I SEE US *NOT* AS PRISONERS
MEL
Mel sat in hair and makeup at the Maxim shoot with Kate and Nikki. They hadn't even had time to go by the condo after they got off the plane due to a delay in the flight, so their luggage joined them at the makeup table as well. "I can't believe Tay's allowing you do this," Kate said nonchalantly as she inspected the products on the table.
"Allowing it?" Nikki said from the other side of Mel as she leaned against the table and flipped through a magazine. "Are you serious?"
"I actually did run it by him," Mel said past the eye shadow brush that was being swept across her brow bone. "I'm not THAT heartless. And he actually said he was excited about it."
"That's a shocker," Kate muttered.
"Kate, why are you being such a pessimist?" Nikki said to her.
"I mean, I love Tay. I do. He's just--I dunno, he just gets weird sometimes. I never know how to read him," she answered.
"Trust me, I'm already prepared for the backlash," Mel joked. "Seriously, though, he's really trying. I have to give him that. He has some things he's working on and it seems to be for the positive."
In the mirror, Mel watched Nikki glance at the makeup artist. "Maybe we should change the subject. Kate, look at this," she said, handing Kate the magazine. "What do you think?"
"Melody Banks!" Sean Wills's voice rang out cheerfully as he walked up to the makeup chair. He reached out and shook her hand. "I'm so glad you're here today. You're gonna blow this shoot out of the water!"
"Please, you are way too kind," Mel greeted him.
He glanced at the tall, Amazon goddesses that were Nikki and Kate and his eyes lit up. "I see you brought friends today."
"We had to come straight here from the airport. We even brought our luggage. But, Nikki, Kate, this is Sean Wills, he's the one who got me the gig. Sean, these are my future sisters-in-law. That's Nikki and that's Kate."
Suddenly, Sean's eyes widened in excitement. He looked like a kid in a candy store. "There are three of you?"
Nikki and Kate glanced at each other, puzzled.
"I mean, all three Hanson spouses. On set. Today. Holy shit, this is too good to be true!"
Now it was Mel's turn to be puzzled. "I'm not following..."
Turning his full attention to Nikki and Kate, he was instantly animated. "How would you ladies like to pose for Maxim? I can see it now, the three of you would be the cover--the feature! 'MMMBop's Best-Kept Secret: The Women Behind The Songwriters.' " He displayed the title in the air with his hands. "Well, maybe not quite that title, but something similar. We can shoot it tonight, after Mel's shoot is done. We can draw up some quick contracts, sign a few papers--" He caught one of the costume ladies as she passed by. "Hey, Margaret,
how fast could we get some letters ironed onto the back of some bikini-bottoms?"
"Um, I don't know..." Kate said, shaking her head. "I haven't modeled in years. And I just had the baby, so my body's kinda--"
"Nonsense!" Nikki hissed abruptly. "You have a body under there that needs to see some light and I know it! I, personally, miss modeling and back in the day, I would have jumped all over this."
"You're considering it?
Nikki looked at Mel. "What do you think?"
"Um..." The truth was, Mel wasn't really sure. The concept did seem fun, but what would the guys think of their wives, scantily-clad, displayed in a magazine meant for men to drool over? Then she looked in the mirror
at herself and remembered. So she went with her gut. "I say we go for it and let it be a surprise."
"Zac would kill me," Kate said. "Did you know he reads this magazine?"
The blood drained from Mel's face. "Are you serious? Should I back out now? I couldn't face him after this!"
"No," Nikki said sternly. "That is exactly why you need to do this shoot, Kate. Spice it up for him a little. Then he won't even know Mel and I are on the page at all. I, for one, know for a fact that Ike would get a thrill out of it. I not only have a lingerie drawer, but an entire lingerie chest. And I certainly didn't buy a hundred percent of those items myself."
Mel found herself blushing. While she definitely enjoyed girl-talking with the two of them, she couldn't deny that girl-talk involving men that grew up like brothers to her still wasn't a little awkward. "Um, maybe I should
call Tay and ask him. I mean with Hanson and the label..."
To everyone's surprise, Kate chimed in. "Aren't you part owner of 3CG anyway? Don't you have the right to make some of the decisions?"
Kate was right. As Mel pondered the statement, Nikki's eyes lit up at her. "Are you saying you're in?!"
