by Anthology
The atmosphere was electrifying, the anticipation of the crowd palpable. A steady hum rose from the crowd as they waited for Mason to take the stage.
“I’m so excited to see you perform,” I yelled over the noise.
Mason placed an arm over my shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here, babe.”
We stood there while the concert promoter pumped up the crowd and sang Mason’s praises. When it was evident Mason would be taking the stage any second he started bouncing up and down in place. He reminded me of a boxer before a fight.
After his name was announced he leaned in to give me a quick peck on the cheek and ran out on stage to the roar of the crowd. They went crazy waving their hands, screaming and jumping up and down. It was like a wall of energy had been released from them and was hurling toward the stage. I swear I could feel it coursing through my veins. To be the target of all that adoration must be addicting on some level. I’d always assumed performers must have nerves of steel to get up in front of tens of thousands of people. I was starting to think they probably just ran on the adrenaline rush the crowd gave them.
Music started up and a few seconds later Mason started in with lyrics about how it was time to get the party started and it would last all weekend long. This was one of my favorite songs of his. He thought I didn’t know anything about hip-hop and while that was still true I’d downloaded all his albums to check them out shortly after we started dating. I didn’t let him know that, though, didn’t want it going to his head.
The audience’s hands were up in the air moving to the beat. It was an awesome sight. They sung back during certain sections of the song when Mason would turn the microphone in their direction. He had them eating out of the palm of his hand. I snapped a picture of Mason on-stage with my phone thinking it’d be a great pic for him to post on social media afterward.
A few songs into Mason’s set and Troy turned to me as I was bopping away. “Mason told me about the little video you made,” he said loudly into my ear.
Why was he bugging me about this stuff now? I wanted to watch Mason perform and besides, I didn’t feel comfortable engaging him in conversation anyway. Maybe it was rude but I just nodded, hoping he’d take the hint.
No such luck.
“It seems to be getting quite a bit of attention from what I’ve heard.”
All right. Let’s get this over with. “That was kind of the point.” I turned to look at him. He was nodding his head slowly, deep in thought.
“You made a lot of changes to Mason’s website…you’ve come up with some interesting ideas.”
I wish this guy would come out and say whatever it was he wanted to say already so I could get back to the show. “You’re welcome. The changes were needed.”
“I can’t believe you managed to get him on social media. I’ve been trying for years…he’s been very resistant to the idea.”
I shrugged. I was over this conversation if he wasn’t going to get to the point. Normally I’d just ask him what his problem was but it was clear Mason respected the man. I didn’t think Mason would appreciate me getting into it with him so I kept my thoughts to myself. We watched the rest of the show in silence. I tried to put Troy out of my mind so I could enjoy the show but couldn’t. I felt like prey around the guy for some reason.
Mason ran off stage when his set was finished. His muscled chest and abdomen were on display, his tattoos covered with a sheen of sweat. He’d taken off his shirt during the middle of his performance just as Jasmine had predicted. His hat was on backward and his shorts hung low on his hips. If we weren’t in public I’d be pushing him down on the ground and having my way with him.
“So what’d you think?” he asked loudly when he got close to Troy and me.
“You were phenomenal. So talented.” I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him, not caring that he was hot and sweaty. He kissed me back with just as much enthusiasm. From the look on his face, our display of affection hadn’t impressed Troy.
“Great job,” Troy said.
“Thanks, man. All right we’re going to the trailer. I need a shower and I’m thinking Ellie might need one now, too.” He pointed at my shirt, which was now damp with his sweat.
I grinned, my cheeks flaming a little but took his hand and began to lead him off stage. I was looking forward to the shower Mason had mentioned but my biggest impetus was to get away from Troy.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The next week away from Mason was a long one. Much to my displeasure it seemed that my happiness was increasingly tied to him. Whenever that fact would dawn on me I’d push it to the back of my mind, not wanting to examine it too much.
Surprisingly Jeff had agreed to give me the following week off. I had a hunch it had more to do with my latest video. Although he hadn’t fired me he’d made it clear that if any attention I got from it affected my duties at the brokerage I’d be on the unemployment line. He was probably glad to have me out of there in case any press came knocking.
I was in flight to meet Mason in New York City where he had two shows that weekend. I’d get to spend an entire nine days straight with him and I couldn’t have been more excited.
The only thing I might have been more thrilled about was that I had to fly to L.A. on Wednesday for an interview I’d landed at Session Magazine the following morning. I’d be flying back east to meet-up with Mason after my interview. Someone at Session Magazine had come across my video and looked up my résumé on Monster before they’d contacted me. Landing a job at a place like Session would be more than I’d hoped for. It was a well-respected magazine focusing on the music and entertainment industry and they had a huge online presence. I felt good about the interview since they were already aware of the media attention I’d gotten in the past.
