After taking several pictures, I let my camera hang on my neck. "Let me first say thank you. You have all been amazing, and the photos are spectacular. I know we"re all exhausted. It"s been a long-a.s.s day. I appreciate your commitment to this and for sticking it out with me. Now get the h.e.l.l out of here, go home, and crash." I get a ton of hugs and kisses before they all finally leave.
I pack up all my lenses and put my camera in the bag. I throw that on my shoulder and go to grab the bag with all my other c.r.a.p in it.
"I"ve got that." I know it"s Jax without even looking up.
I close my eyes and blow out a breath. Straightening up I smile at him. "You don"t need to do that. I told you I"m used to this."
He picks up the bag and winks at me. "Oh well. Where are you parked?" he asks, his eyes shining.
He has to know nothing can happen here. It"s against everything I stand for and not just me, all photographers.
"I"m right up here." I just walk and let him follow me.
Thankfully, since I was the first one here, I am parked close. I unlock my Jeep and put the camera bag on the pa.s.senger seat before turning around. He grins at me and my stomach tightens. Handing me the bag, I toss it next to the camera bag, willing him to leave quickly. No such luck. When I turn around again, he"s leaning on the Jeep with his muscular arms crossed.
"It was one h.e.l.l of a shoot today," he comments.
I close the door and lean on it, copying his position. "Thank you. I couldn"t have been happier with the way things went." I peek at him and he smiles. "Well, minus the Melanie incident. Again, I"m so sorry about that. Nothing like that has ever happened with any of my models before. I hope that doesn"t deter you from working with me in the future."
He laughs, and I find myself joining him. "Kallie, believe me, a little c.o.c.k grabbing isn"t going to keep me from working with you. I look forward to the next time. You are definitely one of the most intriguing photographers I"ve ever worked with," he says with a smile.
The compliment feels amazing, especially coming from him. He"s worked with some of the biggest photographers I know.
"This is my life, everything I"ve ever wanted. So when you say something like that, it truly is a huge compliment. Thank you." He searches my face...for what, I have no idea. I blink and turn away though, because it feels too intimate. "I really need to get going. I have plans tomorrow, so I need to get these photos uploaded tonight," I quickly say.
He pushes off the Jeep and stands in front of me. Not as close as earlier, but too close nonetheless. "What plans do you have tomorrow? Dinner with your boyfriend?" he asks, completely serious.
I can"t help but burst out laughing. It catches me completely off guard. He raises his eyebrows and gives me that smirk.
"s.h.i.t, I"m sorry. No, no dinner plans with the boyfriend. No boyfriend. I have a shoot with my brother and his family," I say, fixing my ponytail.
He becomes completely serious again, searching my eyes. I really wish he"d stop doing that s.h.i.t. "Why is it so funny that I"d ask if you have a boyfriend?"
I straighten my back and clear my throat, feeling like I need to defend myself. "You"re a nosy little s.h.i.t. If you must know, most guys are jealous, insecure p.r.i.c.ks that can"t handle what I do for a living. What I do is so much more important than a relationship, anyway. I really need to get home, Jax. Thank you for helping with my bag and for being part of this today," I say, feeling the need to flee.
I open my Jeep door, and he puts his arm against the truck, trapping me in place. I have my back turned to him, and I"ve no intention of turning around. I feel him move closer and my heart pounds in my chest.
"You just haven"t found the right guy, that"s all. Good night, Kallie," he whispers in my ear.
He doesn"t say another word, and I hear his feet crunching on the rocks as he makes his way to his car. I never once turn around. I climb into the truck and slam the door. The only sound is my heavy breathing and the frantic beating of my heart. With a shaking hand, I push the key into the ignition and start my Jeep. I close my eyes momentarily and think about what he said. He"s right about one thing. I haven"t found the right guy, and I sure as s.h.i.t know it won"t be him, if that"s what he meant. I snap my eyes open at the realization. What the h.e.l.l am I getting so worked up about? I know nothing will happen with us, and I know he knows it too. He"s more than likely just being a major flirt, which I have read he is. I shake my head and laugh at myself. What a fool. I throw the Jeep in reverse and finally head home.
