This is the updated/extended version
Chris ran around their apartment like a hen without a head. It made no sense to clean the place before the party, but no matter how many times I told him, he wouldn't change his mind. Dante appeared amused and pitched in when Chris was adamant enough.
"Help me lift this. We need a dance floor." Chris placed his hand on the sofa in question.
"Are we rearranging?" Dante asked, not sounding quite on board with the idea.
"Yes we are. We're having a party, and... let's not repeat what happened in The Bahamas."
I hadn't heard that story and was thoroughly intrigued. I smelled juicy gossip. "What happened in The Bahamas?"
"Chris may or may not have ruined the sofa at our hotel by jumping on it." Dante wrapped an arm around his boyfriend and gave him a quick kiss. "We had a fun night, though."
"Jumping, you say." I wiggled my eyebrows.
Chris crossed his arms. "You're impossible." He shifted his attention to Dante. "I thought we promised to never mention it again." He tried a sulk, but I could tell that he was far too pumped for the party to linger in embarrassing memories. And besides, who hadn't ruined a sofa once in their life? Furniture is meant to be used, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Deciding that the two of them could sort out the apartment, I did a last sound check. The sound system had more than enough guts to groove a crowd. It would be a great place to test a few of the fresh songs I'd fetched during the week. I wanted to give a top-notch performance since this was a special occasion.
Fighting a sudden burst of hopelessness, I tried to distract myself by checking the view. The cityscape appeared warm in the soft evening haze despite all that sharp-cut glass and rugged concrete. Tonight might be my last time as a DJ for a long time. If I had to fly back to Stockholm, I would step back into a life I had wanted to leave behind. I could always fly back to the US with a renewed visa, but that required money in the bank. And, while I was perfectly okay with selling my soul, I had no intention of selling my body.
"Joah," Chris called from the kitchen awhile later.
I dropped my headphones and trudged toward the doorway. "What's up?"
Chris rummaged through the fridge, retrieving some of the items we got at the deli down the street. "Ayden and Cal will be over in a bit, and if you still want to help with snacks, then you have to make sure that Ayden doesn't touch anything."
"Why?" I hadn't met Chris' brother, so I was kind of excited. Chris had told me I would recognize the guy, which made no sense whatsoever. I would flip if he turned out to be some kind of celebrity. One celebrity in the house was more than enough in my opinion. Dante's hordes of fangirls made even me uncomfortable. I had no idea how Chris dealt with that cuteness overload of squealing girls.
Fingers snapped in front of me. "Huh?"
"Did you hear what I just said?" Chris asked.
"Probably not."
"Haven't seen you space out like that in a while."
"I was thinking about Dante's fangirls. Maybe we should invite them tonight." A fine joke if I was allowed to say so.
Chris snorted. "Are you mad?"
"No, of course not. I'm flawless."
"So you keep saying. One day you'll have to prove it." The smug grin on his face would cost him many times over. I just had to decide how to claim the debt—a mere apology wouldn't cut it. I smiled at the thought.
Chris closed the fridge with a certain finality. "Ayden can't be trusted around food."
"Is he on a diet?" A seriously insensitive thing to say, but my filter had a way of taking a vacation more days than not.
"No, he's just a lousy cook. Everything he touches turns rancid."
That had to be an exaggeration, but who didn't like to twist a tale once in a while. "Fine, I won't let him touch the food. Anything else I should know?"
"Don't anger the neighbors."
Now, that was a lousy piece of advice. No party could survive such diligent restrictions.
A few of Chris' friends arrived first. They were quick to take advantage of the alcohol but seemed like a nice crowd. He knew them from university, so no wonder they were fond of free drinks. I cued one of my standard playlists and continued to prepare snacks rather than socializing.
When the doorbell rang again, I heard Chris mumble something about his brother. Allowing excitement to cleanse away my sullen thoughts of flight tickets and lost opportunities, I left the kitchen with a fresh Cosmopolitan in my hand. It almost fell to the floor when I spotted the guys in the foyer. Yes, I recognized him. Ayden's face was all over the States fronting the latest campaign of Hugo Boss. Holy moly. He was a fine specimen, but I wouldn't mind being seen with his husband, either.
Glancing over at Chris, I tried to spot the resemblance between him and his brother. It was there, but Ayden had more of a classic model look than Chris had. Ayden's hair was a shade darker, but the weird silvery-gray eyes were the same.
They caught me staring, but instead of betraying my embarrassment, I walked over. "You must be Ayden."
He took my hand and gave it a firm shake. "And you must be Joachim. Chris told me you'd be here tonight."
"Sweet cheeks likes to brag about me to his friends."
Ayden's partner spluttered out a laughter. "Chris finally got a nickname." He received a slap on his shoulder from Chris in reply.
"Shut up, Cal. If you dare calling me that I'll have Ayden cook you food for an entire week."
"No, please no," Cal replied, sounding absolutely horrified. Maybe there was some truth to Chris' story, then.
Dante entered the hallway and slipped a phone into Chris' hand. "I think they're on their way up. You got a message from Cameron."
