*Disclaimer: This is a quick reminder that this story is COMPLETELY fictional and that any and all references and stories within the story should NOT be assumed as fact in any way.*
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Juliet, you're my love I know it's true
Around you I don't know what to do
Can't you see that you're my sun and moon
Juliet, once upon a time is not enough
Don't you see that I'm a man in love
And I can't get enough of you
Through your window breaks the rising sun
By any other name you're still so beautiful
In everything I do, I will love you my whole life
If you'll be my, be my Juliet
Juliet, every single time you get me all messed up
I try to talk it out, but you're so hot to touch
And Juliet, I feel so dangerous
Looking in your eyes is perilous
But I don't care cause I would die for love
Through your window breaks the rising sun
By any other name you're still so beautiful
In everything I do, I will love you my whole life
If you'll be, be my
Juliet, you are a drug and it is quick
And when we kiss I lose my senses
Juliet, you are a fire, I am consumed
Tonight I'm dying in your arms
ZAC
Zac sat on the plane, reflecting on the last few moments at home before he left for the airport. Kate was the picture of the perfect wife and mother. Beautiful, caring, nurturing, loving, supportive--everything a man could want in a woman.
And so completely clueless.
He felt like a bastard sometimes when he lied to Kate. He wasn't lying the same way Taylor lied when he just conveniently left out pertinent information when he told Natalie a story. Zac was a straight up, professional, grade A liar when he had to be. He always had been. And Kate bought every bit of it. This time, for instance, Tay was already in New York and everybody already knew it, so nobody thought twice when Zac decided to hop a plane. Kate had assumed that Tay called him out there for something work-related and Zac didn't try to correct her. He had just decided to let her go with it.
Did it really matter that Tay and Ike actually had no idea he was flying to New York?
Zac wasn't necessarily proud of himself for what he was doing. The sneaking and the lying and the cheating wasn't in his nature. He had always been brutally honest and painfully sincere. But he had never found
himself in a position like the one he was in now. It was one thing to just see Drew again, but it was something completely different when he actually felt their old connection. It was a feeling and a situation that was alien to him and letting it run its course was the only thing he knew to do. He knew that eventually, if he had done nothing about it at all, it would eat him alive and it would drive him to do what he was doing now anyway.
Maybe worse. So the logic he'd decided on was to just get it all out of his system and get it figured out. It if took completely revisiting his past with Drew and bringing it to light in the present to do it, well then--how
else would he know? Right?
As soon as Zac boarded a plane for a trip to see Drew, it was as if he became a completely different person. He almost convinced himself that what he was doing was actually okay because it felt like at home he was one Zac and with Drew he was another. Some people--and most professionals--called that schizophrenia. Zac preferred to call it "perverted logic." Which, in reality, wasn't a much better phrase but it was much less threatening.
Besides the fact that he couldn't quite get over the nagging feeling of unfinished business with Drew, he thought he was beginning to feel somewhat addicted to her. He loved how his hands fit around her waist, he loved how her golden blonde hair smelled--he loved how she felt as if he could break her any second, then the exhilarating realization that she couldn't be broken.
Maybe that was it--Drew couldn't be broken.
Zac thought that he would never see the day, but he was broken the moment Kate had told him she loved him. Maybe the situation with Drew was that she still had yet to be broken and he missed being in that mindset. With her.
Maybe, deep deep down, he was jealous of Drew for not being broken like he was, tied down with a wife and kids. And that maybe when he was with her, he didn't have to be THAT Zac for a small period of time.
Being with Drew was almost like time-traveling.
Several hours later, as he walked up the street toward the Brownstone, he smiled to himself. Not only did Ike or Tay not have a clue he was in town, but neither did Drew. He couldn't wait to surprise her. As he
came upon the house, he realized that at any second someone could see him and there wasn't any type of alley way alongside the house that he could duck into that would easily lead him to the back. Instead, he
had to backtrack around the block to the backs of the building and rely on his trusty counting skills to get him to the right one.
He prayed to himself as he climbed the fire escape, remembering in one of their phone conversations that Drew had told him that her bedroom was the only bedroom in the house to have a fire escape. He was thankful for that, as breaking into the wrong room would have been extremely embarrassing. He was also thankful for the fact that instead of a suitcase, he had opted to throw a few things in a carry-on in the form of a back pack which now left him hands-free to engage in his next activity once he had finally reached Drew's
balcony.
First, he took a nervous look around. Doing this in broad daylight in the middle of the city wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. However, he knew Drew wasn't home and he wasn't sure if Tay and Mel were there or not, so he had to try to be extra quiet and not draw attention to himself. He pulled his lock-picking kit from the side pocket of his back pack. Sadly, he had owned this kit for several years as he was notorious for either
forgetting his keys or locking his keys inside the studio and had to jimmy the locks to get into 3CG on a nearly regular basis.
This lock was considerably smaller than the ones at the studio because this one was a simple sliding glass door. It took him less than a minute and half the tools he normally used to pick the lock and he was in. He
made a mental note to say something to Drew about her lack of security when it came to this door.
Swiftly, he stepped inside the sliding glass door and gently closed it behind him. As he turned back from the door, his backpack brushed against her vanity and knocked a picture frame off onto the floor. It crashed onto
the hard wood floor and he was scared he may have broken the glass. As he sped to get it, he didn't realize that not only was his shoelace untied, but that he'd closed the lace up in the sliding glass door and he tripped,
sailing face first into the floor. Thankfully, he was able to catch himself before he broke his nose into a million pieces but, in the process, he bumped into the vanity a second time, knocking over several perfume bottles which, in turn, created the loudest, clattering noise he had ever heard, at least in that moment. Damned if he had made more noise trying to sneak in than he had actually climbing the fire escape and picking the lock!
Zac lay on his stomach for a few seconds, surveying his surroundings and wallowing in self-pity and embarrassment. He was only grateful that nobody had been around to witness this pathetic sight.
He only freaked out when someone suddenly kicked in Drew's bedroom door.
________________________________________________
MEL
Excluding recent events, Mel had enjoyed this time with Taylor. She felt bad that he only seemed to be around her whenever she had some type of drama going on. That had to be stressful for him. She didn't want him to take pity on her and she was afraid that that's what may have been happening. Should she press the issue or leave it alone?
Thinking about it and considering that he had shown really no signs of leaving Natalie and how her own head felt like it would explode if any more junk was packed in than there was now, she opted to leave it alone. She figured if he took pity on her then he wouldn't have been currently shoving his laptop in her face, urging her to review a business proposal from a manufacturing company wanting to work with the band to produce some of their merchandise.
Mel looked at him with a pleading expression. "Tay, we haven't even signed the contracts yet. I have absolutely no authority over any of this."
"When did I ever care about that? Come on, Mel, just look at it. See if you can understand what they're saying."
Mel sighed and sat his laptop in her lap. She skimmed the email quickly and handed back to Tay. She pointed out the numbers in the email to him as she spoke. "They propose this many units manufactured in this
amount of time at this cost for this percentage of profit. How long have you been doing this?"
Tay rolled his eyes and sighed. "Ike usually does this."
"So why are YOU doing it?"
"Well--I'm trying to take on a little more responsibility so that he and Zac can have a little more time at home. Sometimes I feel bad because I don't have kids so I kind of have a little more freedom to be a workaholic than they do. But hell, I don't usually get into this stuff like that. Ike usually just says, 'Hey, we got a good deal with this manufacturer to produce this item, they're gonna get started on it next month.' I just go along with it and I never even have to see this stuff."
"Well what do you and Zac do?"
"I usually handle promotions and marketing and Zac deals with scheduling."
"Why don't you have people to do that for you?"
"We do, but there are some things we just kinda prefer to keep on top of ourselves."
Mel nodded, understanding.
"So what do you think?" Tay asked.
"About what?"
Tay rubbed his face and ran his hand through his hair, obviously exasperated. "About that proposal!"
Mel sighed. "I don't know, it doesn't look bad. What are those numbers compared to the numbers of the manufacturers you've been using? Are these new people bigger than them? Do you think you could save money with these people and get more merch mass produced or do you think it would be the same or a waste?"
Tay's face went completely blank. "What?"
Mel knew her expression could only read disbelief. "How do you survive sometimes?"
"I told you--"
She shook her head. "Just let Ike deal with it when he gets here. It's good that you're trying to help and stuff, but I can't help you if I don't have more information to work from. And since you don't have it, either, it'll just have to wait."
Tay sighed and closed his laptop.
Mel had just opened her mouth to speak again when she heard the crash of an object hitting the floor from down the hall. She and Tay looked at each other. Simultaneously they both turned their heads to look over
the back of the sofa and down the hallway. Mel looked over at Tay again. "Drew's not home," she whispered.
"I know," he whispered back.
Suddenly they heard a thud and a louder crash and Mel was on her feet at lightning speed. She reached into the drawer of the end table next to her and retrieved her pistol, checked the chamber to make sure it was
loaded, clicked off the safety, and held it in both hands.
Tay stood up next to her. "Mel, is this necessary?"
"Nobody's supposed to be here but us. What if it's John? What if he didn't mean a thing he said yesterday and he meant to kill me but didn't expect witnesses?!" she hissed.
Tay was silent.
"Stay behind me," she instructed. She then, silently and swiftly, kept her back along the wall as she made her way down the hallway. The doors to both her bedroom and the guest room that Tay used were open and both rooms were empty. Same went for the bathroom. The only closed door was Drew's.
As the pair crept up to the door, they stopped to listen. Silence. It was apparent that the intruder, if there was one, had to have been aware of the alarming sound they had made. Mel slowly reached for the door knob with her right hand, pistol poised for action in her left. As soon as she touched the knob, they heard another faint rustling. Mel decided she needed both of her hands for this.
