Broken Rules (16 page)

 “Ok,
mi amor
. I understand. I’ll call
you from the road and we’ll figure this out when I get back.” Alex just nodded
again. Marco leaned down and kissed her lips lightly, then kissed them again,
and again. Even such a chaste kiss Alex felt deep down inside.

 “Have a good trip, Marco.” She said weakly
as she turned to go. Even as she said it, she knew how lame it sounded. She was
stronger than this. She could put herself out there.

 “Marco?” she said as she turned back, “This
trip was amazing. Spending time with you and your family, it’s maybe the best
four days I can remember. It, them, you, it all means more to me than I can express.
And if you didn’t know that, well, now you do.”

Marco smiled, a big genuine smile, for the first
time since they left the island. He pulled her into a tight hug and said,
“Thank you,
Corazon
. I did know. And I hope you know that it’s been the
same for me.” This time, they kissed a real kiss.

 “Ok, bye Marco.”

 “Hasta luego, Corazon.”

Alex walked back to her car not knowing what the
future with Marco would hold. If that was the last time she saw him, at least
she knew that it wasn’t because of her shutting down. She had put herself out
there and made it clear how she felt.

In keeping with the tradition of silence of the
day, Alex and Jesús drove for a while without speaking. Finally,
uncharacteristically, Jesús asked, “You really like him, don’t you?” Alex just
nodded, for the umpteenth time that day. Once again, there just wasn’t that
much to say.

She was relieved when, after she dropped off
Jesús, that it was just her and her animals. Alex spent time playing with and
petting each of them, appreciating their unconditional, and uncomplicated love.

“I don’t care what it pays. Hell, Kara, I’ll do it
for free. Just find me a shoot. I need to keep busy.”

 “Aleeexxx…” Kara knew she had to tread
lightly. It was rare that Alex was ever in a mood with her.

 “Kaarrrraa…” Alex replied, only to hear
Kara’s soft giggle. It was virtually impossible for Alex to stay in a mood with
Kara. Damn her.

 “Alex, you’re going to have to tell me at
some point, and you know how my mind works! I’m already making up all kinds of
reasons why you’re acting so, um…”

 “Yes, Kara? So um what?”

 “Bitchy?” Kara said, almost a whisper.

 “You do know I could fire you, right?” Alex
knew that Kara could hear the smile in her voice when she said this.

 “Oh, Alex! Come on, what happened?”

Alex couldn’t bear to say the words. “Come over
and look at the shoot. You’ll see.”

 “Ooohh, goody! I can’t wait! I’ll be there
in 15 minutes.” Alex couldn’t help but both smile and roll her eyes at the
girly glee in Kara’s voice.

Alex had a hard time keeping up with Kara’s
squeals and ooohs and ahhs and OMGs. She showed her all the outtakes of the
shots of her and Marco together. Once she saw them all, Kara walked to the
refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of wine, and proceeded to pour two large glasses
for both of them.

 “It’s 11 in the morning, Kara.”

 “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere. Now start
talking.” Kara said as she raised her glass to clink with Alex.  Alex
shrugged, clinked and took a healthy sip.

 “Does it really need any explanation?” Alex
asked, surprised how easily white wine went down at 11am.

 “Alex, honey, I know you. And I know your
two rules: Never fly on a small plane. And never date an actor. And it looks
like you managed to break both those rules.” Kara said softly.

 “I had to get on that damn plane!”

 “And you had to sleep with Marco?” Kara’s
voice was still soft.

Alex shook her head, “I tried not to, honest,
Kara.”

 “It’s ok, honey. You’re the one with the
silly rule, not me.”

 “It’s not silly, it’s there for a reason!”
Alex stared into her glass as if the wine could provide some answer, some
direction. Kara knew that Alex wasn’t lashing out at her, but rather, at the
situation. Though Kara still wasn’t sure exactly what that was.

 “Ok, so you slept with him. It’s water under
the bridge. I don’t understand what the issue is, sweetie.”

 “Come on, Kara. You know I can’t go around
sleeping with talent!”

 “You make it sound like this is something
you do on a regular basis. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve never slept with
anyone you’re shooting. So, that means that, um, he, must be special.”

Alex took a deep breath, “I don’t know, Kara. It
was everything about this trip. Hell, even Jesús fell for someone. Maybe it was
something in the water.” Kara laughed, and Alex proceeded to tell her all about
the trip, the Flores family, Jesús and Teresa… They finished the bottle and it
was barely noon.