When I get home, I take a shower. I am so exhausted, I fall asleep on my bed in just my towel. I wake up this morning thankful I live alone, considering I am b.u.t.t a.s.s naked lying on top of my covers. I throw on my yoga pants and a tank top, go into my office, and start loading all the photos from yesterday. While they load, I go into the kitchen and make myself a cup of tea. I sip it and smile. I love tea. I"ll drink coffee, but tea is my favorite. I check on the photos and see I have hundreds to go on just this memory card, and I have five more. I"m not going to sit here while they load; I"m going to relax on my couch and hopefully find something good on TV. I have a few hours before Braden gets here with his family. I want to just veg out.
That"s just what I end up doing for an hour, sitting on the couch watching some movie on Lifetime and drinking my tea. I haven"t had a relaxing morning like this in a long time, and it feels great. When the movie goes to a commercial, I figure I should check the photos. I get up and there"s a knock on the door. I check the clock and see it"s much too early for it to be Braden. There"s another knock, so I rush over to answer it. I swing open the door and there standing in the hallway is Jax. He"s dressed in a pair of jeans, a plain blue t-shirt, and a black baseball hat with some writing on it I can"t make out. He looks amazing, and that"s when I realize I"m standing there in yoga pants, a tank top with no bra on, and my hair in a messy bun.
I just keep staring at him in shock. How the h.e.l.l did he know where I live? Why is he here? Why am I not speaking?
"Sorry to bother you at home. I went back onto the beach last night before I left, and I found this lying in the sand. I figured you"d miss it." He sticks out his hand and my cell phone is in it.
"Holy s.h.i.t, I didn"t even notice it was missing yet. I was so tired last night I just pa.s.sed out after my shower. I"ve been busy all morning and didn"t even check for it. f.u.c.k, thank you so much for finding it and bringing it to me," I say, grabbing it from him and hold it to my chest. I"d be lost without my cell phone. All my contacts are on there; he"s literally saved my life.
"You"re welcome. I would have brought it last night, but I figured you probably fell asleep. I know you"ve got plans today. I"ll let you get to it" he says, turning to leave. I feel awful he came out here just for that.
"Jax, please let me make you breakfast if you haven"t eaten yet. It"s the least I can do. You have no idea how important my phone is to me, to my business. Everything is on here," I say.
He turns and smiles. "I appreciate the offer, but I"ve got Blake waiting for me in the car. I actually have plans with my brother too," he says. I smile. I don"t know why, but it makes me happy that he hangs out with his brother as well. I wonder if they"re as close as Braden and I are? "How about a rain check?"
"Definitely. Thank you again, Jax. Have a good day," I reply.
He winks at me grinning. "You too, Kallie."
Just as I"m closing the door, it hits me. I swing it open and run into the hallway. "Jax, wait," I shout. He stops and turns around. I walk down to him and smile. "How did you know where I lived?"
He gives me a huge smile. "I followed you home last night." I immediately stop smiling. He, however, bursts out laughing.
"Oh my G.o.d, I"m just kidding, but holy s.h.i.t, you should have seen your face." He laughs again and shakes his head. "I called Max and asked him."
I close my eyes, shaking my head. "a.s.shole."
We both laugh, and he winks again as he turns to walk away. "I"ll call you, Kallie," he tosses over his shoulder as he pushes open the door to the steps instead of waiting for the elevator. I shake my head again and walk back to my apartment.
The rest of the day is perfect. Braden comes over with his family, and I do an updated family picture for them. Of course, I promised Dawn I would do a photo shoot with her and I did. She had the best time, and of course, so did I. I adore taking pictures of her; she makes me laugh the whole time. They stayed and we had pizza for dinner, but once Tiffany started cranking, it was time for them to call it a night. Since they left, I have been in my office loading the rest of my photos from the shoot yesterday. I have to say, they are f.u.c.king amazing. They look even better than I thought they would. I can"t wait to edit them. I think this is going to be the final step in becoming one of the top photographers, or at least I f.u.c.king hope so. My cell phone chirps next to me and I pick it up.
