Date: Sun, 02 May 2004 20:33:11 -0400 From: Jason Leigh Subject: Up Close and Personal-Chapter 3 The story is fiction. It isn't based on any real characters, events, places and situations. There is no relationship between the names used and that of any real person. I love receiving email from you guys and I'm sorry if I don't reply all of them, but I'm in the middle of finals and I'm so busy. This is the first time I'm writing anything so please send all comments and criticism to amabfab@hotmail.com CHAPTER 3: "Shane, you poor thing. I heard about Leo." Jenny said. "What?" gasped Shane in shock. "How did....Who told you?" "Emma." replied Jenny. "But how did she know?" "Well, duh....she was there, remember?.She was the director...wait a second, are we talking about the same thing? I'm talking about the interview with Leo, what are you talking about? "Yeah.that...the interview." Jenny raised an eyebrow "Am I missing something here Shane? What did you think I was talking about?" "Oh, it was nothing" replied Shane. "Okay, for a moment there I thought you were gonna have a heart attack or something. You looked so shocked. Are you sure you're alright?" "Just drop it okay, Jenny" "Hmm...you're touchy this evening Shane" continued Jenny. She sat down in a lotus position on the rug in Shane's office, with her feet tucked under her knees. "I get the feeling Los Angeles didn't do for you what I hoped it would." "And what was that?" asked Shane. "Well you've been in a semi-conscious state since Drew left, so I hoped LA would revive you, but now you seem worse." "Jenny, I'm fine, really. I'm just tired...jet lag" replied Shane. "So...what did you do, that got you so tired? You didn't get tanned...so that means you didn't hit the beaches and that also means you didn't get laid by some hot awesome surfer dude, am I right?" Shane sighed in exasperation. "Yes, Jenny, you're right, I didn't get tanned, I didn't hit the beaches and I definitely did not get laid by some hot awesome surfer dude." He thought to himself, "I did get laid by some hot awesome rock star though." Wincing painfully at the thought, he began gathering his things as he prepared to leave his office. Jenny watched him in silence. She was just starting to get used to Shane's moodiness, but sarcasm was definitely not his thing. She decided to change the subject. "So...I watched the interview. Pretty good stuff. I heard you weren't allowed to ask about his past." Shane grunted in reply. "Our ratings are gonna be up next week. I just know it. I can't wait to use the footage. It's not as long as I hoped. I heard Leo takes a break like every five minutes, right?" Not waiting for a reply from Shane, Jenny continued. "You know, I'm already thinking of another special on Leo Malone. I heard he's gonna be in New York pretty soon and I had this great idea that you." "NO!" yelled Shane before he could stop himself. Jenny jumped in surprise. "Oh my God Shane, what's wrong with you?" Shane ran his hand nervously through his dark golden hair. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to scare you" "But why did you yell?" asked Jenny "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just can't do another special on Leo Malone. It's too...its difficult to explain. I can't work with him again." "He can't be that bad, is he?" "Look, I don't wanna talk about it, alright? Just count me out of any more assignments with Leo." "I can't force you Shane, but your interview with him was very good. For the first time ever, Leo Malone seemed...real...vulnerable. You brought out something in him that no one has ever seen, and I can't just ignore that." Walking to the door, Shane felt a sharp pain in his heart and thought "Yeah, he knew what he'd brought out in Leo...his fucking hard on." Shane sighed and turned around "I'm tired Jenny. I'm going home. We'll talk about this on Monday." "Shane, our jobs are on the line here. You can't refuse an assignment just because Leo Malone acts like a fucking Prima Donna. I know he's an asshole but you can handle it." He said nothing, gripping the door handle tightly and his knuckles turning white in the process. "Shane, I don't mean to pry, but are you..." "Fuck you Jenny." yelled Shane, interrupting her. "You can't just let it be, can you? Don't you get it? Leave me the fuck alone". He slammed the door as he left the office, leaving Jenny staring at the closed door in shock, her mouth wide open. ***************************** "Honey, do these pants make me look fat?" "No, baby...they're fine." "I think I prefer the red dress." "Yeah...that was good too." "Just admit it honey, I look