| Subject: Entropy Chapter 5 |
Author:
Becca
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Date Posted: 12:49:11 03/24/02 Sun
In reply to:
HeyBecca
's message, "Entropy" on 19:23:01 02/10/02 Sun
Entropy 5—How Do I Look?
“See the fire within them burnin', Touch the fire make me feel so fine. Keep the fire within you livin'
Everybody gonna' shine, shine, shine.”
--“Shinin’ On” Grand Funk Railroad (By Mark Farner, Don Brewer, Cram Renraff)
Sly let himself into Carly and Lucky’s apartment wondering where the two inhabitants were. He tugged at his tie, knowing there was no way he’d make it through the night with that thing on.
“4:15 . . . where are they?” he muttered and went to the kitchen. “Hey, guys, it’s just me,” he shouted casually.
Sly opened the fridge and searched its contents for some kind of alcoholic beverage.
“What are you doing here?” Carly asked. All she could see was his white tuxedoed derriere, his upper half-hidden inside the refrigerator.
“Making a Cosmo?” he suggested, holding the bottle of Absolut Citron vodka up. “Want?”
“Is that what you are wearing?” she asked, looking at his white suit skeptically. “Be careful with the cranberry juice.”
“Hey, you’re lucky it is white. I almost went with this awesome red Versus suit . . . white CK seemed more appropriate. Oui?”
Carly smiled and said teasingly, “At least you’re dressed.” She tightened her robe. “Do you know where your cousin is?”
“Lucky’s not here?” Sly asked, surprised. “Did he maybe go get Natalie?”
“No, I haven’t seen him all day. He was supposed to run an errand for me and . . . he’ll show up. He’s Lucky, he always shows up,” Carly mused. She paused and looked Sly over. He really did look good. Only Sly could pull of an all white suit and not look like a clown. “You are one fine form of a man. Too bad you’re my cousin.”
“That seems to be a consensus,” Sly complained. Carly sat on the stool across the counter from Sly and watched him make the drinks.
“Lady troubles, Sylvester?”
“Let me set the scene for you,” Sly began. He cut a lemon and placed it on the glasses before looking at Carly. “Hot, young, Hollywood actor is at breakfast with three beautiful women. A model, an artist, and a lawyer. And how do these fine creatures see me? How am I defined in their eyes? Who am I to them?”
“Sly it--.”
“I’ll tell you,” he began, pouring his vodka, triple sec, and cranberry juice mixture into glasses. “I am not an individual to these women. I am solely Lucky Spencer’s cousin. Now I’m not saying I am meant for any of said ladies, however it would be really nice if one of them saw me as a sexual object instead of just a nice guy.”
Carly took a sip of the cosmopolitan and sighed. “Sweetie, just because Emily, Liz, and Gia don’t want you doesn’t mean you aren’t desirable, even to them. They just have a lot of baggage.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I get it. But once I wish they’d be uncomfortable around me.”
“What is wrong with that? They value your company,” she tried, knowing Sly was in one of his rare self pitying moods.
“I’m like the gay guy in the movies. You know, straight woman has a gay best friend who she tells all her personal problems to. Only problem is, Carly, I’m NOT GAY!” Sly declared with a groan, downing his Cosmo in one gulp. “I would gladly have sex with any of those women if they asked. But they aren’t asking.”
Sly stopped, looking into Carly’s eyes seriously. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“You know you can, sweetie,” she said with a smile.
“I’m a fairly swingin’ guy, I do well in the dating department . . . well, I did, when I was younger. Caroline, I haven’t had sex in five months.”
Carly’s eyes widened in surprise. She tried to not looked so shocked, but she was. Sly had always come off as a playboy, quite the lothario. Or at least that is who he wanted the world to think he was.
“And here I thought this was the only celibate apartment in Manhattan,” Carly joked.
Sly cracked a smile, allowing himself to relax. Sly let Lucky do the brooding, dark loner, he wore it well. Whenever Sly tried to brood he just looked like a whiney actor.
“Maybe tonight is the night we change all that,” he said suggestively. “I mean, you are going to the opening with the Aussie, right?”
“Don’t even say it, Sly,” Carly warned. She got up and headed towards the hall. Sly quickly followed her towards her bedroom. “Jax and I . . . it’s complicated. At this point sex would only add to the complications.”
“Don’t be stupid. You know this may be your chance at everything you dreamed of. Why would you be considering retiring from this career you made for yourself if you didn’t think that you were one step away from doing the family thing?” Sly paused and sat down on Carly’s bed while she did her makeup at the vanity. “Unless, do you have another man in mind?”
