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Andr0gene

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  1. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 12 After dinner, Olivia retired to her room, and I had the place to myself. I watched TV for an hour, a fun show fittingly called Las Vegas on NBC, in which the security of a casino was depicted. If even half of what happened in that show was real, I almost started to feel sorry for Michael. After the show was over, I scoured the books in the study, marking a few titles with yellow post-its, and made another move in the chess game; hmmm, maybe Michael wasn't a novice after all. His
  2. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 25 When I got back after about forty minutes, I was surprised to find Michael home already, and I got the distinct feeling that something was just not right. Both he and Olivia were in the living room facing each other, and his posture was a little...aggressive. Both of them looked at me, halting the conversation they'd been having, the last of which I'd captured as the doors of the elevator opened, with Michael's voice saying ‘please, don't say a word.' I shrugged off my jacket, h
  3. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 22 I'd been lying awake from the moment I'd gotten into bed, thinking about the day itself, and tonight, but there was only one thing occupying my mind about it; Michael. Today he’d been funny, intelligent, and never moody, not even once; just enjoyable to hang with. We talked a lot about a whole range of things, from college to work. About friends and hobbies. It wasn't swapping details like our first day, this was genuine interest. And I had to admit that I was interested; whi
  4. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 21 It was a little after eight when the pilot dropped us off on the roof of the hotel. "So, did you enjoy today?" he asked, as we got into the elevator. "Totally awesome," I replied, sending him a thankful look. "I wish we could've gone further, to Bryce Canyon." He smiled, and activated the control that took us down to the suite. "Maybe next time." That sounded like a promise. I yawned, and leaned against the wall, and he snickered. "I don't think you would've see
  5. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 31 Michael motioned the bartender over and spoke to him. The bartender replied, looked at me, held up five fingers. The look Michael threw at me was less than amused, and he made a ‘no more' gesture. The bartender nodded and retreated off to a safe distance. It looked like he expected all hell to break loose. But that wasn't what would happen. Instead, Michael's hand tightly gripped my elbow and he pulled me off the stool, probably planning to kick my sorry butt back upstairs. T
  6. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 32 I still didn't remember a single thing the next morning, as far as what happened downstairs in the bar. I remembered going there, even remembered Michael coming in, but that was about it. Nothing came to me that explained Michael's behavior that night, or from then on. My brain still felt too heavy when I came into the kitchen, where Michael was already present, and I only had eyes for the coffeemaker, mumbling some sort of reply to his greeting. "How's your head?" he ask
  7. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 36 The following morning I woke up when Michael was almost done in the shower. I listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom, got up and snuck out silently. I was surprised to find that Olivia was already in the kitchen, making tea. "Couldn't sleep?" I asked, putting some water in the coffee-maker and switching it on. I sat down at the table and yawned. "I think I'm still on Florida time," she said, smiling. "What are you doing up so early...a guilty conscience perhaps?
  8. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 33 I was about ready to step underneath the hot water when Michael, whom I'd hoped to escape, strolled in and then leaned against the door sill, watching. "What the f..." "Don't swear, you're not an Italian waitress," he interrupted. "I wasn't done so we'll continue here." "Michael...get out!" "There's nothing about you that I haven't seen before," he replied, shrugging. "I'll stay, thank you. So, your mother...what does she do?" "Nothing, she's just....a woman. Now would you
  9. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 34 I stared at him for a long time, not knowing what to say. Then I shook my head, which made him frown again. "No...what do you mean no?" "It's impossible," I managed to say. "What's impossible? That I want you to stay? No it's not. These past few weeks...I've felt more alive than I have ever felt in my entire life. That's not impossible; that's great." "Michael... I'm nothing more than an illusion. You know that. You're paying me to play your boyfriend." "So? I
  10. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 37 It was 4am when I woke up from the soft beeping of my watch-alarm. I had set it deliberately, and silenced it quickly. I listened to Michael's sounds; he was still deep asleep. As devious as it sounds, that was what I'd been aiming for; to tire him in such a way that even an atom bomb wouldn't wake him. I got up from the bed, where we'd moved after spending another hour on the sofa earlier that evening, and couldn't help but groan a little; he'd been particularly thorough