like a cow in this, don't I? "No...You look nice." "Nice? I think I gained a few pounds overnight...at least five pounds...I know I shouldn't have had dessert yesterday. Oh my God, I had a croissant for breakfast and that's at last ten more pounds. Just look at me, I'm...I'm...fat. That's it, no more food for me, I'm on a diet." Leo stifled a yawn. He stared at Joni's slender 5ft 10inch frame. She barely weighed a hundred pounds and had not even an ounce of fat on her. He wondered how an established model like Joni could be so insecure about her weight. "Babe you're always on a diet, besides you had half a croissant for breakfast and I don't think a bite of my cheesecake last night counted as dessert. You look perfect, and you don't need to lose any more weight." Joni turned around slowly from the mirror with a pout on her pretty face. "You really think so, honey?" "Yeah I think so" replied Leo as he cupped Joni's face in his two hands and kissed her lightly on her forehead. She raised her head, trying to offer her lips to him, but he instinctively dropped his hands and took a step backwards. "Leo! What's wrong with you?" She asked immediately. "Uhh...Nothing." He laughed nervously as he took a few more steps backwards. Thinking of a lie as fast as he could, he said "I don't wanna start something I can't finish...you know we're in public' Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Joni replied "Well that never stopped you in the past. We're in the VIP changing room, no one's gonna come in. Besides, Jack's standing outside so nobody could get in even if they wanted to" "Uhh...what if they've got cameras?" "Don't be silly Leo...no one's got cameras in changing rooms" She said as she took a step closer to him. Leo had to think of something quickly. "Uhh..." He looked at his watch as an idea came to mind "Shit, we don't have time. I gotta run" "What? But I thought we were going to Lunch?" "No, I can't...I'm sorry. You spent so much time shopping and now I've gotta head back for practice" Actually, practice was more than two hours away, but he had no more desire to be with Joni. "Well If you'd told me we had so little time, I wouldn't have come here.I could go back with you, maybe we could squeeze in a little..." Leo interrupted her "No! You don't need to come. Uh...I'm gonna be really busy, you know the concert's tomorrow" "So what am I gonna do? I'll be bored to death. This is Tokyo, I don't know anyone. No one speaks English. Its so..." Leo thrust his hand in his pocket "Here's my credit card...you could shop all day, it's all on me, and I'll even leave Jack with you for company...and the Limo." Joni gave a small smile as she took the card, "Alright, I'll let you off the hook this time." Leo sighed in relief as he hugged her. Releasing her quickly and heading for the door, he said "So, I'll see you later then." Joni sighed and bit her lip as she looked at Leo with longing "Leo, honey. It's not me, is it? "Huh?" he asked, turning around in surprise. There was a sad look on her face as she replied "It's just that when you said you wanted me to come to Tokyo with you, I thought we were gonna spend time together, but we haven't. I've spent more time with Jack, your bodyguard, than with you. You haven't even touched me...Did I do something wrong?" "Oh fuck" thought Leo. He didn't need this, not now. He had enough problems to deal with already. He moved closer to Joni and pulled her into his arms, whispering into her ears "No baby, its not you. I've just been busy lately" "Really?" asked Joni with relief. He sighed as he released her "Really. I promise I'll make more time for us" He bent his head and kissed her lips softly. Joni wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him closer, eager for any kind of intimacy with Leo. He let her prolong the kiss him, then gently untangled himself from her. "I really gotta go" he said. Smiling, Joni replied "Okay honey, see you later" Leo got out of there as fast as he could. He left instructions with Jack to stay with Joni and to keep her away from him as long as he possibly could. He began the short walk from the mall back to the hotel, pleased that while he was in Japan he had little fear of being photographed on the streets, since he wasn't as famous here as he was in the States. He mind traveled back to what happened three days ago, He'd woken up early on Tuesday morning, with a smile on his face, aware that he'd just had the most wonderful night of his life. Making love the night before had been blissful, he'd felt like he was flying on the wings of angels all night. It all came to a crashing halt