A MATTER OF PRIDE
MEL
The next day, still in New York, the three couples stood in the middle of a half-furnished 3CG office as a skeleton crew of workers milled around doing minor repairs. They were nearing the end of March. The Tulsa MOE was in May and there was barely any preparation being made for that. And they wanted a New York one, as well? It wasn't looking good.
Mel wasted no time vocalizing her concerns, either. "So, I'm not trying to be a buzz kill or anything here, but this isn't looking good. Honestly."
Isaac sighed and rested his hands on his hips as he looked around. "I know."
"I mean, I know you had high hopes to get this MOE done when you wanted it, but the time frame--I'm just not confident it's going to happen."
"Yeah," he said in disappointment. "I know. But it was worth a shot, right?"
"Well, don't throw in the towel just yet," she retorted. "Who says you necessarily have to have it in May? I
mean, you wanna give fans time to save up money again, right? Why not just do it when you come off tour in September? That gives more than enough time to get things going here and we can just smooth right on into it, no big deal. It won't be as big as Tulsa anyway, right? No need to stress over it right this very second."
Ike placed his finger on his lips in thought. "It would give them something to look forward to...and it would
give us a little time to plan it out and get this office underway..." Then he shook his head. "But to plan this right in the middle of tour? I just don't know."
"That's why you have me heading up the place. I'll have my trial run in Tulsa and then I'll be an expert. No sweat." Mel grinned at her statement in triumph.
Ike looked over at her and smiled. "You know, I like having you around. We'll put together a business meeting
back in Tulsa and see what the opinions across the board are. I kinda like having some time to play with."
As Ike, Taylor, and Zac went their separate ways to check on the physical repairs being done, Mel wandered over to the window that looked over the street. She hadn't been able to get last night's conversation with Jason out of her mind. She had a knot in the pit of her stomach and she wasn't sure exactly why. She just knew it couldn't be good. She couldn't get over the impending feeling that maybe this was finally the end for them. Maybe they were over. Maybe they really didn't have a friendship that could stand the test of time and he would just be one more person she could scratch off of her wedding guest list.
However, she hadn't said anything to him last night that she didn't mean, either. She loved Taylor and she was
going to marry him. End of story. It wasn't her fault that Jason pined for her. And had things been different, then yeah, she would probably be with him. But the truth was, Jason just happened to walk onto the scene at exactly the wrong time, with no means of a right one in his future. She felt bad, but he also knew where she stood. And on several occasions had told her he had chosen to accept things the way they were.
But was that not enough anymore? Was he starting to go back on his word?
He had sent her a text early that morning. "I'm sorry" was all it read. Mel hadn't responded. What could she say? What could she do? She hated that Jason felt the way he felt, but she hadn't asked him to feel that way. She simply only asked for his friendship. But at the same time, it sincerely was getting to be too much for her to handle. She loved Jason, but she didn't love him the way she loved Tay. Jason changed her views on life in ways she never thought anyone could. She would be forever grateful for that. But Tay was--Tay. Tay was the reason the reason her heart beat every day, the reason she breathed, the reason she woke up every morning. She couldn't be more proud of Tay if she tried. She belonged to him. He was home.
But she couldn't bear to lose Jason, either. The only person more important to her in her life besides Tay was
Jason. But maybe she did need to stay away. Maybe she needed to exercise tough love with Jason and cut the cord with him for awhile. Maybe she needed to stay away to help him heal whatever it was that needed
healing. She needed Jason. But she didn't need his pain--not pain that she couldn't help take away from him.
Interrupting her thoughts, her cell phone rang and a number she didn't recognize showed on the screen. It was a New York area code and she was already glad it wasn't Jason. At this point, she was glad for any kind of distraction. Any kind at all.
"Hey, Melody! Sean Wills here! Hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
Mel smiled into the phone. "No, not at all. Great party last night, by the way."
"Yeah, it was pretty rockin' wasn't it? Listen, I was hoping to catch you before you left the city."
"Well, you caught me. I'm actually on Broadway right now."
"Fantastic! We're actually putting together the magazine to prep for distribution and I was calling to see if you
might want a little sneak peek before it got released. I mean, since you're in the area at all."
It dawned on Mel in that moment that Tay hadn't seen the pictures from the next issue. She actually expected them to come up at the party, but they hadn't and, in turn, Mel had forgotten about them. She hadn't gotten to see Tay's initial reaction to the last issue and she definitely wanted to see his reaction with this one. "That would be awesome! When would be a good time to meet?"
"Now, if you have the time. You can just come to headquarters, I'll text you the address. See you in awhile."
