CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
DREW
A week later, as promised, Drew sat in Paul's office, a decision made. She had been dying to tell Zac
because she knew how awesome he would think it was, but she wanted to make it official first.
"Okay," Drew said. "I read the script. Several times. I admit, it grew on me and Magdara is kind of a badass. I like her. So okay." A smile spread across her face. "I'm in!"
Paul jumped up and down excitedly. "I knew you would! I just knew it! Okay, so we need to get you back in L.A. for screen testing and then I'll meet you there for contracts and such...I'll get on the phone with
them and get back to you with the details concerning the screen test."
"How soon are we talking here?"
"Oh, hopefully no more than a week."
"Oh," Drew said, not expecting it to be quite that fast. "Uh, any word on a co-star?"
"Oh! Yes! Just officially signed on yesterday, actually," Paul said, leafing through a heap of papers piled on his desk. "His name is Jeremy or something. Or Jared, I think...oh!" He held a sheet of paper in front of his eyes. "Here it is! His name is Jason. Jason...Kamea...Kam--"
Drew's eyes widened. "Um, Kamealoha?"
Paul smiled at Drew. "Why, yes! That sounds about right. You know him?"
"This is probably the craziest damn thing I've ever heard. Yeah. Yeah, I know him. He went out with my best friend several weeks ago. They actually keep in contact pretty regularly now. Such a small world..."
Paul continued to smile. "Then the two of you should have excellent chemistry on camera!"
When Drew left Paul's office she wasted no time calling Mel. "Are you sitting down for this?"
"Um, I'm actually at my desk, yeah," Mel responded.
"Have you talked to Jason lately?"
"Not in a couple days...why?"
"Okay! Call Jason right now and then call me right back!"
______________________________________________
MEL
Mel sat at her desk at the New York Times and stared at the phone after she hung up with Drew. What in the hell could have suddenly come up that--a knot formed in the pit of Mel's stomach. This was it. He had spoken to Drew. Drew knew something. Surely Jason wasn't ready for a relationship now. Now was bad. Now as very, very bad...
Mel took into account how early it was in Hawaii at the moment, but Drew had practically insisted. She knew she wasn't ready to have this conversation but she called him anyway.
"Morning, beautiful," Jason answered in a sleepy voice. God, he sounded so sexy. She pictured him laying there, bare-chested and chiseled. She remembered his caramel skin, his sparkling green eyes and his long, brown hair.
Immediately turned on by the sound of his voice along with this new visual she had conjured, she struggled to suppress her hormones. "Um, I'm sorry to wake you. Drew was pretty insistent--"
"No, no. I'm actually glad you called. I was gonna call you later. I accepted the offer for that movie."
Mel smiled. "Well, I probably would have flown myself to Hawaii and personally kicked your ass if you didn't."
"Well, I can call them back and turn it down right now..." Jason chuckled. "So what does Drew have to do with anything?"
"Huh?"
"You were saying that Drew insisted you call me..."
"Oh! Yeah, I don't know. She didn't say. She wasn't home, she was at her agent's office accepting an offer for that movie..." Mel's voice trailed off as she began to put the pieces together. "Jason!" she said suddenly. "I think Drew is your co-star!"
"What?"
"She just accepted an offer for the part of a villain in a sci-fi movie! You said your movie had a female villain!"
"Yeah, but at the time they hadn't casted her yet. I know they were interested in someone, but--"
"It's such a small damn world," Mel said quietly.
The world was now so much smaller and so much more complicated. All signs pointed to Jason every time she turned around. It was as if some spiritual being was literally handing Jason to her on a silver platter--as if he
were hers for the taking. And she wanted to partake. Every part of her mind and body wanted to partake in every inch of Jason there was. Her heart, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter. Her heart was
one hundred percent completely Taylor's. She knew it. She wished she could yank it out of his hands and Fed-Ex it to Jason.
If only life were that simple.
She knew she was supposed to call Drew back after she hung up with Jason but she couldn't resist sending a text message to Zac. Drew would likely kill her for it, but Mel just couldn't pass up an opportunity to make Zac sweat a little. Their relationship had been special that way. Mel giggled to herself. "So have you heard?" she texted. "Drew and Jason are filming a movie together."
A couple of minutes later, Zac texted back. "Jason who?"
Mel texted. "Who do you think? My Jason."
"How do you know?"
"Why wouldn't I know?"
It was another minute or so before she got another text. "What kind of movie?"
"Some kind of fantasy."
"WHAT?"
Mel found herself laughing out loud. She was having too much fun with this. She was surely going to hell for sure. "No. Fantasy like sci-fi, dumbass."
"Are there sex scenes?"
"I dunno. Leafed through her script. Didn't see any. No reason writers can't write one in at the last minute, though."
Mel never received another text back from Zac after that.
______________________________________________________
DREW
Drew was halfway up the steps to the Brownstone door when her phone rang. She grinned, expecting it to be Mel, but was instead a little surprised to see Zac on her caller ID. "Why hello there," Drew flirted.
"You're doing that move with Jason?" Zac blurted out.
"Uh, I'm doing fine, thank you. And what the hell? How do you know?"
"I have my sources. So when did you find out?"
"Oh my god, like half an hour ago. I was gonna call you. What the hell is going on here?"
