Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2018 14:38:35 -0800
From: christopher <breakingthroughstory@gmail.com>
Subject: Breaking Through 10

A very big thank you to all of the readers who have taken the time to send
kind messages for the first 10 chapters of the story. I very much
appreciate it. Please send any feedback, complaints, and correspondence to
breakingthroughstory@gmail.com.

I'm looking forward to continuing this creative endeavor in 2018 and hope
to rebuild the sense of community that had been established the first time
around between readers and writers.  This new story will take place in a
loose version of the present day and most of the main ideas from the first
go-round will remain. With a 10-year jump in time, some things have
changed. The new story will do away with a lot of the tertiary characters
in the old narrative.

The usual disclaimers apply. This is fiction.

Please donate to this Nifty. http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html

Chapter 10

"He seems really happy."

"I know," Jake said. "I didn't think that it would make me so upset."

"It's understandable," Maggie replied. The two of them were sitting in the
living room they'd grown up in. Jake's dad had renovated the house since
they'd moved out, but the bones were recognizable.

"We rushed it, like we did with everything. I wasn't thinking and you know
how Chris is, he just went along with it." Jake let out a long, drawn
breath. "He did it because he thought it was what I wanted."

"It is what you wanted. Jake, I love you, but you're being dumb," Maggie
said. She had no trouble putting her brother in his place. "You were stupid
for breaking up with him. You're even more stupid for thinking that you
could undo that. Don't play with his emotions."

"I think he still loves me," Jake said.

"He does," Maggie said. "But he's dumb, too. He'd do anything to make you
happy, so don't even suggest it. Nothing makes a person more irrational
than emotions. If you two just sat down and took a second, you wouldn't be
in this situation."

"Why didn't you say this last year?"

"I did, you two just ignored me."

"Chris would never ignore you."

"He also does everything you tell him to."

Exasperated, Jake couldn't find an answer to that. "Do you know where he
is? He's not answering his phone."

"He is on some sort of vacation."

"How do you even know that?"

"Instagram."

"He doesn't have Instagram."

It was Maggie's turn to sigh. "Jake, get with it. It was on Armie's
Instagram. They're on Grand Cayman. You didn't see those pictures from when
he was at Disneyland?"

"What the fuck? Chris had to get a passport when we were together. He
hadn't even been out of the country."

Maggie could see the anger rising in her brother. As much as she loved
Chris, she couldn't deny that he seemed happy with his current
situation. She wasn't sure how serious it was, but right now, she had to
deal with Jake. "Maybe it was a wrap party?"

"Stop trying to make excuses. I know what's going on. I don't want to
believe it, but I know they're together."

"He wasn't going to be single the rest of his life."

"I'm so stupid. What the hell was I doing?"

Chris decided that jetlag wasn't so bad when it involved slipping in and
out of sleep next to Armie. He woke up with Armie spooned behind him, but
shut his eyes again to enjoy the warmth surrounding him. An hour or so
later, his eyes fluttered open and he found himself with an arm thrown over
Armie's bare chest. He kissed at Armie's bicep and ran his fingers through
Armie's chest hair. "Is it time to get up?" Armie asked, his eyes still
shut.

"Who knows?"

Armie chuckled. He rolled over and Chris' legs instinctively wrapped around
his waist. They shared a slow, soft kiss. The setting sun filled Chris'
bedroom with a golden light and both of them took their time, hands roaming
over sun-kissed, post-vacation skin. "Why did we have to come back?" Armie
asked between kisses. Chris didn't answer at first, choosing to kiss at
Armie's neck and jaw, instead.

"I'm on your schedule. I like you with all this stubble," he said, his
voice muffled by Armie's throat. "You look so good."

Armie caught Chris' mouth with his own, their tongues sliding against each
other. "You're not sick of me yet?"

Chris ran his fingers up the back of Armie's head, feeling his soft,
gold-flecked hair. His hips ground up into Armie's, his cock desperate for
some attention.

"Not yet," Chris said, a smile on his lips as Armie held both his hands up
over his head. Armie made his preferences clear: he liked to be in
charge. Chris didn't mind. When things did get a little too rough, the
bruises were just reminders of the passion.