when he looked at the figure next to him. Shane. He'd never woken up in bed with a man before. What was he supposed to do? Was it the same as with a woman? What the fuck had he been thinking when he came here yesterday? Yep, once again he'd led by his cock instead of his brain. Maybe he'd been stoned or drunk? Fuck no, he'd been sober, he didn't even finish his first pack of cigarettes, so he couldn't blame nicotine either. He looked at Shane's face; he even looked more beautiful when asleep. Oh God, did he just think that Shane was beautiful? What the hell was happening to him? As he stared at Shane, he realized that he had nothing to say to him. It'd all been a big mistake. He hadn't been thinking straight. Yeah, come to think of it was he gay or straight? He'd think about that later. Panicking, and doing what any man would do when afraid, Leo ran. He wanted to go as far as he could from Shane, and Japan seemed the best destination. The idea of taking Joni with him to Japan had been a stroke of genius at 5am in the morning. Now he realized it'd been a big mistake. He felt constrained whenever he was with her; he constantly had to reassure her about his feelings for her, her weight, frankly she was getting too demanding. They'd been dating for three months now, and Leo realized he'd had enough of the relationship. He hadn't felt like this last month or even last week. He'd been content with what they had, but when he saw her at the airport, for the first time since being with Shane, he realized something had changed between them. No, scratch that. Not between them, something had changed in him. Now that he was thousands of miles away from Shane, he was able to analyze his feelings clearly. He was sure about two things- He wanted to see Shane again and he wanted a relationship with him. The feelings he had for him were too strong to ignore, and he knew that Shane felt the same way too. He'd always known he wasn't in love with Joni and even with his other girlfriends; he'd wanted them only for the pleasure of a warm body to hold at night. He'd never yearned for more, until now. **************************** Saturday afternoon, and Shane was still in bed. He raised his head and looked at the clock, 2.30 pm, technically he'd been awake for over six hours now, but he'd felt no desire to get up. It was one of those days that time seemed to move much slower than usual. It was a beautiful day outside, but the bright sunshine only brought back memories of Los Angeles. Closing his eyes and huddling deeper into the mountain of quilts over him, he struggled to keep images of Leo from flooding his mind. Suddenly, he heard his door bell ringing. Oh fuck, who was that? He wasn't expecting anyone. Maybe if he ignored it, the person would go away. The ringing became more insistent, and Leo jumped out of bed in anger. He stomped out of his bedroom and walked through the corridor, into the large living room. Flinging the door open, he yelped in surprise when he saw who it was. "Jenny!" "Hi, Shane." She was wearing a white "I love New York" T-shirt with blue jeans, her eyes covered in dark shades. "What are you doing here?" She stretched out her hands, and offered him a brown paper bag. "Peace offering ... Thai Food ...your favorite." Shane took the bag from her stepped away from the door. "Uh thanks...come on in" he said Jenny smiled and walked in cautiously. She took only a few steps inside and then turned around. "Shane, I'm really sorry for what happened yesterday." She began uncertainly. "No...No...Jenny...don't apologize" Shane interrupted, "it was my fault, I acted like a jerk, I'm sorry." Jenny smiled with relief. "Okay, we were both jerks. I hate it when we fight." "Me too" "I missed you" "Me too" "I love you." "Me too" "I never want us to fight again" "Yeah, Me too" "Is that all you're all gonna say?" "Yeah." They looked at each other for a few moments, and then burst out in laughter. Shane walked up to her, dropped the bag and then hugged her. "Look at us" said Jenny as Shane released her. "This is why we don't have boyfriends." "Yeah, we're stuck with each other" replied Shane as he grabbed the bag from the floor and began bringing out boxes of Thai Food. "I'm starving. Thanks for the food." "You're welcome. I figured if you weren't gonna let me in, Mr. Chang's cuisine might change your mind" Jenny took off her glasses and grabbed a box of noodles. "You look terrible." said Shane. "Yeah...I've got a hang over" "Where'd you go?" "Well." "Come on, spill it out." "Okay...when you left the studio last night, I felt awful, and I was really bored" "How bored?" asked