“No!” she stated as if it were the most ludicrous thing in the world. In reality, it was. She may be scared about taking that step with Jax, but she couldn’t think of anyone else she’d rather be scared about making a step with. “Between opening this club and worrying about the other clubs and trying to be the best mother to Michael that I can be—when was I supposed to meet someone?”
“It was an honest question,” he said with a playful smile. “So . . . are you—I mean, is this it?”
Carly turned around to face him, her eyes telling him all he needed to know. “Tonight is a big night, the biggest since I opened Club 101. I’m going to focus on this and see what happens. Tomorrow I’ll know better.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Sly noted. Just then they heard the front door slam shut, followed by what was Lucky’s unmistakable groan.
“New Jersey sucks!” he announced, appearing in Carly’s doorway a moment later. In his left hand was a small box, “Here’s your cuff links for Jax. Oh and I am never going to Jersey again, especially on a Saturday afternoon.”
“Problems, Lucas?” Sly asked with a grin.
“I don’t know what was worse. Getting stuck in traffic or having to listen to Nikolas put his foot in his mouth about a dozen time,” Lucky told them in frustration.
Carly looked at her roommate. “Why did you take Nikolas with you?”
“Right now I’m asking myself the same thing,” Lucky complained before adding, “He wasn’t that bad. You know, we’re trying . . . to fix things. It is better if we are supervised, cause otherwise . . . I’m taking a shower.”
“You’re taking a shower because you’re afternoon with Nikolas wasn’t supervised?” Sly questioned jokingly. Lucky shot him an angry glance and turned around to leave.
Sly and Carly exchanged a look after Lucky headed towards his bedroom. “What do you think Cassadine said to get our young hero so hot under the collar?”
Carly smirked at Sly, “Odds are, it has something to do with that young artist you had breakfast with.”
**
The secretaries stared, gawked, as he walked through the office dressed to the nines in a traditional tuxedo. He looked like a blonder, tougher James Bond.
Jason nearly flinched under the gaze of one of the reporters. He gave her an icy glare and continued on his way.
“The Daily News’s security sucks,” he said, announcing his presence when he got to his destination.
Kristina looked up from her desk, quickly closing a file on her computer before Jason could see what she was working on. “You again.”
He smiled caustically. “Me.”
“What do you want?” she asked, not having time for his cryptic act.
“I just,” he paused, tugging at the cuffs of his shirt, “wanted to tell you that I’ll be watching you tonight. I know you are up to something and I can promise you that you will regret it in the end.”
Kristina laughed, “Oh, Jason, I’m scared.” She stood up, her briefcase in hand. “If I were up to something you couldn’t stop me even if you tried.”
She started to walk away as Jason leaned against her desk. “I may not be able to stop you, but they will,” he chuckled to himself, his arms folded across his chest.
**
“Do we want to show up early or late?” Steven asked while lounging on his bed in only his bathrobe.
“Fashionably late, we don’t want to miss the dinner,” came Gia’s voice through the bathroom door. “I just want to make sure we get there after your sister.”
“Which one?” Steven asked, his face twisted in wonder.
Gia opened the door a crack, looking at her lover thoughtfully. “Sarah, yeah, Sarah. I don’t think Liz will care all that much. I’m pretty sure she’s got other things on her mind,” she said before shutting the door again.
“The Spencer kid,” Steven groaned, flipping through the channels on his television. “So, how was your morning, babe?”
“I had meeting with my agent and then ran into Emily, Sly, and Liz. It was so much fun to just have fun and relax. I think the baggage I have with them was what made it fun,” Gia observed with a laugh.
Steven smiled warmly as he listened. “I love to hear you laugh, babe. And tonight I’m going to watch you glow.”
Gia threw the bathroom door open, looking at Steven in disbelief. “You’re amazing,” she gushed, crawling onto the bed and kissing him deeply. “Just make sure I don’t upstage Carly. The wrath of Carly is something one always wants to avoid.”
“Oh, what is she going to do?” Steven sighed, running his hand up her thigh.
“You obviously don’t know Carly, honey. She’s mellowed with age, but if either of us do anything to cause a scene tonight I wouldn’t hesitate to think she’d seek revenge. And her idea of revenge often times involves, from what I’ve been told, laundry carts,” Gia explained. She slapped him on the behind, “Now go take your shower.”
“Care to join me?” Steven jumped off the bed and looked at her grinning.
“And what? Turn into a prune? I already bathed. Besides, we both know there would be no showering getting done in that scenario,” Gia noted, motioning for him to get going.
