Chapter 148 - Facing The Great Divide

"Thank you again," the Assistant Commissioner said, and they both said goodbye to Mowicki.

Andrzej stood for a moment looking after the disappearing pair of policemen. Then he took out his phone and regarded it hesitantly. He took a deep breath and dialed the number.

He waited almost a minute for the connection.

"Nowicki?" he heard Marczak's voice in the receiver.

"I just spoke to the police."

"I'm sorry to get you mixed up in this." Marczak sounded strange. It was as if he was holding back his anger, as if he was forcing himself to remain calm and indifferent. Well, since one of his actors has died it must have been natural that he should not be quite calm.

"In what?"

"One of my actors was killed. The police launched an investigation."

Nowicki did not know anything about this actor. He had no idea if it was someone with whom Marczak had distant plans or someone without much profit, but by signing the contract with Marczak, this boy was putting himself under his protection, and now he was dead. Was it a traffic accident?

His death was sudden and rather tragic, judging from the police's attention. And certainly premature.

"I'm sorry" Andrzej said honestly. "Are you okay?"

"You're worried about me? That's cute."

Nowicki felt like a curse. He comes to Marczak as to people, and this ...

"Forget I even called," he growled and hung up. Bloody moron!

"Mr. Andrzej, has something happened?"

"Nothing at all," he replied to his assistant, who shyly approached him. He reassured her with a smile and returned to his activities, but he did not feel at ease.

Nowicki has been working as paparazzi for many years. He had always hated this job, although he had never dealt with heavy, scandalous cases. Since fate brought him in contact with Dominik Śliwiński and Marek Marczak, everything has changed. Like it or not, Andrzej entered the world on the other side of the lens and saw what was really going on in it. Toxic relationships, violence, rejection, obsessions and loneliness so great it was hard to imagine.

He felt a great urge to hug Dominik. As soon as he remembered the beginnings of their relationship, the actor's back was blue with the force of the blow with which he smashed the coffee table when he fell, his sad, embarrassed eyes that he had become a victim of violence ... Dominik was so lonely in his relationship with Marczak. So much used by his toxic feeling. Then Werner appeared with his obsession to make him suffer even more. Werner himself was also tragic, which Andrzej was beginning to understand. He hadn't forgiven him yet, but in the world where he existed now, there was some evil that set itself the goal of destroying people. Now this actor has died ...

He didn't know him. He was a complete stranger to him, yet his death took its toll on him. Since he had never heard the name, he concluded that it was someone new, someone who hadn't made a debut yet, or that it was very quiet. So he had to be young. Certainly younger than him. Who knows, maybe he was as old as Dominik when he entered the world of show business? Unnecessary, tragic and premature death.

I want to see Dominik, thought Andrzej. I want him to never feel lonely again. I want to cuddle and protect him.

But it wasn't until noon. Too early to quit work, especially since he still had to work out the details of the upcoming photo shoot.

Then he'll just ring, he thought. He shouldn't be making private calls while he is working, but if he doesn't hear Dominik's voice, he won't be able to focus. Mrs. Janka will certainly not hold it against him.

He reached for the phone again. He flinched in surprise when it rang at that moment. He was glad it was Dominik with whom he so wanted to talk.

"Hey, I was just thinking about you," he confessed, answering.

"Really? Do not bother? You can talk?"

"Of course."

"You see, Scarlett just left ours home."

Andrzej gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. Take it easy, just take it easy. You trust Dominik ...

"Yes? Was the visit successful?"

"At breakfast, we talked about the date of trial shooting."

"At breakfast?"

"I warmed up for her pancakes that were left from ours," he replied innocently. Nowicki could not help smiling.

"Did she like them?"

"Very."

"So what did you find out?"

"We have a flight to Los Angeles tomorrow. Director wants us to go now."

"And you?"

"I want this too. It's only a few days, ten at most. The sooner we start, the sooner we'll finish. There is no need to delay."

"Yes, that's a good argument."

"Only ..."

"Yes?"

"Ten days without you is such an awful long time."

"We'll write to each other."

"But I won't be able to touch you. Andrzej, make tonight enough for me for these ten."

Nowicki felt a great, heavy lump in his throat.

"What a requirement," he muttered, confused.

"I'll make dinner, and then ... Then I'll be all yours. Until dawn."

"You don't have to pack?"

"I will do it now. I don't need a lot of things. It's hot in Los Angeles."

"Yes, damn ..."

"What?"

"You had to tell me what's going to happen tonight? I won't be able to focus."

On the other hand, there was a pleasant, one hundred percent natural laugh from Dominik - the most beautiful sound Andrzej's ears could hear.

"You know that you can always do anything with me!"

Did he know? In a way, yes, but on the other hand, being with a man was still something new to him, which he was just discovering. He lacked the courage to try some things, or even the imagination to think about some. Being in a relationship with a woman and a man were completely separate things. Andrzej, who had never really been in a lasting relationship with a woman and was just starting out with Dominik, did not know how far he could go so as not to exceed certain limits. He did not even know what and what the limits were. Could he talk about the limits of decency while having sex with a guy?

Of course, what a stupid question. Sex is a pleasure, it can be fancy fantasy and fun, but regardless of gender, there was such a thing as human dignity. Andrzej, who sometimes wanted to be a bit more violent, would never do it for fear of hurting his lover. He never wanted to see bruises on his body again and never see shame in his eyes.

"I know," he admitted. He realized that Dominik would have survived any bruise if he only knew that they were making Andrzej happy with them. "And you know what? I love you," he finished quietly.

"Me too! Remember, you promised to take good care of me."

"Believe me, I will not forget."

Of course he won't. He felt his face flush. Really? He, a guy under 30, blushes because his lover asked him to make this night special? Andrzej felt like a teenager before the first time - excited, and at the same time terrified that he would not be able to cope, that he would make a fool of himself in front of the girl he cares about. It is true that he was already in his age, he had been in bed with Dominik more than once and they had no reason to complain, but this time it was a bit different. Now it will not be spontaneous going to bed resulting from the climate of the moment. Now everything needs to be planned and prepared.

Just what to prepare for Dominik to be really satisfied and does it mean that he has not been so far?

"Mr. Andrzej, Tomek asks you not to forget about ..."

Oh yes, this too. He has to focus on his work instead of being in the clouds fantasizing about his lover. He will think about Dominik later.

No, it was completely impossible. A simple phone call turned into an appetizer, and waiting for dinner was an unspeakable agony for him when instead of dealing with the main course, or at least the starters, he still had to think about work. Torment, a real torment that dragged on for a few more hours and finally, with resignation, Andrzej had to admit that he had not invented anything that could be exceptional in bed today.

Maybe he just didn't have enough imagination?

He entered the living room at exactly the same time as usual and was surprised. The interior was immersed in the light of dozens, maybe hundreds of candles, giving it a completely different character. The delicate scent of paraffin mixed with the appetizing aroma of oriental cuisine and fresh flowers. Sarah McLahlan's voice echoed in the background.

They discovered this singer for themselves a few weeks ago, at a time when Dominik, wounded by Werner, was slowly recovering.