New York City Friends

Season 2, Episode 1: The Show Is Never Over

Starring~ Michelle McCool, Ashley Massaro, Candice Michelle, and Torrie Wilson.

After a divorce with my husband during the fall of 2014, who also happened to be my best guy-friend, I expected a long period of time in between that before I would ever find somebody new... but I did and I thought that was it. The story of a middle-aged single gal in New York and her fellow single gal friends is not quite over though, because honey, we are not done telling this wild city story.

Christian kissed Michelle on the lips and the kiss burned Michelle up with passion, but the flame always died before it could form some major fire. Which left Michelle to thinking- Was I wasting my lively time with a man who was practically dead on the inside?

Michelle pushed the question away and she instead went back to watching the movie. The movie was about a couple who went on an adventurous path to finding themselves, later realizing that they are in fact soulmates... Something Michelle couldn't say about her relationship with Christian, sadly.

"We should probably get going," Christian said as he picked up his jacket to leave the movie theater.

Michelle followed and although it was just another Thursday, she wanted to turn this one into a 'Friday: The Prequel'.

Michelle looked at him, hoping he would get the hint that she wanted to go on a late-night adventure with him and just get carried away.

Christian was confused and didn't know what to tell her. "Well, see you tomorrow," he said as he walked away.

I was left wanting more. The show seemed to be reaching it's end, at least the 'Michelle & Christian Show' was.

Michelle turned around and ordered a hot-dog from the late-night stand nearby, she then took off to her apartment where she watched TV all night and she also masturbated a little before finally going to sleep... alone, but not completely lonely.

I wasn't angry or sad... in fact, for the first time, I really wasn't feeling anything other than cheap & unwanted. Can a relationship without passion even exist or is it just a big waste of time? I was on cloud-nine for the first few months of being with Christian and although we still seem to be in a good sane place, the passion has just died out... maybe I need crazy to make me feel alive.

Torrie on the other hand, was getting too much crazy for one Thursday night. She set up 3 dates with 3 different guys, now that she was officially 30, she was more serious and she wasn't afraid to go overboard with the looking.

At 4:05 P.M. Torrie went on a date with the first guy. He was a 35 year old business man who was too horny. "You know, after this, we can go back to my place and have a little 'fun'," The man would tell Torrie as he winked at her.

Torrie smiled, but in her head she was ready to run away. The date finally ended at 5:20 P.M. and Torrie rushed to her next date at a bar on the corner of that same street, risky but she didn't mind.

Date #1- Check! Still breathing and still keeping her hopes up!

"Hey, pay for the drinks. I swear I'll pay you back, I accidentally spent my money on a bet I made," The man said as he crashed into Torrie, already drunk and too immature for her. He was 28 and he was immediately checked off the list by Torrie.

He was a mechanic, but Torrie wasn't going to let him fix anything of her's.

Date #2- Check! Still breathing, but she was losing hope in men...

Later at 5:50 P.M. Torrie again rushed to her next and final date at a park bench. The park wasn't central park and the bench wasn't really a peaceful warm one, just like the man she was on a date with. He was 40 and he was very aggressive, too aggressive.

"Hey, can you not walk too close to us," he would yell at a couple who almost stepped on his shoes. "Keep walking mister," He yelled and Torrie covered her ears. She politely stayed for a couple of minutes and she smiled throughout the entire date, but she was exhausted of looking and exhausted of faking it after every failed date.

Date #3- Check. Third time's definitely not a charm. So Torrie went home. The dates were like an orgasm- Just not real for her, although the men never knew how awful the dates really were and they were still waiting for a call that would never happen.

Torrie did the 'walk of shame' and she felt like an 'emotional slut'. She was praying that she wouldn't run into Punk, mostly because she knew that she would never hear the end of this embarrassing story.

"Hey Torrie, how was your day. Are you engaged yet," Punk teased her as he laughed in the middle of their neighborhood street.

He just didn't understand her searching for love quest, it was like a period to him... he just didn't get it.

Torrie shook her head and kept walking, miserable... but at least she tried. She hated herself for telling him about the '3 dates in one day' plan of her's, but Punk was her friend and Torrie tells everything to her friends.

The next morning Torrie was still at it, she was still trying to get her shot at love... her efforts were just always wasted on the wrong men. Playing with a man who holds no passion, is like waiting for a cancelled TV show to go back on the air.

Torrie dribbled the basketball, but CM Punk would steal it from her and she would laugh as she chased him around the basketball court. The two continued this playful game of basketball for the next 30 minutes or so, they would do this almost every other morning before heading out to work.

