Thursday, April 11, 2019

"Jeffrey, I know it was careless, but there's nothing I can do now." Harry paced the floor, glancing at where Nataley sat on a stool in her kitchen, her lip trapped between her teeth as she scrolled through her phone. The photos labeled her as a 'mystery woman', but her face was clearly visible. She'd been captured accepting Harry's hand as he helped her out of the car at the furniture store and again when he protectively slid his arm across her back at Cafe Habana to steer her inside. The most damaging one, which came well after the first few appeared, was her hand resting on his forearm just before their food arrived.

When Nataley had shown him her phone, she'd been shaking. He waved for the server to come back and package their food to go. The only thought in his head was to get her somewhere safe. Fuck. Why hadn't he warned her before?

"Just -- can you buy them for me? Get them out of the press' hands? You already know which tabloids will pay money for those pics. Let's be preemptive. Snatch them up before they can publish them."

"Harry, it's not that easy. They're on the market, and they've already been posted on fan sites."

"Which is regrettable, but we can at least keep them out of the tabloids. I'm not asking to get rid of them completely, Jeffrey. Just slow down their spread."

"I'll reach out to the pap. I want it on the record that I had dealings with them, going to them first, you know? Could help us out in the future."

"Yes, Jefe. I agree. Whoever it was might even be someone who likes me." Hanging up the phone, he carefully approached Nataley, not wanting to spook her.

"It's fine, Harry." She shrugged, but the fact that she was trembling belied her words. Taking her hands in his, he rubbed at them.

"I'm sorry, Nat. I guess I should have prepared you better. I mean, I assumed you knew that dating me meant this level of scrutiny."

Removing one of her hands from his grip, she caressed his cheek. "I did, H. The photos just caught me off guard. It's bizarre seeing myself in pap photos. I mean, I've been papped before."

"You have?" Surprise tinged his voice.

"Sure. I think once when we all went out to dinner with you, my nose made it into a photo. And another time when I met James and Jules at a park for the kids to play, my arm and half of my face was in the picture. At the time, I actually felt offended when the tabloids cropped me out." Throwing back her head, she laughed, and the sound sent chills down his back.

"It's okay to be creeped out," Harry commented, one hand at her back as he kissed her cheek.

"Cropped, not creeped," she giggled.

"Either you're in shock or you drank your margarita too fast."

"Margaritas!" she called. "Great idea!" Sliding from the stool, she sauntered to the liquor cabinet, withdrawing the Casamigos and Cointreau. "I think I've got some lime in the fridge." Opening the door, she bent over to withdraw some limes from the bottom drawer. "You having one with me or do you want yours straight?"

"Love, I'm not sure you should just blow this off. It's jarring."

"Yes, but it's part of loving you, so I'm good with it." Slicing the limes, she grinned at him before squeezing the juice from the fruit. "Now I seriously need to know if you're having a marg or not."

"If you're so okay with it, why were you trembling?"

"Cause it was clear that my manicure isn't up to snuff. I really need to stop chewing my nails to the quick."

"Nataley --" he warned.

"And my hair was blowing all over the place." Laughing, she measured the tequila and orange liqueur into her cocktail shaker, adding ice and shaking the concoction. "Shit. Forgot to salt the rim." Effortlessly, she poured salt into a small plate, using the lime wedge to trace around the edge of her glass before pressing the damp rim into the salt.

Crossing his arms, Harry rested his bum against the counter. Best to wait her out until she was ready to discuss the situation seriously.

Before she shook the ingredients again, she thumbed through her phone, seeking something. Within minutes, music from Haim was playing on the room's Bluetooth speakers. Pouring the liquid into her glass, she licked the salt and took a sip.

"Fuck. That's good. I think it's better than the ones they serve at Habana. Want some?" Holding the glass out to him, she waited while he accepted it and took a sip. "H -- don't be a sourpuss." She sidled close to him, kissing him softly and chastely before moving to the takeout packages.

Opening the boxes, she grinned. "I knew it! The tacos didn't survive as well as my salad. We're going to have to eat both with a fork."

Skirting him, she opened the drawer and withdrew two utensils.

"You mind if we eat out of the containers? I don't feel like messing with dishes tonight."

Not waiting for an answer, she carried both carryout boxes plus her margarita to the table. She set everything down before she reached for the junk drawer and withdrew some matches. Lighting the candles on the table, she plopped her bum in a chair. Glancing at him, she gestured to the table. Harry shrugged and joined her. This manic energy had to fade eventually.