"Please don't fall for him."
"WHAT?!" Drew was beyond flabbergasted. What was the thinking?? "Zac! What is this?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know. I remembered how Jason, like, womanized Mel and that made me a little nervous."
Drew couldn't help but to laugh. Loudly. "This is work. There is nothing between us. There will never be anything between us. Besides, Jason and Mel have their thing--"
"Don't I know it," Zac interrupted.
"What does that mean?"
"You think Tay was a basket case before? This Jason thing is really screwing with him. He won't admit it, but he's jealous as hell. They already got in a fight about it. ALREADY."
"Tay and Mel?"
"Who else? He thinks he's gonna lose her."
Drew felt the blood begin to rise in her cheeks. "Well, I can tell you this. I highly doubt he'll lose her. However, I know she's not messing around this time and I'm willing to bet that Jason will be right there
to pick up the pieces if Tay doesn't get his shit together. What I don't understand is, what the hell's the hold up?" Drew thought about her question and who she was asking. Answering that for Tay would be exactly
the same as hearing Zac answer the same question for her. "You know what, don't answer that," she said.
"So when do you start filming?" Zac asked, changing the subject again.
"They say another couple months. It's in pre-production right now. I have to go to L.A. to screen test next week."
"Am I gonna get to see you?"
"Of course you are," Drew said. "Like I said before, I'm not going anywhere."
At that moment, Drew felt that old, familiar, creepy feeling. She ended the conversation with Zac and looked all around her before hurrying inside. She couldn't shake the feeling. Goosebumps spread down her arms and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. This had never happened outdoors before.
________________________________________
MEL
The following week was, like recent weeks, full of activity. Mel sold the penthouse and was in talks of turning the Hamptons house into a vacation rental. Mel had wanted to accompany Drew to her screen test as she found that she was suddenly itching to see Jason, but she decided she would just have to settle for Drew's description of how spectacular he still looked.
However, while Drew was gone, Mel had made two major decisions. One was to, once and for all, put the Brownstone on the market. The other required a phone call to Taylor.
"Tay, you know I'm not normally a needy person," Mel spat out rapidly when he answered. "I mean, lately I have been, but I try not to be needy because I hate being needy."
Tay laughed. "Okay...so you're not needy?"
"I'm not needy. But I need you."
He was obviously taken by surprise, judging by his sudden silence. "Mel. I need you, too..."
"No, I mean I need you here. In New York. Are you available?"
"Oh," he laughed sheepishly. "Of course. I'm always available for you. What's up?"
"Drew is in L.A. I've decided that I'm ready to change my name. But I want you here with me when I do it and I need to do it before I change my mind. Tay, I can't do this without you."
"Uh, oh wow, Mel...are you sure?"
"I'm not a Bradshaw anymore. I'm a Banks. Always have been, always will be. It's time to put Bradshaw behind me. Really."
"I can be there tomorrow night. I have some work I have to finish up here with Ike and Zac tonight and in the morning, but I can be there tomorrow night. It might be late, but I'll be there. I promise."
"I'm sorry to tear you away from work. And Natalie. I hate I'm disrupting your life like this."
"Mel, you're my life." The two of them were silent. "Uh, I mean--you know what I mean."
Mel smiled. "I know. I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule for me."
"Anytime."
___________________________________
Loving you like I never have before
I'm needing you to open up the door
If begging you might somehow turn the tides
Then tell me to, I've got to get this off my mind
I never thought I'd be speaking these words
I never thought I'd need to say
Another day alone is more than I can take
Won't you Save Me?
Cause saving's what I need
I just wanna be by your side
Won't you Save Me?
I don't wanna be
Just drifting through the sea of life
Listen, please
Baby, don't walk out that door
I'm on my knees
You're all I'm living for
I never thought I'd be speaking these words
Heaven thought I'd find a way
Another day alone is more than I can take
Suddenly the sky is falling
Could it be it's too late for me?
If I never said I'm sorry, then I'm wrong
Yes, I'm wrong
Then I hear my spirit calling
Wondering if she's longing for me
And then I know that I can't live without her
Mel's brain was fried. Taylor hadn't specified the time he was going to be in town that evening, so she scheduled the Brownstone appraisal early, scheduled a time to visit the Hamptons property to clear out its contents, and scheduled a meeting with an auctioneer, as she had planned on auctioning off many of the antiques that both the penthouse and Hamptons property held.
By the time the doorbell rang, Mel had begun packing boxes. She hadn't even begun looking for a house in Tulsa yet, but she felt the need to begin packing anyway. The action of packing was proving to be
therapeutic.
She looked over at the door when the bell rang a second time and her heart stopped for a moment. He was here. She realized that it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide her emotions the more time she spent with him. She was beginning to feel like it was the first time all over again. She wasn't sure if this excited or frustrated her. Maybe both.
She closed up the box she was packing up and headed to the door. As she opened it up, there Taylor stood. He looked--she didn't know what it was, but something about him in that moment made him the most beautiful she had ever seen him.
He seemed nervous as he smiled at her. "Well, here I am."
Controlling herself and fighting to stay casual, Mel stood by to let him in the door and said, "Thank god. It's way too quiet in here tonight."
