TWILIGHT ZONE--DAWN EDITION
MEL
Leaving her keys and her purse on the foyer table, Mel ignored the dark, quiet house as she trudged up the
stairs. As far as she was concerned, the day couldn't be over fast enough.
Walking into the bedroom, she spotted Taylor sitting up in bed, shirtless, wearing his glasses and reading a paperback. Normally Mel couldn't resist how sexy he was like this, but tonight was different. He glanced up at her and she looked at him, retreating to the bathroom. There, she took the makeup off her face and undressed, replacing her dinner outfit with a tank top and underwear and then wordlessly put herself to bed.
Once again, Tay didn't say a word as she settled herself in and adjusted her pillow, turning on her side, away from him. She adjusted her pillow and pulled her hair up off her neck and carefully laid it away from her in an
attempt to get comfortable. After a moment, she still couldn't seem to get comfortable as she fidgeted with her tank top that was beginning to feel constricted around her. Annoyed, she finally took it off and returned to
her regular position feeling a little more free and comfortable, letting the top fall listlessly from her outstretched hand as she stared blankly into the dimness of the side of the room she was facing.
"Drew texted Jason tonight," she finally said in a monotone voice.
Behind her she could hear Tay's glasses clink against his night stand. "How can a person become so shallow?" Mel continued. "I mean, you didn't. You've always just been you. Why is that so difficult?"
Behind her the bed moved and she felt his body heat before she felt him. His arm wrapped around her bare breasts and he kissed her lightly along her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I wish I could fix this
for you."
Despite the way she felt, his touch made her body tingle with anticipation. She knew admitting defeat and giving in to him would completely relax her physically and mentally and between that and her sudden need to be close to him, she became a more than willing participant.
Turning over in his arms, she gave herself to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, her tongue never missing a beat with the rhythm of his. With both of his arms holding her tightly, their bare
chests pressed against the other, both able to feel the beating of their hearts.
She was happy to simply lay there and kiss him, but her body obviously had other plans. Before things heated up, she managed to whisper that she loved him before her hand discovered that his bottom half was as naked as his top half was. He had been waiting for her. For this. The thought turned her on.
She wrapped her hand around him and the groan he released into her mouth was mixed with a whimper of pleasure. She loved the sounds he made during sex. She loved his sounds, his faces, his breathing--she simply loved having sex with him. She sincerely wished that she didn't ever find herself taking these times for granted. She never wanted to take any part of him for granted.
Sex was nothing fancy that night. No acrobatic tricks or kama sutra specialties. That night it was more emotional than physical. Both were in need of the physical and emotional release they could only get from one
another. She held him close as he entered her, her legs wrapped around waist, an incessant need to have every inch of her body against his. Her arms hooked underneath his and her nails grazed up and down his back as he kissed her.
As they neared the end, he lifted his body a little so he could see her face. She always loved when he did this because this way she got the full effect from the rolling of his hips. God, he was so perfect. When he did this, he always managed to hit her in exactly the right spot. He always knew the exact speed and intensity needed to get her off and, sure enough, she bit her lip in anticipation of herself coming. The closer she came, she watched him lick his lips as he watched her and that motion was what finally sent her over the edge, crying out in ecstasy.
Moments later they found themselves under the covers, her head resting on his chest and his arms wrapped around her as his hand played with her hair. "So you wanna talk about it?" Tay asked, picking their conversation up where it left off.
"There isn't much to tell except that I may or may not have made a scene and some cameras kinda came out of nowhere as it happened."
Tay lightly chuckled. "I mean about the text from Drew."
Mel sighed, tightening her arm around Tay's bare torso. "Jason didn't respond to her. He gave me his phone and told me to do whatever I wanted. So I posed as him and I answered her."
"And this obviously didn't go well."
"She wants to sleep with him."
"What?" Tay said in disbelief.
"Yeah. She asked him out for drinks, said she wanted to see him, then proceeded to tell him that she would make it worth his while. That he had no idea what she was capable of. All I can get out of that is she wants to sleep with him."
"I thought she was happily married to Gerard Cline? Was she drunk?"
Mel scoffed. "That's what Jason said. Anyway, so then I called her from his phone and she answered. I called her a whore and told her that Nikki was my matron of honor."
"Shit. What did she say?"
"Don't know. I told her to lose Jason's number and hung up on her."
"I'm assuming this was the scene captured on camera?"
"Yes. The whole world is about to see me at my bat shit crazy best."
"Assuming there was anyone taking video."
"Tay. Come on."
"So her coming on to Jason bothers you?"
"Of course it does. She's married. She's practically broken herself off a piece of every man in my life. I know about your little one night stand with her--"
"For the record, we were broken up then and she wasn't even that good."
