Falling In Love With Him

Chapter 4

     "MICHAEL! JERMAINE! JACKIE!" We could hear the sounds of screaming fans while pulling up in front of the building for the shoot. "MARLON! TITO!" I had never seen so much excitement in person. It was a fan frenzy! You would think this was Elvis. The boys were no where in sight. "They must already be inside." Nicole said while looking out of the limousine window. We could see the security for JET approaching our door. My chauffeur, Thomas, opened it. "Here you are, ladies." We both smiled at him. Nicole stepped out first, and I followed right behind her. We were instantly surrounded by security guards. Walking through that crowd of screaming fans was hectic—and truthfully some screams were more annoying than others. Sometimes I don't know how people deal with this on a day to day basis. "Wow they really love your man, huh?" Nicole teased. "I guess so." I replied. We both laughed.

     We finally got inside of the building and began making our way down the long hallway that lead to the shoot. We could hear the sounds of conversation, laughter and camera shots. The smell of coffee and baked treats filled the air, and we could see that Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Tito were being photographed in a beach scenery while Michael sat in the makeup chair across the room.

     "Finally! Mariah you've arrived." JET magazines' big time photographer, Tyler Stouse, exclaimed. "I know, I'm so sorry we're late. There--" "No need to explain." He cut me off. "Please get Ms. Taylor into wardrobe and makeup. Pronto!" A swarm of workers pulled me towards my dressing room. Nicole grabbed a pamplet and bottled water off of the table, then sat down in a chair beside Tyler.

      I felt at ease looking at the rack full of clothing options for the shoot. That was like therapy for me, and I always looked forward to it. The pieces were absolutely to die for, and once the shoot was over I could take whatever I wanted to keep home with me—one of my favorite things about modeling, next to traveling the world. Of course.
There were lots of swimsuits, shorts and sundresses with sandals and heeled shoes of different styles, cute, and colors. Staring at all those clothes made me lose focus for a second; then I realized Michael was out there, which snapped me back into reality. Quick. For my first outfit choice, I chose to wear the light blue patterned romper with beige wedges, and sun hat. I walked into my changing room, and got dressed. Once fully dressed I always took a minute to look at my outfit put together. I had to make sure I got a good feel for it. Me knowing that Michael was out there, I took two minutes. I stepped out of my dressing room, and onto the set.

    "Ahh, Mariah beautiful choice." Tyler pointed over towards Michaels' direction. "Go over there to Sarah and Janine. They will do your hair and makeup." I nodded, and began to make my way over there. My heart was pounding so fast. I could feel myself getting nervous. The last time I talked to him, it was the Motown family cookout Berry Gordy was hosting and all I could remember was him looking at me, and making his way in my direction; until Diana Ross' son accidentally knocked me into the pool.

    I had to think and give myself a quick pep talk, in my head.
Don't mess this up. You're older and more mature now, right? You can do this, Mariah. You have to do this. This is your turf. Your sanctuary.

I did a quick breath check. "Okay, good" I said to myself. Michael looked at me, smiling.

Oh God, there he is.
It felt like I was moving in slow motion; like it was just us in the room, and nothing else existed.

What's happening right now?
I kept rubbing my hands together. I could feel my palms beginning to sweat. He stood up. "Hi, Mariah." "Ha-hi." I stuttered. Micheal gave me a hug. He had the best hugs, and he smelt amazing.

Ha-hi? What you can't speak now? Great work, Mariah.

I had to fake a smile to play off that one. "Long time, no see. How have you been?" he smiled. "I know, busy-busy-bee I've been." I joked. I could feel my anxiety reaching an all time high. Why me? "How have you been, Mike?" "You know," he said softly. "Same old song. My brothers just wrapped up a string of shows in the East coast." "Yeah?" I nodded. "That's sounds so interesting. How'd you adjust to the time difference?" Whew! That was a working progress." We both smiled.
Michael had the most beautiful smile.
"I bet it was!"

"Uh, Ms. Taylor?" I looked over, it was Sarah calling me over to her chair. Damn. I nodded. "I got to go. But, maybe we could catch-up more after the photo shoot?" "Okay, sure. I'd like that." Michael smiled grabbing my hand, before walking away.

     While my makeup was being done, I looked around and noticed Nicole over by the refreshment table. I laughed. "Everywhere we go that girl is always finding the food the supply." I said to Sarah, pointing to Nicole. She looked over and we both laughed.

**Nicole's Point of View**

    "Ooh, finger sandwiches." I said to myself. I grabbed one and popped it into my mouth. I proceeded to stock up on all the goods, considering all I had was some fruit for breakfast, and I didn't know how long the food would be there. I grabbed some fruit, mini doughnuts and a croissant.

    I was so focused on putting butter and jelly on my croissant, that I didn't even notice a girl wearing a JET magazine t-shirt; short just like me, she came up next to me and grabbed a plate for herself too.
Daneen.
I read her name tag to myself. I didn't know who she was or what she did, but we started conversing about the shoot. "Don't you think they'd make a cute couple?" We both turned to look at Michael, and Mariah being photographed. Together.
I know smiling was all apart of the ideal look, but that was about the happiest I'd ever seen Mariah. She was glowing.

     "They sure do." I nodded, while popping a glazed doughnut into my mouth. "And Michael seemed pretty happy about seeing her today too." Daneen smirked.
I whipped my head toward her, so fast. "Oh, really?" I questioned. "What makes you say that?" "Well before Mariah arrived, you should've seen him. He was ecstatic, and kept mentioning how long it's been and that he couldn't wait for her to get here. He must've been bouncing all over these walls, like a kid who just got his favorite toy for Christmas."
"Really?" I wasn't surprised. I mean I knew it, and I could only imagine how much Mariah would feel hearing it. "Yes, really. Tyler and his brothers kept trying to calm him down, but he was just so happy about seeing her. It was so sweet." I turned and smiled at the thought of my best friend, possibly getting the man of her dreams.

     Aww... ♥