Hanging up her phone, Mel went to find Tay. She found him in another room with his hands on his hips, looking up at the ceiling, talking to a contractor standing next to him. She leaned in the doorway to watch for a moment. There was nothing more sexy on him than when he was caught up in the moment in his work. She loved to watch him talk, the way he spoke with his hands and listened intently to whatever the person was saying to him. She loved to listen to him vocalize his plans and ideas and the way he eloquently agreed or disagreed with the subject at hand. More than anything, she loved how confident and sure of himself he was.
His back was turned and she let him finish his conversation, not wanting to call attention and disturb him. She was happy simply lurking, watching her man in action.
When they'd wrapped up their conversation and the contractor crossed the opposite end of the room, Tay turned around and smiled when he spotted her in the doorway. Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled back at him. He never did fail to make her feel like she was sixteen all over again. "So what do you think?" he asked, walking over to her.
Reaching up and touching his cheek, she gazed up at him. "I think that I'm the luckiest woman in the world and that I couldn't be more proud of you than I am right now."
Tay blushed and his smile grew wider. "I love you, too. But I mean about this room in here. What do you
think?"
She looked around and shrugged sheepishly. "Uh, I don't really know. I'm sorry, I got distracted. I was on the phone."
"Oh yeah? With who?"
"Sean Wills from Maxim. He invited me down to look at the final prints before they distribute the magazine.
Wanna tag along?"
"Seriously? We can do that? I've been dying to see those pictures ever since the last issue came out." Then
he lowered his voice. "I couldn't get enough."
She winked at him flirtatiously. "I know."
Tay bit his lip and smiled, shifting his weight in thought. "Lemme just go tell the guys we're heading out,
okay?"
She smiled at him as he walked past her and out the door and then her text alert went off. It was Jason. "So
you're not talking to me now? Am I that bad?"
Mel sighed and looked around the room in an attempt to collect her thoughts. Finally she caved and texted back, "What do you want from me?"
Seconds later he texted back, "To not give up on me. Let me deal with things my own way."
"What does that entail?"
"Don't know yet."
"You have to understand my position."
"I do. And I have to keep my mouth in check. I know."
"I don't feel right having this conversation over text."
"Can you think of a better option? I've said what I needed to say. I don't see any reason in beating a dead
horse. You said so yourself you didn't want to talk about it anymore."
"That's true."
"So that's it. I'm sorry and I'll try to be better. Just don't give up on me."
"You're mad, aren't you?"
"Not at you. At myself."
"I have to go. Tay and I are going to look at prints for the new Maxim issue."
"Didn't realize they valued your opinion so much."
"I'm in the feature."
"Oh really? I can't wait."
Without responding, Mel rolled her eyes and shoved her phone back in her purse. This day was already getting to be more than she could handle. She felt somewhat better about Jason after their little text session just then. Didn't make her feel like any less of an asshole, but she desperately wanted him back. The old Jason. Smiling and positive and funny Jason. That was the one she needed. That was the one she loved. That one was her best friend.
----------------------------------------------------------
TAYLOR
Mel made out with Taylor in the back of the cab on the way to Maxim.
Not that he minded. Not even in the least. In the past, public displays of affection like that were out of the
question for him. But Mel had a way of bringing out the carefree attitude in him and, in all honesty, he didn't really care what people thought anymore. He was a grown man, he could do what he wanted. And if he
wanted to have sex with his fiancée in the back of an LA club or make out with her in the back of a New York City cab, then so be it.
However, he couldn't help but notice that Mel had been exceptionally clingy since the party last night. She barely ever let him out of her sight and she seemed to prefer to stay right by his side. He had no idea if this was stemming from the LA party or nerves about the magazine or what. All he knew was that he loved how she depended on him.
A short while later, as they stepped off the elevator to Maxim's floor, they were greeted by a wall gallery of past Maxim covers, blown up to poster-proportions. Mel wanted to slow down and look--Tay just wanted to get to where they were going. As they made their way to the end of the hallway, Mel stopped abruptly and jerked on Tay's hand. "Tay, look. They put us on the wall."
Sure enough, there were Mel and Nikki and Kate, blown up for all of Maxim and their visitors to see. She gazed at the poster for a minute and smiled. "I don't know if I should feel honored for this or not, but I kinda do."
"Well, it looks like its the first time they've ever put three women on the cover. I mean, that I can see anyway."
She glanced at him, still smiling. "I think it's kinda cool." Then she stepped back and got her phone out. "I'm gonna take a picture and send it to Nikki and Kate. And then you take one of me standing next to it!"
Tay could only shake his head and oblige her. Who was he to ruin her fun right now?
"Melody! Taylor!" Sean Wills suddenly walked up to them in the hallway, smiling. "When someone mentioned there was a couple out here taking pictures of the hallway, I could only assume it had to be you."
