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She sighed and put down the bottle of water. She finally looked at me with worry spilling from her eyes. "Yes, I'm alright. But I wish you had asked me before announcing our wedding. There's more than just you involved in this. I haven't even told my family I'm dating you."
I blinked twice, stunned at her response. She was right, and I had acted selfishly. I regretted not being more considerate, and I felt embarrassed about it. I had no idea why I had made such a huge announcement without consulting her and I felt really guilty for putting her in such a situation. The whole situation was just all new to me.
“Reyna, I'm sorry. I got caught in the moment. I don't know why I blurted that out. This is all new territory; talking about my private life." I understood her frustration, but it wasn’t like she didn’t know what this whole interview was about.
“Bryce, we already discussed that our response was going to be that we are having a long engagement. That was the line from the very beginning. But now there's all this pressure to pull off a society wedding in August! That's only a few months away!" She was clearly irritated, and rightfully so.
“Reyna, you're right. I just totally blanked on that, so it is what it is. We're going to have to deal with this, but this isn’t the time or place to have this discussion. I think you need to get it together and get back into character,” I whispered back to her harshly.
Reyna looked at me with disappointment. “You know, I thought you actually meant all the things you were saying in the interview, but now I realize that you were just playing a character,” she said and walked away.
I stood outside the studio for a few minutes to calm myself down and get ready to face the photo session. Yeah, I fucked up, and in a very public way. But now what? We're just both going to have to make the best of it.
I felt my heart pounding in my chest. Returning to the set was just like facing another fight, something that I had done so many times before, but this was different. It was my private life, and that's so much more difficult than business. I had never thought so much about my private life, or anyone else for that matter. Being a non-committal playboy was so much easier.
Reyna always wore her heart on her sleeve, so I was a little worried that she wasn't going to be able to get into character for the shoot. But that's what this demanded. It was go-time, so we would just have to be at our best.
I stepped inside, and the bright lights of the studio blinded me. When my eyes adjusted, I saw that everyone was busy preparing for the next shoot. I noticed Reyna out of the corner of my eye. She had been in hair, makeup and wardrobe to prepare for the next segment. But her body language told me she was tense. Her face was twisted in concentration and her hands were clenched at her sides. I wanted to go to her and offer her some support, but I knew that wasn't what she needed right now.
I took my place on the set and waited for the director to give us the cue. As I stood there, I felt a surge of strength and courage, and I knew that I was ready. I took a deep breath and steeled myself for what was to come.
“Okay, I’m ready for you guys. We’re just going to get a few shots that we’re going to include in our publication. Some together and some separate,” the photographer announced. Reyna and I moved to the set and tried to mask the tornado of feelings that were swirling inside of me. They were threatening to undo me and rip me apart. But I pasted a smile onto my face all the same.
After all the time I’d spent with Reyna, I had come to understand her moods and whims and had accepted them as part of our relationship. But every now and then, I could feel her slipping away from me as if my grip on her was loosening, and I was losing her. I guess this was another thing a non-committal playboy didn't have to worry about: emotions.
I knew she knew the assignment and was bound by the contract. We were here to convince people that what we had going on was real. Period. Act the part and this would be over and we can get on with solving our issues. Above all, we needed to remember the task at hand. Being together in reality was becoming a huge distraction. Buck up, Brycie. We have work to do.
I looked at her, but she didn’t smile. Taking her hand, I pulled her closer and kissed her forehead, and she discreetly pulled away. As I stood next to Reyna, I couldn't help but feel the tension between us. She was visibly upset, and I knew it was because of our argument earlier. But I couldn't let that show. We had a job to do, and we couldn't risk letting anyone know that our relationship was anything but perfect.
"We can do this. Let's just get it over with and try to act the part. We will talk later," I whispered into the top of her hair.
The photographer directed us to get closer, and I put my arm around Reyna's waist, pulling her in tight. She stiffened at my touch, so I knew she was still resisting what we were doing. But I couldn't let that affect the shoot. I had promised my board that I would deliver a perfect relationship to save the company and that I would show the media the best side of our relationship. This shoot was my chance to prove it.
I told myself that I needed to act like a confident, mature partner in a healthy relationship, but I could feel a pang of guilt in my chest at the thought of using my own relationship for the camera. However, at this point, there was no other way. The train was not only on the tracks; it was hurtling down a mountain.
I looked into Reyna's eyes, and the hardness there softened for a moment. I wanted to say something comforting, but with the constant clicking of cameras, I was at a loss for words. This was our chance, and I didn't want to risk anything that might ruin it.
"Reyna, smile. Let's get groovy!" The photographer shouted at us. He motioned to his assistant to turn on the music to create a better atmosphere.
When she looked up at me, she smiled, and that gave me hope that we could ease ourselves into this current situation. I smiled back and tried to shove the uncomfortable feelings to the side.
After a couple of wardrobe changes for both of us, and what seemed like hours, the shoot was finally over. As we walked back to our dressing room, Reyna remained silent. I knew I had to say something, but I didn't know what to say.
"Reyna, I'm sorry about earlier," I finally said, breaking the silence. "I fucked up and I'm not sure what to do about it now."
She stopped walking and turned to face me. "Bryce, I just don't understand why we have to pretend like everything is okay when it's not. We're together now, so why can't we just be honest with people?"
I took a deep breath before responding. "Because this is bigger than just us. We have a business to maintain, and a certain public persona. If we show that we're unhappy, it's just going to attract more scrutiny. We just have to keep it light and breezy and show them that we are a couple in love, working toward an August wedding."
Reyna looked at me skeptically but didn't say anything. We continued walking in silence until we reached our dressing room. I could feel the tension between us growing, and I knew something had to give.
"Reyna, I know it's difficult pretending like everything's okay when it's not. But this is how it has to be for now. We can't risk the reputation of the company."
She sighed and looked down at the ground. "I know, Bryce. But it's hard," she said quietly. "I just wish we didn't have to hide our feelings for each other. Whether good or bad."
I walked over to her and took her hand, pulling her closer to me. "I know, baby. Me too. But it's part of operating in this life. And we can make it work. We have to make this work. We just have to trust each other."
I leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. She responded eagerly, wrapping her arms around my neck as we deepened the kiss. Her body pressed against mine, and I could feel the heat between us growing.
