“Why don’t you finish telling me the story, JC.” Dr. Cavanaugh requested.

I smiled, “Gladly.”

I walked into the studio and was immediately greeted by the photographer, “Hello, Mr. Chasez, I’m Michael Donovan. It’s nice to meet you.” I shook his hand as he motioned for a young woman to join us, “This is Angie. She’s going to be handling wardrobe so if you’ll go with her, we’ll get this show on the road.”

“Please, call me JC.” I told him before I followed the short red-head to room at the back of the studio. She motioned for me to sit in a chair in front of a mirror.

“Anthony will be in here soon to do your makeup.” She informed me as she walked over to a rack of clothing, “Have you ever worked with Michael before?”

I shook my head and then realized she couldn’t see me with her back turned to me, “No, this is my first time.”

“Just a heads up, he’s a little over the top.” Angie pulled a black jacket off the rack and turned towards me, “But he’s really good at what he does.”

She set the jacket on an abandoned chair and continued filing through the different racks of clothing. The door opened and a tall male dressed in a blue button down shirt and black slacks entered the room.

“I’m Anthony.” He introduced himself as he opened one of the makeup cases sitting on the table in front of me, “I’m just going to apply a bit of foundation so the flash doesn’t wash you out, but I’m sure you’re used to all of this by now.”

“That I am.”

“I’m glad.” He replied as he picked up a sponge, “You wouldn’t believe some of the stubborn males I’ve worked with who seem offended at the notion that they’re going to have to wear makeup. Sometimes I have the urge to just send them out there and let them end up with horrible photos.”

“And then you’d have hell to pay with your boyfriend out there for ruining his shoot.” Angie joked.

“All I can say is thank God for interns. At least when he has one, he’s not as bitchy to the rest of us.”

When Anthony was finished, Angie handed me the outfit that she’d put together. She informed me that the intern would come get me when Michael was ready for me. The pair left the room so I could change. She had picked out a white t-shirt, a black motorcycle jacket, and straight-leg dark blue jeans.

It was a few mintues after I finished dressing before there was a knock on the door, “Come in.”

A woman entered, but I could only see the top of her head because she was looking down at a clipboard in her hands, “He’s ready for you. If you’ll ju-“

I interrupted because I recognize her voice, “Nikki?”

“JC?”  Her head snapped up, “Hey. I had no idea you were scheduled for a shoot today.”

“Well, I had no clue that you were his intern so that makes us even.”

She smiled and leaned against the doorframe, “I don’t think the boss is going to be sending me on any more coffee runs today so you and your clothing should be safe from my klutziness.”

I smiled back, “Good to know.”

She opened her mouth to say something else, but was stopped by a voice bellowing, “Nicolette!”

“I better get you out there before he pops a blood vessel.” Nikki said with a sigh.

“Okay, Nicolette.” I tried and failed to suppress my grin.

“You’re not going to let that go, are you?” She asked and when I shook my head, she finished, “Fine, but I reserve the right to not answer you.”

We started walking towards backdrop and I inquired, “How come you don’t like it?”

“It’s too proper.” She grinned mischievously, “I am not a proper girl.”

“Really now?”

As she was about to respond, we were interrupted by the presence of her boss. He dictates to  Nikki that he needs her to give him a reading and that the flash meter is by his laptop. As he began to instruct me on how he wanted me to stand, she walked over to a table that has equipment and a laptop sitting on it.

Upon her return, she holds what I assume is the flash meter in front of my face, “Just to forewarn you, when I hit this button, the flash is going to go off like I’m taking your picture.”

I nod in understanding and she hits the button. She walks back towards Michael, but before she can get there, she trips on a cord and falls to the floor. I start to go over to help her, but Michael gets there first.

Michael took the meter from her and looked it over before announcing, “It’s okay, everyone. The meter isn’t broken.” I try not to laugh at the glare that she sent him from the floor as Angie stepped around Michael and helped her off of the floor. She started to walk towards the table with the equipment when her boss turns to her, “Oh, Nicolette, are you okay?”

She stared at him for a few seconds before plastering an obviously fake smile on her face, “Stellar, Michael. I am absolutely stellar.”

He either didn’t notice the sarcasm in her voice or he just chooses to ignore it. If I had to wager, I’d put my money on the former and not the latter. “Alright, JC, let’s get started.”

I can’t control my laughter and have to take a break from telling the story.

Nikki glowers at me, “It really wasn’t that funny.”

“Yes, it was.” I interjected, “I can’t adequately describe the look on her face when Michael took the meter out of her hand. If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead on the spot.” I look over at my wife and I can tell that she’s trying really hard not to crack a smile, “I’m sorry, Dr. Cavanaugh. I should be able to finish the story without any more fits of laughter.”

She nods and I continue.