"Okay, you win," Torrie would say after every shot Punk would make, "You have to go easy on me though, I'm not that good," Torrie begged as she hopelessly tried to aim the ball into the hoop, which she was getting better at it.

Punk would tease her after every fail, but he would give her a try and Torrie would finally make a shot after every few try's.

Punk had no problem with giving Torrie a try at shooting a hoop, but he would never dare to give her a try at aiming for his heart.

She would celebrate by 'casually' falling into his arms and hugging him, she would also play physical with him... but he never got the hints of her flirtatious behavior.

"So tell me about those millions of dates you went on yesterday," Punk asked Torrie while he chuckled.

Torrie rolled her eyes at him and instead took the ball away from him. "How about you grow up and start playing this little game of ours," Torrie said to him, referring to the relationship she hoped to have with him... but to his knowledge, she was referring to their basketball game.

To him, it was all a game, but to her, it was much more than just that.

Torrie finally walked back to her apartment to get ready for work, but she noticed herself feeling tired and sore. Was she getting old, was 30 the new 50 and not the new 20?

They say "painting in the morning calms a person down", but Ashley was definitely not calm while she painted... ironically, it was Ashley who told me that very quote.

Ashley painted this fantasy badass woman. Painting usually made Ashley feel confident and happy, but Ashley was starting to feel like shit compared to this other woman her own hands were creating.

The woman was bold & edgy, she had layered sharp hair and her clothes fell perfectly down her lean strong body without much effort, she even had this sure look in her eyes. She was the quintessential badass.

Maybe Ashley was this 'other painted fantasy woman'... maybe she just couldn't see it.

Ashley took a good stare at the woman, before finally walking away to take a quick snack-break. While walking to her granola bar, Ashley had many thoughts in her head. She was so distracted that she missed the giant bag of paintbrushes in front of her, she payed the price by tumbling hard on the floor.

"F*ck," Ashley yelled as she got her face up from the floor. Before leaving the floor, a stack of wedding invitations for her mother's wedding fell onto her back. "Oh, really," Ashley moaned as she sat there, staring blankly at the fancy golden letters of the cards.

They say, "artists are more emotional"... Ashley would tell me that's a bunch of bullshit, but it's apparently true.

Ashley looked at the bruise on her leg and for some reason, that and everything else made Ashley cry a little. "What the hell is happening," Ashley cried out as the tears blurred out everything for her to see.

She got up and continued to cry, but she was finally able to stop for a moment. Instead of getting the tissues, she got the scissors and she began to cut her hair to a much shorter length.

If Britney Spears released a song about her shaving her head in 2007... this right here would be the 'acoustic cover version' by Ashley Massaro. It was no show, it was more like a song of insecurities finally coming to a rocky end.

My Friday morning wasn't as bad as Ashley's, but it was still pretty pathetic. I was pathetic and my feelings were pathetic, I felt nothing when it came to Christian and whenever I did feel something it was usually me feeling like I was crazy and overreacting.

"Okay, I'm on my way. Okay, okay bye," Michelle said to the fashion designer on the phone before hanging up. While walking to go and pick up the fashion pieces to review, Michelle came across something even more interesting.

Michelle stopped for a second, "Christian, hi, what are you doing here," Michelle asked, surprised and confused at the sighting of her boyfriend at the meatpacking district on a random Friday morning.

Christian turned around and also seemed to be surprised, "Hey, Michelle, what a funny coincidence," Christian said, almost treating his own girlfriend like a stranger he hadn't seen in years.

Christian hugged her, but Michelle was still waiting for him to introduce her to his friends. "You must be Christian's friends, I'm Michelle, nice to meet you," Michelle said to the man and the woman.

"Nice to meet you, we were just talking to Christian here about hopefully setting up a fun getaway trip," The woman said, trying to start a conversation with Michelle.

Michelle smiled, but she didn't know what else to say. Nobody did, it was awkward, so Christian continued the unfinished conversation with his friends. He seemed to forget about Michelle, so she uncomfortably stood by him and Michelle wasn't even sure if they knew who she was?

I looked like an idiot. Was our relationship a walking idiot? It seemed non-existent at times, there was zero passion and it was bugging me.

"Okay, well I'm gonna go. But nice meeting you all," Michelle dismissed herself and boy was it cringe-worthy.

Candice felt like she was on top of the world, even after waking up late, she still managed to stay on top of her game for the big day.

While Candice walked to the Theatre District in Times Square, she passed a small boutique with the most eye-catching vintage fashion pieces she's ever seen. A purse in particular caught her eye, it was a floral DVF vintage purse and she wanted it more than ever.

