"Kendra." It was Aven. Shit. I really needed to start checking my caller I.D.
"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't call you back. I've been really busy with senior pictures." I said.
"That's right. I forgot you were going to be so busy. Hey…I really need to talk to you. Do you mind if I come over in a little while?"
"Can we talk some other time? I really do have a lot on my plate for the next couple of weeks."
"It won't take long. How about I come over tonight around ten? Will you be done with your clients by then?" I was actually going to be done with my clients by eight. I looked up and Adam was watching me.
"I'll be up all night developing the photos I've taken today. Now just isn't a good time for me." I didn't want to tell him I had company, but he was really leaving me no choice.
"I can help you develop," he said. He had never volunteered to help me do anything. What the hell was up with him?
"Is what you have to say that important? You've never helped me do anything."
He was silent for a moment, and then he finally spoke. "I think what I have to say is pretty important."
My eyes grew wide as I realized what I thought he wanted to talk with me about. We had been friends since grade school and friends with benefits for a little over a year. He clearly wanted to take the next step. Double shit! I didn't want to hurt him, but there was absolutely no way around it. He was probably never going to speak to me again when I told him, but I already had Adam, Mason and Rhyan filling my schedule. I didn't need another man.
"I'm sure it is, but I have company tonight." I said, quickly.
He was silent again for a moment then said, "You mean your clients?" I could hear the suspicion in his voice. I knew he didn't think I had meant my clients. We had decided that when either of us told the other we had "company," it meant that we had a date with someone else. That had always been fine before, but I didn't think it would be this time. Come to think of it, I was the only one who had actually used it. Aven never seemed to have "company" when I called him.
I sighed. "No, I don't mean my clients."
"Why didn't you just say that then? Is this thing with him serious or something?" he said, sounding a little upset. I figured he would be.
"Yeah…I think it is a little serious. I didn't want to hurt you." I was pleading with him to understand. If I'd thought he would ever want to get serious with me, I wouldn't have allowed "the benefits" to go along with our friendship.
"Don't worry about me. Have a good night, Kendra." then he hung up. That was the second time that day he'd hung up on me. I growled.
I stared at the phone in my hand briefly before setting it on the counter. I looked up at Adam, and my doorbell rang; saved by the bell, again. We really did need to finish our conversation, but I didn't think I was prepared for it at the moment.
I went to the door and Adam stayed in the kitchen.
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Chapter Twenty-three
It turned out I did remember Amy. She was a cheerleader, and I had done shots of all the girls only a few weeks ago. She was petite, thin, and I could tell right away that she was photogenic. This should be an easy one for Adam. She informed me when she walked in that she wanted something different than everyone else had. She wanted most of her pictures to be taken outside. That was fine with me, but it would take longer and be harder on Adam. He would have to hold the camera instead of clicking the clicker.
I decided to take the majority of the shots and then let him snap a few at the end of each pose. We would find out if he had any real talent.
We made our way through the house to the kitchen. I introduced her to Adam and told her that he would be helping. She seemed to be fine with the idea. She was so fine with the idea that I thought if I'd suggested that she take off her clothes for the shots, it would've only taken her about five seconds to get undressed.
I turned to look at Adam. He was smiling at me. Were my thoughts written somewhere on my forehead?
"Yes." Rhyan said.
"I don't need your input." I snapped back at him.
I could hear him snicker, but I ignored it. I told Amy that I needed at least one formal, and that it had to be taken inside. She was fine with that, too. I gave her a tube top and pointed to the screen. She went to change. When she came back out, the tube top was pulled down lower than it should have been. Her cleavage was impressive, and that means a lot coming from me.
When she sat on the stool for her formal, I took the material from the front and tugged it up. She gave me a sour look, but didn't say anything. I draped the black material around her shoulders then buttoned it on the inside where the camera couldn't see it.
I moved the tripod and focused in on her. "Click," I said, and the camera came to life. I repositioned her then told her to smile for the next two. She did, and my camera went off before I could say anything. I smiled, adjusted her clothing a bit then turned the soft box on. When I moved out of the way, I looked at Adam. He had a look of concentration on his face until he clicked again.
I told her she could change, and she slipped behind the screen.
I took my camera off the tripod so we could go outside. "When you want to zoom in or out, you use these two buttons," I said to Adam. He moved in a little closer to me to get a better look at the camera. "She wants the rest of her shots to be taken outside, so the tripod will be essentially useless. You need to have a very steady stance when the tripod can't be used." I sighed. "We could use it, but it would take too long." I noticed then that he was really close to me. He was still looking at the camera, but I didn't think that was where his attention was focused.
He opened his mouth to say something and Amy cleared her throat. We both looked up, and Adam took a step away from me.
"I think I want my first picture to be under the trees in your back yard. You can take some of me up-close and some from a distance." I really hated when the client tried to tell me how to do my job, but she was paying me, so I really couldn't say a lot. Most of the time, I gave the clients that were easy and nice a break, but I knew that the girl in front of me wasn't going to be either of those. Oh, she was easy all right, but by a totally different definition. I'd give her all the poses she wanted, and I'd make sure they were all damn good. When it was time for her to pick out the ones she wanted, I'd make a small fortune off of her. It was evident she was in love with herself. She would get her daddy to buy every one of them.
