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Dirty Trick
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Deborah hated it every time Silvia picked up Jim’s phone, leaving her no choice but to accept her words excusing him. But on Wednesday, she was glad to hear her pick up. Deborah confirmed Jim remembered the live stream scheduled for that afternoon, and smiled to herself when Silvia used the plural about being in her office in a couple of hours.
She disconnected and called Ron over. Her assistant didn’t hide his disbelief as he wrote down on his phone the list of errands she needed him to run in the next ninety minutes. She didn’t give any explanation, but she was determined to turn around the unwavering negative buzz about Jim’s new chick, and the fundraising dinner the next night was an excellent chance to do it.
To keep the Q&A from going on forever, only Jim, Liam and Tom would take part of it. Sam had everything set at the conference room by Deborah’s office, so the musicians would go straight there.
As soon as she had the three of them sitting for makeu
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No Return The Number One Fan
It took Silvia a couple of minutes to get over the relief of escaping Deborah without needing to get rude. Then she realized her savior was the last person she would’ve ever expected, and now she was alone with him in his car, while he cursed the traffic under his breath.She didn’t have the slightest idea why Sean had intervened on her behalf or where they were going, and his evident foul mood wasn’t exactly an invitation to ask anything. She hadn’t forgotten what Jim had told her about him back at her home, but whatever Sean had said to his brother was between them, and nobody was more of an outsider than her when it came to Sean.He drove toward the studios area without even glancing at her, to pull over at a narrow street outside a hidden bar. Silvia managed to not jump out the moment he stopped the car and saw him go straight to open the bar door and hold it for her, so she could only walk in.It was a small shadowy place, with a few
No Return Two Bodies
“Now you believe me?”Jim chuckled while Silvia kept shaking her head slowly, eyes out the windshield.He’d joined her and Sean at the bar by the time they were done with their beer, and his brother had left without a word, just nodding goodbye at them with one last glance at Silvia.Jim took the way to his home, hearing her incredulous account of her close encounter with the eldest Robinson.“I mean, from the moment I left you to your Q&A, it all felt like I’d stumbled on an acid and it fell down my throat, getting me lost on a bizarre trip,” she said, making him laugh. “All of a sudden I’m wearing a frigging Versace! And diamonds! What the hell! And a minute later, I’m having a beer with Sean?” She threw up her hands, feeding Jim’s laughter. “You know what’s the craziest thing of all? Seeing you walk into the bar was the most reassuring thing to
No Return Unspoken
The sun touched the bedroom window looking south about noon, waking Jim up. He threw an arm across his face to shield his eyes and felt around with his other hand. The bed was a complete mess, all the covers fallen to the floor, and he was sprawled on it flat on his back. His hand landed on Silvia’s shoulder and slid down her skin in no hurry, as he registered his sore back, his stiff thighs, the exhaustion nesting in every muscle.The night before had been just crazy.He and Silvia had a pending conversation about her promise to come back, and Jim didn’t want to leave it for long-distance communications. But looked like she didn’t want to talk about it, so every time he tried to bring it up, she managed to distract him. And after those three weeks sleeping together, she knew how to keep him distracted alright.Until he’d just given up trying to have that conversation and sought some payback for so much distraction. Which was why now he f
No Return What Lightning Needs
Jim strolled out of his closet still pulling up his old shorts, never caring about the trail of water he left behind. The bed was neatly laid with clean sheets, even though the housekeeper hadn’t arrived yet. He headed downstairs, almost enjoying his foul mood and ready to feed it on anything he found at hand.He stopped short before walking into the kitchen, where Silvia was sitting at the isle, typing on her phone while she waited for him, a cold lunch for two served before her. He saw the home-sweet-home scene and spun on his heels.She looked up, hearing his footsteps clatter up the stairs, and sighed. She could only hope Jim wouldn’t go off on her before she had any kind of answer for him.Jim didn’t stop until he reached the studio on the third floor. His eyes moved between the rack of guitars and the wall piano.He snorted. Enough of nice melodies already.He lit a joint and rummaged one of the side tables for pen and paper, to write down th
No Return The Right Lightning Rod
The others were enthusiastic about the song Jim was making and they spent the afternoon working on it. However, it was an awkward while for them, caught in the crossed fire of Jim’s temper and Sean’s mocking indifference. So they felt relieved when Sean’s phone buzzed and he just dropped the sticks to stand up.“Whadda fuck you doing?” Jim asked. “We’re in the middle of the fucking song!”Sean circled the drums to grab his stuff. “You gotta pick me up before seven,” he replied, turning off Jim’s amp again. “So move your ass.”“Oh, right,” said Tom, putting his bass down. “Deb booked you guys for that fancy gala.”Jim left his guitar, snorting and cursing under his breath before gifting them with another theatrical exit. The others turned to Sean for some kind of explanation.Sean shrugged. “She’s leaving tomorrow,” he said, and wa
