Chapter Sixteen:
The Pristine Moments
"I don't wanna be here."
"Will you relax?"
"I'll get in the way."
"No you won't."
"I will just end up distracting you."
"That's a good thing." Brian surveyed the rack of clothing with his name on the front. His measurements were scribbled in blue marker on a piece of Bristol board, and it was taped on the front of the giant metal racks. He grabbed a red sweater. "What about this one?"
"Too bulky," Dana said absently. She reached for another red sweater, similar to the last one he'd chosen, only smaller. "I like this one."
"Too feminine," Brian wrinkled his nose. He ran his fingers over the smooth material of a blue shirt, and held it up for Dana to see.
"I like it," she nodded her approval. "That's a nice one."
"So is this in the yes pile?"
"Yeah."
He returned to the stretch of clothing that Nick swore was "a mile long". There was a pair of pale cargo pants draped over a chair, and Brian scooped them up. "Do you like these?"
"Not too bad, but try for something more original than Khakis."
"Cargoes," Brian corrected.
Dana waved it off. "Whatever. What I'm saying is you always wear jeans or-" she gestured towards the pants "-those things, and you need something new and original."
"Like what? There is nothing more original in guy fashion right now."
"You aren't looking in the right spot," Dana mused, and shuffled through a stack of pants. "Now these are amazing." She held the pants up, Vanna White-style, and spun them around. It was a stonewash cargo pant, with neon green embroidery on the butt and red stitching down the side. The pockets were emblazoned with the Fubu logo, and silver rivets with tiny F's covered most of the upper pant leg.
Brian pursed his lips. "You will never get me in those."
"Come on," Dana coaxed. "They'll look good."
"No," he stood his ground.
"Please?" Dana begged. She really liked the pants.
"No."
"What about these?"
Brian was disgusted. "That is a pair of flares. As in women's pants. As in nnn-ooo," he finished, accentuating each sound.
They shuffled through the racks. "This pair is pretty good..." Dana examined the pants. "Not too flashy, not too plain."
Brian glanced over at the pants. They were nice, satisfying Dana's need for originality and his own need for normality. "Yeah, they're okay."
"Okay as in yes pile?" Dana wondered.
"Yeah, yes pile," Brian agreed.
To get Dana's mind off of the Internet incident, Brian had bribed her into coming with him to the photo studio. Brian and the other four guys had ended up spending most of the morning talking layout with the photographer and stylist, while Dana had spent the morning milling around the studio with absolutely nothing to do. Brian felt horrible about neglecting her, and asked her to come pick an outfit out with him.
"How many different sets of clothes do you need?" Dana asked.
"Three," Brian answered, carefully considering an orange wife beater. "Is there something that'll go with this?"
"If you find a button up shirt or something it will look nice," Dana noted. "I like that shirt."
"So do I," Brian agreed. "Orange usually looks nasty on me, but I think this one will look okay."
"If you put white with it to tone down the brightness of the orange, yeah, it will look okay."
Brian wandered over to Dana's side of the rack and leaned close to her. "I'm glad you came," he whispered, his head resting on her shoulder. If Dana was startled any she didn't show it. "I'm having a good time."
She didn't say anything at first, only smiled. "So am I," Dana whispered back.
"Hey Brian, you got your light test coming up," AJ interrupted, walking into the room.
Two heads turned to look at him. Brian's blue eyes gave AJ the 'wrong-time-get-your-ass-out' look, while Dana's green eyes gave him the blank, 'what was your name again?' look.
"Uh huh... what's that Nick?" AJ walked out of the room instantly.
Brian laughed softly. "I think we scared him," Brian murmured, and ran his fingers through Dana's hair, down her side, and wrapped her fingers in his. She leaned back against his chest, and Brian kissed the side of her cheek. He used his free hand to tilt her head so Dana was facing him, and kissed her sweetly. They were alone with racks and racks of clothing that nobody would ever wear; Brian lived his life making history, Dana did everything but. It was a pristine moment.
- - -later on- - -
"Turn to the left, tilt your chin up, loosen your jaw."
Brian obeyed the commands, and still kept his eye focussed on the lens of the camera.
"Give them the lost puppy look," the cameraman encouraged.
Dana watched Brian pose and smile for the camera. Every so often he'd look over at her and grin.