Mel blushed and shoved her phone back in her purse. "I'm sorry to be such a tourist," she said. "I've just never
done anything like this before and it's kinda cool seeing it so...big like this."
Sean chuckled warmly. "It's not a problem. Great to see you guys again. You care to go ahead and get what you came for? We're about to submit everything in the next few minutes. We're on crunch time now."
Taylor and Mel followed Sean through the lobby and down a series of hallways before they walked into a large board room, housing a large table, with an obscene amount of photos spread out all over it. "They were just about to clean it up in here before I asked for a couple extra minutes since I knew you were on your way."
"I appreciate it," Mel said.
"All of these are prints from the shoot," Sean was saying. "These are the ones that didn't make the cut,
obviously. The ones over here in the small pile are the ones we're actually submitting for print."
Sean's words went in one ear and out the other. When Tay and Mel approached the table, Tay couldn't believe his eyes. The pictures from the last issue with Nikki and Kate were cute and sexy, but these were on an entirely different level.
A couple of other people were in the room, collecting photos off the table and Tay could faintly hear Sean saying, "You can take the rest, just leave the ones of Melody here. I'll bring them in a few minutes."
Tay leaned on the table, his hands gripping the side, unable to take his eyes off of the pictures. He pulled one
toward him with his fingertip across the table. She was splayed out seductively on her back across a desk in black lingerie and thigh-high stockings, glasses on her face and a phone on her ear, only one of many poses on the table. He found himself turning his head to look at her face and he didn't even realize where he was until she felt her lightly touch his arm and ask quietly, "So what do you think?"
It took him a second to form words. "Um, I think if you looked like this at the office, I'd never get any work
done."
He wasn't aware Sean was still in the room until he laughed at his response. "Ah, the secretary fantasy. Always
a classic."
Tay looked up at him, still serious. "No, we actually work in the same office together."
Sean nodded in response. "Oh. Well. Interesting dynamic there, I'm sure."
"You could say that," Tay muttered as he continued looking.
"Are you mad?" Mel asked him.
Finally, he tore his eyes away from the table to look over at her. "No," he said, shaking his head. "No. Why would I be mad?"
She shrugged. "You're not saying much..."
He flashed a smile at her. "I'm just taking it all in."
Butting in, Sean handed Tay another photo. "I think you might especially appreciate this roll."
Assuming it couldn't get any better than the first roll, Tay had to take a seat in the chair he was standing
beside. "Pretty great, huh?" Sean said.
Tay was speechless. There she lay, in white bed sheets, partially covered, flashing her ring and an unauthorized biography from his teen years laying open across her chest. What he should have been was turned on. What he was, was touched. He'd never seen her pride in him displayed in such a way before.
She came from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder to see the picture for herself. "Wow," he heard the smile in her voice. "They turned out so well, I can't believe it. You wouldn't believe what I had to go through for those. I had so much tape under there. They strapped me down, inserted bra cups, everything. It was uncomfortable as hell. The photographer kept pinching the skin on my leg with his shoe because he was standing on the bed and could hardly keep his balance. Definitely awkward."
"But it's beautiful," he finally heard himself saying. "Very Marilyn Monroe."
He felt her chin shift as she looked at his face. "Marilyn Monroe, huh? That never crossed my mind. I guess I could see that. I mean, except without the blonde, of course."
He stared at her sleepy eyes and her slightly parted lips and her hand that boasted the ring he gave her as
she gripped the book with his teenage face on the cover. Sean Wills interrupted his thoughts again. "Those are my favorite," he said. "I thought they turned out the best. By this time next week, your love affair will be displayed for the entire world to see in one single picture. I have to say, such displays aren't exactly Maxim's norm, but this isn't a normal issue, either. It would have been perfect for Valentine's Day, if we were able to get it out that soon, but it just wasn't feasible."
Tay glanced up at Sean and cleared his throat, fighting back an emotion that surprised him. "Um, can we have a minute? Just a minute. I know you're short on time--"
"Oh, absolutely," Sean said. "I'll be in the next room."
As Sean exited the door, Mel sat next to him and looked at him, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "I mean, if this bothers you--"
"No," he cut her off. "Not at all. Completely the opposite." He put the picture back down on the table and looked at her. "Sometimes I feel like a complete failure. Like, if an album doesn't sell as well as expected, or when a single doesn't take off like we want it to, or a show doesn't sell out. I take it personally, I feel like I've done something wrong, that I've failed. You put your heart and soul so completely into something and all you want it to do is take off, you know? And when they don't, you really start to look at your shortcomings. And I feel--I feel like the laughing stock of...of everything. A complete laughing stock. I mean, who's gonna look at you seriously if you can't even promote a record the right way? Right?"
"Tay..."