Mason didn’t perform until Saturday night so I met him at the hotel instead of at the venue. He’d texted me to say he’d instructed the driver to take me around to the back entrance because there were a number of fans lolling around the lobby hoping to sneak a peek at him. Somehow they’d figured out what hotel he was staying at.
The car pulled down a narrow alley. Mason stood beside an open door waiting. When the car stopped he slid into the car and kissed me hello. I really liked his new custom.
“How was your flight?” he asked.
“Uneventful.”
“Glad to hear it. Come on. Let’s get you up to the room and then I have to talk to you about something.”
I nodded. His words gave me an ominous feeling. When people said you “had to talk” it wasn’t usually followed by good news. I scolded myself mentally for always jumping to the worst conclusion.
Mason asked the driver to be sure my bags got up to the room and led me in the open door, which turned out to be the kitchen. Cooks and other kitchen staff worked to plate meals, barking orders at one another. It looked like complete chaos to my untrained eye but they all appeared unflustered, although they were clearly busy. They’d paid no attention to us as we walked through, trying to stay out of the way.
When we reached Mason’s hotel suite he led me directly to the bathroom. “I thought you might want to relax in the tub when you got here.”
An enormous bathtub sat in the middle of the room with steam rising out of it. Bubbles almost reached the top but weren’t quite falling over the sides. He’d placed candles sporadically around the room. They emitted a light vanilla scent.
“I didn’t know you were such a romantic.” Warmth spread throughout my chest. This was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.
“It wasn’t entirely unselfish. I do get to see you naked and if I’m lucky I’ll get an invite into the tub, too.”
I laughed. “Of course you’re invited. I would never dream of denying a man access to a hot bubble bath.”
Mason nuzzled into my neck from behind. “Mmm…perfect.”
“Last one in has to wash the other one’s back!” I said and grabbed the hem of my sundress and lifted it over my head. My sanda
ls were next, followed by my bra and underwear. Less than a minute later I was easing myself down into the warm water while Mason had only gotten so far as removing his shirt and shoes.
“That was hardly fair,” he complained. “But since washing your back isn’t that much of a hardship, I’ll let it go.” Once he’d removed the rest of his clothes I tried not to gawk at what a piece of male perfection he was as he made his way to the tub. He slid himself in behind me and I settled myself between his legs. The mixture of his hard chest behind me and the warm water and soft bubbles was heaven.
“So…what did you want to talk to me about?” Mason’s muscles stiffened beneath me, which further added to the feeling that I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“Troy got a call from the producers of the reality show today. They want to shoot a week’s worth of footage. They’ll edit it together and show it to some test audiences to get some reactions.”
“That’s great news. Why was I getting the feeling I wouldn’t like what you had to say?”
“They’re going to start filming on Sunday.”
“Oh.” That meant they’d be around the week I was spending with Mason.
“I need this show to bring me into the mainstream, Ellie. I know the timing couldn’t be worse but I tried and it can’t be changed.”
“I’ll get out of your hair Sunday morning then.”
His arms cinched me tighter. “I don’t want you to go anywhere. Will you stay?”
I didn’t know what to say. Part of me was relieved he didn’t care if I appeared on camera with him, and another part of me had no interest in displaying any of our personal relationship to the public. Then there was a whole other part of me that was a little ticked he’d even ask me to take time off when he knew there was a possibility of this happening. I called him on that.
“Why did you ask me to come if you knew there was a chance you’d have to be filming?” I tried to keep the irritation from my voice but failed—it was evident I wasn’t pleased.
“I wasn’t exactly sure when they’d be filming.”
“Well, I wish you’d thought to maybe ask. Now I’ve taken the week off to spend time with you and you’ll be working the entire time.”
“I was always working this week, Ellie. That hasn’t changed.”
I moved away from his chest and turned to my side so that I could see his face. “Yes, but that doesn’t usually involve having cameras filming us. It doesn’t mean we have to watch everything that comes out of our mouths, and that we can’t be…intimate with each other when we want to.” I sounded spoiled but I couldn’t help it. I’d played out what our week together would be in my head, and this wasn’t it.
“It’s a reality show. We can do whatever we’d normally do. That’s the point.”
“I’m not an idiot, Mason. I know it’s a reality show.”
“I never said you were an idiot…we’re getting way off topic here.”
He was right. I knew what this meant to him. “I’m sorry. I’m disappointed is all.”
He brought his hands up to either shoulder and rubbed up and down my arms with his strong hands. “No, I’m sorry we’re going to be followed around by camera crews while you’re here.”
What did I think it was going to be like if he got the show? They’d be around—a lot. If I was going to continue seeing Mason it was something I’d have to get used to. I’d just make myself scarce. They couldn’t possibly be filming twenty-four/seven, could they?
“Will you…stay?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said softly. I had to keep the mindset that it didn’t matter what anyone else out there thought. I knew who I was.