Shane. "I umm...I went for a drink with Mark" "Mark? Mark, the sound guy?" "Mark, the sound manager" "Yeah, whatever... So...you went out and got drunk with this guy, you don't even know him." "Well, I was bored, and you're supposed to be my drinking buddy anyway." "Okay so...you guys are friends now?" "Umm, kinda...I guess...I think...I don't know." "Oh God, you slut...You fucked him, didn't you" Jenny inhaled sharply and stared at Shane. "What!? How did you....? Who told...? Fuck...yes I did" Shane let out a loud laugh. "You are so obvious Jenny, and I'm not your best friend for nothing. I can read you like a book." Jenny covered her face with her two hands. "Oh no, I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe I'm so obvious" She wailed. "Quit while you're ahead Jenny, you don't have one embarrassed bone in your body" She took her hands off, a wide grin on her face. "You know me so well, Mr. Roderick" Shane smiled "So how was it?" "Okay, I guess." "Just okay?" "No...it was really good." "Are you gonna see him again?" "Well yeah, we work in the same office." "No, I mean you know...are you dating? Or are you just gonna be fuck buddies?" "I don't know Shane. He's really great, and he's cute and he's got a great ass." "But....? What's your excuse this time?" "There're rules against inter-office dating at Up Close and Personal." "No, there're none Jenny. You just formed that. Next" Jenny pouted as she put a jumbo shrimp in her mouth and chewed slowly. "Okay, he's younger than me. He's only twenty eight and I'm thirty." "First of all, You're thirty four, Jenny." She made a face at him. Shane ignored her and continued, "And that guy you dated last year, Bill .Will .something like that." "Phil?" she offered. "Yeah Phil. He was my age and I'm twenty seven." Jenny sighed. "I don't want a boyfriend, or a relationship. I've been married once and that's enough." "You can't continue running away from this. You always meet all these great guys and you never give them a chance." "Shane, no offense to you, but look where love got you. Drew was perfect for a while but he still acted like a jerk." Shane said nothing. Jenny did have a point, and she hadn't even heard about Leo yet. Maybe now wasn't the time to tell her. "Jenny, love's like that. You're gonna burned again and again and again but you've gotta keep trying" "I distinctly remember having a similar conversation with you sometime last week. Only I was telling you to give love a chance." Shane smiled and said "Well yeah, but now you're getting a taste of your own medicine." "He asked me on another date. Maybe I'll go." Shane leaned over and ruffled her loose auburn curls. "That's my girl." They spent the next two hours chatting away and stuffing themselves with Thai food. "You've got precisely one hundred and thirty freckles on your face" said Shane. Jenny raised her head off his laps and said with indignation, "I do not. They're less" "Yes, you do", replied Shane. "I just counted." "Okay...okay...There're one hundred and twenty two." Shane burst out laughing. "You actually know how many freckles you've got." "Of course I do. When I was fourth grade, Bobby Jones told me I had a million freckles, so I went home, sat in front of the mirror all night and counted them." "And...." "And I went to school the next day, punched him and told him I had only 122." Shane laughed and kissed her forehead lightly, "Good for you." "Oh men....it's five o'clock. I've gotta head to work." "Why? It's Saturday." "Yeah.I know. There's a meeting with the studio execs at six." Jenny left about ten minutes later and Shane began gathering up the empty boxes of food. He felt so much better after spending time with his best friend. Walking to the kitchen, he began humming Celine Dion's "I'm alive" to himself. He thought he heard sounds in the living room but thought nothing of it. Suddenly, he heard a high pitched yelp behind him and whirled around to see two small brown eyes staring at him, black bat ears standing up and a wrinkled fawn forehead. Shane stared in surprise at the fifteen pound pug, and then bent down to pick it up. He walked slowly to the living room where he heard more sounds, a million thoughts going through his head as the dog whined and licked his nose. He was the same height as Shane, 6 ft tall, but he always seemed to look taller because of his slim figure. He was casually dressed in a black short sleeved shirt and blue jeans. His long dark hair was pulled back in a pony tail and a silver hoop hung from his left ear. He was going through a pile of mail on the table and turned around when he heard Shane walk in. "I