Tucker had felt out of place a lot while going places with his gorgeous girlfriend Haley, but Miss Zoe's fashion show took the cake as far as awkward moments went. Zoe Hollander, known as Miss Zoe in the fashion world, and who was rumored to of legally changed her surname, was debuting her newest line for the fall. As far as Tucker was concerned, that meant less to him than three weeks away, when the new semester started. Haley Leone, the romantic love of his life and a perfect 10 model, was making her catwalk debut alongside another rookie and another model who'd only done runway work twice before, so she wasn't much of a vet yet. The jitters running through everyone standing around with him before the event was enough to make Tucker fall over and twitch.
Backstage at the show, Tucker was dressed in a white silk shirt, which was unbuttoned and not tucked, revealing a black T-shirt underneath. Around his neck was a basic silver-colored necklace and around his waist was a black leather belt that held up a pair of tan slacks, his favorite pants that weren't jeans. Polished black slip-on shoes completed his ensemble; he wasn't wearing his glasses, going for contacts to look less geeky. Miss Zoe had contacted him through Haley two days prior and had her assistant Kathryn coach him on how to dress for the event. It wasn't really his style, but he wanted Haley and her picky boss to be happy.
The three models were having makeup applied by a team of assistants, mostly women but a couple of men and Tucker figured all of them were gay. While it may of seemed like projecting one word to apply to pretty much every person in the room but most of the models had confirmed Tucker's suspicions. On the far left was Haley, her blond hair being given a touch of styling mousse to give it a shiny, spiky feel. Miss Zoe had chosen her to wear a black cocktail dress with a woven lining that made some kind of strange design which Tucker assumed was supposed to be a butterfly, though he never understood fashion. In the middle was Chi, a Vietnamese model that Tucker had helped when he'd gotten Haley her own job. The somewhat small Asian girl reminded Tucker a lot of his best friend Maggie, at least in terms of appearance, which was probably why. Being from the Orient, Miss Zoe had decided that Chi would look best in the Asian dress, which was pure white with a golden dragon design, a high collar and flowing skirt, which was slit at the sides making it easier to walk. Chi's hair was being done up in twin buns which made Tucker think of one of his favorite video game women, Chun-Li from Street Fighter. Finally there was Amy, whom Tucker had just met for the first time. She was the tallest of the trio, which didn't say much, and had that thin but proportionate figure you expected from your typical supermodel. Her brown hair was very rich in color and went down to the small of her back in weak curls that looked more like waves. Amy was wearing a lady-killer style red dress whose skirt was longer on the left than the right and hugged her shapely form perfectly.
"We're going in twenty, girls!" announced Kathryn, walking into the room. The blond had her hair back in a generic ponytail and was wearing a headset connected to a radio on her belt. For her top she had a white tube and dark green pants down below, the top tight enough to show everyone that she had a belly stud. "Looking good, Tucker, it's nice to see my advice worked out," complimented the woman before she ducked out of the room, putting her hands to her headset. Kathryn's remark got her a acidic glance from Haley.
"Hey honey, I'm going to call Mags, then grab my seat; I'll see you out there," Tucker told Haley, leaning over from behind her chair and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek where she hadn't had makeup applied yet. Tucker wasn't big on pet names but had decided 'honey' worked since he'd once used it to describe Haley's appearance.
"I'd better, you're going to be dead center!" called out Haley with a smile. Giving her a wink, which she didn't catch, Tucker stepped out into the backstage hallway and produced his cellphone.
"Hey Tuck, just calling in to check up?" asked Maggie, picking up the phone back at the apartment she shared with her friend.
"Yeah, we're going live in twenty, did Lisa leave yet?" confirmed Tucker, then asking his own question.
"Yeah, she should be there by now or in a couple shakes if not," confirmed Maggie. Tucker's friend was sitting on the couch in their apartment, cuddling with her girlfriend Jamie who was also their boss at the bookstore where they worked. The scene would be innocent except Tucker had used his magic wand to freeze Jamie in time for Maggie before he left since Maggie wanted to stay in while Jamie had wanted to go out. Both women were naked, Jamie stiffly holding a bowl of popcorn while Maggie had her arm around her shoulders, glancing between her and the TV.
"Great... wait," muttered Tucker, something suddenly catching his eye. "Okay, I'm seriously glad I brought the wand with me now."
