[Lucifer] Ch: 24 [The Virgin Quarterback] (Patreon)

[Ty Huntley's Party] [Night]

Wind rushed across the rooftop as a young model in a blue dress stood dangerously close to the edge.

Her loose hair whipped around her face while she stared downward, breathing deeply through her nose. Both hands trembled slightly at her sides as she worked up the courage to take another tiny step forward.

Lucifer stood directly behind her with one hand resting casually inside his trouser pocket.

"Go on," he whispered near her ear. "Go ahead and jump. You know you want to."

The model swallowed hard while staring toward the drop beneath her. "Won't it hurt?"

Lucifer smiled reassuringly as he leaned slightly closer. "Oh, there's only one way to find out."

The girl squeezed her eyes shut, took another deep breath, then pushed herself forward.

She disappeared over the edge.

For one dramatic second, there was nothing except the sound of wind rushing across the rooftop as her blue dress lifted upwards, revealing her pink panties.

Then came the enormous splash.

The model crashed into the swimming pool several feet below, sending water flying over dozens of laughing guests already gathered inside and around it.

Cheers immediately erupted.

"WOOOO!"

The model surfaced with wet hair covering half her face, laughing breathlessly as several bikini-clad women swam toward her.

Lucifer stood above them with both hands resting against the railing, looking deeply pleased with himself.

Below him, the model pushed her soaked hair away from her eyes and lifted both hands.

"That was amazing!"

Lucifer raised his champagne glass toward her and said, "Lovely."

Music continued booming across the party while another woman climbed onto the diving platform.

♪ All day I was out ♪♪ Feeling, thinking of you... ♪

Lucifer walked away from the railing and descended toward the main party floor. 

The celebration had completely taken over the enormous mansion.

People filled almost every room, balcony, hallway, and open terrace. Famous athletes drank beside musicians while actors crowded around poker tables and models danced near the pool. Several women moved through the party wearing bikinis despite being nowhere near the pool, while waiters carried trays of champagne.

♪ Buzzing by myself tonight ♪

Lucifer moved comfortably through the crowd with a fresh glass of champagne in one hand.

"Sorry, darling."

He slipped between two women kissing beside the staircase.

♪ Same place ♪

"Excuse me."

A drunken man stumbled backward into his path, forcing Lucifer to catch the champagne before anything spilled.

♪ Same old rhyme ♪♪ Same troubles on my mind, too ♪♪ I still changed and don't know why... ♪

Lucifer eventually reached the main entertainment area and began looking through the crowd.

He spotted several familiar faces immediately.

Ty Huntley stood near the opposite side of the room, surrounded by teammates and some celebrities. The star quarterback laughed loudly while one of his friends reenacted something that had apparently happened during a game. But he looked really uncomfortable, as if he was forced to throw the party.

'There's our future suspect.'

Lucifer looked around for Alison. She was busy, mingling with the others. 

'And our victim.'

He looked around for a moment and found Chloe. 

She stood near the bar wearing a silver dress that hugged her body beautifully while her loose blonde hair rested around her shoulders. She looked considerably more glamorous than she did while wearing her usual detective clothes, though the expression on her face made it obvious that she felt completely out of place among the drunken celebrities surrounding her.

A man nearby was trying to flirt with her, but Chloe barely noticed him. Then she saw Lucifer coming over. Relief showed on her face.

Lucifer smiled as he walked toward her. ‘Bloody hell. She really needs to start wearing dresses more often.’ He thought.

He stopped in front of her and allowed his eyes to travel slowly from her heels upward. “Well, Detective, you’ve certainly dressed appropriately for our investigation.” He couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked really beautiful.

Chloe followed his gaze and gave him a deadpan look.

“My eyes are up here.”

“I’m aware,” Lucifer replied while finally meeting them. “I simply decided to take the scenic route.”

Chloe released a tired breath before looking around the enormous party. “Is this your way of catching this mysterious guy who’s going to commit murder tonight?”

Lucifer took a slow drink from his champagne. “No murder has actually occurred yet, Detective, which I consider tremendous progress compared to our previous adventures.”

“You called me and said someone might die tonight.” She narrowed her eyes. 

Chloe thought he just wanted to take her on a date because he wanted to have sex with her, so she said no. But when he said that someone would kill a girl tonight, Chloe couldn't help but say yes, because she's a cop and it's her duty to prevent crimes. She definitely wasn't looking forward to going on a date with Lucifer.