"That's not the point. She slept with John, too. I mean, I can't prove it, but I know she did. And now she wants Jason? I mean, shit, she fucking married. How is that not enough for her? Why does she always need what belongs to me?"
"Maybe she's jealous?"
"Of me? Are you kidding? I'm nobody! She's the big time Hollywood celebrity here. If anyone should be jealous of anyone, I should be jealous of her."
"Well, you do have impeccable taste in men, if I do say so myself," Tay said, jokingly.
"Seriously, though. Is it really that cliché? That Hollywood changes you and stuff?"
"Seriously?" Tay sighed. "Yeah, it can. It depends on who you are, how you react to the lifestyle. Truth is, I couldn't begin to tell you what tonight meant. I admit, it does seem pretty shitty that she won't even return a text to you but she seems to jump right on Jason. You sure he isn't talking to her on a regular basis?"
"He's not. He insists he isn't. And I believe him. Besides, would he have given me free reign of his phone if he was?"
"I guess not."
"Did I screw up, Tay? I called her a fucking whore and told her I knew about you and John--it wasn't pretty."
"You do have a way with words sometimes. But I wasn't there. I believe at times you do have a tendency to make a mountain out of a mole hill. But I also believe that at some of those times, your genuine reactions come across exactly as you mean them to--and can sometimes be necessary to get your point across. I can tell you one thing, though, you do have every right to be upset. That much I know is true."
"I'm so tired," Mel said listlessly. "I'm just so...exhausted."
"So sleep. We can talk about this in the morning."
"I'm not sure I want to talk about it anymore."
"Or not. Your choice."
The last thing Mel heard before she drifted to sleep was the clicking of Tay's bedside lamp.
_______________________________________________
TAYLOR
Taylor hesitated before getting out of bed the next morning. Mel slept next to him, closer than normal. She wasn't normally a cuddler when she slept, so he always awoke with a smile on his face when he found her
invading his side of the bed. Pulling on a pair of pants and a t-shirt, Tay headed down the stairs with Fred at his heels. Halfway down he realized that Fred still couldn't hang, so he picked him up and carried him the
rest of the way down.
After filling Fred's bowl, Tay leaned against the kitchen counter. He was too nervous to even touch any kind of media outlet. At Mel's mere mention of cameras, Tay knew what to expect to see in the pictures. And while he knew, without a doubt, that hers and Jason's evening was one hundred percent platonic, he knew the visual would still bother him.
As if the universe was playing a cruel joke on him, his cell phone rang. Rolling his eyes, knowing this was coming sooner or later, he decided to get it over with. Imagine his surprise at the name on the screen. Ever more hesitantly, he answered, "Hello?"
"Hey," Drew answered.
"Uh, hey...Drew...little early there, isn't it? I mean, are you in LA?"
"Yeah," she answered. "Didn't sleep much. How are you?"
"Um, good. I'm good. Thanks for asking. So...what's going on?"
"Look, Tay, you're my friend, right?"
Tay swallowed hard, not knowing how to answer, especially knowing how Mel was feeling at the moment. So he took the easy way out. "Sure. Yeah. Of course."
"Good." Tay heard relief in Drew's voice. "Um, so, as your friend, I thought I'd try to catch you early this morning--are you in Tulsa?"
"Yeah..."
"Oh. Okay. Well I wasn't sure if you knew if Mel was out with Jason last night."
Tay was beginning to understand what Mel may have been referring to the previous night. Drew was coming off as suspiciously vindictive. But for what? The hairs on his neck stood on end and he automatically felt
defensive. "Of course I know. I'm the one who invited him for New Year's. I invited you, too. Three times."
Ignoring his last statement, she continued. "Oh, okay. Well she called me from his phone last night and said some really awful things to me. She was extremely accusatory. And judging by the pictures that have surfaced this morning, I just assumed that maybe her random outburst at me may have stemmed from some mixed feelings she may have been reminded of from being alone with Jason."
Tay's blood boiled and his heart pounded. He knew Drew was being facetious and he had no idea why. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel instantly bothered by whatever pictures she was referring to. He didn't want to look, but he knew that eventually his curiosity would get the better of him. But for now, he didn't feel like giving Drew the satisfaction of revealing his apprehensions. What he was dying to know, was what was she trying to accomplish?
"Drew--what are you getting at?"
"I just wanted you to be aware. I think she might be harboring some leftover feelings for him. I mean, like I said, she was extremely defensive of him last night. Almost possessive, even. I, personally, found it odd that she would be THAT possessive over a man she isn't even marrying. You know?"
