The Heaven I Found In Hell

by Ashley Andrews

  "I know," I said, smiling from ear-to-ear. "And Nathan wants to come and see me do my thing."

  "Yeah, I'm actually excited," he returned. "I've been to runway shows but never pictorials for ads."

  For the first time since forever, my mother turned her head back to face us before she smiled, a true one, at us, and said to my boyfriend, "You're going to take care of Alex, won't you?"

  Nathan didn't need to think of what to answer since immediately he nodded his head and gave my mom a 'yes.'

  * * *

  "I can't believe it," Nathan said shaking his head. "My first day in New York and I'm stuck in an apartment."

  "With your very loving girlfriend," I replied, as I gave him a mischievous grin.

  He looked at me and raised his eyebrows. A look of sarcasm was seen on his face. In return, I smiled brightly at him before I planted a soft kiss on his lips. He kissed me back, for a short while, before we went back to hugging each other, as we lay down on the living room couch.

  "So, what now?" he asked looking at me with a look of boredom. "I thought we were going out."

  "We are," I said, pinching his cheeks, and I was slightly getting impatient. "But later with my parents."

  He curved his lips down and gave me a frown, and in response I pointed my finger at him, as it made contact with his chest. He swatted my arm away from him which made me give him a pout, and to make it up to me, he used one of his arms to pull my head closer to his, as he planted a soft kiss over my forehead. His touch lingered there for about a few seconds before we ended up making-out. After a while, we decided to watch a movie, Pride and Prejudice.

  "I love this film," I said, my eyes shining. "It's so sweet!"

  I saw Nathan cringe with the little squeal I gave out, and because of that, he covered my mouth with his hands as I tried desperately to get it off my face. I succeeded after a few couple minutes, and I felt myself cuddling deeper into him as the flick started rolling.

  "What kind of a name is Mr. Darcy?" Nathan said in the somewhat beginning part of the movie. "Poor kid and what kind of parents does he have?"

  I hit him in the arm and told him to shut up, but did he listen? Obviously, no. He distracted me by putting his face in front of mine as it covered the television screen and I found myself missing some of the cute scenes. This irritated me a bit, and I ended up shouting at him.

  "Stop it, Nate," I said in a firmer tone. "I'm trying to watch here."

  "And I'm your guest," he answered in a matter-of-factly tone. "Aren't you supposed to entertain me?"

  "Well, I'm your girlfriend," I countered.

  "And that means what exactly?"

  "That you're supposed to be understanding," I replied in a tone of finality.

  He let out a deep sigh, and his breath touched the top part of my hair where his chin rested. His arm was on my shoulders as I had my hand over one of his knees. I snuggled up closer to him with my back resting comfortably against his chest.

  "Understanding my ass," he said which made me slap him.

  "You did not!"

  "What did I do?"

  "You cursed me!" I said teasing him by overreacting.

  Smiling, I looked at him with mischief, but at the same time I feigned a hurt look. Did he just say the word 'ass' to me? How dare he! Of course I knew he was just joking, but that didn't mean I was going to stop.

  "I still can't believe you called me an ass," I said, shaking my head form side-to-side as I put on a look of disappointment.

  He put a finger under my chin, as he held my head up for our eyes to lock. I blinked at him and then grinned, and in return, he smirked at me, giving me the “I'm-too-cool-for-you” look.

  "I didn't call you that," he said giving me a small peck. "You know that."

  And another one.

  "Don't distract me! I'm trying to watch!" I said immaturely when he continued bugging me by doing very random things so that I felt too lazy to enumerate.

  I pulled away from his embrace since I felt too squished and suffocated. Trying to make me guilty, he frowned at me, and in reply, I snickered at him, as I continued to watch the movie starring Keira Knightley in peace…or so I thought.

  "Can we please do something else?" Nathan asked in a very kiddy voice when I wasn't giving him the attention he wanted.

  The movie was nearing its end which meant the sweetest part of the film was about to come. I couldn't miss a single second, but here was Nathan distracting me to death by asking me questions I didn't really care about.

  "Is this done?" he asked pouting.

  "The credits haven't rolled yet," I answered in a matter-of-factly tone. "Now tell me, do you think the movie is done?"

  He shook his head, as he smiled sheepishly towards me before he decided to snuggle up by putting his head on my shoulder. His sight trailed up, and he gave me that eight-year old smile.

  "What are you smiling at?" I asked, raising one of my eyebrows.

  "Nothing," he said with a mischievous smile. "You just look pretty."

  "And you're sucking up," I said winking.