After several wardrobe changes and no other meter incidents, I’m finally done for the day. As I walk out of the dressing room, I see Nikki seated in front of Michael’s laptop. I make my way over to her.

“For what it’s worth, I was more worried about you than the meter.” I teased.

She looked up at me, “Thanks. I really appreciate that.”

She pulls out the chair that’s next to her before asking, “Do you want to see some of the pictures he took? They’re not edited yet, but you’ll have a good idea of what they’re going to look like.”

“Sure.” I answered before sitting down beside her, “Where’s your boss?”

“In his office. I’m sure Anthony is giving him a lecture about being more concerned for the equipment instead of his intern. I honestly have no clue why they’re together. Ant is so normal and Michael is so…not normal. ” Nikki shrugged, “I have to wait for all of the photos to upload from the memory card to the computer and then take them to him.”

“So is this what you want to do with your life?”

“If by this, you mean doing Starbucks runs, manning the light meter, and pretty much everything else Michael doesn’t want to do, than the answer is no.” She clicked on an image on the computer, “If by this, you mean taking pictures of people, than the answer is yes.”

“Are you any good?”

“I’d like to think so. I mean, I’m no Michael Donovan.” I laugh and she shakes her head, “I’m not joking. His elevator might not go all the way to the top, but when it comes to a camera and capturing a subject, he’s like a demigod. If I end up even as half as good as he is, I’ll have an amazing career.”

I blinked in surprise, “You really admire him, don’t you?”

“Surprisingly, yes.” She ran a hand through her shoulder length black hair, “I know he’s definitely an acquired taste, but I’m really lucky to have this internship. He’s still making a name for himself in the industry which gives me a realistic look at what I’m going to have to go through to be successful. A lot of established photographers have on rose-colored glasses when it comes to the things they went through to make their mark on the industry. They tend to forget how hard it was because they’re already where they want to be. Michael’s still paying his dues, so to speak.”

“He’s lucky to have an intern who appreciates the opportunity so much.”

Her eyes flicked towards me then back to the computer screen, “Thanks.”

“Is that a blush I see?” I tease and that causes her blush to deepen.

“Pictures.” She points a finger to the screen, “You sat down to see your pictures.”

We spend the next fifteen minutes going through a few of the pictures from the shoot before my phone rings. I look down to see that Justin is calling me, “Damn.”

Nikki gives me a confused look, “What?”

“I was supposed to be meeting a friend for dinner and I am officially late.” I explain as I start to stand, “I’m sorry to rush out. Thanks for taking the time out to show me those pictures.”

“No problem. I enjoyed it.” The young woman stood as well, “Most of the celebrities I’ve worked with seemed like they didn’t even want to be here in the first place. It was refreshing to have something different.”

I stared to turn and walk away, but stopped, “Hey. Would you like to join me for dinner? I know my friend wouldn’t mind.”

“I’d love to,” She began before giving me a look of regret, “but I can’t. I have to take your pictures to Michael and then pack up all the equipment. I’ll be here for at least another hour.”

“Well, it was nice seeing you again.”

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she replied, “You too.”

I headed towards the door. Just as I was about to open it, her voice stopped me, “How about I give you my number and we can take a rain check on that dinner?”

Nikki bit her lip as she shook her head and told Dr. Cavanaugh, “It was the first time I ever offered to give my number to a guy.”

“Why do you think that is?” Dr. Cavanaugh probed.

“I don’t really know. There was just something about him that made me feel comfortable. He was incredibly easy to talk to and that’s not something you find very often out here in LA.”

Our eyes met and I saw in them a hint of the twinkle that I haven’t seen in a really long time. For the first time since my wife had mentioned marriage counseling, I was beginning to think that maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea.

The blonde woman wrote something down on her notepad before speaking, “You two exchanged phone numbers. Did you then start dating?”

Nikki spoke up, “No. We became really close friends really fast, but both of us realized that we had a special friendship and we didn’t want to ruin that.”

“That didn’t stop both of us from being incredibly attracted to each other or developing romantic feelings for one another.” I added, “We just had an unspoken agreement that we weren’t going to address the elephant in the room.”

“However, a little bit of alcohol and a really stupid drinking game completely destroyed that agreement one night.” Nikki explained, “I’m assuming that you want to hear this story too, right?”

“I do.” Dr. Cavanaugh confirmed.

I resisted the urge to cringe. This story wasn’t one of my favorites. I know that Nikki didn’t have a problem with it. She just viewed it as a part of our past and how we ended up together, but I absolutely hated telling it or having it told. It was quite possibly one of the few things I wish that I could go back and change over the last four years of our lives together.

I was surprised when Nikki reached out and grabbed my hand. I gave it a small squeeze and she rewarded me with a smile, “I’ll be telling this one. It’s not exactly one of Josh’s favorite anecdotes.”