"Well..." Kate hesitated. "I mean, I guess I could spice it up a LITTLE..."
Nikki squealed in response and threw her arms around Kate's neck. Then she turned to Sean, her cheeks on fire from her smile. "Okay, count us in. Where do we sign?"
While Kate and Nikki signed paperwork, Mel was squeezed into her first outfit. If you wanted to call it an outfit, that was. She wore thigh-high, black stockings, patent-leather platform pumps, a pair of black,
high-waisted lingerie briefs, and a bra that was easily two sizes too small for her. She had had more hands on her breasts in the past ten minutes than she probably had on them in her entire life, her own included. She
did, however, now have cleavage she never had before and she couldn't deny that excited her a little.
With her dark, smoky eye-make up, fiery red lipstick, and hair that fell in soft, dark curls down her back, she was walked onset and was handed a pair of fake, black-rimmed glasses and a pen. She looked at the desk and the chair before her and turned around to speak to nobody in particular. "This is it? This is my set?"
"One of them," a response called out.
She widened her eyes in surprise. "One of them?"
"You're the cover girl. Didn't you know that? You have three sets. Well, two and a half, really."
"Cover girl?" Mel squeaked. "Me?"
"Surprise," the guy with the backward hat said.
Before she knew it, she was being instructed by the photographer to lean over the desk and look seductively into the camera. Mel had never felt so awkward in her life. She tried as hard as she could to do what the
photographer told her to do, but the awkwardness was just--awkward. At one point, Mel stood up and frowned. "I'm not doing so well, am I?"
"It's too quiet in here," he said to her, in his thick Swedish accent. Then he raised his voice and directed it behind him. "Someone turn on some sexy music."
Within moments, sexy, bubblegum, girl-pop blared from a couple of small speakers in front of them. Mel froze, her eyes darting around the room. Women were supposed to act like instant sex pots to this stuff?
"What's wrong?" the photographer asked. "You don't like it?"
She shook her head and crinkled her nose. "It's not really me..."
The photographer smiled warmly, his blue eyes shining under his over-tanned skin and platinum blonde spikes. "You tell me what you like, then. You tell me what makes Melody tick."
Mel glanced down at herself in thought and a smile crossed her face. "Get me the sleaziest 80's hair metal you can find."
The middle-aged Swede laughed, amused. "Oh, so we like the rock-and-roll, yes? I think we have a live one here!"
Once the music started, Mel felt something in her change. She couldn't describe it, but she felt like a completely different person. The shoot went much easier this time around and it was when she had herself in a half-crawl over the desk when she heard the cat-calling from behind the scenes.
"Get it, girl!" Nikki hollered.
By the time the Swede was finished shooting that particular set, Mel had made both the desk and the desk chair her bitch. As they rushed her off to change for the next one, Nikki and Kate followed behind. "Oh my god, you guys," Mel said, flustered. "I don't know what got into me! It's like a switch flipped or something!"
"Isn't it fun?" Nikki said, excitedly. "It's, like, you get a high from it or something."
As she was quickly changed into a pair of white, lacy panties, it seemed to take forever for the rest of the outfit to come. Mel stood there, covering her breasts for at least five minutes when the photographer came to her and looked at her quizzically. "What are you waiting on?"
"Uh...the rest of my outfit."
"That is your outfit."
"Say what?"
"That is your outfit. You get covered up over here."
With one arm still covering her breasts, the Swede took her free arm and brought her back to set. Now against the white backdrop was a bed with ivory, satin sheets. As she stood there in contemplation, hair and makeup
rushed over to her and touched her up. "Now lay on the bed," the Swede instructed.
Nervous and reluctant, she did as she was told. Apparently in a hurry, the Swede removed her arm and exposed her breasts and she gasped. The Swede seemed unphased. "We don't have time to be modest, dear.
Raise your arms please."
Wide-eyed and horrified, Mel raised her arms above her head. The Swede then yanked the top sheet off the bed and positioned it over her the way he wanted it. He laid it diagonally across her, barely covering her
nipples and then frowned and abruptly walked away.
Mel froze, not knowing what to do. She lay there in the exact same position until he returned, followed by one of the women from costuming. "Look at her, she needs tape," he said, matter-of-factly. "When she lays down, there's nothing. She needs something."
