Musings of a Gossip Queen

by Victoria Bright

  “No matter what Madison thinks or how she acts, she and I will always be friends and nothing more. She’s just not my type. So if I were you, I wouldn’t worry about her,” he says.

  Relief and satisfaction wash over me at his words. To know that he actually likes me and that I’m not just being a delusional fool makes all of the bullshit Madicunt puts me through every day at work totally worth it. Hell, if I were in her position, I’d probably feel the same way also. Unfortunately for her, I’m not in that situation, so ha!

  Blake - 4, Cunt Cakes - 0

  10:38 p.m.

  Still inside the ballroom

  Fashion fucking hurts.

  Even though my shoes are to die for, I’m seconds away from dying in them. Unfortunately, just as I find an opening to ask Silas if he’d like to sit, he squeezes me to him a bit tighter or looks at me and smiles, making me never wanting to let him go. Ugh, the things I do for lust.

  “Holy shit, that’s Adam Herrera,” Silas says suddenly as his eyes widen.

  I glance over my shoulder and try to follow his gaze. “Who?”

  “Adam Herrera, world renowned photographer. He’s one of my idols. I absolutely love his work,” he says. Seeing the excitement light up his face is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen other than Milo sleeping with his favorite teddy bear.

  “Let’s go talk to him then,” I offer, moving in the direction of the photographer. Silas grabs my elbow.

  “No, no, no. I couldn’t possibly do that,” he says, his former excitement now gone and replaced by hesitation.

  “And why not?”

  “I’d just embarrass myself. I’m nowhere near as good as he is and he’d probably get a good laugh when he learns that I’m just a photographer for a tabloid magazine. Those who can’t make it working for prestigious magazines or fashion usually just pick up the scraps of tabloid shots.”

  I roll my eyes and take his hand in mine. “Silas, you’re really good at what you do. You don’t know what he’ll think. Maybe he’ll offer to mentor you or something.”

  “I don’t know, Blake…”

  “Just take the leap. It’ll either be the best thing you ever did or a temporary moment of embarrassment. Just don’t let the opportunity slip away from you,” I say. He glances toward the photographer and releases a sigh before standing a little taller.

  “You’re right,” he says and gives my hand a little squeeze as we walk over to Adam.

  Adam stands with a few other men dressed in dark suits as he is. Wrinkles settle around his eyes and mouth and his thin lips are wrapped around a cigar as he puffs on it a few times and blows out the smoke. He’s tall and slender with broad shoulders and his greying hair is pulled into a low ponytail. He nods as one of the men in the group talks, taking another puff from his cigar.

  “Mr. Herrera?” Silas calls.

  Herrera looks at Silas and me with a cocked brow, exhaling a cloud of smoke around his head. “Can I help you?” he asks.

  “I just wanted to stop by and say hello,” Silas says, his voice filled with a newfound confidence. “I’m a great fan of your work. As a photographer, I can only hope to develop the eye you have in photography.”

  Mr. Herrera nods thoughtfully, a small smile creasing his lips. “I definitely appreciate that, Mr…?”

  “Hayes. Silas Hayes,” he answers.

  “Well, Mr. Hayes, what kind of photography do you do?”

  “I…” he hesitates and clears his throat. I give his hand a reassuring squeeze and nod when he looks over to me. “Candid shots at the moment, but I hope to progress into fashion and glamour photography.”

  “Ah,” Herrera says, puffing on his cigar. We all stand around awkwardly, no one really saying anything else. I glance to Silas, but his confidence from earlier is nowhere to be found.

  “You should really check out his portfolio sometime,” I say. “He does really great work and could possibly learn so much more with a mentor like you.”

  Silas shoots me a look that’s hard to decipher. Perhaps me and my big mouth should just hush before I blow this for him.

  “Is that so?” Mr. Herrera asks. “You’re in search of an internship?”

  “I am, yes,” Silas sputters, his face brightening as he smiles.

  “First rule in this business is to always be prepared. Let’s take a peek at this portfolio,” Herrera says. My heart stops momentarily. When I mentioned Silas’ portfolio, I hadn’t expected Herrera to want to see it NOW. What if Silas doesn’t even have one and I end up embarrassing him by being wrong? I’ve really done it now!