 “And now, he’s on a two-week publicity trip
around the country. So you have to book me something. Please. I can’t sit here
and pine away for him. I just can’t.”

 “I know sweetie. I’ll get you something. And
if I’m going to do that, I should skedaddle.” Kara said and giggled, “Why’d you
make me drink so early in the day?” she teased and Alex just rolled her eyes as
she laughed and pulled her into a hug.

 “Thanks for coming over, Kara. It helped
talking about this.”

 “Anything for you, sweetie. And, hey, if
things don’t work out, you could always send him my way.” Kara winked.

 “Kara! You’re horrible!”

 “I’ve seen the pictures. I’m just human.”
Kara said, flashing a shit-eating grin. “Ok, honey, I’ll find you a job. But
call me if you need to talk.”

No sooner did Kara leave than Alex’s phone rang.
Without looking, she assumed it was Kara and answered, “What did you forget?”

 “I forgot to ask you to come with me on this
trip,
mi amor
.”

Shocked, and a couple glasses of wine too many,
Alex’s voice was higher pitched than usual, “Marco!”

 “Alexandra, have you been drinking?” his
voice couldn’t possibly have been sexier if he had tried.

 “Of course not, Marco! It’s only noon here.”
Alex tried to convince him.

 “I’m only gone for one day, and you’re
already lying to me.” She could hear the humor in his voice.

 “Ok, maybe I had a glass of wine or two.”

 “You miss me that much that you’ve turned to
the bottle?”

 “It’s your modesty and humility that I miss,
obviously.” They both laughed.

 “So, how’s the trip so far?” Alex asked. It
was weird talking with him on the phone. In fact, this was the first time
they’d ever had a phone conversation.

 “We did our first round of interviews for
morning talk shows earlier today. We have a break now, and then more interviews
in a bit and then there’s a screening tonight. And you know my lovely co-star.
She’s a,
como se dice
, peach?”

 “Is her whole entourage there with her,
too?”

 “Oh
, si, claro
. I don’t know how she
is able to do anything. She can’t make a move that’s not pre-approved,
scheduled, okayed…
Dios
, she’s really something.” Alex could already
hear the exhaustion in his voice, and it was only day one of his tour. “But I didn’t
call to talk about her,
mi amor
.” And just like that, his tone turned to
pure sexiness.

 “Oh, no?” Alex asked coyly.

 “No. I called because I missed you. I wish
you were here with me.”

Hearing that melted Alex’s heart and made her
stomach flutter. Emboldened by the wine, Alex asked, “And what would you do
with me if I were there?”

She heard Marco chuckle and then take a deep
breath in, “Oh, Alexandra, so, so many things. I would think of something new
for each city. Mmmmm. I like the idea of that.”

 “I like the idea of that too.” Alex purred.

 “If we keep talking like this, I’m not going
to be able to go to my next interview.”

 “Are you hard, Marco?”

 “What do you think, Alexandra?”

 “Mmmmm. Will you pull it out, Marco? For me?
Will you stroke it? Just a little bit. Just touch it for me.” Alex heard his
breath hitch as he inhaled. “You know, I love watching you stroke your cock,
Marco.”

His voice sounded strained, “Alexandra, you know,
I’m just going to have to punish you for teasing me like this when I get back.”

 “Mmmmm, promises, promises.” She purred and
heard him chuckle.

 “I didn’t think you liked the idea of
punishment,
mi amor
.”

 “Well, I’m not sure I like the idea… But I
liked it when you spanked me.”

 “Oh, Alexandra,
dios
, I wish I had
more time, but we have to stop, you have to stop talking like this. I have to
meet Kimberly downstairs in the lobby in five minutes.” Alex felt suddenly
insecure, which she knew was ridiculous, but the cold water he just splashed on
her woke her up.

 “Well, that’ll help sell the story of the
two of you together, a nice bulge in your pants.” She knew her tone sounded
bitchy, but she couldn’t help it.

 “Alexandra.” His voice warning.

 “I’m sorry, Marco.” And she was. It wasn’t
his fault he had obligations. She was the one acting like a teenager.

 “Me too,
mi amor
. I do wish we could
continue this, um, conversation.” She heard the smile in his voice again.

 “I’m glad you called.”

 “
Igualamente
. Next time, I’ll make
sure there’s more time.”

 “Good. Ok, good luck with your interviews.”

