Gap Year - 41. Chapter 41

February 25, 2004

Spago

Beverly Hills, CA

 

Will

I knew they would direct Darius to our table, but I was so anxious to see him I kept glancing at the door. I looked at my watch and noted that it was 7:00pm, then looked up to see Darius strolling up to the maître d’. “Darius is here,” I said to Stef and Tom. He was wearing nice gray slacks, a black shirt, and a purple blazer, an outfit most guys would have trouble pulling off, but not Darius. He strode confidently toward us, smiling broadly as Stef and I stood to greet him.

“I am so glad you were able to join us,” Stef said, giving him a warm hug.

“Me too,” he said, then turned to me. “Good to see you.”

I gave him a massive hug and was pretty surprised when he returned it. “Dude, I have been so looking forward to hanging out with you.” When we were finished, I introduced him to Tom, then we all sat down.

“Pretty easy to tell you’re Australian,” Darius said to Tom with a grin.

“Not going to be able to go incognito, that’s for sure, mate,” he said, making us chuckle.

“So how is school?” Stef asked.

“Going fine,” Darius answered in his clipped way. He wasn’t a freak student like I was, but he managed to maintain about a 3.2 GPA. Most of us realized that giving Darius shit about school wasn’t really going to make any difference. The only two who might have an impact were Grand or my father. Darius wasn’t around Grand enough to endure his disapproval, which consisted of those dreaded dirty looks. My father was even less effective since he was so wrapped up in his own issues. “You should come hang out with me tomorrow night at the house.”

“Why?”

“Pre-party,” he said, smiling. “Betas never do parties half-assed.”

I laughed. “I’ll be there. Cody told me about a deal in Bel Air tonight. Want to join me?”

“Could be fun,” he said in his clipped way. “What the fuck happened to Dad?”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Jake was approached by the government. They wanted him to go back into the army and spend a year in Mexico, tracking the cartel operations there.”

“Dad didn’t want him to do that?” Darius asked. Of course he’d be all into the military honor shit.

“No one did,” I said, to let him know he was solo on this if he wanted to make this an issue. “In the end, Jake decided to skip it and stay here.”

“Sucks for him,” Darius said, annoying me.

“Not really,” I said. “The army tossed him out for being gay, but they suddenly decided that they’d reconsider having a fag in uniform if it helped them out. Jake decided that was bullshit, plus they wanted him to spend another three years in the reserves.”

“So,” Darius said, like that was no big deal.

“Because he is your father’s partner, that would have made Jake vulnerable to political machinations for the four years he would be committed,” Stef explained. “After what we have already been through in the past twelve months, it was too high of a risk.”

“I can see that,” Darius said with a nod. We ordered food then resumed our conversation. “JJ is pissed off at you,” he said to me.

I laughed. “I’m sure he is.”

“He said you were rude to him and Susannah,” he said in an accusatory way. “What’s with that?”

Darius sometimes did this if I hadn’t seen him for a bit and there had been drama. He’d approach me, just like he was doing now, assuming I’d done something wrong. He was almost as bad as my father was when I spent money on real estate. Before I could flame him, Stef jumped in to smooth the waters. “I truly do love Absolutely Fabulous, the television show. Have you seen it?”

“No,” Darius answered, confused.

“Watch an episode, and when you do, picture JJ and Susannah constantly role playing the parts of Edina and Patsy,” Stef explained.

“It’s that annoying?” Darius asked, surprised.

“You have no idea,” I said. “And I like the show.”

“Will was the first to lose his patience with them, but I was not far behind, and even JP was sorely tested,” Stef said.

Darius shook his head. “Dude is such a dork.”

“When did he call you?” I asked.

Darius chuckled. “He’s all into Susannah and called in the heterosexual cavalry for some advice.” That made all of us laugh.

“What does he need advice about?” Stef asked.

“They are both such dorks,” Darius said, shaking his head at them. “They have no game at all. JJ is trying to figure out how to get into her pants but has no clue how to do it. I mean, she’s living there with him. How hard is it to close that deal? She’s playing hard to get, and he doesn’t understand how to handle that.” That was hilarious, the thought of the two of them dancing around with each other, trying to hook up, but being completely unable to because they were such neophytes.

“She’s probably after him for his money,” I said, just to see what Darius would say.

“Probably,” he said. “That’s the only reason I can see some chick wanting to sleep with JJ.” I really laughed at that, and even Tom chuckled, but Stef jumped in to defend him.

“He is very classy, handsome, and refined,” Stef stated. “Many women find just one of those attributes attractive.”

