Illicit Affair ||Pedro Pascal||

The Model

The first time I saw him was at a Grammy's after-party. I didn't say a word to him, just admired from afar. I didn't have a clue why I was there since I was only an aspiring model trying to make my own name, and all the best known singers, actors, etcetera were invited to this party. I felt so out of place then, my manager pulled a few strings to get me invited. Luckily I was with a friend and fellow model, whom of which no one would believe I was close with if I told them at the time.

"Let's go get a drink!" Chloe shouted over the loud music that was blaring throughout the building.

We made our way through the crowd and up to the open bar and ordered our drinks. She got a tequila sunrise, which was her favorite, and I got a Malibu sunset. I wanted something fruity but not too strong, I wasn't fond of the idea of being drunk at an event I wasn't comfortable at.

I followed Chloe everywhere that night. From the dance floor to the bathroom- you name it. She belonged there because she was friends with so many important people in the industry. I was just starting out, but my manager wanted me to begin making connections solely for publicity purposes.

After three drinks I was beginning to feel tipsy, so I decided to break away from Chloe's side and have a seat at our table while she continued to dance with the crowd. The alcohol in my system was making my head spin, and I started to really miss home.

Before moving to Los Angeles to pursue modeling, I lived in Columbia, Maryland with my parents and older sister. Life back then was a lot, and I wanted nothing more than to be off on my own. Now that I'm away from my family, I realized I underestimated how lonely it would be, and how much I miss them.

I didn't leave on bad terms though. My parents were strict, more so my mother. But after a while she had to realize I was an adult and could make my own choices.

My interest in modeling began when I watched Americas Next Top Model on the television when I was in my early teens. Ever since then I dreamt about walking down a runway and having my face plastered on New York City buildings.

I begged my sister to take photos of me with her camera that the school gave her since she was in the yearbook club. Once the pictures were taken I'd edit them myself and post them on social media. It wasn't long until I received emails from multiple different modeling agencies wanting to represent me. But my mom didn't trust any of that stuff, so my path to fame was slightly pushed back.

I was 21 when I started gaining a lot of followers on Instagram and Twitter. 2017 was one of the peak years of social media, a very pivotal time for both platforms. I posted photos of myself wearing anything trending at the time. I went viral for uploading outfit-of-the-day pictures and sparked the interest of many big fashion brands.

I was in college at the time as a biology major. Since I was living on my own in a college dorm room, my mom wasn't there to tell me no. I talked to her and told her this was my dream, and to my surprise she actually supported me. So I dropped out and moved to LA, where I singed a modeling contract and got myself a manager.

Six years in the game, working my ass off, and I, Magnolia Danvers, was finally the face of Prada at 27; now 28.

And now I'm here, at a party I feel I have no place at. As I swirled the ice around in my glass, my head shot up at the sound of the crowd cheering. I stood up to get a better look at whatever was happening, and I saw a woman dancing on a man in the middle of the floor. Even in the dimly lit building I could tell it was Tiffany Haddish, but the man she was grinding against was unknown to me. He looked older, my guess was late thirties, and he looked very shy.

I laughed and sat back down. That's when Chloe emerged from the group of people and sat herself right next to me. "Did you see that?" She asked, out of breath.

"Tiffany Haddish? Yes I did." I giggled.

"And Pedro Pascal, he looked so shy!"

"He did." I agreed. "Who's Pedro Pascal?"

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows as if to say 'how dare you ask such a question'. "He's an actor, he was in Narcos."

I had never seen Narcos. So I just nodded like I knew what it was. "Oh, I remember him now." I lied.

"Are you ready to head out, Maggie? We have a very important shoot to get to tomorrow and we need our beauty sleep."

I grabbed my phone and purse and followed Chloe out of the back of the building to the car we had driven here. I was in no condition to handle a vehicle, so I let her drive instead, it was her car anyway.

As soon as she dropped me off at my apartment building I went straight to bed. She was right, her and I were scheduled for a 6 am photo shoot, which was introducing Prada's spring line.

Even though I loved modeling, I felt like now that I'm where I always wanted to be, maybe I should try something new. It wasn't like I was bored with my job, I was just ready for a new chapter in my life. I was going to see my manager tomorrow, so I decided to talk to her about it then.