For Whom You Love

Paige watched with irritation as women flirted with Taylor. “Badge bunnies” or “holster sniffers” she’d come to call them…women who were intently drawn to a man in uniform and who were willing to go to bed with Taylor just because he wore a badge. He must be safe, they felt. Paige had become all too accustomed to fielding questions like, is he married? Does he have a girlfriend? Can I get his phone number? She, too, found Taylor attractive, but he’d always been more of a brother than a prospective boyfriend. They had been friends their entire lives and she never saw him as anything more than that. And she knew the feeling was mutual. Somehow, their relationship worked out flawlessly. There were no hurt feelings. No jealousy. And no future expectations. Taylor was a wild child who enjoyed having his pick of women and Paige preferred romance and courtships.

Paige broke her attention from Taylor – who was now deeply engaged in flirting with four women in their early thirties wearing clothing that welcomed prying eyes – and scanned the room. She noticed several of the women appeared to be talking about her. Paige had grown thick skin around her sensitivities. Being one of only fifty women in the entire San Diego Police Department’s thousand-man force had taught her that being sensitive often leads to tears, which, in turn, shows weakness.

“Can I have your attention?” Paige heard over a loudspeaker. She browsed the room until she found a small-framed, younger woman standing on a chair and holding a microphone. “Aldengate is going to be entering the room in just a few moments and I’d like to go over some of the house rules. You will be given thirty minutes to interact with the band before it’s time to line up for pictures. During that time, we are asking that you please keep your voices to a dull roar and please be respectful of the band’s personal space. As you can see, there are several police officers and security guards inside this room and if anyone becomes disorderly, you will be removed. Thank you.”

Paige overheard the mumbles of the women as they began to complain about being warned to behave as if they were elementary school kids on a field trip to the zoo. Paige, however, suspected the women were certainly capable of living down to that expectation.

“I hope Preston comes in first,” said a woman wearing a dress two sizes too small for her frame. “He’s been my favorite since I was like twelve.”

“I’m gonna ask Drew to sign my arm and then I’m gonna get it tattooed there,” said another woman. “Or maybe on my chest.”

Paige felt saddened for the woman who, for reasons beyond Paige’s understanding, was willing to go to such extreme measures to preserve an autograph. She theorized that Aldengate probably had the most intense fan base of any band in the world.

The doors opened and Paige watched as women began making their way towards the band in a frenzy. She contemplated intervening, but decided against it when she saw that Aldengate’s bodyguards appeared unconcerned. She scanned the group hoping to find Preston, but she couldn’t see him through the sea of people. She continued searching the crowd modestly, trying not to appear evident. Her efforts, however, did not go unnoticed.

“Who are you looking for?” Paige jumped when she turned to see Taylor standing next to her. Taylor could tell she had become smitten with one of the band members, but he wasn’t sure which one.

“Uh…no one. I thought you were supposed to be over there,” she responded.

“I’m not that far from my post. And I don’t want to stand over there by myself. Don’t worry…I’m probably more effective over here because this is where the largest concentration of people is.”

Paige averted her eyes from Taylor and subtly scoured the crowd. This time she found him. He was talking to a group of women who were brazenly flirting with him. She watched as they sniggered like schoolgirls and found any reason to deliberately touch him. A hug. A hair supposedly clinging to his shirt. A piece of invisible lint in his hair. Paige waited to see how Preston would respond. Would he be a stereotypical celebrity and succumb to groupies who offered themselves up for the night? Or would he politely decline and walk away? And why did it matter?

“Why don’t you take a picture? It’ll last longer,” Taylor said as he nudged Paige with his elbow.

She shook her head and tried to shrug off the embarrassment of being caught. She knew there was no way to explain her infatuation to Taylor. She didn’t even understand it herself. There was just something about Preston that drew her to him like a magnet. A part of her couldn’t wait for the night to be over so she didn’t have to pretend to be focused on her assignment anymore.

“He’s too old for you,” Taylor said with authority.

“Oh thanks, Dad,” Paige snapped back.

“Besides, you don’t ever want to get mixed up with someone like that. You guys are from two different worlds. Men like that don’t fall in love…they fall in lust. They use women like they use Kleenex.” Taylor’s words were forceful and commanding.

“You would know,” Paige reminded him.

“Hey, I have meaningful relationships. They just always tend to end when the sun comes up.” Taylor laughed a little, but when he saw that Paige wasn’t amused, he added, “You’re not his type.”

“Why are we even having this conversation? He’s just nice to look at. It’s not like I’m turning into a groupie or anything,” Paige defended. “You know it’s not your job to protect me. You’ve been doing this since the first grade.”

“So why would you think it would stop now?”

“Because! I’m a grown woman. I’m capable of making my own decisions…particularly when those decisions revolve around whom I date.” Paige was getting visibly irritated with Taylor’s overprotective tone.

“Yeah. Because you made such a good decision last time,” Taylor barked.

Paige recoiled in shock. She couldn’t believe Taylor was even bringing that up. Her eyes narrowed in detest and the look on her face was pure anger. Taylor knew he had crossed the line and instantly began to feel guilty.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he lowered his head. “I shouldn’t have gone there,” he said as he reached his hand up to place it on her shoulder. Paige pulled away from him and looked at him with disgust.

“Lovers’ quarrel?” Paige heard a man’s voice ask. She turned and saw Preston standing a few feet away. “Or family feud? Or what?”

Paige took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She stifled her embarrassment and let a smile cross her face as she peered into his eyes. She was captivated by his handsome features, but she knew, deep down, that Taylor was right. A man like him had women crawling at his feet. When he uses one and tosses her aside, there’s always another one eager to be treated the same way.

“Just offering a little perspective to a co-worker,” Taylor responded.

“I’m Preston,” he said as he extended his hand out to Taylor.

“Taylor,” he responded, shaking Preston’s hand. “And this is Paige.”

“I know,” Preston said as he shot his eyes over to Paige. “We met earlier.”

“You met?” Taylor asked with a tone of surprise.

Paige lowered her eyes briefly and then looked at Taylor. “Yeah. When I was in the corridor and they were coming back from the stage,” she said, hoping she sounded indifferent about the whole encounter.

“I see,” Taylor responded. The big picture was becoming clearer. And he didn’t like it.