SO IF AN OLD FRIEND I KNOW
STOPS BY TO SAY HELLO,
WOULD I STILL SEE
SUSPICION IN YOUR EYES?

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

The judge slams his gavel onto the sound block before yelling; "Order!" When the crowd gasps at kevin's scandalous acuusations against his father.

I'm not sure why Kevin wants to protect me against his own parents, but it makes me worry he doesn't feel loved in his family. I give him a look, one that's warning, but soft and gentle. He shrugs at me and jumps out of his seat to point at his parents, "These people told me to check into Andromeda Hotel alone!" The audience gasps, much as any other court we've had, "They also told me 'Kevin, we don't want to deal with you this holiday season!' I swear on my life!"

Oh Kevin, you're a gem. Just an overly-clever and obnoxiously mischievous one.

-

On my break, I visited Austin in 225.

He only drank about two glasses of whiskey. It was fine. I hid the rest of the alcohol in the back of his mini fridge before he walked out of the shower with only a towel around his waist, and one in his hand to dry his wet hair. Droplets of water were dripping down his damp and honey-glazed chest.

Austin notices my failed attempt at looking away and chuckles. "Hey-" he snaps his fingers at me, "eyes up here!"

I throw a small pillow against his face, and watch him stumble back. For a second there, the towel around his waist loosens. He laughs and holds it up right on time. "Dying to strip me naked, aren't you?"

My face heats up, and I know it's red. Times like these make me wonder if I'm ever hallucinating him. Or possibly everything. Maybe this is a fraction of my wild imagination. Maybe I've never even talked to him.

But it's so impossible, because when he touches me, I melt instantly. Austin holds the top of my head and plants a kiss on my hair before his fingers grip my chin to hold my face up. His warm lips connect with mine. I melt, melt, melt, melt, melt into a puddle.

When he pulls back, "You look tired." He tells me, with a wink, then nears the closet to pick out his outfit.

I stretch my legs across the bed and sink further into the messed up mountain of pillows we've used for a steamy morning session of all hands and no clothes.

"I am." I say, "But I'm going to Maria's later. I think I'll take a nap in that huge waterbed of hers."

Maria had finally bought a house. Or more accurately, a mansion. She had everything from a tennis court, to a drink bar. And of course, that waterbed. I thought of getting my own, but quickly decided not to when Maria revealed the price to me. I'd have nowhere in my little apartment to put it, anyway.

Austin chuckles, "Any chance to get on that waterbed, huh?" Standing in his black dresspants, he holds two shirts in front of his bare torso, waiting for me to pick. I jut my chin at the black and skin-tight one. He looks good in all black. As he's putting it on, "By the way, how is Maria- y'know, after that thing?"

Maria hadn't been at Andromeda, just in case she'd see Holly, and she was not into the idea. She and Damian have been meeting up outside of Heartbreak Hotel.

I shake my head and scratch the back of my neck. "She's doing fine... She's been all over the place though. I think she feels insecure about it now. About what Holly said."

Austin was in front of the dressers, picking out a watch to wear, his back turned to me, "She really shouldn't."

"Yeah, but she does-" I sigh, but am interrupted by Austin's phone ringing on the nightstand. "Want me to get that for you?" I ask, but reaching for the phone I notice a familiar name written across the screen. "Hugo?"

Austin was already by the bed, taking the phone out of my hands. "Yeah," he chuckles, "we've just been talking..."

My eyes narrow, "About what?"

"Nothing significant!" He swafts his hand dismissively and brings the phone to his ear. "What's up?"

As Austin disappears into the hallway of 225, I crawl across the bed to eavesdrop on their conversation. I obviously only hear Austin's deep and raspy voice echoing in the distance, but it's not coherent enough.

"I know, but I'm all out."

-Is what I hear, before another sigh leaves his lips.

"Okay, yeah. I'll see you."

When he returns, I sit up straight, my arms crossed in front of my chest. "What are you out of?"

"Uhm," Austin scratches the back of his neck, "just these little nicotine patches."

"Nicotine patches?" I arch a brow.

He nods. "There's this new brand he introduced me to, and I found that it works better than the others."

"Austin," I say, and he hums quietly, "I'm gonna ask it once, and once only." He hums again. A look of worry in his eyes. "Is Hugo asking you for money for that stupid app thing?"

Austin's face softens in an instant. His brows draw closer. "Uhm..." his pupils move from left to right between blinks, "Yes! Yes, he is!"

I get up with a loud scorn. "I knew it!" And hold him by the shoulders, "Listen to me! Whatever he asks for, you won't give it to him!"

Austin's hands unconsciously sneak around my waist, before he pulls me in to press my stomach against his hardened one. "Okay..." he smiles.

There's the feeling inside of me, so I don't supress it. "Is there something else you need to tell me?"

