24 Boo Boo

“So what’s on the agenda today on this fine Valentine’s Day?” Topher asks from the speaker of my mobile as I put on my socks.

“Well,” I tell him. “I have a radio interview in a couple hours that I have to leave for very soon. Then I was just going to come back to the room so I can get a good night’s sleep. I finally get to tour the movie set tomorrow and then I was going to see about a flat or something for the couple months that I’m here. I don’t really want to live in a trailer.” As I finish my sentence, my phone beeps signaling another call coming in. “Hang on, Christopher. I have another call.” I hear him agree reluctantly right before I press the screen to answer the other line, “Hello?”

“Hey sexy friend,” shouts my beautiful female best friend. “It’s been too long since we talked. What are you doing?”

“You phoned me yesterday, Riel. How often are we supposed to talk?” I chuckle as I lean my head to my shoulder to hold my phone as I tie my shoe laces.

“We only talked for a few minutes then you got off the phone because of your stupid husband,” she answers with a pout in her tone. “You always pick him over me.”

Trying not to laugh out right, I clear my throat, “You’re really going to hate me.”

“He’s on the other line, isn’t he?”

“I really do love you,” I try to convince her as she scoffs.

“Whatever,” she sighs. “But seriously, call me later tonight I have something to tell you. It’s pretty awesome.”

“Alright, dear. And don’t worry; I’m getting off the phone with him too. I have an interview I’m leaving for.”

“Good and tell him that he needs to share you.”

“How about when we get back from England next week we all go out? Me and Topher, you and Tripp; we’ll have a double date like you’ve been asking.”

“Deal!” she shouts a little happier now, “But seriously call me later. And text me the radio station; I’ll get online to hear it.”

“I will.”

“Later, boo boo!”

Then she hangs up just like that. Shaking my head, I switch back over to my husband, “Sorry, love. She wouldn’t let me off.”

“Riel again?” he chuckles as I hear him shuffling around.

“Yea,” I pick up a light jacket. Since I’m in California it’s not nearly as cold as it’s been in New York. The weather’s beautiful. “Either way, I have to get off the phone. The car’s been here to pick me up since we got on the phone. They’re bound to come up soon to get me.”

“Alright babe, call me when you get back tonight.”

“Love you.”

“I love you, too,” he tells me and I could never get tired of hearing it.

-----

“Alright, Damon,” the show host, Adam, situates himself behind his desk and looks over at me. “Is that chair alright?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” I confirm with a little spin of the seat.

“Great,” he nods and looks over at his computer. “The show is going to come on in about sixty seconds. Are you ready?”

“Yep,” I settle back as I adjust my headphones and pull the microphone a bit closer. The mug that was given to me, with water in it, sits close as well, making me ready for just about anything.

Someone’s voice comes over the headset to count us in and before I know it, Adam’s voice gets loud and clear, “Evening XM radio, this is Adam on the Gossip versus Gushing; where we bring in celebrities to clear up some rumors that we’re all hearing.” There’s a button he presses and an audio clip of people whispering plays. Once it’s done, he returns to his mic, “Today we’re here with Damon Jacobs from ‘Save The Day’.” His assistants and people around clap and cheer, “How are you, Damon? Is it Jacobs now or…?” He lets the sentence drag out, but doesn’t continue.

“It’s actually Damon Ashton now,” I clarify with a smile. “And I’m great really. Thanks for having me.”

“Thank you for being here. Your movie ‘Save The Day’ comes out today, correct?”

“It does. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone out there, go see it.”

“Oh yea,” Adam chuckles, “Happy Valentine’s Day. Are you doing anything special with the hubby?”

Sighing dramatically, I answer, “No he’s across the country today at our flat in New York. We already celebrated a few days early before I came out to California.”

“I bet you wish he could have come with you; being newlyweds and all.”

“I guess,” I laugh lightly. “But apparently,” I tell him in a serious tone, “he’s some kind of famous movie star and he actually had a job to do.”