"Huh, what-" began Maggie on the other end of the line but Tucker hadn't waited. After confirming no one could see him, Tucker had produced his magic wand from his pants, which had been an awkward place to stash it, and tapped it against the wall five times, stopping time. Everyone around, from the models in the very next room to Maggie on the phone back at the apartment, froze instantly.
Tucker had reacted when he'd spotted three familiar faces get past the big, chunky bouncer just down the hall and enter the section that was reserved for VIPs. All three women stood in mid-step, purses over their left shoulder in perfect unison, all looking straight ahead with evil smiles on their faces. The one leading the trio was a tall blond who looked like she was barely out of high school. She was Michelle, one of Haley's rivals from the Miss Zoe audition. Her hair was straight and hung perfectly behind her head. The teenager had a pink dress on that had almost nothing below the waist and no upper straps, showing enough skin to make anyone who hated jail-bait sick. Also with her was a more petite redhead that Tucker knew as Victoria, who wore a similar dress save it was yellow and her hair was cut extremely short. Finally there was Candice, an African-American, in a Zebra-stripped microdress that matched the others' and her hair done up in twin ponytails. All three women wore black leather boots and carried black purses on their left shoulders.
Wandering back into the changing room, Tucker checked out the scene. Haley had a guy in a striped shirt applying something to the cheek he'd kissed moments ago while she sat in her makeup chair. Amy had a blond woman in a spaghetti top and jeans applying polish to her toes, while Chi was actually frozen getting out of her chair, her arms holding the sides while she lifted her rear off the seat, smiling at the giant mirror in front of her. After contemplating having some fun, Tucker decided against it and walked over to Haley, tapping the wand on her head. "Argh!" exclaimed Haley, nearly getting a lot more powder on her face. "Tucker, what the hell?!"
"Sorry to surprise you, but trouble literally just walked in," explained Tucker. Curious, Haley maneuvered past her makeup guy and followed Tucker into the hall where she immediately spotted Michelle and her two lackeys.
"What's that little bitch doing here?!" cursed Haley, storming over to the motionless trio. Tucker noted that the bouncer was timestopped while watching the door, which was now closed; not far away was Kathryn who was also frozen in mid-step, apparently chatting on her headset.
"Probably trouble, since she got into the VIP doors without a good reason," remarked Tucker. Michelle, Candice and Victoria had all lost the modeling positions to Chi and Haley a while back, thanks primarily to Tucker, who'd done a little sabotage. "Want me to ice them and hide them somewhere?" suggested Tucker as Haley inspected the three female trespassers.
"No to the former, yes to the latter," decided Haley after thinking about it and flipping off Michelle to her face. "Someone might find them, its better to just lock them up during the show. There's a closet down the hall we can stash them in, itÕs a push-lock from the outside."
"You checked out the closet?" asked Tucker, raising an eyebrow as he wrapped his arms under Candice's shoulders and began to drag her motionless body down the hall.
"Well, you know, its a nice place to..." trailed off Haley, pulling Victoria along the same way Tucker was doing. Tucker figured out what Haley meant and merely smiled, shaking his head. Working quickly, the lovers managed to place both Candice and Victoria into the closet, still posed as if in in mid-walk but Victoria with a mop almost in her groin. Tucker and Haley then tag-teamed Michelle, Tucker getting her feet and Haley her arms. Together they hefted the blond and threw her into the closet, knocking over Candice and Victoria so all three were in a heap. "Skanks in a closet, right were they belong!" laughed Haley, closing the door and pressing the lock, trapping the three inside the closet.
"Okay, get back in place, I'll restart time when you're ready," Tucker told Haley, who needed, gave him a quick kiss and hurried into the dressing room. Tucker watched her go and considered freezing her for a little action but decided against it since it would ruin her dress and makeup. Resigning himself, Tucker resumed his position and unfroze time.
"-do you mean?" asked Maggie over Tucker's cell, unaware that he'd stopped time.
"A little bitch problem, nothing to worry about," Tucker assured his friend. "It's fine. I'll see you later tonight."