She was dressed in a thin, long sleeve button-up that was tied in a knot under her boobs so she could show off her belly button ring. She had only bothered to button up one button, and her cleavage was spilling out over the top of the tight material. She had on cut off shorts that were so tight, I couldn't believe she could actually breathe, and they were so short that I was positive her ass had to be hanging out the backside. To top it all off, she was wearing cowboy boots. I always thought it ridiculous when anyone wore boots with shorts. She looked like an amateur who was about to pose for a playboy spread. Who dresses like this for senior pictures? Her parents had to be proud.
I smiled sweetly. "I will do whatever you want, Amy."
We walked out of the house into my back yard. I saw Adam analyzing the unique windows of my studio from the outside. He was studying the rods, water pipes and lighting fixtures hanging over them for creating effects. I could tell he was curious, but he never said anything.
I had an awkward tree in my back yard that forked low to the ground. It was low enough that a person could sit on the lowest branch with their feet still touching the ground. One of the big branches extended horizontally for a short distance, like a seat or immobile swing, and then curved up to meet its fellow branches. The tree was definitely different, and I had, on more than one occasion, taken shots of it alone. It provided a lot of shade and reminded me of peaceful evenings. It was my favorite tree, and it was the first place Amy chose to pose.
She sat on the low hanging branch then primped herself without a mirror. I rolled m
y eyes behind the camera and began shooting. I had to get going or Amy's session was going to run into my next appointment. After I'd gotten at least four good shots of that scene, I handed my camera to Adam. This time, he didn't look at it like it was a snake. He had apparently made peace with the device. I watched him as he concentrated on his breathing and then took his shot. He took two more before I suggested we move on to the next scene.
I'd told Amy that there would be no time for her to run in and change between each scene, so she brought her duffle bag with us. We turned around while she went behind a tree to change. Not that she would've minded if Adam had of watched, or even helped her undress.
We were doing shots of the last pose when I heard an ear piercing whistle. I turned to see a guy walking toward us. Amy let out a squeal, took off running, and jumped on the boy. She locked her legs around his back and began showering him with kisses.
I looked at Adam and smiled. "I think you're off the hook now."
He sighed. "Thank God."
My eyes grew wide as I stared at him. I raised an eyebrow at him and smiled. "Really? Thank God?"
He rolled his eyes and frowned. "It's a figure of speech that everyone uses, Kendra."
"Oh, I wasn't aware. I thought only believers thanked God." I joked.
"I am having a really good time with you doing all of this." he shrugged. "It's fun. Please don't ruin it by bringing religion into the picture."
It was apparently still too early. I knew he would ask me again later about not being able to stop looking at me. If he wouldn't believe in God, then he damn sure wasn't going to believe in soulmates and destiny.
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Chapter Twenty-four
My next appointment showed up while Amy was still making out with her boyfriend. The client was another girl, but she was dressed appropriately. She gave Amy a nasty look as she walked to Adam and me.
I held out my hand to the young girl. "You must be Ashley," I said, and she nodded as she shook my hand.
Amy laughed in a sinister way. "You better watch it, Ms. Larkin, Ashley's looks will break that nice camera of yours." her boyfriend joined in with the cruel laughter.
I started to speak, but Adam beat me to it. "If it made it through your shots, the camera will be just fine after Ashley's session." I stifled a laugh as I looked at him. I couldn't believe he'd said that out loud, but I had to admit that I was just about to say something a whole lot like it. Maybe we were soulmates.
"I wouldn't lie to you about that. You know I would change it if I could." Rhyan said, but I could hear the laughter in his voice. I knew he thought Adam's remark was funny.
Amy scowled at Adam. She handed me some bills then stormed away from us with her boyfriend in tow.
"Her guardian demon has more control than her guardian angel does." Rhyan said.
"I can't help her, Rhyan. Don't ask."
"I wasn't going to. There are a lot of cases in the world that you can't do anything about. They have to want to help themselves. It usually takes a major catastrophe in their life for them to actually look into their soul and realize how far gone they really are. Adam was actually too far gone to save, but Coen risked his immortal soul by cheating. He lost his soul, but it doesn't mean Adam has to lose his. I know you can do this, Kendra. Have faith."
I nodded then went to work on Ashley. I couldn't stand there and have a conversation with my Guardian Angel any longer. Ashley and Adam were beginning to give me funny looks.
It didn't take us long to take Ashley's photos. She was easy, and she had a great sense of humor. She had us laughing the whole time. She also didn't have a problem with Adam taking some of the shots, but her reasons were different than Amy's had obviously been.
Ashley changed back into the clothes she'd arrived in, paid me and then she left after thanking us both for a great evening.
I looked at the clock on my kitchen stove. We had about ten minutes before my last appointment of the night was due to arrive. I went to the fridge and grabbed a couple more drinks, I handed one to Adam.