Everyone around us laughs along with the host, until he plays along, “Some people might not know him. Do you want to refresh some memories?”

“His name is Topher Ashton and from what I hear, he’s been acting for like something close to twenty years. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and some people call him a heartthrob.”

“Do you call him a heartthrob?” Adam breaks in with a smile.

Shaking my head, I keep the smile off my face, “No, I call him a nuisance.”

Another laugh sounds around the room, “Are you going to get in trouble for that?”

“Probably,” I chuckle. “But, he loves me for a reason; he can’t be too mad.”

“The reason is…?”

“I haven’t the slightest,” I shake my head grinning.

“You’re a funny guy,” he admits with another round of giggles. “I bet some of your fans know why he loves you. Do you mind taking some calls from them?”

“There are people that actually want to talk to me?” I’m only half kidding on that one. “They know my husband’s not here, right?”

“They know,” he verifies as he presses a few buttons. “This is Tammy. She’s on the line from Ontario. You’re on with Damon Ashton; do you have a gossip versus gushing?”

“Oh my gosh!” Tammy shouts as she comes through the speakers. “I love you so much!”

“Thanks Tam, I’m quite fond of you myself. Fancy a question?” I ask to settle her a bit.

“Yea! Yea, I do!” Everything is so exciting with Tammy, “Do you have someone who inspires you to act?”

“That’s a good question,” I answer taking a sip of water before I go on. “This is going to sound cheesy and I’m never going to hear the end of it, but before I had met Topher he was one of my idols. I grew up kind of watching him grow up on screen. I thought it was inspiring that someone could do that and still be so proper. Other than him, I would say Morgan Freeman. He’s timeless.”

“Thank you Tammy for your question. Now on to Ashley from St. Louis,” Adam announces. “What’s your question, Ashley?”

“Hi Damon,” the girl squeals before going straight into her question, “If you move anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

“Hi Ashley,” I respond. “To be honest, I love America and traveling is a lot of fun, but if I could live just one place for the rest of my life it would be England. I miss home a lot.”

“That’s so sweet!” She shouts as the host cuts the call.

“Thanks Ashley. We have Bridget on the line from Charlotte. What’s your question from Damon?”

“Damon, I heard you really like to walk around naked. Is that true?”

“Oh my goodness,” I laugh out right. “I’m not sure where you heard that, Bridget, but I have to say it is fortunately untrue. I’m not big on being naked. Where did you even hear that? How does someone even come up with that?”

“It was in a magazine,” she says matter-of-factly as she hangs up.

“Wow, that was surprising,” Adam chuckles before pressing a few buttons. “We’re only taking a couple more callers. This is Eric from Indianapolis. What can we do for you, Eric?”

“Damon, I’m a HUGE fan even without you being married to the hottest guy ever, I just wanted to say that,” Eric has a bit of a feminine lisp to his voice that makes me smile.

“Thank you, Eric. But don’t tell Toph, it’ll inflate his ego,” my smile doesn’t falter. “Did you have a question?”

“Yea, actually I wanted to know how hard it was to come out. Like did you do it as a teenager or were you closeted for a while and what have been the worst repercussions?”

“That’s the best question yet, Eric.” Nodding, I think about it for a second since it’s all new for me too, I answer the best way I can, “Honestly, the interview on the Brikk Walford show was the first time I came out to anyone other than my close friends and family. I figured if I was going to do it, I may as well do it big. It was actually my majorly fit husband that made me realize I wasn’t completely straight. And to be honest, I haven’t had too many repercussions. There are always going to be people that don’t like it, you just got to find those people that will support it. Does that answer your question?”

“Yea,” he’s a little quieter than he was before, “Can I ask one more question?”

“I think so, yea.”

“Did you ever consider not coming out at all? Like just staying closeted to keep everyone else happy.”