"Be sure to bring me back something!" Maggie reminded her friend as he hung up and smiled. They already had Tatiana, a tall European blond; and Rebecca, Jamie's evil twin sister, but Maggie was eager to expand their collection of live-in human mannequins. Tucker had promised to look for a potential girl while at the show, but so far no one had worked. Kathryn was too important to Miss Zoe, Haley was his girlfriend, Amy and Chi were also too tight with Miss Zoe, and Miss Zoe herself was the lifeblood of LA fashion, or so it seemed. Shrugging, Tucker glanced at his watch and headed over to the bouncer, nodding at him and flashing his VIP pass, which he kept in his pocket, before stepping outside.
The back entrance to the show was pretty empty with only a small lineup of journalists looking to get in. Another big bouncer, this one Caucasian but still a dead ringer for Michael Clark DuncanÕs size, was guarding the door with a headset on, checking press passes and VIP badges. Glancing around, Tucker recognized a few journalists like Peter Clark from Variety and Wendy Hayes from the local news. Tucker, however, was looking for his neighbor Lisa.
When Tucker had last run into Lisa a couple of days ago he'd let it slip that Haley had gotten him into Miss Zoe's big show she's begged him to get her in. Being a struggling photographer, Lisa was looking for a big break and getting snapshots of Miss Zoe's new dresses from the VIP section would be a huge boost. Unfortunately Tucker hadn't found anyone he could boost a VIP pass off of for Lisa since none of them looked much like her so far. Luckily Wendy Hayes, who was waiting in line, did. The journalist had the same sandy blond hair, similar somewhat pale skin and rich blue eyes, though she was wearing the red trench coat that was her trademark. With Lisa due to arrive any minute, Tucker decided to make his move. Ducking behind the dumpster, Tucker revealed his wand once again and froze time. The world became a very quiet and still place.
Wendy was still in line, her hands holding a photo camera, which didn't make sense to Tucker since she was a reporter. Then Tucker remembered Wendy also penned a fashion column for a national magazine and it made sense, not that he cared. The blond was staring ahead impatiently as was soon picked up by the waist and carried over to the dumpster. Working fast, Tucker stripped the woman of her coat and press pass. Glancing around, Tucker figured it would be safe to dump Wendy for a while so he waved his wand twice over her head and froze her for good, then picked her up and dropped her among the garbage, making sure to bury her so she wouldn't be seen. With the reporterÕs personal items in his possession, Tucker tapped his wand again and time resumed. Tucker watched from his hiding spot as Clark saw Wendy was suddenly gone and glanced around but then shrugged. Tucker was just glad no security cameras were set up or he'd have been caught for sure.
"Tucker, there you are!" called out Lisa, almost making Tucker jump. Turning around, he saw Lisa walking towards him, dressed in a black turtleneck and pale jeans with a camera slung around her neck.
"Hey there, I've got your pass right here, along with some accessories," declared Tucker, holding up the coat and VIP pass for Lisa.
* * *
Getting Lisa inside hadn't been hard when she assumed Wendy's identity, managing to passably impersonate the journalist. After getting into the show, Lisa had given Tucker a quick hug and gone to join the VIPs. Tucker had done the same, finding his seat right in front of the catwalk and settling in, rubbing arms with various celebrities. Tucker could swear Megan Wolff was sitting a few seats away from him but he wasn't in the best position to have some crazy time-stop fun. It was a shame, really, since Maggie's modeling employer Charlene Masters was also there, as was actress Jessica Alfa. Tucker could even swear he recognized Caitlin Tafford, one of the women who was now living with Erika Stone.
Miss Zoe began the show with a quick introduction and then the stage went dark with lights flashing and bad techno-music blasting from the speakers. Miss Zoe then began to describe the outfits in strange ways as Amy burst onto the catwalk first, the veteran wowing the audiences as she strutted perfectly forward, struck a fast pose and returned. Tucker felt his pants bulge and clapped his legs together to hide it, nearly damaging the wand in his pants. Haley was next and she flashed her boyfriend a smile and a wink while on stage, managing to get wild cheers from a few members of the audience. Finally it was Chi's turn, who did a decent ending to the first set, aided by two prop guys helping her enter on a surfboard that they carried. After that it was time for dress rotation, so Miss Zoe began to talk again. Tucker knew it would be five minutes at least until Haley was back and decided to make a bathroom run.
Lisa smiled at him as Tucker hurried into the backstage area, using his VIP pass to get in. She'd been doing that a lot, Tucker noted, and was beginning to suspect she had a thing for him that went beyond friendship. A bit troubling, since he loved Haley deeply; Tucker none-the-less managed to make it to the bathroom and relieve himself at the urinal.