"Stand back," she mouthed to Tay.
Tay narrowed his eyes and gave her a defiant expression.
She raised her eyebrows and nodded to the side. Shaking his head, he humored her.
Using all her body weight, Mel kicked open the door and stormed in the room, the pistol tight between her palms, ready to pull the trigger. Tay followed close behind her.
Mel lowered the pistol, puzzled, as they watched Zac scramble to stand then fall again. Defeated, he laid himself flat on the floor. "Mel, it's me! Don't shoot!" His muffled voice found its way from underneath
his face.
"What in the hell--goddammit, Zac, get the hell off the floor," Mel commanded. "I could have shot you!"
"Zac!" Tay said in disbelief. "What in the fuck are you doing here?"
Zac scowled at both of them as he worked his way to a seated position so he could release the shoe lace that he had obviously closed into the door, causing him to fall. That had been the noise they had heard. "Breaking and entering," he responded, sarcastic and annoyed, as he tied his shoe. "Falling on my face, trying to get myself shot. Thought it was a great day to risk my life."
Zac stood up and brushed himself off and started to straighten up the mess he made on Drew's vanity. He looked back over at Mel as he sat the perfume bottles back in their upright positions. "Mel, put that damn
thing away. You are so damn crazy sometimes, I don't see how Tay can keep up with it."
"You better watch your mouth," Mel warned, wielding her pistol as a reminder. "I'm the one carrying."
Zac simply rolled his eyes.
"Why didn't you come with Ike?" Tay asked him.
Zac gave Tay a look as if he thought he was just as crazy as Mel. "Why the hell would I come here with Ike?"
"Uh, because he and Nikki are gonna be here soon."
"What for?"
Tay narrowed his eyes at him. "Did Ike not call you?"
"What the--NO, Ike did not call me..." Zac fished his pockets for his cell phone and looked at it. "Nope, no call--wait--damn, looks like he did. Wonder why my phone didn't ring..."
Mel and Tay were both very confused. "So then why are you here?"
Zac's eyes widened and he motioned with his arms to the sliding glass door and then around the room. "Why do you think?"
"You do know Drew's not home..." Mel said.
"Would I have tried to sneak in if I didn't? I was gonna surprise her, but you two and your paranoid shit completely ruined it. Thanks. And why is Ike coming out here?"
Tay hesitated to say anything but Mel came right out with it. "We learned yesterday that my dead husband is, in fact, very much alive and he showed up on my door step."
Zac's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "No way..."
"Way," Taylor said. "I called Ike last night to tell him I was staying another night and he offered to fly out."
"Wow, I had no idea..." Zac said.
"Yeah, so how 'bout we take this conversation OUT of Drew's bedroom," Mel suggested suddenly.
________________________________________________
ISAAC
Isaac and his wife climbed the steps to Mel's front door. "I feel so awful for her," Nikki was saying. "I mean that's gotta be, like--I can't even imagine!."
"I know," Ike agreed. "Poor girl. It's just like one thing right after another with her. It's a wonder how she gets through it all."
Nikki stopped him when they were almost to the top and kissed him. "I just want to tell you how grateful I am to have you as a husband and that I love you."
Ike smiled back at his wife. "I love you more."
Nikki grinned and rang the doorbell.
They were greeted by Taylor. They both must have looked confused because Tay then said, "Uh, Mel's kinda nervous when it comes to answering the door, it seems."
Oh," Nikki nodded in understanding.
Ike grinned, mockingly. "Well you're looking awfully at home."
"Can it, Ike," Tay said. "It isn't like that."
"Sure, sure."
Tay let them in the door and Nikki looked around in awe. Ike loved to watch her face when something fascinated her. He thought it was painfully adorable. This was part of the reason he wanted to bring her along. He knew she loved New York and he could never pass up a chance to see her happy.
Mel met them in the living room and hugged Ike and then Nikki. "I am so shocked at what happened," Nikki said to her, genuine concern in her voice. "Are you okay?"
Mel smiled, "I'm still a bit in shock, but I'll be fine. Thank you."
Nikki hooked her arm in Mel's and led her away. "Okay, so start from the beginning," Nikki was saying to her before Ike's attention focused on Zac who had just walked in the room, sandwich in hand.
"When did YOU get here?" Ike asked Zac. He hadn't been able to get ahold of him the previous night. Well, maybe Tay or Drew had contacted him.
Zac looked like a deer in headlights. "Uh...same thing you're doing here?" he responded, his mouth full of food.
"Well...as long as you're here, I guess..." Ike couldn't shake the feeling of suspicion he was getting but he thought it better to ignore it. Then he turned his attention back to Tay. "So what the hell happened?" he asked him.
By this time, Zac had joined the two of them and Tay rehashed the events from the day before. "That's the craziest damn thing I've ever heard," Zac said.
"That's what I said last night," Ike responded.
"You see why I couldn't leave?" Tay said. "What kind of horrible person would I have been if I'd have just left them here after something like that?"
"It was good of you to stay," Zac said. "But I gotta tell you, Natalie is awfully suspicious of you."
Tay shot Zac a look. "How would you know?"
"How else? Kate."
"You know, you're the last one who needs to be saying any of that to me. After all, YOU'RE the one who got the gun pulled on you, sneaking into Drew's room."
Ike looked over at Zac. "WHAT?" he hissed, incredulously. The three of them began to lower their voices even though they knew Mel and Nikki weren't paying attention to them at the moment.
"Mel is nervous as shit right now," Tay said. "Every little thing makes her jump. He fell and knocked some things over when he was sneaking in and we heard it. Of course Mel's first response was to grab her gun and investigate. The scene we found was actually quite hilarious."
"Shut up," Zac said.
Tay started to laugh and imitated Zac. "Face first on the floor, arms splayed out flat. 'Mel, don't shoot!' It was classic."
Ike laughed loudly at the visual that was forming in his head. If there was one thing he knew he would forever be able to count on his younger brothers for, it was a good laugh. "And now here you are, walking around
and stuffing your face like nothing happened. I'll tell you, if it were me, I'd have probably shit my pants."
Zac raised an eyebrow, annoyed. "I was close."
Their conversation was interrupted when Nikki's voice rang through the room. "Hey, honey, Mel says this house is for sale. Let's buy it!"
Ike shook his head and smiled. "What are we gonna do with a house here?"
Nikki just shrugged coyly.
Ike's answer was the shaking of his head.
"It was worth a shot," she said to Mel.
_______________________________________________
DREW
Ireland.
Drew's head spun. In two months she would be filming a movie in Ireland. She thought she was simply going to Paul's office to go over paperwork but she got a lot more information than she thought she would be
getting. Besides getting shipped off to Ireland for two months, she had been instructed not to touch her hair. She was not to cut it, dye it, or have any professional work done to it. As of right now, the designers
wanted her hair long and they had planned on bleaching it platinum blonde for filming. Her hair was already a golden blonde now. She couldn't imagine it being almost white. But that was just for now. For all she knew, by the time she got there they could completely change their minds and shave her bald! She was informed that the role required her to spend time in the water, which she knew from the script. Thankfully she was a good swimmer and wasn't afraid.
She learned that even though she didn't film for another two months, she did have to arrive a month early for readings, rehearsal, and costume fittings. A month to prepare to leave didn't seem like near enough time!
And poor Jason. She shook her head to herself at the thought. He wasn't at the meeting, obviously, because they didn't share an agent. But she knew him and she knew what he looked like and she knew what his
character required and he was going to have to go through some intense, heavy training for the next month or so. It was times like this when she was grateful that her only gripe was that she couldn't touch her hair.
She walked in the door of the Brownstone to a full house. She knew this was happening today but with the way her life was spinning in her brain at the moment, she found it difficult to process. It was only when Zac
rounded the corner when everything clicked for her and she squealed in excitement. "Oh my god, Zac!!" She ran and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug.
He laughed and hugged her back. "Hey, how are you?"
"Better now!" She pulled away and looked over Zac's shoulder at their attentive audience. "Um," she looked around, sheepishly. "Sorry." She turned her attention back to Zac, making an effort to keep a safe distance. "So when did you get here?"
"I came as soon as I heard," he said.
"Fuck you, you liar!" Mel's voice rang out. "Tell the truth!!"
Zac blushed at Drew. "Okay, fine. I actually didn't know, it was a coincidence. I tried to sneak in your room to surprise you when you got home and I got busted by Mel and her gun."
Drew smiled in amusement. Then she thought about what he said. "You got through my sliding glass door?"
"Yeah," he answered. "You probably need to better secure that thing, seriously."
Drew walked over and greeted Ike and Nikki. She felt an old, familiar warm feeling beginning to build up inside her and she wasn't in a hurry for that feeling to go away. She was glad they were all together like this, she had missed it. And it was exactly what both she and Mel needed right now. "It's a shame you have to go home tonight," Drew said to Tay.
Ike looked surprised. "Oh, you're not staying?"
"No..." Tay's voice trailed off.
"Well I just assumed that since we came out here that you'd--"
"I know. But I've already been gone for three days now..."
Drew watched as Mel silently excused herself. She felt bad for her. She knew she didn't want to hear anything that Tay might have to say about Natalie or his relationship with her. She couldn't blame her.
"Well I think it would be kind of silly for you to hop a plane so late in the day now," Nikki contributed. "I mean, we're all here. There's no reason why you just can't stay. If it helps, I'll bunk with Mel and you can bunk with Ike or something."
Tay smiled at Nikki appreciatively and Drew just fell in absolute love with her. Bless that woman for trying to innocently remedy an already dangerous situation.