"We shouldn't keep this up," Armie whispered, loosening his grip. "I've got
to at least think about getting ready."

"Your house isn't going anywhere," Chris said before leaning down to kiss
and nip at Armie's nipple.

"I'll be back tonight," Armie said through gritted teeth. "If I fuck you
now, I'll keep fucking you."

"Can't have that," Chris said, hand wrapping around Armie's cock. The blood
had rushed into his dick so fast that he felt dizzy, but he was slowly
getting his composure back, even with Chris' deft fingers stroking him.

"I'm serious. I have to go."

"Go ahead," Chris said. "I won't stop you."

Armie groaned. Before either of them could say anything, Armie's cock was
buried in Chris' throat and the two of them lost track of time.

Chris spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting back to real
life. With Armie's help, he managed to stay off the grid almost
entirely. No email, no phone calls, and no messages. Nothing but laying out
on the beach with his Kindle and Armie's very welcome distractions. The
idea of having an island getaway seemed almost too good to be true, but
Chris didn't think about it when the Armie started showing him around the
huge estate that the Hammer family maintained in the Caribbean. Chris
couldn't help but compare, noticing that the seaside compound was
definitely flashier and more luxurious than the Gyllenhaals' Martha's
Vineyard property. Armie was proud of the house and its history, but Chris
could sense a little bit of embarrassment, too.

"It's a lot to take in, but I wanted to take you somewhere really special,"
Armie had explained.

Chris tossed his dirty clothes into the washing machine, pausing when he
found one of Armie's T-shirts mixed in with his own swim trunks and
shorts. It smelled like sunscreen and Armie. Just the feel of it sent him
right back to the island. It was too good to be true, but he had the
memories to prove that the whole thing wasn't just a dream. He set the
shirt aside and started the wash cycle. After the bright, sun-drenched
colors of the Caribbean, everything in his house seemed so dull. Even
outside the back door, where he could see bougainvillea spilling over his
neighbors' fences and green reeds swaying in the canals, the world looked a
little more sedate than normal. It was exactly how he felt after every
vacation, only this time, he wasn't reminiscing about it with Jake and
already talking about their next trip.

Seeing his empty fridge made him realize that he had to stock up, adding
one more errand to his already-growing list. If Armie got back soon, they
could go together, Chris thought. The thought startled him. Things were
going almost too quickly and he had to take stock before falling down an
Armie Hammer-shaped hole and getting in over his head. With that thought,
he decided that going to the store alone would be just fine.

Hours later, with his refrigerator full of the necessities, his laundry
freshly folded, and a few emails taken care of, Chris finally let himself
think about Armie again. Somehow, he'd let himself fall into Armie's arms
and gotten comfortable with the idea of being in a relationship again. As
much as he'd resisted, he realized that he was actually happy. He just
didn't know if it was time to let go of it all and dive in. Was the fact
that the movie could be eclipsed by the relationship still reason enough?

His doorbell shocked him out of his thoughts and he rushed to the front
door, knowing that it would be Armie. As soon as the door swung open, Chris
froze. Armie looked drawn and tired, like the vacation glow had been sucked
out of him against his will. He looked five years older that he did that
same morning.

"Whoa, Armie. What happened?" Chris wrapped his arms around Armie's waist
and pulled him close. "What sort of meeting did you have?"

"Liz. I thought we were finished, but she's fighting me. She wants the
Hollywood house...or part of it. I was blindsided. I've never seen her like
this. That's my family's."

"The lawyers will take care of it," Chris assured him. "That's what they're
there for."

"I thought it would be civil," Armie said, shaking his head.

"Hey, hey, let's get some food," Chris said, his hands feeling at Armie's
cheeks. "Tell me what happened."

They walked a few blocks and found themselves in a pho restaurant. Chris
hoped the warm soup would comfort both of them. If anything, eating
slippery noodles would distract Armie from some of the turmoil.