“Eric,” I say in a very serious tone, “you don’t have to be afraid. This is how I look at it. If I didn’t come out, I couldn’t let the whole world know that I am married to ‘the hottest guy ever’, as you put it. If you were married to Topher Ashton, wouldn’t you want everyone to know?”

He laughs, “Oh hell yea. I would shout it from the rooftops.”

“Well believe it or not, someday you will find someone that is perfect for you. That you’ll think is even better than Topher. And when you do, you won’t want to be closeted any longer. I promise,” I tell him as sincerely as I can.

“Thank you, Damon. You’re a real inspiration,” I hear Eric tell me before Adam ends the call.

I sit a bit astonished for a second. I’ve never thought of myself as an inspiration. I’ve just lead my life the way I thought fit. It takes me a second to come back to reality.

“Alright we’re here with Joanna from London,” Adam’s voice breaks through. “Do you have gossip or gush?”

“Hi Damon I was just wondering,” Joanna sounds like she lives close to where I’m from – accent and all. “What color is your toothbrush? Topher too!”

I actually laugh out loud for that one, “Are you calling all the way from London now?”

“No,” she giggles a bit. “My family is on holiday in Florida.”

“I was going to say that must be an expensive call. Don’t let your mum get a hold of you,” I chuckle slightly before continuing with my answer. “About our toothbrushes, this is a funny story actually. I’m very particular when it comes to toothbrushes. I simply will not travel with one. I always just buy a new one when I go to a different place. For some reason, I have the big fear that if I move the same toothbrush from one location to the next it will collect germs.

“So, recently Toph and I moved all our stuff into one flat instead of two. Since we were out to the public there was no need to maintain two difference occupancies. Naturally, because we chose his flat, I had to buy a new toothbrush for the new place. I only had a spare one there.

“About a week ago, I decided to just go to the Target up the street and grab what I needed real quick while my husband was at a meeting for work. Easily enough, I find my preferred brand and style of toothbrush and since I’m such a great husband I figured I get the two set so that Toph could have a new one too. Well, I get home and go to put then in there holder and realize that I didn’t see the colors until just then,” I chuckle lightly remembering the look on my best friend’s face. He just gave me that infamous smirk, shook his head, and walked out of the room without another word. “Long story short, I have a green toothbrush and Topher has a purple one.”

Everyone in the room starts to laugh again and I hear Adam come back over my headset, “You’re going to have a lot to explain when you get home.”

As I stop chuckling, I lean closer to the mic and say, a very clear, “I love you, Christopher.”

“Alright one last call,” Adam announces before pressing a few buttons. “Okay we have Clark on the line. Clark is from New York, New York. What can we do for you, Clark?”

Every time he said the name, something in my stomach twisted. And for some reason I just knew what voice I would hear, “I wanted to know if this marriage thing is just a publicity stunt.”

Closing my eyes and breathing deeply, I try to mask the concern in my voice, “No, it’s not. I love my husband very much. When our management found out about our wedding – after the fact – they weren’t very happy about it. It was definitely unplanned on their behalf.”

“Did they know that you had been dating?” His voice creeps over my skin causing me to shiver.

“No,” I say clearly. “They didn’t know anything.”

He hums in displeasure before saying, “That would explain why they didn’t stop the atrocity.  You’re going to Hell if you don’t stop-”

The line cuts off quickly as the host’s voice crashes in, “I am so sorry about that Damon. We’ll be right back-”

“No, don’t leave so quickly. I want to explain something,” I tell him before he can take us off air. He nods at me, so I continue, “As I said to Eric before, the lifestyle that I chose has its downfalls. I did not choose to love Topher; that just kind of happened. But, I did choose to let the world know that I love him.

“My mum always told me growing up ‘there will always be people who speak hate against you; the real trick to find the ones that yell love for you’. It’s better to surround yourself with people that care for you than listen to those who don’t. There is absolutely nothing you can do about people that are unkind and unfortunately they’ll always be around.