Tay stepped in and dropped his overnight bag on the floor by the foyer table. He spied the boxes first thing. "Going somewhere?" he asked.
"Uh, just packing up some things. I did put the house on the market..."
Tay grinned. "Meaning what? That you're coming home?"
Mel smiled back at him, not able to control the flirtatiousness she knew she exuded. "I might be headed back in that direction, yeah."
Leading him to have a seat in the living room, Mel sighed. "I am exhausted. We're having Chinese take-out and movie night. My brain can't handle any more than that."
"Didn't you decide dinner last time?" he asked her, amused.
"Are you going to object?" Mel asked.
"No."
"So what's the problem?"
The doorbell rang once more and Mel raised her eyebrows and smiled at Tay. He simply smiled and shook his head.
Mel paid for the delivery and the pair parked themselves on the sofa. Mel reached for the remote and turned on a random black and white movie. They ate most of their dinner in silence, partially interested in the movie, mostly due to being completely famished. Once they had sufficiently stuffed themselves and left a significant mess all over the coffee table, Mel and Tay resumed the same position as his last visit, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, feet rested on top of the coffee table.
"So," Tay said, finally. "Last night as a Bradshaw. Sure you don't wanna write an article or something?"
"Nope," Mel said. "Don't have an assignment this week."
"Hm," he responded. "Well, I'm touched that you asked me to be there with you for it. I know it's a big deal for you."
Mel smirked at him. "Touched, huh? Your vocabulary is getting a little flowery."
"Well maybe I like my flowery vocabulary."
"I can tell."
"So I told Natalie about your investment. It didn't go over well."
"I didn't imagine it would."
"She doesn't trust me. And...and, Mel, I'm not sure that she should."
Mel turned to look at Tay. "Really."
"It's taking every ounce of energy I have to keep to myself right now."
Mel started to stand up. "Okay, maybe asking you to come here was a bad idea."
Tay caught her wrist and led her back beside him. "No. No. I mean, you can trust me. I'm not going to try anything. I promise. Just stay here."
"Tay, I don't exactly trust myself with you, either. I mean, I didn't ask you here with the intention to do anything, I swear."
"I know," he responded. "Neither did I. But the tension, Mel, it's--what do we do?"
"Nothing," she said. "We do absolutely nothing. We finish this movie and then we go to bed. I have the guest room made up for you. I can't handle the couch thing again."
Tay smiled and nodded, nervously. "You're right. That sounds like a good idea. And it's about over anyway and I'm exhausted, so..."
"Me, too," she agreed. She got comfortable again and focused on the 1943 war-era movie.
As they watched, Mel's focus was nowhere near on the movie. Her body was so tense it almost cramped. She could practically feel the tension radiating off of Tay. It was extremely uncomfortable.
And then, suddenly, the tension left her. It was as if some type of immaculate intervention took over her body and everything had taken on a mind of its own. Before she could control herself, she allowed her left hand to find his right hand and she found her index finger mindlessly tracing the lines in his palm. The strangest part was that, not only did he allow it, but she felt like a giddy teenager on a first date. It was beginning to feel a lot like the rediscovery of each other they had experienced thirteen years ago.
When she went to pull her hand away from his, he suddenly wrapped his hand around hers. He squeezed her hand with a gentle firmness and with that she could feel the need and the want in his grip. Chills of excitement and fear ran rampant through her body and she didn't know what to do, so she chose to do nothing.
She kept her eyes on the screen.
They sat in silence for another couple of minutes, neither one of them daring to move. Mel sat so still that even when she felt Tay's eyes on her she dared not even cut her eyes toward him. She couldn't describe the
feeling as anything other than spine-tingling fear.
Finally, she allowed herself to look over at him, feeling her heart begin to rapidly beat and her breathing to pick up significantly. In one quick movement, the second her eyes met his, his lips met hers and the fear she
thought she'd been feeling immediately turned into an overwhelming surge of emotion that quickly took over her entire body.
His lips were just as soft and he tasted just as good as he had ten years ago. They quickly found their old, familiar rhythm as if no time had passed at all. Unable to control herself any longer, she shifted her body
so that she could reach him better and wrapped her arms around his neck. As he held her tighter, another surge of emotion ripped through her and she felt a tear fall down her cheek. Without flinching, and without breaking their kiss, Tay gently wiped the tear off of her cheek with his thumb, deepening their kiss.
Mel found herself on her knees on the couch so that she could kiss him more comfortably when, in one swift movement, Tay hooked his arm underneath her knees and swept them out from under her and she landed on the couch on her backside, letting out a squeak that had ultimately crept up on her. He smiled at her as he lay her on her back and positioned himself over her, sweeping her hair out of her face.
During the transition, Mel experienced a brief moment of clarity and she stopped Tay before he kissed her again. "Tay, this is wrong," she whispered.
He looked in her eyes for a moment before he responded. "Then why doesn't it feel wrong? Why is this the most right I've felt in a really long time?"
Mel had no response and her moment of clarity soon vanished. She eagerly pulled his face down to hers and kissed him again, this time with more urgency. As things grew more passionate, Mel realized that her hormones were beginning to get the best of her and controlling her actions was becoming more and more difficult. Before anything happened that she knew she would come to regret, Mel broke their kiss and pushed him away from her a little. "Tay, we have to stop."