"But then I come in here and I see this," he continued softly, pointing to the photo he'd just had in his hand. "And then I look in your eyes sitting right here and suddenly--suddenly it's all okay. I look at this picture and I think, 'Well maybe I'm not that much of a failure after all. Because if a woman like her is willing to display her pride in me like this, for the entire world to see, then maybe that means I'm doing something right.' Mel, for lack of sounding...I don't know, cheesy or whatever, this is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for
me."
Mel smiled at him, wiping a silent tear from her cheek. "Laying half-naked in a bed in a men's smut magazine is the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for you? You gotta get better women."
Tay sniffed back the tears he knew were coming and he laughed at her joke. Pulling her face close to his, he
kissed her and gently tucked her hair behind her ear. "I love you so much. You have no idea how proud I am of you."
He heard the click of a camera and the two of them looked up, startled. Sean Wills held up the camera in
defense. "Hey, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to intrude. It was such an intense moment, I couldn't help but snap a photo. If it ends up in the magazine, don't say I didn't warn you."
Tay took a deep breath and smiled as he and Mel found their feet again. He walked over to Sean and shook his
hand. "Hey, thanks for doing my girl justice," he said. "These are great. I have to admit, when she mentioned she was doing Maxim, I was a bit apprehensive. But you guys treated her right and I appreciate it."
"Well, she's an extraordinary subject and was a joy to work with. We're just glad she agreed in the first place!"
"Hey, listen, how difficult would it be to get our hands on copies of these?"
"All of them?"
"Every last one."
"Um, I'm sure it can be arranged. Let me pull some strings and I'll see what I can get done." Sean fished his
card out of his pocket and handed to Tay. "Keep in touch with me, I'll be on it like white on rice."
"Thanks. Don't be surprised if I blow up your phone."
"I'd be surprised if you didn't!"
-----------------------------------------------
JASON
A week later, Jason sat at a bar in LA, alone, nursing his fourth beer. He only bought the issue of Maxim to
support Mel and to maybe have some material to use when he found himself in bed alone at the hotel later that night. However he had no idea what he was in for when he flipped to her portion of the feature article. While she was absolutely every bit as sexy as he knew she would be, he didn't know he would be subjected to her sickening love affair on a platform such as Maxim.
Sickening was perhaps a strong word. Abhorrent? Disgusting? Those words were even stronger and he
realized the drunker he got, the stronger the synonyms became. Laying there all splayed out like that, flashing that damn rock and hugging that book. He was hoping to get off, not be depressed all over again. And the small picture with the caption at the bottom of the page didn't help either. The two of them kissing in the Maxim board room over a sea of her pictures. "Taylor Hanson's reaction to seeing his fiancée's prints for the first time, right here in our Maxim office," the caption read. His reaction, indeed. If it were Jason, he would have fucked the hell out of her right there on that table and she would have loved every goddamn minute of
it, guaranteed. Who the hell has the time to be romantic over a table full of soft core porn?
For at least the tenth time, Jason closed the magazine and shoved it across the bar out of his face. He was taking the last swig of his beer when a hot redhead with an impressive rack took a seat next to him. She smiled at him. "What are you having?"
He glanced at the magazine for a second before setting his empty beer bottle down on top of Mel's face. He smiled over at the woman and said to her, "You, if you don't have any plans tonight."
**************
Jason woke up the next morning to an empty bed. No surprise there. By the time he had brought the redhead back to his hotel, whose name he never bothered to learn, and got her in his bed, he was over his brief desire for vengeance. But since he had her there, and she was already naked, he went through with it. It wasn't
spectacular. He didn't try to impress her and it didn't last long. He really only slept with her to oblige her since she had come all this way. The truth was, every time he closed his eyes, he saw Mel. Every time he opened them and saw the redhead, his heart broke. Every single damn time.
The redhead wasted no time leaving. He knew she was disappointed. She would probably go around telling everybody that Jason Kamealoha was a lousy lay. He didn't even care. That night only cemented his suspicion that he wasn't quite ready to try to move on yet. But he'd taken a step and it was a step in the right direction.
Right?
He regretted sleeping with that woman before he even did it. He had been drinking. Pissed off. Depressed
and down on himself. He had to do something. He had to shake this Mel thing and he didn't know how. He had to face it. She was marrying Taylor. She loved him and he was happy for her. He didn't want to break up her relationship. She'd certainly resent him then. So then what the hell did he do? Did he sleep with every woman he came in contact with? Did he drink it all away? How did he detox himself from his addiction to her?
He had told her he couldn't stay away. On numerous occasions he told her that. But now this time, maybe he had to. He had to suck up his pride, give her her space, and stay away. It was the best thing for the both of them and he knew it.
What better time to start staying away than right now?
He lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling for the next hour, wondering if he was making the right decision. He knew he was.
