This next section is dedicated to my Ya-Ya girls: Amy C., Katie, Jenny, and Sarah! The best friends a girl could have! I believe they would say many of the things in this fic to me if I had naked pictures on the internet!
Chapter Five - You've Gotta Have Friends
Things didn't die down. If possible, they got worse. Not only were the pictures the story, but nowKassia's relationship with an F.B.I. agent was tabloid fodder. Kassia was the butt of all the jokes on the late night talk shows and the press scrutiny was worse than ever. It was a nightmare.
"Well, what did you expect when you posed for naked pictures? I mean, God, Kash. You didn't just fall off the turnip truck, you know. This is New York. Things like that never stay secret." Kassia's closest group of girlfriends had converged on her apartment for some damage control of their own. Armed with pizzas, wine, and every form of chocolate dessert they could get their hands on, Amy, Katie, and Jenny swooped in for an all night session of girl talk. Katie, that one friend who always told the truth no matter how much it hurt, was sprawled out on the carpet munching on a slice of pizza and grinning at Kassia. Once she was sure that Kassia was going to survive all of this, she found the situation a bit comical.
"Yeah, Kash. Think about it this way." Amy piped up from the sofa, where she was sitting with Kassia's dog, Riley, on her lap. She grinned, before saying, "In some cases, they make people's careers. Look at Paris Hilton. Most people thought of that name as just some hotel in France before she began dancing on tables and having sex on the internet."
Kassia finished the last bit of her wine. "If you're trying to cheer me up, comparing me to Paris Hilton is not the best way to go." Kassia grimaced and threw her pizza crust at Amy. She missed and hit Riley, who didn't even stir. Laughing at her lazy dog, Kassia said quietly, "Besides, that's not what this was. This was different."
Jenny grinned at her and offered her a drag off her cigarette, before refilling Kassia's wine glass. When Kassia refused the cigarette , Jenny laughed and told her, "You'll take up smoking before this is all over, trust me."
Katie was not going to let this drop. She was in crisis mode...exactly where she liked to be. "You can tell yourself that this is different all you want, but it's not. Naked pictures are naked pictures."
"C'mon, Kate. You know that's not true. These were not your run of the mill naked pictures." Jenny rushed to Kassia's defense. "She didn't do this to gain publicity. They were taken in the security of her relationship with Danny. In the privacy of their bedroom. She didn't know that he would betray her."
"He didn't betray me." Kassia said softly, casting a reassuring look in Jenny's direction.
"And those pictures were beautiful. Not sleaze that normally makes it into the tabloids." Amy interjected. "I still can't believe you didn't show them to us, Kash. He's really a talented photographer."
Kassia smiled her agreement and said, "A girl's gotta have some secrets to call her own."
"Isn't that against the Ya-Ya code?" Jenny teased playfully.
Katie grinned, "Yes I believe it is, but I'll have to check the book when I get home." Katie leaned over and examined the contents of the pizza boxes that were scattered all over the floor. After deciding on a slice of pepperoni, she continued, "Well, I guess the lesson we all take away from this is to never let someone with an angry ex take naked pictures of you." She winked at Kassiaa and took a gooey bite of pizza.
"How was I supposed to know back then that Danny's latest girlfriend would go nuts and do this?" Kassia protested, leaning over to help herself to another slice as well.
"Because all exes are nuts! That's why they are exes!" Katie said a bit loudly, startling Riley awake from his nap.
"So, according to that theory, we're not supposed to date any men who have an ex out there somewhere?" Amy wanted to know, feeding Riley the pizza crust that Kassia had thrown at her earlier. "That rules out all of the men in the world over the age of 14."
"Not with kids these days." Jenny piped in. " They start dating as young as nine."
"You're really quite comforting, you know that?" Kassia remarked slyly.
"Speaking of men over the age of 14, what did Peter have to say about all of this?" As Katie mentioned the name of Kassia's boyfriend, the room got quiet.
"Peter is conveniently in Sydney for another two days." Kassia replied, not wanting to look any of them in the eye. She was not looking forward to this conversation with Peter.
"They have the internet in Australia, Kash. The pictures are already circulating." Amy said quietly. "If you think this story hasn't found him there, you're naive."
Before any of the rest of them could respond, they heard yelling from outside the front window. "Why don't you just go home, you bottom feeders? I bet there's actual news happening somewhere out there in this city tonight! Try reporting that for a change!"
Kassia and the girls began to dissolve into giggles. "Sarah-bear's here."
The elevator doors opened and a blond bundle of energy burst into the living room. Sarah turned around and made a face. "Vultures! This is insane, Kassia! Can't you get a restraining order or something?"
"We're working on it." Katie, the attorney, responded for Kassia.
"Work faster. She can't live like this." Sarah retorted, prompting Katie to stick her tongue out at her. "Sorry I'm late. Matt didn't get home until just now and I couldn't find a sitter for the kids at the last minute." She accepted the glass of wine Jenny poured her and reached down to greet Riley, who had finally found a reason to get off the couch. "So," she asked, sitting down next to Kassia and kissing her cheek, "what did I miss?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Lots of hysterics and crying. We had to keep Kassia from slitting her wrist with my nail file." Amy joked, getting up off the couch and going into the kitchen to rummage through the chocolate buffet.
"Crying and hysterics. I had that at home with the kids." Sarah remarked, checking out the pizza boxes. "I'm here for the juicy stuff!"
"What juicy stuff?" Kassia wanted to know.
"Has he called you?" Sarah asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Ooh, wait for me!" Amy cried, rushing in from the kitchen with a bakery box, a cake server, and some plates. "Oh no, Riley. You stay out of here. Chocolate's not good for dogs." She nudged Riley's curious nose out of the way and began to serve up the cake.
"And besides, this is from Kaplan's bakery. Too good for doggies!" Kassia said, taking a big slice of the chocolate cake that Amy offered her. "God, I'm never going to fit into my clothes after all of this!"
"Oh, shut up skinny. Now, what did Danny say when he called?" Katie wanted to know.
Kassia savored her cake, before saying, "Not much really. He explained what had happened with that Cynthia bitch and the magazine. He apologized over and over."
"Well, of course he did. But did the sound of his voice bring back any good memories?" Jenny's eyes were sparkling now too, with mischief.
Kassia blushed and the girls cackled with laughter. She couldn't hide from them the truth about Danny's voice sending shivers down her spine.
"You know," Katie said, eyeing her sneakily, "They say you never really get over your first true love. Especially when it was a sexy and mysterious Latin lover."
Sarah was laughing at the pink color creeping into Kassia's cheeks as Jenny whistled and said, "Do you guys remember the story about Danny and Kassia skinny dipping in that secluded swimming hole in Hawaii during spring break? With the waterfall? God I was so jealous of you after hearing that story!"
"Wait! What?" Amy protested, looking confused. "I've never heard that story."
"I told you that story!" Kassia said, looking pointedly at her. When Amy shook her head, Kassia began the story again. "He took me to Hawaii for some kind of conference he had to go to. He worked practically the entire time, so to make it up to me one day we took a picnic out to this secluded spot..."
The friends gossiped and laughed long into the night. If she had to go through this, Kassia was glad she could go through it with her friends by her side.
TBC...