LOGINThe crowd had finally thinned enough that Jonas noticed them. He smiled, warm, natural, as though nothing in the world had ever come between them. Caleb’s breath hitched beside Brandon, but as always, he said nothing.
Jonas stepped forward. “Thanks for coming. Rafael really pulled this together, he’s insane with these things, right?”Caleb gave a faint nod, lips parting but no words forming. Brandon, steady as stone, filled the silence for him.“He is. You know Rafa, if it’s not over the top, it’s not him,” Brandon said, the edge of a chuckle softening the words. “Caleb wouldn’t miss it. He’s been looking forward to this.”Jonas’s eyes flicked to Caleb, who lowered his gaze. “Really?” he asked, gently.Caleb swallowed. Brandon stepped in again, tilting his head toward his brother. “Yeah. He doesn’t say much, but trust me, he’s always paying attention. You’d be surprised what he notices.”Jonas’s smile deepened. “That’s… good to hThe penthouse was a war room, its sleek modernity a stark contrast to the chaos unfolding online. The glow of laptops illuminated Carla and Travis’s faces as they tracked the escalating fallout from Victor’s leaks. The gossip blog’s #DaveExposed post had metastasized, fueled by the tabloid’s latest hit piece implicating Carla’s past and hinting at Dave’s ties to Henry. X was ablaze with speculation, some fans defending Dave’s talent, others gleefully tearing into the scandal. Henry and Dave sat close, their earlier post, a defiant studio selfie, gaining traction but not enough to shift the narrative. Victor’s shadow loomed large, his retaliation a calculated strike to unravel their hard-won progress. But Carla had a card to play: Matilde.Matilde, the revered acting coach whose workshops were a crucible for raw talent, held sway in the industry. Her endorsement was a golden ticket, and her disdain for power plays like Victor
The workshop’s high lingered as Dave and Carla left Matilde’s studio, the promise of future roles fueling their steps. The city buzzed around them, but their focus was on the path ahead, Dave’s career gaining traction, free from the strings of his past. Meanwhile, Henry and Travis were across town, wrapping up the music show filming. But in the entertainment world, victories were fragile, and shadows like Victor’s never stayed dormant for long.Victor, the industry titan whose influence had once propped up Dave’s early career, hadn’t forgotten the slight of being sidelined. His disinterest in Dave had been a strategic retreat, not a surrender. Word of Dave’s workshop success and his upcoming role in Carlos’s film reached Victor’s ears through industry whispers, and his pride bristled. Dave, the talent he’d molded, was carving a path without him, and Carla, his former plaything, had dared to cut ties. Vic
The bedroom door creaked open, and Henry and Dave emerged, their hair mussed, clothes slightly askew, but their faces glowing with sated contentment. The living room came into view, and they froze. There, tangled naked on the sofa, were Carla and Travis, limbs entwined, lost in the quiet aftermath of their own intimacy. Henry’s lips quirked into a soft smile. Without a word, he grabbed a spare blanket from a nearby chair and draped it gently over the sleeping pair, a silent gesture of care. Dave watched, his heart warming. “C’mon,” Henry whispered, nudging Dave toward the kitchen. They raided the fridge for a midnight snack.The night’s intensity faded into easy companionship as they ate, then returned to the bedroom to rest, leaving Carla and Travis to their quiet moment.Morning broke with the soft glow of dawn filtering through the penthouse’s floor-to-ceiling windows. Travis stirred first, his internal
The penthouse thrummed with the distant, uninhibited sounds of Henry and Dave, their passion spilling through the open bedroom door, a raw symphony of moans and rhythmic creaks. In the living room, Carla and Travis sat close, the air between them charged with a new understanding. The weight of their earlier conversation, about Dave’s tangled past, Henry’s vulnerability, and the industry’s ruthless underbelly, had stripped away pretenses, leaving them exposed yet connected. Carla’s tear-streaked face softened under Travis’s gentle gaze, his hand still resting on her cheek from wiping away her tears. The alcohol in their systems blurred the edges, but the moment felt sharp, real.Travis’s words echoed in Carla’s mind: Stick with me. I don’t judge. For the first time in years, she felt seen, not as a manager, not as a pawn in Victor’s games, but as herself. Her heart raced, not from seduction or strategy, but from the possibili
The night’s celebration spilled over to the glitzy club, with the public’s prying eyes. But the open displays of affection between Henry and Dave, hands lingering too long, glances too heated, had drawn Carla’s sharp warning. “Paparazzi,” she’d hissed, her voice cutting through the champagne haze. “You’re begging for a headline.” Now, in the privacy of Dave’s penthouse, the restraint was gone.No sooner had the door clicked shut than Henry and Dave were on each other, lips crashing, hands pulling at clothes as they stumbled toward Dave’s bedroom. The door stayed ajar, and soon the sounds of their passion, moans, gasps, the rhythmic creak of the bed, filled the penthouse, unfiltered and raw. Carla and Travis, left in the sprawling living room, exchanged a glance. It was their first time alone together in such an intimate setting, the air charged with the distant echoes of their stars’ reckless abandon.Travis leaned
Travis leaned back in the booth at the upscale restaurant, the clink of glasses and low hum of chatter fading as he watched the trio across from him, Dave, Henry, and Carla, celebrate Dave’s acceptance into Matilde’s workshop. The dinner was Henry’s idea, a rare moment of pause in their relentless schedules, and Travis, dragged along as Henry’s plus-one, felt like an outsider peering into a world he’d only glimpsed. His perspective on them was sharp, colored by years of navigating the industry’s underbelly, his loyalty to Henry, and a growing unease about the tangled bonds unfolding before him.Henry was radiant, his laughter warm as he slung an arm around Dave, his pride palpable. “To Dave,” he said, raising his glass, “for proving he’s got the chops, no strings attached.” Dave flushed, his usual polished mask softened, his eyes catching Henry’s with a mix of gratitude and something deeper, love, maybe, though Travis wasn’t sure he w