**
“How do I look?” Elizabeth asked to nobody particular. She stood in front of the mirror, a clear look of disgust on her face as she studied her attire. “I look like I’m going to the senior prom, ugh! This is all wrong!”
“That’s why we bought other dresses. It is fun to have friends with deep pockets, even more fun when they are princes who have no regard for money in the least,” Emily said with a giggle as she exited the bathroom in Elizabeth’s suite. She was having too much fun playing catch-up with her best friend that Emily decided to take pre-party preparations over to the suite instead of going home and getting ready alone. “I still think you should wear the violet one—you look good in purple.”
“That is the one I was wearing.” Elizabeth returned the dress she had been trying on to the closet. She grabbed a different one, inspecting it closely. “Tonight just has to be perfect.”
“Boy, I wonder if Zander is getting this nervous over a fake date,” Emily teased, knowing the real reason why Elizabeth was so nervous.
“I’m sure he’s primping as we speak…after all, he thinks this evening is going to get him what he wants,” Elizabeth said pointedly. Elizabeth held a dress in front of her, looking to Emily. “This is the Ralph Lauren—you like?”
Emily buried her face in the pillows on the bed and groaned.
“Please don’t even suggest that, Liz,” she complained. “I adore Zander, I really do. And I know the reasons we broke up weren’t really either of our faults. It just wasn’t meant to be . . . I just want him to move on, be happy, like I plan to be tonight.” Emily looked closely at Elizabeth’s dress and smiled, “I LOVE it, makes a great statement.”
Elizabeth turned from the mirror and eyed her friend suspiciously. “What exactly do you have planned?”
“A lady never tells her secrets,” Emily countered. She grabbed her dress from the closet and sauntered into the bathroom.
“Oh, come on . . . I know whatever has you grinning like a Cheshire cat has nothing to do with your date. Or does it?”
The door cracked open. “Sly? No, gosh, he’s like . . . Sly to me is like Nikolas to you. Wouldn’t go there. Speaking of the Prince . . .”
Elizabeth’s eyes brightened as if this were the best news in the world.
“You two are together? This is like . . . this is huge!”
“Not quite,” Emily corrected from inside the bathroom. “There is little issue of him not knowing.”
“But he—nevermind,” Elizabeth said quickly.
Emily threw the door open, her dress half-on, and glared at her friend. “But he what? He’s not with someone, is he?”
“No, no, Em. Nikolas is the king of no social—or maybe that would be prince?” she mused to herself. “I was just under the impression that he was very excited about tonight too. I didn’t know why until you said . . . you know. I thought maybe you two had plans or something.”
Emily’s eyes darkened. “We don’t . . . oh gosh, what if he is excited about seeing your sister?” Emily asked, her voice booming in horror.
“She’s in the next room,” Elizabeth noted with a laugh. “And I don’t think it is that. Why? He and Sarah have done this merry-go-round thing for so long, I don’t think she can make him happy like I saw him earlier. No—it is totally because of you.”
“Even if it isn’t—it will be,” Emily stated seriously. “So, what kind of plan do you have in store to snag your leading man?”
Elizabeth gaped at Emily.
“What?” she asked, finishing up getting dressed.
“Why would I have—there is nothing, I’m just going to have a good time,” Elizabeth insisted.
“Yeah sure, and you’re all nervous about your dress because of Zander,” Emily rolled her eyes. “Face it, we loved them when we were sixteen and we’ll love them till we are sixty.”
Elizabeth played innocent. “Who are you talking about?”
“The sons of Laura Spencer,” Emily answered with a sigh. “Pretend all you want, Liz, but I know the truth. You can’t hide these things from me.”
“Yeah, well,” Elizabeth began with a sigh, taking the violet dress off the hanger, “even if I had a plan for Lucky it wouldn’t matter. We are in two different places in our lives. We are not the same people we once were.”
“Yes you are!” Emily declared as she stepped back into the room. She wore a shimmering rainbow inspired Atelier Versace dress that looked like it was made for her.
“Sure, you’ve grown up a bit and changed and had to deal with all the shit of life. But, gosh, Liz, do you think we’d still get along so well if you were this radically different person? Do you think I’d care what the hell Nikolas was doing with his life if he had changed so much? We all change, we all evolve, but at heart we are the same people we always were. You just have to realize it, embrace it, and get your man back!”
“You’re insane,” Elizabeth informed her friend with a smile, sliding into the dress with ease.
“That is the dress, Liz. It is MADE for you!” Emily said as she looked Elizabeth’s dress over. “Lucky will be unable to look at anyone else.”
Elizabeth only rolled her eyes, wishing what Emily said was true.