"I've got to reload the film, you can take fifteen minutes to get a drink or whatever." He walked out.
Brian scooted over to Dana's chair, and sat down next to her. "Are you getting bored? You could always go play Play Station in the lounge or something."
"No, Nick has taken over the couch, the remote, and both controllers." Dana smiled faintly. "I was already there, trying to get to know the other guys, but there was no room on the couch, and Nick was the only one there."
He laughed quietly. "That'd be Nick for ya," he said. She glanced over at the stack of CD's, and shuffled through them, retrieving an old case. "What are you doing?" Brian wondered curiously. Dana shushed him, and slipped the CD in the stereo. He recognized it instantly, and couldn't help but be amused by her selection.
"You know this song?" she asked, noting his broad smile.
"Yeah," Brian nodded. "I do."
"I," Dana said proudly, "was the ultimate NKOTB teeny-bopper."
"Seriously?" Brian laughed, not believing a word out of her mouth. "No way!"
"Seriously," Dana nodded. "And this was my favorite song."
"Cover Girl?"
"You better believe it," Dana stood up and grabbed a black marker, using it for a mic. "I get up in the mornin' and I see your face Brian," she sang, changing the words to suit her purpose. "You're lookin so good everything's in place."
He laughed loudly.
"Don't you know I could never leave your side Bri, won't you stay here with me and be my bride," she crooned in to the "microphone". "Don't you know your my kind, you're just what I like, Bri, you're everything don't you know your alright... the only guy I've always needed for so long."
Brian was doubled over with laughter watching Dana prance around the studio to old New Kids On The Block tune.
"Oh, oh, oh, you're my cover guy, oh oh, oh, oh oh."
"You're too much," Brian interrupted, running over and picking her up. Dana squealed in protest, and hit his arm lightly.
"Brian!" she shrieked, laughing.
"You can't be an ex-teeny bopper," he shouted with a chuckle, and set her feet on the ground. "It's not allowed!"
"Believe it, baby!"
"Oh God," he squinted at her. "What did you do with my Dana?! Give her back!"
She tossed her head back and giggled. "Oh, I knew you'd get a kick out of that."
"Kick! That was more than a kick, that was an ass beating," Brian grabbed her waist and shook her gently. "You are amazing, d'ya know that?"
"I wonder why this guy has CD's..." he wondered.
She shrugged. "Maybe he gets his nudie clients to dance?"
"The guy does not do porn shots Dan."
"Are you sure?" Dana had a sly grin on her face. "Did you check his background? I can see the headlines now... 'BACKSTREET BOYS DO PHOTO SHOOT W/ PORN MAN!' subtitle 'Are BSB getting in to the skin biz?' "
"Shut up!" Brian laughed.
Dana giggled sexily, and cocked her head to one side. "Kiss me," she demanded with a smile.
"Yes ma'am," Brian said with a playful growl.
- - -the next afternoon- - -
Dana skipped through the mall, dashing in and out of stores, trying not to burst out in song. Kira and Brette followed close behind, moving slower, and attempted to calm Dana down. It was the impossible task for the day.
"Come on!" Dana shouted back to them, and ran into the GAP.
"Will you wait?" Brette asked once they caught up. "You're so... peppy today."
"Yeah, lately you've been moodswing central," Kira added with a smile.
Both girls were trying to decode Dana's behavior from the past week but translating the giggles and random sighs was proving to be harder than they thought. Dana refused to divulge stuff about Brian, and didn't say anything about what they did, and the suspense was driving Brette and Kira insane.
"Maybe I have..." Dana swung around a pole. "Maybe I haven't," she finished with a wild laugh.
They exchanged looks, and watched Dana grab shirts and pants and run back to a change room. She was a moving whirlwind of energy.
Dana came out, and pretended to be a runway model. She put one hand on her hip, pursed her lips, and walked towards them with her 'runway walk' going full swing. The employees all stared at her as if she was insane.
"Diva!" Dana laughed when she was done. "Girlfriend! Whassup?!"
"Holy, Dana you need to c-a-l-m down, majorly."
"Seriously Dan, do you need sleep, have you been on drugs lately?"
"High on a feeling!" Dana laughed.
Kira glanced at Brette. "Must be some amazing guy," Kira mumbled, and Dana just laughed louder.
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