"Hey who loves ya Lexie? I'll take care of your place for you as if it were my own. Anyway, where in the world would I get a mud wrestling ring together this late. You have to order ahead for stuff like that," he replied with his usual lopsided grin.
"Ok. . .ok, I get it I'm being a nag but this is my place I'm trusting you with. Oh and a few other things. . . feed Goldie twice a day and clean her tank everyday," I said.
"You clean that fish's tank everyday?" he asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. She's a very high strung gold fish. How do you think I've kept her this long? If she dies please don't try to replace her with another fish because I will know."
"Yes mother. I'll be good."
"I'm being patronizing. It's ok you can say it, I'm sorry. I'll go now," I said picking up my luggage.
"Wait a minute. Let me carry some of that. I may be gay but I am a gentlemen," he said grabbing my smallest makeup bag.
"You would take the smallest bag," I said with a chuckle.
"Hey, I said I was a gentlemen not Superman. Besides technically, you have the smallest bag and that's your handbag," he replied as we got onto the elevator.
"Oh that's so not fair and you know it. My handbag shouldn't count."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I really wish I were going with you."
"I'm not going to South Beach, Joshua."
"I know, I know. . . you've been watching my copy of Bird Cage again. I'm being serious. . . for now. I wish I were going with you. We could tear the town up together. Just think about it, you could flirt and break the boys hearts and I could. . . do the same. It's too bad I have fashion week here," he said with another lopsided grin. Joshua is a photographers assistant, one day he hopes to be an actual photographer but he's still working his way to the top. He was obviously trying to cheer me up. He probably could feel my anxiety about going and facing Nick again. I still couldn't tell you why I was so anxious.
We were walking toward the curb where my taxi was waiting. Joshua helped me and the driver load my things into the car.
"Ok go on now and play nice with the Boys. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he said pulling me into a hug.
"Well that gives me a lot of leeway now doesn't it?" I asked smiling up at his blue eyes.
"Bitch," he gasped.
"Whore," I countered.
"Slut."
"Hussy."
"Jezebel"
"Ooohh a big word. Can you spell that?"
"Get out of here. Go!"
"OK! I'm going. Take care, be good. . . or as close to it as you can get," I said with a huge grin. He just glared playfully at me. "Love ya sweetheart," I said climbing into the cab.
"Bye sweetie. Love ya too," he said blowing me a kiss as the car pulled into traffic. I waved back at him.
Why was I going to be with the Boys all weekend? A video shoot. Which I proceeded to agonize over for the remainder of the week. I knew the rest of the Boys would welcome me with open arms but Nick I was wary of. I didn't know why I should worry about whether he liked me or not. Everyone doesn't have to like me. Who cares if he. . . Mr. Big Shot Pop Star. . . Mr. Nick Carter didn't? A little voice in my head kept saying, 'You do,' teasingly. I hated that voice, always have, probably always will. It was usually right. The weekend came quicker then expected but I guess it would since the last time I saw them was that Thursday.
I had to fly to Orlando, Florida for this video shoot. I was to leave on Friday morning and then I basically had the rest of that do to myself but then I was going to have to get to work on Friday night. Apparently we were shooting where it all started Howard Middle School where they shot Quit Playing Games. It was going to be a kind of getting back to the beginning video. There were even going to be young BSB look alikes. This was supposedly going to be the video to end all videos for the guys. No one had heard the song yet. It hadn't even been leaked to the internet, surprisingly. It was going to hit the airwaves at the exact same time the video hit TV screens around the world. As a fan and as a makeup artist, I was beyond excited to be a part of this to say the least.
I had a plan for that day. I was going to take Joshua's advice and not be too assuming of Nick. He was probably just having a bad day. I'm sure it was nothing personal. Like Joshua said, I'm usually not in the best mood towards other people when I hit a rough patch in a relationship either. So I was going to give Nick the benefit of the doubt. Sounds easy enough, right?
I made sure I got to the set early so I could set up and have everything ready. Since this was a video shoot involving a bunch of other people I wasn't going to be the only makeup artist but I was going to be mainly in charge of the Boys. I was sitting in a chair basically twiddling my thumbs when one of the other stylists walked in.
"Hi, I'm Cookie Snapp," she said extending her hand. I couldn't help but just blink at her as I accepted and shook her hand. "Before you say anything, I realize my name sounds like a strippers name or something. It was a sick joke by my mother, Bunny Snapp. And you are?"
"Alexis Blair," I said. "If you don't mind me saying, you don't look like a Cookie Snapp at all. I would have assumed you to be a Samantha Walters or something."
"Well you know what they say when you assume," she replied. I couldn't help but feel a little put in my place. In truth she didn't look like a "Cookie Snapp" at all. Cookie had long auburn hair that she wore pinned up in a tight chignon. She wore glasses on the end of her straight almost pencil thin nose. Her expression always looked pinched as if she smelled something that didn't please her. She looked like a schoolmarm which, was quite an odd look for someone who was only twenty-five. She wore it like a badge of honor, though. Her manner of dress and her name were ironic to say the least. Cookie was a pretty woman if she'd just let her hair down. . . in more ways than one.
"Is this where I set up?" she asked.
"Yes. You can set up right there. I think there's going to be another person in here. . . God help us," I said looking around. The trailor was small. How it was going to fit three stylists and three maybe four other people was beyond me. Cookie and I had started a little light conversation as we awaited the next stylists or someone to style. Just as our conversation ground to an awkward halt the door swung open again.
He was tall and handsome. He had dark chocolate smooth skin and deep brown eyes. His hair was a dark brown almost black and done in small gel twist and he had a goatee.
"Hello ladies," he said in a deep very masculine voice, "I am Ezekiel Armstrong."
"I'm Alexis Blair and this is Cookie Snapp," I said gesturing towards her.
"Pleasure to meet you both," he said with an almost sensual smile. He was cocky, I could see it in his eyes and all over his face. I swear he was waiting for applause when he introduced himself. He was arrogant, cocky and apparently he had decided I was worthy enough to be his prey by the way he was sizing me up. I'll admit the man was sexy but I wasn't all that in to men who figured they had me when they didn't. Between Nick and the other Boys, Ezekiel and Cookie this would prove to be an interesting weekend.