Jax: Just wanted to make sure you still had your phone. ;) I burst out laughing. What a s.h.i.t.
Me: Thankfully I haven"t lost it again. Although I haven"t left the house, so there is that.
I continue to laugh as I put my phone down. I take out the memory card that is finished and put in the final one. As I hit enter to load the pictures, my cell phone rings. I pick it up and smile when I see Jax"s name.
"What, you don"t believe me when I say I didn"t lose it again?" I joke.
He laughs on the other end, and I decide to take a break from the computer and head to the living room.
"I believed you. I was calling about my rain check," he says, chuckling.
I laugh again as I sit on the couch, pulling my legs up and wrapping my arm around them. "What about your rain check?" I question. I hear him flick a lighter and know he is smoking a cigarette.
"Well, you owe me breakfast, but considering I work all week, I figured we could do dinner instead. You don"t even have to cook it. We can go out," he says, taking a drag of his smoke.
My happy mood takes a nosedive. He just doesn"t get it. "Listen, Jax. I hope I didn"t give you the wrong impression here. I don"t date models, and I don"t sleep with models. It"s something I will never do. My career is much too important," I explain. He"s quiet for a minute, and I think I may have offended him.
"Kallie, you didn"t give me the wrong impression. You said you don"t date models or sleep with models, but can"t you be friends with them? I"m not looking to get in your pants. I"ll be honest here, I like you, and I"d like to be a friend. Nothing more. Is that something you"re willing to do?" he asks.
I"m such a f.u.c.king idiot. Of course, this G.o.d of men isn"t interested in me. He can have anyone, literally anyone, he wants. I want to smack myself for thinking so highly of myself.
"I"m sorry, Jax. Yes, I"m more than happy to be friends. How about I make you dinner Wednesday night? What time do you get off work?" I have my eyes closed with my head back on the couch, feeling like a complete a.s.shole for over-thinking this. I never did with Max, and we"ve been friends for a while now.
"Wednesday is fine. I work until five o"clock, so what time would you be ready for me?" he asks.
I think quickly about what I have planned for Wednesday and remember I have a shoot with Brinley. Perfect. "I have a shoot with Brinley, but I"ll be done early. How about six? Also, what do you like?" I laugh lightly, thinking I"m making dinner for a guy, and I don"t know anything about him except that he"s a s.e.xy model that seems to be really sweet.
"Sounds good. I"m easy, I like anything," he says.
I think for a minute about what I can make. "Well, that"s not much of a help. Do you like eggplant?"
He takes a drag of his cigarette before answering. "Yes, I told you I"m easy." I laugh because in my childish brain I keep thinking of him being easy s.e.xually. "Get your mind out of the gutter, woman, I"m not talking about s.e.x," he jokes, laughing.
This, of course, makes me laugh even harder. "I"m sorry. I have such childish thoughts," I say.
He laughs, causing me to smile. "Well, so do I. Obviously, we"ll have a lot of laughs together. As much as I"d love to get to know more about you tonight, I really need to get to bed since I have to be at work at five tomorrow," he says.
"That is f.u.c.king horrible. Much too early for me. All right, so I guess I"ll see you Wednesday," I say and go into the kitchen to get a gla.s.s of soda, smiling when I see the picture Dawn colored for me on my fridge.
"It"s early, but I"m used to it. Yes, you will see me Wednesday. Good night, Kallie," he says in that deep, s.e.xy voice of his.
"Good night, Jax." I hang up and lean against the counter, sipping my soda. I think this might be the start to a great friendship.
I set up my studio for Brinley, excited for her shoot today. We"re doing a boudoir shoot, which is always fun and s.e.xy. I have everything ready and decide to make a quick sandwich before she gets here. I make my turkey sandwich and sit on the couch to eat. I flip through the TV channels, find Pitch Perfect on, and get all excited. I love this movie. I laugh watching it, and finish off my lunch. As I put my plate in the sink, Brinley walks in.