“Yes, because someone might,” Lucifer replied. “I happen to know that parties involving famous athletes, excessive alcohol, recreational narcotics, jealous lovers, and questionable decision-making occasionally end badly.”

Chloe stared at him.

“That describes half the parties in Los Angeles.”

“Precisely why your profession remains so secure.”

Chloe shook her head before looking toward the pool area, where another wave of cheering erupted.

“Did you just convince some woman to jump off the roof?”

Lucifer followed her gaze with visible pride.

“Into a swimming pool, Detective. Context dramatically improves the story.”

“She could’ve gotten hurt or missed.”

“She didn’t.”

“That doesn’t make it responsible.”

Lucifer looked offended.

“She desired excitement. I merely encouraged her to embrace it. Do you want to jump?” He asked with a smile. "We've plenty of time."

Chloe took the champagne glass from his hand before he could drink again and placed it on the bar. “We’re here because you somehow know something might happen tonight. So maybe stop encouraging drunk models to jump off buildings and tell me what you actually know.”

“I know our charming host is Ty Huntley, twenty-two years old, star quarterback, projected number-one draft pick, and possibly the only famous athlete in Los Angeles who has somehow managed to remain a virgin,” He replied.

Chloe stared at him for several seconds before crossing her arms. “You dragged me across Los Angeles because a football player hasn’t had sex?”

Lucifer looked offended by the accusation. “Of course I didn’t, Detective. His sexual tragedy is merely contextual information. Although considering the number of gorgeous women currently orbiting him, it is rather impressive.” He noticed Megan Fox among the celebrities. "Wow, look... Megan Fox."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Focus, Lucifer. Give me something to go with."

Lucifer’s expression became more serious as his eyes shifted across the room and settled on Alison Thornton. “You see that young woman over there in a red dress?”

Chloe followed his gaze and saw Alison talking with two women near the pool. She wore a fitted red dress and carried a champagne glass she barely seemed to be drinking from.

“Who is she?” Chloe asked while studying her.

“Alison Thornton, although she prefers Ali,” Lucifer replied as he slipped both hands into his pockets. “Aspiring actress, struggling financially, desperate for her first proper opportunity, and currently attending a party filled with people who consider desperation a perfectly acceptable currency.”

Chloe slowly turned toward him. “How the hell do you know all of that?”

Lucifer smiled faintly. “I know many things, Detective. It’s one of my more irritating qualities.”

“That answer isn’t going to keep working forever.”

“And yet it continues working remarkably well.”

Chloe opened her mouth to argue, though movement near Ty caught her attention. Ali had separated from the other women and was walking toward him with a drink in her hand.

Lucifer’s eyes sharpened immediately.

“There she goes.”

Chloe watched Ali approach Ty before looking back at Lucifer. “What exactly is supposed to happen?”

Lucifer remained silent for a few seconds as he considered how much he could reveal without explaining another universe, a television series, or the deeply embarrassing fact that Karl Jenson had once watched these people from a cheap laptop while eating discount noodles.

“A chain of spectacularly poor decisions begins tonight,” Lucifer eventually said. “Ali approaches Ty, temptation wins, someone records something that shouldn’t exist, and considerably uglier people become involved afterward.”

Chloe frowned. “Sex tape and blackmail?”

“And murder. Yes.”

That erased the irritation from Chloe’s face.

She looked toward Ali again, her posture becoming instantly more alert. “Ali?”

Lucifer nodded once. “If tonight follows the path I expect, she’s the one who pays for someone else’s greed. It's not Ty if you're wondering.”

Chloe stared at him. “And you know who this person is?”

“All I’m telling you is she’s in danger,” Lucifer replied as he began walking through the crowd. “And I'd like us to catch this scum and save her life.”

Chloe followed quickly. “Lucifer, who is it?”

“Not fun if I tell you, and without evidence you won't be able to do anything. If you move now, he'll just stop his plan, and who knows when he might attack the poor girl. So, I intend to show you, and you can catch him red-handed,” Lucifer said while weaving between two dancing couples. “Besides, you’d only spend the next twenty minutes asking whether I’m psychic, insane, or secretly running an elaborate criminal conspiracy.”

“I’m still considering all three.”

“Wonderful. Keep an open mind. And follow my lead... You're my date after all."

Chloe shook her head.

They reached Ty just as Ali stepped beside him with another drink.

“You're the man of the hour. Everyone's here to see you. What's the worst that can happen? Come on, have one drink with me," Ali said with a smile as she held a glass before him.

Ty gave her an awkward smile but didn’t accept the drink. “I can't, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be a buzzkill, I'm just... I'm not in the mood to party, all right?"