“I’ve never really been one for religion. But if He is out there, He truly blessed me with this man. I don’t know what I’ve done in this life – or the next if you believe in that – to deserve Christopher. He’s much too good for me. And to be honest, if I had to choose between having him and receiving hate or not having him at all, I would chose the hate. I never believed in soul mates before him.”

Quietly, Adam clears his throat before speaking, “You’re a very respectable person, Damon. And right after this short commercial break, we’ll be back with a little gossip.”

Once we clear and we’re no longer on air my phone rings in my pocket. I know that it’s Topher without picking it up, “How long is this short break? Do I have a minute?”

“You have exactly a minute,” one of Adam’s assistance answers me. “But we may be able to give you an extra thirty seconds if you need it.”

“I just need to answer this quickly, or else he won’t stop calling. Just a second, I promise,” I nod to her as I withdrawal my mobile. I take a drink of water before pressing the green button on my screen, “Hey, love. I don’t have time to talk. Can I call you when we’re done?”

“Are you okay? I know that was him. I’m coming to California,” he pretty much yells it in his rushed tone.

Quickly, I try to calm him, “Christopher, I’m fine. Please don’t come here, you have stuff to do there. I’m okay, I promise.”

“No,” he shouts more frustrated that upset. “I’m not going to leave you alone. What if he comes to find you?”

“Calm down, love,” I lower my voice so that everyone can’t hear me. “I have to go. Just stay calm until I call you back. Don’t come here, I’m perfectly fine. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he huffs. “Please be careful. I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, love,” I chuckle to keep the mood light. I see Adam motioning toward the ‘On Air’ sign that’s now lit. Rushing, quietly, I get off the phone, “We’re back on air. Nothing’s going to happen. I love you.”

“If you’re just joining us, our star of the day, Damon Ashton, has been one of the funniest and respectable people I’ve had the pleasure to meet,” I hear our host say as I put my headset back on. He smiles as he continues, “We’re back now with some rumors that we’re going to put to the gossip versus gushing test. Are you ready, Damon?”

“All set,” I nod with a bit of pep in my voice.

He looks like he visibly relaxes when he hears I’m not upset, “Alright first rumor is that the reason you turned Gabrielle Shutters down is because you were already married to Topher Ashton.”

I can help that laugh that burst from my lips, “That’s funny. No, that’s all around untrue. Riel and I have only ever been friend. She’s never fancied me and I’ve never turned her down. And plus, Toph and I weren’t married until February fourth.”

“Was she at your wedding?” Adam ventures.

Chuckling, I answer that too, “She was basically my best man. Or was she my Chief Bridesmaid? No, I don’t like that. She was my best woman.”

Everyone snickers at my response as Adam continues, “Second rumor is that you and Topher Ashton and in the midst of adopting kids.”

“That is also untrue. We do want a family someday, just not right now.”

“In the magazines yesterday, Topher was pictured with an unknown brunette and they seemed to be house hunting in New Rochelle area. What do you have to say about that?”

“The unknown brunette I would venture to say is probably his cousin; they’re more like siblings. As for the house hunting, I don’t know anything about that. Maybe she wants a bigger place,” I shrug because I’m actually unsure of what they were doing yesterday. He told me they were going out, but not what they were going out to do.

It didn’t really matter either way, but now I’m curious.

“Uh oh, did we get him in trouble?”

Laughing, I shake my head, “No, I trust Chris more than anyone.”

His smile increases as we go on. I listen as I pick up my mug to get a drink of water, “Alright this is the last rumor. Some of the churches have been saying that you put subliminal message in ‘Save the Day’ to influence our youth to become gay.”

Gasping and drinking water together doesn’t work. I figure this out very quickly after that statement. Coughing and sputtering erupt for my body as I try to regain the air in my lungs. I feel a hand patting my back vigorously trying to help. It doesn’t help, but it is rather painful.

