That Hot Night

“Are you sure, dear? The time just flew by!”

Harold laughed and patted his wife affectionately on the arm. “Don’t mind my wife Miss Janey, she missed her calling as a model to raise our five boys.”

Dammit, Harold was the sweetest man alive. “You were an amazing model Donna, wait until you see the photos.” I made a note to throw in a few extra shots so she could show off for her friends.

She perked right up. “I have to thank you for recommending dressing up. I feel so glamorous.”

“And you look beautiful. The perfect belle of the ball.” She flashed another grin my way before turning to Harold.

“Every day with you, well almost every day, I’ve always felt as beautiful as I do now.” Her eyes misted over and her cheeks turned pink as Harold leaned in and planted a pretty damn impressive kiss on his wife. I snapped a few shots and left them to change in peace.

They were sweet, Donna and Harold, but they were the last reminder I needed of love and relationships. Especially when I was bound and determined not to think about Rafe, and when I was completely surrounded by people falling in love. “Thank you dear. We had a great time!” Donna’s enthusiasm was contagious. “We’ll be sure to tell all of our friends.”

I had no doubt she would because Donna had already recommended a hairdresser for me, a makeup artist and even a wardrobe consultant. “Thanks guys. Don’t forget to enjoy a little bit of Tulip before you head back to the city.” They’d come down for a few estate sales and the photo shoot, but my uncle was the mayor and I was a Tulip girl through and through. Promoting the town was in my blood.

They happy couple took off to explore, and I saved the photos to one of my computers and glanced at the time. It was technically too late for lunch and too early for dinner, but back to back photo shoots meant I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and even then, it was just a bagel with a swipe of peanut butter. I closed down everything and locked the studio behind me as I headed towards Big Mama’s for an in between meal to get me through a few more hours of work.

Thankfully the diner was mostly dead at this time of day except for a few regulars, which meant I could take over a booth without getting the stink eye from Big Mama and maybe go over some photos while I waited.

“Working again, I see.” Big Mama’s disapproval came through loud and clear, but I chose not to comment when she folded her arms over her ample bosom and stared at me. “What’ll it be, then?”

“A double cheeseburger with onion rings. And curly fries.” It was a lot of food, but photography was a very physical job. And I was hungry.

“Drink?”

“I’ll have some of your half sweet tea. Peach, please.” I gave her a wide smile, one I knew the ol’ softie couldn’t resist.

“Mmmhmm,” was her only response as she sauntered off.

I turned my attention to the photos, smiling at the twin models from this morning. They were young, barely eighteen, and new to the industry, banking on their smoking hotness combined with being twins to catapult them to super stardom. The guys were photogenic, that much was certain, and this kind of job reminded me of the capacity for good things this career afforded me.

The Hometown Heroes idea was another way I used my skills to lift the community up, as Uncle Leland would say. I did what I could in that regard, but I also hoped to take more artistic photos like the ones of the firefighters in action. That was my secret dream.

Big Mama did a drive by, stopping with a water and my tea, plus a glare just to make sure I didn’t get too big for my britches. I looked up with a smile and turned back to the photos, getting lost in sorting and editing.

A shadow crossed over the table and I looked up, moving my laptop just in case one of the new waitresses had arrived with my order. But nope, it wasn’t a waitress and it wasn’t my food.

“Rafe. Jase. What’s up?” They both looked slightly nervous and I smiled. My new reputation as a badass was kind of nice, making all these big strong hometown heroes cower when they see me. For once I was no longer Janey the nice girl. Janey who did whatever the town needed without asking any questions. Now I was crack the whip Janey, and she was a badass. And any good badass never missed an opportunity to flex her muscles, right? “Are you guys here to volunteer ideas for your photo shoots?”

Jase took a small step back, a move that pulled a laugh from me. “Uh, no. Absolutely not. I’m here for food. Just food.” He took another step back, looking both ways like I had a team who would jump out and ambush him.