  “Sure thing,” Silas replies as he pulls out his phone. He flips through a couple of web browsers before settling on a site with an SH Photography logo on it and passes the phone to Herrera. So he does have a portfolio. Thank fuck.

  Herrera and the other guys huddle around the phone as they go through his pictures and murmur to one another. Silas and I watch as their expressions range from pleased to confused and to impressed before Herrera hands Silas his phone back. Another group of people a few feet over call out to Herrera and a couple of men from their group, waving them over to join them. Herrera holds his hand up to them and then turns to Silas.

  “I’ll tell you what,” Herrera says, puffing his cigar. “Put together your own fashion or glamour shoot, send me your best shots and if I like them, I’ll see what I can do for you.”

  “Wow, I’d really appreciate that!” Silas exclaimed.

  “You have a pretty great eye yourself, Mr. Hayes. I think you can do a lot better than candid shots.” Herrera takes a business card from his wallet and pulls a pen from his breast pocket. “Here’s my direct email address. I’ll be looking forward to your email.”

  He gives us a parting nod before he and his friends walk away as Silas continues to stare at the business card in awe.

  “You did it!” I cheer, giving him a playful nudge.

  “Did that really just happen?” he asks.

  “Yep.”

  “Did Adam Herrera just ask me to submit pictures to him?”

  “Yep.”

  “Holy shit. That did just happen,” he murmurs to himself. “THAT DID JUST HAPPEN! YES!” He wraps his arms around me and picks me up, twirling us in a circle. “You’re a genius, Blake Spencer!”

  And then he does it.

  He kisses me. Romantic, right?

  Not.

  Because when he kissed me, he shocked the hell out of me. I’m pretty sure I saw the electric spark. Literally.

  We both jump back holding our mouths. “I’m…I shouldn’t have done that,” he sputters, rubbing his neck nervously. “Sorry about that.”

  “No, it’s okay,” I lie, knowing that it isn’t okay. It sucks that my first memory of kissing him would be that I was nearly electrocuted death. Wait, would being shocked mean that he’s just a good kisser and that we have really GREAT chemistry? Who knows? If that’s actually true, then having great chemistry fucking hurts.

  11:57 p.m.

  Still inside the ballroom

  Taylor comes storming over to us without grandpa on her arm. “It’s getting pretty late. Are you guys ready to get out of here?” she asks. I look around the room, but don’t see her date anywhere. Did he leave her here? Better yet, did he leave US here?

  “Where’s Grady?” I ask.

  She huffs and adjusts her purse on her shoulder. “He’s currently talking to another model that he thinks has potential. I’m just ready to leave,” she snaps. “If you guys want a ride home, I’d advise you to come along.”

  I turn to Silas and shrug as we both follow Taylor toward the exit.

  “Thanks for inviting me tonight,” he says with a smile.

  I return his smile and shyly avert my gaze away from his. “Thanks for wanting to come,” I reply.

  We all climb into the limo when it arrives without a word, each of us probably in our own thoughts about tonight. Halfway home, Taylor sniffles as she pulls out a compact mirror and checks her makeup
in it. Silas gives me a questioning glance, but I only shrug.

  “Um…are you okay, Taylor?” I ask.

  She dabs at her face with a handkerchief and snaps the compact closed. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answers. “How did you guys enjoy the party?”

  “I met Adam Herrera,” Silas replied with a smile. “He wants me to submit some work to him.”

  “That’s good for you,” she says. She looks at us for an uncomfortably long time before giving us a watery smile. “You two are lucky you have each other.”

  “Um…what?” I say, completely confused. Where in the world is all of this coming from?

  “It’s nice that you two have each other. I mean you’re both regular people and you don’t have to worry about whether or not your date will find someone prettier or with ‘more potential’ and ditch you,” she clarifies bitterly, turning her gaze out to the window.

  I blink. Comforting people isn’t necessarily my strongest skill, but Silas looks to me as if I should be doing something to help console her. I slide over to sit next to her.