Within moments, the woman was poking and prodding around her breasts again. Mel was silent, bewildered, and nearly offended as the woman instructed her on what she needed her to do in order to successfully tape her up. At some point, silicone cups became involved and there was more taping and untaping and maneuvering until the Swede was finally satisfied. Mel was extremely uncomfortable. Wordlessly, he continued to lay the satin sheet over her as he wanted, again, only covering her nipples and tucking the corner underneath her back. He cupped her under her knee and bent it until he liked the position and covered the rest of her body strategically. He finished by placing her one arm around her chest as if to hold up the sheet and then he handed her something that completely threw her for a loop.
Her eyes widened at the book in her hand. "Is this--these still exist?!"
Daring to break the position that the Swede had put her in, she shot up in the bed and flipped through Totally Taylor, the old unofficial biography of her fiancée from years and years ago. "Oh my god," she laughed. "Did you know that over 50% of this garbage in this book isn't even true?"
"You were a fan then, yes?"
"Are you kidding, I was his girlfriend then!"
"Then this should be easy."
"Well, yeah, but--he was, like, fourteen or fifteen when this book came out. Isn't this a little...I mean, he's fourteen in the cover photo..."
"He's not fourteen now, is he?"
"Well, no..."
"I see no problem. Is cute. A tribute to your fiancée."
Mel smiled at the realization. Suddenly she couldn't wait for Tay to see these pictures. "Okay, I'm ready."
The Swede came back over to her as she lay back down and fixed her again. This time, he fanned her hair over her head onto the pillow and laid the book open just under her chest where he replaced her left arm,
displaying the front and back covers. "I want to see engagement ring in every shot," he instructed.
And then someone brought him his camera and he stood on the bed over her.
Once again, Mel was completely taken by surprise.
He grinned at her and held the camera to his face. "Okay then. Say 'Totally Taylor!' "
This made her giggle and the rest of the bed shoot was a breeze.
For her last scene, they dressed her simply. Back in her high-waisted briefs, bra, and heels, this time without the thigh-highs and they added a white, button-down, man's dress shirt. They fixed her makeup and teased her hair a little higher and placed her in front of the plain, white back drop. As the Swede prepared to photograph her again, Tay's voice blared through the speakers. "There now. Listen to your man's music and make use of the shirt."
That last shoot was the easiest one of the session.
When the Swede was finally finished, Sean Wills raced up to her at the same moment that Nikki and Kate entered the set in their robes. It was already nine pm and Mel had an early day the next day. She was exhausted. Sean was apparently still brimming with creativity.
Nikki giggled and pulled her robe up to show Mel her underwear. "Look what's on our butts!" She then scowled at Kate. "Come on, Kate, show her."
As both women turned their backs on her, and showed her their backsides, ironically, Mel wanted to die. There before her, white block letters on black panties, were "MMM" and "BOP." She shook her head. "They'll never get over the MMMBop thing, will they?"
"I think it's adorable," Kate giggled.
It took them an hour to shoot what would potentially be the cover. Even in her heels, Mel was still easily the shortest of the three of them, so she was constantly placed in the middle.
As they were changed for their next set, Sean excitedly said to them, "I see Cabaret! I see--Cellblock Tango!"
"Uh, I see us NOT as prisoners," Kate retorted.
"Well of course not," Sean said. Then he ran off hollering, "Get me a clothing rack in here!"
Mel took one look at Kate in her outfit and said, "Oh wow! How do you not have a million kids yet?"
Kate blushed underneath her pinup girl makeup, volumized hair and her basic black spaghetti-strapped body suit. Her legs went for miles down to the patent leather ankle boots she wore.
Mel and Nikki both found themselves in fishnets and different variations of pinstripes. Mel wore pinstripe briefs with buckled, black stripper boots and a black, collared bustier and a loose-fitting red necktie. Nikki wore a pinstripe underwire bra with a mini skirt and garter belt. In came two chairs and the clothes rack and Nikki and Mel were both handed black derby hats.
The Swede placed Nikki and Mel on either side of Kate in their respective chairs, while he preferred Kate in the middle, hanging on to the extra-high bar over her head. Mel was in awe of Nikki and Kate. They truly LOOKED
like models, and though they both claimed they hadn't done it in years, they both were complete naturals. It was in this moment, all nearly naked in lingerie and stripper heels, that Mel felt the three of them had truly
bonded.
