“What’s the matter?” Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to rub against him.
“Nothing. Nothing.” He shakes his head and gazes out at the dark horizon, his shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath. “We need to slow down, that’s all.”
“Okay.” I’m not at all sure that I want to slow down, but he’s probably right. When I kiss him, I tend to forget that anything else in the world exists, but we are in a public place and we were both about to get carried away.
He takes my hand again and leads me to the car, helping me back into my sandals when we reach the pavement. We don’t talk much on the ride home, both of us lost in our own thoughts. It’s not an uncomfortable silence but I can’t help wondering if I did something wrong.
Back at his house, rather than inviting me in, he leads me to my car. He says goodnight with a kiss that’s sweet enough to dispel my worries. Maybe Ryder wants to take things slow, and considering I’m a virgin, that makes sense, or maybe these fake dates aren’t meant to involve much more than brief makeout sessions.
I can’t help but think about his constrained erection as I drive home. I wish I could have done something to help him relieve the discomfort.
12
A little more practice
Knox calls me two days later, not to ask me out on a date, but to offer his help with photos for the online store. We discuss what I’m looking for and make plans to get together at his house the following week on my first available day off.
In the meantime, I narrow down the list of clothes and accessories I want to sell, hang and steam the clothing to remove wrinkles, gather items to use in styling the photos, and carefully pack everything for transport.
When I arrive at the Evans’s house in the early afternoon, it’s a comfort to see Knox in jeans and a t-shirt. The brothers look gorgeous when they’re dressed for dates, but it’s nice to know that today he and I will just be hanging out.
I’d texted Knox to ask what kind of coffee he likes. “For you,” I say, handing him a frozen mocha.
“Thanks. You didn’t have to do this.” For the first time I notice how he and Ryder share a similar grin.
“Are you kidding? You don’t know how much I appreciate your help with this project. I can envision how I want the product shots to look, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I wouldn’t be able to achieve what I’m looking for on my own.”
“Well, let’s see what we can do. Is everything in the car?”
When I nod, he follows me out, and together we manage to get it all in one trip. He leads us to their big kitchen table and I unpack everything there.
“So you mentioned beach shots?” he says, looking through the accessories and clothing.
“I’d like a heavy beach vibe on our store to set it apart. The clothes aren’t all beachwear, as you can see, but I’m picturing the items lying in the sand, accented by shells, beach towels, sunglasses … you get the idea.”
“Everything will be pictured flat? You won’t be modeling anything?” He takes a long draw of his drink as his eyes dart down to the yoga pants and t-shirt I’m wearing.
“I might look into using models after the launch – for new products – if the store is successful.”
“Why don’t you model the clothes?”
“I don’t know …” It never occurred to me, honestly.
“Let’s do some flat, and some that you model, and it can be a test of sorts, to see which listings draw more attention.”
“I guess we could.” I glance at the clothing. “I’d have to see what fits.”
We discuss the shots further, deciding that Knox will take indoor shots now, to which he can add a sandy background using stock images, and we’ll move outdoors in a couple of hours for actual beach photos, when he says the light will be optimal. He tells me the indoor shots will give me more flexibility, so it will be good to have both.
While he prepares the lighting and sets up a backdrop on one side of their spacious home office, I sort through the clothing and decide what I’ll model. While there are a few bathing suits that might fit me, I decide to avoid them altogether in favor of the blouses, skirts, and t-shirts that are my size.
Knox moves fairly quickly through the flat shots. I add an occasional prop to the pictures for accents, but most of them are straightforward and it’s not long before we’re done. While he adjusts lighting and clears away the table he’d been using, I slip into a nearby bathroom to change into one of the outfits. I’m not sure if my head will be included in the shots, or if I’ll crop it out, but just in case, I touch up my makeup and run my fingers through my hair.