“If you say so,” Darius said, disagreeing with him. “I still think he’s lucky he’s rich.” We had a great dinner after that. Stef was so funny and lively that he hyped up our moods. It was one of those dinners that made me sad when it was over.

“I fear that I must leave if I am to get home at a decent hour,” Stef said sadly. “We can drop you off back at the hotel on our way,” he said, directing that to me.

“I can take him back,” Darius said.

“Thanks,” I said to him. We then went through the protracted goodbyes that Stef sometimes insisted on, until the limo drove off and we found ourselves staring after it.

“Let’s go,” he said in his clipped way. I didn’t say anything, I just fell in step next to him as we headed to his SUV. “I’m thinking of going to New York next weekend.”

“Is this a booty run?” I asked, referring to Bellona Carter.

“That, and to see JJ,” Darius said. Whereas he’d been fun and cheerful before, when he made that statement, he was deadly serious. I got the hint.

“You want me to go to New York with you and suck up to JJ and Susannah so we’re all cool?” I asked him.

“Yes,” he said. I didn’t say anything, I just waited for him to realize I’d require more convincing. “Look, this could get weird. We all need to be good with each other.”

“Weird?” I asked him.

“What if JJ finally gets the courage to make the moves on Susannah? And what if that ends up in him fucking her, and they become a couple?”

“I figured that’s what was going to happen. Why is that weird?” I didn’t get that.

“Because I think this chick is playing JJ,” he said. I didn’t want to openly question him, but I so wanted to know how he figured this out. I stared at him waiting for an explanation. He shook his head at me like I was idiot. “I can tell by the things he tells me, shit that she said or did.”

“Shit,” I said. We got to his SUV, got in, and he started driving out of the lot. He was going to turn the wrong way, and that reminded me how bad he was with directions. I guided him back to the hotel and bullshitted about nothing until we got back to my room.

“Nice,” he said.

“This is the same room I stayed in when I was 14 and had to leave Malibu to avoid Robbie, JJ, and their bullshit,” I joked. I grabbed a couple of beers from the mini-fridge and went out on the private patio with him.

“He had good reason for being a douche back then,” Darius said, as if I were being insensitive. I gave him a pretty dour look, and I could tell he got that I wasn’t putting up with guilt bullshit. He took a drink of his beer then chuckled. “Now that I think about it, he’s always going to be a douche and he’s always going to have a reason why he is.” We both laughed at that, which prompted me to pull out my dugout and do some hits of the amazing weed John had given me when I was home.

“So what’s this deal with JJ going to look like?” I asked.

“This will be like his first serious relationship,” Darius said.

“Not really,” I corrected. “He had a pretty intense thing with Alex and John Carullo.”

“That’s not the same thing,” he said dismissively.

“So only heterosexual relationship count?” I asked.

“Fuck you,” he said, getting annoyed. “I should have said first open relationship.”

“I can see that,” I said. JJ had gone out with Alex to events, but they portrayed themselves as friends, not lovers.

“I think she’ll use this to make a big splash, and she’ll build her own image and power,” he said.

“I’m not sure that’s a bad thing,” I said.

“It is when she decides to be in charge of their relationship,” he said.

“You’re saying he’ll be whipped?”

“That’s what I’m saying,” he said, and took a hit from the bat.

“That’s what you think will happen, not what will happen,” I said, remembering having this same argument with Dad when he wanted to break up JJ and Alex.

“Dude, I am giving you my opinon. I’m not in a fucking courtroom,” he said, all pissed off.

“You’re right,” I said. “I was reliving arguing with Dad when he wanted to split up JJ and Alex.”

He laughed. “It’s all good.”

“So tell me how that ties into me sucking up to JJ?” I asked.

He looked at me like I was an idiot, but I was used to that. “We’re going to have to help him out, to keep him from becoming an embarrassing doormat. We can’t do that if we’re all arguing.”

“I can see that,” I told him. “I knew I had to do this; I just didn’t see the urgency.”

“I’m not the only one who could turn this into a booty call,” he said, referring to Patrick and cracking me up.

“Alright, you convinced me,” I said.

His phone rang. “Speaking of booty calls,” he said. He got up and wandered back into the room to talk to the woman that had called him. I thought about what he said and grimaced. I could see his prediction coming true, and it seemed like the most likely outcome, but my mind rebelled at letting me get involved in that nightmare. “Hey,” he said as he came back. “You mind if I bail on this party?”

“No, that’s fine,” I said. “Can you give me a ride there?”

