The Hot Guy at the GOP Debate (3 page)

Alex
made a gesture meaning money.

“
Payoffs?
That's not possible – not on that large a scale!”

“
You'd
be surprised how far money can reach. My cousin has been planning his
political career for years, so this cover-up has a long history with
many facets having been put in place to make it work. Including my
own silence, and the silence of my family.” He explained.

“
Your
cousin is paying you off?” She asked incredulously.

“
No!
It's a twisted kind of family loyalty. We wish him well. We believe
in our hearts that if he gets voted into office, his stance on
immigration will soften. But we also believe with all our hearts that
he will never get elected. I came here tonight basically to show him
my respect. To represent the family and let him know that even though
we disagree with him politically, we're still behind him. He didn't
want me here because he's afraid of the story coming out, but nobody
knows who I am, so I figured it was okay to come. I never expected
this bizarre Twitter attention to happen! How could I have predicted
that?” He said shaking his head in disbelief.

“
Now
here I am hiding here – confessing my life away to a complete
stranger! By the way, you can't tell anyone anything I just said,
okay? You can't tell anyone anything about me – especially any
of those blood-sucking reporters! Okay? You're not going to get any
bright ideas about selling this scoop to some journalist? Right?
Promise me you won't.” He pleaded.

“
I
promise you I will not sell this scoop to some reporter.” Jacey
said choosing her words carefully.

“
So
Jacey, I get that you like politics, but what brought you out here
this fine evening to watch a bunch of politicians play to the
cameras, instead of watching from the comfort of your own TV? Isn't
there some guy back home waiting up for you?”

“
I
came to the debate.” Jacey answered awkwardly in an attempt to
evade his question.

“
I
see that,” he said laughing, “And why are you here in
this office? Do you work here?”

“
Oh,
why am I here!” She said relieved to have dodged his question.
“I told you, my phone was dying so I came to recharge it.”

“
You
couldn't find a more public place to recharge your phone?” He
asked with amusement.

“
Well
it was loud outside, and I thought I could just slip in here for some
privacy.”

“
Calling
that boyfriend?” He asked with a smile.

“
No,
actually. Just calling a friend.” That was sort of true, she
and Mac had become friends over the years.
“
You
haven't made your phone call yet. Please go ahead, don't let me stop
you.” He insisted.

Jacey
plugged her phone into the outlet. “I think a text will be just
fine,” she said, as she texted Mac, “I'm on it.”
She quickly shut her phone off before he could call her back,
demanding more information, as she knew he would!

“
So
I guess you'll be leaving now that that's done?” Alex asked.

“
Oh
um, I thought I'd give my phone some time to recharge before heading
out,” She said stalling her leave.

“
Do
u have far to go?”

“
No,
just across town. She said. What about you? You planning to hide out
here all night?”

“
Just
until the circus leaves town,” he said. “I haven't got
far to go. I live over near South Street.”

“
You're
hoping they'll forget about you and in the morning, this will all be
over,” she said reading his mind. Fat chance of that happening,
she thought to herself. His face will be plastered all over the
papers tomorrow morning, she thought feeling a twinge of guilt
knowing that one of those pictures will be accompanied by her story.

“
Jacey,
I'm sure the crowds have thinned out by now, what do you say we get
out of here and maybe go get a cup of coffee at somewhere. You can
finish recharging your phone there and we can talk some more.”
He suggested.

“
That
sounds nice,” she agreed, feeling happy that he wanted to
continue their conversation.

Jacey
gathered her things, and Robert held the door for her as they
proceeded to walk down the hall towards the front door. “It
looks like the security guards are still on duty.” Jacey noted
aloud.

Upon
hearing her voice, one of the guards looked over and said, “I
don't think you want to leave just yet. The crowd has been thinning,
but I'd give it another hour just to be safe.” He recommended.

Alex
looked at her, “I'm sorry about this. I'd like to wait it out.
You don't have to wait if you don't want to. You can go.”

“
And
leave you here all by your lonesome? Not a chance!” Jacey did
not want to miss out on the scoop of a lifetime. She also had to
admit that she was actually enjoying her time with him and didn't
really want to go home just yet.

“
Let's
go hang out on the stage at the auditorium!” she suggested
excitedly.

“
Let's
go,” he said, grabbing her hand her and pulling her along as
they ran like children down the hallway to the auditorium, then down
the aisle and up on to the stage!