He watched as she stuffed a forkful of kale salad into her mouth. "Mmmmm. That's tasty." Closing her eyes, she chewed sensuously, and Harry watched her, jealous of the salad.

Picking up his fork, he grasped the container of the fish tacos, spearing part fish and part tortilla, making sure to pick up some coleslaw with it. Stuffing it in his mouth, he chewed. Sandpaper. Why was Nat being so reticent to address the pap photos?

Taking a drink of her margarita, she set the glass and her fork on the table, her eyes taking Harry in like he was part of the meal.

"Harry -- I'm sorry my initial reaction was shock." She swallowed. "I always knew on an intellectual level that we would be photographed together -- and I suppose there will be times that Noah is part of those pictures. The loss of privacy is -- unsettling." Drawing her chin up, she looked him square in the eye. "But if you can do it, so can I." Her shoulders wilted. "How do you deal with it? I'll take any tips you have."

Finally! Her willingness to discuss the situation in a mature manner meant he'd chosen well in dating her. While Nat wasn't his first non-famous partner, few of the others had been around long enough for them to be photographed together. "At first? Or now? Cause they were different reactions."

"Either," she smiled sadly. "And I'm sorry you had to get used to the loss of privacy so early. You were young. That must have made it harder."

"Haha! I was too young to know how dangerous it was to give up that much of my privacy. But lately I've developed a better, more symbiotic relationship with pap photos. Not that I love them..." Taking a bite of the kale salad, he could easily see why she had closed her eyes in ecstasy. It truly was delicious. "But I've learned to manage the whole issue. For starters, I don't pay attention to them much at all. I just expect that every time I go out, someone has a camera."

"Great. No more trips to the grocery in my sweats."

"That's not how I think of it. Instead, I consider that the masses need to know I'm not always perfect. That sometimes I wear crappy clothes or don't style my hair. It makes me more human."

"But your fans aren't looking for human from me, are they?"

His eyes slid sideways. She'd nailed it on the head. "Love, I've never gone public with a relationship. Never. It's safer for both of us that way. I don't acknowledge any of the photos. My plan is always to simply pretend I know nothing about the photos or the person in them."

Nataley examined him carefully before she nodded. "Got it. Might be harder at work where everyone knows both of us, but I'll do my best."

"Fuck, Nat. I didn't even think about that. People will ask you about us. We should plan a canned answer. Maybe we need to talk to my publicist so you know how to respond. We should have been better prepared for this."

"How?" Nataley inquired. "It's not like we've been dating that long."

"True, but..."

She placed her hand over his. "No. No 'buts'. We're going to figure this out moving forward. No papped photo is going to deter me!"

The smile that overtook his face included his dimple, and his heart became a puddle of goo at her words. "I love you, Nataley Zwinger."

"Thank goodness. Otherwise, this would all be really awkward." With that smart ass remark, she picked up her fork and resumed eating.

==========

Saturday, April 13, 2019

"Patti, thanks for meeting us on such short notice," Harry shook the publicist's hand.

"And on a Saturday," Nataley chimed in, and he grinned because he knows that publicists often work on Saturdays. It's Mondays and Tuesdays that they typically take off for a 'weekend'.

"You must be Nataley. You're very kind." Warmly, she stepped forward and grasped Nat's hand. "Let's not waste any time, though. You ready to learn how to be prepared for those awkward questions?"

A confident smile crossed his girlfriend's face, and he was pleased with her reaction. "You bet your sweet ass I am. What's the first lesson?"

"Lesson 1 is the 'less is more'. When you're in a public place with or without Harry and the paparazzi are yelling your name --"

"My name?" Nataley interrupted, biting her lip.

Patti's gaze roamed between Harry and his new girlfriend.

"Love, your name will be linked with mine soon enough. There are people who dig up information for a career. They'll find out who you are soon if they don't already know."

"Oh. Of course. I just didn't...think things through."

"That's normal for a newbie, Nataley. Don't worry," Patti continued, "So when you're out in public and they start calling your name, the best thing you can do is ignore them. Just keep walking no matter what they say."

"Their job is to say the most outlandish things to get a reaction from you, love. Some of it will be offensive and rude. Others will sound genuinely kind, and you'll want to answer."

"Don't." Patti emphasized the word. "If you're with Harry, don't talk to him or look to him for reassurance. Your goal is always to get somewhere private and secure, even if that's different than where Harry goes. We don't want to provide more fodder for them than what they're already getting by photographing you together."

