Patrick Four: Making Friends

Today Emmanuel had come over to my house to reveal the new piece of equipment he had been working on for me. It was a multi-purpose box that I could use for several different, more complicated illusions. The box, although it didn't look like it, was easily transportable, yet sturdy at the same time. I don't know how Emmanuel did it, but he was very skilled with materials and power tools, knowing how to transform mere blueprints into beautiful, fully functioning objects.

Emmanuel stood proudly in front of me after pulling the sheet off the box, with one hand on his hip. He smiled slightly at me, and I looked closely at the box, admiring the intricate details Emmanuel had carved into all of the panels. I ran my fingertips along the moulding of it, feeling every groove as my hand came in contact with the smooth wood finish.

"Emmanuel... this is... wonderful. I'm speechless. You have exceeded my expectations."

"I'm pleased that you like it, Patrick. Would you like to try it out?"

"Yeah! I'm going to need to practice using this so my performances go smoothly."

"Okay, so I know that we discussed blueprints and how your illusions will work, but I still want to show you the panels and things that are in here."

Emmanuel opened the door and stepped inside, placing his hand on the side of the box, showing me everything that was hidden behind the solid walls. I practiced the illusion a couple of times, with Emmanuel inside. After about an hour, I felt like I had explored most of the things that Emmanuel had built into the box. I would of course, need more practice, but I had time to continue later on, plus my stomach was growling, and I realized it was already evening.

Emmanuel stepped out of the box and I thanked him again for making such an amazing contraption. I really appreciated having Emmanuel around to make things for me, and I enjoyed all the time we had spent together. We had developed a close friendship over the years.

"Did Ephemera ever contact you, Patrick?"

Ugh, Ephemera. I found that I had forgotten about her since I had been hanging out with Katya. I still felt wierded out by her abrupt appearance and disappearance that night, annoyed with myself that I had not gotten her phone number.

"Is something wrong, Patrick?"

"Ahh, no. I just feel dumb because I didn't get her phone number after I figured out she was trying to get hired."

"It's not your fault, dude. She could have left her number if she was serious about wanting the job. Besides, if she really wants it, she found you once, she'll probably find you again."

I thought back to that night again, and how inadequate Ephemera made me feel. If I did hire her, I'd have to lay some ground rules about how she talked to me. All I really wanted was respect.

"I think I'll hire her if she comes back around. She's definitely hot, so if she can do well with everything else, she'll be perfect for the job."

"Right. I suppose I didn't necessarily notice that about her, you know."

Emmanuel and I shared a laugh because I knew full well that he didn't swing that way in the love department. I was just about to ask if Emmanuel wanted to stay for dinner when my phone rang. I slid it out of my pocket and looked at the ID. KATYA MONROE CALLING. I smiled and answered the call.

"Hi Katya, how are you?"

"I'm good, I was calling cause I wanted to hear your voice."

"Aww, you're a sweetheart. I'm actually at home with my friend Emmanuel. I was planning to make dinner, would you like to come over and join us?"

"Um, sure, if you don't think I'd be imposing. I don't want to take time away from your friend."

I looked at Emmanuel, silently inquiring what he thought about the situation.

"It's cool, I'd love to stay for dinner and meet Katya."

I told Katya it was okay, hoping she'd eventually learn that she didn't need to step on eggshells around me, then pondering why she felt the need to be so nervous in the first place. Was it because she had been badly hurt before? Or was she just naturally paranoid? Painfully shy? I felt a playful punch on my shoulder, as Emmanuel socked me in the arm.

"Calling lover boy. Earth to lover boy. Who's the girl, and how come you haven't told me about her yet?"

"Well, I only met her yesterday, and it hadn't come up because we were discussing the marvelous contraption you made for me, remember?"

"Aww, Patrick, you do know how to make me smile. It's too bad you're straight. You'd be the perfect man for me."

I grinned at Emmanuel and led the way to my kitchen, where I tried to think of what to make for dinner. I thought about asking Emmanuel what he might want, which led me to wonder if I should have asked Katya what she wanted, and then realized I had made my night more complicated by inviting Katya. Suddenly I felt a wave of nervousness engulf me, making my hands clammy and I rubbed them on my pants, trying to wipe off the excess moisture.

"Patrick. Stop freaking out. It's just dinner. She eats food, right?"

