Our meeting was too brief. She was being photographed going inside the theater, and I happened to pass her as I walked in.
“I didn’t know you could act.”
She heard my voice and turned to face me.
Initially, she freaked out but recovered quickly as she smiled.
“Good evening, Alec. We’ll see if I can act.” She laughed, though I could tell she was very uncomfortable or sad, I wasn’t sure.
“Well, I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen you fake it.” She looked panicked for a moment but again laughed it off.
“Enjoy the movie, Alec.” She was all business as cameras started flashing again.
I went into the theater, but she didn’t … she disappeared again.
I continued to follow her in the media and whenever I could in public. In the seven weeks after our night together, her persona had shifted so much, there was very little of the old Kylie left, but what the internet memorialized. She was working her androgynous look and presented an image of masculinity, power, and an exotic sensuality with her make-up. She had cut her hair short and at first, it pissed me off that she hadn’t consulted me about it, but who was I to her? One night … that’s all.
My interest in her had become an obsession. If she was trying to hook me by becoming someone I could marry rather than just fuck, she was doing exceedingly well. The five hundred dollar a seat charity dinner for a foster youth non-profit organization she was attending as a guest speaker was a nominal price for the opportunity to see her again.
I sat with my office mates as I bought a table. The investment bankers and their assistants didn’t seem thrilled to be there, but the food was incredible, and they all warmed up as Killah took the stage and brought the house down. I scanned the room for Kylie. Not one single person in the ballroom even remotely had her level of beauty. I thought perhaps she’d canceled, and my heart shattered. But just as Killah had finished his rousing performance, I saw her. She walked onto the stage wearing a gorgeous emerald green evening gown. Finally, something that wasn’t a designer men’s suit and chunky shoes.
The neckline dipped to her navel and my cock stirred thinking of how easy it would be to slip the thin swath of cloth away from her breasts and enjoy the feast my starving mouth craved. More, she looked confident and beautiful. Heat flashed through me when Killah hugged her with sincerity and her smile … God. She was transforming before our eyes, from a playgirl partier to an elegant woman.
“Ladies and gentlemen give it for my girl, Kylie Morgan!” Raucous cheers exploded around the room. “She’s here tonight to support foster youth. Morning House is a place where teens can go if they’re homeless or in trouble. And we appreciate Kylie coming to speak to you all and support a charity I actually benefited from back in the day. My girl here was sometimes my partner in crime.” He laughed as he brought her into his embrace and I could have killed him. “She has just started her own nonprofit for teens that hooks them up with lifelong mentors and dream makers. The Every Dream Foundation gives foster and at-risk youth an opportunity to seize their future and heal from their pasts. Every Dream Foundation will be partnering with Morning House to offer a well-rounded support network to our most vulnerable citizens. So, without further ado, I present to you a woman with one of the best hearts in the world.”
Again, the cheering boomed around me as my heart clenched.
Kylie was so loved and adored. She stepped up to the mic with grace and beauty. Her voice at first was small, and she was the timid Kylie that made me crazy, though as she spoke my sparky girl emerged.
“Thank you all for being here tonight and supporting Morning House. As Killah mentioned, we were partners in crime, and I remember our antics; I’m sure Mrs. Harmon does too.” There was a giggle from the back of the room. “I recall being called into her office on more than one occasion and you know … she didn’t scold or punish me, but she said, ‘You can do better.’” For a second Kylie choked up. “You can do better. I never really thought of it. I was a foster youth like Killah, only we called him Kevin back then. We didn’t want to do better back then. I don’t think when a person watches family after family passes you by because they want someone younger, someone with less baggage, that you would ever want to be better … for what? Something inside of you wants to do bad, to make all the pain and suffering feel justified. Who hurts a little kid? Who throws them away? We hate to think of it, but it happens every day. There are a hundred reasons why you don’t want to adopt a skinny girl with ‘issues’, but what happens to her? Kevin and I, we were lucky we had Mrs. Harmon to encourage us … and be the family he and I never ended up getting. Morning House and the Every Dream Foundation gives kids whose only crime is being born to families that can’t care for them a chance to do better and have a community family. They can see their lives and futures as brighter … and not only better but brilliant.”