He was getting increasingly more upset with every word that came out of her mouth. What he WANTED to do was call her out on being an already married woman, openly hitting on her best friend's friends. But instead, he fought hard to keep calm. "I think you're mistaken. I don't believe any of it had anything to do with Jason at all. She hasn't heard from you in months, and not for lack of trying, and then you suddenly decided to try to
seduce her best friend, or whatever it was your were doing last night. Out of the blue. And now you're calling ME. I don't know what's going on with you, or what your reasoning for randomly trying to make her life miserable all of a sudden is--"
"She wasn't even supposed to see those texts," Drew interrupted, poorly attempting defense.
Tay continued, not missing a beat. "--but my suggestion to you is you call HER phone and work things out instead of going behind her back. Forgive me for saying this, but all this just seems really shallow of you."
"Shallow? I thought you were my friend?"
"I wasn't there last night. But no matter what happens, in any situation, I'm going to side with my fiancée. I think it's time we end this conversation. Next time, you can call Mel. Good luck with whatever you have going on."
Hanging up the phone, Tay leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. Barely a minute later, the fun only continued. His phone rang again, this time the band's publicist was on the other end. "Yeah," Tay said, already exasperated.
Cindy's voice was matter-of-fact on the other end. "Sometimes I think the sole purpose of your union with Mel was to make sure I'm earning my keep around here."
"Yes, Cindy. My love life is based solely on your salary. How many more ways are you going to stress me out this morning?"
"Oh, so you already know?"
"I knew last night after it happened."
"Funny..." Cindy said in thought. "It doesn't show anywhere where you were present..."
"I wasn't. Mel came home and told me. We talk. It's what people in a committed relationship do."
"Funny, Tay. You sure are quick on your wit for this early in the morning."
"I had the opening act before you called."
"Oh, so I'm not the first? How disappointing."
"No, Drew called."
"Andrew Brooks? Well damn, you just interrupted my salivating over Jason Kamealoha's picture. Thanks a lot."
Tay rolled his eyes. "Get to the point."
"The plus side is that the video explains the actions in the pictures. And the zoomed in pictures in the windows of the restaurant show complete innocence. Just two people having dinner."
"Of course it did, that's all it was."
"The UNFORTUNATE part is that all you hear is her end of the conversation outside on the phone. With her foul mouth in full fruition and no clue as to who might be on the other end. It's IMPLIED, but there isn't truth. Your
name came up. But she mostly appears upset that this person attempted to contact Jason. Which, taken out of context, you know how that looks."
Tay sighed, resting both his elbows on the counter, his head hanging. "But, Cindy, I know the truth. Why can't that just be enough?"
"Because the paparazzi is ruthless and they'll do anything for a paycheck. Much like dirty hookers. They're one in the same, you know."
"How much did the video capture? The whole thing?"
"The whole thing."
"Does it really look that bad?"
"As much as I hate to say this, and as much as I know you guys value your privacy, it wouldn't hurt to leak a picture from your New Year's party, or a video, or--really anything that could POSSIBLY put this back into context as much as you can. Because as it stands, while the whole thing really does look innocent, how it's perceived is completely different and even though the person on the other end of the phone is the protagonist, it kind of shows Mel in the negative light and you as the victim. 'Jason Kamealoha Gets The Girl Back.' That's one of the headlines, Tay. No joke."
Taylor was exhausted and he'd barely been awake for an hour. "Look, Cindy--you and I both know how Mel is and how her mouth can get the best of her sometimes. Sometimes she causes a scene. She's passionate and she gets carried away. It's one of the things I love about her. But, honestly, I can't get all up in arms every time something like this happens. And this won't be the last time, trust me. I haven't seen the pictures or the video yet and I really don't think I need to. So I guess what I need you to do is just issue a statement. Make it
simple. The paparazzi was stalking Jason and caught Mel in a private conversation. They're friends and he was visiting for the night. You can say he was at our house the night before, whatever, I don't care. Maybe you can even get with his reps to see if THEY have done any damage control. Maybe we don't even need to respond."
"Way ahead of you. His end has already been taken care of. I think it's better if we respond as well. You know, cover all the bases."
"Do what you want. Just don't make it any worse."
"You got it, chief. And by the way, Happy New Year."
"Tell me about it," he said sarcastically before hanging up the phone.
All Taylor wanted to do was bury himself underneath the covers upstairs and then wake up and start this day all over again. Instead he chose to boot up his laptop right there on the kitchen island and finally get this over
with. As he stared at his computer, the seconds that went by felt like an eternity. When he was finally ready to get down to business, he was startled by Mel's voice in the doorway. "I know what you're doing," she said flatly.
He looked up at her, eyes wide. "What?"
