Thanks to tipsysi1am for the cover above. I love it!💙

Chapter Thirty-Four: "Into A Garbage Disposal."

NEW YORK.

They called it the city where most dreams were found. The Big Apple. As many times as I've been here, I've refused to question why they called it The Big Apple and frankly I was too lazy to search up why.

But it was the city of dreams because of those who enter Broadway. Maybe there was inspiration people got from the busy streets of Manhattan, the loud bustling movements in Queens, more of the same in Brooklyn and other areas of the famous city.

The city where many movies took place from 13 Going on 30 to Breakfast at Tiffany's to Ghostbusters. Where people filled the streets, the subways usually packed, the air having that interesting odor you aren't sure what it is but don't care when you live here long enough to get used to.

From the Statue of Liberty tourists that head over to take pictures, to the many bridges or those who find their way down to the Met, many people found pleasure exploring a city like New York. I couldn't blame them.

But I found pleasure this morning in a completely different way.

"Fuck," I moaned, tugging at his hair one last time as my toes curled, my eyes almost rolled back into my head and my soul left my body.

"Holy shit." The rest of the sounds coming from my mouth incoherent and unrecognizable as he continued using his tongue and fingers where he lay under my hips. He moved his fingers from between my legs to dig into my thighs, holding my position above his head as I rode the wave he gave me.

I didn't even have time to process him get out from under me, lifting my hips up higher over where he had previously laid. Caleb kneeled behind me, his hands stroking down my spine to my waist. He gently pushed me into a position to arch my back. 

There were further movements and I heard the familiar sound of him opening a condom. "That's two for you." He mumbled, pleased. 

"You're really going to make me come for the third time already?" I asked as I caught my breath, my eyes closed. 

"I could do it all day for you if you wanted me to." When he spoke, his voice was teasing and low, "What better way to say good morning?"

"Good- oh my God." I pushed my face down into the pillow at the feel of him working his way into me.

Curses flew from his mouth as he moved in me. I pushed myself back on his body, lifting my head from the pillow to glance back at him. He locked eyes with me and I felt myself quiver. "Shit." The word left me breathy and I felt the warmness of his chest against my back as he loomed over me.

He breathed into the crook of my neck, rubbing me near the place we were joined with one hand. A string of curses flew from him, his other hand held onto my shoulder, finding the proper angle that left my mind dizzy and overwhelmed at the feeling of his hands all over.

"Caleb, Caleb," He stopped at the tone of my voice. 

"Yeah?" 

"Lift thigh." 

"Cramping?" 

"Yeah." 

He chuckled. "Got it." He did as I asked, continuing his movements.  

One hand left my shoulder, contrasting his quick thrusts as he moved his hand down slowly down my spine. I shivered in response at his touch, pressing myself further into his body, into his heat.

It was fast, short-lived but I felt the fire of it consume me, my mouth open in as I dove over the edge for the third time that morning, my cries muffled by the pillow as I convulsed around and under him. He followed suit seconds after with a low groan of my name, holding me against him with both arms embracing my body at one point.

I wasn't bothered by his weight on me, I found it rather comforting relaxing my body as much as I could when he pulled out, pressing a kiss to the middle of my back before getting off me.

Slouching back into the comforter, my face dug into the pillow as he went into my bathroom. There was the sound of water and ruffling until he came back moments later. Digging my hands underneath the pillow, I laid there, not planning on moving any time soon.

There was a pause in the atmosphere before I felt Caleb playfully hit my ass when he came back. "Could've touched any part of my body to resurrect me and you choose my ass."

He chuckled, joking with me as he did it a couple of times more to grab my attention, but I didn't budge. "C' mon October, we got work."

"Can't move."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't," I mumbled. "This is your fault. My body doesn't work no more."

"Well, the bellman said you were expecting me."

Imagine my shocker when I heard the elevator doors open from down the hall and whipped my bonnet to the other side of the room.

"Yeah, I didn't expect you this early in the morning," I muffled into the pillow and he laughed in response.

He jumped onto my bed, my body lifting in the air slightly for a second before coming back down due to the muscle of his weight.