“I can do that,” he said. He looked around and got a crafty look on his face. “You mind if I use your room while you’re gone?”

“How nasty are my sheets going to be?” I joked.

“I’m thinking of the hot tub, not the bed,” he said.

“Sure,” I said, chuckling. “I’ll get ready.” I decided that clothes that worked at Spago would also work at this party. I spent a little bit of time on my hair, put on some cologne, brushed my teeth, then went to the front desk to get Darius a key.

He picked me up outside the lobby, and I had to once again give him directions. I wondered briefly how he’d find his way back. “Thanks,” he said, referring to the room.

“No problem,” I said. “So who’s the chick?”

“Her name is Saturn,” he said. I raised an eyebrow at that. “Has something to do with astrology and which planet was in retrograde when she was born, or some shit like that.” We both cracked up about that.

“Uranus is more my kind of planet,” I joked, making us laugh some more. The party was at a gated house in the hills. “Just drop me off here,” I said. He pulled up and let me out by the guard, then drove off.

“Name, sir?” the guard asked.

“Will Schluter,” I said. He rummaged through his list.

“I’m sorry sir, you’re not on here,” he said. He was pretty formal, probably because he just figured I was some dude trying to crash this event.

“Cody Warren invited me,” I told him. “See if he’s on the list.”

“Found it,” he said, making a mark next to Cody’s name. He gestured to me to pass through the gates, which I did. There was a pathway next to the drive so I used that to walk up to the house. It was a large but old house, one of those built in the early 1900s, done in what was probably supposed to be Italian Renaissance style.

As soon as I walked through the front door, there was a lady there waiting to greet me. “Welcome, I’m Phelia MacGregor.” Her husband Scott was the head of one of the big media companies, but I couldn’t remember which one.

“Will Schluter,” I said, shaking her hand politely. “Cody Warren invited me to meet him here.”

“I would have invited you on your own if I’d known you were in town,” she said graciously. That was a little freaky, that I was known in this crowd. I still hadn’t been able to grapple with having quasi celebrity status on my own.

“That’s nice of you to say,” I told her in the same way I spoke to older ladies at our Bastille Day parties.

“Enjoy yourself,” she said, and made a welcoming gesture with her hand. The first place I hit was the bar and got a vodka tonic. It was no surprise that they used premium vodka, a lot better than the swill at a regular party. I took my drink and stood off to the side, surveying the party. Phelia knew me, but I sure as fuck didn’t know anyone here. I got the impression this was more of a recording artist party than a movie star party. Not only that, based on the way most people looked, I was guessing there were a lot more ‘behind the scenes’ people than actual performers. The executive types tended to dress more conservatively and have hair that was clipped pretty short, plus they didn’t have tattoos all over their bodies. I spotted Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day outside. I loved Green Day, and Billie Joe was not only fucking adorable, he was bisexual.

When I left the house, I found a large patio that led to a pool done in Greco-Roman Style with wide decking, surrounded by Ionic columns that held up nothing. He was on the deck to the right of the pool talking casually to a couple of other people, so I ambled in his direction, looking at him using my peripheral vision to see if he’d notice me; It was pretty flattering that he did. I got to the pillar closest to him then turned and looked directly at him. His eyes locked on mine, then looked away, then locked on mine again. I smiled and raised an eyebrow in a suggestive way, then let my eyes wander away from him and take in the beautiful views. The pool and deck gave way to a lawn, then to a perfectly trimmed hedge, and beyond that were the twinkling lights of Los Angeles. Those lights seemed to glitter in a way that suggested that the city was as sparkling as they were. The reality was much more depressing. There was a path to the right of the pool leading off toward some woods. I glanced over at Billie Joe and chuckled when his eyes met mine. He was frantically trying to escape from his conversation.

I smirked at him, then headed toward the path, which wound through the “woods”, which ended up being nicely manicured landscaping, and ultimately ended up at a circle of concrete with a bench. There was a thin, modern railing in front of the bench, so I walked up to it and found myself on the edge of the hill, with clear views of the city unblocked by trees or hedges. I pulled out my dugout and did a hit, savoring the view and the marijuana at the same time.

I sensed a presence and turned to the path to see Billie Joe hurrying toward me, as if he were worried I’d wander off and he’d lose me. I would appropriately call him ‘cute’, with his black hair that wasn’t too long; just long enough to graze the top of his ears. He wore black eyeliner that really emphasized his eyes. “Hey,” he said, smiling shyly.

“Hey,” I said, smiling back. I packed another hit and handed it to him.