"I know what you're doing," she repeated. She walked over to the sliding glass door and scooped up a full-bellied Fred off the floor and carried him to the island where Tay stood. "You're looking for stuff from last night. You're trying to get it out of the way so you can carry on like everything's normal again. Except the problem is, you're not the one potentially losing a friend out of this. I am. So shouldn't it be me that should be more concerned with what's in those pictures than you are? Since I'm the one who's in them? And maybe Jason, too? I mean, what do you have to stress over? Your name on a headline? You're not even in the
pictures."
Tay was speechless. She never ceased to make him feel like a narcissistic asshole sometimes. Well, maybe narcissistic asshole was a little harsh to say. But he hadn't thought about it from her point of view. Between the phone call from Drew and the one from Cindy, Tay had only been focused on himself. How HE felt, how HIS name was affected, whether or not HIS band had to worry about any extra backlash.
"Backlash." The word stuck out like a sore thumb, especially since he heard it in Isaac's voice from the previous afternoon. He had been right. And Tay was SO prepared for the backlash that when it finally came it felt like brand new again. But Mel was right, too. So his name may or may not appear in a headline. But Mel was the one whose personal phone conversation had been overheard and recorded for the world to hear. SOMEONE was going to be implicated in whatever came out of Mel's mouth for all eternity--or at least until it was forgotten about a month later.
Before he could respond, Mel had gently shoved him out of the way and deposited Fred onto the island beside Tay's laptop. She then clicked on the internet and began a search. "We might as well look at them together,"
she said, looking up at him. "I haven't seen them either."
For some reason, this comforted Tay. This was new. He was just so used to reading or discovering the articles alone that the thought of exploring them together never crossed his mind. Then he shook his head. "We're gonna have roast cat for breakfast if he doesn't stop biting on that cord."
Mel scowled and took a moment to distract the kitten before returning to her search. "Did you not have this thing charged up already?" she muttered.
"Didn't think I was gonna have to baby-proof it," he snapped back.
In a matter of seconds, Mel had the article pulled up on Glamarazzi, the biggest and best in tabloid sleaze and paparazzi scum. She wasted no time going onto the website. These creeps seemed to have people crawling from every nook and cranny. Much to Taylor's relief, the pictures weren't bad at all. The pictures of Jason holding Mel's hand made his skin crawl but after watching the video, he knew he had absolutely nothing to worry about. Not that he was worried to begin with. Mostly. Mel was mortified at the video and Tay couldn't help but chuckle at it. He chuckled mostly because his mood had been lifted at the verification of last night's events in print. And had he not already gotten the story the night before, there was no way he would have felt this okay about it otherwise. "My favorite part is Jason trying to get you out of there and you ignoring him while you chew out Drew. Typical Mel."
Mel hid her face in her hands. "Tay I'm a philanthropist of sorts now. My event planning is getting off the ground. And I'm marrying you. My image is important and this isn't good."
Tay smiled, amused. "Well it could be worse. I mean, some of the stuff the guys and I have done on video..."
"There's a difference."
"Not much."
"There is."
Still amused, Tay turned the laptop toward him and started typing. "I gotta send this to Zac. He'll love it."
"No!" Mel said suddenly, grabbing his hands. "You can't. He and Drew are close!"
"So what?"
"So I don't know if he even talks to her. He probably has no clue what she did."
"Speaking of Drew...she called me this morning."
Taking her usual assertive stance of disbelief that consisted of a raised eyebrow and a hand on her hip, Mel spat out, "Excuse me?"
"Mel, she's fucking crazy. She--I felt like I was watching a damn soap opera or something. She saw the pictures. She thinks that those pictures and what you said to her on the phone are indicative of you still
having feelings for Jason."
"Still? There wasn't ever anything romantic for him. He and I have always only been just friends. I mean, despite--anyway, it's always been just you. Drew knows that. Why would she say that?"
"Even after talking to her, I really don't know--"
"And anyway, why did she call YOU?"
"Just what I said. She claimed she was 'being a friend' and informing me or whatever. Mel, I don't know. I told her to call you next time."
"Is she on drugs or something? What else could it be?"
Taylor could only shake his head. He didn't have any answers, either. He wished he did so he could fix this problem for her, but he was helpless. And just as bewildered at it as she was.
Mel sighed. "Anyway. Enough about that. What do you say we finally nail down a little wedding conversation this morning?"
Tay searched her eyes, trying to figure out what to do now. NOW she wanted to plan. NOW she wanted to talk. She had all this time the past couple of weeks and now--"I'm sorry, I gotta go to the studio today. Maybe we can talk some about it tonight."
Mel looked at him, confused. "The studio? What the hell for?"
"To work out some final plans and kinks. This weekend coming up is Back To The Island. Did you forget already?"