"Hi." He was cheeky and I could imagine him in his boxers- probably the duck boxers an arm bent behind his head.

"Hi, Romero. Did Erika tell you-"

"That we have to go out on a date? Yeah," I felt him shift in my bed, making himself comfortable. "We're really making this work."

"I know," I mumbled, reaching over to grab my long shirt and pull it on. "I haven't heard about Keith in weeks."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"That's great," I said, closing my eyes. "How is our relationship working out for you?"

"There's been a lot of buzz for the movie despite it coming out way later. The post-production process is starting but the movie is set to be released later than expected."

"Understandable," I agreed. "Buzz because of us?"

"That's what AJ keeps saying," Caleb laughed, and I closed my eyes with the sound of his laughter because this was nice. And I felt good despite it being the morning. "People like us together."

Caleb shifted again, looming over me to set his phone in front of me. He lay behind me, my back against his chest, his head over my shoulder so we both can see it. "I found this video from your birthday on my phone."

I instantly grimaced, watching as drunk me stood on a table, my hands on Caleb's shoulders as I bopped really hard to Drake's music blaring from the speakers.

I was practically yelling the lyrics in Caleb's ears, but he didn't mind conversing in a conversation with someone who was near. He did seem to mind however when someway somehow I slipped off the table and fell.

He stared wide-eyed into the camera before the video ended in darkness and a loud clank; his phone had fallen.

"That's why my back hurt so much the next day!"

"And how I broke my phone," His jaw moved on my shoulder. "We finally solved the mystery."

That party was something else. I may have had the most fun in a long time but the memories came crashing when I laid in bed with the biggest hangover ever. Caleb had been sleeping away at the foot of my bed and Angie curled up in a ball in the corner of my room.

Multiple rounds of beer pong where I learned Caleb couldn't play for shit but knew the game better than most people probably did like the back of his hand followed a shit ton of dancing led to laughing, more dancing, drinking, more laughing all adding up to the worst hangover I could say I've experienced.

It's safe to say, I wasn't going to be drinking for a long time. The thought of vodka made my dinner from last night rise.

Imagine the slight cringe I had when I recalled everything I had told Caleb that night. I wasn't embarrassed about it. He probably knew what I thought of him since I was attracted to him but to hear me say it under the influence where I had no filter moreso than usual?

His ego was already high. It only made his big head bigger.

"What's new with you?" I asked him, shutting his new phone off, shifting so I was able to see only his face.

"I have a lot of deadlines. Over the past couple of weeks, I've been selling my pitches for TV shows and I've been selected to write the pilot for one of them."

"That's amazing, Caleb. Oh my God." I let my grin show him my excitement and to my shock, his cheeks were painted with a light pink flush.

"They think if they like the pilot, that I should be one of the screenwriters for the show." He mumbled out, clearly embarrassed.

If his face got any redder, he would have turned purple I swear. I was a little stunned by his reaction. Moments ago, he was saying the crudest things while having sex with me and the next he looked like he got gotten a heat flash.

But his writing was the most important thing to him. He worked hard for it and he loved it and threw his entire being into anything he wrote. It was admirable how he loved and was embarrassed by the attention he had received for it.

I bit my lip at his nature, "Is the show going to be produced in LA?"

"Back in Italy."

I frowned, fully turning around to face all of him. Sure, enough he had animal boxers on. This time there were little cows. "What am I supposed to do without one of my best friends, huh? Sydney's already here, Zen's here too but you're going to be all the-"

Caleb laughed, giving me that big smile of his and I focused on his lips. "Don't say that."

"I'm kidding, it's just," I tucked my hand under my head, staring up at him. "I'm used to seeing you almost every day. It's always so weird after filming a movie. There was a routine and now everyone just goes their separate ways until promotion and interviews start."

He twisted one of my braids around his finger, contemplating my words. "Well, no matter how far apart we are, I'm with you."

I cringed at his cheesy words and he laughed loudly, noticing my expression and knowing I'm not fond of anything like that. "It's October and Romero, not October..." He paused dramatically. "And Romero."

