La Vie En Rose

We Found Love - Rihanna

“Oh, Gigi.” Sharon gasped, resting her head against her raised clasped hands. “You look beautiful”

I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. After an hour of hair-styling, make-up and going through several changes of clothes, I was finally ready for the Nylon party. I couldn’t help but let a small smile escape from my lips when I looked at myself. I was wearing a cream-colored chiffon blouse with delicate lace covering the sleeves, tucked into my favorite high-waisted black leather skirt that stopped right above the knee. The hair-stylist organized my once frizzy and wavy hair into a softer, more sweeter texture of curls and the make-up artist did a superb job of perfecting the cat eye with a deep red lipstick. I finished off the look with classic black heels.

“And with ten minutes to spare!” Frankie, the hair-stylist, said excitedly as he looked at his watch.

“Thank you guys so much.” I responded smiling at both Frankie and Mel, my make-up artist. “You guys just turned an ugly duckling into a swan.”

Mel laughed. “Please, girl. You have them purdy looks!” I immediately blushed at her comment.

“Come on, G.” Sharon grabbed her purse and handed me my black clutch. “Can’t keep loverboy and your friends waiting.”

Suddenly, the butterflies in my stomach erupted the minute she mentioned ‘the boys’. I don’t think they have ever seen me this dolled up before. Back in Arizona, I was always in my skinny jeans and sweaters, never in leather skirts.

I tried not to bite my perfectly-shaded red lips while the nerves hit me hard.

“Alright, so let me do a quick run through with how this party will work.” Alma immediately proceeded into work mode when she pulled out her blackberry. I nodded in response while I followed her into the elevator. “The beginning starts with a red carpet. There will be a line-up of photographers, video cameras & interviewers, who will be taking your pictures in front of the wall with the Nylon logos on it. I’ll escort you to every interviewer and you will spend only three minutes with each interviewer.”

“Okay.” I responded, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. “Got it.”

John and the rest of the guys were waiting by the entrance when Sharon and I entered the lobby area. Garrett, Kennedy and Pat were sitting on one of the couches while John, Tim and Jared were standing, carrying on casual conversation. Garrett was the first one to spot me when I approached them.

“Damn, G-spot!” Garrett exclaimed. “Look at you being all fancy!”

John immediately whipped around at the sound of my laugh. I could feel my cheeks turn red when he gazed at me. When I smiled back at him, I couldn’t help but notice we were matching. He wore a crisp, white button down shirt, tucked into black pants with thin suspenders clipped to the belt loops that stretched vertically across his chest.

I tried not to drool at the sight of him.

“You look beautiful, Gigi.” He finally spoke when I stood next to him, before planting an innocent kiss on my forehead. I giggled shyly in response.

“Limo should be here any minute now.” Tim announced. He was now wearing a black button down shirt with dress pants. I wasn’t used to seeing him so dressed up. “Ready to get this thing on the road?”

Garrett, Kennedy and Pat stood up and began walking towards the front entrance while Tim and Sharon followed, comparing notes on how they were going to handle tonight’s mess. I slipped my hand into John’s and let him lead the way.

When we arrived at the venue, everything was bright and loud. I could see people standing in front of the Nylon wall, posing for the cameras that were yelling at them and flashing bright lights in their eyes. Sharon immediately pulled me away from John and led me towards the huge fuss outside the venue. I quickly turned around to John, giving him a half smile and waving. He gave me a small wave back, mouthing the words ‘I’ll see you inside’. Somehow, this calmed down my nerves a little. I was ready to get this part over with.

The cameramen started going crazy when I stepped onto the carpet. I could hear ‘Gigi! Gigi! Over here!’ ‘Smile real wide for me, sweetie!’ ‘Gigi King! Who are you wearing? You look beautiful!’. When their cameras started to go off, I gave them my best smile and posed casually. I tried focusing on certain cameras but their flashes were so blinding, it was difficult to see. I couldn’t even see John or the rest of The Maine anymore. Finally, after what felt like forever, Sharon escorted me towards my first interviewer.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Sharon asked me as she led me into the venue. I was out on the red carpet for over thirty minutes, talking about my new clothing line to several columnists, newspapers and blogs who waited patiently to talk to me. It was a crazy feeling that I was suddenly ‘someone’ in the fashion world that people desperately wanted to know about.