One thing I loved about Emmanuel was the way he could read me so well, and bring me back to reality. He looked in my cabinets, trying to help me figure out what to make. He pulled out a box of spaghetti and put it on the counter. I nodded in his direction, and got out a jar of spaghetti sauce and ground beef from the refrigerator. In the middle of the food cooking, the intercom buzzed. I made my way over to it and pushed the button.

"Hi, it's Katya."

I opened the gate and waited by the front door to let her in. She greeted me with a hug and a quick kiss on the lips. We walked hand in hand to the kitchen. While I went back to tend to the food, Katya leaned over the counter, resting her elbows on it.

"Wow, you have a beautiful house, Patrick, and you're cooking too? I am so bad at cooking. I don't know what it is, but my timing must be off or something because everything burns."

"Thanks, Katya. This is my friend, Emmanuel, and yes, I know how to cook."

Shortly after Katya arrived, we finished cooking. The three of us made our way outside to eat by the pool. I slid the door open for Katya and then watched her saunter over to the table, her hips swaying as she walked. I don't know if she knew how sexy she was. She sure didn't act like it.

"Thanks so much for dinner, you guys."

"It's no problem. Thank you for coming over."

"Emmanuel, what do you do?"

"I'm actually under Patrick's employ. I make equipment for his magic tricks. How about you, Katya?"

Katya stood her fork up on her plate, twisting it around to pick up some spaghetti. When I caught myself looking at her bringing the fork up to her plump, luscious, lips, I blinked a bit to shake myself out of my trance and stared at my plate, trying to ignore the feeling of wanting to do her on the patio table.

"I teach people how to surf. I've been surfing since I was thirteen, and I love it. There's nothing like the feel of the water surrounding you as you glide over a wave. It's like I'm in control of the ocean somewhat."

I was surprised at Katya's words. She had told me she surfed last night, but the way she described it just now was amazing. I liked her a little bit more. She seemed to share my thrill for life. The second part of why I love doing magic is because I am a bit of a daredevil, and it gives me a thrill to do things that make people gasp in shock.

"What have you boys been up to today?"

"Emmanuel brought over a new piece of equipment for me so I've been practicing with it a bit. We're going to try to get the act into a theater rather than a bar. I don't have any intentions of remaining a street magician forever."

After dinner, Emmanuel left, leaving Katya and I alone. We went inside and I put the dishes in the dishwasher. When I was done, I saw Katya standing there, staring at me with a far away look in her eyes. I smiled at her and she came over to me, putting her arms around me and squeezing tightly.

"Hi, beautiful Katya."

"Hi. Can we go sit by your pool? You have a beautiful patio."

Sitting by the pool, Katya leaned her head into my shoulder and sighed softly. I was happy she was enjoying herself, and I looked down at her. She shivered a little bit, and I put my arm around her, rubbing hers to generate some heat.

"This is so romantic, Patrick."

"What do you want to do now?"

"Can I stay here tonight? But without sex."

Dammit. Oh stop it, Patrick, you can keep it in your pants for now. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that Katya wasn't interested in sex tonight, but I also liked her a lot, so I wanted to respect her wishes.

"Yeah sure. I'm pretty excited that you want to stay here with me. We only met yesterday."

"I know, but I feel safe with you, Patrick... and I like you a lot. You're really down to earth, and that's a rare quality in a celebrity."

"Have you met a lot of other celebrities?"

"I've met some who said they wanted to learn how to surf, but they really just wanted to use their celebrity status to get in my pants. I suppose being one of the few female surfing instructors in the heart of Hollywood, I'd be bound to run into people like that on some occasion."

Katya yawned, covering her mouth as she did. I felt myself getting a little sleepy as well.

"Time for bed?"

Katya nodded, and we went inside to my bedroom, which was next door to the patio. Katya kicked off her shoes while I changed into a shirt and pants rather than just sleeping in my underwear like I usually did. As I got on the bed and laid down, Katya crawled over to me and put her hand on my chest. I hugged her close to me, and pretty soon we were both fast asleep.

---

After leaving Patrick's, I went to the Starlight Theater to talk to the theater director about the possibility of Patrick's act becoming one of the regularly scheduled shows. I was on my way out of the director's office, ready to go home when I heard a voice behind me that made me frown in a mix of disgust and anger.

"Well... well... well... if it isn't Emmanuel, the has been stagehand."