  * * *

  Nathan and I, in separate laptops of course, signed in into our MSN accounts and just in time, Riley and Anthony were online, and so, a conference was made.

  lexeesgame: Hey guys! What's up? How's Cali treating you?

  suckahgalree: It's a bitch. The weather's pretty nasty, but it's okay…in a weird random sort of way.

  nateyboii: That's gay.

  antionenee: I'm freezing right now, and your sis' cuddling up to me is of no help at the moment.

  suckahgalree: You were the one asking for it.

  suckahgalree: Fag. p

  suckahgalree: Hehe.

  antionenee: How about you guyz? Howz the red apple?

  nateyboii: The red apple? Look what I've found…

  nateyboii: A gay couple!

  nateyboii: Lmfao.

  lexeesgame: That's mean.

  lexeesgame: For real. XD

  nateyboii: It's not my fault I'm bored to death!

  suckahgalree: You are?

  antionenee: In N.Y.?

  antionenee: You're kidding me, dude.

  nateyboii: I ain't playing with you.

  nateyboii: My GIRLFRIEND IS NOT ACTING LIKE ONE AT ALL!

  lexeesgame: What the hell did I do?

  suckahgalree: What did she do?

  antionenee: No, bro…

  antionenee: You're the gay one.

  Nathan and I weren't in separate rooms, but we felt it better to talk through chat than face-to-face. We found it a waste of energy and voice. Loser much? I know.

  nateyboii: Shut up, dildo.

  lexeesgame: I was trying to watch Pride and Prejudice but…

  suckahgalree: That's the best movie ever!

  lexeesgame: I know, right? But Nate here was being a kid.

  nateyboii: I am a kid.

  nateyboii: p

  antionenee: Yeah, you are. Ass-ugly too.

  antionenee: D

  nateyboii: Oh, you didn't!

  nateyboii: That's low, dude! Really low!

  antionenee: And tell me why I have to care about what you think?

  suckahgalree: Guys, shut up.

  suckahgalree: Act like your age.

  lexeesgame: Look who's talking.

  lexeesgame: Lmao. ;p

  nateyboii: I wanted to buy some clothes but Alex wanted to just stay at the apartment.

  lexeesgame: Aren't you tired?

  suckahgalree: It's only the first day!

  lexeesgame: Yeah, see! And I told you I was going to have shows tomorrow! We can go shopping tomorrow…with discounts, dear.

  lexeesgame: Isn't that a darling?

  nateyboii: No, it ain't.

  nateyboii: I want to go shopping now!

  lexeesgame: ass.

  suckahgalree: fag.

  antionenee: gay.

  suckahgalree: Yay! We finally agree that the brother is the evil one here!

  lexeesgame: H
ere, here.

  antionenee: Yeah-uh!

  nateyboii: I'm leaving.

  suckahgalree: Aww…why?

  nateyboii: Meanies.

  nateyboii has signed out.

  lexeesgame: I'll just leave too.

  lexeesgame: Bubye guys! Love ya lots!

  lexeesgame: Mwah!

  lexeesgame has signed out.

  * * *

  "What do you guys plan on doing when both of you are in college?" my mother asked when all of us had seated on our respective chairs.

  The restaurant looked very grandiose, and everyone had donned gowns and tuxedos. I, myself, wore a black cocktail dress which matched Nathan's ebony attire. My parents looked sophisticated, my mom in a very arrogant the-world-loves-me way. The first out of five courses was served, and with etiquette, I took my time to eat.

  "We haven't really thought about that," Nathan answered, as he kept eye contact with my mom.

  "You guys aren't planning on making a long distance relationship work or are you?" my mom asked, as she looked at Nathan and then to me suspiciously.

  This conversation suddenly felt like an interrogation, and I could see it ending as a disaster. My mom, as usual, was being ignorant to my feelings, while my dad, apathetic, was simply listening to the chat we were having.

  "It hasn't come to our minds yet," Nathan answered firmly. "But we're going to talk about it for sure. It's something inescapable."

  "I'm happy to know you're not rushing things by giving us all clichés," my mother said with a small curve of the lips.

  Okay…that's a good thing.

  "And whatever happens, just make sure you two will remain friends," my dad said, the first for tonight.

  Nathan and I looked at each other, and what I thought was going to end as a catastrophe was starting to actually work its way up for the better. I smiled at him, and he returned it with a grin. My mom let out a fake cough, and we were back to talking about the future.

  "So, what college do you plan on going to?" my father asked switching to another topic.

  It took Nate a moment before he was able to answer, and what he said impressed my mom who was starting to like him.

  "I'm planning on taking Law, really," the soccer player said.

  "Do you know what college you're going to go to?"

  "I'm still choosing actually," he answered with a sheepish smile. "I was able to get soccer scholarships, and luckily, some teams and foundations are willing to pay for me even though I took up Law."