He grinned at her seductively. "Why? You have to admit, I've behaved myself."
"Well, yeah, you have. But we have to stop. I can't promise that *I* will behave and we need to stop before this goes too far." She glanced down their bodies then back up at him. "And, uh, it's seeming like the feeling is pretty mutual, so..."
Tay looked at her as if in contemplation for a moment. "You're right," he said. "You're right. We should, uh, we should probably call it a night."
Mel grinned, amused. "Um, that requires you to get off of me..."
"Oh!" he responded, obviously a little spaced out. He sat up and helped her up as well.
Soon after, Mel showed Taylor to the guest room across the hall from hers before going into her own. Even though things had gotten a little steamy in the living room, she still felt that it was more appropriate that they had separate rooms. After all, he was married and they weren't exactly in a relationship.
Married.
The sudden remembrance of Natalie seemed to slam Mel's feet back down to reality. They could kiss or make out or have sex all over the place all they wanted to. They could date and go to dinner and buy each other expensive gifts. If they wanted to, they could do everything a couple did and more, but it wouldn't matter. Not as long as he was married--not while he wasn't hers. Merely kissing him had made her a glutton for punishment. But she knew. She knew that as soon their lips touched that it was all over for her. Completely all over. She was in over her head now.
Miraculously, even with Tay in bed across the hall, she was able to fall asleep relatively quickly. She knew she was completely emotionally and physically exhausted. What she hadn't anticipated, however, was waking up
the next morning, fully clothed, in the guest bed next to Tay.
_______________________________________________
DREW
"What the hell goes on here when I leave this city?" Drew said in disbelief when she walked into the house the next afternoon and found Taylor lounging around in the living room on his laptop, while Mel was curled
up on the opposite end of the couch from him rifling through paperwork.
Mel and Tay smiled at Drew. "Hi," Mel said. "How was your screen test?"
Drew shook her head and went into the kitchen. Within minutes, Mel and Tay had followed her in there. "So, Tay came here to help me with something," Mel said. "I, uh, I changed my name today."
In the midst of her surprise, a cold chill ran through Drew's body and she hugged herself to shake it off. Mel narrowed her eyes at her. "Are you cold? I was actually thinking about raising the windows a little, it's
a bit stuffy in here."
"No, that's not it," Drew said. "I'm just feeling weird. I've been getting vibes since--well, really since your New York show," she said, looking at Tay.
"You're still doing all that? I figured maybe it was just a phase," Tay said.
Drew scowled at him. "No, Tay. Things like this aren't mere phases." Then she turned her attention back to Mel. "So you're back to Banks now? No more Bradshaw?"
Mel smiled. "Nope. No more Bradshaw. It feels so--liberating!"
At that moment, the doorbell rang. The three of them looked at each other in question, as they knew the other one wasn't expecting anyone. Drew looked around quickly, as the creepy feeling returned and this time it was in her gut. The feeling made her almost physically sick and she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out where it was coming from. "Uh, I'll go see who it is," Drew said, leaving Mel and Tay in the kitchen.
The goose bumps grew more plentiful as Drew walked toward the door. Hesitantly she opened it up and there stood the vision of a man. Startled, her first impulse was to slam the door in his face and she acted on that impulse without a second to spare. She felt bad for being so rude when the doorbell rang once more, realizing that it hadn't been her imagination playing games with her. Slowly this time, she opened it and stared at the
man before her. He was tall and thin with a close buzz cut and he looked worn and haggard. She couldn't even greet him, she could only stare. "Drew," he said quietly. "Please let me in. Please."
Without warning, Drew began to sob. She listlessly walked away from the door, letting the man follow behind her. Sobbing, she walked toward the kitchen where Mel and Tay met her half way. "Oh, Mel," she sobbed as
she saw Mel's eyes widen when she looked over Drew's shoulder.
________________________________________
If I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry
If I'm gone when you wake up, it's not goodbye
Don't look back at this time as a time of heartbreak and distress
Remember me, remember me
Cause I'll be With You In Your Dreams
If I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry
If I'm gone when you wake up, don't ask why
Don't look back at this time as a time of heartbreak and distress
Remember me, remember me
Cause I'll be With You In Your Dreams
Don't cry, I'm with you
Don't cry, I'm by your side
Don't cry, I'm with you
Don't cry, I'm by your side
And though my flesh is gone
I'll still be with you at all times
And though my body's gone
I'll be there to comfort you at all times
I don't want you to cry and weep
I want you to go on living your life
I'm not sleeping an endless sleep
Cause in your heart you have all of our good times
I'll be With You In Your Dreams
MEL
Mel took one look at the man behind Drew and stumbled back against Taylor. When she felt her body up against him, she desperately turned around and hugged his neck tightly. Her heart raced at lightning speed and her breathing was so rapid she feared she was hyperventilating. Tay held her as tight as she held him. "Tay," she whispered, barely able to get it out. "Tay, please. Please, tell me we're dreaming. Tell me you
don't see him, too."
"Um," Tay seemed at a loss for words himself as it was obvious he was completely clueless of the situation. "I'm sorry, Mel, it's--he's there..."
Finally, she found the courage to turn around and look at the man once again and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Standing before them was, in fact, John Bradshaw.
