Page 12 of Two Marlboros

The smile on my face, which I was now ready to abandon before that sentence, crystallized into a marble expression. All in a desperate attempt not to laugh at the words “second month anniversary.” I tightened my lips and tried to contract my muscles as much as possible.

“Wow,” breathed Nelly. She squeezed my arm even tighter and giggled, then turned to me. “See, Nathan, you should take an example from him, not just drop guys after two dates like you always do.”

I shrugged. “It’s okay with me, it’s okay with them, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Officer Stoner - Ashton - frowned for a moment and I thought he was upset because he realized I liked boys. After a while, however, his expression changed, and a smirk appeared.

“Why don’t you give my colleague your number then?”

It took me a couple of seconds to turn those words into a meaningful sentence. Meanwhile, Ashton laughed heartily. I wasn’t sure if it was a joke.

“I don’t think I follow.”

“Let’s just say it would be great if he was dating, at least he’d be distracted.”

So Scottfield liked boys, too? I thought back to the time of my statement, but my gay radar had completely ignored him. What unexpected news.

“Another poor unfortunate who will end up in your clutches!” exclaimed Nelly, and she laughed too.

“Now you make me look like a bad person,” I replied angrily.

And after all, I thought, he wouldn’t even be that unlucky, at least judging by the comments of all the other guys I’d had.

“He left you his card, right?” asked Ashton.

“Yes.”

“Then you could write your number on it and leave it with him when you come back to make your statement.”

I looked at him to see if he was serious, but the smirk on his face made the task rather difficult.

“Obviously I was joking,” he finally added, as if he had read my mind.

“Of course,” I echoed him, although I was not so convinced by his words. To be fair, however, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. It could have been fun.

We continued having small talk for ten minutes more or so, after which we took our leave. On the way back, Nelly inundated me with her enthusiasm for that stunt, while I mulled over Agent Scottfield and whether or not to actually do it. The thought,however, lasted less than expected: after all, it had always worked with everyone else and no one had ever been hurt. And after all, just like with everyone else, all it took was to back out before it became a hassle.

4

Eternal Rain

(?TLC - Waterfalls)

I arrived at the office that morning with a strange feeling of exhilaration in me. I put down my briefcase and took a seat at my desk, ready to research the logo and that mysterious note, but someone firmly lowered the door handle and entered without knocking - typical Ashton. He closed the door and looked at me with a smile, and I foreshadowed that he did not bring good news.

“You’ll never guess who I invited to sit down over there.”

I looked up at him for a fleeting glance, then back to the papers in my hand. He, however, placed both palms on my desk to get my attention, which I could no longer avoid giving him.

“Let’s hear it.”

Ashton chuckled a little. “Theirritating boysays he has new clues for us. He seems to have remembered something.”

A killer instinct went up my throat.

“Can’t you handle this?”

A mischievous smile was printed on Ashton’s lips and for a moment it reminded me of theirritating boy. Since he had mentioned him, memories were beginning to surface, as was the vein on my temple that throbbed at the mere thought.

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