**
Nikolas sat at the bar in the hotel, nursing a stiff gin and tonic.
“Don’t you just love these things? Putting on monkey suits . . .” Zander grumbled as he took a seat next to Nikolas. “Corona, please.”
“It’s not so bad . . . especially if you have a beautiful woman on your arm,” Nikolas pointed out with a smile. He loosened his tie lightly, realizing he had gotten used to the whole monkey suit, as Zander put, in his years since taking over his inheritance. He often had to attend black tie functions and had a vast array of tuxedos. For the party he decided to wear the Givenchy suit he had made especially for him. A gold and white shirt and a gold silk tie set off the black suit. He knew it was shallow, but he looked good.
Glancing at Zander, Nikolas could tell the guy was completely uncomfortable in anything that wasn’t blue jeans. He was like Lucky in that way.
Zander wore black Calvin Klein suit with a dark, finely striped shirt, with the first four buttons open.
“Tonight should be fun, Zander,” Nikolas assured. “This is New York, it’s the big time.”
“Yeah, exactly,” Zander grumbled. “That’s what worries me.”
Nikolas looked at him questioningly. “Isn’t the club ready?”
“Oh no, it’s been ready for about two weeks now. Carly’s ready, Natalie is ready, everyone is ready. But . . . I don’t know, call me crazy, but I’ve got this sick feeling in my gut like the other shoe is about to drop. Do you realize how good things have been going? It’s like there had been this film crew documenting our lives and manipulating the drama. Now it’s gone and . . . things have been normal, peaceful. Well, I just feel like the film crew is back. I just feel it.”
Nikolas chuckled. “You’re paranoid, Smith. I think you need something stiffer than that beer to drink.”
“Maybe you are right,” Zander said with a sigh.
“Hello boys,” Sarah announced her presence, putting her arms around their shoulders.
“Wow,” Zander said with a genuine smile. “You look amazing.”
“Oh, this old thing,” she said with a smile. She turned around slowly, showing them red and gold Versace dress. It gave the tired young doctor a glow of hipness. It felt good, for once, to just focus on herself instead of worrying about patients and her sister and her grandmother and everything else in her boredom filled life.
Zander glanced at his watch, “Is your sister ready? Should I go get her?”
“I’d give the girls a few more minutes.”
The threesome turned at the sound of the voice, finding a smirking Sly looking at them.
“And you know this how?” Nikolas questioned with a smile.
“If you want a woman to want you, when you pick her up for the evening arrive a tad late,” Sly instructed with a wink. He grabbed a handful of cashews from the bar and popped them in his mouth.
“It’s been my experience, Sly, that when a guy is late picking me up, I get pissed,” Sarah explained.
“Then you’ve never had a real man pick you. It’s not about being late—it’s about being right on time,” Sly returned. “Now, do you really think Elizabeth or Emily would be happy if Slappy Smith here and I showed up at the door and they weren’t even ready yet?”
“Don’t call me that,” Zander bristled. Sly had no problem with the guy, but Zander had a great dislike for Sly, probably because he was in Emily’s life, something Zander wasn’t anymore.
“Sure . . . Slappy,” Sly added with a wink. Why Sly called Zander Slappy was a mystery to anyone, he just did. “So,” he began, looking to change the subject, “are you all riding together?”
“We’re going in my car,” Nikolas said.
“Oh, the Gremlin…smooth ride, Cassadine,” Sly joked.
Nikolas rolled his eyes. “And you? How are you and Emily getting there?” Nikolas wondered, trying not to let on that he wanted to be the one taking Emily. “Going with Lucky and Carly?”
“Half of that is right,” he noted. “Em and I will take the limo over to Nat’s place to pick up her and the Luckster. Carly and Jax are going alone. But that is good.”
“Hey, was Carly happy with those cuff links?” Nikolas asked.
“I guess so . . . Cassadine, what did you say to Lucky that got him all pissed off?”
“Wow, look at the time!” Nikolas said. “Shouldn’t you two head upstairs and get your dates?”
Zander shrugged and headed towards the elevators.
“Next time, Cassadine, try not to bring up Elizabeth when you are talking to him,” Sly instructed with an easy going grin.
**
Lucky stood outside the door to Natalie’s apartment, feeling nervous for some reason. He hadn’t talked to her since Natalie decided to lecture him on his love life. Of course, he then had an adverse and jealous reaction to finding out that Elizabeth had a date to the opening.
‘Where’d that come from,’ he thought. He shook it out of his head. He wasn’t going to be jealous over Elizabeth and he wasn’t going to be nervous about taking Natalie to the opening.