No Return Red Carpet
Sean waited outside his building, still thinking about what Jo had told him. She couldn’t be more right, calling what had happened to Fay a lucky misfortune. And they also agreed that Silvia’s plan was wise and down to earth. Knowing Jim, three months would be more than enough for them to move past the fireworks of every reunion and see if they wanted to go any further.He smirked to himself. It was going to be fun.Jim drove down the street to pull over right in front of his brother, and Silvia jumped off of the car to leave the passenger’s seat for him. Sean hardly had a glimpse of her as she dived into the backseat.Jim cursed Deborah over the phone as Sean got in the car by his side. He hung up on her and handed his phone over his shoulder to Silvia, still cursing and grunting. Deborah called again within seconds. Silvia picked up this time.Sean smirked again, hearing her talk in a nice, innocent way. Deborah didn’t call again
No Return An Old Friend
The red carpet ended at the building’s fancy gates, and right past them, in the large, luxurious lobby, more reporters lay in wait, from outlets willing and able to pay for a better access to the celebrities in attendance. Silvia hesitated, seeing that whole new swarm of cameras and microphones and lights.“Let Jim handle them,” said Sean, nodding to the other end of the lobby.Jim met her eyes and nodded, swallowing his laughter because she couldn’t quite tell what nightmare was worse: facing more reporters or being left alone with his brother.She couldn’t help another chill when Sean rested a hand on the small of her back to guide her among the people. However, they’d hardly taken a couple of steps when someone behind them called out, “Silvia?”They turned around, surprised, to find another woman.“Cecilia?” said Silvia in disbelief.Sean’s eyebrows jumped up when Silvia hugged the woman, both of them laughing and patting each other’s back.Jim didn’t see it, busy with the reporter
No Return Jam
“Hurry up or I’m calling a cab!”“Bet you’re dying to do it, you chicken.”“Please, Jay!”Silvia finished raiding the master bedroom one last time, to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything.“Jay!”“Coming.”She snorted and went to canvass the ground floor. She was just done when Jim came down the stairs in no hurry.“Can we go before I have a heart attack, milord?”“Cool down, woman, we have plenty of time,” he said, grabbing her duffel bag on his way to the front door, where she waited with her rucksack. He paused at the doorway to poke her nose. “Really, such a rush to leave me.”Silvia wasn’t about to explain she was always that upset whenever she had a bus or a plane to catch, so she just scowled at him and followed him out.“Got everything? Tickets, passport?”Silvia ch
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No Return True Freedom
Silvia woke up to Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus.The sun was setting and she was alone in bed, tucked in soft sheets that smelled of lemon and the fat white comforter. Jim had left a few hours ago to let her rest, because after those weeks apart, it was plain to see she wouldn’t get any rest with him around.She’d fallen sound asleep, exhausted, and now she had the persistent feeling of being still lost in a dream. But she wasn’t. This was not the Black Rock. It was the Ashtray, her new home, and that music had to be a phone ringing.But not hers. She’d never used that song as a ringtone.She followed the music to the other nightstand, where she found a new phone still inside its open box with a red ribbon. And she laughed out loud when she grabbed it and saw the caller was My Personal J.“Hey, you awake?” Jim asked when she picked up, still chuckling.“Hey, you just woke me u
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They staggered into the bedroom and fell on the bed as they kissed, their hands struggling to get rid of their clothes.Silvia pulled Jim to bring him on top of her, yearning to feel his weight. There was no other body to hers, no other hands to touch her, no other lips to drive her crazy, no other skin to stroke hers. She wrapped a leg around his waist, pushing him down, and moaned when she felt him inside of her, his fire sweeping it all away, and she gave in to his need and his exasperated anxiety.Because that was exactly how he was feeling. He’d never missed her body, he’d never needed her like this. Yet there he was, fighting himself back to keep from going off like a frigging teen, growing crazier with every moan he pushed out of her mouth, every move of her hips, every touch of her fingers, every brush of her lips. Like he would never have enough of her.Why was he feeling this way? Why nothing seemed enough? When had all bodies lost their ap
No Return The Ashtray
Silvia exited the Customs Office feeling stunned and a little dizzy. After such an emotional last week in Bariloche, she’d had to go through the long flight that had taken her to another time zone, another season, another country, another culture, another language. She looked around, feeling she was running on fumes and she was about to pass out any moment now.Jim threw the sign she hadn’t seen into a bin to come stand before her, hands in his pockets and a smile under his black cap.“Looking for somebody?”Silvia just dropped everything to fall into his arms. He held her tight, kissing her hair, and felt her shiver nonstop. She needed a whole minute to fight back her tears and get a little grip on herself. When he assessed she would be able to walk, he took her hand, grabbed the luggage cart with his other hand, and took both to the parking lot without a word.Silvia just let him lead the way. She was there, with him, finally. Sh