MEL
The next day, still in New York, the three couples stood in the middle of a half-furnished 3CG office as a skeleton crew of workers milled around doing minor repairs. They were nearing the end of March. The Tulsa MOE was in May and there was barely any preparation being made for that. And they wanted a New York one, as well? It wasn't looking good.
Mel wasted no time vocalizing her concerns, either. "So, I'm not trying to be a buzz kill or anything here, but this isn't looking good. Honestly."
Isaac sighed and rested his hands on his hips as he looked around. "I know."
"I mean, I know you had high hopes to get this MOE done when you wanted it, but the time frame--I'm just not confident it's going to happen."
"Yeah," he said in disappointment. "I know. But it was worth a shot, right?"
"Well, don't throw in the towel just yet," she retorted. "Who says you necessarily have to have it in May? I
mean, you wanna give fans time to save up money again, right? Why not just do it when you come off tour in September? That gives more than enough time to get things going here and we can just smooth right on into it, no big deal. It won't be as big as Tulsa anyway, right? No need to stress over it right this very second."
Ike placed his finger on his lips in thought. "It would give them something to look forward to...and it would
give us a little time to plan it out and get this office underway..." Then he shook his head. "But to plan this right in the middle of tour? I just don't know."
"That's why you have me heading up the place. I'll have my trial run in Tulsa and then I'll be an expert. No sweat." Mel grinned at her statement in triumph.
Ike looked over at her and smiled. "You know, I like having you around. We'll put together a business meeting
back in Tulsa and see what the opinions across the board are. I kinda like having some time to play with."
As Ike, Taylor, and Zac went their separate ways to check on the physical repairs being done, Mel wandered over to the window that looked over the street. She hadn't been able to get last night's conversation with Jason out of her mind. She had a knot in the pit of her stomach and she wasn't sure exactly why. She just knew it couldn't be good. She couldn't get over the impending feeling that maybe this was finally the end for them. Maybe they were over. Maybe they really didn't have a friendship that could stand the test of time and he would just be one more person she could scratch off of her wedding guest list.
However, she hadn't said anything to him last night that she didn't mean, either. She loved Taylor and she was
going to marry him. End of story. It wasn't her fault that Jason pined for her. And had things been different, then yeah, she would probably be with him. But the truth was, Jason just happened to walk onto the scene at exactly the wrong time, with no means of a right one in his future. She felt bad, but he also knew where she stood. And on several occasions had told her he had chosen to accept things the way they were.
But was that not enough anymore? Was he starting to go back on his word?
He had sent her a text early that morning. "I'm sorry" was all it read. Mel hadn't responded. What could she say? What could she do? She hated that Jason felt the way he felt, but she hadn't asked him to feel that way. She simply only asked for his friendship. But at the same time, it sincerely was getting to be too much for her to handle. She loved Jason, but she didn't love him the way she loved Tay. Jason changed her views on life in ways she never thought anyone could. She would be forever grateful for that. But Tay was--Tay. Tay was the reason the reason her heart beat every day, the reason she breathed, the reason she woke up every morning. She couldn't be more proud of Tay if she tried. She belonged to him. He was home.
But she couldn't bear to lose Jason, either. The only person more important to her in her life besides Tay was
Jason. But maybe she did need to stay away. Maybe she needed to exercise tough love with Jason and cut the cord with him for awhile. Maybe she needed to stay away to help him heal whatever it was that needed
healing. She needed Jason. But she didn't need his pain--not pain that she couldn't help take away from him.
Interrupting her thoughts, her cell phone rang and a number she didn't recognize showed on the screen. It was a New York area code and she was already glad it wasn't Jason. At this point, she was glad for any kind of distraction. Any kind at all.
"Hey, Melody! Sean Wills here! Hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
Mel smiled into the phone. "No, not at all. Great party last night, by the way."
"Yeah, it was pretty rockin' wasn't it? Listen, I was hoping to catch you before you left the city."
"Well, you caught me. I'm actually on Broadway right now."
"Fantastic! We're actually putting together the magazine to prep for distribution and I was calling to see if you
might want a little sneak peek before it got released. I mean, since you're in the area at all."
It dawned on Mel in that moment that Tay hadn't seen the pictures from the next issue. She actually expected them to come up at the party, but they hadn't and, in turn, Mel had forgotten about them. She hadn't gotten to see Tay's initial reaction to the last issue and she definitely wanted to see his reaction with this one. "That would be awesome! When would be a good time to meet?"
"Now, if you have the time. You can just come to headquarters, I'll text you the address. See you in awhile."