"Well," Tay said. "I appreciate it, but like Zac said, Natalie is probably wondering what's going on, so. I think it would be better if I just went ahead and went home."
"Tell her it's business," Nikki said.
The room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ike, Tay, Zac, and Drew all looked at Nikki in complete and utter shock, nobody believing that of all people to suggest that Tay lie to his wife, it would be her.
Ike looked over at his wife. "Are you serious?"
She shrugged. "He can go home with us tomorrow. I mean, come on. It's already four o'clock and he probably won't get a flight for another few hours anyway. What's he going to do, rush home to climb in the
bed at 2 or 3 in the morning when she's already asleep? Think about it. And I think we ALL know that if he calls her and tells her he's staying yet a third night because of something Mel-related, we will ALL feel her
wrath because she'll never understand. Even if he sat here all weekend in a straight jacket she would be suspicious. I mean you and Zac are both here. Sing a song or answer an email or something, call it business,
and tell her he's gotta stay."
If Ike's eyes could have gotten any wider they would have popped right out of his head. Drew was ready to hug her neck. Mel had been right about her. "Nikki," he finally said in disbelief. "Where did you learn to lie like that?"
She shrugged. "I always could. You just never gave me a reason to."
Zac smiled at Nikki and nodded. "I think we just saw someone's true feelings here tonight."
Nikki cut eyes at him. "Oh, don't think you're off the hook."
Zac shut his mouth and Drew glanced at the floor.
Zac then said to Tay, "Come on, Tay. How often do we all get to get together like this?"
Taylor gave him a Look.
Zac sighed. "No, like THIS. Just chilling out at home. Shooting the shit, doing whatever. Like old times."
Drew could see the wheels turning in Tay's head as she was acutely aware of the series of noises Mel was making in the kitchen. She smiled as she recognized those sounds. "Sounds like Mel has already started playing bartender."
__________________________________________
MEL
Mel knew where that conversation was headed and she chose not to be a part of it. Too much was going on right now, she didn't need to hear how Taylor felt it was best to go home to his wife because he'd been gone too long. After all, Natalie WAS his wife. She came before Mel. Any decision Tay was to make was to revolve around Natalie first, way before it revolved around her.
Mel had just put the cap on the blender to mix a frozen cocktail when Tay came up behind her, resting his hands on the counter on either side of her. "So it looks like I'm staying again tonight," he said in her ear.
"Oh, so you were able to get permission?"
Tay sighed and backed up and leaned up against the counter next to her. "Come on, Mel, don't be that way. Both of us have other people we have issues with and I think it's just better if we leave the subject alone."
Mel looked over at him and raised her eyebrows in response.
"I don't want to fight with you," he continued. "I just want to spend time with you."
"But only after you got permission."
Tay rubbed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. "You know what? I'm just gonna leave you to this and let you do your thing, okay? It's obvious you need a moment, so. I'll be in the other room."
As he started to leave the kitchen, Mel turned around. "Tay, wait."
He turned and faced her.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't want to fight you, either. But it's just so hard. And it's so weird because I feel like SHE is the other woman and that's not true. I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around everything. At first it was easy to stay away, but now--" Mel shook her head.
Tay walked back in and took his place back next to her. "How do you think I feel when Jason comes up? When you talk about him or when he texts you and you call him--it drives me insane and it scares the hell out of
me."
"But he and I aren't even in a relationship."
"Not now. But I could lose you to him and I know it. I'm aware of it Mel. But I've been with Natalie for ten years now. It's like when the man in the iron mask finally took the mask off. He didn't know what do with himself. When you spend that long with someone, the thought of ending it all is going to make you hesitate."
Mel looked at the floor. "I know," she said quietly.
Tay laughed lightly. "I guess I'm seeing now how I made you feel in the beginning."
"You think I'm pressuring you?"
Tay was silent for a moment. "It's not just you. I have people coming at me left and right making their comments. But, Mel, I love the fact that you're on board with me. I'm reeling at the fact that you and I might still have a shot. I mean, I'm practically walking on air. But I need you to be patient with me. Okay? That's all I'm asking for."
"Did I actually come out and say we still had a shot?"
Tay flashed her a look that said he knew better.
Mel smiled nervously. "Okay."
And with that, she hit the button on the blender and went back to work making drinks.
______________________________________________________
DREW
After dinner was consumed and night had fallen, the six of them sat around a large poker table that Mel had pulled out of a spare room and hadn't been used in years. It had belonged to John from when he held poker night twice a month in their home. She had always meant to get rid of it after his now alleged death and was now grateful to finally have a purpose for it.
Drew was so relaxed. Music played in the background, they played cards, they drank--Mel even allowed Ike to puff on a cigar inside the house. She didn't care, she was selling it anyway.
An hour or so earlier, after dinner was finished, Zac and Taylor had gone out and all but robbed a candy store. Drew was literally shocked that they were able to carry it all back!
"Holy shit!" Drew exclaimed as the two men carried four full shopping bags apiece.
"Well, I think that should do it!" Zac said, plopping his bags on the floor at his feet.
"Are you expecting trick-or-treaters?" she asked, incredulously.
Zac shook the hair out of his face and smiled at her seductively.
"That depends. Are you going to treat me?"
Drew rolled her eyes. "You better hide all of that, Mel will eat up our winnings before we even bet any of it!"
"Ike, too," Zac said.
And now the six of them sat around the poker table, each with their own large candy bowl, ready to place their bets.
Drew had already scolded Mel once from across the table for sneaking her hand into the pot. She knew it wouldn't have taken long. And now Tay had caught her. He smacked at her hand lightly, causing her to drop her ill-gotten prize. "Hey, steal your own!"
"I don't have any more," she said, sheepishly.
Tay took her bowl from her and rifled through the candy. "Are you serious?" He laughed. "You can't eat the bets!"
"Well, I did. You should share with me."
Tay placed his bowl out of Mel's reach. "Hell no. You snooze, you lose."
"I'll remember that," Mel pouted.
Zac laughed at them. "Keep an eye on her Tay. She'll cheat faster than you can blink, remember?"
"Excuse me!" Mel protested to Zac. "But YOU'RE the one who used to lie about the colors on your Candy Land cards. So shut it!"
Drew watched the exchange and smiled to herself. Little did anyone know, SHE was the one cheating. She could see every card in both Zac's and Tay's hands and nobody was any the wiser. It wasn't her fault they didn't hide their cards sufficiently. She had developed a system. She couldn't necessarily control Tay, but any time she saw Zac make a move she didn't like, she would do something to distract him. She would run her foot up his leg, or place her hand on his thigh. Sometimes it was simple compliments such as "I really like that shirt on you" or "I just love your hair." He was putty any time she paid him exclusive attention and it almost always worked in her favor.
As if on cue, everyone had folded that round and Drew had won the pot. As she raked her candy in and Tay was elected to deal, Drew asked Nikki and Ike, "So, how did you guys meet?"
She thought she heard Zac grumble under his breath but she chose to pay no attention. She was distracted by the warmth she felt when Ike's and Nikki's faces lit up at her question. The couple looked at each other and
Ike said, "I'll tell it."
"NO!" Tay and Zac suddenly shouted in unison.
Drew looked at Tay and Zac, bewildered.
"Seriously, he can talk about this for HOURS," Zac said.
NIkki smiled at her husband and patted his arm. "It's okay, sweetie, I'll tell it." She turned her attention to Drew, looking between her and Mel as she spoke. "It was at one of their shows. I wasn't really a fan but my friend was and I tagged along with her. I liked a couple of songs and all, but not enough to be too familiar. So I was about five rows back, if you could call them rows, and Ike kept looking my way." She paused and smiled at Ike, who listened to her tell their story with stars in his eyes. "At first I didn't think anything of it because I was standing on his side of the stage. But then his looking started to feel kind of excessive and I didn't really know what to do with myself so I just smiled at him. And then he smiled back at me and that's when I knew. So anyway, after the show, we were all leaving and I was for sure about to go buy up every album there was when all of a sudden this huge guy comes up to me. And I was freaking out because I thought he was about to throw me out. Instead, he brought me backstage to meet Ike and the rest is history."
When Nikki finished her story, Drew noticed that both she and Mel had been a little more into the story than either one expected to be. "That is the most romantic thing I've ever heard," Mel said, dreamily.
Suddenly Mel jumped and Tay furrowed his brow at her. He had obviously kicked her foot under the table. "What?" she said, annoyed. "It is."
Drew took the moment to tease Tay. "Awww...are you jealous?"
Tay gave her an annoyed expression, shook his head rapidly and went back to shuffling cards. It was obvious he wasn't aware that anyone had witnessed the exchange.
Three more rounds saw Drew win her third pot and Mel and Nikki each win one apiece. At the end of another, where Nikki won her second pot, Ike threw down his hand in protest. "Damn! We're getting our asses kicked by these women!"
"Not this time," Zac said as the cards were being dealt once again. Zac had a horrible poker face and Drew devised a plan to peek at his hand. He wasn't kidding. It was highly unlikely that anyone had a better hand
than him.
She knew that what she was about to do was despicable but she couldn't help it. There was something about that rush of getting by with something she shouldn't be doing--besides the fact that she had a poker face so good nobody knew she had cheated her way through the night. Earlier she had snuck a card in her lap when nobody had been paying attention. She hadn't expected to have to use it but since Zac was about to beat her hand, she found it necessary to figure out exactly what to do with it, and fast.