___________________________________________________
DREW
A week later, as promised, Drew sat in Paul's office, a decision made. She had been dying to tell Zac
because she knew how awesome he would think it was, but she wanted to make it official first.
"Okay," Drew said. "I read the script. Several times. I admit, it grew on me and Magdara is kind of a badass. I like her. So okay." A smile spread across her face. "I'm in!"
Paul jumped up and down excitedly. "I knew you would! I just knew it! Okay, so we need to get you back in L.A. for screen testing and then I'll meet you there for contracts and such...I'll get on the phone with
them and get back to you with the details concerning the screen test."
"How soon are we talking here?"
"Oh, hopefully no more than a week."
"Oh," Drew said, not expecting it to be quite that fast. "Uh, any word on a co-star?"
"Oh! Yes! Just officially signed on yesterday, actually," Paul said, leafing through a heap of papers piled on his desk. "His name is Jeremy or something. Or Jared, I think...oh!" He held a sheet of paper in front of his eyes. "Here it is! His name is Jason. Jason...Kamea...Kam--"
Drew's eyes widened. "Um, Kamealoha?"
Paul smiled at Drew. "Why, yes! That sounds about right. You know him?"
"This is probably the craziest damn thing I've ever heard. Yeah. Yeah, I know him. He went out with my best friend several weeks ago. They actually keep in contact pretty regularly now. Such a small world..."
Paul continued to smile. "Then the two of you should have excellent chemistry on camera!"
When Drew left Paul's office she wasted no time calling Mel. "Are you sitting down for this?"
"Um, I'm actually at my desk, yeah," Mel responded.
"Have you talked to Jason lately?"
"Not in a couple days...why?"
"Okay! Call Jason right now and then call me right back!"
______________________________________________
MEL
Mel sat at her desk at the New York Times and stared at the phone after she hung up with Drew. What in the hell could have suddenly come up that--a knot formed in the pit of Mel's stomach. This was it. He had spoken to Drew. Drew knew something. Surely Jason wasn't ready for a relationship now. Now was bad. Now as very, very bad...
Mel took into account how early it was in Hawaii at the moment, but Drew had practically insisted. She knew she wasn't ready to have this conversation but she called him anyway.
"Morning, beautiful," Jason answered in a sleepy voice. God, he sounded so sexy. She pictured him laying there, bare-chested and chiseled. She remembered his caramel skin, his sparkling green eyes and his long, brown hair.
Immediately turned on by the sound of his voice along with this new visual she had conjured, she struggled to suppress her hormones. "Um, I'm sorry to wake you. Drew was pretty insistent--"
"No, no. I'm actually glad you called. I was gonna call you later. I accepted the offer for that movie."
Mel smiled. "Well, I probably would have flown myself to Hawaii and personally kicked your ass if you didn't."
"Well, I can call them back and turn it down right now..." Jason chuckled. "So what does Drew have to do with anything?"
"Huh?"
"You were saying that Drew insisted you call me..."
"Oh! Yeah, I don't know. She didn't say. She wasn't home, she was at her agent's office accepting an offer for that movie..." Mel's voice trailed off as she began to put the pieces together. "Jason!" she said suddenly. "I think Drew is your co-star!"
"What?"
"She just accepted an offer for the part of a villain in a sci-fi movie! You said your movie had a female villain!"
"Yeah, but at the time they hadn't casted her yet. I know they were interested in someone, but--"
"It's such a small damn world," Mel said quietly.
The world was now so much smaller and so much more complicated. All signs pointed to Jason every time she turned around. It was as if some spiritual being was literally handing Jason to her on a silver platter--as if he
were hers for the taking. And she wanted to partake. Every part of her mind and body wanted to partake in every inch of Jason there was. Her heart, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter. Her heart was
one hundred percent completely Taylor's. She knew it. She wished she could yank it out of his hands and Fed-Ex it to Jason.
If only life were that simple.
She knew she was supposed to call Drew back after she hung up with Jason but she couldn't resist sending a text message to Zac. Drew would likely kill her for it, but Mel just couldn't pass up an opportunity to make Zac sweat a little. Their relationship had been special that way. Mel giggled to herself. "So have you heard?" she texted. "Drew and Jason are filming a movie together."
A couple of minutes later, Zac texted back. "Jason who?"
Mel texted. "Who do you think? My Jason."
"How do you know?"
"Why wouldn't I know?"
It was another minute or so before she got another text. "What kind of movie?"
"Some kind of fantasy."
"WHAT?"
Mel found herself laughing out loud. She was having too much fun with this. She was surely going to hell for sure. "No. Fantasy like sci-fi, dumbass."
"Are there sex scenes?"
"I dunno. Leafed through her script. Didn't see any. No reason writers can't write one in at the last minute, though."
Mel never received another text back from Zac after that.
______________________________________________________
DREW
Drew was halfway up the steps to the Brownstone door when her phone rang. She grinned, expecting it to be Mel, but was instead a little surprised to see Zac on her caller ID. "Why hello there," Drew flirted.
"You're doing that move with Jason?" Zac blurted out.
"Uh, I'm doing fine, thank you. And what the hell? How do you know?"
"I have my sources. So when did you find out?"
"Oh my god, like half an hour ago. I was gonna call you. What the hell is going on here?"