“Thank you.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. The bloody man knew how to use those things on me and they were lethal. “So, excited for your interview this week?”
“You have no idea. Excited but nervous.”
“No worries. You’ll ace it.”
“It’s a great opportunity.”
“Absolutely. My dealings with them have all been good. Their staff always seem professional.”
“I’m really hoping it works out but let’s not mention it on camera in case it doesn’t, okay?”
“How about we make good use of the time we do have together before the cameras arrive then.”
“I like how you think,” he said, looking at me with heated eyes.
We certainly made good use of the bathtub that night and I sure as hell wouldn’t have wanted any camera crew around to witness it.
We hadn’t had as much time together the next day as I would have liked. Since this was Mason’s tour alone it was different than the music festival. This involved sound checks every day, all kinds of interviews with the press, meeting fans who’d won contests before the shows. I’d had visions of us sneaking around the city incognito seeing some of the sights during the day. As it turned out the only sights I saw were our hotel room and the inside of Madison Square Gardens.
My vacation wasn’t turning out exactly as planned.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The producer and cameramen arrived at the hotel suite bright and early on Sunday morning. I was glad Ellie had decided to stick around but I knew she wouldn’t be comfortable in front of the cameras. I was used to having them shoved in my face by now but I could remember what a pain in the ass and invasion it’d felt like when I’d first gotten in the business.
The producer had introduced himself as Vincent and the cameramen as Trace and Dom. They miked us up and told us to do whatever it was we’d normally be doing.
“I don’t think we can do that. This is a PG show right?” I joked.
Ellie smacked my arm as color crept into her face. She was so damn cute when she was embarrassed it was worth doing just to see her reaction.
“I’m going to get ready,” she said and walked toward the bathroom. Dom followed her with his camera. Ellie stopped in her tracks. “What are you doing?”
“I’m coming to shoot you getting ready,” Dom said with the tone of voice that implied she was an idiot for even asking the question.
Ellie looked over to me with a beseeching look on her face.
“Is that really necessary?” I asked and turned to the producer, Vincent. “The show isn’t about her. I’m sure America doesn’t care if they see her put her mascara on or not.”
“I’m not changing in front of a camera.”
“It’s all right, Dom. Let her get ready on her own,” Vincent said.
“Thank you,” she said and stalked off.
“We’ll need to sit down with both of you later on to do some Q and A in front of the cameras,” Vincent said.
“Sure, no problem.”
That afternoon we were still at the arena after sound checks. I was scheduled to meet some fans who’d won a radio contest. Those were usually pretty quick…say hello, sign something, get a few pictures, and say goodbye.
Ellie was hanging out with Jasmine somewhere so it was just Troy and me in the makeshift green room. Security came in with a teenage girl around sixteen or so. She had a huge smile on her face and was holding some t-shirts and CD’s in her hands.
“Oh my God, it’s really you!” she practically shouted.
I chuckled. You could never be sure what a fan’s reaction would be. Some, like this girl, were excitable, others stood like statues barely able to utter a word, and some acted like it was no big deal. “What’s your name?” I asked her.
“Jessie,” she said with a bit of a squeal on the end.
“Well, Jessie, it looks like you’ve brought a few things for me to sign. Should I make them all out to you?”
“Yes, that would be awesome!”
“All right, don’t be shy then. Come take a seat beside me and let’s see what you’ve got there.”
She practically skipped over to where I was and took a seat on the couch beside me. We went through her stuff and I signed it all. After chatting for a couple minutes, we took some pictures and it wa
s time for her to leave.
We were saying our good-byes when Vincent spoke up. “All right, that was great but can we do it one more time? We want to try it shooting it from another angle. Jessie, maybe you could add something about how this is the best moment of your life.”
“Okay, sure!” she said.
She had no problem being asked to replay the moment but I did. Wasn’t this supposed to be a reality show? Why were we re-enacting scenes and feeding lines to people? I felt like I was on a damn video shoot.
We said our goodbyes again re-enacting as best we could what had happened before. It seemed wrong to me. Like we took an honest moment between two people and turned it into something it wasn’t. I brushed it off and continued with the rest of my day—cameras following me the entire time.
A couple of days later Ellie and I lay in bed enjoying breakfast before the camera crew arrived. We’d had to steal moments together like this all week. It was nothing specific but we were different with one another when the cameras were rolling. I didn’t like it. I wanted to be the us I was used to.
“Everything okay?” Ellie asked interrupting my thoughts.
“Just thinking about this reality show. Yesterday the producer asked me if we could re-enact our original meeting.”
“I hope you told them no. There’s not a chance I’m letting someone tape me lying sprawled on the floor with only my underwear on.”
“Yeah, not happening. That’s for my eyes alone. That’s not the first time they’ve wanted to re-shoot something either. A few times they’ve even fed lines to people and told them what to say.”
“I take it you weren’t expecting that kind of thing?”