by Olivia Jake
“Oh, mi amor, you should know better than to challenge me like that.”
“Go on and get into hair and makeup before you make us late.” She said as she playfully swatted his butt, surprising both of them. Alex figured, the genie was out of the bottle, whatever was done was done.
Before Marco went to wardrobe, he walked over to Jesús and extended his hand. Alex could see the wheels turning in Jesús’ head before he reached out to complete the handshake. Alex couldn’t hear what Marco was saying, he was speaking softly in Spanish. Jesús simply nodded a few times and then mumbled something. Once Marco had walked off set Alex raised her eyebrows to Jesús, effectively asking him without asking.
“He thanked me for taking care of you when, you know…” Jesús trailed off, and they both looked down to the ground. When Alex looked back up, Jesús had a small smirk on his face. “He also said that if I ever hurt Teresa or so much as make her cry, he’ll kill me.”
Alex drew in a sharp breath and covered her mouth with her hand. “Well, I guess he knows about your plans to bring her out here.”
Jesús just shrugged and grinned, “Guess so.” And then Alex took a page out of Patricia’s playbook and swatted the back of his head making Jesús erupt into laughter. Such a rare sound coming out of his mouth, it immediately made Alex laugh too, releasing any leftover tension and allowed her to re-set her mind back to the task at hand.
“Seeing you two together, Alex… even the pictures don’t do it justice.” Sam said as she stood beside her friend and colleague. Alex smiled at her.
“I love him, Sam. I’ve never felt the way I do, about anyone else. Ever.”
“That’s the way it’s supposed to be.” Sam said softly as she put her arm around Alex’s shoulder and gave a tight squeeze.
“That’s what you have with Laurent.” Alex said and Sam smiled and nodded.
“Not everyone finds what we have. We may have found it later in life than some, but we’re the lucky ones, Alex.”
Alex knew Sam was right. They were the lucky ones. What each of them had with their respective men was special and rare. Alex shuddered at the thought that she almost let it slip away, almost threw it away. She shook her head to rid the unbearable thought and then smiled at Sam.
Once the shoot finally got underway, everyone settled into their roles. Regardless of the show they put on in the beginning, they were all professionals, and once Alex started shooting, she was in the zone. At one point while they were in between shots as they moved from one setup to another, James took the opportunity to apologize to Alex.
“I’m sorry for being a jackass earlier.”
Alex smile and shook her head, “You weren’t being a jackass. I’d have thought the same thing if I were you.”
“You’re letting me off too easy, Alex.”
Alex shrugged, “Life’s too short to sweat the small stuff, James. I know how I got to where I am in this industry. And it wasn’t by sleeping my way there.”
James took this in and nodded as he chuckled, “It’s rare to work with people in this town who don’t have an agenda. Anyway, I’m sorry.” He paused, looking like he was going to say something else but ended up saying, “and so far, the shoot looks great. Look, I’m going to take off. You’ve obviously got everything under control here.” He leaned over and kissed Alex on the cheek. “See you soon, Alex.”
“Thanks, James.” Alex hated hurting people’s feelings, and even after his crack earlier, she worried that she might have inadvertently done just that, though there wasn’t anything she could do about it now. What she had felt for James was still there, but as she realized before, it didn’t even compare to what she felt for, or had with Marco. James was a big boy and would likely get over whatever it was without giving it much more than a thought.
Lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t realize Marco had been watching their conversation. When she looked over and made eye contact, they held each other’s stare for longer than was comfortable. Alex had already explained her relationship with James to Marco, and she had nothing to apologize for any more. She stood her ground, waiting, making it clear she wasn’t going to blink first. Eventually, Marco took a deep breath, uncrossed his arms and relented. It was a silent discussion, but it spoke volumes. He may not like to think of her being the object of other men’s affection, but he respected her enough to know when a kiss on the cheek was just that.