MEL
Leaving her keys and her purse on the foyer table, Mel ignored the dark, quiet house as she trudged up the
stairs. As far as she was concerned, the day couldn't be over fast enough.
Walking into the bedroom, she spotted Taylor sitting up in bed, shirtless, wearing his glasses and reading a paperback. Normally Mel couldn't resist how sexy he was like this, but tonight was different. He glanced up at her and she looked at him, retreating to the bathroom. There, she took the makeup off her face and undressed, replacing her dinner outfit with a tank top and underwear and then wordlessly put herself to bed.
Once again, Tay didn't say a word as she settled herself in and adjusted her pillow, turning on her side, away from him. She adjusted her pillow and pulled her hair up off her neck and carefully laid it away from her in an
attempt to get comfortable. After a moment, she still couldn't seem to get comfortable as she fidgeted with her tank top that was beginning to feel constricted around her. Annoyed, she finally took it off and returned to
her regular position feeling a little more free and comfortable, letting the top fall listlessly from her outstretched hand as she stared blankly into the dimness of the side of the room she was facing.
"Drew texted Jason tonight," she finally said in a monotone voice.
Behind her she could hear Tay's glasses clink against his night stand. "How can a person become so shallow?" Mel continued. "I mean, you didn't. You've always just been you. Why is that so difficult?"
Behind her the bed moved and she felt his body heat before she felt him. His arm wrapped around her bare breasts and he kissed her lightly along her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I wish I could fix this
for you."
Despite the way she felt, his touch made her body tingle with anticipation. She knew admitting defeat and giving in to him would completely relax her physically and mentally and between that and her sudden need to be close to him, she became a more than willing participant.
Turning over in his arms, she gave herself to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, her tongue never missing a beat with the rhythm of his. With both of his arms holding her tightly, their bare
chests pressed against the other, both able to feel the beating of their hearts.
She was happy to simply lay there and kiss him, but her body obviously had other plans. Before things heated up, she managed to whisper that she loved him before her hand discovered that his bottom half was as naked as his top half was. He had been waiting for her. For this. The thought turned her on.
She wrapped her hand around him and the groan he released into her mouth was mixed with a whimper of pleasure. She loved the sounds he made during sex. She loved his sounds, his faces, his breathing--she simply loved having sex with him. She sincerely wished that she didn't ever find herself taking these times for granted. She never wanted to take any part of him for granted.
Sex was nothing fancy that night. No acrobatic tricks or kama sutra specialties. That night it was more emotional than physical. Both were in need of the physical and emotional release they could only get from one
another. She held him close as he entered her, her legs wrapped around waist, an incessant need to have every inch of her body against his. Her arms hooked underneath his and her nails grazed up and down his back as he kissed her.
As they neared the end, he lifted his body a little so he could see her face. She always loved when he did this because this way she got the full effect from the rolling of his hips. God, he was so perfect. When he did this, he always managed to hit her in exactly the right spot. He always knew the exact speed and intensity needed to get her off and, sure enough, she bit her lip in anticipation of herself coming. The closer she came, she watched him lick his lips as he watched her and that motion was what finally sent her over the edge, crying out in ecstasy.
Moments later they found themselves under the covers, her head resting on his chest and his arms wrapped around her as his hand played with her hair. "So you wanna talk about it?" Tay asked, picking their conversation up where it left off.
"There isn't much to tell except that I may or may not have made a scene and some cameras kinda came out of nowhere as it happened."
Tay lightly chuckled. "I mean about the text from Drew."
Mel sighed, tightening her arm around Tay's bare torso. "Jason didn't respond to her. He gave me his phone and told me to do whatever I wanted. So I posed as him and I answered her."
"And this obviously didn't go well."
"She wants to sleep with him."
"What?" Tay said in disbelief.
"Yeah. She asked him out for drinks, said she wanted to see him, then proceeded to tell him that she would make it worth his while. That he had no idea what she was capable of. All I can get out of that is she wants to sleep with him."
"I thought she was happily married to Gerard Cline? Was she drunk?"
Mel scoffed. "That's what Jason said. Anyway, so then I called her from his phone and she answered. I called her a whore and told her that Nikki was my matron of honor."
"Shit. What did she say?"
"Don't know. I told her to lose Jason's number and hung up on her."
"I'm assuming this was the scene captured on camera?"
"Yes. The whole world is about to see me at my bat shit crazy best."
"Assuming there was anyone taking video."
"Tay. Come on."
"So her coming on to Jason bothers you?"
"Of course it does. She's married. She's practically broken herself off a piece of every man in my life. I know about your little one night stand with her--"
"For the record, we were broken up then and she wasn't even that good."