"No!" He exclaims, and his lips find my jaw. Hot breaths hitting my cold skin, shocking me. Making me audibly gasp. "Mhm," he chuckles, "what?"

With my hands against his chest, "We just did it."

Austin squeezes my waist, "I never said anything about sex, but if you really want to then-"

I push his face away, seperating his tongue from my neck. "You're such a jerk!" I laugh.

Austin blows raspberries, "Says a lot about your taste in men." His lips brush against the shell of my ear when he whispers quietly. I squirm, and thus push him away as a defense mode. "Stop being so shy like you weren't just moaning my name an hour ago!"

I playfully slap his shoulder and plop onto his bed, face-first, because I'm blushing way too hard. The mattress moves slightly when he sits beside me, setting a stinging smack against my ass. Even over the fabric of my slacks, it echoes loudly.

"Ow!" I holler, and Austin laughs. He throws his body weight on me, wrapping his arms around me and trapping me in a hug. Then before I know, I'm on top of him. Austin swiftly pulls me out from under his weight and lays my back on his chest. His breath on the back of my neck make all my hairs stand up. "Austin!"

"I love it when you say my name." He teases. His voice laced with a daring rasp. "Say it again."

I've discovered I like playing hard to get when I'm with him. I shrug and feel as his brawny arms tighten around me, like an anaconda suffocating me to death.

"Come on." He whines.

I whine back, only shaking my head.

"If you don't say my name in three seconds," one hand traveling down the side of my thigh, "I'll make you say it."

"Austin!" I stop him when his fingers reach the crease where my thigh and vagina connects. He's way too bold with my body. He isn't afraid to explore, to challenge me, and to be unexpected.

His hand retreats to its place around my waist. "Good girl." A small content hum leaves his lips.

There we lay. My body on top of his larger one, back pressed against his muscly chest, his palms moving up and back down on my waist, just barely touching my hips. I haven't felt so... connected in a long time.

I feel free. Like I can talk to him about anything in this moment, and he won't judge or disagree. We are a whole. Not him. Not me. Us.

So, suddenly, as I'm deeply breathing in, "I'm worried for him." I whisper.

"Hugo?" Austin asks.

I nod. Austin knows what I feel, whenever I feel it, about whatever it is I'm feeling. I'm not sure how he knows. Our minds could be connected, at the end of the day, we are a whole. One body, two hearts. "The app thing. I know it's Olga that's making him think all these crazy things will work."

Austin tenses at the mention of her time. I know he's over it, there's no doubt around it. He's just exhausted. I know there's a trigger inside of him, and it takes action whenever he hears her name. His body tenses up, and goosebumps cover every inch of him.

"Sorry, I know you don't like talking about her."

"No, it's fine." Austin whispers. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"I just feel like," I start, but click my tongue as I search for the right words, "I feel like Hugo's been acting different ever since they started dating."

"How different?"

I shrug, "Like, he reminds me of the Hugo five years ago. The Hugo on crack."

"Is Hugo easily controlled?" Austin asks after a brief moment of silence.

"Mhm." I hum, pulling his arms further around my body, making myself smaller on his heaving chest, "Hugo is that kind of boy. He says he's clean but- pffft, I don't know. He's done this before. Many times." As I explain, I feel Austin's fingers relaxingly trace my ribs, "He'll be clean for a while, then he'd meet a girl and tell me he doesn't feel like himself in relationships. That's when I notice he starts slipping back."

Austin's low, calm breathing manages to keep my blood from boiling, the more I think about it. What if Olga's the reason he relapses?

"Do you know he's back to it?" Austin asks, "For sure?"

I shake my head, "I don't know for sure, but I can feel it. I can always tell when he's had something."

"What about this?" Austin grunts as he lifts me off of his and sits up, before cupping my face, "I'll go over to Hugo's for a little chat, and try and see if he's on any drugs. Hm?"

My eyes find life with the sparkle in his opal ones. "Really?" I ask, "You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you." Austin whispers, before connecting our lips at once.

-

I grab my purse and hear the door to the employee's room open. Holly beams an apologetic smile and nears me by the entrance door of Andromeda. "You're going to Maria's?"

"I am. She's not feeling very good, because you know, being called a bad mother isn't exactly a great feeling." I say and and watch her chew on her bottom lip.

Holly sighs, "Ottie, I'm so sorry. I just-" her fingers brush through her blond hair, which wasn't styled into anything preppy today, "I was only worried about Priscilla-"

"I'm not the one you should say sorry to." I tell her and walk out of Andromeda.

Holly chases after me, "Ottie!" and places a hand on my shoulder. "I was planning to, but she hasn't been coming for weeks... Take me with you."

"To Maria's?" I ask.

She nods, and I jut my chin at the passenger seat of my car as I step inside.