Lucifer stopped beside Ali and looked at Ty. "How can you decline this ravishing siren's invitation to imbibe?"

Ali chuckled as she said, "Well, if L.A.'s taught me anything, constant rejections do build character."

"Sincerely doubt 'constant rejection' is something you ever deal with," Lucifer replied as he looked at the siren in red. 'Well, look at you... Acting so naturally, yet they won't give you a good role. Sad. Well, I'll do you a favor tonight and save your life.'

Ali hinted at Ty and replied to Lucifer. "You could learn a thing or two from this guy."

Lucifer laughs. "Oh. Witty, charming and wise." 

Ali walked away.

"Have you lost your mind?" He asked Ty.

Ty stared at Lucifer for a moment, clearly trying to place the ridiculously well-dressed stranger who had just inserted himself into his evening.

“Do I know you?” Ty asked.

Lucifer smiled and offered his hand with the confidence of someone introducing himself to a person who should already consider the meeting important. “Lucifer Morningstar.”

Recognition crossed Ty’s face almost immediately. He glanced toward Chloe, who stood beside Lucifer with one hand looped comfortably around his arm, then returned his attention toward the club owner. “Right, you’re that club owner guy who grants people favors. Yeah, I don’t need anything from you.”

Chloe kept her expression pleasant while holding Lucifer’s arm, playing the part of his date despite the growing suspicion that agreeing to follow his lead might become one of the stranger decisions of her career.

Lucifer looked genuinely amused by Ty’s answer. “Oh, I beg to differ, Ty. I’ve been looking for you all night, and you are in desperate need of my help. Star quarterback, projected number-one draft pick, and yet, for some inexplicable reason, still a virgin.”

Ty’s eyebrows shot upward as he glanced around to make sure nobody nearby had heard him. “Look, man, I’ve got all the haters I need online, all right?”

Lucifer immediately lifted his free hand in reassurance while Chloe tightened her grip around his other arm, partly because she was pretending to be affectionate and partly because she suspected he might say something even worse if left unsupervised.

“No, no, no, I’m not criticizing you,” Lucifer said. “I’m fascinated. Do you realize how extraordinarily rare you are? A celebrity virgin living in Los Angeles while surrounded by this much temptation. You, Ty, are essentially what would happen if a four-leaf clover and a unicorn somehow produced a child without involving any actual sex in the process.”

Ty stared at him before an unwilling chuckle escaped his mouth. “Aw, thanks, I appreciate it. My agent wanted me to throw this party.”

Lucifer glanced around at the mansion packed with celebrities, models, alcohol, drugs, and questionable decisions waiting to happen before understanding settled across his face. “Ah, that explains the distinct atmosphere of professionally mandated debauchery.”

Ty nodded and slipped both hands into his pockets. “Yeah, he wants me to loosen up.”

“He’s right about one thing,” Lucifer said. “I’ve met your type before. You’re so desperate to control every detail of your life that somewhere along the way, you forgot you were supposed to enjoy having one.”

Chloe glanced toward Lucifer.

There was considerably more sincerity behind that observation than she expected.

Lucifer leaned slightly closer while his eyes settled directly on Ty’s. “So answer me something. If you ever allowed yourself to let go completely, what is it that you would truly want to do?”

'He's doing it again,' Chloe thought as she looked at Lucifer, trying to read his facial expression, but she didn't get anything. 

Ty’s expression softened as Lucifer’s gift began slipping beneath the discipline he had spent years building around himself. “I, uh…”

Lucifer smiled encouragingly. “Go ahead, Ty. There’s no need to fight whatever comes to mind.”

Ty swallowed before finally admitting, “I... I want to skip my morning workout sometimes.”

Lucifer’s face immediately fell with disappointment. “That is painfully boring.”

Chloe covered the small smile threatening to appear across her face.

Ty continued while staring somewhere beyond them. “I just want to sit on the couch sometimes and watch MasterChef without thinking about practice, diet plans, interviews, training camps, endorsements, or whether somebody’s recording me.”

Lucifer looked almost offended by the confession. “This is the fantasy life of a postmenopausal housewife. Come on, Ty, there must be something deeper than televised cooking competitions.”

Ty rubbed one hand across the back of his neck as his eyes briefly moved toward Ali across the room.

Lucifer noticed immediately.

Chloe narrowed her eyes. 'And here he breaks...'

Ty hesitated for another second before the desire finally broke through everything holding it back. “I want to get laid so damn bad.”