Candice stared at the purse helplessly from the other side of the window, she saw the price tag and she knew that she couldn't afford such a cost... especially now that she was a divorced single mother.

Candice needed no man, but moments like these tempted her. Although women can hold just as much cash as men, some just can't afford to spend like that and Candice was one of them... Ironically, she happened to be living in the fancy Park Avenue.

The door of the boutique opened and Candice watched as a happy couple walked out of the vintage place. The groomed man was holding his glamorous woman's hand and the woman had a nice new old Chanel vintage purse on the other hand, they were all smiles and they were all bling. The couple reminded Candice of her own marriage with Wade, but she shook it out of her mind and continued to walk.

Candice longed for something else, but she was currently living for the moment. Today was her big day and she wasn't going to let anything bring her down, she was the one who ran her show and not some man.

Far from the lights and back in the Lower East Side, Torrie was getting her own big day too. That morning she was given the assignment to write an article about 'Women in their 30's who are still trying to live', which made Torrie feel even more self-conscious about her age, but it was a big deal because it would be featured on the front page of the magazine, "Elle".

"Okay, Torrie now that you turned 33, happy late birthday by the way, I wanted you to write about the life of women once they hit their mid-30s," The professional woman in glasses told Torrie.

Torrie froze, she didn't want to correct the woman who she admired on the fact that she only just turned 30 and not 33, so she let it go and nodded politely. "This is such an astonishing opportunity, thank you so much! I'll get right to work," Torrie exclaimed as she went off to write.

Torrie should've felt more excited, but she couldn't help and question her age. Was Torrie's age beginning to define every aspect of her, was she now officially part of that 'Women In Their 30s' group?

Torrie was a writer for 'Elle' at 29, but was she about to become a writer for 'More' magazine at her new age of 30?

Torrie looked out from the window of her small office, trying hard to start writing. She just couldn't let go of that mid-life crisis fear she was dealing with.

Torrie rested her head on the table and hoped something could come to her then, but no brilliant idea came.

After minutes of doing nothing productive, Torrie finally picked her head up and began to run her fingers across the keyboard. "Hope is key, not only for 30 year old single women, but for everybody." Torrie typed in as the first sentence of the article. That was it, she couldn't think of anything else.

Back in Brooklyn, Ashley was looking like a 20 year old emotionally unstable meth addict after her meltdown, which involved her cutting some of her own hair. Ashley needed help asap and she knew exactly who to call for this hair-emergency, her gay friend Dolph.

"That is not pretty, I'm sorry, but honestly," Dolph said, shocked, as he looked at Ashley's uneven cut hair.

Dolph picked up the scissors and he began cutting away instantly. He cut Ashley's hair to an even shorter length, one that just barely touched her shoulders.

"Now it looks better. You're like the punk version of Taylor Swift," Dolph insisted as he played with Ashley's new and improved hair.

Ashley looked at herself in the mirror and she was in love, not obsessed like a conceited person... but this was confidence, which she hasn't felt in a long time.

"Well, since were giving my hair a whole new look, why not go the extra mile! I want pink and black highlights on the front of my hair, please, you have to," Ashley begged as she got the dye out from the counter.

Dolph shook his head, but he didn't hesitate to go for it.

Ashley now became the badass woman she was painting earlier and she could pull it off like none other. Her show, also know as her repetitive life, was now rejuvenated.

After minutes of applying the dye, Dolph was done and Ashley was ready to look at her new hairdo. "F*ck, I feel fine for once, thank you," Ashley exclaimed as she posed fiercely for the mirror.

Dolph smiled and he gave her a thumbs up, "Now let's talk about boys because with that new hair, they're going to want some of you. Did I tell you about my straight friend, well he's single now and I don't know, you two could work," Dolph teased Ashley about.

Ashley rolled her eyes and she hid the topic far under the rug. "No, first, let me just enjoy myself," Ashley exclaimed as she flipped her hair and twirled fabulously in the art studio of her's.

Like Ashley, Candice was also filled with poise & confidence that day. Everybody around Candice saw the fire inside of her, even as they all nervously did last-minute rehearsals for the big opening show.

"1-2-1-2! Okay, now take it back and tap the floor," Candice would say to herself as the sweat dripped down her face.

She would do the move over and over again, until she got it perfectly right. By now, she was even leaving the younger dancer's far back in the dust.

Some sweat also dripped down some of the heterosexual dancer's, except it was a different type of sweat. Candice was considered a 'Milf' to them, she was the oldest woman out of the musical's cast and the boys wanted her moves... but Candice was too out of this world to pay any attention to their drooling.

Candice continued to dance in her own little world and she didn't mind anybody else who happened to be around her, she was determined and too focused on the show to let people distract her.