After midnight, and after excitedly gushing over the digital proofs of their pictures, they were informed, in a surprise twist, that the two issues Mel had just shot for would be flip-flopped. The shoot with the three of them had apparently gone so well, they wanted to feature that spread in the upcoming issue and the "nonfamous babes" in the issue afterward. "I really wish we could have this out by Valentine's Day," Sean said regretfully. "That would have been perfect. But on this short of notice, the best we can do is the March issue."
"Ooh, just in time for Tay's birthday," Nikki said, raising her eyebrows deviously.
__________________________________
The party the next night was a blur. All of it. It had apparently been extremely successful, from what Mel remembered of it. She knew she definitely smiled most of the night. Her girls were with her, she raised tons of money for the emergency responders, and even Jason showed up!
Everything was great until she ended up alone with him in the dim, upscale coat room. He closed the door and locked it behind him. "This is what I have to resort to, to get you alone now?" he said to her.
She looked at him, in wide-eyed confusion. "Um, I need to be out there. At my party..."
"The party can wait. It's doing just fine without you right now."
"But--the slide show..."
"You won't be seeing the slide show."
His voice was low, rich, and deliberate. He advanced on her slowly. Purposefully. He had a goal tonight.
"Jason," she breathed in protest, staring up at him in his suit. He took her breath away. He always had. "We shouldn't be here. I shouldn't--you shouldn't. You know that. You know better."
"I don't care anymore. I can't be away from you anymore. I told you I couldn't stay away."
She backed away from him, not in fear of him, but in fear of herself. Fear that she would lose herself. Fear that she would give in to him. She loved Taylor. He was going to be her husband. She didn't love Jason the way it was apparent that he wanted her to. She didn't...she couldn't...
Mel didn't get far. The room was small and there was a cubby behind her that held loose items such as purses, cigarettes, and flasks. Where was the person who was supposed to be guarding this room? Why wasn't he in
here?
Her backside against the cubby, with nowhere else to go, she found herself helpless. He smiled at her seductively as he looked down at her, stopping himself merely inches from her. The energy and body heat he gave off made her heart pound and her breathing stagger. She looked up at him with no idea where to go from here. She felt defeated. She felt...weak.
With one more small step, his body was against hers. Her breathing grew ever more heavy. Without a word, his hands slid up her dress and pulled her panties down to her thighs. A gasp caught in her throat. "Jason--"
He gripped her by her waist and hoisted her on top of the cubby, pulling her panties completely off of her. She immediately closed her legs and he immediately followed, pulling them apart. "What do you think you're
doing?" she asked him, desperate to get some kind of control back.
"Taking what's mine, once and for all."
"What's that?" She asked stupidly, already knowing what his answer would be.
"You. All of you."
And with that, he opened her legs farther and lowered his head between them, his tongue finding her without missing a beat. Mel was defeated. She hiked her dress up and threw one leg over his shoulder and he held the other one up with his strong hand. She gripped the wooden cubby so hard she was sure her palm would get splinters and she immediately grabbed a fistful of his hair with her free hand.
Throwing her head back, she bit her lip and whimpered helplessly. His other hand gently stroked the bare leg that was over his shoulder and she knew her stiletto dug into his back but he didn't seem to mind. It wasn't long before her entire body began to shake and she knew the end was near. "Oh fuck, Jason. Fuck yes," she breathed through gritted teeth.
And then it was over.
***************
Her eyes snapped open suddenly. It was just before sunrise and the low light barely shown through the room in her New York City bedroom. New York. Was she having deja vu?
No time to contemplate. The dream had made her extremely horny. So horny, in fact, that she didn't even feel guilty about letting Jason stay in her imagination. Quickly, she reached under the covers and pulled her pants and underwear off and spread her legs, letting her fingers find her. She was already so wet from the dream that she knew it wouldn't take her long. And she was right. She touched herself, arching her back at how good it felt, and she came almost immediately.
After she had calmed, within seconds, she lay there for a moment, letting her heart rate drop back to normal. That quickly she was losing the visual of the dream. She supposed that was her body's way of telling her she was in need of an orgasm. She didn't know and she didn't care. All she knew was that it felt damn good and her entire body felt relieved.
Pulling her hand out from under the covers, she was startled by what she found. Blood. She wasn't wet. She was bleeding.