When we're on our way, "I didn't mean to call her a bad mother, and I wasn't trying to imply Hugo and you turned out bad or anything-"

"I know, Holly. " I cut her off, but don't take my eyes off the road. "I've known you long enough to know."

She lets out a small breath of relief. That famous smile of hers creeping back onto her face. "Thanks."

"It's easy to win me over. You should worry about how you'll ask for Maria's forgiveness."

"I'm sure she'll understand." Holly waves it off and rolls her window down, before watching me through the corner of her eye. "So...?"

My gaze bounces between her suggestive face and the road. "So what?"

"So, how's it going with Mister Butler?" Her tone is laced with innuendo, subtle mockery, and friendly banter.

An unresistable smile grows on my face. Something I can't help. Something that only seems to appear when I hear that name. Butler. Austin. Austin Butler. "Good."

"Just good?" She questions, "What about the sex?"

"Holly!" I holler, nearly losing grip of the steering wheel.

"What?!"

"You can't just ask it like that?!"

"Sure I can!" She laughs when I start to laugh. "What, like you two aren't having any sex?"

"We do..." I laugh, trying to pat my heating cheeks with one hand while spinning the steering wheel with the other one. "Yeah, I mean... We have sex."

"Mhm." Holly giggles. "Is it nice."

"Holly..."

"What?"

"I'm being serious-"

"So am I!" She laughs, "This is a very serious matter? Do we like the sex or not?"

"You're crazy!" I surpress my laughter.

-

"She sent you, didn't she?" Hugo closes the door after Austin enters his apartment. "I'm still mad at her."

Sighing, "She's your sister. It's normal for her to be worried about you." Austin waves his hand when Hugo offers him a cup of coffee sitting on the kitchen counters.

"Shouldn't she be supporting my business and relationships as my sister?"

Austin nods and plops himself down on the couch. "She supports you more than anyone Hugo, but she doesn't want to support Olga, and rightfully so."

Hugo nods with his eyes rolling, "Oh I get it. You're here to talk shit about my girlfriend."

"No at all-"

"Austin, I know she's your ex, but just because she fucked you over doesn't mean she'll do the same to me." When Hugo cut him off, Austin had no idea what to reply with. He only slouched further into the couch and buried his face in his palms. "No, don't give me that. I know you're in love with my sister, but you have to understand that the only reason she wants me to break it off with Olga is because she's your ex, and Ottie gets jealous easily."

Secretely, the corner of Austin's mouth lifts. "Ottie gets easily jealous?"

Hugo nods, "And she thinks I'm on crack again."

"Well, are you?" Austin questions, leaning forward.

Hugo places his hands on his hips and rolls his eyes. "I'm not. You know I'm only selling."

The room goes quiet for a brief moment, before Hugo scoffs. "I'm not on drugs, but you think you'll be off easily when Ottie learns you're buying from me?"

"Don't." Austin glares at the younger boy, "Don't even dare telling her. I'm gonna tell her on my own time."

Scoffing, "Are you really?"

"I am."

Hugo crosses her arms in front of his chest and kisses his teeth. "Fifteen k." He says simply.

Austin's brows draw closer when he remembers what Ottie had told him before leaving Andromeda. "Are you fucking kidding me? You're threatening me?"

"I'm not threatening you. I'm just asking you for fifteen k, and if you don't give it to me, I'll tell Ottie about the drugs."

Austin jaw clenches, "You're a fucking joke, man."

"Or maybe I don't want you lying to my sister?" Hugo chuckles hysterically, licking his lips.

"So your plan is to blackmail me?" Austin gets up off the couch and takes large steps toward Hugo. "It looks to me, you're more worried about your business than for your sister."

Hugo shrugs, "The choice is yours."

-

Maria pours us tea, and Holly continues to chew her bottom lip to shreds. She clears her throat when we're all seated, "So, Maria-" she smiles, "how are you?"

"Oh, you know!" Maria forces an even wider smile, "Just being a bad mother, is all!"

I cover my mouth with my hands, disguising my urge to laugh with a cough. The tension between the two seems so unnecessarily awkward, it's funny.

Taken aback, "Maria!" Holly scorns. "I didn't mean that! I swear!" She holds her hands out for Maria to hold, but my stubborn step-mother chooses to grip her cup and sip on her tea loudly. "Ottie! Tell her!"

When the ball's thrown on me, I scratch the back of my neck and clear my throat, which also helps to clear the tension. "She's sorry." I press my lips together and tilt my head when facing Maria. "Really sorry."

Holly nods franctically. "I swear I was worried because Priscilla was crying and, and I thought she was in pain, and it was a busy day and I was just so tired and-"

"Jesus darling, breathe!" Maria cuts her off, her hands finally colliding with Holly's shaky ones. She manages to calm the young blonde down. After a couple minutes of breathing, "I can tell you want to be a mother. I can really tell."