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Silvia left before her friends and siblings even registered what she was doing. One minute they were all toasting to her for the hundredth time in the bar, and the next minute she was hugging every one of them, telling them how much she loved them. And then she was gone, all alone.She walked down the street, gazing up at the sky, admiring the colors in those minutes before the early sunrise. Her feet didn’t need to consult with her brain to head straight to the downtown beach, walk down the stone steps and take her right up to the lake shore.She sat down on the cold pebbles and lit a cigarette, face to the east. It was her last sunrise of the only life she’d ever known. The last sunrise with her lake and her mountains. Like so many times before, she wished she could capture every little detail as far as her eyes could see, carve it all in her memory and keep it inside of her, true and unchanged, forever unfading.She watched the sun come up behind
No Return December
Tobias and Leandro had done their best to clean up the Black Rock before Silvia came back home. And the outcome made her smile, because the house was squeaky-clean and smelling of flowers. They were surprised to see Mika there too, but Silvia’s look kept them from asking any questions.Knowing the siblings needed time alone for their reunion, Leandro left for Beltane, to have dinner with Claudia. At the Black Rock, Mika went to the supermarket, to restock the fridge with something that wasn’t trash food and make dinner for the three of them.The moment she walked out, Tobias asked Silvia what had happened to their sister to make her lower that proud head of hers, admit her fail and come back home. It was just natural he would take mortal offense when he learned why Mika was actually back. But Silvia would have none of it.“I’m telling you the same I told your sister,” she said. “You don’t want me to keep treating you guy
No Return Lil' Sister
It’d been six months since Silvia had last seen Mika, and one look was enough to tell her all her little sister had been keeping from her.Rob and Juan had planned a Saturday night out after dinner, but Silvia resorted to the such-a-long-flight excuse to stay behind.“Would you lend me a hand with the dishes?” she asked Mika.The others understood and took off, leaving the sisters alone.“I thought Lorena was coming too,” Silvia said as they picked up everything from the table.Mika hesitated, found her sister’s eyes and shrugged. “We broke up.”“Oh. You never mentioned it.”“It happened three days ago. I didn’t wanna write to you about it. It was your last days with Jim, and I knew we were meeting today.”They took everything to the kitchen and Silvia asked Mika to make mate while she did the dishes. The girl knew better than trying to beat
No Return The Thing
Silvia almost missed her flight, too absorbed staring at the tiny thing on the table before her.What on God’s green earth was that thing doing there, and in her keep?That white-gold band with a little, discreet diamond.An engagement ring.That frigging coward! Throwing it at her from ten feet away!But no matter the delivery method, Jim had given it to her.His mother’s, he’d said.Bring it back, he’d said.She felt lucky her brain was able to register the last boarding call. She looked up, startled, and jumped to her feet. She was about to hurry away when she remembered the ring. Actually, it was more like feeling a leash tugging at her neck, stopping her from walking away from the table.She spun around on her heels and scowled down at the damned thing.“You…” she growled.The moment she had it in her hand again, she realized how small and light it wa
No Return Catch
It was sort of weird. Being with Jim usually involved having people around, but now they were all alone, making their way through the usual crowd in LAX. Come to think about it, both of them loved having an active social life. Maybe that was why she hadn’t needed any major adjusting over the last ten days in LA.…?Silvia would’ve punched herself best Fight Club style. She had only minutes left with him and she was pondering about their social habits? Really?She checked in for her flight and they headed to the boarding area in no hurry.“So you think you can be back by January ten.”“Yup. I gotta report to work with Jo on the fifteenth, but I want a couple of free days before that.”They walked a whole minute in silence.Silvia wondered why all of a sudden they didn’t seem to have anything left to say. Why were they avoiding eye contact? Why did she feel like getting into the boarding
No Return Jam
“Hurry up or I’m calling a cab!”“Bet you’re dying to do it, you chicken.”“Please, Jay!”Silvia finished raiding the master bedroom one last time, to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything.“Jay!”“Coming.”She snorted and went to canvass the ground floor. She was just done when Jim came down the stairs in no hurry.“Can we go before I have a heart attack, milord?”“Cool down, woman, we have plenty of time,” he said, grabbing her duffel bag on his way to the front door, where she waited with her rucksack. He paused at the doorway to poke her nose. “Really, such a rush to leave me.”Silvia wasn’t about to explain she was always that upset whenever she had a bus or a plane to catch, so she just scowled at him and followed him out.“Got everything? Tickets, passport?”Silvia ch