Goddammit! Again??
MEL
Mel sat in hair and makeup at the Maxim shoot with Kate and Nikki. They hadn't even had time to go by the condo after they got off the plane due to a delay in the flight, so their luggage joined them at the makeup table as well. "I can't believe Tay's allowing you do this," Kate said nonchalantly as she inspected the products on the table.
"Allowing it?" Nikki said from the other side of Mel as she leaned against the table and flipped through a magazine. "Are you serious?"
"I actually did run it by him," Mel said past the eye shadow brush that was being swept across her brow bone. "I'm not THAT heartless. And he actually said he was excited about it."
"That's a shocker," Kate muttered.
"Kate, why are you being such a pessimist?" Nikki said to her.
"I mean, I love Tay. I do. He's just--I dunno, he just gets weird sometimes. I never know how to read him," she answered.
"Trust me, I'm already prepared for the backlash," Mel joked. "Seriously, though, he's really trying. I have to give him that. He has some things he's working on and it seems to be for the positive."
In the mirror, Mel watched Nikki glance at the makeup artist. "Maybe we should change the subject. Kate, look at this," she said, handing Kate the magazine. "What do you think?"
"Melody Banks!" Sean Wills's voice rang out cheerfully as he walked up to the makeup chair. He reached out and shook her hand. "I'm so glad you're here today. You're gonna blow this shoot out of the water!"
"Please, you are way too kind," Mel greeted him.
He glanced at the tall, Amazon goddesses that were Nikki and Kate and his eyes lit up. "I see you brought friends today."
"We had to come straight here from the airport. We even brought our luggage. But, Nikki, Kate, this is Sean Wills, he's the one who got me the gig. Sean, these are my future sisters-in-law. That's Nikki and that's Kate."
Suddenly, Sean's eyes widened in excitement. He looked like a kid in a candy store. "There are three of you?"
Nikki and Kate glanced at each other, puzzled.
"I mean, all three Hanson spouses. On set. Today. Holy shit, this is too good to be true!"
Now it was Mel's turn to be puzzled. "I'm not following..."
Turning his full attention to Nikki and Kate, he was instantly animated. "How would you ladies like to pose for Maxim? I can see it now, the three of you would be the cover--the feature! 'MMMBop's Best-Kept Secret: The Women Behind The Songwriters.' " He displayed the title in the air with his hands. "Well, maybe not quite that title, but something similar. We can shoot it tonight, after Mel's shoot is done. We can draw up some quick contracts, sign a few papers--" He caught one of the costume ladies as she passed by. "Hey, Margaret,
how fast could we get some letters ironed onto the back of some bikini-bottoms?"
"Um, I don't know..." Kate said, shaking her head. "I haven't modeled in years. And I just had the baby, so my body's kinda--"
"Nonsense!" Nikki hissed abruptly. "You have a body under there that needs to see some light and I know it! I, personally, miss modeling and back in the day, I would have jumped all over this."
"You're considering it?
Nikki looked at Mel. "What do you think?"
"Um..." The truth was, Mel wasn't really sure. The concept did seem fun, but what would the guys think of their wives, scantily-clad, displayed in a magazine meant for men to drool over? Then she looked in the mirror
at herself and remembered. So she went with her gut. "I say we go for it and let it be a surprise."
"Zac would kill me," Kate said. "Did you know he reads this magazine?"
The blood drained from Mel's face. "Are you serious? Should I back out now? I couldn't face him after this!"
"No," Nikki said sternly. "That is exactly why you need to do this shoot, Kate. Spice it up for him a little. Then he won't even know Mel and I are on the page at all. I, for one, know for a fact that Ike would get a thrill out of it. I not only have a lingerie drawer, but an entire lingerie chest. And I certainly didn't buy a hundred percent of those items myself."
Mel found herself blushing. While she definitely enjoyed girl-talking with the two of them, she couldn't deny that girl-talk involving men that grew up like brothers to her still wasn't a little awkward. "Um, maybe I should
call Tay and ask him. I mean with Hanson and the label..."
To everyone's surprise, Kate chimed in. "Aren't you part owner of 3CG anyway? Don't you have the right to make some of the decisions?"
Kate was right. As Mel pondered the statement, Nikki's eyes lit up at her. "Are you saying you're in?!"