A second man, one wearing a black vest over a white buttoned shirt and jeans, walked in and ended up next to Tucker. "So this is where the dicks hang out, huh buddy?" joked the man, getting Tucker to groan. "Sorry pal, I love bad jokes. Hey, you're Haley's guy toy, right?"
"Uhh... I guess," shrugged Tucker, a bit uncomfortable at how the man had chosen to talk with him. Fortunately he was done and zipped up his fly, proceeding to wash his hands.
"I'm Aaron, Chi's my fiancˇe," revealed the man, causing Tucker to nearly jump. The situation had just become awkward as, after first meeting Chi, Tucker had sneaked into her house using the wand and had his way with her. "Haley's a great looking girl; I found a calendar she did for some group called T & M Productions and man, she is talented. I wouldn't say better than Chi, of course, but my bias is preventing me from really trying to judge that."
"Ah yeah, that calendar," nodded Tucker, going a bit pale. The calendar Aaron was talking about predated Haley's career as a model and also predated him telling her about his wand. He had since told her about it, but it might make things awkward if Aaron and Chi wanted to know more about the other girls in the photo shoot that Haley had no memory of participating in...
"Well, see you around, T-Dawg," offered Aaron, walking out of the bathroom after slapping Tucker on the shoulder. Tucker was certain he'd throw up now as Aaron hadn't washed his hands. Sure enough, Tucker's weak stomach took over and he ran into the stall, letting his stomach push out everything he'd had for dinner.
Thanks to Aaron's disturbing habit, Tucker was late heading back to his seat. The interval was over and Haley was about to step up again, at least according to Miss Zoe. Tucker was ready to dash when he stopped, seeing something troubling: Michelle, Candice and Victoria had been sprung! The three girls were standing near the stage; Candice and Vicky were holding a rope. Coming up behind them but still far back, Tucker saw to his dread that the rope had secured a bag some kind over the stage, right where Haley would be walking out. Ignoring how clichˇ this was, Tucker needed to fix the situation really fast.
With the wall too far away for him to tap his wand against and Tucker also forgetting he could just tap his leg he produced the wand and waved it. First went Michelle, who suddenly stopped mid-laugh while holding her chest. Victoria was next, her gaze fixed towards the stage. Tucker's luck ran dry with Candice, who turned and looked right at him for a full half-second before he froze her too. More panic hit Tucker as he ran towards the wall and saw the rope slide out from Candice and Victoria's fingers, meaning the bag was going to drop.
After what was the longest second of his life, Tucker breathed a large sigh of relief; his wand having been faster than gravity. The music had stopped in time, as had Miss Zoe and the rope, meaning Tucker now could think clearly. Unfortunately he had two problems he had to fix; one easier than the other. The bag turned out to be a burlap sack filled with whipped cream, clearly some twisted joke Michelle had come up with. Doing a little exploring, Tucker was able to find a ladder and use it to remove the sack and stash it in the closet where he'd stuffed the girls earlier. That eliminated the problem of the bag but now he had the three girls to deal with and one of them had quite possibly discovered his secret.
Deciding it would help him think, Tucker casually removed Michelle's dress and began kissing her body, starting with her neck and moving down to her breasts. The girl did have a decent structure for a model, at least as far as Tucker knew, but he wasn't about to let the bitch ruin Haley's big night. Tucker moved her arms so they were above her head and went lower, exploring her womanhood a little as he tried to decide what to do. Finally, after producing his member and introducing it to Michelle's lower region, Tucker had a plan and finished up, then redressing the blond.
Outside, Tucker found a few rugs in the dumpster with Wendy and used them to wrap up the three women, making sure no part of their bodies were visible. Tucker then carted all three using a food cart to the door leading to the parking lot but got stuck when the cart wouldn't fit through the door. Frustrated, Tucker decided to return to the dumpster and look for something he could use but found nothing, though he did remove Wendy and wrap her up as well. Deciding it wasn't a big deal, Tucker hefted Wendy over his shoulder and brought her to his Lancer. Figuring restarting time would be easier than just unfreezing the Lancer, Tucker did just that and slid Wendy into the trunk as the music picked up again from inside the building near where Tucker had propped open the door. Luckily he was away from the VIP door or any other entrance, essentially a fire escape that no one paid attention to since it was impossible to open from the outside without a key. Tucker had used Candice's legs to keep it open.