see I've been getting a lot mail." He said. "Four months worth" replied Shane. He turned back and continued sorting through the letters. "So, Jasmine found you. She missed you." Shane said nothing for a few moments, and then set down the dog gently. "Drew...what do you want?" he asked. Drew turned around again; staring intently at Shane, then spoke in a loud voice, "You." **************************** Leo was glad the concert was over. They had done a good job and the crowd had been great. Performing had also helped him think through a lot of things. He knew what he had to do now. "Paul, do you think you could me that um...TV guy's phone number?" "Who?" replied Paul. "Umm...Shane...something...The guy who interviewed me last week" said Leo, trying to be as vague as possible. "Oh...yeah, sure. It'd take a while though; I gotta call the U.S and find out from." "Just get it, Paul" interrupted Leo. "Is there a problem you're not telling me Leo? Shane Roderick called me on Tuesday morning. It was about 7 am and..." "WHAT!?" thundered Leo. "Jeez!....Calm down Leo. Did something go wrong with the interview? Are you scheduling another one? You should do these things through me; I'm your manager." "When the fuck did he call? Why didn't you fucking tell me?" "Well considering the fact that you'd just left for Japan that morning." "Oh fuck Paul...Don't tell me you said I'd left already...." "Uh...I shouldn't have?" asked Paul nervously. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU TELL HIM?" "Uh...umm...that you'd left that morning and that you took Joni with you." Leo slammed his fist angrily into the wall. "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE PAUL? WHY THE FUCK DID YOUTELL HIM ABOUT JONI? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU"VE JUST DONE" "But...but...Leo, I didn't know. You and Joni are public knowledge. Oh shit. I'm so fucking sorry." Leo took in a deep breath and yelled "Just get me the fucking phone number, alright?" "Yeah sure. Christ, I'm really sorry Leo" He said as he left the room. Leo stuck a cigarette in his mouth and tried to light it. Oh fuck, he couldn't his hands were shaking so badly. He gave up and walked around the room nervously. What the hell was he gonna do now. He had to explain to Shane. He didn't mean to leave like that. Going to Japan that morning had been a stupid, rash decision and taking Joni with him and been just dumb. He'd thought that she would bring him to his senses. That she would erase all memories of Shane from his mind. He wished he could see Shane now, just for one moment and look into his deep blue eyes. He'd hold him tight and tell him how he really felt. Then he'd press his lips to his and .Oh shit, this wasn't helping. Focus Leo. What are you gonna tell him? Would he still want you? He felt a hand touching his shoulder, and he jumped around in his surprise. "Leo, you were great." Said Joni "Huh?" asked Leo "Your performance honey, it was really good." "Oh...yeah, thanks." She wrapped her hand around his neck, pulling him for a kiss. Her lips were close and he could feel her breath when he suddenly jerked away. "Honey, what's wrong?" She asked. "Joni...we need to talk." ************************** "I hate you!" yelled Joni, tears streaming down her face. "You brought me all the way to Japan for this. Fuck you, Leo." She slammed the door as the she walked "Well, that went well" thought Leo. He felt bad for what he'd just. He knew he'd been a jerk, bringing her to Japan then breaking up with her. But he also knew that he'd just done the right thing. He had no future with her, and he couldn't pretend any longer. There was a knock on the door. "Yeah?" Oh fuck, he hoped it wasn't Joni. "It's Paul, I got the number." "Come in." He's heart was suddenly racing a mile a minute. He stared at the piece of paper for over thirty minutes, contemplating the pros and cons of the phone call he was about to make. Jeez, what time was it in New York anyway? Suddenly he didn't care anymore. The phone rang for a long time before someone picked it up. "Hello." His mouth was dry. He couldn't even form any words. "Hello? .... Is anyone there?" "Uh...Shane?" "No...this isn't Shane. I'm Drew. Who's this?" In the background, Leo heard another voice call out "Drew who is it?" Oh God that was Shane. "Baby, I don't know. Hello. Is anyone there" "Uhmm. Who are you?" "I said I'm Drew, Shane's boyfriend. Who are you?" Leo inhaled sharply. Fuck! "Oh...Sorry, umm.... wrong number" he replied and dropped the phone. He knew this was a big fucking mistake. He was too late. Shane already had a boyfriend. To Be Continued.