A boring sit in the makeup chair is the perfect way to get my mind off Mal nearly naked.
Off Mal nearly naked with some groupie-type.
Lacey: If Danielle doesn't mind.
Karen: Thank you. I'll rush. I promise.
I slide my phone back into my shorts. "Karen will be here with the model in twenty minutes."
Danielle breaks from her cinematography trance. She studies the window on our left. Then the one on our right. "We're losing the light."
We are. It's still early enough that the light in the room is soft and pretty. But this is August in Los Angeles. We're quickly approaching the harsh light.
"Should I hang the blackout curtains?" I offer.
"No." She taps her fingers against her camera.
Her eyes go to the window. To Mal, kneeling in that bed with his jeans undone, all sexy and perfect and yummy.
She looks to me.
Oh no.
I don't like the expression on her face.
"Lacey." She points to me, then to the bed. "Stand in for me." She doesn't wait for an answer. She goes right back to her viewfinder. "I want to race the light."
Standing in is a normal part of my job description. It's usually for the hot celebrity, not the model, but it is a regular occurrence.
This is a normal work duty.
It doesn't matter that I'm standing in as the girl in the Dangerous Noise video.
It doesn't matter that I'm climbing into bed with Mal.
I can do this.
My inhale is sharp. My exhale is shallow. Slowly, I move my left foot. Then my right.
Danielle makes one of those hurry up noises.
I take another step. Another. My knee brushes against the bed.
I plant my palm on the sheet and slide onto the mattress.
This is normal.
Only it's not.
There's nothing normal about being in bed with Mal.
With the one musician who has a place in my heart.
That's Mal, three feet from me.
His jeans unzipped.
His blue eyes on mine.