Thankfully it ended up being easier than she'd hoped. When Zac had placed his bet of 3 Reese's cups, five Blow Pops, and a full size Snickers bar, everyone knew it had gotten serious. He had bet big money against the pot full of Smarties, Sweet Tarts, and other assorted hard candies. Right before his turn came up, she crept her hand up his thigh and leaned over as if she were going to whisper in his ear. He realized what was going on and scrambled to hide his cards, trying desperately to hold on to what little bit of dignity he had left. In the process he dropped one on the floor. As soon as she'd seen it drop, she tossed her own on the floor, switching them out when she helped him "look" for it, swiftly hiding his original before he saw a second card.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry," Drew said, putting her acting skills to work. "I'll behave, I promise."
Zac smiled at her. "Well, you know, that's not totally necessary." He put his hand back together, still smiling, preparing to wipe out the table when a puzzled look crossed his face.
Drew's pulse raced. Shit! She had hoped he wouldn't notice. She hadn't necessarily wanted him to make an ass of himself, she just wanted to have a little fun with him. Keeping her composure, she asked, "Uh, are you okay?"
"Um...I don't know..." he responded in contemplation. He looked at his hand hard, then up in the air in thought, then back at his card. "Uh...that's--" he stopped to quickly look around the floor around his
chair. "That's not my card..."
"Come on, Zac!" Ike ragged him. "Don't be a sore loser now! Show your hand!"
"I'm serious!" he argued. "That's not my card, I swear. Uh, I dropped my card, picked it up..." He slowly looked over at Drew, his eyes widening in realization.
Shit. It was over.
"You're cheating!" He accused Drew.
She looked at him innocently. "Me? Why would you think I was cheating?"
"Because I came off the floor with a different card and you're the one who handed it to me!"
She looked at him in mock anger. "I'm offended that you're accusing me of cheating! I didn't even look at the card when I handed it to you!"
"No," Zac argued. "You ARE cheating. You've been holding an extra card. You have my card! Give it to me!"
That was it. The jig was up. Drew couldn't hold it in any longer. An uncontrollable smile crept across her face and she shook her head. "I do not have your card."
Zac started to laugh. "Yes you do, give it here. Don't make me look for it."
Drew raised her eyebrows flirtatiously. "Maybe you SHOULD look for it."
The whole table turned their heads at Nikki as she threw her head back and let out a loud cackle of laughter. It was obvious the alcohol was getting to her and her laugh was infectious. "Zac, that sounds like a challenge!" she said.
"Well...mine's a warning. I'll find that card. I won this fucking round!"
He looked at Drew and Drew looked at him. She smiled invitingly at him. Suddenly, as he came closer to her, she bolted from her chair and raced around the table, giggling. She hadn't gotten far when he grabbed
her around her waist from behind and plucked the card out of her pocket.
Walking back toward the table, holding his card up like a trophy, everyone was laughing. "This is it!" he announced. He tossed the fake card aside and added his original to his hand. "Read them and weep!"
It was true. Everyone folded and Zac won the pot.
_____________________________________________
It was late and everyone had decided to adjourn to bed. Sleeping arrangements were assigned but it was unspoken knowledge how they were really going to go. Taylor kept the room he was in and Ike and Nikki
and Zac were shown two more rooms on the second floor.
Everyone had said their goodnights and adjourned to their rooms when Drew decided to take a quick shower. She had dressed and was towel-drying her hair when there was a light knock on her door. Towel in one hand, she opened it with the other.
There was Zac. She was hoping he would come.
"You owe me," he simply said.
"I owe you nothing, you won fair and square. Eventually..."
"Oh, no," he corrected her, letting himself in her room and walking past her. "You do. You cheated the whole time and ended up with a ton of the good candy. I'm demanding my cut."
Drew laughed in disbelief. "Your cut? It's not my fault it took you that long to catch on. My winnings are just that. Mine."
"You smell good."
"Don't change the subject."
Drew took a moment to look Zac over. He looked so sexy it was a wonder she didn't jump him right there. But surprisingly, she found she wasn't really in the mood tonight. Odd. His bed clothes were simple. A white t-shirt and blue plaid flannel pants. His feet were bare. On a normal night his pants would have been around his ankles within two seconds of being in her room. But she guessed that with the past two days' activities, she was too overwhelmed to want to sexually assault him. So she kept her hands to herself.
"I'm not changing the subject," he said. "You really do smell good."
"Well thank you."
"Now where's your stash?"
Drew looked at him in disbelief. "You didn't seriously come down here just for the candy."
He nodded. "I seriously came down here just for the candy."
Drew smiled smugly and took a seat on her bed, reaching across and retrieving her bag of winnings off the floor on the other side. Zac took a seat across from her. They sat Indian-style on her bed, facing each other,
a pile of candy dumped on the bed between them.
"I feel like a ten-year-old on Halloween," Drew said.
Zac smiled. "Isn't it fun?"
She shrugged. "I don't hate it."
Zac unwrapped a piece of candy and popped it in his mouth. "So tell me about your movie."
Drew smiled. "Well, it's actually a sci-fi movie."
Zac smiled back at her. "A sci-fi movie, huh? You?"
"Sort of sci-fi, I guess. I'm not sure how you'd categorize it, really. Sci-fi? Fantasy? Adventure? I think it's all kinda the same..."
"So how did YOU end up in a movie like THAT?"
Drew looked offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He laughed. "I mean, look at you. You are not the type of woman I'd see in a movie like that. I pegged you for some kind of romance movie or something."
"Well that's what I auditioned for. Ended up with this."
"So who do you play, the damsel in distress or something?"
"Why are you being such an asshole?"
He widened his eyes in protest. "I'm not trying to be an asshole! I just...this is just an odd pairing, is all. You hate that kind of stuff."
"Well, I actually think it's kind of cool."
"Why, because you get to cling all over Jason as he swings in on a vine and sweeps you off your feet?"
"NO, jackass, Jason gets to kill me. I'm playing the villain."
Zac opened his mouth to speak and then choked on the candy he was eating. When he'd finally coughed his way through it, he said, "Seriously?"
"I can't believe you're acting so surprised."
"SERIOUSLY?" he said again.
Drew lifted her chin in defiance. "Her name is Magdara. She has stolen a power source from Jason's family. He is hunting her down to get it back. She's, like, the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz with minions and
stuff. Except without the nose and the flying monkeys. There's magic and sorcery and a few sword fights. It actually seems really fun. They're gonna bleach my hair platinum."
Zac smiled and nodded. "Really..."
"Yeah. Here, look." She leaned over and took her script from her end table drawer and handed it to him. "Don't get any chocolate on it."
He scowled at her and began flipping pages. Drew watched him, on edge. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous about him reading or even why she found his approval so important. It didn't really matter what he
thought of it. She was doing the project and it could likely shoot her to the top of superstardom if the movie did well. So, really, why did she care?
Because he was Zac. And whether she liked it or not, no matter what situation they found themselves in, his opinion was always extremely important to her. She wanted him to be proud of her.
He skimmed through her script for a good half hour. Much longer than she expected him to spend on it. She watched as he skimmed a few pages, then stopped to read a whole one, then skim a few, then pause to focus on a paragraph or monologue. When he finally finished, he handed it back to her and smiled. "This is going to be so fucking cool. I can't believe you're going to play this character--she's a badass bitch!"
Drew smiled excitedly, relieved to hear what he thought of it. "I know!! I've never done anything like this before. Based on her description, I MIGHT get to wear some prosthetics! And I've been working on what her voice might be! Wanna hear?"
Zac nodded. "Go for it."
Drew lowered her voice and recited a piece of dialogue that her character says to Jason's character toward the end of the script. She spoke slowly and emphasized the "S's" on her words, as if hissing like a snake. Zac's face told her he was eating it up.
When she finished, she smiled excitedly and returned to her normal voice. "So what do you think?"
Zac placed his hands on the bed in front of him and attempted to come at her in a crawl. "I think you and I should do some role playing of our own."
Drew quickly placed a hand on his chest to stop him. "Um, Zac, I'm sorry. I'm just--not tonight, okay? I've had a pretty hectic couple of days and--I just can't get in the mood. I was kinda hoping you would just BE here. You know?"
Zac took back his original seated position and his expression softened. "Yeah, sure. I'm always here for you."
She smiled, relieved. "Good. Thank you. So are you going to come visit me when I'm filming?"
"You think I'd miss seeing you in action? Not a chance. Where is it, L.A.?"
"Ireland."
Zac's eyes widened for a second. "Ireland, huh? Cool. I always wanted to visit there."
She grinned. "Well now you have an excuse." Her expression then turned serious. "So, I think Mel and I--or just me, I don't know yet--are gonna be in Tulsa soon. I wanted to visit some before I left."
"When do you leave?"
"Next month. Rehearsal for a month, then filming starts and that's scheduled for three months. I'll be gone about four months."
"That's a long time," he said quietly.
"It is. But we'll work through it."
"And then where do you go from there?"
Drew shrugged. "I dunno. Hopefully I'll have another film lined up by then. Hopefully the movie does well and I'll have offers pouring out of the woodworks. And I imagine the press is going to be insane. I'll be doing that at least for a few weeks." Her eyes lit up. "I might be on Leno or Letterman. How cool would that be?"
"So you're about to be extremely busy."
"Not much busier than tour season is for you. I mean, if you don't understand this then there's a problem."
"No, no, I get it. This just kinda feels like a repeat of ten years ago. The first time you told me you wanted to 'follow your dreams.' And then ten years passed and..."
"Well another ten years WILL pass, except this time we won't lose touch. And who knows? In ten years we could BOTH be married. Or, neither one of us could be. Only time will tell."
"That's true," he agreed, picking out another piece of candy and popping it in his mouth. "These things are friggin delicious."
