Nothing But A T-Shirt On

I blew up.

Not literally but my career did. Like Patrick said, everyone wanted me to wear their clothes, be in their show, and do commercials for their make-up, the whole nine yards. The articles that came out after I spoke at my photo shoot were actually really nice. Lots of people wanted to interview me but Patrick wasn’t up for it. Letting people speculate that it was a medical marvel was enough but whoever asked in a social setting got the truth straight from my mouth.

Spring was settled in nicely and Matt and I were enjoying the warm breeze from my stoop while we ate Italian ice.

“I cannot wait for this job to be over,” Matt complained. “The foreman is a complete asshole.”

I nudged him. “What happened to you sucking it up for the check?”

Matt shook his head. “That was the plan but the fucker walks around like he shits gold just because he’s got a hundred people building him a few condos. I swear Brian was going to punch his lights out yesterday.”

I laughed. “Come on, don’t let him get to you. You’re almost done aren’t you?”

“Thank God.”

A taxi screeched to a halt right in front of my house. Patrick ran from the cab and onto the sidewalk in a frenzy.

“Holy shit Jo. Holy shit.”

Matt and I both stood up.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“You’ll never guess who called me thirty seconds ago.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Um… your ex-girlfriend?”

“What? No, no, no. Tyra Banks.”

My eyes widened. “Tyra Banks the super model?”

“Tyra Banks the super model turned producer turned talk show host,” he corrected me.

“Why did Tyra Banks call you?” Matt asked.

“Because she wants this pretty woman on her show next week.”

I let my Italian ice slip from my hands and I slowly walked toward Patrick. I put my hands on his shoulders and looked into his brown eyes.

“Repeat that very slowly.”

“Tyra fucking Banks wants you, Joelle Thomas, on her show next week.”

I lost my balance but Matt was behind me to steady me. I touched my forehead and pinched my cheeks.

“Jo, calm down. You’re hyperventilating,” he said.

“Tyra wants me on her show,” I gasped. “She wants me. Why would she want little ol me?”

“Because you’re fucking awesome and I’m fucking awesome!” Patrick shouted.

I looked at him. “Yeah…”

“I booked us a flight for next Thursday.”

“Didn’t you say you just got off the phone with her thirty seconds before you pulled up here?”
Matt asked.

“It takes me sixteen seconds to book a flight Matt,” Patrick said with a smirk. He glanced at me. “Would you take her inside and make sure she’s alright?”

In a daze, I let Matt guide into my townhouse. He locked the door behind us and we went up to my bedroom. I lay down in my bed and Matt pulled the covers up to my chin with a chuckle.

“You really are something, you know.”

I looked at him. “Huh?”

“I’m really proud of you Jo.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re probably in the shock of your life but can I get your permission to take your mind off of it for a while?”

I blinked and looked at his sly expression. “Well what did you have in mind?”

“I’ll give you three guesses.”

I squealed when Matt dove under the covers. Magically my clothes disappeared but Matt’s kisses along my thighs gave me all the warmth I needed. His tongue play made me arch my back and curl my toes. I didn’t know right from left and honestly, the Tyra Banks show was the last thing on my mind.

Hours later I woke up to someone stroking my hair. I opened my eyes lazily and saw Matt was still sleeping but playing with my hair. I adjusted and got comfortable so I could stare at him. I ran my finger gingerly down his strong jaw and his neck, then drew over the stars tattooed to his chest. Matt Sanders was perfect in every way. I couldn’t remember a single thing I’d done in the past to deserve a good man like him.

He mumbled in his sleep and pulled me closer before settling back down. I smiled and let my hand creep down his stomach, past his deathbat, and under the elastic band of his boxer briefs. He moved again once I touched him. I squeezed and stroked until he grew in my hand. I looked up and saw a smile on Matt’s face although his eyes were still closed.

He opened one. “Is this how you’re going to wake me up every time I sleep over here now?”

I shrugged and continued my play. “Depends on how much you like it.”

He smirked and closed his eye again. “I can’t really tell yet. You should probably keep doing it for a while then we’ll see.”

I kept going and we went another two rounds before hopping in the shower. By now, after about six months of dating, Matt had a few belongings at my house and I had some at his. We both got dressed and went down to the kitchen so I could scramble some dinner together.

“So are you cool about the Tyra Banks show now?” Matt asked.

I nearly dropped the bag of chicken wings I’d gotten out of the freezer. I put them on the counter and sighed.

“Yeah, just fine. I just don’t know why she’d want me.”

“Why wouldn’t she want you? You’re beautiful, smart, and successful. Not to mention that you’ve been written about in almost every issue of NYC.”

I put my hand on my hip. “How do you know I’ve been written about in almost every issue when I didn’t even know?”

A faint blush crept into Matt’s cheeks. “Well, since you showed me that very first article I’ve been keeping tabs, you know, just in case something else happens to show up like that.”

“Well Patrick hasn’t mentioned anything bad so I’m guessing it’s all been good.”

He nodded. “Otherwise I would’ve said something too.”

I leaned over the counter and kissed Matt on the lips. Could I ask for a greater guy?

Even though I’d met and talked to Tyra yesterday and before the show, and about five minutes ago I was still nervous enough to break out into a sweat. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this nervous but then again, I couldn’t remember the last time I was going to be live on a national talk show with a world famous model.

Patrick couldn’t calm me down because he was in the audience. My aunt, uncle, and mother were probably at home watching the show right now so they couldn’t help either. Matt and the guys said they had work and Shella was busy with her own callbacks.