"Well..." Kate hesitated. "I mean, I guess I could spice it up a LITTLE..."
Nikki squealed in response and threw her arms around Kate's neck. Then she turned to Sean, her cheeks on fire from her smile. "Okay, count us in. Where do we sign?"
While Kate and Nikki signed paperwork, Mel was squeezed into her first outfit. If you wanted to call it an outfit, that was. She wore thigh-high, black stockings, patent-leather platform pumps, a pair of black,
high-waisted lingerie briefs, and a bra that was easily two sizes too small for her. She had had more hands on her breasts in the past ten minutes than she probably had on them in her entire life, her own included. She
did, however, now have cleavage she never had before and she couldn't deny that excited her a little.
With her dark, smoky eye-make up, fiery red lipstick, and hair that fell in soft, dark curls down her back, she was walked onset and was handed a pair of fake, black-rimmed glasses and a pen. She looked at the desk and the chair before her and turned around to speak to nobody in particular. "This is it? This is my set?"
"One of them," a response called out.
She widened her eyes in surprise. "One of them?"
"You're the cover girl. Didn't you know that? You have three sets. Well, two and a half, really."
"Cover girl?" Mel squeaked. "Me?"
"Surprise," the guy with the backward hat said.
Before she knew it, she was being instructed by the photographer to lean over the desk and look seductively into the camera. Mel had never felt so awkward in her life. She tried as hard as she could to do what the
photographer told her to do, but the awkwardness was just--awkward. At one point, Mel stood up and frowned. "I'm not doing so well, am I?"
"It's too quiet in here," he said to her, in his thick Swedish accent. Then he raised his voice and directed it behind him. "Someone turn on some sexy music."
Within moments, sexy, bubblegum, girl-pop blared from a couple of small speakers in front of them. Mel froze, her eyes darting around the room. Women were supposed to act like instant sex pots to this stuff?
"What's wrong?" the photographer asked. "You don't like it?"
She shook her head and crinkled her nose. "It's not really me..."
The photographer smiled warmly, his blue eyes shining under his over-tanned skin and platinum blonde spikes. "You tell me what you like, then. You tell me what makes Melody tick."
Mel glanced down at herself in thought and a smile crossed her face. "Get me the sleaziest 80's hair metal you can find."
The middle-aged Swede laughed, amused. "Oh, so we like the rock-and-roll, yes? I think we have a live one here!"
Once the music started, Mel felt something in her change. She couldn't describe it, but she felt like a completely different person. The shoot went much easier this time around and it was when she had herself in a half-crawl over the desk when she heard the cat-calling from behind the scenes.
"Get it, girl!" Nikki hollered.
By the time the Swede was finished shooting that particular set, Mel had made both the desk and the desk chair her bitch. As they rushed her off to change for the next one, Nikki and Kate followed behind. "Oh my god, you guys," Mel said, flustered. "I don't know what got into me! It's like a switch flipped or something!"
"Isn't it fun?" Nikki said, excitedly. "It's, like, you get a high from it or something."
As she was quickly changed into a pair of white, lacy panties, it seemed to take forever for the rest of the outfit to come. Mel stood there, covering her breasts for at least five minutes when the photographer came to her and looked at her quizzically. "What are you waiting on?"
"Uh...the rest of my outfit."
"That is your outfit."
"Say what?"
"That is your outfit. You get covered up over here."
With one arm still covering her breasts, the Swede took her free arm and brought her back to set. Now against the white backdrop was a bed with ivory, satin sheets. As she stood there in contemplation, hair and makeup
rushed over to her and touched her up. "Now lay on the bed," the Swede instructed.
Nervous and reluctant, she did as she was told. Apparently in a hurry, the Swede removed her arm and exposed her breasts and she gasped. The Swede seemed unphased. "We don't have time to be modest, dear.
Raise your arms please."
Wide-eyed and horrified, Mel raised her arms above her head. The Swede then yanked the top sheet off the bed and positioned it over her the way he wanted it. He laid it diagonally across her, barely covering her
nipples and then frowned and abruptly walked away.
Mel froze, not knowing what to do. She lay there in the exact same position until he returned, followed by one of the women from costuming. "Look at her, she needs tape," he said, matter-of-factly. "When she lays down, there's nothing. She needs something."