This shoot was turning into so much more than just a photoshoot. Boundaries were being drawn, expectations set. Alex felt like at every turn in their relationship, it was another hurdle. No, that wasn’t fair. They weren’t all hurdles. Another piece to the puzzle? No, that didn’t feel right either. It felt too finite and predetermined. Another patch being sewn that was creating the tapestry of their relationship. That was it. All these different pieces and yarns and textures woven together that didn’t all necessarily fit or match. It was being created as they went.
Considering all of this, Alex was once again roused from her thoughts feeling like a pinball shot from one emotion to the next when she heard a familiar squeal, turning around to find Kara grinning from ear to ear and practically vibrating with excitement.
“I, um, I wanted to come by to uh, show my support!” Kara managed with equal parts lameness and girlish glee. All Alex could do was break out into a huge grin and shake her head.
“Good lord, Kara, you are going to have to work on your bullshitting!” She said as she laughed and enveloped Kara into a hug.
“That obvious?” Kara asked sheepishly. Alex nodded and shrugged, producing another girlish squeal from Kara.
“I can’t help it! I’m just so excited to meet Marco and finally see the two of you together!”
And Alex couldn’t help but be infected by Kara’s unbridled giddiness, which was a welcome change from the serious undertones of what had transpired only minutes before. Kara also helped smooth over any tension that may have remained between her and Marco. As he came out of wardrobe and strode towards them, he broke into a huge grin, then put his hands on Kara’s trembling shoulders as he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.
“And you must be Kara.” Marco waited for a response, but Kara just smiled and nodded so he helped the poor woman out. “You’re exactly as Alex described. Con mucho gusto.”
Kara giggled and finally managed, “It’s nice to meet you too.” It was all Alex could do to hold back her eye roll knowing that if a good friend of hers reacted this way to Marco, she could now understand the screaming fans.
“Listas?” Alex asked Marco.
“Siempre para ti.” Marco purred as he leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her lips.
“Ok, Casanova, let’s get you on your mark.” Alex said, trying to restore some sense of authority though she knew that the shoot had already spiraled so far out of the professional realm, all she could do was try to reel it back in enough to get the coverage needed. Hoping for it to resemble a normal shoot was a fruitless endeavor at this point.
But even Alex was impressed with Marco’s talent. The minute she started shooting, he switched from his playful self into the brooding, tormented character he was playing. Alex had seen him shut off his emotions like this off camera, and for a brief moment worried that he was only going to get better at it the more his career progressed. Surely a necessary skill professionally, but troublesome personally.
All of that professionalism and control of Marco’s flew out the window when someone on set apparently tweeted a video of Marco and Alex kissing. Word spread quickly as a sudden pall was cast over the shoot.
Alex had seen Marco upset before, but never like this. He was yelling at no one in particular, but loud enough for the entire set to hear, “What is wrong with you people? Huh? Are your own lives so boring that you have to spread gossip about other people? What business is it of yours anyway? Why do you even care, who I kiss, huh?” Alex came up to him and put her hand on his arm, tugging at him, but he was lost. The last thing he needed was this out
burst to be uploaded as well.
“Marco.” Alex said, trying to break him out of his rage. But it was clear he didn’t hear her, he was still just seeing red. “Marco!” Alex said more forcefully, finally snapping him out of it. He shook his head and looked at her.
“Mi amor, I am so sorry. I know this is everything you didn’t want.” He apologized, looking so pained, it killed Alex. “I’ll fix this. I’ll find whoever sent that video…”
Alex didn’t let him finish, “Marco, stop it.” She said sternly, forcing him to focus on her rather than all the assistants who were sheepishly walking around. “Marco, we knew this would happen eventually. So it’s out now. So what?”
Marco looked at her with a puzzled expression, “You’re ok with this?”
