Broken Record

Chapter 25: Stevie

 "I love it." Jelena Kingston nodded her head, her face unreadable but her words genuine. Stevie raised her eyebrows in surprise at Aero who stifled a laugh.

"It's a real banger. Glad you approve." Aero clapped his hands, turning off the track.

"I mean, I don't approve anything in my life but if I did, I'd approve this." Jelena let out a small snort before grabbing her absurdly expensive designer bag. "And sorry my mom was such a bitch to you last week. I'd say she was having an off day but that was actually one of her better ones." Jelena shrugged at Stevie.

"Uh, yeah, no problem. I can be kinda...difficult too, I guess."

"Everyone in this industry is," Jelena leaned in closer with a small smile on her lips, "present party included." She winked and left the studio, Stevie and Aero exchanging a high five.

"Well, that was easier than expected." Stevie slouched into her chair, checking the time. It was just past 5:00 PM. Which meant she had a mere four hours until she was expected back at The Den for her first Tuesday appointment. Twice a week now. Twice a week she'd be tied up in whatever vision and position Benton had in mind. It seemed like he planned it out beforehand, striding into the room with a plan. A man with a plan, Stevie thought to herself as a small smirk spread across her lips.

"What?" Aero leaned over, studying Stevie.

"Huh?"

"You daydreaming about a dude or still high on Jelena's praise?" Stevie blinked a few times, taken aback by his level of introspection. She made a mental note to herself that Aero may in fact be a mind reader.

"Just high on praise. Never thought I'd not hate Jelena."

"So you like her?"

"Not like, I don't think, but definitely not hate." Aero laughed and stood up, shrugging on his hoodie.

"Fuck, I'm beat. I need a few days to just rest and veg out."

"Oh yeah, how was your weekend gig in Vegas?"

"Fucking wild as always." Aero shrugged, slipping the hoodie over his broad muscular shoulders, his tattoos flexing. "You wanna know a little secret that everyone hates to believe is true?" Stevie sat up straighter, her whole life full of secrets these days. How much damage could adding one more to the mix really do?

"Always."

Aero sighed, a sad smile on his lips, "It's not fun after a while, you know? The late nights and the parties and the after parties and the girls. It's just...at first, it's fucking hot. You're high on it, you know? You think you'll never get enough. And then, well and then people go one of two ways. Drug addicts or nihilists." Stevie tilted her head, soaking in the seriousness of his words.

"Well," Stevie shifted in her chair, "which are you?" Aero let out a genuine laugh, his eyes crinkling before his face turned more somber.

"Have a good one Stevie, see you tomorrow." Aero tapped the doorframe on his way out, leaving Stevie to wonder just how dark he'd fallen. He was always so collected, so cool around her. But she'd never seen him out. At least, not as his friend. She'd been to one of his concerts a few years ago and it had been entirely epic. But Stevie still understood his words on some level even if she couldn't really relate to them. It was part of why she'd never cared about monetizing her skills with editing and remixing in the first place. Success ruined everything when it came to passion and art.

Stevie grabbed her backpack and headed for the elevators, her stomach fluttering with a fresh wave of excited nerves as she counted down the clock. 5:30 PM. Less than 4:00 hours until she'd be sitting expectantly on a leather padded table, begging Benton to make every decision for her. She'd never give that kind of power to a man in an actual relationship. Hell, she'd rather die alone. But what she and Benton did in that room wasn't a relationship. It was an arrangement, a meeting of mutual needs, an...addiction. The word sat heavy in her gut at Aero's earlier confession but she temporarily forgot about it when she saw Mary sniffling near the elevator bays, her eyes clearly puffy from crying.

"Uh, hey, Mary, are you good?" Stevie awkwardly stepped toward her, not sure if her presence would just make whatever shit Mary was dealing with worse or not.

"Clearly not." Mary sniffed again, angrily wiping at her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt. "If this freaking elevator would just hurry the fuck up!" She jammed her finger repeatedly into the steel button, nearly breaking the damn thing if that were possible.

"Woah, woah, okay..." Stevie stepped closer, trying to make eye contact with Mary. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Oh, why yes. Yes I would love to talk about it." Mary's voice was full of snark as the elevator finally arrived and the two women stepped in, Stevie's eyes wide with curiosity and concern. Could it have something to do with seeing Benton's new secret appointment on the calendar for tonight? Stevie swallowed past her nerves, determined to find out.

"We could, you know, go grab a drink? I find that alcohol helps in most situations." Mary turned to face Stevie, her cheeks pink with anger and emotion.

"Yeah, I appreciate it but I really don't think a skinny margarita with extra salt is going to fix the fact that the man I'm in love with is in love with someone else." Stevie stood up straight, her heart fluttering. What the fuck?

"Oh, boy troubles?"

"Not boy, man. Big, strong, smart, rich man troubles. Except the only trouble is that he doesn't notice me!" Mary threw up her arms in expasteration. "I'm completely invisible to him. And this whole fucking time, I thought I knew everything about him. Every detail, and then--" The elevator doors pinged open and Mary stepped out, her pace frenzied. Stevie rushed to keep up.

"And then what, Mary?" Mary turned hard on her heel, an angry laugh bubbling past her lips.

"And then, his fucking fianceé, all tall and leggy and perfect comes striding back into his life! A freaking fianceé! How could I have been so stupid." Mary huffed and pushed past Stevie, making her way out of the elegant lobby. But Stevie couldn't move. She couldn't see past the words Mary had just spoken. A fianceé. Benton. Benton had a fianceé. Stevie was a lot of things. Alternative. Rebellious. Stubborn. But she was not a cheater. And she never wanted to hurt other women, especially not for the sake of a man. Benton. With his strict rules and his secretive ways. Benton. With his ropes and his ties and his fucked up sexual needs that just so happened to be a perfect match for Stevie. Benton. The fucking devil. The liar, the villain, the cheater. Stevie grasped her stomach, a sense of nausea overtaking her as she blindly made her way outside, shaking her head slowly. What she'd already done, she couldn't take back. But like hell would she do it again. Benton, she whispered so low it may have only been the voice in her head, go to hell where you belong.