The show was about two hours away from starting and Candice sure wasn't going to waste any minute. Although it wasn't a sold-out show yet, it was still a big deal... after all, who else can say they've performed their own musical at Times Square.

New York City is known for being one of the most diverse and interesting place in the world, it's almost impossible not to be passionate about something in this big city. But how can a man be so un-alive in the Big Apple.

Michelle sprayed herself with perfume and she was going for second's, but their was knocking at the door. "Coming," Michelle yelled as she went for the door.

She smiled at the sight of her boyfriend, who was already dressed up. "Thank you, it really means a lot that you are giving this a shot," Michelle told Christian as she took him by the hand and brought him into her apartment.

"Okay, I just need a few more things... but I swear we'll be out of here within 10 minutes," Michelle promised, but 10 minutes to her translated to 30 minutes in 'Getting Ready' timezone.

I was excited and I had an intense energy that could fly me high up for the night, the question was- Could Christian keep up?

Michelle ran out of her room with a jumpy feeling inside of her, "Okay, let's go," Michelle cheerfully said as she headed for the door. However, Christian was not present, at least mentally... he fell asleep 15 minutes ago.

"You're obviously bored out of you mind. You can leave if you want to," Michelle told him as he slowly woke himself up from the couch. He rubbed his eyes for a good 10 seconds, before finally responding.

"No, I'll go. I had plans with my own friends, but here I am, so might as well do this," He said as he got up to leave.

Michelle stopped him before he could walk away, "Your friends, that's right! You have friends and I haven't met them, how about that," Michelle sarcastically said as she patted him on the shoulder.

Christian laughed, "Look, I just don't think they're your type of crowd," Christian admitted.

Michelle shook her head in disapproval, "My friends aren't your type of crowd, but you've met them. And is that why you completely treated me like a stranger in front of your friends earlier," Michelle put him on the spot about.

He kissed her and then walked away, with nothing else to say. Michelle froze for a minute, she was beyond confused at the unusual random act. Was she crazy, was he crazy?

Was I crazy... no, that's not even the important question here! The important question- Is he crazy enough for me? All I know, is that this man is driving me crazy because he isn't driving me crazy.

Ashley also brought her date to the musical... except she brought two men and these men were both very excited for the musical, but technically she was on their date.

"I can't believe I'm a third wheel! Just kidding, this is my life, always being that extra annoying wheel," Ashley said, almost yelling it to the whole crowd in Times Square.

Dolph and Johnny laughed, "Ashley stop it, we always try setting you up with some man... but you always reject it, you're too damn picky," Dolph insisted as he held his man's hand.

Ashley practically ignored his comment. Instead, she took out her cigarette and she lit one up, "Nobody will ever kiss me the way this cigarette does," Ashley dramatically said as she smoked away. She felt that bittersweet hard kiss of that cigarette, which she hadn't felt in a long time.

Ashley was once a smoker and she loved it, but she later turned that around. She stopped smoking and she began to look for love, until now... She's now a social smoker and only a social smoker, for now that is.

The three continued to walk through the crowds of people, when a tourist decided to test Ashley's temper. "Mam, I'm going to need you to put that out. Their are people literally walking right near you, it's a little rude," The older blonde woman with an 'I Love NY' t-shirt told Ashley.

Ashley stopped her smoking for a quarter of a second. She looked at the woman, but she had nothing to say to her.

Looking for love was tiring for Ashley, just like being judged and having to defend herself was getting tiring for her.

Ashley walked away and had nothing to give to the woman, so she continued to smoke peacefully, "I'm just so tired of this! I don't have to justify my actions, ever! It's my life and I will live it the way I want to live it," Ashley ranted on about.

"I hate Times Square! This is the one place I hate the most out of New York, too much tourists and too much mainstream advertising," Ashley also ranted about.

Dolph and Johnny casually nodded their heads, with fear that Ashley would turn on them any second now. But Ashley's recent decision to smoke again and her behavior recently was starting to worry those around her.

Either way, Ashley ran her fingers through her short hair and she felt like a badass, especially with those sunglasses on and with that cigarette she had in her hand.

Ashley was the female version of James Dean on the outside, but she was a broken Marlin Monroe on the inside.

Every second to Torrie was like a minute. Now that she entered her '30s', she was now living by dog years. For the entire day, Torrie couldn't help but to obsess over her age and fear about her future.

"Do you ever think about your future and just get extremely scared of it," Torrie asked the wrong guy. Punk looked at her funny, he smirked and he put his arm around her shoulders.

"No, because I don't break my head about it and you shouldn't neither," Punk reassured paranoid Torrie.