"That's not the point. She slept with John, too. I mean, I can't prove it, but I know she did. And now she wants Jason? I mean, shit, she fucking married. How is that not enough for her? Why does she always need what belongs to me?"
"Maybe she's jealous?"
"Of me? Are you kidding? I'm nobody! She's the big time Hollywood celebrity here. If anyone should be jealous of anyone, I should be jealous of her."
"Well, you do have impeccable taste in men, if I do say so myself," Tay said, jokingly.
"Seriously, though. Is it really that cliché? That Hollywood changes you and stuff?"
"Seriously?" Tay sighed. "Yeah, it can. It depends on who you are, how you react to the lifestyle. Truth is, I couldn't begin to tell you what tonight meant. I admit, it does seem pretty shitty that she won't even return a text to you but she seems to jump right on Jason. You sure he isn't talking to her on a regular basis?"
"He's not. He insists he isn't. And I believe him. Besides, would he have given me free reign of his phone if he was?"
"I guess not."
"Did I screw up, Tay? I called her a fucking whore and told her I knew about you and John--it wasn't pretty."
"You do have a way with words sometimes. But I wasn't there. I believe at times you do have a tendency to make a mountain out of a mole hill. But I also believe that at some of those times, your genuine reactions come across exactly as you mean them to--and can sometimes be necessary to get your point across. I can tell you one thing, though, you do have every right to be upset. That much I know is true."
"I'm so tired," Mel said listlessly. "I'm just so...exhausted."
"So sleep. We can talk about this in the morning."
"I'm not sure I want to talk about it anymore."
"Or not. Your choice."
The last thing Mel heard before she drifted to sleep was the clicking of Tay's bedside lamp.
_______________________________________________
TAYLOR
Taylor hesitated before getting out of bed the next morning. Mel slept next to him, closer than normal. She wasn't normally a cuddler when she slept, so he always awoke with a smile on his face when he found her
invading his side of the bed. Pulling on a pair of pants and a t-shirt, Tay headed down the stairs with Fred at his heels. Halfway down he realized that Fred still couldn't hang, so he picked him up and carried him the
rest of the way down.
After filling Fred's bowl, Tay leaned against the kitchen counter. He was too nervous to even touch any kind of media outlet. At Mel's mere mention of cameras, Tay knew what to expect to see in the pictures. And while he knew, without a doubt, that hers and Jason's evening was one hundred percent platonic, he knew the visual would still bother him.
As if the universe was playing a cruel joke on him, his cell phone rang. Rolling his eyes, knowing this was coming sooner or later, he decided to get it over with. Imagine his surprise at the name on the screen. Ever more hesitantly, he answered, "Hello?"
"Hey," Drew answered.
"Uh, hey...Drew...little early there, isn't it? I mean, are you in LA?"
"Yeah," she answered. "Didn't sleep much. How are you?"
"Um, good. I'm good. Thanks for asking. So...what's going on?"
"Look, Tay, you're my friend, right?"
Tay swallowed hard, not knowing how to answer, especially knowing how Mel was feeling at the moment. So he took the easy way out. "Sure. Yeah. Of course."
"Good." Tay heard relief in Drew's voice. "Um, so, as your friend, I thought I'd try to catch you early this morning--are you in Tulsa?"
"Yeah..."
"Oh. Okay. Well I wasn't sure if you knew if Mel was out with Jason last night."
Tay was beginning to understand what Mel may have been referring to the previous night. Drew was coming off as suspiciously vindictive. But for what? The hairs on his neck stood on end and he automatically felt
defensive. "Of course I know. I'm the one who invited him for New Year's. I invited you, too. Three times."
Ignoring his last statement, she continued. "Oh, okay. Well she called me from his phone last night and said some really awful things to me. She was extremely accusatory. And judging by the pictures that have surfaced this morning, I just assumed that maybe her random outburst at me may have stemmed from some mixed feelings she may have been reminded of from being alone with Jason."
Tay's blood boiled and his heart pounded. He knew Drew was being facetious and he had no idea why. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel instantly bothered by whatever pictures she was referring to. He didn't want to look, but he knew that eventually his curiosity would get the better of him. But for now, he didn't feel like giving Drew the satisfaction of revealing his apprehensions. What he was dying to know, was what was she trying to accomplish?
"Drew--what are you getting at?"
"I just wanted you to be aware. I think she might be harboring some leftover feelings for him. I mean, like I said, she was extremely defensive of him last night. Almost possessive, even. I, personally, found it odd that she would be THAT possessive over a man she isn't even marrying. You know?"