He took it but he didn't open it. He just played with the tab on the Dr. Pepper can as he spoke. "Are you going to tell me the reason I can't stop looking at you?"
I shook my head as the doorbell rang. "I don't think it would be a good idea to tell you tonight."
"Why?" he said, but I was already heading for the door.
It was a skinny little guy in glasses. He could be nice looking one day, after he completed puberty and grew out of his nerdy stage. Some guys never did grow out of looking like a nerd, but this guy had potential, and I had every intention of trying to bring that out in the shots I took of him tonight.
He was wearing a plaid, short sleeve shirt buttoned all the way to the top, and his hair was parted down the middle. Lord, help him.
"The lord is busy, Kendra. You'll have to do it." I rolled my eyes at Rhyan, but the little dork in front of me was the only one who saw it.
"Come to the bathroom," I said as I turned and walked back through the house. He followed me, and I handed him a towel. "Get in the shower and wash that stuff out of your hair. I'd feel better about your pictures if we could do a few things differently with your hair and clothes. I'll go find something for you to wear." I eyed his outfit and mentally shook my head. He also hadn't brought extra clothes to change into for different poses.
I shut the door behind me then headed for my studio. I had all kinds of clothes. The boy would have to wear his own blue jeans, but they weren't totally hopeless. Most blue jeans looked like what they were in a photo, blue jeans. I grabbed a knit polo shirt, a black long sleeve button up, and tried to remember what color his eyes were. I thought they were green, so I grabbed a grass green cashmere sweater.
When I turned around, Adam was standing in the doorway looking at me. "He's a fixer-upper," I said as I walked by him on my way back to the bathroom. I laid the shirts on the floor in front of the door. The shower was still running, so I knocked softly and said, "I laid a few shirts out here on the floor. You'll see them when you open the door. Put one of them on when you get finished."
I heard the water cut off. "Okay, Ms. Larkin." He sounded a little embarrassed, but hopefully he would thank me later.
Adam was leaning against the counter when I came back into the kitchen. I was going to have to style his hair for him; evidently he wasn't capable of such a task. "He'll be out in a minute."
He looked at me with a smirk. "Was he that bad?"
"You have no idea. He wasn't as bad as a girl I had earlier this morning. She was thankful for her makeover, maybe he will be too."
I heard footsteps coming from my bedroom, and we watched as the guy revealed himself. He'd chosen the knit polo. All three buttons were buttoned up, but he looked a lot better than he had.
"We need to do something with your hair, and then we can get to work," I said as I headed toward the bathroom. Adam followed us this time and sat on the toilet lid. I had the boy sit on the stool. His hair was cut neat and was a little longer on top. I thought a neat business style wouldn't scare him too much. I moved the part in his hair from the middle to the left side of his head and used my blow dryer to get rid of the dampness and make the part stay. It didn't take much to fix him up, and for that, I was grateful. I looked at the whole of him then unbuttoned two of the three buttons. "How is your eyesight? If you lose the glasses for the picture, will you be able to get around?"
He took the glasses off his face and blinked a few times. "I've never been able to see myself without glasses. It's blurry when I look in the mirror without them."
I smiled. "How would you feel if I took some of your pictures without them? When I get them developed, you'll be able to see what you look like. You're very good looking. I think you may want to switch to contacts after you see the pictures."
He smiled at me and nodded. "Yes, I'd like that. You can take all the pictures without me wearing them." He talked like no one had ever told him he was good looking before.
I was sure his momma had.
He stood and looked in the mirror. He stared at himself without the glasses for a long while before I interrupted him. "We need to get to work. What's your name again?"
"Raymond." he said. Raymond was a typical nerd's name, no pun intended; I just haven't met a Raymond that wasn't a nerd. His dad was probably a Raymond, too.
I nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Raymond. Let's take some kick ass pictures of you."
He actually laughed, as if he'd never heard anyone cuss before. If he spent any time around me, that would change pretty quickly.
The guys followed me to the studio. Raymond was wearing his glasses so he wouldn't trip over anything, and Adam had a big grin on his face. It was so nice to see him smile.
I got out a tux top in Raymond's size and had him change behind the screen. I had to have at least one formal of every student to comply with school rules. The students had to be in formal wear for the school annual.
I was setting up the soft box when Adam walked up behind me. He put a hand on each side of my waist, and gently pulled me to fit the front of his body. He had dropped a couple of hints that he was interested, and I had caught him staring at me more times than I could count, but this was the first time he had made it obvious that he wanted to do things with me other than taking pictures. The feeling I was getting from his hands on my waist was more than most men could make me feel in a whole night. I was captivated.
I couldn't speak; he had taken my breath away. I was instantly hot for him, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. It was the most natural feeling I had ever experienced. I guess he sensed my emotion, because he pulled me tighter to him and kissed the bend of my neck.
I opened my lazy eyes to Raymond staring at us wide-eyed. I broke away from Adam and stumbled into a prop. He caught me, and then righted my body until I could stand on my own. I looked up to his eyes. They were lighter than they had been before. Was his eye color becoming lighter because his demon guardian was losing? I didn't know why his eyes were changing color, but I could only assume it was a good sign.
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