"Hey, Kall," she says, hugging me before we head over to the couch.
"I know we talked about it a little, but I figured we should just go over a few things. Obviously, we"ve done these quite a few times, but I think we need something different. I"m just not sure what yet. Maybe we could do a few shots on that white fur carpet I got, what do you think?" I question.
"Kallie, I think you know exactly what you"re doing, and you don"t need me to approve it. Now let"s do this because I"ve got dinner plans," she says and wiggles her eyebrows.
We get up and I laugh. "I"ve got dinner plans too, b.i.t.c.h."
She stops short and spins around, putting her hands on her hips. "With who?" I tap the corner of my mouth with my finger like I"m thinking. "Don"t be a b.i.t.c.h," she yells.
I laugh and head toward the studio. "I"m making dinner for Jax."
She grabs my arm and stops me. "What the f.u.c.k do you mean?" she questions with wide teal eyes.
I pull in my eyebrows in confusion. "What"s that supposed to mean?" I ask.
She shakes her head and gives me a disappointed look. "Listen, you know I"m all for you getting out there and dating, but do you really think s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around with a model is a good idea? I mean, you"re the one always saying how important it is not to do that. And Jax? d.a.m.n, Kallie, he"s one of the biggest models out there," she explains.
I"m p.i.s.sed, beyond p.i.s.sed, at her a.s.suming I"m s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g him just because I"m making him dinner. "First of all, f.u.c.k you. You must not know me at all if you think for one second that I would break the most important rule, the rule I live by and run my business by. Second, I"m making him dinner because I left my phone on the beach, he found it, and returned it to me. It"s my way of thanking him. Third, it"s as friends, Brin, friends. Nothing more," I say, and head into the studio, wanting to get the shoot over with now because I"m p.i.s.sed she would think so little of me.
"Kallie, I"m sorry. Don"t be mad, but what the h.e.l.l did you expect me to think? You said you had dinner plans. You want to know my dinner plans? I"m having dinner with Blake, and do you know what dessert will be? Me," she says, lifting her shoulders.
I face her as I put my camera strap around my neck. "Brinley, you and I are nothing alike when it comes to men. You don"t care if you f.u.c.k up potential modeling jobs or your career. Me, I won"t do anything to ever f.u.c.k it up," I state.
I know that was mean, but I"m p.i.s.sed. Not to mention, I"ve told her so many f.u.c.king times not to sleep around with models, but she just won"t listen to me.
"I don"t want to f.u.c.k up my modeling career, but I can"t help who I"m attracted to," she replies.
We need to drop it and move on, because this is an argument that is never ending. She"ll never see what she"s doing is potentially disastrous, and I"ll never understand it.
"Let"s just do the shoot. We both have plans we need to get to. Go change into your first outfit, and we"ll start on the bed," I say.
She doesn"t say another word, just carries her bag into the bathroom, and closes the door. I blow out a breath, hating that we"re starting this shoot p.i.s.sed at each other. I go over to the lights, turn them on, and take a few shots to see how the lighting looks. I move them around until I"m happy with it, and that"s when Brinley comes out of the bathroom. I smile when I see her. She looks s.e.xy as h.e.l.l. She has on a black teddy with garter straps hooked onto her nude-colored stockings. She has on bright red f.u.c.k me heels, which brings out her red lipstick.
"I"m sorry, Brin, I don"t want to fight with you," I say, giving her a pouty lip. She hugs me and whispers she"s sorry in my ear. "Now get that s.e.xy a.s.s on the bed."
The next few hours produce some of the s.e.xiest photos of Brinley I"ve ever taken. The ones on the fur carpet are ridiculously hot. I need to do a couples shoot with her soon. I told her that when she finished dressing, and as always, she said just let her know.
"Hey, before I leave, you never told me how the photos from this weekend came out," she says, following me into the kitchen.