Holly's brows soften, and she tilts her head. "Mhm."

"I hope someday you'll become one." Maria gives her a smile, which Holly returns happily, though I frown. I thought it would've taken her at least three to five business days to forgive Holly... "And I hope you're not here just because I'm your bosses fiancée, though."

Ah, there it is. I knew she'd say something along the lines. I press my lips into a thin line and try my hardest to hold my laughter in.

Holly rolls her eyes, "Of course not." She sighs. "But speaking of-" she reaches for the ridiculously large diamond ring around Maria's finger, "tell me about it! How's it going?!"

Holding my mug by the handle, "I'm leaving!" I say as I roll my eyes at Maria preparing to tell her proposal story for the millionth time. I'd much rather take a nap on the waterbed.

"Is my Ottilie pie jealous?" Maria yells after me, a sort of mocking pitch lacing her tone.

I snort, waving my hand in the air to dismiss her.

"She won't talk about the sex she's having with Austin!" Holly tells her, and I immediately disappear into the corridor, quickly making my way to the bedroom. I hear their vague chuckles from the other side of the door.

-

I definitely needed that waterbed, but I'm scared I'll get addicted to it. God forbid, I'd have to move in with Maria if that were to happen.

It's around two o'clock, which is when Adromeda's the quietest. As I'm resting my elbow on the reception counter, and my chin in my palm, my gaze turns to the familiar face entering through the revolving doors.

Austin did tell me we'd see him again.

I take in a deep breath and straighten my back to welcome the smiling bastard with an even faker smile. "Welcome to Andromeda Hotel, how can I help you?"

"What's with the face?" Julian smacks his palms on the counter and leans forward with a grin. "Austin break your little heart?" He pouts, and I want to punch him.

Shaking my head, "No." I tell him. "Oh but I do remember him breaking your nose though."

Immediately, he frowns. Looking around with annoyed eyes, Julian reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his phone. I wait impatiently for him to unlock it, and show me a news website open on the screen.

"What's this?" I ask.

That cocky smirk growing back, "That's my name." He points.

New York's top 5 most succesful businessmen.

The article read. And on fifth place, Julian Jones, it said.

I shrug, "Would you like a cookie? A round of applause?"

Julian licks his lips and leans across the counter, causing me to step back. "What's Austin doing again?" He furrows his brows, "Ah! Right! He's spending his daddy's money because he's a nepo baby. Gotcha."

"First of all-" I press one finger against his chest and push him back. "Austin earns his own money. And second of all, he's been in more articles in the last month than you have been in your life."

Chuckling, "Yeah." Julian shrugs, "But has he been in an article with Jeffrey fucking Bezos?" His finger points at the name written in first place.

"Why does that matter?"

"It matters because I'm in the same list as New York's most powerful businessman." His eyes briefly glance at the pearl necklace around my neck, before piercing through my eyes again. "Your boyfriend might be an A-list celebrity, but he'll never be as powerful as me. Admit it, he's a low-life."

My knuckles turn white when I clench my fists. I can't lose my job over someone so worthless, so I raise my voice instead. "Austin's not a low-life!"

Julian smirks conceitedly.

"He doesn't need a competition to prove his power. There are more important things in life!"

Arching a brow, "Like?" Julian asks.

"Like love, relationships, friendships. Y'know, things you'll never experience." With my hand on my hip, I tell him.

He scrunches his face and pretends to burn, blowing air out of his mouth. "Do you really think Austin's capable of loving?" He chuckles.

I shut my eyes tightly, breathing in and out slowly.

"I've known him for as long as I can remember, if there's anyone that knows what he's like, it's me. Austin isn't someone you can trust, Ottie. He doesn't know what it's like to be in a relationship. All he knows is fuckin' chicks and snorting coke."

I scorn, "Our relationship is going pretty fucking peachy, if you ask me."

"Don't make me laugh, Ottie." He laughs. "You're not the first girl Austin gifted a pearl necklace, and you won't be the last."

My stomach churns.

There is something that fell into the pit of me. Something thudding on the bottom of the open void inside of me. It feels like my chest is being ripped open. My fingers unconsciously reach for the pearls around my neck, twisting and turning them.

"I'd hate to be the one to tell ya," Julian raises his hands up to his chest, "but you should break it off while you can."

When he leaves Andromeda, I let my body lean against the counter, because my knees aren't doing their job.

No, I shouldn't worry about it.

Austin loves me....

Right?

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

➦ IN THE NEXT CHAPTER

Holly and Oliver are back on track,
and they might have an idea.

Olga and Hugo visit Andromeda.

Austin gets injured.

Please don't forget to vote<3