Alena is radiant, her smooth, milky skin glowing under the studio lights. She does a slow, sensual dance for me, and her soft, flame-colored hair flashes like the sun as she moves. “How do I look?” She asks. Surely she must already know. She’s insanely beautiful and perfectly desirable; a veritable sex kitten. She could walk into a room and have any man she wanted and some of the women too. They’d be crawling and begging...

"I'm so happy you're here, Steven!" I wrap my slim arms around his chest and squeeze harder than I should. If not for my heels, I'd be bouncing up and down with excitement. "I had no idea you'd be coming." "Me neither, Emma." He gives me a light peck on the cheek, then holds me at arm's length to take in the sight. "At the last minute, I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see you, my dear. I know the wedding's...

I can barely hear Jacob on the other end of the phone, despite having it pressed against my ear so hard it hurts. For him, the cacophony created by New York City streets is just white noise. After two years in this place, I'm still struggling. The engines, the shouting, and the blaring horns are like an assault as I stand on the curb, waiting in the fading glow of dusk. "I said that the shoot went smoothly!" He pretends l...

I sit in the green room, waiting. I feel sick from the restless butterflies, and I'm wringing my hands while staring at an exit door that I'm only a hair's breadth away from walking out of. That's a lie. I wouldn't walk. I'd kick off my black heels and run as fast as I could to put the pressure, waiting for me in the studio next door, behind me. I wonder how I let myself get wrapped up in this, despite having so much to l...