She's better and back at school, and I'm heading in to work the closing shift at the library here in a few minutes. I've been so frazzled by our schedule upset that I totally forgot what day it actually was. Oops! Luckily, I remembered before I had to hop out for work.
This is the start of a WIP about two celebrities who have just filmed a movie together and are celebrating the successful wrap, which coincides with one of their birthdays. They're both in committed relationships, but find that they're on each other's celebrity out list. With their partners' permission and ecstatic encouragement (and I say that because I don't write infidelity, it's a total no-go for me, and I know it is for a lot of you, too) they find themselves together for a night.
Celebrity Out
“I
think the party's dying out, I'll just go with you.” There was no
reason to stay if even Emma was going, though Douglas didn't
understand why she was leaving her own home.
“You’re
staying here,” Jeff says, pursing his lips when Douglas frowns.
“Doug,
it’s your 39th
birthday. You’ll be 40 next year. It’s alright to live it up a
bit.”
He
looks at him blankly, and Jeff shakes his head fondly.
“You’re
going to make me say it outright, aren’t you?” he says, a smile
curving his lips despite his exasperated tone. “I didn’t set out
planning this, you know. But Emma and I had the most enlightening
conversation. Hugh Grant? Johnny Depp? Carter
Lang?
Ring any bells?”
Douglas
sucks in a breath, eyes widening in horror as he realizes what Jeff
is talking about. He and Jeff had heard something on the radio about
celebrity out lists years ago, and they'd jokingly put one together.
It had been well before Douglas had any success in the industry, back
when he'd been a struggling actor going out to any casting call he
remotely fit the bill for and working as an overnight stock clerk at
a big box store to make ends meet. They hadn’t talked about it in
years, though, and he’d thought–hoped–that Jeff had forgotten.
It was awkward now that they actually knew
some
of the men on their lists.
“Jeff,
you can’t think that I’d –”
“It’s
what the list is for, Douglas,” Jeff says, and there’s no trace
of bitterness or anger in his tone. He cups Douglas' cheeks with his
palms, keeping his gaze trained on him. “It’s your birthday. My
present to you. Enjoy.”
Douglas
huffs out a laugh, hardly believing they’re having this
conversation. Because it sounds like Jeff is telling him he can have
an affair with Carter as his birthday present, which is absolutely
insane.
“And
here I thought
you’d get me that watch I’ve been eyeing,” he says, trying for
humor. There was no way Jeff was being serious. They'd been together
for more than ten years and Douglas hadn't strayed once in all that
time, and he was sure Jeff hadn't either. Why would he throw that
away now?
“No,
we’re giving you the man
you’ve been eyeing. That’s far better than any old watch, isn’t
it?” Emma's comment takes Douglas by surprise, and he jumps. Only
Jeff’s hands, which are still on his cheeks, keep him from whirling
around. He’s suddenly sober as a judge, and he can feel a cold
sweat prickle down his back. Jeff pulls him forward, pressing a kiss
to his rigid lips, and then releases him. He stumbles a bit, backing
up a step until he hits the wall behind him. Which is fine, until the
wall moves and he realizes it’s Carter.
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