I smile as I hand her a bottle of water. "Holy s.h.i.t, they are stunning. I"m going to post a few on my website this weekend. Seriously, they came out better than I ever imagined. I can"t wait for everyone to see them."
She guzzles down her water and throws the bottle away. "I knew they would be amazing. You don"t give yourself enough credit for how talented you are. I"m out of here, girl, I"ve got a date to get ready for. I"ll be good, I promise," she says with a wink.
I roll my eyes and she laughs. I let her out and lock the door behind her. Checking the clock, I see I have two hours before Jax gets here. I decide to get the eggplant rollatini ready for dinner.
It takes me forty-five minutes to make dinner, but at least now, all I need to do is cook it. I stick it in the fridge and head to the shower, knowing it will take me a while to do my hair. I decide to wear my favorite jean shorts and a black V-neck t-shirt with my black and pink flip-flops. I head back to the bathroom to blow-dry my hair. Once I finally have it dry, I"m not happy with it straight, so I pull out the curling iron. I throw in a few loose curls and smile at the result. I love the way the dark under my hair looks with the blonde, especially when it has curls mixing it together. I put on my makeup, which doesn"t take long because I"m so used to doing it. It"s routine, eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, blush, and lip gloss. Once I"m done, I clean up the bathroom and go out to stick the eggplant in the oven. I wipe down the counters before heading into the dining room to put a tablecloth on the table. Once it"s set with dishes and all, I sit down for a minute. I haven"t sat down since lunch, and my legs are thankful for the rest. No sooner do I put my feet up on the coffee table, when there"s a knock on the door. s.h.i.t, my stomach tightens as I make my way to the door. Why the h.e.l.l am I nervous? It"s dinner with a friend, a friend I know nothing about yet, but still a friend. I grab onto the door handle and blow out a breath before opening it.
There is Jax, smiling with a bottle of wine.
"Hi, please come in," I say, holding the door open for him.
He enters and hands me the wine. "Hey. I figured wine was the least I could do, considering you"re making dinner." I walk into the kitchen to put the wine on the counter, and he follows me in. I"ll admit it"s a little strange having him here. I feel a bit awkward. "This is a great place, Kallie," he says, looking around.
I smile because I love when people talk about my apartment. "Thanks. Let me show you around." I show him the entire apartment, explaining to him how everything was when I bought it and all the work I did to get it to the way it is now.
"d.a.m.n, this place is amazing. You"ve done a h.e.l.l of a job," he states.
"Thank you. I love it here. It"s so nice to have a studio here. I used to pay a lot renting a place, but it just made sense financially to create it here. Would you like a drink? We still have a little bit until dinner is ready," I say with a smile.
He says he"d like a beer if I have one, and thankfully, I do. I give it to him and pour myself a gla.s.s of wine.
"Can I see the studio?" he asks, sipping his beer.
I take a sip of wine and walk out of the kitchen. "Yes, of course." I open the door to the studio and flip on the lights.
He walks past me and looks around. "Holy s.h.i.t. It"s huge. I love how you have it set up," he says in amazement.
"Thank you." Once again, I smile with pride. This is my life, and he gets that because it"s part of his too.
He walks around, touching the bed, and the couch, and checks out the bathroom. I laugh lightly, thinking it seems like he"s apartment shopping.
"I"d love to do a shoot here anytime," he comments.
"Jax, that would be great. When I get to my calendar, I"ll give you a call, and we can set it up. I"d love to do a shoot with you," I say excitedly.
He smiles and sits on the bed. "So, Kallie, tell me how you got into photography," he says, stilling taking in the studio.
I sip my wine and sit on the bed, pulling my legs up under me. "It"s all I"ve ever wanted to do. I"ve been taking pictures since I was a kid. When all my friends were asking for Barbies for their birthday, I was asking for cameras and film. There"s just something I love about being able to capture a moment in time. I worked my a.s.s off to get here. I"m living my dream. How about you? How did you get into modeling?" I ask, enjoying getting to know him better.