Drew giggled and shook her head at him.
_________________________________________________________
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Juliet, you're my love I know it's true
Around you I don't know what to do
Can't you see that you're my sun and moon
Juliet, once upon a time is not enough
Don't you see that I'm a man in love
And I can't get enough of you
Through your window breaks the rising sun
By any other name you're still so beautiful
In everything I do, I will love you my whole life
If you'll be my, be my Juliet
Juliet, every single time you get me all messed up
I try to talk it out, but you're so hot to touch
And Juliet, I feel so dangerous
Looking in your eyes is perilous
But I don't care cause I would die for love
Through your window breaks the rising sun
By any other name you're still so beautiful
In everything I do, I will love you my whole life
If you'll be, be my
Juliet, you are a drug and it is quick
And when we kiss I lose my senses
Juliet, you are a fire, I am consumed
Tonight I'm dying in your arms
ZAC
Zac sat on the plane, reflecting on the last few moments at home before he left for the airport. Kate was the picture of the perfect wife and mother. Beautiful, caring, nurturing, loving, supportive--everything a man could want in a woman.
And so completely clueless.
He felt like a bastard sometimes when he lied to Kate. He wasn't lying the same way Taylor lied when he just conveniently left out pertinent information when he told Natalie a story. Zac was a straight up, professional, grade A liar when he had to be. He always had been. And Kate bought every bit of it. This time, for instance, Tay was already in New York and everybody already knew it, so nobody thought twice when Zac decided to hop a plane. Kate had assumed that Tay called him out there for something work-related and Zac didn't try to correct her. He had just decided to let her go with it.
Did it really matter that Tay and Ike actually had no idea he was flying to New York?
Zac wasn't necessarily proud of himself for what he was doing. The sneaking and the lying and the cheating wasn't in his nature. He had always been brutally honest and painfully sincere. But he had never found
himself in a position like the one he was in now. It was one thing to just see Drew again, but it was something completely different when he actually felt their old connection. It was a feeling and a situation that was alien to him and letting it run its course was the only thing he knew to do. He knew that eventually, if he had done nothing about it at all, it would eat him alive and it would drive him to do what he was doing now anyway.
Maybe worse. So the logic he'd decided on was to just get it all out of his system and get it figured out. It if took completely revisiting his past with Drew and bringing it to light in the present to do it, well then--how
else would he know? Right?
As soon as Zac boarded a plane for a trip to see Drew, it was as if he became a completely different person. He almost convinced himself that what he was doing was actually okay because it felt like at home he was one Zac and with Drew he was another. Some people--and most professionals--called that schizophrenia. Zac preferred to call it "perverted logic." Which, in reality, wasn't a much better phrase but it was much less threatening.
Besides the fact that he couldn't quite get over the nagging feeling of unfinished business with Drew, he thought he was beginning to feel somewhat addicted to her. He loved how his hands fit around her waist, he loved how her golden blonde hair smelled--he loved how she felt as if he could break her any second, then the exhilarating realization that she couldn't be broken.
Maybe that was it--Drew couldn't be broken.
Zac thought that he would never see the day, but he was broken the moment Kate had told him she loved him. Maybe the situation with Drew was that she still had yet to be broken and he missed being in that mindset. With her.
Maybe, deep deep down, he was jealous of Drew for not being broken like he was, tied down with a wife and kids. And that maybe when he was with her, he didn't have to be THAT Zac for a small period of time.
Being with Drew was almost like time-traveling.
Several hours later, as he walked up the street toward the Brownstone, he smiled to himself. Not only did Ike or Tay not have a clue he was in town, but neither did Drew. He couldn't wait to surprise her. As he
came upon the house, he realized that at any second someone could see him and there wasn't any type of alley way alongside the house that he could duck into that would easily lead him to the back. Instead, he
had to backtrack around the block to the backs of the building and rely on his trusty counting skills to get him to the right one.
He prayed to himself as he climbed the fire escape, remembering in one of their phone conversations that Drew had told him that her bedroom was the only bedroom in the house to have a fire escape. He was thankful for that, as breaking into the wrong room would have been extremely embarrassing. He was also thankful for the fact that instead of a suitcase, he had opted to throw a few things in a carry-on in the form of a back pack which now left him hands-free to engage in his next activity once he had finally reached Drew's
balcony.
First, he took a nervous look around. Doing this in broad daylight in the middle of the city wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. However, he knew Drew wasn't home and he wasn't sure if Tay and Mel were there or not, so he had to try to be extra quiet and not draw attention to himself. He pulled his lock-picking kit from the side pocket of his back pack. Sadly, he had owned this kit for several years as he was notorious for either
forgetting his keys or locking his keys inside the studio and had to jimmy the locks to get into 3CG on a nearly regular basis.
This lock was considerably smaller than the ones at the studio because this one was a simple sliding glass door. It took him less than a minute and half the tools he normally used to pick the lock and he was in. He
made a mental note to say something to Drew about her lack of security when it came to this door.
Swiftly, he stepped inside the sliding glass door and gently closed it behind him. As he turned back from the door, his backpack brushed against her vanity and knocked a picture frame off onto the floor. It crashed onto
the hard wood floor and he was scared he may have broken the glass. As he sped to get it, he didn't realize that not only was his shoelace untied, but that he'd closed the lace up in the sliding glass door and he tripped,
sailing face first into the floor. Thankfully, he was able to catch himself before he broke his nose into a million pieces but, in the process, he bumped into the vanity a second time, knocking over several perfume bottles which, in turn, created the loudest, clattering noise he had ever heard, at least in that moment. Damned if he had made more noise trying to sneak in than he had actually climbing the fire escape and picking the lock!
Zac lay on his stomach for a few seconds, surveying his surroundings and wallowing in self-pity and embarrassment. He was only grateful that nobody had been around to witness this pathetic sight.
He only freaked out when someone suddenly kicked in Drew's bedroom door.
________________________________________________
MEL
Excluding recent events, Mel had enjoyed this time with Taylor. She felt bad that he only seemed to be around her whenever she had some type of drama going on. That had to be stressful for him. She didn't want him to take pity on her and she was afraid that that's what may have been happening. Should she press the issue or leave it alone?
Thinking about it and considering that he had shown really no signs of leaving Natalie and how her own head felt like it would explode if any more junk was packed in than there was now, she opted to leave it alone. She figured if he took pity on her then he wouldn't have been currently shoving his laptop in her face, urging her to review a business proposal from a manufacturing company wanting to work with the band to produce some of their merchandise.
Mel looked at him with a pleading expression. "Tay, we haven't even signed the contracts yet. I have absolutely no authority over any of this."
"When did I ever care about that? Come on, Mel, just look at it. See if you can understand what they're saying."
Mel sighed and sat his laptop in her lap. She skimmed the email quickly and handed back to Tay. She pointed out the numbers in the email to him as she spoke. "They propose this many units manufactured in this
amount of time at this cost for this percentage of profit. How long have you been doing this?"
Tay rolled his eyes and sighed. "Ike usually does this."
"So why are YOU doing it?"
"Well--I'm trying to take on a little more responsibility so that he and Zac can have a little more time at home. Sometimes I feel bad because I don't have kids so I kind of have a little more freedom to be a workaholic than they do. But hell, I don't usually get into this stuff like that. Ike usually just says, 'Hey, we got a good deal with this manufacturer to produce this item, they're gonna get started on it next month.' I just go along with it and I never even have to see this stuff."
"Well what do you and Zac do?"
"I usually handle promotions and marketing and Zac deals with scheduling."
"Why don't you have people to do that for you?"
"We do, but there are some things we just kinda prefer to keep on top of ourselves."
Mel nodded, understanding.
"So what do you think?" Tay asked.
"About what?"
Tay rubbed his face and ran his hand through his hair, obviously exasperated. "About that proposal!"
Mel sighed. "I don't know, it doesn't look bad. What are those numbers compared to the numbers of the manufacturers you've been using? Are these new people bigger than them? Do you think you could save money with these people and get more merch mass produced or do you think it would be the same or a waste?"
Tay's face went completely blank. "What?"
Mel knew her expression could only read disbelief. "How do you survive sometimes?"
"I told you--"
She shook her head. "Just let Ike deal with it when he gets here. It's good that you're trying to help and stuff, but I can't help you if I don't have more information to work from. And since you don't have it, either, it'll just have to wait."
Tay sighed and closed his laptop.
Mel had just opened her mouth to speak again when she heard the crash of an object hitting the floor from down the hall. She and Tay looked at each other. Simultaneously they both turned their heads to look over
the back of the sofa and down the hallway. Mel looked over at Tay again. "Drew's not home," she whispered.
"I know," he whispered back.
Suddenly they heard a thud and a louder crash and Mel was on her feet at lightning speed. She reached into the drawer of the end table next to her and retrieved her pistol, checked the chamber to make sure it was
loaded, clicked off the safety, and held it in both hands.
Tay stood up next to her. "Mel, is this necessary?"
"Nobody's supposed to be here but us. What if it's John? What if he didn't mean a thing he said yesterday and he meant to kill me but didn't expect witnesses?!" she hissed.
Tay was silent.
"Stay behind me," she instructed. She then, silently and swiftly, kept her back along the wall as she made her way down the hallway. The doors to both her bedroom and the guest room that Tay used were open and both rooms were empty. Same went for the bathroom. The only closed door was Drew's.
As the pair crept up to the door, they stopped to listen. Silence. It was apparent that the intruder, if there was one, had to have been aware of the alarming sound they had made. Mel slowly reached for the door knob with her right hand, pistol poised for action in her left. As soon as she touched the knob, they heard another faint rustling. Mel decided she needed both of her hands for this.
