Pop Culture.
Counting down the minutes 'til my heartbeat stops
“You have a lot of pictures in here with Drag Queens.” Devon notes as he looks through one of the many photo albums I have. “Is there any real reason you have a ton of pictures with Dixie Swallows?”
“Dixie Swallows happens to be my twin brother Matt.” I reply. “I told you about my two older brothers but I didn’t tell you about my twin brother who is about 2 minutes younger than me. We’re close. Closer than my older brothers anyway. He’s the reason I turned girly in high school. He really got me into fashion.”
“You guys sound close.” Devon smiles, “does he live here?” He asks, clearly uncertain of which pronoun to use.
“After our parents kicked him out when he came out, he moved to Vegas to live with his high school sweetheart. They’re young and married and have a baby.”
“Sounds like your envious,” Devon smirk. “Jealous of your baby brother?”
“I’m 23 and in L.A, why would I want to be tied down forever?” I laugh. “I had a serious boyfriend but it didn’t work out because he wanted to settle down. I can’t. My career won’t let me. No guy is going to be comfortable with the mother of their child running around in short dresses, flirting with strangers to sell a dream.”
“I’m sure when the right guy comes by, things will change.” Devon assures me. “Okay who is this?” He asks, pointing to a picture of me and my now ex-boyfriend, Naveed.
“That would be Naveed. He was that serious boyfriend I was talking about.” I reply. “We started dating when I was 20 and recently broke up. He is a big time real estate broker. We met at a club I was working at.”
“He looks a lot older than you,” he points out.
“Age is just a number when you’re legal.” I chuckle. “But yea, he’s 33 now. He wanted to settle down and I didn’t. We broke up but still keep in touch.”
“What made him different than anyone else?”
“He sold himself better than everyone else” I smile. “He met me right at the start of my career. I was just a college drop out and he boosted my self-esteem. He knew all the right things to say.”
“What did- what where you going to school for?” He asks, almost afraid to.
A smile appears on my lips, “Marketing.”
“Seriously?” He chuckles. “That’s how you knew I was a Marketing student?”
“Like I told you, your look tells me everything I know.” I state. “All the guys start out looking like you. Beanies, ironic t-shirts and worn jeans. But come the class where you realize image is everything, they reinvent themselves. They become the men in nice tailored suits and slicked back hair. They become the American Dream.”
“Image isn’t everything when you stay behind the scenes.” He counters with a smirk.
“How can you be trusted to sell a product when you can barely sell yourself?” I point out. “What I’m saying is, yes the Hipster is an ironic choice in style but it’s not timeless. Fads like that fade away. But being able to sell yourself never dies. One way or another, what image you give yourself matters. Suits hire suits, that’s the way it is. I’m sorry to ruin your dream Devon but you won’t make it in the world of marketing if you don’t change your image.”
“And you would know all about that huh?”
“I become whatever my client wants me to become.” I point blank tell him. “I sell myself, or a version of myself, as well as whatever product I’m trying to sell. I can help you if you want.”
“You’re willing to help me change my image?” He looks skeptical. But behind his eyes, I can see that he trusts me to do this and not fuck up.
“We can start this weekend,” I tell him. “I have to be at a party that’s promoting this new gin called Unicorn Tears that’s not going to be out until the end of the month, you can be my plus one. Think of this as a way to schmooze with potential clients and bosses. Networking is everything in marketing.”
“Why does it feel like I’ll be selling out if I say yes?”
“Relax,” a chuckle escapes my lips. “It’ll be fine. And if you don’t like the new look, you can always go back to old Devon. Sound good?”
A sigh of defeat escapes his lips, “Fine. But don’t make me regret this Markie…”
“You won’t, I promise.” A smile appears on my lips before the two of us go back to watching Netflix...
“Dixie Swallows happens to be my twin brother Matt.” I reply. “I told you about my two older brothers but I didn’t tell you about my twin brother who is about 2 minutes younger than me. We’re close. Closer than my older brothers anyway. He’s the reason I turned girly in high school. He really got me into fashion.”
“You guys sound close.” Devon smiles, “does he live here?” He asks, clearly uncertain of which pronoun to use.
“After our parents kicked him out when he came out, he moved to Vegas to live with his high school sweetheart. They’re young and married and have a baby.”
“Sounds like your envious,” Devon smirk. “Jealous of your baby brother?”
“I’m 23 and in L.A, why would I want to be tied down forever?” I laugh. “I had a serious boyfriend but it didn’t work out because he wanted to settle down. I can’t. My career won’t let me. No guy is going to be comfortable with the mother of their child running around in short dresses, flirting with strangers to sell a dream.”
“I’m sure when the right guy comes by, things will change.” Devon assures me. “Okay who is this?” He asks, pointing to a picture of me and my now ex-boyfriend, Naveed.
“That would be Naveed. He was that serious boyfriend I was talking about.” I reply. “We started dating when I was 20 and recently broke up. He is a big time real estate broker. We met at a club I was working at.”
“He looks a lot older than you,” he points out.
“Age is just a number when you’re legal.” I chuckle. “But yea, he’s 33 now. He wanted to settle down and I didn’t. We broke up but still keep in touch.”
“What made him different than anyone else?”
“He sold himself better than everyone else” I smile. “He met me right at the start of my career. I was just a college drop out and he boosted my self-esteem. He knew all the right things to say.”
“What did- what where you going to school for?” He asks, almost afraid to.
A smile appears on my lips, “Marketing.”
“Seriously?” He chuckles. “That’s how you knew I was a Marketing student?”
“Like I told you, your look tells me everything I know.” I state. “All the guys start out looking like you. Beanies, ironic t-shirts and worn jeans. But come the class where you realize image is everything, they reinvent themselves. They become the men in nice tailored suits and slicked back hair. They become the American Dream.”
“Image isn’t everything when you stay behind the scenes.” He counters with a smirk.
“How can you be trusted to sell a product when you can barely sell yourself?” I point out. “What I’m saying is, yes the Hipster is an ironic choice in style but it’s not timeless. Fads like that fade away. But being able to sell yourself never dies. One way or another, what image you give yourself matters. Suits hire suits, that’s the way it is. I’m sorry to ruin your dream Devon but you won’t make it in the world of marketing if you don’t change your image.”
“And you would know all about that huh?”
“I become whatever my client wants me to become.” I point blank tell him. “I sell myself, or a version of myself, as well as whatever product I’m trying to sell. I can help you if you want.”
“You’re willing to help me change my image?” He looks skeptical. But behind his eyes, I can see that he trusts me to do this and not fuck up.
“We can start this weekend,” I tell him. “I have to be at a party that’s promoting this new gin called Unicorn Tears that’s not going to be out until the end of the month, you can be my plus one. Think of this as a way to schmooze with potential clients and bosses. Networking is everything in marketing.”
“Why does it feel like I’ll be selling out if I say yes?”
“Relax,” a chuckle escapes my lips. “It’ll be fine. And if you don’t like the new look, you can always go back to old Devon. Sound good?”
A sigh of defeat escapes his lips, “Fine. But don’t make me regret this Markie…”
“You won’t, I promise.” A smile appears on my lips before the two of us go back to watching Netflix...
♠ ♠ ♠
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