  11. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 35 The next few days were hard, very hard, and when Olivia finally returned from her trip, I was at the end of my ‘rope' and almost cheerful to see her again. Okay, that's not fair; the time with Michael was quality time, but his behavior, at times, was such that he almost never left me alone, mentally or physically. Not like it was or felt clingy, not like that, but he definitely wanted to know everything there was to know about me, my life, my education, and my friends (which w
  12. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 38 Olivia didn't speak until we were indeed airborne. By then, I was almost out of my mind with panic. "Dear boy," she started to speak, "don't you think it's time that we stopped this charade?" "What? I don't understand..." I began, but she held up her hand. "I want to know one thing, and one thing only." Her eyes fixed on mine as she leaned forward, taking my hands. "Do you really love my son?" "Of course," I replied automatically. "Don't give me the answer that
  13. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 39 I returned around 11am, walking into an empty apartment. I’d half dreaded that he’d be home still, and catch me as I snuck back in to put everything back before he noticed. Finding him gone at least gave me time to prepare for what was probably going to be the most important conversation I’d ever had. I wondered how he’d react, when I told him to keep his money, in return for the one thing I wanted to hear. I just hoped he’d finally come right out and say it. Remembering that I’d
  14. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 2 The room I was taken to was a comfortable one, and not too big. The woman, who had introduced herself as Carly Johnson, helped me get undressed and into bed. She was the casino host, she told me, and would try to make the next few days as comfortable as possible. The room was complimentary, since the hotel acknowledged their responsibility for the accident, she replied, on my statement that I couldn't pay for a room like this. "You just focus on getting better, and let us worry a
  15. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 3 I arrived downstairs, once again prepared to find another bus to take me further away. The lobby had little more than a handful of guests, so I went to the front-desk to check myself out, waving Carly’s help away and handing her the key to the room I'd been staying in for the last four days. “Thanks, but you’ve done enough already.” I hugged her and thanked her once again. Then I hoisted my backpack up once again and was about ready to leave when my eye fell on the entrance
  16. Andr0gene
    "The House Always Wins..." CHAPTER 1 $20,000, 1 month, 1 lie; twenty thousand dollars; one month to earn it; all I have to do is live a lie. How hard can that be, huh? Well, we're about to find out, dear diary. Do you know the saying "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"? You probably do. If you didn't; you know it now, and I'm about to break that tradition by writing down what happened to me, and also what is to come in the near future. ********** It started a week ago, when I r
  17. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 6 His home, a private suite on the top floor of the hotel, was an unexpected surprise. I half expected it to be a sterile, masculine place with a lot of glass and little color, like his office. What I found instead was a home, not unlike the one I'd been kicked out of, cozy and warm, but more luxurious than I was used to. It could only be reached by the private elevator, accessed from downstairs. There were three buttons inside; ‘residence', ‘office', and ‘lobby'; a key-card was need
  18. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 5 "Here, drink this," Mr. Black said, pouring a glass of golden liquid from a crystal decanter and handing it over to me. "You look like you could use it." I took the glass and swallowed it in one gulp, realizing too late that that wasn't the smartest thing to do. My throat constricted and I almost couldn't breathe, and started to cough and thump my chest. Mr. Black softly began to laugh. "Little sips, that's the key." "Thanks," I coughed, when the constricted feeling subsided. "
  19. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 4 He took a hold of my elbow again, tightly as a vise. I tried to yank it free, but I might as well have saved me the trouble; he didn't let go, even tightening his grip a little more. "Jesus, who are you; Hulk Hogan?" I groaned softly and he released his grip a bit. The strides he took had me almost jogging beside him, and I was a little out of breath by the time we arrived in what was clearly his office. We had to take a private elevator up to get there, and when the doors ope
  20. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 7 "Okay," Michael said, later that night, "now we get to the more...personal matters. Habits, past acquaintances..." We had moved from the bar to the sofas, with him sitting opposite from me, and he'd taken off his jacket, loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves. He had a snifter of cognac in front of him; I had a can of Cherry Coke, which he had ordered with dinner, eating here instead of downstairs. "Okay..." I answered, slowly. Oh boy. Not a topic I enjoyed talking abou
  21. Andr0gene
    CHAPTER 8 The next day was...aggravating. It might have had something to do with his mother's impending arrival (I think that was part of it), but a word to the wise; don't ever go shopping for clothes with Michael Black. Jesus, what a disaster. It was around 10am when we went out to the first store, where I was shown a whole parade of designer (not to mention completely hideous) clothing in a private dressing room. I dismissed pretty much every item they came to show me, which irritated M
  22. Andr0gene
    $20,000, 1 month, 1 lie.
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