"Please don't fall for him."
"WHAT?!" Drew was beyond flabbergasted. What was the thinking?? "Zac! What is this?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know. I remembered how Jason, like, womanized Mel and that made me a little nervous."
Drew couldn't help but to laugh. Loudly. "This is work. There is nothing between us. There will never be anything between us. Besides, Jason and Mel have their thing--"
"Don't I know it," Zac interrupted.
"What does that mean?"
"You think Tay was a basket case before? This Jason thing is really screwing with him. He won't admit it, but he's jealous as hell. They already got in a fight about it. ALREADY."
"Tay and Mel?"
"Who else? He thinks he's gonna lose her."
Drew felt the blood begin to rise in her cheeks. "Well, I can tell you this. I highly doubt he'll lose her. However, I know she's not messing around this time and I'm willing to bet that Jason will be right there
to pick up the pieces if Tay doesn't get his shit together. What I don't understand is, what the hell's the hold up?" Drew thought about her question and who she was asking. Answering that for Tay would be exactly
the same as hearing Zac answer the same question for her. "You know what, don't answer that," she said.
"So when do you start filming?" Zac asked, changing the subject again.
"They say another couple months. It's in pre-production right now. I have to go to L.A. to screen test next week."
"Am I gonna get to see you?"
"Of course you are," Drew said. "Like I said before, I'm not going anywhere."
At that moment, Drew felt that old, familiar, creepy feeling. She ended the conversation with Zac and looked all around her before hurrying inside. She couldn't shake the feeling. Goosebumps spread down her arms and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. This had never happened outdoors before.
________________________________________
MEL
The following week was, like recent weeks, full of activity. Mel sold the penthouse and was in talks of turning the Hamptons house into a vacation rental. Mel had wanted to accompany Drew to her screen test as she found that she was suddenly itching to see Jason, but she decided she would just have to settle for Drew's description of how spectacular he still looked.
However, while Drew was gone, Mel had made two major decisions. One was to, once and for all, put the Brownstone on the market. The other required a phone call to Taylor.
"Tay, you know I'm not normally a needy person," Mel spat out rapidly when he answered. "I mean, lately I have been, but I try not to be needy because I hate being needy."
Tay laughed. "Okay...so you're not needy?"
"I'm not needy. But I need you."
He was obviously taken by surprise, judging by his sudden silence. "Mel. I need you, too..."
"No, I mean I need you here. In New York. Are you available?"
"Oh," he laughed sheepishly. "Of course. I'm always available for you. What's up?"
"Drew is in L.A. I've decided that I'm ready to change my name. But I want you here with me when I do it and I need to do it before I change my mind. Tay, I can't do this without you."
"Uh, oh wow, Mel...are you sure?"
"I'm not a Bradshaw anymore. I'm a Banks. Always have been, always will be. It's time to put Bradshaw behind me. Really."
"I can be there tomorrow night. I have some work I have to finish up here with Ike and Zac tonight and in the morning, but I can be there tomorrow night. It might be late, but I'll be there. I promise."
"I'm sorry to tear you away from work. And Natalie. I hate I'm disrupting your life like this."
"Mel, you're my life." The two of them were silent. "Uh, I mean--you know what I mean."
Mel smiled. "I know. I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule for me."
"Anytime."
___________________________________
Loving you like I never have before
I'm needing you to open up the door
If begging you might somehow turn the tides
Then tell me to, I've got to get this off my mind
I never thought I'd be speaking these words
I never thought I'd need to say
Another day alone is more than I can take
Won't you Save Me?
Cause saving's what I need
I just wanna be by your side
Won't you Save Me?
I don't wanna be
Just drifting through the sea of life
Listen, please
Baby, don't walk out that door
I'm on my knees
You're all I'm living for
I never thought I'd be speaking these words
Heaven thought I'd find a way
Another day alone is more than I can take
Suddenly the sky is falling
Could it be it's too late for me?
If I never said I'm sorry, then I'm wrong
Yes, I'm wrong
Then I hear my spirit calling
Wondering if she's longing for me
And then I know that I can't live without her
Mel's brain was fried. Taylor hadn't specified the time he was going to be in town that evening, so she scheduled the Brownstone appraisal early, scheduled a time to visit the Hamptons property to clear out its contents, and scheduled a meeting with an auctioneer, as she had planned on auctioning off many of the antiques that both the penthouse and Hamptons property held.
By the time the doorbell rang, Mel had begun packing boxes. She hadn't even begun looking for a house in Tulsa yet, but she felt the need to begin packing anyway. The action of packing was proving to be
therapeutic.
She looked over at the door when the bell rang a second time and her heart stopped for a moment. He was here. She realized that it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide her emotions the more time she spent with him. She was beginning to feel like it was the first time all over again. She wasn't sure if this excited or frustrated her. Maybe both.
She closed up the box she was packing up and headed to the door. As she opened it up, there Taylor stood. He looked--she didn't know what it was, but something about him in that moment made him the most beautiful she had ever seen him.
He seemed nervous as he smiled at her. "Well, here I am."
Controlling herself and fighting to stay casual, Mel stood by to let him in the door and said, "Thank god. It's way too quiet in here tonight."
Tay stepped in and dropped his overnight bag on the floor by the foyer table. He spied the boxes first thing. "Going somewhere?" he asked.