  "Impressive," my mother said smirking. "If only our daughter was as goal-oriented as you."

  I eyed my mother and looked at her fixatedly. Was she trying to make me look bad in front of my own boyfriend? Bitch.

  "Well, Alex told me she's planning to go to N.Y.U. or something," Nathan answered which caught my parents off guard.

  "Really now?" my mother asked in disbelief.

  I nodded.

  "Yes, mom. A design course or something, and I'll still be able to work anyway. I'm sure there'll be a lot of offers for me in New York alone."

  My parents smiled, and they looked at each other in happiness. I, myself, was grinning deep inside of me. My mom was actually gleeful, and her degrading remarks were lessening now.

  "That's very nice to know," my dad said exchanging a handshake with my boo.

  "It's glad you've changed our daughter for the better."

  And that was how our night ended.

  * * *

  Chapter 22: I'm a Porn Star and He's an Ass

  * * *

  My day started early, and I, hand-in-hand with Nathan, found myself leaving the apartment at nine o'clock in the morning. My parents, Nate, and I arrived home at about ten last night, and we were stuffed to death. The coursed meal was absolutely good, and aside from that, my life was actually starting to get better. My mother, at the end of the night, absolutely loved my boyfriend because of his achievements in school and his skills in soccer, and my parent’s attitude towards me were calmer now. They accepted my decisions, such as going to college while continuing my modeling career, and it felt like my life couldn't get any better. It was true. Just after a day of pure happiness my story was starting to head downhill…again.

  "Nathan, hurry up," I said dragging him out of the building, as our trench coats protected us from the winter wind.

  "I am, I am," he said, getting a grip of my hand.

  Nathan hailed a taxi cab, and we told the driver to take us to Saks Fifth Avenue since I was to have a photo shoot for Guess there. The ride going there was pretty quiet, and Nathan and I busied ourselves with silent tease-feasts.

  He hooked my arm with mine while our hands rested on his knee as they rubbed together up-and-down his lap. My face was against the window, and my eyes were looking through it, at the busy streets and colorful billboards.

  After ten minutes or so, we finally arrived at our destination and paid the cab driver before we left the taxi and entered the building. We went to the third floor and when the elevator doors opened, white walls, and people in various clothes greeted us, some wore no top at all, and I knew I was going to join them. Apparently, this angered Nathan and made him feel jealous.

  "Please take off your shirt, miss," the photographer said to me and a fellow model that I had posed with a few months ago. "And go between Rafael and Simon."

  Rafael and Simon were two supermodels transported…drumroll…from England! They were attractive in a roguish sort of way with their hair tinted with dark colors and with the perfect etching of their abs. They were tall, above six feet of course, and when I looked at Bella, my other fellow female model, she whispered, "Hot!" to me,

  I nodded in agreement as I discreetly smiled not allowing Nathan to catch me. He, by the way, was still too shocked that I was to do a half-naked pose, and so, he absolutely positively didn't see me drooling over the Brits.

  "Am I supposed to be here?" I asked positioning myself beside Rafael.

  "Closer," the picture-taker merely said.

  Rafael closed the gap between the two of us, and I felt my goods colliding with his chest. The touch was warm, pleasurable, but uncomfortable at the same time. My boyfriend was watching me. Do you expect me to jump for joy at the thought of getting really close with some hot European?

  "Awesome, put your lips closer, but don't kiss."

  I moved my head until it was an inch apart from Rafael's after I looked at Nathan who I saw was starting to get all fidgety and restless.

  "Rafael and Simon, hook your fingers on the girls' jeans belt loops."

  Damn. My boobs were squished, and I was starting to sweat. After a couple of shots had been taken, I went over to Nathan who didn't look happy at all. He was frowning, his eyebrows furrowed together. When I kissed him, he didn't return it, and that was when I knew something was up.

  "What's wrong?" I asked in a calm voice, so that no one would notice that an argument was about to start.

  "Are you seriously asking me that question?" he asked in a tone of disbelief.

  "Why not?"

  "Because only someone who doesn't have hormones will not know what's wrong, and I'm pretty sure you have them," he said his voice starting to sound scary and sarcastic.

  I pulled him to the far corner of the room, and good thing no one noticed that our voices were starting to grow louder. When I tried to hold both of his hands, he pulled them away and kept them behind his back which made me frown in disappointment.

  "What's wrong with you?"

  "I never knew my girlfriend was a porn star," he said looking away from me.

  I joined my eyebrows and wrinkled my forehead. Was he being serious and acting like an ass? Suddenly, a string pulled at my heart, and I, out of nowhere, felt nervous. My insides were flipping with the way Nathan looked at me. Disappointment, anger, and jealousy showed on his face while I could only stare back at him in confusion.