  “Is this about that Grady guy?” I ask, pretty much knowing the answer.

  She sniffles and nods. “We ran into a group of women and he knew a couple of them. They were talking about the fashion shoots they had coming up and how stressed they were from all the work they had. He practically humiliated me in front of them by telling them I couldn’t book work and saying how I could ‘learn from them.’ Can you believe him?” she mutters.

  I purse my lips together to keep from answering the question, instead deciding to focus on cheering her up. “Who cares what he thinks? How about instead of focusing on all of these parties, you focus on what is it that you want for your career. Silas is a photographer; perhaps he can do a fashion shoot for you.”

  Silas perks up at my words. “That’s actually a good idea,” he adds. “I have to do a fashion and glamour shoot to send to Herrera and I could use a model. What do you say? You could use the photos in your portfolio to send to designers and modeling agencies.”

  Taylor looks between the both of us and wipes at her eyes. “Really? You’d do that?”

  “Hey, you invited me to a party that gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s the least I can do,” he says.

  “And you’ll show that old man what you’re capable of. He’ll come crawling back to you and you won’t even need him anymore because you’ll be so swamped with work and being so famous that you won’t know what to do with yourself,” I say with a small smile.

  She giggles and nods, drying the rest of her tears. “You’re so right. Okay then, let’s do it. Just tell me when the shoot is and I’ll be there.”

  12:24 a.m.

  Outside my apartment building

  We pull up outside our building and the driver gets out to let us out of the limo. Taylor bounces out first with a renewed sense of purpose. “Have a great night, guys! Keep me updated on the photoshoot!” she calls as she disappears into the building.

  Silas and I step out of the limo and onto the sidewalk, watching as the limo driver closes the door and gets back inside before pulling away from the curb.

  “Thanks again for tonight,” Silas finally said, breaking the silence around us.

  “No problem.” We stand there for a few moments before I look up at him. “Keep me updated on the photoshoot, yeah? I mean so I can tell her.”

  “Yeah definitely.” He takes a step closer and puts his hands in his pockets. “You know…I really like you, Blake Spencer.”

  “It’s not because of what happened tonight, is it?” I joke.

  Although he grins, it’s not necessarily meeting his eyes, which seem to bore through me right now. “Tonight was cool, but I still would’ve liked you even if our first date was normal, like seeing a crappy movie or eating junk food.” He reaches out to caress my cheek, his touch scorching my cold skin. He says nothing else as he leans forward and captures my lips, causing me to tense as I braced myself for the electric jolt we had earlier.

  Luckily it didn’t happen.

  All that’s there is sizzling passion that’s been there all along. His lips are smooth and warm and hypnotic enough to possess me to ask him if he wanted to come back to my apartment. I definitely would’ve given Taylor a run for her money to see who could truly be the loudest if I can get Silas in my bed. Thankfully, he pulls away with a small smile, leaving me in a slight daze and dousing any sexual fantasies I was conjuring up in my mind.

  “Good night, Blake,” he says softly and turns to get on his motorcycle.

  I watch him start up his bike and pull on his helmet, waving at me before pulling off. Once I can no longer see him, I smile to myself and pull off my heels, yelping as the freezing cold concrete touches my bare feet. Nothing can knock me off this high I’m on right now. Tonight was pretty damn awesome.

  12:46 a.m.

  In bed

  Blake Unfiltered blog post #788

  I’ve been unable to stop smiling since he’s kissed me. Even Milo’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. SEX BOMB KISSED ME! I think it’s safe to say that we’re both going to forget the kiss at the actual party tonight. I’m still suffering from the brain cells I may have lost during that electric shock. Anyway, the party was pretty great. Taylor’s grandfather sex master bought me an amazing dress today and then pretty much ditched her at the party. Wouldn’t say I’m surprised. I’m sure he’d run after any of model willing to give him some “sugar” in exchange for money. Silas is going to help her with a photoshoot. I’ve never seen Taylor in action, but maybe we’ll see how well she photographs and see why she REALLY hasn’t been able to book jobs. Can you truly even call yourself a model without booking jobs? Who knows?