“Awesome,” he said, and did it. We sat on the bench, side by side, smoking pot. “I saw you up there.”

“I saw you too,” I said.

“I haven’t met you yet,” he said, and held out his hand. “Billie Joe.”

I shook his hand. “I know,” I told him. “I’m a huge fan. I’m Will.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said. “How lucky you’re a fan. What’s your favorite song?”

“Minority,” I said.

“Most people who say that turn out to be political crusaders,” he said, like he was worried I’d be crazy. “That’s fine, except they’re usually kind of freaks.” I laughed at that.

“I like the message, I like the tune, and I think the guitarist is super hot,” I said.

“Not as hot as you,” he said. He leaned in to kiss me, and I moved forward to meet him. I wasn’t impressed with how he kissed at first. I had the feeling I was dealing with a dude who’d never learned how to do this right, but it was fun. I’d started out dissing his oral efforts, but as the kiss went on, it got better and better, to the point that I was really into it.

“And down here you’ll have the best views of the city,” I heard Phelia MacGregor say as she led someone down here.

“Shit,” Billie Joe said. “Come on.” We scrambled into the bushes and found a hollowed-out area that was amazingly private. “Now where were we?” We started making out again, and since we were in the bushes, we just pulled down our pants. He had a really small dick, probably 3 to 4 inches long. The shaft was pretty narrow, but he had a big head that had to be at least twice as wide as the shaft. “God you’re huge. I’ve got a tiny dick.”

“I like it,” I said, as I absorbed him into my mouth. He moaned and enjoyed my oral talents, then he pushed me off of him and went to work on mine. He may have a small dick, but he was no novice cocksucker; he had no problem handling my huge cock. He brought me off and made to leave, but I stopped him and finished him off too.

“Damn that was good,” he said, panting softly.

“Didn’t think I’d have this much fun here,” I said when we were done.

“No shit,” he said, then got a little uncomfortable. “I’ve got to go meet some people.”

“You like me enough to give me your number?” I asked. He looked a little nervous about that, probably thinking that I was some guy who was invited because I was a hot young dude and that I may stalk him. “Or I can give you mine.”

“Sounds good,” he said. I told him my number, which he typed into his phone. He looked at me, our eyes meeting, and punched a button on his phone. I felt my phone ringing and smiled, then gave him one last kiss. We made sure there was no one around, then scrambled out of the bushes. He wandered up toward the pool while I headed back to the bench, brushing off my pants as I did. I pulled out my phone and put him in my contact log.

I did a few more hits, then I went back up and rejoined the party, first hitting the bar, then wandering upstairs to do some coke. I went down and stood by the bar, my mood stoked by the blow I’d done. If I’d been at a ‘movie’ party, and there had been celebrities there, everyone would know who I was, but in this venue I was anonymous. It was a total rush.

“Hi, I’m Ben Solomon,” this attractive guy said as he introduced himself. I almost laughed because I knew who he was. Wade had gone out on a date with this dude and he’d been all over Wade. He was no different with me. It was really cool that I was at this party and besides Phelia, no one really knew who I was, but the downside of that was that a high-powered dude like Solomon thought he could just grab me like I was one of the hors d’oeuvres.

I felt his hand on my ass and pushed it away, then about a minute later it was back. I leaned in so only he could hear me. “Dude, stop,” I said in a firm way, then backed off and smiled at him so I didn’t face him at the party.

He first got pissed off that I rejected him, then seemed to appreciate that I was telling him to fuck off in a way that made him look good. “No problem,” he said, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I was pretty relieved when he walked away. I got another drink and headed back to the pool pillar I’d first leaned against, wondering if Billie Joe was out here. I was kind of spacing out when someone said ‘hi’ and scared me so badly I’d jumped about a foot off the ground and spilled my drink. “Sorry,” he said, chuckling.

“Dude, you scared the fuck out of me,” I said, then laughed. My laughter stopped when I got a good look at this guy. He looked like a combination of Colin Farrell and Lance Bass. His dark brown hair was cut about as long as mine was, but he had a natural wave in it that just accentuated his hotness. He was about an inch shorter than me, and his clothes were perfectly tailored to show off his fit body. He looked to be either in his late 20’s or early 30’s.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I’m Cam.”

“Will,” I said, and shook his hand. “It’s no problem.”

“I was just about to leave when I spotted you,” he said in a suggestive way, marking him out in my mind as a real player. I got the feeling that I was dealing with Cody’s brunette twin.

“You were leaving?” I asked, acting disappointed and flirting with him.

“I was,” he said.