I couldn't contain the small smile slipping onto my face at his words. "Congrats, Caleb. This is good for your career."

"Thanks," As if a whirlwind of thoughts entered his mind, he groaned with impatience, putting his forearm over his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Caleb sucked in a deep breath. "I just have a lot of stuff, conferences and my publisher told me I'll probably be going on a book tour for the novel."

"Wow."

"Yeah," He rubbed at his eyes. "I was up last night finishing work and had a bunch of calls to get back to. Did you know that even though we aren't done the filming, this is going to be apparently the most anticipated movie of next year?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, and because like the plot, they like me. So, a lot of people want to work with me and I'm just a little conflicted about sorting everything."

I moved his forearm, catching my breath from his smouldering eyes. "Are you okay?"

He gave me a tired smile. It may have been tired, but it was still charming. "Octavia, yes. You don't have to wo-yes."

"Okay," I squeezed his hand. I would've done anything to make him not look so drained.

"Okay," I repeated, dragging him out of bed. "C'mon, I'm going to take a quick shower then we go get breakfast at this coffee house I know on Madison Ave, their muffins are to die for. Then can make our way onto our final days of filming, how about that?"

He stood up, shooting me a genuine smile and I gave him one of my own. "Okay." He agreed and I patted his butt as I made my way past him. "By quick shower you mean thirty minutes of flaming water, don't you?"

I was already headed to the bathroom, a skip in my step. "I didn't ask to be attacked so early in the morning!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat in a café with two of my closest friends across from me, small smiles on their faces in Manhattan later that day. Our food and drinks were left untouched however as Zen proceeded to bash another person he worked with.

"I told the fucker 'don't compromise my job'," Zen huffed, playing with his lip ring. One of the two piercings he had kept in from all those years ago. "Then he does exactly the opposite of what I tell him. I'm telling you guys, people suck today."

"People suck with you." I corrected. "You just aren't a people person."

"I am," He defended. "But if you're going to be a fuck up, you might as well get out."

"Zen..." Sydney trailed off.

"She's been telling me for days that I'm being unreasonable," Zen turned to me. "Am I being unreasonable?"

The hopeful expressions on their faces made me tightly smile. "I'm just going to shut up and agree with both of you."

He scowled. "Not the answer I wanted."

"That's the answer you're going to get,"

He got up. "I need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Sydney and I both watched him walk away and I craned my neck to look at him disappear into the washroom. Whipping my head back to Sydney, I let my sunglasses slip to show my wide eyes. "You weren't kidding."

"I know!" We both shared a laugh and I couldn't contain the grin on my face. It was good to see her.

Her curly hair was let loose around her shoulders, her golden skin still looked as great as ever practically illuminating in her white shirt. Her posture was straight, nails done. There was always an elegance with Sydney Acosta, looking every bit of perfection a ballet dancer would have but the look in her eyes was anything but.

I was shocked that she was able to squeeze us in her busy schedule. I also knew this was going to be one of the few times this year I would see her since she was going on tour with her ballet company.

"You look good," I told her.

"Me?" She grabbed my hands over the table. "Have you seen yourself? You're glowing."

I flicked my braids over my shoulder. "You know it's this new product I've been trying. It works wonders on my personality."

"It's that Vitamin D for sure."

"Shut up." I shook my head, knowing what she was referring too. "But seriously, Zen's been working out."

"I know," She said with wide eyes. "I knew he was going to a gym, but I didn't know how often and how many times a week over the past couple of months."

"Zen may not be your type but..." I trailed off and Sydney automatically grimaced, shaking her head.

"I've lived with him long enough to know that that will never happen. Ever."

I laughed; I shouldn't even have asked the question. If something was ever going to happen between them, it would have happened already.

"How's Wesley?" I asked about one of our mutual friends.

Sydney's eyes sparkled at the mention of his name. "Really good. He got a-"

"He got a girl?" My eyes went wide at the news.

Sydney nodded eagerly, sipping her iced tea as we discussed our friend's life for a bit before Zen came back to the table, sliding in beside me. Sydney and I exchanged glances before I asked the question that's been on our minds since we all sat down. "Zen, have you been doing squats?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Why?"