Hanging up her phone, Mel went to find Tay. She found him in another room with his hands on his hips, looking up at the ceiling, talking to a contractor standing next to him. She leaned in the doorway to watch for a moment. There was nothing more sexy on him than when he was caught up in the moment in his work. She loved to watch him talk, the way he spoke with his hands and listened intently to whatever the person was saying to him. She loved to listen to him vocalize his plans and ideas and the way he eloquently agreed or disagreed with the subject at hand. More than anything, she loved how confident and sure of himself he was.
His back was turned and she let him finish his conversation, not wanting to call attention and disturb him. She was happy simply lurking, watching her man in action.
When they'd wrapped up their conversation and the contractor crossed the opposite end of the room, Tay turned around and smiled when he spotted her in the doorway. Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled back at him. He never did fail to make her feel like she was sixteen all over again. "So what do you think?" he asked, walking over to her.
Reaching up and touching his cheek, she gazed up at him. "I think that I'm the luckiest woman in the world and that I couldn't be more proud of you than I am right now."
Tay blushed and his smile grew wider. "I love you, too. But I mean about this room in here. What do you
think?"
She looked around and shrugged sheepishly. "Uh, I don't really know. I'm sorry, I got distracted. I was on the phone."
"Oh yeah? With who?"
"Sean Wills from Maxim. He invited me down to look at the final prints before they distribute the magazine.
Wanna tag along?"
"Seriously? We can do that? I've been dying to see those pictures ever since the last issue came out." Then
he lowered his voice. "I couldn't get enough."
She winked at him flirtatiously. "I know."
Tay bit his lip and smiled, shifting his weight in thought. "Lemme just go tell the guys we're heading out,
okay?"
She smiled at him as he walked past her and out the door and then her text alert went off. It was Jason. "So
you're not talking to me now? Am I that bad?"
Mel sighed and looked around the room in an attempt to collect her thoughts. Finally she caved and texted back, "What do you want from me?"
Seconds later he texted back, "To not give up on me. Let me deal with things my own way."
"What does that entail?"
"Don't know yet."
"You have to understand my position."
"I do. And I have to keep my mouth in check. I know."
"I don't feel right having this conversation over text."
"Can you think of a better option? I've said what I needed to say. I don't see any reason in beating a dead
horse. You said so yourself you didn't want to talk about it anymore."
"That's true."
"So that's it. I'm sorry and I'll try to be better. Just don't give up on me."
"You're mad, aren't you?"
"Not at you. At myself."
"I have to go. Tay and I are going to look at prints for the new Maxim issue."
"Didn't realize they valued your opinion so much."
"I'm in the feature."
"Oh really? I can't wait."
Without responding, Mel rolled her eyes and shoved her phone back in her purse. This day was already getting to be more than she could handle. She felt somewhat better about Jason after their little text session just then. Didn't make her feel like any less of an asshole, but she desperately wanted him back. The old Jason. Smiling and positive and funny Jason. That was the one she needed. That was the one she loved. That one was her best friend.
----------------------------------------------------------
TAYLOR
Mel made out with Taylor in the back of the cab on the way to Maxim.
Not that he minded. Not even in the least. In the past, public displays of affection like that were out of the
question for him. But Mel had a way of bringing out the carefree attitude in him and, in all honesty, he didn't really care what people thought anymore. He was a grown man, he could do what he wanted. And if he
wanted to have sex with his fiancée in the back of an LA club or make out with her in the back of a New York City cab, then so be it.
However, he couldn't help but notice that Mel had been exceptionally clingy since the party last night. She barely ever let him out of her sight and she seemed to prefer to stay right by his side. He had no idea if this was stemming from the LA party or nerves about the magazine or what. All he knew was that he loved how she depended on him.
A short while later, as they stepped off the elevator to Maxim's floor, they were greeted by a wall gallery of past Maxim covers, blown up to poster-proportions. Mel wanted to slow down and look--Tay just wanted to get to where they were going. As they made their way to the end of the hallway, Mel stopped abruptly and jerked on Tay's hand. "Tay, look. They put us on the wall."
Sure enough, there were Mel and Nikki and Kate, blown up for all of Maxim and their visitors to see. She gazed at the poster for a minute and smiled. "I don't know if I should feel honored for this or not, but I kinda do."
"Well, it looks like its the first time they've ever put three women on the cover. I mean, that I can see anyway."
She glanced at him, still smiling. "I think it's kinda cool." Then she stepped back and got her phone out. "I'm gonna take a picture and send it to Nikki and Kate. And then you take one of me standing next to it!"
Tay could only shake his head and oblige her. Who was he to ruin her fun right now?
"Melody! Taylor!" Sean Wills suddenly walked up to them in the hallway, smiling. "When someone mentioned there was a couple out here taking pictures of the hallway, I could only assume it had to be you."