“No, I’m not ok with it. It fucking pisses me off. But if it weren’t this, then someone else would get a shot of us doing something else. Now it’s out. Done. Let them say what they’re going to say. Who cares? Do you remember when you were on tour with Kimberly and you told me not to believe what I saw, what I read?” she asked and Marco nodded. “So, some people will just look at this video and make up their own stories. It doesn’t matter. You and I know what matters.”
A slow smile crept on his face. Then he put his hand to her forehead. He looked her up and down. Alex furrowed her brows as Marco’s grin became wider and wider.
“You don’t have any fever. And, as far as I can tell, you’re still the Alexandra that I know and love.” He paused for effect as Alex started getting more and more agitated. “So, mi amor, please explain to me what happened to the woman I fell in love with who was terrified of the paparazzi, who never wanted to date an actor, who hated that her life might be put under the microscope. Where did she go?”
Finally, Alex softened now that Marco had relaxed too. “She realized that putting up with the bullshit was far better than the thought of trying to imagine her life without you. I already know what that’s like. And I don’t want to experience it again. So let them post a video of us making out. So what?”
“You mean that?” he asked sincerely and Alex nodded. “You know this is what it will be like, being with me. Tu sabes esto, si?” The pain and sincerity in his voice tugged at Alex’s heart as she nodded. She knew this is what it would be like. And there still wasn’t any question in her mind that she’d rather put up with it than be without him.
Marco grinned and exhaled as though the weight of the world had just been lifted. He kissed Alex’s forehead, leaving his lips lingering on her skin as he cupped the back of her head and took another deep breath. “Wait right here, mi amor. I’ll be right back.”
Alex wasn’t sure where he was off to, somewhere in wardrobe, but he seemed both excited and determined, like he couldn’t wait to get to where he was going. No sooner had he rushed off set than he came right back, but this time, he walked up to Jesús and said something quietly to him. Alex saw Jesús’ eyes go wide and then a tiny smile came over his face as he nodded and they both walked over to Alex. By now, her brows were knit, seeing these two conspire, wondering what on earth could bring them together.
“Marco wants to get one last shot with the two of you.” Jesús said, “like we did when we were on the islands.”
Alex nodded, used to the drill and followed Marco to the mark on the set. When they got there, Marco faced her to him and his expression changed completely. The corners of his mouth turned up as his eyes filled with tears while he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. He stared into her eyes and took a deep breath before he reached into his pocket and then knelt down before her. Alex was in a state of shock, as was the rest of the set who inhaled a collective gasp. Alex was vaguely aware of the camera clicking away and the strobes firing, but more than anything, it was her heart pounding that seemed to dominate her senses.
“Alexandra, mi amor, mi Corazon, mi vida,” Marco started, and hearing those terms of endearment from the man kneeling before her, coupled with what she knew was to follow them, she felt the tears start rolling down her face. “No llores, mi amor,” he worried.
“It’s ok, Marco, they’re happy tears.” She smiled as the tears continued to fall and she saw Marco exhale and then start again.
“From the moment I met you, I knew you were the one. I just knew. Even though you didn’t, I did. And since then, there hasn’t been a day that goes by that I don’t think about you, wishing you were there by my side when you’re not. I don’t know what the future holds, Alexandra, none of us do, but I do know that I want you in mine, with me, forever, always.”
EPILOGUE
Alex never thought she would get married. It wasn’t that she was against it, it was just that, growing up, her focus was on survival. She had learned early on to be happy with what she had and what she could accomplish for herself. Fantasizing about sharing a life with someone was far too scary after knowing how, in an instant, anyone could be snatched from this world.
But then Marco came along and proved to her that even after she thought she lost him, he was never truly gone. She also learned that she had the power to not just face her fears, but to move on from them, choosing a different path, one that wasn’t defined by fear, but rather by opportunity.