"Uh, just packing up some things. I did put the house on the market..."
Tay grinned. "Meaning what? That you're coming home?"
Mel smiled back at him, not able to control the flirtatiousness she knew she exuded. "I might be headed back in that direction, yeah."
Leading him to have a seat in the living room, Mel sighed. "I am exhausted. We're having Chinese take-out and movie night. My brain can't handle any more than that."
"Didn't you decide dinner last time?" he asked her, amused.
"Are you going to object?" Mel asked.
"No."
"So what's the problem?"
The doorbell rang once more and Mel raised her eyebrows and smiled at Tay. He simply smiled and shook his head.
Mel paid for the delivery and the pair parked themselves on the sofa. Mel reached for the remote and turned on a random black and white movie. They ate most of their dinner in silence, partially interested in the movie, mostly due to being completely famished. Once they had sufficiently stuffed themselves and left a significant mess all over the coffee table, Mel and Tay resumed the same position as his last visit, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, feet rested on top of the coffee table.
"So," Tay said, finally. "Last night as a Bradshaw. Sure you don't wanna write an article or something?"
"Nope," Mel said. "Don't have an assignment this week."
"Hm," he responded. "Well, I'm touched that you asked me to be there with you for it. I know it's a big deal for you."
Mel smirked at him. "Touched, huh? Your vocabulary is getting a little flowery."
"Well maybe I like my flowery vocabulary."
"I can tell."
"So I told Natalie about your investment. It didn't go over well."
"I didn't imagine it would."
"She doesn't trust me. And...and, Mel, I'm not sure that she should."
Mel turned to look at Tay. "Really."
"It's taking every ounce of energy I have to keep to myself right now."
Mel started to stand up. "Okay, maybe asking you to come here was a bad idea."
Tay caught her wrist and led her back beside him. "No. No. I mean, you can trust me. I'm not going to try anything. I promise. Just stay here."
"Tay, I don't exactly trust myself with you, either. I mean, I didn't ask you here with the intention to do anything, I swear."
"I know," he responded. "Neither did I. But the tension, Mel, it's--what do we do?"
"Nothing," she said. "We do absolutely nothing. We finish this movie and then we go to bed. I have the guest room made up for you. I can't handle the couch thing again."
Tay smiled and nodded, nervously. "You're right. That sounds like a good idea. And it's about over anyway and I'm exhausted, so..."
"Me, too," she agreed. She got comfortable again and focused on the 1943 war-era movie.
As they watched, Mel's focus was nowhere near on the movie. Her body was so tense it almost cramped. She could practically feel the tension radiating off of Tay. It was extremely uncomfortable.
And then, suddenly, the tension left her. It was as if some type of immaculate intervention took over her body and everything had taken on a mind of its own. Before she could control herself, she allowed her left hand to find his right hand and she found her index finger mindlessly tracing the lines in his palm. The strangest part was that, not only did he allow it, but she felt like a giddy teenager on a first date. It was beginning to feel a lot like the rediscovery of each other they had experienced thirteen years ago.
When she went to pull her hand away from his, he suddenly wrapped his hand around hers. He squeezed her hand with a gentle firmness and with that she could feel the need and the want in his grip. Chills of excitement and fear ran rampant through her body and she didn't know what to do, so she chose to do nothing.
She kept her eyes on the screen.
They sat in silence for another couple of minutes, neither one of them daring to move. Mel sat so still that even when she felt Tay's eyes on her she dared not even cut her eyes toward him. She couldn't describe the
feeling as anything other than spine-tingling fear.
Finally, she allowed herself to look over at him, feeling her heart begin to rapidly beat and her breathing to pick up significantly. In one quick movement, the second her eyes met his, his lips met hers and the fear she
thought she'd been feeling immediately turned into an overwhelming surge of emotion that quickly took over her entire body.
His lips were just as soft and he tasted just as good as he had ten years ago. They quickly found their old, familiar rhythm as if no time had passed at all. Unable to control herself any longer, she shifted her body
so that she could reach him better and wrapped her arms around his neck. As he held her tighter, another surge of emotion ripped through her and she felt a tear fall down her cheek. Without flinching, and without breaking their kiss, Tay gently wiped the tear off of her cheek with his thumb, deepening their kiss.
Mel found herself on her knees on the couch so that she could kiss him more comfortably when, in one swift movement, Tay hooked his arm underneath her knees and swept them out from under her and she landed on the couch on her backside, letting out a squeak that had ultimately crept up on her. He smiled at her as he lay her on her back and positioned himself over her, sweeping her hair out of her face.
During the transition, Mel experienced a brief moment of clarity and she stopped Tay before he kissed her again. "Tay, this is wrong," she whispered.
He looked in her eyes for a moment before he responded. "Then why doesn't it feel wrong? Why is this the most right I've felt in a really long time?"
Mel had no response and her moment of clarity soon vanished. She eagerly pulled his face down to hers and kissed him again, this time with more urgency. As things grew more passionate, Mel realized that her hormones were beginning to get the best of her and controlling her actions was becoming more and more difficult. Before anything happened that she knew she would come to regret, Mel broke their kiss and pushed him away from her a little. "Tay, we have to stop."