"She said that I was disrespecting our relationship," Armie said, fumbling
with the slick strands of noodles. "I don't know what she even means by
that."

"You guys were married for a while, it's understandable for her to be
upset."

"You were married even longer," Armie said. "Are you asking Jake Gyllenhaal
for anything?"

"I wouldn't do that," Chris said. "But also there are no Gyllenhaal museums
or golf courses anywhere."

Armie rolled his eyes. "She'll be fine. She won't need anything for the
rest of her life."

"I honestly never thought we'd have this conversation," Chris admitted.

"Welcome to the present," Armie said. "If we're going to be together, if
we're taking this seriously, you've got to grow up. We've both got to deal
with history."

Chris was taken aback by Armie's frank statement. He set his chopsticks
down and looked across the table at Armie. "Jake and I tried our best to
keep things private. It's staying that way. It'll be a long time before we
talk about my history."

"We don't have to. I read all about it. Your privacy wasn't worth anything,
because every gossip column covered you two."

"If that's what you're going off of, we've got more to talk about than just
our exes." Chris kept his words short and measured. Armie was fragile right
now, but he wasn't about to let low blows slide.

Armie sighed. "I'm falling hard for you. I've wanted to say 'I love you' a
hundred times. Let me in."

"What are you going to do about your ex-wife?"

"Let my lawyers handle it. Let me in."

Chris reached across the table and grabbed at Armie's hand. "We'll talk
about us later. Right now, focus on what's going on with you."

"Don't deflect," Armie said, his thumb tracing along Chris' knuckles. "Do
you love me?"

"I love you very much," Chris said. "But..."

"No 'but.' I need to remember the first time you said you loved me as being
in a Vietnamese restaurant in Venice Beach right after my ex said she
wanted to make me as bankrupt as my morals."

"That's pure poetry," Chris said, rolling his eyes. "But you're damaged
right now, so I'll let you have it."

"Can I kiss you right now?"

Chris didn't answer. He just leaned over the table and gave Armie a soft
kiss. If that's all it took to get Armie's mind off legal trouble, it was
the least he could do.

After dinner, Chris watched Armie pace back and forth in the living room,
one hand holding his phone up to his ear and the other wildly
gesturing. Chris could only hear bits and pieces and he was fine with
that. It was none of his business. He pulled a throw blanket up onto his
lap and settled in for the long haul. Armie looked mad. Then,
relieved. Confusion and anger, again.

"Hey," Armie said as he shook at Chris' shoulder. "You dozed off there."

Chris wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, "Did you figure
everything out?"

"Not even close," Armie said, trying his best to smile. "It's bigger than
one phone call."

"I figured."

"I don't want to think about that right now." Chris pulled Armie down onto
him and wrapped his arms around his waist. Armie settled into position, his
knees between Chris' legs on the couch. He idly stroked Chris' hair and
tried his best to relax. "This is working."

"It hurts worse when it's someone you really loved," Chris said, his voice
low. "And then lawyers get involved. That whole idea of 'until death do us
part' starts to seem like a bad joke."

"I need one of those beers in your fridge. Maybe more than one."

"Those aren't for you. I have something you might like better."

Armie rolled off, leaning back on the couch and letting his head hang off
the back. "I'll take anything you've got."

Chris headed over to the freezer and rifled around, pulling out a bottle of
tequila. "It was a housewarming present from the realtor," he said as he
handed it to Armie. He gratefully took a swig straight from the bottle and
winced at the combination of ice-cold liquid and the burn of alcohol.

"Get back here. I need you."

For the next few days, Armie's schedule consisted of meetings with his
lawyer. Chris took up residence at Sony's production facility, finally
looking over the footage from the movie. He'd seen pieces of it, all out of
order and with shoddy sound, but now it was time to see it spliced
together. There was a veritable army of engineers working tirelessly to get
the movie done and Chris needed to do his part to ensure that everything
was flowing. He sat alongside Jean-Marc and nodded a lot, only offering a
few suggestions when prompted. He knew the story, but it was Jean-Marc's
vision. Chris wrote the words, it wasn't his place to deal with the
visuals.