"Your butt is just surprisingly shapier then the last time I saw you."

Zen glanced between me and Sydney. "This is what you two do? Discuss my ass when you're on FaceTime? What happened to just discussing the men you are seeing? Not the only man who's actually able to tolerate you two."

"Hey!" Sydney hit him lightly on the arm, pouting. "I'm tolerable."

"Only a madman can tolerate the amount of noise you like to be able to focus. TV? On. Video chat? On. Rap music? On. All at the same damn time."

"He just wanted to attack the music you listen to." I took a sip of my drink.

"What about your scremo music?" Sydney retorted. "I don't want to hear music where it sounds like you're dumping things into a garbage disposal."

"How you two lived together for so damn long I will never understand," I said.

"I tolerate his noise."

"You're one to talk about noise." He grumbled. 

"Oh, what a wonderful pair of roommates the two of you make." I drawled out in a lazy tone.

"I don't know how anyone tolerates you," Zen told me. "You're wearing sunglasses. Inside. It's also cloudy."

I perched my sunglasses on the top head. "I'm trying to have a nice time with the two of you so I'm in disguise."

Zen rolled his eyes. "You celebrities suck at disguises. Don't you think that wearing sunglasses inside would attract attention rather than repel it?"

"Don't you think I didn't ask for your attitude after not seeing you after almost a year? I expected better service, just saying."

"You get what you paid for."

"I paid nothing for this friendship."

"I paid the price of my ears," Zen muttered.

I reached over to pat his cheek, grabbing my cup to take a sip of water. "Missed you too."

"So," Sydney laced her fingers. "Caleb."

I looked at her over the rim of my cup. "What about him?"

"You guys seem cozy."

I put the cup down and leaned back. Eyes going back and forth between her and Zen, the two of them looking at me with the same damn expression on their faces. "Expand."

"You guys seem comfortable."

I said expand.

I arched an eyebrow. "Say what you want to say."

Sydney rolled her eyes, hand on her chin, a simple smile on her face. "I don't think I have to."

Didn't matter how many months we were apart from each other; she knew me way too well. Either that or she became a mind reader. I went with the former.

A sharp exhale left my mouth and as if on cue, Zen's eyes went wide. He wasn't the type known for gossip making his reaction was completely uncalled for. "What?" I asked him.

"What happened?" He pushed. His entire posture went rigid. "Something had to have happened."

"Since when are you so interested in my life?"

"Because my love life consists of me making a mission to go to New Jersey to see my own girlfriend, so a man sometimes has nothing better to do than wonder about what you all are up to," He told me dryly. Then he put a hand to his head. "New Jersey. I might as well be going to hell."

I looked at Sydney, pointing at him. "He's turning into a real New Yorker."

"He hates people from New Jersey but he's there so often." She told me.

"I hate that place so much. I told her that if we move in together, we're buying a place here. I'll move to Texas if I have to but not New Jersey," Zen groaned, and I had the feeling he was going to rant before he composed himself.

"Zen, where did you meet her?" I ask about his girlfriend.

He paused and Sydney and I glanced at each other before saying. "New Jersey." in unison, laughing.

"Long story short, I was with a buddy and we ended up in New Jersey and..." I tuned out during his long story, turning to Sydney.

"He would totally move to New Jersey for her.' I mouthed.

Sydney smirked. 'I know.'

We turned back to Zen who ran a hand over his buzzcut. It was nice to see him fond of someone. "As I said, something is happening in my life. Nothing is happening in Sydney's life-"

I whipped my head to her. "Nothing? What happened to cute guy?"

Sydney shrugged. "Wasn't feeling it. Besides I'm going on tour in a bit and I'm constantly at rehearsal." She shot Zen a quick glare. "There have been things going on, so I wouldn't say nothing. There's just no time for a boyfriend and I'm okay with that."

I hummed in understanding, but Zen wasn't having it because he poked me. "Speak."

"My guy," I swatted his hand fast and he hissed in response. "I'm not a dog for you to command."