Within moments, the woman was poking and prodding around her breasts again. Mel was silent, bewildered, and nearly offended as the woman instructed her on what she needed her to do in order to successfully tape her up. At some point, silicone cups became involved and there was more taping and untaping and maneuvering until the Swede was finally satisfied. Mel was extremely uncomfortable. Wordlessly, he continued to lay the satin sheet over her as he wanted, again, only covering her nipples and tucking the corner underneath her back. He cupped her under her knee and bent it until he liked the position and covered the rest of her body strategically. He finished by placing her one arm around her chest as if to hold up the sheet and then he handed her something that completely threw her for a loop.
Her eyes widened at the book in her hand. "Is this--these still exist?!"
Daring to break the position that the Swede had put her in, she shot up in the bed and flipped through Totally Taylor, the old unofficial biography of her fiancée from years and years ago. "Oh my god," she laughed. "Did you know that over 50% of this garbage in this book isn't even true?"
"You were a fan then, yes?"
"Are you kidding, I was his girlfriend then!"
"Then this should be easy."
"Well, yeah, but--he was, like, fourteen or fifteen when this book came out. Isn't this a little...I mean, he's fourteen in the cover photo..."
"He's not fourteen now, is he?"
"Well, no..."
"I see no problem. Is cute. A tribute to your fiancée."
Mel smiled at the realization. Suddenly she couldn't wait for Tay to see these pictures. "Okay, I'm ready."
The Swede came back over to her as she lay back down and fixed her again. This time, he fanned her hair over her head onto the pillow and laid the book open just under her chest where he replaced her left arm,
displaying the front and back covers. "I want to see engagement ring in every shot," he instructed.
And then someone brought him his camera and he stood on the bed over her.
Once again, Mel was completely taken by surprise.
He grinned at her and held the camera to his face. "Okay then. Say 'Totally Taylor!' "
This made her giggle and the rest of the bed shoot was a breeze.
For her last scene, they dressed her simply. Back in her high-waisted briefs, bra, and heels, this time without the thigh-highs and they added a white, button-down, man's dress shirt. They fixed her makeup and teased her hair a little higher and placed her in front of the plain, white back drop. As the Swede prepared to photograph her again, Tay's voice blared through the speakers. "There now. Listen to your man's music and make use of the shirt."
That last shoot was the easiest one of the session.
When the Swede was finally finished, Sean Wills raced up to her at the same moment that Nikki and Kate entered the set in their robes. It was already nine pm and Mel had an early day the next day. She was exhausted. Sean was apparently still brimming with creativity.
Nikki giggled and pulled her robe up to show Mel her underwear. "Look what's on our butts!" She then scowled at Kate. "Come on, Kate, show her."
As both women turned their backs on her, and showed her their backsides, ironically, Mel wanted to die. There before her, white block letters on black panties, were "MMM" and "BOP." She shook her head. "They'll never get over the MMMBop thing, will they?"
"I think it's adorable," Kate giggled.
It took them an hour to shoot what would potentially be the cover. Even in her heels, Mel was still easily the shortest of the three of them, so she was constantly placed in the middle.
As they were changed for their next set, Sean excitedly said to them, "I see Cabaret! I see--Cellblock Tango!"
"Uh, I see us NOT as prisoners," Kate retorted.
"Well of course not," Sean said. Then he ran off hollering, "Get me a clothing rack in here!"
Mel took one look at Kate in her outfit and said, "Oh wow! How do you not have a million kids yet?"
Kate blushed underneath her pinup girl makeup, volumized hair and her basic black spaghetti-strapped body suit. Her legs went for miles down to the patent leather ankle boots she wore.
Mel and Nikki both found themselves in fishnets and different variations of pinstripes. Mel wore pinstripe briefs with buckled, black stripper boots and a black, collared bustier and a loose-fitting red necktie. Nikki wore a pinstripe underwire bra with a mini skirt and garter belt. In came two chairs and the clothes rack and Nikki and Mel were both handed black derby hats.
The Swede placed Nikki and Mel on either side of Kate in their respective chairs, while he preferred Kate in the middle, hanging on to the extra-high bar over her head. Mel was in awe of Nikki and Kate. They truly LOOKED
like models, and though they both claimed they hadn't done it in years, they both were complete naturals. It was in this moment, all nearly naked in lingerie and stripper heels, that Mel felt the three of them had truly
bonded.