Mel blushed and shoved her phone back in her purse. "I'm sorry to be such a tourist," she said. "I've just never
done anything like this before and it's kinda cool seeing it so...big like this."
Sean chuckled warmly. "It's not a problem. Great to see you guys again. You care to go ahead and get what you came for? We're about to submit everything in the next few minutes. We're on crunch time now."
Taylor and Mel followed Sean through the lobby and down a series of hallways before they walked into a large board room, housing a large table, with an obscene amount of photos spread out all over it. "They were just about to clean it up in here before I asked for a couple extra minutes since I knew you were on your way."
"I appreciate it," Mel said.
"All of these are prints from the shoot," Sean was saying. "These are the ones that didn't make the cut,
obviously. The ones over here in the small pile are the ones we're actually submitting for print."
Sean's words went in one ear and out the other. When Tay and Mel approached the table, Tay couldn't believe his eyes. The pictures from the last issue with Nikki and Kate were cute and sexy, but these were on an entirely different level.
A couple of other people were in the room, collecting photos off the table and Tay could faintly hear Sean saying, "You can take the rest, just leave the ones of Melody here. I'll bring them in a few minutes."
Tay leaned on the table, his hands gripping the side, unable to take his eyes off of the pictures. He pulled one
toward him with his fingertip across the table. She was splayed out seductively on her back across a desk in black lingerie and thigh-high stockings, glasses on her face and a phone on her ear, only one of many poses on the table. He found himself turning his head to look at her face and he didn't even realize where he was until she felt her lightly touch his arm and ask quietly, "So what do you think?"
It took him a second to form words. "Um, I think if you looked like this at the office, I'd never get any work
done."
He wasn't aware Sean was still in the room until he laughed at his response. "Ah, the secretary fantasy. Always
a classic."
Tay looked up at him, still serious. "No, we actually work in the same office together."
Sean nodded in response. "Oh. Well. Interesting dynamic there, I'm sure."
"You could say that," Tay muttered as he continued looking.
"Are you mad?" Mel asked him.
Finally, he tore his eyes away from the table to look over at her. "No," he said, shaking his head. "No. Why would I be mad?"
She shrugged. "You're not saying much..."
He flashed a smile at her. "I'm just taking it all in."
Butting in, Sean handed Tay another photo. "I think you might especially appreciate this roll."
Assuming it couldn't get any better than the first roll, Tay had to take a seat in the chair he was standing
beside. "Pretty great, huh?" Sean said.
Tay was speechless. There she lay, in white bed sheets, partially covered, flashing her ring and an unauthorized biography from his teen years laying open across her chest. What he should have been was turned on. What he was, was touched. He'd never seen her pride in him displayed in such a way before.
She came from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder to see the picture for herself. "Wow," he heard the smile in her voice. "They turned out so well, I can't believe it. You wouldn't believe what I had to go through for those. I had so much tape under there. They strapped me down, inserted bra cups, everything. It was uncomfortable as hell. The photographer kept pinching the skin on my leg with his shoe because he was standing on the bed and could hardly keep his balance. Definitely awkward."
"But it's beautiful," he finally heard himself saying. "Very Marilyn Monroe."
He felt her chin shift as she looked at his face. "Marilyn Monroe, huh? That never crossed my mind. I guess I could see that. I mean, except without the blonde, of course."
He stared at her sleepy eyes and her slightly parted lips and her hand that boasted the ring he gave her as
she gripped the book with his teenage face on the cover. Sean Wills interrupted his thoughts again. "Those are my favorite," he said. "I thought they turned out the best. By this time next week, your love affair will be displayed for the entire world to see in one single picture. I have to say, such displays aren't exactly Maxim's norm, but this isn't a normal issue, either. It would have been perfect for Valentine's Day, if we were able to get it out that soon, but it just wasn't feasible."
Tay glanced up at Sean and cleared his throat, fighting back an emotion that surprised him. "Um, can we have a minute? Just a minute. I know you're short on time--"
"Oh, absolutely," Sean said. "I'll be in the next room."
As Sean exited the door, Mel sat next to him and looked at him, a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "I mean, if this bothers you--"
"No," he cut her off. "Not at all. Completely the opposite." He put the picture back down on the table and looked at her. "Sometimes I feel like a complete failure. Like, if an album doesn't sell as well as expected, or when a single doesn't take off like we want it to, or a show doesn't sell out. I take it personally, I feel like I've done something wrong, that I've failed. You put your heart and soul so completely into something and all you want it to do is take off, you know? And when they don't, you really start to look at your shortcomings. And I feel--I feel like the laughing stock of...of everything. A complete laughing stock. I mean, who's gonna look at you seriously if you can't even promote a record the right way? Right?"
"Tay..."