"Would you just-"

"Okay, okay!" I exclaimed, swatting again at his hands that were trying to pull the information out of me. "There was a kiss. A very different kiss on the night of my birthday."

"What made it different?" Sydney asked.

I swallowed, suddenly nervous to think about it, say it out loud. "I mean, it wasn't a kiss that led to sex. It was just a kiss for the sake of it."

She even looked shocked; lips parted. Completely caught off guard by what I had said. Trust me I was caught off guard too if Caleb Romero Henderson had kissed you for cause and it had an effect. There was always an effect. 

"Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but Caleb isn't like Giulio when it comes to this." 
Giulio, who when we were hooking up was the most affectionate person I knew despite us not being in a relationship. "He doesn't randomly kiss me like that unless we're in the eye of the public. But he did and no one was around."

"Not a single person?" 

"No, he probably thinks I forgot about it, but I haven't stopped thinking about it since that night. I just don't want our relationship to change. We're so good where we are right now."

Reaching her hand out, Sydney held my own across the table. "Your relationship changed the second you had sex- no, the second you kissed."

"And being in a fake relationship where you show PDA isn't necessarily helping," Zen added, twisting his lip ring. Zen turned his gaze to me. "You're into Caleb.

"I don't want a real relationship right now," I said.

"That didn't contradict my statement. You like Caleb whether you want an actual relationship or not."

"Yes." There was no point in denying something I was completely aware of. I wasn't dense.  "But as I said I don't want a relationship." I took my sunglasses off my face, pushing them upwards.

"Why wouldn't you want a relationship?" Zen asked. "Look at you, you're stable. You have a new movie up and other opportunities to come. You seem more like yourself and more since you went to Italy from the last time we saw you."

"He's right," Sydney agreed. "And with Caleb, with just picking up that job-going to Italy, you seem more like yourself. Like who you really are. Before you met Keith and all the shit that occurred when you were with him."

"A lot happier, that's for sure," Zen muttered, his hand curling around his own cup. "Judging by when you got drunk."

I groaned, putting a hand to my head. "I can still feel the hangover if I think hard enough."

"No more vodka for you?"

"No more vodka for me." I agreed, imagining the smell and wanting to gag. "Not for a while."

"Magic dick." I heard Zen say again and I nudged him with my elbow.

"Immature much?"

He put his hands up in defense. "Only quoting what you said to us."

"And to him," I mumbled.

"You told him that?" Sydney looked amused.

"Multiple times," I admitted but neither of them looked surprised at my bluntness. To be honest, neither was I.

Zen's phone beeped in his pocket and he took it out to read the text. He shook his head. "This douche bag has it out for me again."

"Work?" I asked and he grunted in 'yes'. "Zen, I'm just beginning to think that you don't get along with anybody."

He blinked innocently, tilting his head to the side like a child. "I get along with demons like you."

I mocked him and he made a sound to which I retaliated with one back. When I turned to Sydney, there was a small smile on her face at our banter. And this, with them, felt like a part of home. 

Sydney nodded at Zen. "Tell her about what you called Kian the other day."

"Kian?"

"A guy I work with," Zen muttered, twisted his mouth to the side, annoyance flickering all over his face. He rarely ever got mad, that's where his nickname, Zen came from. But this person, Kian, surely struck a nerve within him.

"I walked up to his face and called him a-"

My eyes widened and a choked out sound came out of my throat. Sydney held a hand to her fist despite hearing this story before. But the words that flew out of Zen's mouth were enough to make me want to fall out of my seat and onto the floor. There's a lot of things someone could say that wouldn't shock me, but this was one of those moments where I was utterly left baffled.

I tried gathering myself but failed to do, my hand to my open mouth. "Did you really say that to his face?"

"Oh, I just told you part one of what I said when he decided to call me something worse," Zen shrugged, getting comfortable. "Listen-"

He went into another story making me and Sydney laugh at his vulgarity. Almost a year ago I was with them at this same place on the verge of tears- tears I wasted and had no reason to shed over someone not worth them. But smiling with my closest friends made me happy and I deserved to feel like that. I knew that I did.