“Sorry, girl,” I said to Brontë as I pulled on her leash to get her to change directions. “We’re taking a different route today.”
While I was a creature of habit, it was nice to change up the morning routine and scenery for once. Different faces, different front stoops with different decor displayed, a new cluster of kids in their school uniforms, a coffee shop with a “Grand Opening” sign waving from the eaves (though I’d never cheat on Joe), and a sweet elderly couple holding hands as they crossed a street – the gentleman vigilant in his watching for cars.
And then it happened.
I saw her about a half a second before she saw me, her head turning my way until our eyes met and she too stopped in her tracks. For a moment the two of us just stood looking at one another.
Then Brontë’s tail thwacked twice against my leg.
I glanced down at her, surprised. When I looked back up, Lior had turned and was walking briskly in the other direction.
Chapter 8
Lior
“Look up. Down… Can you move your right hip towards the camera just… there! Stop. Yes. Perfect, Lior.”
I was bored, cold, and distracted. Though if anyone noticed, they thankfully hadn’t said so.
The camera kept clicking as I shifted my body, head, and expression like the robot I’d become in the past few months. I’d enjoyed this once. The travel, the perks, the free clothes. But now? Now I wanted different.
I wanted more.
“Next look,” someone called from behind the lights shining in my face.
Marion, the stylist, pulled a blue dress from the rack of clothes, looked it over, and handed it to me before shouting to one of the assistants, “Is Ty ready?”
My mood lifted. Ty was one of my favorite male models to work with. One, because he was hilarious and we inevitably ended up having a laugh attack over something. Two, he always had the best gossip. And three, he was gay and I didn’t have to worry about getting hit on - which happened a lot with some of the straight male models.
I slipped into the blue dress and then stood while Marion zipped me, circled me, and made adjustments. Accessories were added and then taken away. Instructions were given to hair and makeup who moved in to smooth my hair into a new style and remove my lipstick to apply a different color. And then I was given five different pairs of heels to try on.
“Darling,” Ty said, sweeping into the room and air kissing me on both cheeks.
He was a dark-skinned ray of sunshine with his sexy smile and shaved head – the Afro I’d last seen him sporting nowhere in sight.
“What is this?” I asked, reaching for his head.
He ran a hand over it and posed. “The boys like me shaved.”
“I’ll just bet they do, baby.”
“Naughty,” he said, wagging a finger at me and then sitting in a chair to get the shine on his skin powdered. “Now, tell me what’s new with you. I heard you finally gave Oliver the boot, thank god. That man was the absolute worst and you had me a bit worried. You let him hang around longer than most. I thought perhaps you were actually going to try and be serious with the man.” He wrinkled his perfect nose at the thought.
“You know me better than that.”
“I do. And I know what you’ve been through. Oliver Manning is not the man you should be with after being with a user like your ex. If it went on much longer, I was gonna come pull you out. With a cane.” He gave me an exaggerated wink and acted out what I assumed was his vision of caning a person. “Please tell me the rumors are true. Did you ever… you know…?”
I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh while the makeup woman applied fake eyelashes to the outer corners of my eyes.
“I never had the pleasure of finding out,” I said.
“Girl!” Ty shouted. “You had one job!”
“Sorry, Ty.” I dropped my head in faux shame.
“You’re forgiven. But do better next time. Now… are you ready for all the dirt?”
For the next four hours the crew and I were regaled with stories of who had been fired from what job, dropped from what designer, gotten a new ad campaign, had their boobs done (“tastefully, darling”), had their lips done (“he should’ve saved some of that filler for where he really needs it”), gained weight, lost weight, broke up with their significant other, was caught cheating, was cheated on, and the best Thai food restaurant he’d found last week.