"But then I come in here and I see this," he continued softly, pointing to the photo he'd just had in his hand. "And then I look in your eyes sitting right here and suddenly--suddenly it's all okay. I look at this picture and I think, 'Well maybe I'm not that much of a failure after all. Because if a woman like her is willing to display her pride in me like this, for the entire world to see, then maybe that means I'm doing something right.' Mel, for lack of sounding...I don't know, cheesy or whatever, this is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for
me."
Mel smiled at him, wiping a silent tear from her cheek. "Laying half-naked in a bed in a men's smut magazine is the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for you? You gotta get better women."
Tay sniffed back the tears he knew were coming and he laughed at her joke. Pulling her face close to his, he
kissed her and gently tucked her hair behind her ear. "I love you so much. You have no idea how proud I am of you."
He heard the click of a camera and the two of them looked up, startled. Sean Wills held up the camera in
defense. "Hey, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to intrude. It was such an intense moment, I couldn't help but snap a photo. If it ends up in the magazine, don't say I didn't warn you."
Tay took a deep breath and smiled as he and Mel found their feet again. He walked over to Sean and shook his
hand. "Hey, thanks for doing my girl justice," he said. "These are great. I have to admit, when she mentioned she was doing Maxim, I was a bit apprehensive. But you guys treated her right and I appreciate it."
"Well, she's an extraordinary subject and was a joy to work with. We're just glad she agreed in the first place!"
"Hey, listen, how difficult would it be to get our hands on copies of these?"
"All of them?"
"Every last one."
"Um, I'm sure it can be arranged. Let me pull some strings and I'll see what I can get done." Sean fished his
card out of his pocket and handed to Tay. "Keep in touch with me, I'll be on it like white on rice."
"Thanks. Don't be surprised if I blow up your phone."
"I'd be surprised if you didn't!"
-----------------------------------------------
JASON
A week later, Jason sat at a bar in LA, alone, nursing his fourth beer. He only bought the issue of Maxim to
support Mel and to maybe have some material to use when he found himself in bed alone at the hotel later that night. However he had no idea what he was in for when he flipped to her portion of the feature article. While she was absolutely every bit as sexy as he knew she would be, he didn't know he would be subjected to her sickening love affair on a platform such as Maxim.
Sickening was perhaps a strong word. Abhorrent? Disgusting? Those words were even stronger and he
realized the drunker he got, the stronger the synonyms became. Laying there all splayed out like that, flashing that damn rock and hugging that book. He was hoping to get off, not be depressed all over again. And the small picture with the caption at the bottom of the page didn't help either. The two of them kissing in the Maxim board room over a sea of her pictures. "Taylor Hanson's reaction to seeing his fiancée's prints for the first time, right here in our Maxim office," the caption read. His reaction, indeed. If it were Jason, he would have fucked the hell out of her right there on that table and she would have loved every goddamn minute of
it, guaranteed. Who the hell has the time to be romantic over a table full of soft core porn?
For at least the tenth time, Jason closed the magazine and shoved it across the bar out of his face. He was taking the last swig of his beer when a hot redhead with an impressive rack took a seat next to him. She smiled at him. "What are you having?"
He glanced at the magazine for a second before setting his empty beer bottle down on top of Mel's face. He smiled over at the woman and said to her, "You, if you don't have any plans tonight."
**************
Jason woke up the next morning to an empty bed. No surprise there. By the time he had brought the redhead back to his hotel, whose name he never bothered to learn, and got her in his bed, he was over his brief desire for vengeance. But since he had her there, and she was already naked, he went through with it. It wasn't
spectacular. He didn't try to impress her and it didn't last long. He really only slept with her to oblige her since she had come all this way. The truth was, every time he closed his eyes, he saw Mel. Every time he opened them and saw the redhead, his heart broke. Every single damn time.
The redhead wasted no time leaving. He knew she was disappointed. She would probably go around telling everybody that Jason Kamealoha was a lousy lay. He didn't even care. That night only cemented his suspicion that he wasn't quite ready to try to move on yet. But he'd taken a step and it was a step in the right direction.
Right?
He regretted sleeping with that woman before he even did it. He had been drinking. Pissed off. Depressed
and down on himself. He had to do something. He had to shake this Mel thing and he didn't know how. He had to face it. She was marrying Taylor. She loved him and he was happy for her. He didn't want to break up her relationship. She'd certainly resent him then. So then what the hell did he do? Did he sleep with every woman he came in contact with? Did he drink it all away? How did he detox himself from his addiction to her?
He had told her he couldn't stay away. On numerous occasions he told her that. But now this time, maybe he had to. He had to suck up his pride, give her her space, and stay away. It was the best thing for the both of them and he knew it.
What better time to start staying away than right now?
He lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling for the next hour, wondering if he was making the right decision. He knew he was.