Watching Nataley's face, Harry worried that it was too overwhelming for her until she squared her shoulders and nodded at Patti. "Do you have some paper and pencil? I'd like to take notes."

"Oh! Of course!" The woman grasped a legal pad from her desk, thrusting it at Nataley with a pen. "This is like cramming before a final exam, but over time you'll get better at it. The first few times will probably result in a pounding heart and frayed nerves. After that, you'll be fine. They're not likely to touch you. Their job is to photograph a reaction from you. Anything you can do to thwart them is a win."

Nat jots a few words on the paper she's holding.

"Ready to practice?"

"Huh?" Clearly confused, Nataley drops the notepad to rest against her thigh.

"A few of my colleagues have come in so we can practice this one."

"Oh." She swallows. "Sure. No time like the present."

"Great!" Patti grins. "Harry, you're sitting out this round."

Which is how he spends the next 20 minutes with his stomach churning and his palms sweating as he watches through the one-way mirror as Nataley rehearses walking through a pack of pretend paparazzi. It's the flashes that have always bothered him, and it's even harder watching his girl have to run the gauntlet in this way. In the past several years, he's only dated other celebrities who already knew these tricks, and he had rarely been captured with them because they both knew the pitfalls and avoided situations that might attract paps.

Nataley tackled it like a pro, and he felt his heart swell with pride as she repeatedly ignored them, raising her chin while she neither smiled nor scowled. A natural.

"Okay, Harry. Now we need you."

But as they started the second simulation, he found that HE was the one who struggled.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Patti called on the first pass. "Harry, you cannot wrap your arm around her waist and draw her closer. That's not going to help you accomplish your goal."

Of course he knew she was right, but fuck. It was hard to be in this fake environment without protecting Nataley. Not that she was impacted in the least. She continued performing like a champion while Harry struggled to keep his eyes away from Nataley as they were separated by the phony photographers.

"Great job, Nat! You're absolutely going to kill it if you're ever in that spot. Now, I understand the bigger concern is answering questions from co-workers? People whom you can't just ignore?"

"Mhm," Nataley was in the process of chewing off her chapstick at this point, and Harry reached for her hand to lend the strength of his presence to the conversation.

"Got it. Have a seat," Patti waved her hand at the chairs in front of her desk. "Best tip for this one is to prepare some go-to responses you can pull out when you need them. So let's jot some ideas down. Got your notepad?"

Holding up the legal pad, Nat smiled wryly.

"Perf! I'm going to be you, and you pretend to be your friends and co-workers. Ask me the questions you think they might spout."

Taking a deep breath, Nataley plunges in. "'Hey, Nat! Saw you and Harry in the papers this weekend. Are you dating?'"

"'We've been friends for years, and it's always nice to spend time together.' See? You answer without really answering. Don't answer what they ask. Answer what they haven't asked."

"Hmmm...okay. How about, 'We're having a party to celebrate Jack's birthday. Is Harry going to be your plus one?'"

"Ah. Sneaky. 'Wasn't Harry invited? That surprises me. I suppose if he didn't get invited, he could attend as my plus one.' Do you see the redirection? You're not acknowledging anything about your relationship. Everyone already knows you're friends, right?"

"Yes," Nataley agrees. "It feels like a subterfuge. I don't like lying."

"Ah, yes. I can understand that. You seem to have a big heart, and you're probably kind to everyone. Lying to people seems wrong, which is why we're not flat-out telling a falsehood. Just censoring what we're sharing." Patti commiserated. "But what you're protecting is more important, you know? People are going to draw their own conclusions, and of course, you're not going to lie to your closest friends and family. You and Harry should make a list of people with whom you'll tell the full truth. But everyone else gets a truncated version of the truth. You try it now. 'What did you and Harry do this weekend?'"

Nataley blushed, causing Harry to smile as he contemplated what she might be thinking. "Nothing much. Harry and Noah went to the beach and played cornhole while I created lighting plots for non-existent concerts."

A laugh burst from him as he recalled the time Noah called the game 'pornhole'. Her answer had been perfect because if needed, she could expand on the story without revealing anything about her relationship with Harry.

Rising from behind her desk an hour later, Patti reached over the space to shake Nat's hand. "You've graduated, Nataley. I feel confident that you'll do just fine no matter what comes next."

Harry crossed his fingers, hoping that was true. At the same time, he made a mental note to be more careful when they were out in public. No reason to use those skills unnecessarily.

Although if she were planning to be in his life for a long time (like he hoped), then it was inevitable that they would get papped together. He could only pray that she came through it unscathed.