"Stand back," she mouthed to Tay.
Tay narrowed his eyes and gave her a defiant expression.
She raised her eyebrows and nodded to the side. Shaking his head, he humored her.
Using all her body weight, Mel kicked open the door and stormed in the room, the pistol tight between her palms, ready to pull the trigger. Tay followed close behind her.
Mel lowered the pistol, puzzled, as they watched Zac scramble to stand then fall again. Defeated, he laid himself flat on the floor. "Mel, it's me! Don't shoot!" His muffled voice found its way from underneath
his face.
"What in the hell--goddammit, Zac, get the hell off the floor," Mel commanded. "I could have shot you!"
"Zac!" Tay said in disbelief. "What in the fuck are you doing here?"
Zac scowled at both of them as he worked his way to a seated position so he could release the shoe lace that he had obviously closed into the door, causing him to fall. That had been the noise they had heard. "Breaking and entering," he responded, sarcastic and annoyed, as he tied his shoe. "Falling on my face, trying to get myself shot. Thought it was a great day to risk my life."
Zac stood up and brushed himself off and started to straighten up the mess he made on Drew's vanity. He looked back over at Mel as he sat the perfume bottles back in their upright positions. "Mel, put that damn
thing away. You are so damn crazy sometimes, I don't see how Tay can keep up with it."
"You better watch your mouth," Mel warned, wielding her pistol as a reminder. "I'm the one carrying."
Zac simply rolled his eyes.
"Why didn't you come with Ike?" Tay asked him.
Zac gave Tay a look as if he thought he was just as crazy as Mel. "Why the hell would I come here with Ike?"
"Uh, because he and Nikki are gonna be here soon."
"What for?"
Tay narrowed his eyes at him. "Did Ike not call you?"
"What the--NO, Ike did not call me..." Zac fished his pockets for his cell phone and looked at it. "Nope, no call--wait--damn, looks like he did. Wonder why my phone didn't ring..."
Mel and Tay were both very confused. "So then why are you here?"
Zac's eyes widened and he motioned with his arms to the sliding glass door and then around the room. "Why do you think?"
"You do know Drew's not home..." Mel said.
"Would I have tried to sneak in if I didn't? I was gonna surprise her, but you two and your paranoid shit completely ruined it. Thanks. And why is Ike coming out here?"
Tay hesitated to say anything but Mel came right out with it. "We learned yesterday that my dead husband is, in fact, very much alive and he showed up on my door step."
Zac's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "No way..."
"Way," Taylor said. "I called Ike last night to tell him I was staying another night and he offered to fly out."
"Wow, I had no idea..." Zac said.
"Yeah, so how 'bout we take this conversation OUT of Drew's bedroom," Mel suggested suddenly.
________________________________________________
ISAAC
Isaac and his wife climbed the steps to Mel's front door. "I feel so awful for her," Nikki was saying. "I mean that's gotta be, like--I can't even imagine!."
"I know," Ike agreed. "Poor girl. It's just like one thing right after another with her. It's a wonder how she gets through it all."
Nikki stopped him when they were almost to the top and kissed him. "I just want to tell you how grateful I am to have you as a husband and that I love you."
Ike smiled back at his wife. "I love you more."
Nikki grinned and rang the doorbell.
They were greeted by Taylor. They both must have looked confused because Tay then said, "Uh, Mel's kinda nervous when it comes to answering the door, it seems."
Oh," Nikki nodded in understanding.
Ike grinned, mockingly. "Well you're looking awfully at home."
"Can it, Ike," Tay said. "It isn't like that."
"Sure, sure."
Tay let them in the door and Nikki looked around in awe. Ike loved to watch her face when something fascinated her. He thought it was painfully adorable. This was part of the reason he wanted to bring her along. He knew she loved New York and he could never pass up a chance to see her happy.
Mel met them in the living room and hugged Ike and then Nikki. "I am so shocked at what happened," Nikki said to her, genuine concern in her voice. "Are you okay?"
Mel smiled, "I'm still a bit in shock, but I'll be fine. Thank you."
Nikki hooked her arm in Mel's and led her away. "Okay, so start from the beginning," Nikki was saying to her before Ike's attention focused on Zac who had just walked in the room, sandwich in hand.
"When did YOU get here?" Ike asked Zac. He hadn't been able to get ahold of him the previous night. Well, maybe Tay or Drew had contacted him.
Zac looked like a deer in headlights. "Uh...same thing you're doing here?" he responded, his mouth full of food.
"Well...as long as you're here, I guess..." Ike couldn't shake the feeling of suspicion he was getting but he thought it better to ignore it. Then he turned his attention back to Tay. "So what the hell happened?" he asked him.
By this time, Zac had joined the two of them and Tay rehashed the events from the day before. "That's the craziest damn thing I've ever heard," Zac said.
"That's what I said last night," Ike responded.
"You see why I couldn't leave?" Tay said. "What kind of horrible person would I have been if I'd have just left them here after something like that?"
"It was good of you to stay," Zac said. "But I gotta tell you, Natalie is awfully suspicious of you."
Tay shot Zac a look. "How would you know?"
"How else? Kate."
"You know, you're the last one who needs to be saying any of that to me. After all, YOU'RE the one who got the gun pulled on you, sneaking into Drew's room."
Ike looked over at Zac. "WHAT?" he hissed, incredulously. The three of them began to lower their voices even though they knew Mel and Nikki weren't paying attention to them at the moment.
"Mel is nervous as shit right now," Tay said. "Every little thing makes her jump. He fell and knocked some things over when he was sneaking in and we heard it. Of course Mel's first response was to grab her gun and investigate. The scene we found was actually quite hilarious."
"Shut up," Zac said.
Tay started to laugh and imitated Zac. "Face first on the floor, arms splayed out flat. 'Mel, don't shoot!' It was classic."
Ike laughed loudly at the visual that was forming in his head. If there was one thing he knew he would forever be able to count on his younger brothers for, it was a good laugh. "And now here you are, walking around
and stuffing your face like nothing happened. I'll tell you, if it were me, I'd have probably shit my pants."
Zac raised an eyebrow, annoyed. "I was close."
Their conversation was interrupted when Nikki's voice rang through the room. "Hey, honey, Mel says this house is for sale. Let's buy it!"
Ike shook his head and smiled. "What are we gonna do with a house here?"
Nikki just shrugged coyly.
Ike's answer was the shaking of his head.
"It was worth a shot," she said to Mel.
_______________________________________________
DREW
Ireland.
Drew's head spun. In two months she would be filming a movie in Ireland. She thought she was simply going to Paul's office to go over paperwork but she got a lot more information than she thought she would be
getting. Besides getting shipped off to Ireland for two months, she had been instructed not to touch her hair. She was not to cut it, dye it, or have any professional work done to it. As of right now, the designers
wanted her hair long and they had planned on bleaching it platinum blonde for filming. Her hair was already a golden blonde now. She couldn't imagine it being almost white. But that was just for now. For all she knew, by the time she got there they could completely change their minds and shave her bald! She was informed that the role required her to spend time in the water, which she knew from the script. Thankfully she was a good swimmer and wasn't afraid.
She learned that even though she didn't film for another two months, she did have to arrive a month early for readings, rehearsal, and costume fittings. A month to prepare to leave didn't seem like near enough time!
And poor Jason. She shook her head to herself at the thought. He wasn't at the meeting, obviously, because they didn't share an agent. But she knew him and she knew what he looked like and she knew what his
character required and he was going to have to go through some intense, heavy training for the next month or so. It was times like this when she was grateful that her only gripe was that she couldn't touch her hair.
She walked in the door of the Brownstone to a full house. She knew this was happening today but with the way her life was spinning in her brain at the moment, she found it difficult to process. It was only when Zac
rounded the corner when everything clicked for her and she squealed in excitement. "Oh my god, Zac!!" She ran and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug.
He laughed and hugged her back. "Hey, how are you?"
"Better now!" She pulled away and looked over Zac's shoulder at their attentive audience. "Um," she looked around, sheepishly. "Sorry." She turned her attention back to Zac, making an effort to keep a safe distance. "So when did you get here?"
"I came as soon as I heard," he said.
"Fuck you, you liar!" Mel's voice rang out. "Tell the truth!!"
Zac blushed at Drew. "Okay, fine. I actually didn't know, it was a coincidence. I tried to sneak in your room to surprise you when you got home and I got busted by Mel and her gun."
Drew smiled in amusement. Then she thought about what he said. "You got through my sliding glass door?"
"Yeah," he answered. "You probably need to better secure that thing, seriously."
Drew walked over and greeted Ike and Nikki. She felt an old, familiar warm feeling beginning to build up inside her and she wasn't in a hurry for that feeling to go away. She was glad they were all together like this, she had missed it. And it was exactly what both she and Mel needed right now. "It's a shame you have to go home tonight," Drew said to Tay.
Ike looked surprised. "Oh, you're not staying?"
"No..." Tay's voice trailed off.
"Well I just assumed that since we came out here that you'd--"
"I know. But I've already been gone for three days now..."
Drew watched as Mel silently excused herself. She felt bad for her. She knew she didn't want to hear anything that Tay might have to say about Natalie or his relationship with her. She couldn't blame her.
"Well I think it would be kind of silly for you to hop a plane so late in the day now," Nikki contributed. "I mean, we're all here. There's no reason why you just can't stay. If it helps, I'll bunk with Mel and you can bunk with Ike or something."
Tay smiled at Nikki appreciatively and Drew just fell in absolute love with her. Bless that woman for trying to innocently remedy an already dangerous situation.