“That’s too bad,” I said sadly. “You’re not having a good time?” I asked playfully,

“I wasn’t,” he replied, cracking me up. “Things are starting to look up now.” I smiled at him.

“So assuming you decide to leave here, despite my charming presence, where were you planning to go?”

“I was going to head home,” he said. “How boring is that?”

“That depends on what’s waiting for you at home,” I said. I was having fun just bantering with him, but then he got more serious.

“Based on that, it’s boring,” he said.

“So you’d be all alone?” I asked suggestively. He looked at me, as if trying to decide to take this to the next level. I laughed at him using just my eyes.

“I would be unless you were with me,” he said.

“You inviting me back to your place?” I asked.

“I am,” he said, like it was an oath. I didn’t say anything for a bit, just letting him hang there, until I could sense he was getting frustrated.

“And where do you live?” I asked, wondering what I could be getting myself into.

“In Malibu,” he said. “The Colony,” he added. That’s where our house was, so it was all I could do to not break out laughing.

“You’re not one of those crazy dudes who’s going to drug me then tie me up, are you?” I joked.

“I’ll add a note to your personal file that says you’re not into bondage,” he said, making me laugh. “You’re safe with me.”

“I’ll take the risk,” I said. He seemed surprised that I’d agreed, then smiled.

“Let’s go.” He made a quick call then led me to the entryway. “Thanks for a great party, Mrs. McGregor,” he teased Phelia, bowing to kiss her hand like he was back in the 1800s.

“I’m glad you had a good time, Mr. Squires,” she said, and curtsied. My mind reeled at that, but I wrangled it under control. So this guy hitting on me was Cam Squires, the dude Stef had told me about, Jackie’s opposite number in the recording business. She shook my hand next. “I’m glad you came, Will.”

“Thanks,” I said. “It was a blast.” We walked out and found Cam’s car waiting for us, a new Bentley Continental GT in cypress green with a beautiful tan interior. That call he made must have been to the valet. “Nice,” I said, admiring his car.

“Just got it,” he said. “Decided to drive it here, even though that meant I couldn’t get completely fucked up.”

“That’s good news for me, since you obviously decided to hit on me when you were sober,” I said, grinning at him. We paused while we got into the Bentley. “I’d hate to be the dude you settled for after you were hammered.”

“I can’t see anyone ‘settling’ for you,” he flirted.

“Aren’t you charming,” I joked, then leaned toward him, planning to kiss him on the cheek. Instead he moved his head so my lips met his, and it was magic. This guy knew what he was doing, so much that I forgot where we were and put my hand on the back of his head to urge him on.

He finally broke off the kiss, leaving me staring at him dazed. “Nice,” he said, smirking at how bewildered I looked. He put the car in drive and left the house, heading to PCH. He looked down and then grabbed my arm, glancing at my watch. “Is this real?”

I rolled my eyes at him in annoyance. “It’s a real Cartier,” I said acidly.

“Those are expensive,” he said, digging, trying to figure out how I could afford to have a watch worth thousands of dollars.

“I have men who take good care of me,” I said suggestively, only that was the wrong thing to say. He looked at me as if wondering how much our tryst, assuming it happened, would cost him. That was not a little annoying. “I’m not a hustler.”

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “Sometimes rent boys show up to these things.”

“Yeah, but I’m guessing you’re the kind of guy who can sniff those guys out and avoid them,” I said.

“I try,” he said.

“So what do you do?”

“I’m an agent for recording artists,” he said, with more modesty than I’d expected. “I’m working my way into production now.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the difference?” I asked, like I didn’t know.

“Instead of just representing musicians, I’m putting together talent into groups,” he said. “My big dream is to ultimately start my own media company.”

“That’s pretty cool,” I said. It was, especially since that dovetailed with the strategy he’d pitched to Stef.

“You a singer?” he asked. “You play an instrument?”

“You gonna get me a gig if I am?” I asked playfully.

“I’m working on putting together a boy band, and you’d be great for it. You’d fit in perfectly with the other dudes,” he said. That was hilarious, since he had to be talking about Kalibra.

“If I sing, the paint peels off the walls,” I said, smiling at him. “You’re just trying to figure out if I want something from you.”

“Do you?” he asked. His tone was a bit flirtatious, but he was also a bit nervous.

“I do,” I said. We drove past our house and went past about seven other houses until he pulled into a garage.

“What is it?”

“I want you to fuck me and light my body on fire,” I said to him, in my sultriest tone.

“I can definitely do that,” he said, and led me into his house.