 “
Gracias
, Alexandra. Be good.”

 “You too.”

And with that, they hung up. Alex sat back
stunned. He’d only been gone a day and he called. Definitely, not the normal
guy. Most certainly, not the normal actor. She hated how good it felt to get
that call. Maybe it was the wine. But before she had too much time to think
about it, her phone rang again.

 “
Si, mi amor?
” Alex answered.

 “I’ve always thought of you as a close
friend, Alex, but I’m not sure I’m your love.” Sam Davis said. Damn, second
time that happened!

 “Sam! Sorry, I thought you were someone
else. I just hung up with… oh nevermind.”

Sam laughed, “Well, at least you didn’t answer,
‘hey, asshole.’ Then I might have been worried.” They both laughed again, “Is
this a bad time?”

 “No, no, it’s perfect. What’s going on? How
are you?”

 “Good, I’m good.” Sam paused as if making
sure that was accurate. “So, remember when we had drinks and we ran into James
Willen?” Sam asked, sounding excited, and before Alex could answer, “Well, he
just emailed me, he’s back in town and wants to set up that double date!”

Alex and Sam had drinks a few months earlier and
ran into a director who was working with her then boyfriend, now fiancé,
Laurent. Alex and James flirted for a bit that night, but she had completely
forgotten about him. Until now.

 “Wow, um, okaaaay.”

 “Alex, you ok?”

 “Yeah, definitely.” Alex did her best to
sound convincing.

 “So, what do you think? Are you up for a
double date?”

 “Sure! Sounds like fun! Plus, I’ll get a
chance to meet Laurent, finally.”

They chatted a bit more, setting it up for the end
of the week before hanging up. Alex rationalized that it would be a good
distraction, and it wasn’t like she and Marco had made any commitments to each
other, and it was just a date. Of course, the more she rationalized, the more
she knew that she was trying to convince herself that she wasn’t doing anything
wrong.

Alex hadn’t heard from Marco for the rest of the
week. That, coupled with her impending date, by the time Friday rolled around,
Alex was a bundle of nerves. She had enjoyed meeting James a few months back,
and at the time, thought a date sounded like a good idea. She wasn’t dating
anyone then, and the guy seemed fun and interesting for the few minutes that
they talked. And he wasn’t an actor. And he was older than her, and handsome,
and successful, and friends with her friends. So basically, he was perfect. Not
that Marco wasn’t, but he was an actor, and he was a lot younger than her, both
things that, on paper, made her nervous and insecure. He never once made her
feel anything other than beautiful, sexy and wanted, but in the back of her
mind, she couldn’t help but worry about the fact that she was eight years older
than him, and in this town especially, she couldn’t imagine the older woman /
younger man thing lasting too long. Of course, having him out of town only
played further into her insecurities and pushing her more towards liking the
idea of going out. Until her phone rang.

Alex tried to keep the guilt out of her voice when
she answered, “Hi, Marco!”

 “Alexandra? Have you been drinking again?”
he asked, and she could hear the smile.

 “No, not yet. I’m just happy to hear your
voice.” Everything she said felt like a betrayal. It was true, she was happy to
hear his voice. Usually. But hearing it now, moments before she was about to go
on a date with another man, just made her feel guiltier and guiltier.

 “Hmmm, ok,
Corazon
.” He said, and if
she didn’t know any better, it sounded like he doubted her.

Alex had never been a big fan of phone
conversations. Being a photographer, she was a visual person. She could tell so
much about what people were thinking, feeling, sensing, all by their body
language, their expression. It was one of the things that kept her job
interesting, finding those subtle nuances in a person’s expression that could
change the emotion of a shot in an instant. But on the phone, there were no
visual cues. And right now, moments like this, were exactly why she felt
inadequate over the phone. She needed the reassurance of seeing who she was
talking to. Then again, she knew that as perceptive as Marco was, perhaps it
was best that they weren’t face to face. For he would immediately know that she
was hiding something.

 “How’s the trip going?” She knew that asking
such a generic question sounded lame. She felt lame asking it. She could have
asked the same question of a total stranger rather than someone with whom she
had been so intimate. All the more reason she disliked phone calls, and just
one more reason why dating an actor wouldn’t ever work for her. In his line of
work, he could be gone for months at a time.

 “
Lo mismo
. It’s all very good
practice for me.”

 “Practice?”

 “Acting, Alexandra. Memorizing lines. Each
interviewer asks the same questions, so I already know my responses.”