“You should have seen how shocked he was when he found out he was an omega and could have babies,” Reinhold chimed in. “That was a rough couple of days.”
“But everything worked out for the best.” Dent clapped both men on the shoulders. “Tanner is pregnant.” He shook his head. “You two work fast.”
Star’s eyes widened at those words, and he could have sworn he heard wrong. He grabbed Dent by his jacket sleeve to get his attention. “Wha…what did you just say?”
“I said I can’t believe Tanner’s pregnant,” he responded happily.
“Oh, okay,” Star muttered just as his body swayed backward, and the sky seemed farther than it had been before as his world went dark.
* * *
Star sat up abruptly.He grabbed his head, wincing because he had a terrible headache.
Son of a bitch, how much did I drink last night?He rubbed his stomach, feeling extremely nauseated, and he couldn’t tell if it was from hunger or a hangover.What did I have to do for Thornton this time?What he was experiencing wasn’t new; it was usually par for the course after he was forced to do something he didn’t want to.When will all this fuckery end?
“Hey, you’re awake.”
Star snapped his eyes open and stared at the person standing next to him.What the fuck? Why is Tanner here?Star stared at his friend he hadn’t seen since high school, and the guy was just as cute as ever, wearing pajamas with his favorite anime character on it. Star peered at his friend, wondering how they were in the same place.
“Tanner, where are we?” Star asked in shock.
“My apartment,” Tanner responded, and Star quickly scanned around, taking in his surroundings. Eggshell-painted walls and a moderately decorated room in cream and beige. The room was small, with a four-seat dining room table and chairs sitting on one side, and beside the table was an open kitchen. It was quaint and so much like Tanner, and some recollection came to Star on the events of his day. The last thing he remembered was standing next to Dent while he spoke to his two friends.
“How did I get here?” he asked his friend.
“Dent and my guys brought you here.” Tanner bit down on an apple, chewing on it as he sat beside Star on the couch. “Are you okay? You kind of freaked everyone out when you passed out.”
Star closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead, trying to figure out why he passed out, but nothing came to mind. Maybe it was the exhaustion catching up to him; after all, he’d had a long and rather confusing day. Yet, he felt that there was something he needed to remember, but nothing important was coming to him.
Forget it. If it’s essential to my life, it will come back to me.
Sighing, he opened his eyes and looked at Tanner. “Where’s Dent?”
“He and Shepard and Reinhold went to meet with their boss.”
“Oh,” Star said, furrowing his brows. A nagging feeling was in the back of his mind, hearing those two names, but he couldn’t put it together.
“When you told me you were coming with Dent, I wanted to ask how you met him. What’s your relationship with him?” Tanner asked.
Star chuckled. “I feel like I’m being interrogated.”
“Just answer the question.” Tanner lightly shoved his head, giggling. “I guess you’ve changed since high school. I remember you were skittish when it came to meeting people.”
“I was not. I just didn’t care for some of the people you and Jacob liked to bring around.” Star rested his head on the back of the couch, looking at his friend. “To answer your question, Dent helped me out of a situation today.” He nervously chewed on his bottom lip, not sure how much to tell Tanner. He knew for sure that he couldn’t tell his friend that he’d died and returned to the past.
Who the fuck would believe shit like that?
Star was still trying to wrap his mind around the whole thing, so he was sure his friend would think he had lost all of his colorful marbles. “My life in Los Angeles hasn’t been going as great as I’d like.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” Tanner sighed.
“And say what?” Star snapped. He didn’t mean to come off as crass; he was tired and frustrated. “I talked big when I left home. You had to have known I was jealous of what you and Jacob had. I wanted to make it and prove to everyone that I was something.”
“You’d only have to prove it to yourself, Star,” Tanner said. “But no matter what you thought, I never thought less of you. In fact, I was envious of you.” That took Star aback.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re talented, Star. You can sing, dance, and act. Fuck, you’re a triple threat, and shame on those assholes in Hollywood for not seeing it, but that’s going to change from now on. You’re in Valleywood now, and once word gets out about who you are and what you can do, your life will change.”