He grinned at her seductively. "Why? You have to admit, I've behaved myself."
"Well, yeah, you have. But we have to stop. I can't promise that *I* will behave and we need to stop before this goes too far." She glanced down their bodies then back up at him. "And, uh, it's seeming like the feeling is pretty mutual, so..."
Tay looked at her as if in contemplation for a moment. "You're right," he said. "You're right. We should, uh, we should probably call it a night."
Mel grinned, amused. "Um, that requires you to get off of me..."
"Oh!" he responded, obviously a little spaced out. He sat up and helped her up as well.
Soon after, Mel showed Taylor to the guest room across the hall from hers before going into her own. Even though things had gotten a little steamy in the living room, she still felt that it was more appropriate that they had separate rooms. After all, he was married and they weren't exactly in a relationship.
Married.
The sudden remembrance of Natalie seemed to slam Mel's feet back down to reality. They could kiss or make out or have sex all over the place all they wanted to. They could date and go to dinner and buy each other expensive gifts. If they wanted to, they could do everything a couple did and more, but it wouldn't matter. Not as long as he was married--not while he wasn't hers. Merely kissing him had made her a glutton for punishment. But she knew. She knew that as soon their lips touched that it was all over for her. Completely all over. She was in over her head now.
Miraculously, even with Tay in bed across the hall, she was able to fall asleep relatively quickly. She knew she was completely emotionally and physically exhausted. What she hadn't anticipated, however, was waking up
the next morning, fully clothed, in the guest bed next to Tay.
_______________________________________________
DREW
"What the hell goes on here when I leave this city?" Drew said in disbelief when she walked into the house the next afternoon and found Taylor lounging around in the living room on his laptop, while Mel was curled
up on the opposite end of the couch from him rifling through paperwork.
Mel and Tay smiled at Drew. "Hi," Mel said. "How was your screen test?"
Drew shook her head and went into the kitchen. Within minutes, Mel and Tay had followed her in there. "So, Tay came here to help me with something," Mel said. "I, uh, I changed my name today."
In the midst of her surprise, a cold chill ran through Drew's body and she hugged herself to shake it off. Mel narrowed her eyes at her. "Are you cold? I was actually thinking about raising the windows a little, it's
a bit stuffy in here."
"No, that's not it," Drew said. "I'm just feeling weird. I've been getting vibes since--well, really since your New York show," she said, looking at Tay.
"You're still doing all that? I figured maybe it was just a phase," Tay said.
Drew scowled at him. "No, Tay. Things like this aren't mere phases." Then she turned her attention back to Mel. "So you're back to Banks now? No more Bradshaw?"
Mel smiled. "Nope. No more Bradshaw. It feels so--liberating!"
At that moment, the doorbell rang. The three of them looked at each other in question, as they knew the other one wasn't expecting anyone. Drew looked around quickly, as the creepy feeling returned and this time it was in her gut. The feeling made her almost physically sick and she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out where it was coming from. "Uh, I'll go see who it is," Drew said, leaving Mel and Tay in the kitchen.
The goose bumps grew more plentiful as Drew walked toward the door. Hesitantly she opened it up and there stood the vision of a man. Startled, her first impulse was to slam the door in his face and she acted on that impulse without a second to spare. She felt bad for being so rude when the doorbell rang once more, realizing that it hadn't been her imagination playing games with her. Slowly this time, she opened it and stared at the
man before her. He was tall and thin with a close buzz cut and he looked worn and haggard. She couldn't even greet him, she could only stare. "Drew," he said quietly. "Please let me in. Please."
Without warning, Drew began to sob. She listlessly walked away from the door, letting the man follow behind her. Sobbing, she walked toward the kitchen where Mel and Tay met her half way. "Oh, Mel," she sobbed as
she saw Mel's eyes widen when she looked over Drew's shoulder.
________________________________________
If I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry
If I'm gone when you wake up, it's not goodbye
Don't look back at this time as a time of heartbreak and distress
Remember me, remember me
Cause I'll be With You In Your Dreams
If I'm gone when you wake up, please don't cry
If I'm gone when you wake up, don't ask why
Don't look back at this time as a time of heartbreak and distress
Remember me, remember me
Cause I'll be With You In Your Dreams
Don't cry, I'm with you
Don't cry, I'm by your side
Don't cry, I'm with you
Don't cry, I'm by your side
And though my flesh is gone
I'll still be with you at all times
And though my body's gone
I'll be there to comfort you at all times
I don't want you to cry and weep
I want you to go on living your life
I'm not sleeping an endless sleep
Cause in your heart you have all of our good times
I'll be With You In Your Dreams
MEL
Mel took one look at the man behind Drew and stumbled back against Taylor. When she felt her body up against him, she desperately turned around and hugged his neck tightly. Her heart raced at lightning speed and her breathing was so rapid she feared she was hyperventilating. Tay held her as tight as she held him. "Tay," she whispered, barely able to get it out. "Tay, please. Please, tell me we're dreaming. Tell me you
don't see him, too."
"Um," Tay seemed at a loss for words himself as it was obvious he was completely clueless of the situation. "I'm sorry, Mel, it's--he's there..."
Finally, she found the courage to turn around and look at the man once again and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Standing before them was, in fact, John Bradshaw.
___________________________________________________