10 Jane
Now that the story is everywhere, I’ve been getting a ton of attention online and out in the city. Everywhere I go, there are people wanting to take pictures or asking me questions. It’s all overwhelming, but yet, something is exciting about it. Riker makes sure I don’t get smothered by the paparazzi by hiring a few bodyguards for me. They are exactly like bodyguards you see in movies. They’re tall, wear black suits and glasses, and have bald heads. Their names are Jim and Tim.
The bodyguards come with us to New York, and they follow us close by in a black car while Riker and I take a limo. The limo is sparkling with colorful lights and even has a disco ball spiraling around.
The front of the TV studio is already swarmed with paparazzi, but the bodyguards escort us in without any problems. Once inside, we meet the TV host for Hot, Hot Entertainment Buzz, Dortha Fritz. She is an exceptionally tall woman wearing eight-inch heels that click quickly into the floor when she rushes to us. How she is able to run without breaking an ankle is beyond me.
Dortha wears a bright red dress that squeezes her waist, and I wonder how she’s able to breathe through that dress. Heavy layers of make-up mask her face, she almost resembles a clown. The most outrageous part is her hair. Dortha’s blonde hair is wrapped up in what I can only describe as if a tornado had somehow materialized into hair and can only stay still with the support of several diamond trinkets.
“It’s so wonderful for you two to come!” Dortha clasps my hands with her manicured ones. I’m sure with one misdirection, she can easily stab me with those nails.
“Thank you for having us, Dortha,” Riker says.
“Of course, of course!” Dortha states with enthusiasm in her shrill voice. “Now, let’s get you two ready.” With a snap of her fingers, makeup artists made us sit in chairs while they did our makeup.
Dortha stands over us, looking so much taller now that we’re sitting.
“You two are going to look fabulous,” she promises. Her painted lips spread to a wide grin, revealing pearly white teeth so white that they can light up an entire room.
When that’s done, Dortha briefs us vaguely what she’ll ask us as we’re escorted to one of the smaller studios. She talks so abruptly that I lose track of what she’s saying, and before I can ask anything, Riker and I are sitting at a couch in front of a backdrop of the city.
A few hundred people sit several feet from us, and they all have excited expressions drawn on their faces. Suddenly, I feel sweat crawling at the back of my neck, and it doesn’t help that we’re also surrounded by a bunch of cameras. I turn to Riker, who appears calm and collected. He acknowledges me with a smile.
“You alright?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say, though I’m not too sure myself.
Dortha settles herself onto the chair across from us, folding a leg across the other. She fixes up that mess of a hairstyle before leaning back into the chair with a great sigh.
“Are you two ready?” she asks.
“Yes,” Riker answers while I simply nod.
“Great!”
Soon, Dortha gets the signal that we’re on the air, and she immediately begins speaking:
“Hello, hello!” Dortha throws out her hand in the air. “Welcome back to Hot, Hot Entertainment Buzz, the show where I share the hottest things in entertainment. I am your wonderful host, Dortha Fritz, and today I’m sitting with billionaire playboy, Riker Lord, and his fiancée, Jane Gordon.”
A round of applause erupts, and Dortha claps too as she faces us. Her bright blue eyes are peering right into mine as if she’s able to freeze me still with her gaze.
“How are you two lovebirds doing today?”
“Perfectly well,” Riker says as he wraps an arm around my shoulder. “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
“And how about you, Jane?” Dortha asks.
“I’m doing well too,” I repeat, though my throat feels dry. Fortunately, there’s a glass of water on the table in between us, so I take a small sip from it.
“Wonderful!” Dortha claps her hands. “Now tell me, Jane, how has life changed for you now that you’re with Riker Lord?”
“It’s, well, pretty crazy,” I answer, and before I continue, Dortha cuts me off by saying, “I’m sure it is! How crazy do you think the wedding will be?”
My cheeks heat up with the thought of that, and Riker takes over by saying, “It’s a bit early for that, but we definitely want it to be a splendid occasion.”
“How many guests do you think you’ll have?” Dortha now asks.
“Oh hundreds of course,” Riker says without hesitation. “The more, the merrier.”
“Fabulous!” Dortha claps her hands again. “Now, I’d like to ask some fun questions if you don’t mind. First, what movie genres do you watch together?”
Riker and I pass quick glances, we haven’t watched any movies together, but Riker answers,
“Action and adventure…with porn, of course.”
“Oooh,” Dortha squeals and taps her heels into the floor. I want to cover my face from embarrassment, but I keep a straight face.
“Regular romance too,” I answer plainly.
“Yeah, that too.” Riker nods.
“You two have good tastes.” Dortha winks at us. “What do you two like to do in your spare time?”
“Jane likes to bail me out of jail,” Riker chuckles and everyone laughs, especially Dortha. She laughs exactly like a hyena.
“Yeah,” I say when the audience calms down, but Dortha takes about a minute or two to compose herself. She fans herself as if it has gotten hot, but I’m the one who’s sweating from nerves.
“Alright,” Dortha clears her throat, “what do you two say to each other once you wake up in the morning?”
“I tell her to make me coffee,” Riker jokes, and I pass him a brief look of annoyance. The
