Amanda and I got to know each other on the modeling circuit. She wasn�t as high profile but she was a talented model. Her only problem, and it was a big one, was she was too plain and there was only so much you could do with that. Face it, even the girl�s name was boring. Someone should do little girls around the world a favor and banish the name from all baby books everywhere.
She was a dear friend of Eric and Bruce, the owner�s of Blue Ribbon, one of my favorite restaurants in New York. It was in trendy SoHo and after ten years was still the late-night food hangout. Reservations weren�t accepted and it was all about who you were and who you knew.
�The Esquire shoot will be hot Brehan.� I had just told her about my photo shoot and interview with the men�s magazine. My wardrobe consisted of nothing but lingerie. My favorite was the red and black lace with the black garter. Then there was the less than fun cotton candy pink teddy, the only thing that made the outfit worth while was the ankle-strapped diamond stiletto. And the pose wasn�t too shabby either. I was on my back with a well-defined arch, my legs bent slightly so my knees were pointed towards the ceiling and the robe open. I thought the photographer was going to have an orgasm right then and there. Like I said before, I know my body and I know how to flaunt it for the world to drool over.
My interviewer was there while I took the pictures and he asked me about how I didn�t need instruction,
�A good model has to be able to do her job without someone telling her what to do. The photographer has his own job, making myself look good for the camera is my responsibility.�
It was a standard interview and there were no surprises to my delight and disappointment. How I managed to remain such a well-grounded and sweet person in such a corrupt business was the most exciting and laughable question,
�I don�t think it�s corrupt at all.� He looked at me with certain doubt,
�So the thing of drugs and wild times, that�s not the life of a model anymore?� I shrugged,
�It may be I don�t know. I�m just way too busy. It�s one thing to the next, one city to the next, one country to the next, coast to coast. I don�t know if I�m coming or going.� He nodded,
�So you�re definitely not an 80s supermodel?� I heard all about those models. I was more like them than anyone knew. I was into the drugs, I was into the wild parties and even wilder lifestyle and I was all about excess. Anything in excess is better. Excess drugs, sex, money, partying. If it was bad for you it was fun and I wanted a lot of it.
�Models are professionals just like everyone else. We have jobs and responsibilities, it�s not about being a fun party girl in a pretty outfit to be some rocker�s arm candy this is a high-cost business.� He seemed impressed by my answers and nodded his approval. I merely shrugged meekly as if I didn�t know I said something admirable. It�s so easy to be portrayed as well-grounded and sweet. Anyone who can�t pull it off simply doesn�t want to. People want for you to be nice, they want for you to volunteer to charitable organizations, to hold you up on a pedestal and cheer you on.
At least I kept the clothes. Actually the only thing I wanted out of the wardrobe was the shoes. They were definitely something fierce. I noticed Amanda look over my shoulder,
�She looks familiar. What�s her name with the dark hair?� I turned. Walking through the restaurant, followed by the other trust funders to their table, was the fourth most known New York socialite,
�That�s Maliina.� There were two kinds of socialites, all of whom had varying degrees of fame. There were the prim proper art gallery, museum and charity girls. They wanted to help the less fortunate but at a distance. No helping in the soup kitchens for them. I can�t say I much blame them on that.
Then there was the Trustfunders. They were like Malina. They waited to come of whatever age so they could collect their money. In the mean time they spent their parent�s money and had their pictures taken. Malina had no real job and she wasn�t going to college yet she still managed to keep a full day�s schedule. A schedule of brunches, shopping, publicity events and parties. The girl even had a publicist and a stylist. It was ridiculous, little rich girls. And they had the nerve to actually complain. As if they had a right to have a bad fucking day or an excuse to not be in the best of moods. It wasn�t like they had to work or bear long hours.
�I heard Bina is going to get a lot of publicity.� I shook my head at her,
�Bina?� She nodded,
�Yeah, that�s the name of her bag line. Soon all the new-age it girls are going to be seen with a Bina bag. I heard they�ve been shipped out to Tara Reid, Kirsten Dunst, Dominique Swain, she�s got Mandy Moore too.� Her success, even her future success, was being thrown in my face causing me to lose my appetite. And as I drift off into space I watch a couple across the room gets engaged.
The future bride covered her mouth and nodded her head emphatically as he placed the ring on her finger. I was yet to really have that moment but earlier today I picked out a Lazaro wedding dress for my future wedding of all weddings. It was strapless, because Steven loved my neck and shoulders he said they were swan like, and the skirt was full and flowing. The bodice was covered in the smallest of pearls imaginable, visible enough to cause a shimmer. There were an endless amount of tiny buttons on the back but underneath was a practical zipper. I could already envision my hair pulled back and up in an elaborate bun. Riana helped me pick it out.
I tried on a few things at her studio for my Las Vegas trip before wedding dress shopping. She was sure I would love the dress Cori picked out for the pre party tomorrow night. I told her it was nice but I wanted something a little funkier. I left with a geometric-print cashmere Chanel dress and a pair of suede moccasin lace up boots that stopped just below the knee. I was going to be in Las Vegas for five nights and I had more luggage than someone packing their entire closet.
Once I made it home from Riana�s I sat around all the while fighting the urge to call Steven. He was right, we did need a break from each other and I think it may do us well. It wasn�t as bad as I thought, not being able to be with him and talk with him at any moment. It will make us appreciate each other that much more when we were reunited. Steven and I had basically been joined at the hip for the past four years and maybe it was time for us to hit a wall. The first three and a half years had been nothing but a honeymoon. Glorious vacations together, magnificent restaurants and hotels, exclusive parties, and the finest clothes and jewels imaginable. It had been a fairytale, Camelot everything a girl always dreamed of with a lot of hot sex thrown in. I can�t wait until he made it back.
�What do you want to do next?� I definitely wasn�t in the mood to be too good, I did the good girl thing last night. I wasn�t going to see my city for a week so it was only fitting that I participate in a little farewell party,
�Veruka.� The ultra hot lounge was notorious for it�s hard to cross velvet rope. I needed some fun and I know I will definitely meet up with someone that I know intimately that I wouldn�t mind going home with, male or female.
Chapter 101a