After midnight, and after excitedly gushing over the digital proofs of their pictures, they were informed, in a surprise twist, that the two issues Mel had just shot for would be flip-flopped. The shoot with the three of them had apparently gone so well, they wanted to feature that spread in the upcoming issue and the "nonfamous babes" in the issue afterward. "I really wish we could have this out by Valentine's Day," Sean said regretfully. "That would have been perfect. But on this short of notice, the best we can do is the March issue."
"Ooh, just in time for Tay's birthday," Nikki said, raising her eyebrows deviously.
__________________________________
The party the next night was a blur. All of it. It had apparently been extremely successful, from what Mel remembered of it. She knew she definitely smiled most of the night. Her girls were with her, she raised tons of money for the emergency responders, and even Jason showed up!
Everything was great until she ended up alone with him in the dim, upscale coat room. He closed the door and locked it behind him. "This is what I have to resort to, to get you alone now?" he said to her.
She looked at him, in wide-eyed confusion. "Um, I need to be out there. At my party..."
"The party can wait. It's doing just fine without you right now."
"But--the slide show..."
"You won't be seeing the slide show."
His voice was low, rich, and deliberate. He advanced on her slowly. Purposefully. He had a goal tonight.
"Jason," she breathed in protest, staring up at him in his suit. He took her breath away. He always had. "We shouldn't be here. I shouldn't--you shouldn't. You know that. You know better."
"I don't care anymore. I can't be away from you anymore. I told you I couldn't stay away."
She backed away from him, not in fear of him, but in fear of herself. Fear that she would lose herself. Fear that she would give in to him. She loved Taylor. He was going to be her husband. She didn't love Jason the way it was apparent that he wanted her to. She didn't...she couldn't...
Mel didn't get far. The room was small and there was a cubby behind her that held loose items such as purses, cigarettes, and flasks. Where was the person who was supposed to be guarding this room? Why wasn't he in
here?
Her backside against the cubby, with nowhere else to go, she found herself helpless. He smiled at her seductively as he looked down at her, stopping himself merely inches from her. The energy and body heat he gave off made her heart pound and her breathing stagger. She looked up at him with no idea where to go from here. She felt defeated. She felt...weak.
With one more small step, his body was against hers. Her breathing grew ever more heavy. Without a word, his hands slid up her dress and pulled her panties down to her thighs. A gasp caught in her throat. "Jason--"
He gripped her by her waist and hoisted her on top of the cubby, pulling her panties completely off of her. She immediately closed her legs and he immediately followed, pulling them apart. "What do you think you're
doing?" she asked him, desperate to get some kind of control back.
"Taking what's mine, once and for all."
"What's that?" She asked stupidly, already knowing what his answer would be.
"You. All of you."
And with that, he opened her legs farther and lowered his head between them, his tongue finding her without missing a beat. Mel was defeated. She hiked her dress up and threw one leg over his shoulder and he held the other one up with his strong hand. She gripped the wooden cubby so hard she was sure her palm would get splinters and she immediately grabbed a fistful of his hair with her free hand.
Throwing her head back, she bit her lip and whimpered helplessly. His other hand gently stroked the bare leg that was over his shoulder and she knew her stiletto dug into his back but he didn't seem to mind. It wasn't long before her entire body began to shake and she knew the end was near. "Oh fuck, Jason. Fuck yes," she breathed through gritted teeth.
And then it was over.
***************
Her eyes snapped open suddenly. It was just before sunrise and the low light barely shown through the room in her New York City bedroom. New York. Was she having deja vu?
No time to contemplate. The dream had made her extremely horny. So horny, in fact, that she didn't even feel guilty about letting Jason stay in her imagination. Quickly, she reached under the covers and pulled her pants and underwear off and spread her legs, letting her fingers find her. She was already so wet from the dream that she knew it wouldn't take her long. And she was right. She touched herself, arching her back at how good it felt, and she came almost immediately.
After she had calmed, within seconds, she lay there for a moment, letting her heart rate drop back to normal. That quickly she was losing the visual of the dream. She supposed that was her body's way of telling her she was in need of an orgasm. She didn't know and she didn't care. All she knew was that it felt damn good and her entire body felt relieved.
Pulling her hand out from under the covers, she was startled by what she found. Blood. She wasn't wet. She was bleeding.
Goddammit! Again??