"Well," Tay said. "I appreciate it, but like Zac said, Natalie is probably wondering what's going on, so. I think it would be better if I just went ahead and went home."
"Tell her it's business," Nikki said.
The room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ike, Tay, Zac, and Drew all looked at Nikki in complete and utter shock, nobody believing that of all people to suggest that Tay lie to his wife, it would be her.
Ike looked over at his wife. "Are you serious?"
She shrugged. "He can go home with us tomorrow. I mean, come on. It's already four o'clock and he probably won't get a flight for another few hours anyway. What's he going to do, rush home to climb in the
bed at 2 or 3 in the morning when she's already asleep? Think about it. And I think we ALL know that if he calls her and tells her he's staying yet a third night because of something Mel-related, we will ALL feel her
wrath because she'll never understand. Even if he sat here all weekend in a straight jacket she would be suspicious. I mean you and Zac are both here. Sing a song or answer an email or something, call it business,
and tell her he's gotta stay."
If Ike's eyes could have gotten any wider they would have popped right out of his head. Drew was ready to hug her neck. Mel had been right about her. "Nikki," he finally said in disbelief. "Where did you learn to lie like that?"
She shrugged. "I always could. You just never gave me a reason to."
Zac smiled at Nikki and nodded. "I think we just saw someone's true feelings here tonight."
Nikki cut eyes at him. "Oh, don't think you're off the hook."
Zac shut his mouth and Drew glanced at the floor.
Zac then said to Tay, "Come on, Tay. How often do we all get to get together like this?"
Taylor gave him a Look.
Zac sighed. "No, like THIS. Just chilling out at home. Shooting the shit, doing whatever. Like old times."
Drew could see the wheels turning in Tay's head as she was acutely aware of the series of noises Mel was making in the kitchen. She smiled as she recognized those sounds. "Sounds like Mel has already started playing bartender."
__________________________________________
MEL
Mel knew where that conversation was headed and she chose not to be a part of it. Too much was going on right now, she didn't need to hear how Taylor felt it was best to go home to his wife because he'd been gone too long. After all, Natalie WAS his wife. She came before Mel. Any decision Tay was to make was to revolve around Natalie first, way before it revolved around her.
Mel had just put the cap on the blender to mix a frozen cocktail when Tay came up behind her, resting his hands on the counter on either side of her. "So it looks like I'm staying again tonight," he said in her ear.
"Oh, so you were able to get permission?"
Tay sighed and backed up and leaned up against the counter next to her. "Come on, Mel, don't be that way. Both of us have other people we have issues with and I think it's just better if we leave the subject alone."
Mel looked over at him and raised her eyebrows in response.
"I don't want to fight with you," he continued. "I just want to spend time with you."
"But only after you got permission."
Tay rubbed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. "You know what? I'm just gonna leave you to this and let you do your thing, okay? It's obvious you need a moment, so. I'll be in the other room."
As he started to leave the kitchen, Mel turned around. "Tay, wait."
He turned and faced her.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't want to fight you, either. But it's just so hard. And it's so weird because I feel like SHE is the other woman and that's not true. I'm having a really hard time wrapping my head around everything. At first it was easy to stay away, but now--" Mel shook her head.
Tay walked back in and took his place back next to her. "How do you think I feel when Jason comes up? When you talk about him or when he texts you and you call him--it drives me insane and it scares the hell out of
me."
"But he and I aren't even in a relationship."
"Not now. But I could lose you to him and I know it. I'm aware of it Mel. But I've been with Natalie for ten years now. It's like when the man in the iron mask finally took the mask off. He didn't know what do with himself. When you spend that long with someone, the thought of ending it all is going to make you hesitate."
Mel looked at the floor. "I know," she said quietly.
Tay laughed lightly. "I guess I'm seeing now how I made you feel in the beginning."
"You think I'm pressuring you?"
Tay was silent for a moment. "It's not just you. I have people coming at me left and right making their comments. But, Mel, I love the fact that you're on board with me. I'm reeling at the fact that you and I might still have a shot. I mean, I'm practically walking on air. But I need you to be patient with me. Okay? That's all I'm asking for."
"Did I actually come out and say we still had a shot?"
Tay flashed her a look that said he knew better.
Mel smiled nervously. "Okay."
And with that, she hit the button on the blender and went back to work making drinks.
______________________________________________________
DREW
After dinner was consumed and night had fallen, the six of them sat around a large poker table that Mel had pulled out of a spare room and hadn't been used in years. It had belonged to John from when he held poker night twice a month in their home. She had always meant to get rid of it after his now alleged death and was now grateful to finally have a purpose for it.
Drew was so relaxed. Music played in the background, they played cards, they drank--Mel even allowed Ike to puff on a cigar inside the house. She didn't care, she was selling it anyway.
An hour or so earlier, after dinner was finished, Zac and Taylor had gone out and all but robbed a candy store. Drew was literally shocked that they were able to carry it all back!
"Holy shit!" Drew exclaimed as the two men carried four full shopping bags apiece.
"Well, I think that should do it!" Zac said, plopping his bags on the floor at his feet.
"Are you expecting trick-or-treaters?" she asked, incredulously.
Zac shook the hair out of his face and smiled at her seductively.
"That depends. Are you going to treat me?"
Drew rolled her eyes. "You better hide all of that, Mel will eat up our winnings before we even bet any of it!"
"Ike, too," Zac said.
And now the six of them sat around the poker table, each with their own large candy bowl, ready to place their bets.
Drew had already scolded Mel once from across the table for sneaking her hand into the pot. She knew it wouldn't have taken long. And now Tay had caught her. He smacked at her hand lightly, causing her to drop her ill-gotten prize. "Hey, steal your own!"
"I don't have any more," she said, sheepishly.
Tay took her bowl from her and rifled through the candy. "Are you serious?" He laughed. "You can't eat the bets!"
"Well, I did. You should share with me."
Tay placed his bowl out of Mel's reach. "Hell no. You snooze, you lose."
"I'll remember that," Mel pouted.
Zac laughed at them. "Keep an eye on her Tay. She'll cheat faster than you can blink, remember?"
"Excuse me!" Mel protested to Zac. "But YOU'RE the one who used to lie about the colors on your Candy Land cards. So shut it!"
Drew watched the exchange and smiled to herself. Little did anyone know, SHE was the one cheating. She could see every card in both Zac's and Tay's hands and nobody was any the wiser. It wasn't her fault they didn't hide their cards sufficiently. She had developed a system. She couldn't necessarily control Tay, but any time she saw Zac make a move she didn't like, she would do something to distract him. She would run her foot up his leg, or place her hand on his thigh. Sometimes it was simple compliments such as "I really like that shirt on you" or "I just love your hair." He was putty any time she paid him exclusive attention and it almost always worked in her favor.
As if on cue, everyone had folded that round and Drew had won the pot. As she raked her candy in and Tay was elected to deal, Drew asked Nikki and Ike, "So, how did you guys meet?"
She thought she heard Zac grumble under his breath but she chose to pay no attention. She was distracted by the warmth she felt when Ike's and Nikki's faces lit up at her question. The couple looked at each other and
Ike said, "I'll tell it."
"NO!" Tay and Zac suddenly shouted in unison.
Drew looked at Tay and Zac, bewildered.
"Seriously, he can talk about this for HOURS," Zac said.
NIkki smiled at her husband and patted his arm. "It's okay, sweetie, I'll tell it." She turned her attention to Drew, looking between her and Mel as she spoke. "It was at one of their shows. I wasn't really a fan but my friend was and I tagged along with her. I liked a couple of songs and all, but not enough to be too familiar. So I was about five rows back, if you could call them rows, and Ike kept looking my way." She paused and smiled at Ike, who listened to her tell their story with stars in his eyes. "At first I didn't think anything of it because I was standing on his side of the stage. But then his looking started to feel kind of excessive and I didn't really know what to do with myself so I just smiled at him. And then he smiled back at me and that's when I knew. So anyway, after the show, we were all leaving and I was for sure about to go buy up every album there was when all of a sudden this huge guy comes up to me. And I was freaking out because I thought he was about to throw me out. Instead, he brought me backstage to meet Ike and the rest is history."
When Nikki finished her story, Drew noticed that both she and Mel had been a little more into the story than either one expected to be. "That is the most romantic thing I've ever heard," Mel said, dreamily.
Suddenly Mel jumped and Tay furrowed his brow at her. He had obviously kicked her foot under the table. "What?" she said, annoyed. "It is."
Drew took the moment to tease Tay. "Awww...are you jealous?"
Tay gave her an annoyed expression, shook his head rapidly and went back to shuffling cards. It was obvious he wasn't aware that anyone had witnessed the exchange.
Three more rounds saw Drew win her third pot and Mel and Nikki each win one apiece. At the end of another, where Nikki won her second pot, Ike threw down his hand in protest. "Damn! We're getting our asses kicked by these women!"
"Not this time," Zac said as the cards were being dealt once again. Zac had a horrible poker face and Drew devised a plan to peek at his hand. He wasn't kidding. It was highly unlikely that anyone had a better hand
than him.
She knew that what she was about to do was despicable but she couldn't help it. There was something about that rush of getting by with something she shouldn't be doing--besides the fact that she had a poker face so good nobody knew she had cheated her way through the night. Earlier she had snuck a card in her lap when nobody had been paying attention. She hadn't expected to have to use it but since Zac was about to beat her hand, she found it necessary to figure out exactly what to do with it, and fast.