I gasped. "No. I'm not ready. They can't." I rushed into the living room. The music had to be perfect—not this bland shit I'd thrown together one day during a particularly bad hangover. Adam deserved so much better.
Skidding to a halt by my laptop, I almost spilled my drink again. To avoid mishaps, I downed it in long gulps and set the glass aside on the wide window sill. Feeling both excited and strangely nervous, I scrolled through my playlists and found a track that was passable. I cued it just as I heard the front door open again. The music began to pulse with a steady beat, doubling my excitement.
"What's going on?" Adam's voice betrayed genuine surprise.
Chris grinned and looked at me as I approached. "Joachim thought you deserved a welcome-home party."
"Joachim." Adam's smile widened and he almost cracked my ribs with his tight hug. "You shouldn't have."
"Oh yes, I should, and I did. I won't take all the credit, though. We've all pitched in today." I swelled with happiness as I caught the sparkle in his blue eyes. This was exactly what I needed. Perhaps that was selfish, but I didn't do this for myself, I did this for Adam. I'd missed him, and I would miss him even more if they kicked me out of this country.
Cameron, Adam's boyfriend, greeted me with a nod before I whisked Adam away to the makeshift bar. Cameron had kept Adam to himself for weeks, so it was only fair that I got my mittens on dear, sweet Adam. "You need a drink. What do you want?"
"What are you having?"
"Another Cosmo."
"Make that two, then."
I caught him glancing at his reflection in the window, smoothing his adorably ruffled hair. "Your hair looks fine, Addy."
He scrunched his nose, clearly not convinced. "Cameron could have said we were going out."
"That would have ruined the surprise. Anyway, how was your road trip?" I poured another shot of vodka and mixed it with the cranberry juice.
"It was great. Think it was good to get away for a while. Gave me some perspective."
Adam had told me a few details of what happened to him before I met him at the hospital, but he was still holding back. At least, I'd gathered that he'd been abused by his boyfriend, and that Cameron, Chris and Dante had friend-napped him away to The Bahamas. I wish I had friends who took me for vacations like that, although, I'd never been in need of a proper rescue mission. Not like Adam.
"So, what's this new perspective? It better be good, otherwise I won't forgive you for being AWOL for several weeks." I added a splash of Cointreau and stirred the drink with a straw.
"My new resolution is to have fun, and that includes partying with my friends and drinking more than one Cosmo."
I gave him his glass and raised mine. "Cheers to that."
The drink slipped down far too easily, the urge to drink made stronger by my somewhat rocky mood. I might have to stop if I wanted to live up to my promise of a stellar DJ session.
"So, what's going on with you?" Adam asked.
"Life like usual. Everything is fantastic, and even better now when you're here." My smile stretched from ear to ear.
"That's awesome. I'm so happy you're settling in."
He couldn't have known how much those words affected me, but the twinge of hurt wasn't easier to bear. "I'll be back. Just gotta visit the gents."
* * * *
Three hours and two cocktails later, I had a feeling that my choices of songs could have been better in theory, but I had too much fun to care. Everyone was dancing, and my friends who had arrived a while ago behaved as any connection of mine should. They sang and cheered along with Adam, who appeared to have a stellar time.
It was a perfect night. A perfect ending.
Downing yet another gulp of vodka, I cued another song and fled to the balcony. I didn't want to poison anyone with my bad energy. It was bad enough that Chris knew about the mess I'd made for myself.
The air outside was clammy, smelling of a city gone bad. The wind had turned after dark, bringing another batch of hazy pollution. I could almost taste the fumes. I usually didn't mind, but it was a sad memory to drag back home.
The balcony door opened and closed behind me. I put on a smile and turned my head, catching Dante as he took the spot beside me.
"You having fun?" he asked.
"Yeah. Everyone seems to be happy."
"But you're not."
Letting my fingers tap on the railing, I took a steadying breath. Dante had a way of seeing right through people. It was a surprisingly cold shower.
"I'm good."
"You're a good actor, true."
I let out a sigh. It was impossible to lie to the guy, and I didn't like lying to my friends, anyway. Not when they appeared to genuinely care. "I might have to leave."
"Tonight?"
"No, in a few days. My visa. I have to get it sorted out."
"I'll talk to Lara."
"Chris said the same thing."
"Smart guy." Dante sounded proud. He truly loved Chris, and it was an incredible thing to see. Watching the two of them almost fueled the distant fantasy that there was someone out there for me. Almost.
"I don't know, but I hope there's a magic solution to all of this."
"You can always marry someone."
The laughter rumbled up from my belly. "Marry? You've gotta be kidding. I've vowed to never marry."
"But if it's the only solution?"
I shook my head. "Still need someone to marry."
"I'm pretty sure Tom's available." He said it with a grin. "I recall a certain photograph of you two in the tabloids after the charity dinner."
I took the last gulp of vodka from my glass. "I need another drink."
Dante chuckled. "That's exactly what Tom would say."
A/N If you haven't read the other novels in the series, you might have been a bit confused by all the characters. Sorry for that >.<
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