I paced back and forth off stage, behind the door that I would walk through once Tyra introduced me. I tried to recall the soothing voicemail Matt left me this morning but I was too nervous and I wouldn’t have time to fetch my phone to listen to it again.

Just breathe, right?

I inhaled through my nose and out through my mouth a few times. Then I heard my cue.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the young woman who is making a rise to the stars one catwalk at a time- Joelle Thomas.”

The audience gave me a standing ovation as I walked down the ramp towards the stage. I was glad the costume manager talked me into wearing jeans to reduce the risk of me falling in front of millions of viewers. I crossed the stage in front of the hot stage lights and did a pseudo-hug-kiss-both-cheeks thing with Tyra. We sat on opposite couches.

“We’re so glad you could make it Jo. Can I call you Jo?”

“Sure, of course and I’m glad you invited me.”

“Well, we don’t have a set topic for today. We really just wanted to get to know the girl behind all the make-up and designer clothes.”

“There’s really not much to tell Tyra,” I said with a chuckle.

“Sure there is! Let’s start with how you got in the business.”

I took a deep breath. “It was really a long shot to be honest. I practically ran away from home the minute I could. My agent, Patrick Morris, found me working at my aunt and uncle’s diner and we had some print work done. The first person to get my portfolio loved it and the rest is history.”

“I see, but Joelle, your particular story is quite interesting. We all knew you as the model who couldn’t speak.”

“Couldn’t, wouldn’t… it’s all semantics really.”

Tyra crossed her long legs. “I bet there’s more to it than just being shy isn’t there?

I took another deep breath. “To be honest, I suffered a lot of mental abuse when I was younger. Starting from eighth grade, my mom and her boyfriend would constantly put me down and call me stupid. They would make fun of anything I said. To this day I blame the lifestyle that they lived. They weren’t bad people, just on some bad stuff. It got so bad that I just stopped talking. It didn’t matter what I said after all. They’d ignore me or ridicule me for it. The same happened at school. When I turned eighteen, I left.”

“Wow. So how’s your relationship with your mother now?”

“Better. Much better. She’s clean and we get along fine. She still has an overwhelming personality but that’s what makes people love her.”

Tyra smiled at me and then the camera. “We’re just getting to know Joelle Thomas, the young girl who’s taking the modeling industry by force. We’ll be right back.”

Make-up people ran on stage to fix us both up.

“You’re doing great Jo. Thank you so much for coming,” Tyra said.

“Did you really think I’d turn down an opportunity to meet you?” I gasped.

She giggled as the make-up people disappeared backstage. A woman with headphones and a clipboard announced that we’d back in five, four, three, two…

“So, Joelle you just finished telling us about the abuse you endured a few years ago. Did you picture your life differently back then from what it is now?”

“Of course. I mean, every girl wants to have her face on a magazine cover but not everyone gets that chance. I certainly didn’t think it’d be me. I thought I’d still be with my mom, her boyfriend, and her drugs.”

“Even in the modeling world, things can get pretty harsh. Speaking from personal experience as well, people are downright cut-throat when they want to be.”

I chuckled. “It’s funny you mention that because I thought paparazzi only went after actors and actresses or really rich people but there was a local tabloid in New York that wrote my very first false article.”

Tyra smiled. “Yeah, we’ve actually got a copy of that.”

A copy of the article and the picture of me, Matt, Brian, and the mugger appeared on the screen behind us. The audience murmured.

“Now, the article says that the two guys were attacking you and your boyfriend,” Tyra said.

“Well that’s not exactly true. I was on a date with my boyfriend and we doubled with his friend and my friend. In the park some guy tried to hold them up so of course they defended themselves. Matt was disassembling the gun when this picture was taken.”

“I see… And your boyfriend, Matt was it?”

I nodded and smiled ridiculously wide.

“Would you care to tell us about him?”

“He’s actually from around here. Huntington Beach to be specific. Matt Sanders is his name. He’s in a band called Avenged Sevenfold-”

A loud applause erupted from the audience and Tyra and I both shared a shocked expression.

“I guess your boyfriend’s pretty famous too.”

I laughed. “Yeah. That is one talented group of guys. I really do love them.”

“Well, we’ve got a surprise for you Joelle,” Tyra said. “We all knew that Matt Sanders, also known as M. Shadows, was a part of Avenged Sevenfold and that they formed here in California so we took the liberty of flying them out here to be on the show as well!”

My jaw dropped and the audience uproared once more as Zacky, Johnny, Brian, and Matt walked on stage. I hugged Matt tightly and he kissed me square on the lips. I couldn’t get the smile off my face if my life depended on it. We all took a seat on the couch.

“Seems like a happy reunion,” Tyra said. “Good job at keeping it a secret guys.”

“It was hard,” Brian said. “Especially when Johnny couldn’t keep his fucking mouth shut.”

“Brian!” I hissed. “You can’t use that kind of language on TV.”

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” He slapped his forehead. “Fuck! I did it again! Shit…”

“Why don’t you let someone else do the talking?” Zacky said, patting him on the back.

Tyra continued talking to both myself and the guys. Once Brian put his potty mouth away we had a good time. They couldn’t perform on her show because they hadn’t come prepared although Brian was handed a guitar from backstage and did an amazing solo on it.

“And there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Joelle Thomas and Avenged Sevenfold are both making their dreams come true. Support them anyway you can and thanks for watching. Don’t forget to catch my show next week. I’m Tyra Banks.”