7-2
785 Words
PAUL STARES AFTER ALEX. He has no idea what to make of any of it.
Victor appears suddenly at his elbow. “How’s he doing?”
“He’s good,” Paul says cautiously. He’s beginning to notice that Victor never asks after Alex when they are in Winsome-related space.
Alex jumps into the pool and disappears under the surface, kicking his way toward Carly. Paul is still wary of saying anything of great detail about his boyfriend to Victor. Especially when he’s not entirely sure how, exactly, Alex is, other than happy, which shouldn’t throw him as much as it does.
“And how are you, other than taking it out on him?”
Victor sounds amused enough that Paul doesn’t bother to engage the insinuation. “Good. Okay. You know how busy. I don’t know how you manage to sleep.”
“I don’t.” Victor shrugs. Paul wishes that felt more like a joke; he’s exhausted. “It’s not going to get easier for you two once Fourth ends.”
Paul has heard plenty about the uncertain fate of the show from Alex. He’s felt superstitious about asking Victor about it, however. He doesn’t work on the show anymore, but hearing it stated that directly makes him feel like some beloved relative is terminally ill. He wonders if Victor is beside himself and tamping it down in their twice-weekly calls as he tries to keep Paul’s sanity afloat.
“His job, not mine,” Paul says.
“Mhmmm. And what do you think he’s going to do once he’s done with that?”
“Victor, the first time you offered me advice about Alex, it didn’t exactly go as planned. The Chinese walls you and I have going on right now? Work really well. Let’s not tempt that. And how do you even know what’s going to happen?”
“He’s thinking about it,” Victor says.
Paul has no idea what it is and isn’t sure he particularly wants to find out.
“Nothing is certain,” Victor muses. “And Alex is very good at making his own way through uncertainty.”
“I’ve noticed,” Paul says, looking for some sort of foothold in the conversation.
“Notice better,” Victor says before heading off toward the corner where Liam is.
Paul sighs and goes to look for a drink. Victor is exhausting.
* * *
* * * *
ALEX HAULS HIMSELF up onto Carly’s raft while she laughs and curses and threatens dire retribution if he dunks her. He doesn’t, though, just stretches out next to her while she complains about him dripping everywhere.
“It’s a pool, Carly,” he snarks. She pushes wet hair out of his face so he can tuck his head into her shoulder without getting her too cold and damp. “There’s supposed to be water.”
“Yes. In the pool. Not on me.”
“Diva.”
“Yup. Baby boy, what happened to your back?” she asks, feigned concern all over her face. She wraps an arm around his shoulders and cranes her neck to get a better look.
Alex smirks.
Carly runs a thumbnail along a scratch that ends in a bruise on Alex’s shoulder. Some of the marks are fresh, while others look older. It’s quite a patchwork. “Jesus. How’d you talk him into that?”
Alex shrugs, looking smug. “It’s what we do.”
“Well, that’s hot,” Carly says, tracing another scratch. “And mildly surprising. You gonna give me any good details?” Certainly, it’s not a thing Paul ever did with her.
Alex snorts. “Unlikely.”
“Well, that’s a shame.”
* * *
* * * *
IT TAKES LESS THAN two hours for the party to go from nervous and falsely discreet business chatter to people happy to cut loose out of the public eye. Some get drunk fast, while others entertain themselves by ambushing colleagues and throwing them into the water. There’s not a lot of overlap between the two groups thanks to the party two seasons ago when Victor made good on his threat to publicly humiliate anyone who attempted to drown in his pool.
The more fun people have, the less polite they get. As a cast and crew they already know way too much about each other even as they don’t always like each other. Which is how Alex winds up, ridiculously, having to explain the state of his flesh to someone he neither knows well nor likes.
“Climbing mishap,” Alex shouts across the pool area when one of the crew guys shouts something more than a bit obscene about the state of Alex’s back.
“Didn’t know rocks could f**k,” Dan hollers back.
“f**k off,” Alex calls, his head still resting on Carly from where he’s been zoning out from the rest of the party for as long as possible. There’s an edge to his voice now that makes the words half question and half threat.
“Daniel, if you don’t shut up I will not stop Alex from laying you out, and if you think he can’t, you are far too stupid to work for me,” Victor drawls, loudly, from the corner where he’s still holding court with Liam. It shuts Dan — and everyone else — up.
Conversation quickly rushes back in, too fast and too loud, in an apparent collective attempt to forget Victor’s rather relaxed, but perfectly sincere, threats.
“Thank you,” Alex says crisply from the pool, the words for Victor only.
Victor shrugs. Inexplicably, Liam offers Alex a thumbs up.
“I don’t understand anyone,” Alex whines into Carly’s neck.
* * *
- Writer