Alex
dropped her hand and took his place behind a podium. Leaning forward
towards the mike, he spoke with an exaggerated affectation: “And
if I'm elected, I'm going to deport all immigrants, and then I'm
going to build a wall around the entire country! A wall so high, that
no foreigner will ever get in again!”

Jacey
stepped up to the podium next to him, and spoke into her mic: “All
the immigrants, you do realize that's practically all of us! And
exactly how do you intend build said wall?”

“
Easy!
I'll make all the immigrants build it out of my Aunt Maria's dense
lethal chimichangas. She's a looker, but she ain't no cooker!”

Jacey
laughed.

“
But
lest you think I'm completely heartless, I will make one exception to
the mass deportation -- I intend to allow female supermodel
immigrants to stay in the country. Sadly, that means Heidi Klum will
have to leave, since she's no longer a 10, but Jacey can stay!”

Jacey
shook her head smiling.

“
Speaking
of Jacey, what a fine-looking vice-president she would make! Don't
you agree ladies and gentlemen?” He asked the invisible
audience.

“
You
know, Mr. Candidate, you sure seem to be overly focused on women's
looks. Don't you think that's a little shallow and immature?”

“
Look
at me, I'm a 10! I deserve to have nothing less than another 10 by my
side! It's simple mathematics!”

“
Yeah,
it's simple alright,” Jacey said. “I think I've had
enough of this little game.”

“
Alright
little Miss 10, got a better idea to pass the time?” Alex
asked.

“
Yeah,
let's play 'Never Have I Ever,'” she suggested.

“
Never
heard of it.”

“
Okay,
let me explain,” Jacey said. “We both start with ten
fingers up. I say a true statement, like, 'never have I ever been to
San Diego.' If you have done the statement then you put one finger
down. Then you make a statement and if I have done what you state, I
put one finger down. It continues until all fingers are down. The
first player with all fingers down is out. The other one wins.”

“
Okay
Jacey, I'm game. You start.”

“
Never
have I ever...been a model.” Jacey said, wondering if he had
ever modeled.

“
You
got me. I did do some modeling in college.”

“
That's
no surprise. Who did you work for?” She asked.

“
I
did some work for most of the major magazines, GQ, Vogue, Men's
Health, and others.”

“
I'll
have to look online for the evidence,” Jacey teased him.

“
Fine,
I have nothing to hide, I'm proud of the pictures, I know it's been
downhill from there,” he said modestly.

“
Yes,
that's obviously something you need to be concerned about,” she
said sarcastically.

“
Okay
Jacey, it's my turn... Never have I ever been engaged.”

Jacey
felt as though she had been kicked in the gut. She felt the blood
drain from her face, and the fun and camaraderie came to a sudden
screeching halt!

Alex
was alarmed, “Jacey, I'm so sorry, I obviously I hit a nerve.
Let's skip that...you know what? This is a stupid game. I'm quitting.
You win. Never have I ever really wanted to play that game. I just
wanted to hang out with you more. Let's just hang and talk. Okay?”

Jacey
forced a little smile. She was genuinely impressed with his
sensitivity and sincerity.

“
It's
okay,” she said quietly, “It just a kind of hit a really
sore spot.”

“
You
don't need to talk about it if you don't want,” he said kindly.

“
No,
it's okay, maybe it's good for me to talk about it a little. I was
engaged, but three weeks ago my fiance told me he is gay. So,
basically, I assume that means the marriage is off. Our marriage, at
least. He's with someone now, so this is a happy time for him, I
suppose. I feel like -- really? He couldn't have told me that he was
having doubts before I made all the wedding plans and lost my deposit
and – and he was my best friend and now I can't even call him
to commiserate with me, because he is the one who caused me all this
pain!”

“
Jacey,
I'm so sorry, he said, as her tears burst out freely. In the blink of
an eye, Alex was by her side, enfolding her in his strong, comforting
arms. “It's okay, Jacey. It will be okay.” He whispered.

“
I
know it hurts now, but you are going to be fine. Believe me, you are
going to be fine! There are great men out there who are dying to meet
a woman exactly like you! Do you know how hard it is to find a woman
who is sensitive, kindhearted, intelligent, a great listener, honest
and beautiful to boot? Believe me, I should know. It's hard to find
someone like you! You're in a funk now, and it sucks and you need to
feel the pain, but you will get through this, and it will all turn
out for the better, you'll see,” he assured her.