Thankfully it ended up being easier than she'd hoped. When Zac had placed his bet of 3 Reese's cups, five Blow Pops, and a full size Snickers bar, everyone knew it had gotten serious. He had bet big money against the pot full of Smarties, Sweet Tarts, and other assorted hard candies. Right before his turn came up, she crept her hand up his thigh and leaned over as if she were going to whisper in his ear. He realized what was going on and scrambled to hide his cards, trying desperately to hold on to what little bit of dignity he had left. In the process he dropped one on the floor. As soon as she'd seen it drop, she tossed her own on the floor, switching them out when she helped him "look" for it, swiftly hiding his original before he saw a second card.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry," Drew said, putting her acting skills to work. "I'll behave, I promise."
Zac smiled at her. "Well, you know, that's not totally necessary." He put his hand back together, still smiling, preparing to wipe out the table when a puzzled look crossed his face.
Drew's pulse raced. Shit! She had hoped he wouldn't notice. She hadn't necessarily wanted him to make an ass of himself, she just wanted to have a little fun with him. Keeping her composure, she asked, "Uh, are you okay?"
"Um...I don't know..." he responded in contemplation. He looked at his hand hard, then up in the air in thought, then back at his card. "Uh...that's--" he stopped to quickly look around the floor around his
chair. "That's not my card..."
"Come on, Zac!" Ike ragged him. "Don't be a sore loser now! Show your hand!"
"I'm serious!" he argued. "That's not my card, I swear. Uh, I dropped my card, picked it up..." He slowly looked over at Drew, his eyes widening in realization.
Shit. It was over.
"You're cheating!" He accused Drew.
She looked at him innocently. "Me? Why would you think I was cheating?"
"Because I came off the floor with a different card and you're the one who handed it to me!"
She looked at him in mock anger. "I'm offended that you're accusing me of cheating! I didn't even look at the card when I handed it to you!"
"No," Zac argued. "You ARE cheating. You've been holding an extra card. You have my card! Give it to me!"
That was it. The jig was up. Drew couldn't hold it in any longer. An uncontrollable smile crept across her face and she shook her head. "I do not have your card."
Zac started to laugh. "Yes you do, give it here. Don't make me look for it."
Drew raised her eyebrows flirtatiously. "Maybe you SHOULD look for it."
The whole table turned their heads at Nikki as she threw her head back and let out a loud cackle of laughter. It was obvious the alcohol was getting to her and her laugh was infectious. "Zac, that sounds like a challenge!" she said.
"Well...mine's a warning. I'll find that card. I won this fucking round!"
He looked at Drew and Drew looked at him. She smiled invitingly at him. Suddenly, as he came closer to her, she bolted from her chair and raced around the table, giggling. She hadn't gotten far when he grabbed
her around her waist from behind and plucked the card out of her pocket.
Walking back toward the table, holding his card up like a trophy, everyone was laughing. "This is it!" he announced. He tossed the fake card aside and added his original to his hand. "Read them and weep!"
It was true. Everyone folded and Zac won the pot.
_____________________________________________
It was late and everyone had decided to adjourn to bed. Sleeping arrangements were assigned but it was unspoken knowledge how they were really going to go. Taylor kept the room he was in and Ike and Nikki
and Zac were shown two more rooms on the second floor.
Everyone had said their goodnights and adjourned to their rooms when Drew decided to take a quick shower. She had dressed and was towel-drying her hair when there was a light knock on her door. Towel in one hand, she opened it with the other.
There was Zac. She was hoping he would come.
"You owe me," he simply said.
"I owe you nothing, you won fair and square. Eventually..."
"Oh, no," he corrected her, letting himself in her room and walking past her. "You do. You cheated the whole time and ended up with a ton of the good candy. I'm demanding my cut."
Drew laughed in disbelief. "Your cut? It's not my fault it took you that long to catch on. My winnings are just that. Mine."
"You smell good."
"Don't change the subject."
Drew took a moment to look Zac over. He looked so sexy it was a wonder she didn't jump him right there. But surprisingly, she found she wasn't really in the mood tonight. Odd. His bed clothes were simple. A white t-shirt and blue plaid flannel pants. His feet were bare. On a normal night his pants would have been around his ankles within two seconds of being in her room. But she guessed that with the past two days' activities, she was too overwhelmed to want to sexually assault him. So she kept her hands to herself.
"I'm not changing the subject," he said. "You really do smell good."
"Well thank you."
"Now where's your stash?"
Drew looked at him in disbelief. "You didn't seriously come down here just for the candy."
He nodded. "I seriously came down here just for the candy."
Drew smiled smugly and took a seat on her bed, reaching across and retrieving her bag of winnings off the floor on the other side. Zac took a seat across from her. They sat Indian-style on her bed, facing each other,
a pile of candy dumped on the bed between them.
"I feel like a ten-year-old on Halloween," Drew said.
Zac smiled. "Isn't it fun?"
She shrugged. "I don't hate it."
Zac unwrapped a piece of candy and popped it in his mouth. "So tell me about your movie."
Drew smiled. "Well, it's actually a sci-fi movie."
Zac smiled back at her. "A sci-fi movie, huh? You?"
"Sort of sci-fi, I guess. I'm not sure how you'd categorize it, really. Sci-fi? Fantasy? Adventure? I think it's all kinda the same..."
"So how did YOU end up in a movie like THAT?"
Drew looked offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He laughed. "I mean, look at you. You are not the type of woman I'd see in a movie like that. I pegged you for some kind of romance movie or something."
"Well that's what I auditioned for. Ended up with this."
"So who do you play, the damsel in distress or something?"
"Why are you being such an asshole?"
He widened his eyes in protest. "I'm not trying to be an asshole! I just...this is just an odd pairing, is all. You hate that kind of stuff."
"Well, I actually think it's kind of cool."
"Why, because you get to cling all over Jason as he swings in on a vine and sweeps you off your feet?"
"NO, jackass, Jason gets to kill me. I'm playing the villain."
Zac opened his mouth to speak and then choked on the candy he was eating. When he'd finally coughed his way through it, he said, "Seriously?"
"I can't believe you're acting so surprised."
"SERIOUSLY?" he said again.
Drew lifted her chin in defiance. "Her name is Magdara. She has stolen a power source from Jason's family. He is hunting her down to get it back. She's, like, the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz with minions and
stuff. Except without the nose and the flying monkeys. There's magic and sorcery and a few sword fights. It actually seems really fun. They're gonna bleach my hair platinum."
Zac smiled and nodded. "Really..."
"Yeah. Here, look." She leaned over and took her script from her end table drawer and handed it to him. "Don't get any chocolate on it."
He scowled at her and began flipping pages. Drew watched him, on edge. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous about him reading or even why she found his approval so important. It didn't really matter what he
thought of it. She was doing the project and it could likely shoot her to the top of superstardom if the movie did well. So, really, why did she care?
Because he was Zac. And whether she liked it or not, no matter what situation they found themselves in, his opinion was always extremely important to her. She wanted him to be proud of her.
He skimmed through her script for a good half hour. Much longer than she expected him to spend on it. She watched as he skimmed a few pages, then stopped to read a whole one, then skim a few, then pause to focus on a paragraph or monologue. When he finally finished, he handed it back to her and smiled. "This is going to be so fucking cool. I can't believe you're going to play this character--she's a badass bitch!"
Drew smiled excitedly, relieved to hear what he thought of it. "I know!! I've never done anything like this before. Based on her description, I MIGHT get to wear some prosthetics! And I've been working on what her voice might be! Wanna hear?"
Zac nodded. "Go for it."
Drew lowered her voice and recited a piece of dialogue that her character says to Jason's character toward the end of the script. She spoke slowly and emphasized the "S's" on her words, as if hissing like a snake. Zac's face told her he was eating it up.
When she finished, she smiled excitedly and returned to her normal voice. "So what do you think?"
Zac placed his hands on the bed in front of him and attempted to come at her in a crawl. "I think you and I should do some role playing of our own."
Drew quickly placed a hand on his chest to stop him. "Um, Zac, I'm sorry. I'm just--not tonight, okay? I've had a pretty hectic couple of days and--I just can't get in the mood. I was kinda hoping you would just BE here. You know?"
Zac took back his original seated position and his expression softened. "Yeah, sure. I'm always here for you."
She smiled, relieved. "Good. Thank you. So are you going to come visit me when I'm filming?"
"You think I'd miss seeing you in action? Not a chance. Where is it, L.A.?"
"Ireland."
Zac's eyes widened for a second. "Ireland, huh? Cool. I always wanted to visit there."
She grinned. "Well now you have an excuse." Her expression then turned serious. "So, I think Mel and I--or just me, I don't know yet--are gonna be in Tulsa soon. I wanted to visit some before I left."
"When do you leave?"
"Next month. Rehearsal for a month, then filming starts and that's scheduled for three months. I'll be gone about four months."
"That's a long time," he said quietly.
"It is. But we'll work through it."
"And then where do you go from there?"
Drew shrugged. "I dunno. Hopefully I'll have another film lined up by then. Hopefully the movie does well and I'll have offers pouring out of the woodworks. And I imagine the press is going to be insane. I'll be doing that at least for a few weeks." Her eyes lit up. "I might be on Leno or Letterman. How cool would that be?"
"So you're about to be extremely busy."
"Not much busier than tour season is for you. I mean, if you don't understand this then there's a problem."
"No, no, I get it. This just kinda feels like a repeat of ten years ago. The first time you told me you wanted to 'follow your dreams.' And then ten years passed and..."
"Well another ten years WILL pass, except this time we won't lose touch. And who knows? In ten years we could BOTH be married. Or, neither one of us could be. Only time will tell."
"That's true," he agreed, picking out another piece of candy and popping it in his mouth. "These things are friggin delicious."
Drew giggled and shook her head at him.
_________________________________________________________