Armie called while Chris was eating his fourth kale salad of the week,
basically locked away in the editing room with Jean-Marc. "I have to take
this," Chris said, not even waiting for a response.

"I miss you," Chris heard. Armie didn't sound as weary as he had the past
few days.

"I've watched you nonstop all week," Chris said, chuckling. "Tell me you've
got good news."

"She's not getting the house," Armie said, a tiny bit of relief in his
voice. "But she's getting plenty more than we had agreed on before."

"That's good news," Chris said, leaning against a wall. "Should we
celebrate?"

"I'd love a blowjob right about now," Armie said. "But I know you're busy."

"I meant dinner."

"I don't think it's cause for celebration. There's a lot more to talk about
before she signs off...again. This time I'm making sure that she does it in
front of someone official."

"She's hurt," Chris said. "You can't blame her entirely."

"No," Armie said. "But there's a lot more. I'll explain it to you later."

Armie looked out the conference room window, thankful that everyone left
the office for lunch. Elizabeth was just trying to get what she felt like
she deserved, Armie kept reminding himself. He, on the other hand, was
doing his best to make sure that there was no way that anyone could spin
the story to involve Chris at all. Wait, Armie insisted. A public statement
could come out after the movie premiered, after everything had settled
down. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the notion, but it was a small sacrifice
for a bigger settlement. Her lawyer agreed to that stipulation without even
consulting her. Everyone knew that there was no way she had any claim to
the house, it was just a play to get another chance at reviewing the final
decisions.

"I'll let you know when I get home, if you want to come over."

"Not tonight," Armie said. "As much as I want to. I have an early call
tomorrow for audio. If you stopped making notes, I wouldn't be so tired."

"It's not me," Chris assured him. He slid down the wall until he was
sitting on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest.

"I have it on record that you said my voice wasn't velvety enough," Armie
said. "That it only made you weak in the knees and not short of breath."

"I'll talk to you later," Chris said, not wanting to hear any more of
Armie's nonsense.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Chris heard as he tapped at his phone to
hang up. Seeing the beat-up black boots was enough, he didn't even have to
look up. When he did, though, he saw Jake, offering a hand.

"You know me, always sitting down on the job," Chris said, letting Jake
pull him up and into a hug.

"Still not done?"

Chris shook his head. Hugging Jake felt almost foreign--and the idea of
that startled him. He wouldn't even have to go on his tiptoes to give Jake
a kiss. What was that even like anymore? "I'll be here for a while," he
said. "I have to earn my place in the credits."

"What are they giving you?" Jake asked.

"I don't even know. Written by Christopher Lewis. Based on the novel by
Christopher Lewis. Adapted by Christopher Lewis from the novel by
Christopher Lewis."

"The last one. Fight for it."

"It'll look good on the poster. Not that anyone pays attention to the
words."

"Thanks for those books," Jake said. "Maggie said that you had fun with the
girls."

"They probably needed a break," Chris said. "I'll volunteer to watch those
kiddos anytime, as long as I can give them back at the end."

"Do you have time to meet up later?" Jake asked. "It's been so long." His
sister's voice kept echoing in his head. But against his better judgment,
the words came out.

"I can't today," Chris said. "I think this weekend might work?" He wondered
if Armie's divorce negotiations would be done by then. Chris didn't plan on
ever meeting Armie's ex and he was hoping to be able to offer Armie the
same courtesy. "I'm juggling some stuff."

"Let me know," Jake said, giving Chris' shoulder a squeeze. "I miss you."

"I'll see you soon," Chris said before kissing Jake's cheek. "I want you to
see the movie soon, okay? We can watch it as soon as I get the final cut."

"Anything for you," Jake said, feeling Chris' back. "Let me know."

Jake watched Chris head back into the editing suite. Sighing. He repeated
Maggie's words over and over again. If Chris could move on, there was no
reason he couldn't, too. Maggie had been trying to set him up with her
friends lately and now, he figured it was about time to think about taking
her up on it. He slid his hands into his pockets after checking his
watch. There was just enough time for him to make it to his own meeting.

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