“Star, wait. Let me explain.”
Thornton moved to grab him, and Star waved his hand and froze him in place. He stared at him for quite some time. He knew saying all of that might’ve seemed confusing to Thornton, since he was bearing Star’s grievance to the Thornton of the past. Star felt like if he didn’t say it, everything would be bottled up inside of him, and he might explode on the wrong person at the wrong time.
“You and I were never meant to be, in either life, Thornton. I’m sorry for what I did to your doppelganger. I never meant to kill him.”
Star leaned up to kiss him on the cheek but stopped himself. Whether it was innocent or not, it felt wrong to do it. He would be pissed at Anubis if he knew his lover had kissed an old flame, or even someone that looked like them. Besides, he wanted nothing to do with Thornton. So with that thought, Star stepped away and walked over to the door. Before opening it, he unfroze the other man.
“Live your life, and I will live mine.” Star walked out of the bathroom and right into Sundi, who glared hostilely at him.
What the fuck are you looking at?” she snarled.
“Keep your damn manager in check. The next time he stalks me, I will have him arrested.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? Thorn doesn't know you,” she snapped.
Star smirked. “Are you sure about that? Here's a tip. He was sucking my dick and eating my ass before he started fucking you.”
He didn't know how far their relationship had gotten, but from her shocked expression, he guessed right. Tsking, Star shook his head, and their shoulders touched when he brushed by her. He felt a sickening chill run up and down his spine. He grabbed his head, feeling a terrible headache coming on.
He heard the wordsfound youandsoonwhispered softly next to his ear. But it didn’t sound like a female voice, and since he and Sundi were the only two here, and it sounded like a man, Star was confused.
Star looked back at Sundi, wondering if she had felt or heard the same thing, but she looked no different. Turning, Star took a deep breath, feeling his headache slowly slip away, and his body returned to normal.Maybe it’s stress. Shaking off the weird feeling and instantly forgetting what had just happened, he headed back toward the table to enjoy his lunch with someone he knew wouldn't betray him, no matter which version of her it was. Reaching Vivienne's side, Star bent down and kissed her cheek.
“Hey, what was that for?” she asked in surprise, but he didn't miss the blush on her cheeks and didn't care if it was because of him or Dent.
“For always having my back.”
“Always. No matter what.”
Star smiled and changed the subject. “So, you're dating my friend?” Her face turned as red as his hair, and Star couldn't help but laugh at her cuteness. When he couldn’t get her to tell the story of her and Dent’s meeting, Star decided to drop another bomb about a talent he had kept from her. “So, I’m thinking of recording an album. What do you think?”
“When you say album, what do you mean?” she asked, and he could hear the interest in her voice.
Instead of explaining, Star started singing a rhythm-and-blues song that just came out, shocking both Vivienne and the patrons in the restaurant.
“You son of a bitch,” Vivienne said when he was done. “My guy, you’re about to become even bigger than you are now. I’m getting you in the studio as soon as possible.”
Without even giving him a chance to object, not that he would, Vivienne started making calls, and he got to see her work on his behalf, something Thornton hadn’t done in his past life. Letting out a deep breath, Star felt his worries seeping away as a smile crossed his lips.The past is the past. It’s time to look toward a brighter future.
Chapter Twenty-Three
STAR
Star entered Anubis's penthouse with his key, holding a large box addressed to him that had been left at the front desk downstairs. It was a bit heavy, and he wondered if Anubis had bought him a gift or maybe it was a fan who had found out that he'd moved out of the dorm and into the penthouse. Thankfully they didn't know that he was living with Anubis, or it would have been a big scandal.
His lunch with Vivienne had gone a lot longer than he was expecting. He was only supposed to be gone for an hour at the most, but between getting him a new cell phone, a singing contract, and wheedling the story of how she and Dent met, they were together for about four hours. They only broke up their meeting when Dent showed up, happy to see Star with Vivienne.
“Hey, what a coincidence,” Dent said, sitting next to Vivienne.
“Why didn’t you tell me you know Star?” Vivienne asked.
“Because you don’t usually talk about your clients, and I never thought to ask.” Dent looked at Star, smiling. “You look better than the last time I saw you.”
“I guess you were right, Valleywood does agree with me.”
“How did you two meet?” Vivienne butted in.
Dent and Star chuckled then went on to explain about their friendship and how he ended up in Valleywood.
