CHAPTER 37 - GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN

EMMETT’S PLACE - AN HOUR LATER

LOUNGE

NOEL

True to his word I have been given a room in Emmett’s place, and now that I have my kit, I can show Justin how Naomi comes to be.

“Wait!” Daph stops me and adjusts the curtains and the light. “Better?”

“Yes, better.” I grin, and turn back to the mirror. “Now, first I apply the base. I haven’t ever been able to grow facial hair - another source of disappointment to my stepfather - but neither his opinion nor his acceptance mean anything anymore.” I get nods of approval, and another top up of my martini. “The trick with the base is to not do panstick - so many transvestites make that mistake and end up looking like Coco the fucking Clown. And always leave the eyebrows alone...as in don’t draw them on. Work with not against what you have.” The room goes silent as Naomi starts to come to the fore, and an hour later, she’s back! “Gals, meet Naomi.”

“That is wonderful. You are so beautiful as both sides of you. Did Brent ever know?” Justin asks as he goes through my varnishes and finally selects a fourth one, then he picks up his phone. I grin as he, no doubt, takes a picture to send to Brian.

“No. Nobody ever knew in LA, and if they did they never said. I am kick-ass at PR and got there through being fucking kick-ass and nothing else, unlike Ethan. Seriously, I could understand that you know. He had to give head get ahead...”

“Ethan blew Brent?!” Cynthia looks repulsed and takes a healthy sip of her martini.

“Walked in on them once.” Justin shudders. “His technique with a bow surpasses his ability to blow...lots of slobber. He thought he was doing such a good job, and was so into it that he never noticed me or the fact that Brent was texting at the same time.”

“Oh, he’s that bad?!” Daph squeals. “Someone should tell him!”

“What?!” Emmett exclaims, having been on the phone in another room, for a while. “Hang on, Teddy, let me put you on speaker. Now say that again!”

“The court papers have been issued to Michael and Marilyn, who, for those that don’t know is Jerry’s widow and who is going to sue Michael for culpability in Jerry’s death.

“Who was Jerry?” I whisper to Emmett, and he pulls me out of the room to catch me up. The more I hear, the more furious I become. With a flick of her hair, Naomi storms into the room.

“Ted, this is Naomi. Can you get Marilyn on the phone as well, please?”

“Uh, sure. One minute…” There’s some mutterings before Ted comes back. “We’re all here. By we, I mean Marilyn, Blake and Brandon.”

“Emmett has given me the barest details, and I want to help in any way I can. I…” I take a breath and blink back tears. “Before I let me be me, I had suicidal thoughts, but was too cowardly to do it…”

“Cowardly!” Emmett exclaims.

“Yes, let me explain. You are taking your own life, knowing that you are going to be leaving behind such pain, confusion, disbelief and, for some, shame for those that love you very much. Someone who kills you doesn’t care about that. But despite all of that, the pain or whatever it is for that person is too much and they just want rid of it. Some go down the other route of pain management and self-harm, which can be another form of slow death. It’s like a vice that just wraps around you tighter and tighter. No matter how much you try to breathe, you just can’t.”

“How did you stop yourself?” Marilyn asks, her voice is tremulous.

“Chyna called me handsome. Not a pussy boy, a fairy, a queer or nancy-ass boy, she called me handsome. I…”

“Oh my goodness, you have still been having those thoughts?” Daph scurries to my side and wraps herself around me.

“Yes. They began to get worse as my first appointment loomed up, but after speaking to Chyna and Sade and cancelling the appointment, they just stopped.”

“If only Chyna had been there for Jerry.” Ted sighs.

“Chyna wasn’t but Naomi is. I want you to tell me every single thing about Jerry, and then everything that you have heard that he said about Jerry. And I mean everything.”

Two hours later, I have a raft of notes, Justin has lizard green toenails, and Emmett is looking thoughtfully at me.

“What?” I ask frowning.

“You are going to destroy him aren’t you?”

Smiling widely, I nod vigorously. “Oh yes, much like Godzilla did Tokyo.”

“Thank you.” He smiles as he covers up a curled up Daph and Cyn and then smiles as Brian raps on the window.

“Why did you call me to take him home now? I had a Marlon Brando session all lined up.” He grumbles as he comes in.

“Just a feeling, besides you want him home or you wouldn’t be here.” Emmett grins and points upstairs. “Second bedroom on the left. I doubt he’s asleep, seems he misses a particular warmth.”

We say nothing as Brian heads to the bedroom; there is a squeal then an ooof as Justin has, no doubt, launched himself at Brian. Then there’s an oh man and ten minutes later, they are both downstairs, looking mouth ravaged.

“I...um…am going home now.” Justin mutters.

“We noticed.” I smile, and then smile wider when Brian leans across and takes the nail varnish that I used on his toes as well as varnish remover and base coat. “For touch ups?”

“Yeah. He’s already chipped one and been brattily bitching about it. Order another one for yourself and add it to my retainer bill.”

“I will.” I chuckle, and watch them walk out hand in hand, then reach across for my phone. It is time to make Tokyo pay!

OPERA HOUSE - TWO HOURS LATER

MASTER BEDROOM

JUSTIN

“You are suspiciously good at that.” I point out.

“I have been known to paint a toe or two.” He replies as he blows on the nail.

“Really? Whose?” I ask as I scrutinise my perfectly repainted toenail.

“Mine. 675 Troublante or 135 Bengal from Chanel for work days. Or, if I want to make a real lazy job of it, just clear from Dior.”