He was getting increasingly more upset with every word that came out of her mouth. What he WANTED to do was call her out on being an already married woman, openly hitting on her best friend's friends. But instead, he fought hard to keep calm. "I think you're mistaken. I don't believe any of it had anything to do with Jason at all. She hasn't heard from you in months, and not for lack of trying, and then you suddenly decided to try to
seduce her best friend, or whatever it was your were doing last night. Out of the blue. And now you're calling ME. I don't know what's going on with you, or what your reasoning for randomly trying to make her life miserable all of a sudden is--"
"She wasn't even supposed to see those texts," Drew interrupted, poorly attempting defense.
Tay continued, not missing a beat. "--but my suggestion to you is you call HER phone and work things out instead of going behind her back. Forgive me for saying this, but all this just seems really shallow of you."
"Shallow? I thought you were my friend?"
"I wasn't there last night. But no matter what happens, in any situation, I'm going to side with my fiancée. I think it's time we end this conversation. Next time, you can call Mel. Good luck with whatever you have going on."
Hanging up the phone, Tay leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. Barely a minute later, the fun only continued. His phone rang again, this time the band's publicist was on the other end. "Yeah," Tay said, already exasperated.
Cindy's voice was matter-of-fact on the other end. "Sometimes I think the sole purpose of your union with Mel was to make sure I'm earning my keep around here."
"Yes, Cindy. My love life is based solely on your salary. How many more ways are you going to stress me out this morning?"
"Oh, so you already know?"
"I knew last night after it happened."
"Funny..." Cindy said in thought. "It doesn't show anywhere where you were present..."
"I wasn't. Mel came home and told me. We talk. It's what people in a committed relationship do."
"Funny, Tay. You sure are quick on your wit for this early in the morning."
"I had the opening act before you called."
"Oh, so I'm not the first? How disappointing."
"No, Drew called."
"Andrew Brooks? Well damn, you just interrupted my salivating over Jason Kamealoha's picture. Thanks a lot."
Tay rolled his eyes. "Get to the point."
"The plus side is that the video explains the actions in the pictures. And the zoomed in pictures in the windows of the restaurant show complete innocence. Just two people having dinner."
"Of course it did, that's all it was."
"The UNFORTUNATE part is that all you hear is her end of the conversation outside on the phone. With her foul mouth in full fruition and no clue as to who might be on the other end. It's IMPLIED, but there isn't truth. Your
name came up. But she mostly appears upset that this person attempted to contact Jason. Which, taken out of context, you know how that looks."
Tay sighed, resting both his elbows on the counter, his head hanging. "But, Cindy, I know the truth. Why can't that just be enough?"
"Because the paparazzi is ruthless and they'll do anything for a paycheck. Much like dirty hookers. They're one in the same, you know."
"How much did the video capture? The whole thing?"
"The whole thing."
"Does it really look that bad?"
"As much as I hate to say this, and as much as I know you guys value your privacy, it wouldn't hurt to leak a picture from your New Year's party, or a video, or--really anything that could POSSIBLY put this back into context as much as you can. Because as it stands, while the whole thing really does look innocent, how it's perceived is completely different and even though the person on the other end of the phone is the protagonist, it kind of shows Mel in the negative light and you as the victim. 'Jason Kamealoha Gets The Girl Back.' That's one of the headlines, Tay. No joke."
Taylor was exhausted and he'd barely been awake for an hour. "Look, Cindy--you and I both know how Mel is and how her mouth can get the best of her sometimes. Sometimes she causes a scene. She's passionate and she gets carried away. It's one of the things I love about her. But, honestly, I can't get all up in arms every time something like this happens. And this won't be the last time, trust me. I haven't seen the pictures or the video yet and I really don't think I need to. So I guess what I need you to do is just issue a statement. Make it
simple. The paparazzi was stalking Jason and caught Mel in a private conversation. They're friends and he was visiting for the night. You can say he was at our house the night before, whatever, I don't care. Maybe you can even get with his reps to see if THEY have done any damage control. Maybe we don't even need to respond."
"Way ahead of you. His end has already been taken care of. I think it's better if we respond as well. You know, cover all the bases."
"Do what you want. Just don't make it any worse."
"You got it, chief. And by the way, Happy New Year."
"Tell me about it," he said sarcastically before hanging up the phone.
All Taylor wanted to do was bury himself underneath the covers upstairs and then wake up and start this day all over again. Instead he chose to boot up his laptop right there on the kitchen island and finally get this over
with. As he stared at his computer, the seconds that went by felt like an eternity. When he was finally ready to get down to business, he was startled by Mel's voice in the doorway. "I know what you're doing," she said flatly.
He looked up at her, eyes wide. "What?"