Holding my hands up to show that I’m alright, I try to speak. “Wow,” I manage to choke out as my throat burns. “I shouldn’t have taken that drink of water. I’m alright, I promise,” I turn to look at the rather large intern behind me. “To answer your question – or rather clear up your statement – that is very very untrue. That’s out right silly. First off,” I chuckles and clear my throat once more, “we wouldn’t try to turn anyone gay. Second, neither Toph nor I wrote the script or screenplay. I don’t see how we would be responsible for something like that. And lastly, being gay isn’t something you can be tricked into. I know that firsthand. It is something you are built with – right into your very structure. If it’s not there in the first place, no one can put it there for you.”

-----

Yawning as I make my way back up to my room, I put my phone to my ear. It only takes a second for Riel to answer, “That interview was intense, sexy friend.”

“It was horrible,” I admit as I finally open my door. “Not the interview, but the calming of my husband afterward. I swear he was at the airport when I phoned him and if I would have been ten minutes later, he would be here.”

“If I was your husband, I would have done the same thing.”

Sighing, I fall onto my bed, “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Are you kidding? I’m surprised he even listened to you in the first place. You know what?” She pauses for dramatic effect, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up on your doorstep tomorrow morning.”

“No, I got him to stay home. He has some stuff to sign with Linda tomorrow. I’ll be fine. I only have one more full-day here and then I’ll be home.”

“You’re going to kill your poor husband.”

“He’ll be fine,” I assure her as I sit up to take off my shoes. “He’s going to have to realize sooner or later that I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

“I don’t think that’s the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think it’s that he thinks you can’t take care of yourself, Day,” she says it in that best friend tone and means she’s serious. “I think it’s more that he doesn’t want you to have to. You men are so worried about people seeing you as weak. He doesn’t think you’re not strong enough, he just wants to stand behind you.”

“I don’t get it,” I tell her as I finally get my shoes and trousers off so I can slip into bed.

She sighs, but explains anyway, “It’s like this; he knows you can carry a big screen TV by yourself. But if he grabs one end, it will be lighter for you and in the end you’ll both be less stressed - him from not having to worry about you and you from not having to do it on your own.”

“Oh,” brilliant, I am.

“Anyway,” Riel changes subject. “What I wanted to talk to you about earlier was that I have a vacation house in Santa Monica. Now, it may take you half hour or forty five minutes to get to set every day, but I think it would be better than renting something for such a short period of time. You can save your money and just stay at my place no cost.”

“I can’t stay there for free,” I’m touched that she would offer, but I can’t use her like that.

“Why not? It’s my house and I just told you to.”

“Riel, I don’t want to take you for granted. I could be there for like six months; it’s a big film.”

“Okay listen,” she tells me in her no-nonsense voice. “I will not take money from you. There’s a maid that comes once a week to clean up after your dirty ass and I’ll make sure we get someone to stock the fridge as well. I know you like to cook.”

“Riel, it’s too much.”

“Shut up, Damian. You is getting on my last nerve.” Oh geez the ‘ghetto’ side is coming out. “You will stay there because you love me and you’ll make me happy. Now, do I make myself clear or do I have to call your husband and tell him you scared.”

“You do and I’ll personally beat you.”

She chuckles, returning back to normal, “I’m calling my maid service in the morning. You can go visit the house after you look at the set tomorrow; they’ll be there with a key to let you in.”

“You’re too much,” I tell her in a way that sounds like a thank you.

“Anytime, boo boo! Call me when you get done with set tomorrow so I know when you’re headed over.”

“Alright, dear,” I stretch out on the bed to get more comfortable.

“Night boo boo.”

Then she hangs up, as usual.

~A/N~

It's Sunday again.

Just as a heads up, I have a BIG job I'm going to be woring on this week so I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload on time next week. Hopefully I will, but I just wanted to warn you.

We're back to the story line now. And If I'm not mistaken we're a little more than halfway through. I could be off, but I think so.