“You paint your toenails clear with Dior?” I snort, and then giggle when he wiggles his toes and I notice the green highlights. “Which are you wearing now?”

“Troublante. Now keep still, it has to dry.”

“I did keep still and it chipped.” I pout.

“No, you caught it on the post as you leapt into my arms, which is when you chipped it.”

“So if you have nail varnish paraphernalia, why did you take what Naomi had?”

“Mine’s different and might not have the holding power that hers does.”

“I see. So…”

“You’ve never asked me to paint them, and you’ve never looked below my knees before now.”

“How did you...come up here.” I order, and he slowly drapes his body over mine. “So, truth time, how many bottles of nail varnish do you have?”

“A couple. Let me show you.”

I feel somewhat put out when he gets up and then brings over a vanity case. “You are kidding me? Your two nail varnishes are in this behemoth?!”

“Yep.” He smiles and opens it.

I go quiet for a few seconds. “This is the first shelf?”

“Yep.”

“Off! Take it off!” I exclaim as I get to the second shelf.

“Stop waving your feet about and I will! Which one of them you want?”

“Haute Chocolate of course!” I settle down, and watch as he patiently removes and then repaints my nails.

“So a malt chocolate to go with your Haute Chocolate?”

“I don’t think I could love you more than I do at this moment.” I wiggle my toes and smile at up at him.

“Brat.”

“Twerp.”

He steals a lingering kiss then heads down to the kitchen while I marvel at the perfect job he has done. I am still marvelling when he returns 20 minutes later with the malt chocolate and something that is not a Flake stirrer in it.

“What’s that?”

“Frozen Snickers bar sliced in quarters lengthways.”

“I was wrong. It’s this moment. Toenails be damned, come here!”

MICHAEL’S HOUSE - FOUR DAYS LATER

MICHAEL

We have been practising our routine for the last few days, and amazingly enough, I haven’t had a single accident! As I move fluidly from one move to another, Ethan stutters in his playing again. “What now?” I sigh as I stand up.

“Are you absolutely sure that was one of the moves?”

“Of course I am!” I retort, and get back into my crouching dragon position. “Then I will spring forth like a gazelle…” I fling my arms up. “...on that whatever note you want to play.”

“B-flat.” He retorts.

“Shall we begin again?”

“Fine.”

“Seriously, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

ETHAN

I watch him do his crouching drag queen hidden hippo impersonation and think that if it wasn’t for wanting to humiliate Justin and him, because quite frankly the man is an arrogant ass, I would not do this!

SADE

It was the music that got my attention. I recognised it as what Blake and Justin wrote, because we have been listening to it for days since Chyna and I need to get the routine right. But now I am standing outside a house and filming those two buffoons through the window. Whatever the fuck he thinks he’s doing, he’s so not….I can’t wait to show this to everyone, but what confuses me is why he is doing it?

BLAKE’S HOUSE - EVENING

LOUNGE

BLAKE

I look at my watch again, I want to time this perfectly. Smiling at his oh so polite tap on the door, I light the last candle and head to open it.

“Good…” He begins as he comes in, and then goes stock still and looks around the room.

“What do you think?”

“Beautiful and then fire hazard.” He murmurs. “How many candles are lit here?”

“About 30 or so. Would you feel better if I blew them out?”

“Not before I take a picture!” He exclaims and carefully puts down his briefcase. “Oh these are for you.” He hands me a bunch of peonies. I hope you like them.”

I take them with a smile and realise that this is most likely the first time someone has ever done something romantic for him. “Hang on, come back a bit so you can get the whole room.” We shuffle backwards and between us we get the perfect shot.

“Okay, take off your coat and start blowing.” I order, and he titters at the innuendo. Ten minutes later the candles are out, and we are left with just the smell of smoke and dinner.

“Where shall we put them?” He asks, starting to take up the candles.

“Oh, I hadn’t thought that far.” I admit sheepishly.

“What’s cooking, good looking?” He asks as he stacks the candles on the dresser. “Oh, that was awful! I am so sorry, I have no idea why that sprung to mind let alone out of mouth!”

“I will take the words as long as the sentiment behind it is true.”

“Definitely. You are one of the most beautiful men I have ever met and I still don’t get…”

“Because you are one of the most beautiful men, inside and out, that I have ever met.” I take his hand and lead him to the stove. “And it’s a Spanish chicken stew.”

“Smells divine.”

“But not as good as you.” He turns an adorable shade of red and shakes his head.  I’m not sure why he finds it so hard to believe that he is as wonderful as he is. “I’m serious, Ted. You continue to take my breath away. You do so much to protect and defend those you care about, and that is a major turn on for me.  Add the fact that you're hot as hell, makes me the luckiest man in the world to have you in my life.”

“Second luckiest.” Ted whispers.  “I’m the luckiest because I have you.”

Suddenly the stew isn’t all that important. I turn to face him and smile. “If you don’t kiss me and take me to bed right this instant I will never conduct again.”

“Who am I to deny the world your talent?” He snickers as he pulls me into his arms. “That would make me a very bad person and…”

“Ted. The kissing and instant parts.”

“Oh yes, sorry. I was trying to be suave and sophisticated. And also a little bit…”

“Ted!”

“Kissing, kissing now!” He laughs before doing that in the most exquisite of ways.

An hour later, we are drifting off into a replete sleep, with me wrapped in his arms, and as I finally succumb my last thought is; I do believe I love you Teddy.

TED

I watch him sleep and smile. The song What is Love, by Haddaway just popped into my head and I think to myself; I hope this is it, because it sure feels like it.

https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/spanish-chicken-stew.html