Lucifer burst into delighted laughter while Chloe slowly closed her eyes beside him.

“There it is,” Lucifer said, looking genuinely proud of Ty for finally producing an answer worthy of his attention.

Ty laughed awkwardly and lowered his head. “You’ve got no idea how hard it is holding out for marriage, man.”

Lucifer’s eyes briefly dropped toward Ty’s waist before returning upward with an amused smile. “I imagine the experience has been uncomfortably hard on numerous occasions.”

Ty laughed despite himself, and even Chloe had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from reacting.

“Seriously, though,” Ty continued as his expression grew more thoughtful. “I was going to do it with my girl, but we broke up.”

Lucifer’s amusement softened. “Ah, now there’s the tragic romantic complication.”

Ty looked toward the floor for a moment. “I thought she was gonna be the mother of my children.”

Something about the admission surprised Chloe. The famous quarterback surrounded by women at one of the wildest parties she had attended suddenly looked considerably younger than his public image suggested.

Lucifer followed Ty’s gaze toward Ali.

The young actress had moved closer to the pool again, though she occasionally glanced toward Ty while pretending to be interested in whatever the women beside her were saying.

Lucifer looked back toward him. “Well, from where I’m standing, she still appears rather enthusiastic about auditioning for the position.”

Ty immediately shook his head. “It’s complicated.”

“Everything becomes complicated when humans spend too much time thinking,” Lucifer replied. “Come on, Ty. You’re in the fourth quarter, the clock is running down, and somehow you’re still standing here discussing your feelings with the Devil instead of pursuing the woman you clearly desire.”

Chloe leaned closer and whispered through the smile she maintained for anyone watching them, “Maybe don’t encourage him into doing something stupid.”

Lucifer glanced toward her with an innocent expression. “I’m encouraging emotional honesty and consensual adult recreation. You should be applauding my personal growth.”

Chloe squeezed his arm slightly harder and said through a pressed smile, “Keep talking, and I’m going to demonstrate some personal growth with my fist.”

Lucifer smiled before returning his attention toward Ty. “Look at Ali. Death and taxes seem considerably less certain than what she wants from you.”

Ty looked toward Ali again.

She caught him staring this time and gave him a small smile before lifting her champagne glass slightly.

His resolve visibly weakened.

“No,” Ty said, though there was far less certainty behind the word. “I can’t.”

Lucifer tilted his head. “And why exactly can’t you?”

Ty hesitated before answering. “Because my mother taught me that…”

Lucifer immediately raised both hands. “No, no, absolutely not. Do not bring your mother into a conversation about your desperate desire to have sex. That is revolting even by my unusually flexible standards.”

Chloe gave him a sideways look. “You’re the one who started interrogating him about his sex life.”

“Yes, and I was having a perfectly enjoyable conversation until somebody introduced maternal imagery,” Lucifer replied before looking back toward Ty. “This isn’t about your mother, your agent, your teammates, your fans, or whatever moral expectations strangers have placed upon you.”

Lucifer stepped closer and let his voice settle beneath the music.

“What do you want?”

Ty stared toward Ali again.

For several seconds, the party moved around them while his internal argument played visibly across his face. He had built his entire life around discipline, training, restraint, and controlling every possible mistake before it could happen. Yet beneath all of that remained a young man who had spent years denying himself almost everything outside football. 

His eyes stayed on Ali.

“Her,” Ty finally admitted.

Lucifer’s smile returned immediately. “Then carpe diem, my friend.”

Ty looked between Lucifer and Chloe as though waiting for one of them to tell him this was a terrible idea.

Chloe gave Lucifer a warning glance before turning toward Ty. “Just make sure whatever happens is something both of you actually want, and don’t let anybody pressure either of you into anything.”

Ty nodded slowly. “Yeah. Obviously.”

Lucifer placed one hand against his chest. “See? This is why we make such an excellent couple. I provide temptation, while she supplies the tedious legal disclaimers.”

“We’re not a couple,” Chloe said while keeping her arm firmly linked with his.

Ty glanced down at their intertwined arms and gave her a doubtful smile.

Chloe followed his gaze.

She immediately released Lucifer.

Lucifer looked deeply wounded. “And there goes the illusion.”

Ty laughed before finally gathering his courage and walking across the party toward Ali.

Chloe watched him leave while Lucifer reached for another passing glass of champagne.

She caught his wrist before he could take it.

“We’re supposed to be preventing a murder, remember?”

Lucifer looked toward Ty and Ali as they began talking near the pool. “Precisely, Detective. The pieces are moving exactly where they should.”