  Now that Silas and I have kissed (twice, at that), what does that mean for us? Are we still friends? Friends with benefits? Kissing friends without sexual benefits? I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure I’m a lot further along with him than Madicunt will ever be. And I actually know his last name. Silas Hayes. Hmm…I think Blake Hayes has a nice ring to it. I wonder what Shamu will think when I ask her on Monday?

  xoxo,

  B

  Chapter Eight

  Monday, January 19th

  6:00 a.m.

  Alarm

  In bed

  Wow.

  To actually wake up when my alarm goes off instead of when Taylor’s headboard starts hitting against my wall is pretty refreshing. Maybe it’s a good thing Grady didn’t come back with her last night. Pretty sure I would’ve thrown up my soul if I’d heard her, since I would’ve known who she was with.

  6:02 a.m.

  Still in bed

  Just the thought of that makes me want to throw up everything I’ve ever consumed in my lifetime. I never understand how women could subject themselves to gross things like that just for money. But hey, not my circus; not my monkeys.

  6:06 a.m.

  Bedroom

  Even though today’s Monday, it feels different. I’m not sure if it’s because I actually had a full night’s rest last night or if I’m still reeling over kissing Silas on Saturday, but I’m unusually giddy to get to work to see him. “Today is going to be an amazing day,” I say out loud, jumping up and picking up Milo. I twirl around my bedroom with him in my arms, almost feeling like one of those chipper Disney princesses.

  6:07 a.m.

  Still in my bedroom

  “Damn it, Milo!”

  Leave it up to Milo the Asshole to bring me back to reality. He snapped at my face, only centimeters away from catching my nose. Even my demon spawn of a puppy won’t get me down! Today is still going to be great!

  6:11 a.m.

  Stairwell

  Voices echoed in the stairwell as we moved closer to the second floor. Even though I slow down my steps, Milo tugs at the leash, anxious to get outside to do his business. It was Mrs. Keller and her babyface boy toy in a heated discussion.

  “What do you expect me to do, leave my husband?” Mrs. Keller
asks furiously, trying to keep her voice low.

  “You said you WERE going to leave him! If you aren’t, what’s the point of being with me?”

  “I can’t leave right now and you know it!” she spits back. “Where will we go if I leave now? You don’t have a place of your own and my children aren’t something you can just throw on the back of your motorcycle.”

  “Look, you need to figure out what it is that you want. I’m not going to wait around forever—”

  “I just want you to grow up and take responsibility for your life! How are we going to be together? You don’t even have a job!”

  “Oh, you didn’t care whether or not I had a job when you met me! You only wanted the excitement of being with a bad boy! How about I pay your husband a little visit? You wouldn’t—”

  Milo barks and growls at them, bringing their attention to us. The guy scoffs, shakes his head and mutters something before storming away, leaving the woman standing in the doorway with a red face.

  “What the hell are you looking at?” she snaps at me and slams her door closed. I blink, a little stunned from the whole ordeal before Milo and I continue down the stairs and to the first floor. I’m pretty sure it’s only a matter of time before that whole situation blows up in her face. No need to be pissed at me about it. I’m just an innocent (but nosy) bystander that has nothing to do with her nonsense.

  6:15 a.m.

  Outside

  As Milo does his business, I can’t help but to think about Mrs. Keller and her boyfriend dilemma. Sometimes I genuinely wonder why people get involved with men and/or women that they KNOW are in a relationship or even married. I used to see people on social media bragging about being able to take someone else’s boyfriend or girlfriend, but why are they proud to be with a cheater? I figure that if they cheat on their partner with you, what makes you think they won’t cheat on you with someone else? It all just seems like a vicious cycle that no one should want to be in. I’m sure that pretty boy could get any woman he wants, but instead he’s clinging on to a married woman. Is it because she gives him security that he doesn’t have right now? Is that why Taylor does it? Well, I can’t really count Taylor because she seems to have the common sense to stay away from married men at least. But it really makes me wonder why people do things like that. If Mrs. Keller doesn’t leave her husband or find a way to pacify her little boyfriend, I’m sure things won’t end very well for her and she’ll have a nasty divorce on her hands. Better her than me, I suppose.