"I know what you're doing," she repeated. She walked over to the sliding glass door and scooped up a full-bellied Fred off the floor and carried him to the island where Tay stood. "You're looking for stuff from last night. You're trying to get it out of the way so you can carry on like everything's normal again. Except the problem is, you're not the one potentially losing a friend out of this. I am. So shouldn't it be me that should be more concerned with what's in those pictures than you are? Since I'm the one who's in them? And maybe Jason, too? I mean, what do you have to stress over? Your name on a headline? You're not even in the
pictures."
Tay was speechless. She never ceased to make him feel like a narcissistic asshole sometimes. Well, maybe narcissistic asshole was a little harsh to say. But he hadn't thought about it from her point of view. Between the phone call from Drew and the one from Cindy, Tay had only been focused on himself. How HE felt, how HIS name was affected, whether or not HIS band had to worry about any extra backlash.
"Backlash." The word stuck out like a sore thumb, especially since he heard it in Isaac's voice from the previous afternoon. He had been right. And Tay was SO prepared for the backlash that when it finally came it felt like brand new again. But Mel was right, too. So his name may or may not appear in a headline. But Mel was the one whose personal phone conversation had been overheard and recorded for the world to hear. SOMEONE was going to be implicated in whatever came out of Mel's mouth for all eternity--or at least until it was forgotten about a month later.
Before he could respond, Mel had gently shoved him out of the way and deposited Fred onto the island beside Tay's laptop. She then clicked on the internet and began a search. "We might as well look at them together,"
she said, looking up at him. "I haven't seen them either."
For some reason, this comforted Tay. This was new. He was just so used to reading or discovering the articles alone that the thought of exploring them together never crossed his mind. Then he shook his head. "We're gonna have roast cat for breakfast if he doesn't stop biting on that cord."
Mel scowled and took a moment to distract the kitten before returning to her search. "Did you not have this thing charged up already?" she muttered.
"Didn't think I was gonna have to baby-proof it," he snapped back.
In a matter of seconds, Mel had the article pulled up on Glamarazzi, the biggest and best in tabloid sleaze and paparazzi scum. She wasted no time going onto the website. These creeps seemed to have people crawling from every nook and cranny. Much to Taylor's relief, the pictures weren't bad at all. The pictures of Jason holding Mel's hand made his skin crawl but after watching the video, he knew he had absolutely nothing to worry about. Not that he was worried to begin with. Mostly. Mel was mortified at the video and Tay couldn't help but chuckle at it. He chuckled mostly because his mood had been lifted at the verification of last night's events in print. And had he not already gotten the story the night before, there was no way he would have felt this okay about it otherwise. "My favorite part is Jason trying to get you out of there and you ignoring him while you chew out Drew. Typical Mel."
Mel hid her face in her hands. "Tay I'm a philanthropist of sorts now. My event planning is getting off the ground. And I'm marrying you. My image is important and this isn't good."
Tay smiled, amused. "Well it could be worse. I mean, some of the stuff the guys and I have done on video..."
"There's a difference."
"Not much."
"There is."
Still amused, Tay turned the laptop toward him and started typing. "I gotta send this to Zac. He'll love it."
"No!" Mel said suddenly, grabbing his hands. "You can't. He and Drew are close!"
"So what?"
"So I don't know if he even talks to her. He probably has no clue what she did."
"Speaking of Drew...she called me this morning."
Taking her usual assertive stance of disbelief that consisted of a raised eyebrow and a hand on her hip, Mel spat out, "Excuse me?"
"Mel, she's fucking crazy. She--I felt like I was watching a damn soap opera or something. She saw the pictures. She thinks that those pictures and what you said to her on the phone are indicative of you still
having feelings for Jason."
"Still? There wasn't ever anything romantic for him. He and I have always only been just friends. I mean, despite--anyway, it's always been just you. Drew knows that. Why would she say that?"
"Even after talking to her, I really don't know--"
"And anyway, why did she call YOU?"
"Just what I said. She claimed she was 'being a friend' and informing me or whatever. Mel, I don't know. I told her to call you next time."
"Is she on drugs or something? What else could it be?"
Taylor could only shake his head. He didn't have any answers, either. He wished he did so he could fix this problem for her, but he was helpless. And just as bewildered at it as she was.
Mel sighed. "Anyway. Enough about that. What do you say we finally nail down a little wedding conversation this morning?"
Tay searched her eyes, trying to figure out what to do now. NOW she wanted to plan. NOW she wanted to talk. She had all this time the past couple of weeks and now--"I'm sorry, I gotta go to the studio today. Maybe we can talk some about it tonight."
Mel looked at him, confused. "The studio? What the hell for?"
"To work out some final plans and kinks. This weekend coming up is Back To The Island. Did you forget already?"