“It was incredible!” I responded excitedly, trying to keep up with Sharon in my high heels. “What an exhilarating feeling that people care about what I’m doing! I was even standing next to Kim Kardashian at some point!!”

“I know, I saw.” Sharon laughed. “You handled it well, kiddo. Like a true professional.”

Inside the large venue, there was a main lobby and the large dining area, where most of the guest were now situated, talking amongst each other. Sharon stopped right at the large doorway that led into the dining hall and faced me. “The rest of tonight is easy. There will be one or two speeches, dinner and then the after party. My work here is done.”

“You’re not staying!?” I asked, immediately panicking.

Sharon rested her hand on my shoulder and shook her head. “Sweetie, you don’t need me anymore. I’m going home to finish up some work for YOUR fashion show. A couple of more phone calls to make and I need to check up on your wholesalers.”

“Oh Sharon!” I exclaimed, pulling her into a tight hug. “I don’t know what I would do without you!”

She laughed. “Have fun tonight! I think John’s waiting on you.” And with a quick wink, she headed for the exit.

The Nylon party itself was surprisingly a lot more boring than I realized. Shortly after I found John and Kennedy standing by the bar area, we were told to sit down while the editors at Nylon began their speeches. I was sitting at a round table, covered in a red tablecloth, that occupied the rest of The Maine. The look of boredom on the guys’ faces were almost immediate when the speeches started. Garrett was leaning back in his chair, his chin pointed down as he blew air into his bangs while Kennedy fiddled with his tie. Pat, to my left, steadily scrolled through his Tumblr dashboard on his iPhone. I looked over at John to my right and smiled while I reached for the back of his neck and stroked it tenderly. John smiled back, showing me he liked this gesture. Ever since this afternoon, the sexual tension between us has been immaculate. I couldn’t help but think of dirty thoughts about him. It has gotten to the point where I could feel myself turning red, hoping no one can hear my thoughts. I begin to feel myself losing control when his scent lingered close to me.

It was driving me absolutely crazy. It has to be driving John equally as crazy. I’m ready to jump him.

Once the Editors of the magazine finished speaking and everyone finished their food, the lights lowered and the music was turned up. There were already a bunch of people heading towards the dance floor that was accompanied by a DJ and his speakers. Jared, Pat and Kennedy were already up and ready to dance while Garrett made it his mission to get Olivia Wilde to notice him at the bar. Which left just me and John sitting at the table. And you know what wasn’t helping? His warm hand resting on my bare leg, right where my skirt was pushed up a little from sitting for so long.

“You look nervous.” John finally spoke with a smirk on his face.
“It’s driving me nuts.” I immediately replied.

“What is?”

“You know, sitting here...next to you...” I drifted for a moment. “Not being able to...”

“Not being able to do what?”

“Undress you.”

John grinned and slowly glided his hand higher up my thigh. “Does this bother you?”

I pushed his hand away and rolled my eyes. “You are the biggest tease of all teases in the world. Go away.”

He laughed before leaning in. “You’ve been teasing me all night in that leather skirt of yours. I’ve been wondering when I could take it off you.”

I abruptly stood up and pulled on John’s hand. “It’s time to go.”

The eagerness in my voice caused no question. John obeyed and stood up with me. Still holding onto John, I maneuvered my way through the crowds of people who were now standing around with drinks in their hands, and out of the party. Once we were outside, John wrapped his arms around my waist and gently nibbled on my ear. I couldn’t help but let a giggle from my lips.

When we finally arrived back to the hotel, all bets were off. My blouse was almost off by the time we got to my hotel room. We were stumbling in, keen to stay attached at the lips while we fumbled with each other’s clothes. John unzipped my skirt with ease and with a quick kick, it was gone. After he tugged his shirt off, I pulled him onto the bed and kissed him with avidity. I couldn’t believe how badly I wanted John right now. I could feel John’s lips weaken against mine for a second before breaking the kiss. We were both panting heavily, looking at each other. It was dark in my room but the street lights gave enough light to make out the strong angles and contour of his face. I smiled up at him, carefully running one of my hands through his hair while my other hand rested on the nape of his neck. I could feel the single feather that was attached to his long necklace, tickle my exposed skin.

“Is everything okay?” I asked in a whisper, wondering why John stopped. He was no longer panting, but held a solemn expression.

“I-” He started. “I love you, Gigi.”

I grinned from one ear to another, placing my hand on his cheek. He leaned into it, closing his eyes. “I love you too, John.”