Torrie stayed quite and she brushed it off.

"You're still young! If it makes you feel any better, I'm 37 and I'm still not living the life I thought I would be living at this age," Punk admitted, with regrets and memories coming back to him.

Torrie turned to him, surprised with the fact that he actually wanted something out of life. "Well, you don't look 37 and... I'm surprised that 'Mr. Bitter Man' over here actually has desires for things in life," Torrie told him.

Punk laughed and turned red, "Yeah, well, what can I say... I'm full of surprises," Punk exclaimed. "Now, let's talk about something else that doesn't get us elderly 30 year old's stressed out about," Punk teased as he and Torrie walked along the wild-side of Times Square.

Minutes before her show, Candice made sure she put her mothering priorities first.

It was dark out by the time Brooklyn was dropped off at the exclusive back side of the Theatre building. Candice held his head and she kissed it, "Here, I knew your father wouldn't bring you with a sweater," Candice said as she zipped up the jacket on Brooklyn.

"How was your day," Candice asked Brooklyn, trying to show him that she cares, but also trying to take her mind off of the pressure.

Brooklyn was confused, "Okay, I guess. But doesn't the musical start any minute now, shouldn't you be telling me about that instead," Brooklyn told his mother.

"Honey, you are my sweet distraction! Now go on, go through the hallway I showed you that leads to the audience seats, Michelle saved you a seat next to her," Candice instructed him in a rush.

She watched him dash out and she took a deep breath in. The chilly winds of September brought a sense of warmth inside of Candice, ironically. The noise of the tourists and the sirens of the aggressive frenzy also helped to calm Candice down, ironically.

The fence in front of Candice didn't stop the bright lights of Times Square from reaching her eyes, it was inspiring and it was encouragement from New York herself.

Candice's show was spectacular and one hour into the show, it still managed to stay spectacular. However, my show with Christian was beginning to get dull and old... and by 'show' I mean relationship.

Michelle held onto Christian's hand tightly, with a grip no one else could break. She loved the feeling of his masculine warm hand, it was a warm feeling she had longed for after her divorce with Mark.

Every time Michelle felt him move, she would turn to look at him and she would give him a smile. Hoping he wouldn't leave her, like those others have in the past.

She felt calm and secure throughout the musical, until Christian decided to leave her behind like those others. "I have to go, but tell Candice I enjoyed it very much," Christian whispered into Michelle's ear as he let go of her needy hand. He gave her a kiss, but it wasn't enough to make up for what he was doing.

Our 'show' had potential, but it was beginning to disintegrate into nothing more than a quick fling.

Michelle turned her head back to watch him walk away. She got her body half-up from the seat to follow him, but she knew it wasn't worth it. So she sat back and enjoyed the rest of the fabulous musical, with an okay smile on her face.

The show was over, but the emotional journey leading to the big premiere show will never be over for Candice. Their will be other shows, but no two shows will ever have the same feeling as one another.

Candice did a quick curtsy along with the rest of the cast of the musical, "Thank you," Candice said, but the cheering of the audience made it hard for Candice to be heard.

A tear came strolling down her face. It was hard to take it all in, everything, from the show to the 'behind-the-scenes' moments, everything.

The sold out crowd loved Candice and the musical as a whole. Her friends were proud of her and the promoters of the musical were very proud of her too, but most importantly... her 14 year old son was also very proud of her.

Candice went from being a broken, hopeless, and exhausted divorced mother to a superstar.

She blew kisses here and there, she waved and she cried. It was a sold out show!

When you slay your very own sold out show at Times Square, you need to celebrate with a little after-party.

Candice made sure she stopped by the vintage boutique before doing anything else. She picked up the vintage DVF purse she saw earlier and she payed for it with her own self-made money.

"Now to celebrate," Candice exclaimed as the core-four girls and a couple of other friends walked the night-streets of Times Square. "First, Can we please leave this 'cliche' place and go back to the Manhattan I know," Ashley begged as the whole group laughed.

Ten minutes later, we were all back in the same old Manhattan we know and love. The 'big lights' and the 'Broadway' feeling had worn off after having dinner at some old restaurant there, but the same people remained. Maybe I'll lose some in life, but a one man show can always carry on if you're fabulous and comfortable with yourself. Life's like a show, eventually some cast members leave and you'll have to face many bumpy story-lines along the way to keep it interesting, but when your show does end... you can always look back at the old seasons and reminisce, so in a way your show truly never ends.

Special Guest Stars~ Christian, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Johnny 'Fandango' Curtis, and Brooklyn Barrett.

Written & Created By~ Jonathan Nunez

Published On September 6, 2015.