“You’re going to Valleywood?” Star said in shock.
“Seems so.”
Star was so happy and hoped he was holding on to his emotions. There he was, trying to think of a way to keep Dent by his side, and the cosmos intervened.
“Not only that, I feel like I need to keep an eye on you for a bit. I believe fate is pulling us together. I feel like I’m experiencing a bit of deja vu. In all honesty, I’m not usually on this side of town. But today, I wanted to walk around instead of going into the office, and my feet led me to you.”
“I feel the same way,” Star said with a slight tilt of his lips. “Like we’ve met before.”
“Maybe we were brothers in a past life,” Dent said and Star chuckled at that because it was how they were in prison.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll leave tonight.”
“Yeah, I’ll call Tanner and update him. Oh, shit! Tanner never told me if I would stay with him or at a hotel!” Star said. “And I doubt I’ll have enough to stay in a hotel for however long I’m there.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Dent told him. “You can stay with me. Our company provides apartments for the employees.”
Star’s brows furrowed. “You would do that? Why are you being so helpful? It’s nice, but scary at the same time.”
Dent guffawed, and a few of the cafe patrons looked at them. “I promise no harm will come to you,” he said between chuckles. “I tell you what. Send all my information to your friend Tanner if it makes you more comfortable.”
“That would make me feel better. But why are you so kind to someone you just met, even though it doesn’t feel that way? I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”
“You just said we were like brothers, right?” Dent asked, and Star nodded. “Then know that I would never leave my brother stranded.”
“Okay,” Star said after a few moments of thought.
“Good.” Dent winked. “Now, where to, boss?”
Star chuckled, getting the other man’s meaning. Dent was a cool guy, and now it was up to Star to ensure his friend’s past did not repeat itself.
Chapter Three
STAR
Star sank into the luxury private plane's soft, cream-colored leather captain’s chair, waiting for the plane to take off. Even in his past life, Star had never been on a private jet; he’d always traveled mostly by train or on commercial flights. Star was already impressed with the interior. It was large enough to have a conference table with swivel chairs. Next to the windows on each side of the plane were two sets of chairs with a table that could be lowered if needed. He took it all in, then looked at the back, wondering what the rest of the plan looked like but he had to wait for Dent to give him a tour.
Star’s gaze was drawn to the entrance of the plane where Dent and the pilot, Thomas Jinn, had been talking, since they were friends. Captain Jinn was hot as hell and looked dashing in his pilot's uniform. He was tall with alluring, amethyst eyes, an amiable smile, and a nice, comforting voice. After leaving the cafe, Star and Dent grabbed a quick bite before heading to Star’s apartment so he could pack a bag for a couple of days. Star had called Tanner, who was cool with the change of plans, and told him he had a place for him to stay and not to worry about anything while he was visiting Valleywood. While Star packed his stuff at his apartment, Dent made a few phone calls, and then they headed to the airport.
Star still couldn’t believe his luck, and not for the first time that day did he wonder if things would have worked out as well in his previous life. But he wasn’t as optimistic as things were shaping out to be; he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Star was grateful that Thornton hadn’t been at the apartment or showed up while they were there. Although they didn’t live together, Thornton had a key to his place. Thinking back on his past mistakes, Star was a right idiot. The red flags that he and Thorton were moving too fast were staring him in the face but he'd ignored them.
Star could only chalk it up to his desperate need for someone to care for and love him. Thornton gave off the daddy vibes he was looking for in a partner and he easily gave him his trust. They had only known each other for two months before he gave Thornton the key to his apartment. What lulled Star into a false sense of security was that Thornton had waited to have sex until after he had signed a contract with Equi-Noxx Entertainment. Before that, they’d only kissed, with Star sucking Thornton off, and in return, Star only got hand jobs.
The first time they had sex, Thornton held him all night, but when he woke up, the man was gone, and he hadn’t seen or heard from him for three weeks, when he showed up with a few jobs lined up for Star. But the sad thing was their relationship continued that way until Thornton started putting other demands on him, all because he knew how badly Star wanted to be an actor. In the beginning, Star was completely against sleeping with those producers and directors just to get a small part, but Thornton was so persuasive, painting a picture of the fame it could bring. Star was so nervous the first time, he was practically drunk when he slept with that producer. Star had to be drunk or high for each person he slept with to get through the moment; that included Thornton, who seemed to prefer Star to be weak and unable to fight against anything he wanted.
Things got so bad that Star had difficulty looking at himself in the mirror. It would be nice to say that after giving up his ass, he got a return on his investments, but that wasn’t so. Those parts and more went to Thornton’s other talent. Sundi Noxx
Things got so bad that Star had difficulty looking at himself in the mirror. It would be nice to say that after giving up his ass, he got a return on his investments, but that wasn’t so. Those parts and more went to Thornton’s other talent: Sundi Noxx.
Star closed his eyes, not wanting to think about her. She, along with Thornton, was now in his past, and he prayed they would never meet again.Man, I was a fucking fool for giving my life away to a man who didn’t even love me. Well, I’m not making that mistake again—no relationship until I accomplish my goal.
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s actually a couple of different expressions.” Dent chuckled. “One minute, I thought someone kicked your puppy and stole your best friend, and the next breath it seems like you want to strangle someone.”
“Really?” Star said in shock.
“Yeah, look,” he said, tilting his chin toward the window.