Their wedding was tiny, by all accounts. There was no question as to where it would be. Even though Los Angeles was both of their homes now, they went back to the place that truly brought them together. They worked very hard to keep the location and date of their wedding a secret from the prying eyes of the tabloids and paparazzi. Ever since the video from the shoot was leaked, they were both very, very careful not to let any details slip. They agreed that they’d have a small party when they got back to LA, but they both wanted the wedding itself to just be family. As Marco’s fame continued to rise, they got a quick indoctrination into the beast that was the tabloid gossip mill and took great pains to keep their private life as private as it could be for a man whose rise was so quick, that he had already reached single-name status.
When Alex had asked Jesús if he would walk her down the aisle, it was the first time she had ever seen him cry tears of joy. Surprisingly, she had seen him cry one other time. It was when he realized that Alex was the only one who showed up to see him graduate high school. Not one member of his family took the time to make it. He had let her see a couple tears fall before he pulled his mask back on, but she had seen it, and it broke her heart. These tears however, these were tears of honor. When the moment finally came, Alex had never seen him more proud, making her tear up. Before he walked her down the aisle, he took the moment to tell her what she meant to him. He knew the honor she had bestowed upon him by asking him to give her away, and the implication of that, of what it meant to him, was by no means lost.
“Alex, I’ve never said this out loud,” he paused, the words getting caught in his throat. He took a deep breath before he was able to continue. Even as he did, he alternated between looking at her and the floor. “We, um, we both know that you saved me. I, shit, who knows where I’d be if you hadn’t come along.” Jesús paused again, looking down, making sure what he said next came out right. “I don’t want to lose you to Marco. But you deserve to be loved. Hell, you deserve everything, anything. And if he makes you happy, then I’m ok with it, you know what I mean?” Alex nodded and sniffled, but Jesús wasn’t finished. “I love you, Alex. You’re more family to me than my own blood.”
Now the tears really started flowing. Alex bit the inside of her lip to try to stop them, but she couldn’t, and once they started, she just let them fall. Finally, Jesús said, “Come on, we better get you down that aisle, otherwise I think Marco and I might finally have that fight we’ve both been waiting for.”
Alex laughed and used the tissue that Jesús thankfully had on him. Before they took their first step though, she said, “You’re not losing me, Jesús. You never will. I love you too. And our family is forever.” Making Jesús tear up this time.
Jesús took the tissue and wiped under Alex’s eye
s, the tender gesture almost making her cry all over again. Finally Alex tucked her arm into his, and with his other hand, he patted hers. She was so proud of the young man on her arm, and if anyone other than her father or Dan were going to walk her down the aisle, there was no one else she’d rather it be.
As she and Jesús walked down the makeshift aisle on the sand, the sea lions took that opportunity to bark their loudest, making everyone relax and laugh through the tears that were flowing from almost all the eyes. Once they started again, Alex fixed on Marco’s gaze, his eyes and his smile seeming to silently communicate just how much he loved her. She just hoped her expression was as clear back to him. In fact, her cheeks felt like they were going to burst she was grinning so wide. But the joy she felt simply couldn’t be contained. She somehow managed to take in the loving looks from his family. In fact, she wasn’t sure she had ever felt so much love. Even though she lost her parents at a young age, she felt like she was being given a second chance at family with Marco’s. Of all the faces, the one that said the most was Patricia’s. They had a connection from early on, and when they locked eyes, the warmth, love, and approval that Alex felt almost melted her. She simply kept grinning and gave the old woman a slight nod as a way of recognizing that she knew all that she was being given.
Though it was a short walk, so much played through Alex’s mind that when she finally got to Marco, it felt like an entire day had passed. Before Jesús had the chance to hand Alex to Marco, Marco put out his hand, and then faked Jesús into a hug, holding him tightly. “I promise you that I will love, honor and cherish her as much as you do, Jesús. You have my word.” Marco released Jesús from the tight hug and then held out his hand, “Welcome to the Flores family.” Alex could see the emotion on Jesús’ face. A man who at one point probably wanted to pummel Jesús was showing him more respect and love than Jesús’ own family had ever shown.