As he rose his hand to the door to knock it opened, leaving his hand frozen in mid air.
“I sensed you were here,” Natalie said with a smile. Her smile widened when she took in the awed look on her date’s face. “So, what do you think?” she motioned to her dress, a satiny, pearl white Ralph Lauren dress.
Lucky swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. “You look . . . beautiful,” he said softly, handing her a white lily, her favorite flower.
“Lucky,” she sighed taking the flower from him. “Thank you.”
“Sly and Em will be here in about ten minutes, he’s over at the Waldorf now.”
Natalie looked at him questioningly. “Why are they at the Waldorf?”
Lucky smiled ironically. “Emily was getting ready with Elizabeth in her suite.”
“Oh, well, I guess that makes sense. They are friends and . . . wait,” Natalie held up her hand as Lucky went to sit down on her black leather couch.
“What?” he asked worriedly.
“Your suit!”
“What about it?” he asked innocently.
“That isn’t the Gucci we bought yesterday,” Natalie informed him. She looked it over. It was similar in style and color, but the shirt was completely different as was the tie. “Are you wearing Valentino—no, wait,” Natalie stepped closer, running her fingers up his arm and then over the lapel. “Armani?”
Lucky ran a hand through his already slicked back hair. “Well, you know, I kind of . . . I didn’t like the Gucci. I know, I know, how can I not like Gucci,” he said mockingly. “Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk and stopped in Armani . . .”
“Which one?”
“The one on Madison Avenue, anyway, you know how the salesman are there. They had me believing I couldn’t possibly go to the opening without it,” Lucky admitted. “I’d much rather deal with evil Cassadines then Armani salesman.”
“You look delicious but . . . Armani, Lucky?” she added with a disappointed frown.
“What do you have against Armani? You have always reacted badly whenever someone wears his stuff,” Lucky noted with an amused grin.
“In my early twenties I did a little bit of modeling . . . they rejected me,” Natalie added glumly, sitting down next to Lucky.
“Why would they do that?” Lucky asked honestly. “Don’t take this the wrong way but Natalie you are gorgeous.”
“Now how could I take that the wrong way?” She asked innocently.
“Keep up the innocent act, Nat,” he told her with a wink. He grabbed his ringing cell phone and flicked it on. “Yes?”
“Your chariot awaits, Mr. Spencer. Get your ass down here before the lovely Miss Quartermaine and I finish the bottle of Cristal we’re to open!”
“Who gave you access to a three hundred dollar bottle of champagne?” Lucky asked as he stood up. “Don’t pop it until we get down.”
“And the party has begun,” Natalie said as she took Lucky’s arm.
“Let’s try not to have too much fun,” Lucky said with a slightly warning tone before his face brightened, “On second thought, let’s live it up.”
Natalie grinned and kissed on the cheek. “I think that sounds like a plan!”
**
“They say never to keep a beautiful woman waiting,” Jax said smoothly as he stood in the doorway of Carly’s apartment. His dark suit seemed to be shimmering purple as he smiled at her. “But I don’t know the rules of waiting on a goddess.”
Carly shook her head as she approached him. Basic black by Ralph Lauren was what she chose to wear, but the way Jax looked at her made her feel like she was wearing spun gold.
“Pouring it on a bit thick, eh Jasper?” she asked casually.
“I don’t joke about such matters. You look indescribable.”
Carly, not one for blushing, felt herself flush all over as she looked into Jax’s eyes. Trying to regain her senses, she pulled two boxes out from behind her back.
“You said I could open this tonight,” she told him with a small smile, handing him the present she got for him. “This, my dear friend, is for you.”
“Let’s open them together,” he suggested with a simple grin.
They opened quickly, Jax getting to his cuff links first. “Where did you find these, Carly? They are just like the ones that were stolen when my place was robbed.”
“I have my ways,” she told him, stopping as she opened the box. Inside was a small old-fashioned platinum key on a platinum chain. “It’s beautiful but . . . I don’t get it.”
“It’s a key.”
“Obviously,” she looked up at him earnestly. “But if you say it is the key to your heart I’ll smack you.”
“Do I look that corny?” Jax asked with a laugh. “No, that is the key from your office back in Port Charles. Or, rather, it is the key to the door when it was a lowly warehouse. I got it plated in platinum.”
“I thought you got it in Europe.”
“I try not to be predictable.”
Carly glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’d offer you a toast, but I gave Sly my only bottle of Cristal in the apartment.”
“That’s alright, we have the entire night ahead of us,” Jax said softly, offering his arm to her. “Shall we? I believe you somewhere to be.”
“I think I do.”
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