Michelle and Victoria were quickly put into place in the back seat, since the Lancer's trunk would not be capable of holding four people regardless of how much he could pose them. As Tucker placed Candice in the trunk with Wendy he was in for a surprise however. "Hey Tuck, what are you doing out here?" asked Lisa from almost right behind him, making Tucker jump up and actually hit his head on the roof of the trunk.
"Oh, hey Lisa," greeted Tucker, cursing himself for dropping the wand into the trunk. His neighbor was looking at him intently, clearly confused.
"What's all this?" she asked, indicating the carpets, leaning in to examine the trunk. Panic exploded through Tucker's brain like New Year's fireworks. His wand was in the trunk and he didn't want to have to hide Lisa like the others. His options limited, Tucker just went with the best thing he could come up with. Gently grabbing Lisa's face, Tucker turned her to face his and leaned in, kissing her square on the lips. At first Lisa seemed to hesitate but then, much to Tucker's surprise, returned it, moving her hands to behind his back.
"Wow," breathed Tucker, breaking the kiss a few moments later. "Uhh... sorry?"
"Oh come on, that was no accident," stated Lisa, looking at Tucker seriously. "It was a mistake though. I mean, you're going out with Haley. This is... wrong." Lisa then realized she was still holding him and let go, stepping back with her cheeks bright red.
"Lisa..." began Tucker, suddenly feeling extremely guilty and glad no one had seen them.
"No Tucker, don't," insisted Lisa, waving him back. "Look, I... I really like you. That kiss... It just wasn't right. You're in a relationship with someone you love, I can tell. We just gave in to an impulse, that's all. I don't want to wreck your relationship with Haley."
"So, it never happened?" asked Tucker, actually a bit sad though still feeling quite guilty.
"Yeah, lets just stick with the friends thing, okay?" suggested Lisa, looking at him with a sad expression. "Maybe someday... but for now, this never happened. Now come on, we need to get back in there."
"Right behind you," agreed Tucker, casually shutting the trunk and following his friend back into the fashion show.
* * *
"I was expecting one, not four!" exclaimed Maggie, delighted at the sight of the quartet of naked women in the living room. Haley had noticed Tucker had gone so he'd explained the Michelle situation, even admitting that Candice had caught him. Surprisingly understanding, Haley was fine with him missing part of her debut in light of the fact that otherwise she'd have been creamed. Lisa was naturally not mentioned; Tucker felt a bit troubled about the whole thing. He'd always thought his neighbor was cute, but he'd never considered actually kissing her for real. After the show, Tucker had driven her home and she was now back at her place celebrating with her friend Kayla. Tucker was planning to join the pair in a few minutes.
"Well, three of them we aren't keeping," declared Tucker, admiring the four suspended women as well. Michelle he'd checked out fully; her breasts were quite tiny as were her nipples. Victoria's own female chest additions were decently sized but he soon discovered them to be fakes, though she was clearly a gifted waxer. Candice was a winner though; being well proportioned and having a well-shaven mound. Wendy was sadly a mess, both in terms of her breasts and womanhood, her nipples were too large and her hair in a full bush. Michelle had been posed with her hands behind her head, her eyes closed and her lips shaped as if blowing a kiss, her legs were also spread apart. Victoria's left index finger was touching her lips as she stood bent over, her other hand on her hip with her knees together. Wendy and Candice were locked together in an embrace, with Wendy's hands on Candice's rear and their lips locking while the would-be model squeezed the reporter's massive nipples. "Looks like we lucked out though," added the only present male. "Why not take some pictures of your little tableaux, could be part of a Gorgeous Girls of Fashion calendar? Maybe afterward, your friend Bianca wouldnÕt mind having a couple extra mannequins modeling her costumes and masks; I think that Michelle and Victoria would do nicely, donÕt you?. So for now, you want to stash them in your room, or should I just leave you with the wand?"
"If you're not using it, I will," insisted Maggie, glancing over at Jamie who was still naked on the couch, though now on her back with her arms behind her head, staring dreamily at the ceiling. "One of these days though I'm going to get my own, then sharing won't be an issue."
"Mags, if that's ever possible, trust me, you'll be my first choice to have one," declared Tucker, handing his friend his precious wand and getting a hug in return.
The End... Perhaps? (nah, check out their Vancouver Trip)