuzzy in the head, I feel flushed all over, and I can't live without you anymore.'"
"That. Is. Not. Happening!" I ducked under his arm and left the bathroom. "Seriously, quit taking your stress out on me." He took my arm, turning me towards him, coming in for one of his kisses that broke me down, turning me into putty in his hands. I couldn't let that happen. Taking him firmly by the shoulders, I pushed him back. "That's enough already. Do you think it's okay to just do whatever you want, whenever you feel like it?"
He placed a hand on the wall behind me. "I do."
"You do, huh?"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"No sir." I gave in. He was just too damn sexy.