“No . . . I belong here with Kellan. But thank you for listening, Denny.”
When I ran into Sienna that night, she was all smiles, loving the attention. Of course, she acted mortified when she spoke with anyone who interviewed her. She even walked away from a gossip site reporter, throwing her hands into the air and stalking off like she was offended to the core of her being that something so private was being brought up in casual conversation. By her actions alone, the rumors were confirmed: Kellan and Sienna had made a sex tape together. The world went into a gossip mongering frenzy, and the glorifying of them as a couple exploded into the stratosphere.
Kellan tried to put out the fire. Physically, he stayed as far away from her as possible, even going to the extreme of singing their duets on the other side of the stage as her. He told everyone who would listen that Sienna was not the girl in the video, and he was not, nor had he ever been, in a relationship with her. It was all too little, too late, though. Nothing could stop the gossip train.
Two weeks after the tape’s release, the sordid gossip was still going strong. We were in Atlanta, Georgia, a place I had always wanted to visit, and the boys were doing an early afternoon in-studio radio interview. I was sitting on a stool against the wall by Tory, who was always present when Kellan and the boys spoke to the press. While I was slumped against the wall, Tory sat ramrod straight, slightly leaning forward, ready to pounce. Her eyes watched the DJs like a hawk—or like a mama bear protecting her cubs.
“So, Kellan . . . rumors are going crazy. Anything you want to say about the lovely and quite talented Sienna Sexton?” The DJ stressed the word talented, and everyone in the room knew he wasn’t talking about her music.
Kellan shifted on his seat. “I’ve said this about five million times, but she’s an acquaintance of mine. We work together, nothing more.” Tory’s eyes tightened at Kellan’s admission, but she knew, just like Nick and Sienna, that nothing Kellan said at this point really mattered—a fact the DJ confirmed seconds later.
“Right . . . work.” He turned to his partner. “That’s a gig I wouldn’t mind getting.”
They both let out hearty laughs while Kellan’s expression darkened. “I am not, nor have I ever been, in a relationship with Sienna.”
The men turned incredulous eyes to Kellan. “So, that’s not her on the tape with you?”
Kellan closed his eyes and seemed to count to ten before answering, “No.”
The second male DJ responded with, “Sure looks like her. Even freeze-framed.”
My stomach churned and my hands balled into fists. I hated that the odds were very good that everyone in this room had seen the tape of Kellan having sex. Well, everyone except for me. There was no way on this green earth that I was watching that. Some things can’t be unseen, and Joey and Kellan going at it like porn stars was one of those things.
Staring the DJ down, Kellan straightforwardly told him, “I don’t see what any of this has to do with my music, which is why I’m here. The woman in the video was a girl I dated years ago, long before I ever met Sienna. While she happens to sort of resemble her, it’s not Sienna Sexton.”
Both male DJs glanced at each other. “It’s sort of strange that no girl has come forward then, right? I mean, if this ‘not-Sienna’ you dated leaked the tape . . . where is she?” He used air quotes, like he still didn’t believe Kellan.
This was unfortunately a sticky point for us. Joey hadn’t made a peep. She hadn’t come out to fight for her right as the proud participant in the video. She hadn’t basked in the glow of Kellan’s spotlight. She hadn’t snatched her claim to fame. The only thing she’d done so far was stay quiet as a mouse and let Sienna take all her “glory.” It seemed completely unlike Joey to me.
Kellan stammered on his answer. “I don’t . . . I don’t know.” Knowing he was digging himself into a hole, Kellan turned around and glanced at Tory, silently asking her to shift the conversation.
A female in a back booth chimed in with her thoughts. “I think it’s sweet that he protects Sienna by denying it. It’s chivalrous.” She pointed at the two DJs. “You guys could learn a thing a two.” I wanted to stab the girl with a pen. How much clearer did Kellan have to be?