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“Damn, this place is amazing. You’ve done a hell of a job.”
“Thank you. I love it here. It’s so nice to have a studio here. I used to pay a lot renting a place, but it just made sense financially to create it here. Would you like a drink? We still have a little bit until dinner is ready.” He says he’d like a beer if I have one, and thankfully, I do. I give it to him and pour myself a glass of wine.
“Can I see the studio?” I take a sip of wine and walk out of the kitchen.
“Yes, of course.” I open the door to the studio and flip on the lights. He walks in past me and looks around.
“Holy shit. It’s huge. I love how you have it set up.” Once again, I smile with pride. This is my life, and he gets that because it’s part of his too.
“Thank you.” He walks around touching the bed and the couch and looks in the bathroom. I laugh lightly thinking it looks like he is apartment shopping.
“I’d love to do a shoot here anytime.”
“Jax, that would be great. When I get to my calendar, I’ll give you a call, and we can set it up. I’d love to do a shoot with you.” He smiles and sits on the bed.
“So, Kallie, tell me how you got into photography.” I sip my wine and sit on the bed, pulling my legs up under me.
“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I’ve been taking pictures since I was a kid. When all my friends were asking for Barbies for their birthday, I was asking for cameras and film. There is just something I love about being able to capture a moment in time. I worked my ass off to get here. I’m living my dream. How about you? How did you get into modeling?” He laughs and takes a sip of his beer.
“An ex pretty much pushed me into it. Honestly, I didn’t think it would be something I would like, but I was wrong. I love it. I can’t imagine not doing it now. I didn’t work my ass off like you to get here. Honestly, it just happened to land in my lap. Now that I have it though, I’d never give it up.” We are both living our dreams. How fucking amazing is that?
“I think that’s great. You didn’t even know this would be something you’d love, and yet here you are, one of the top models.” He rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
“That’s what I hear. Between us, I’m just me. I don’t think of myself that way. I think of myself as a construction worker that works for his brother, lives with his best friend since high school, and loves hanging out with his friends. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all the fans and everything they do for me. Shit, if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be modeling. But I’m still me.” Wow, I never thought of it like that. I just assumed most models thrived on the popularity. This makes me so much more comfortable with him, not thinking of him as a model.
“Well, how about you tell me about you then. What do you do for a living?” He gives me a smile and reaches out to squeeze my knee.
“My brother, Brody, owns BB Construction. You remind me a lot of him with your career; he lives and dies
by that company. He’s given up a lot to get where he is, as I’m sure you have. Anyway, I pretty much build houses. I do framing, concrete work, even drywall. I’ve been working for him since I graduated high school. I’ll be honest; I was in a bad way back then. I hung out with the wrong crowd, got into drugs, and was on a downward spiral. My parents pretty much turned their backs on me, but Brody never did. He gave me a job and told me if I didn’t straighten up, he’d send my ass to jail. It was not a good time in my life, but I threw myself into work and it worked.” I’m floored. I had no idea he’d been through so much. My heart actually hurts knowing he went through that.
“Wow, that’s an amazing story. You are one inspiring person. Thank you for telling me that. So I take it you are close to your brother?” He squeezes my knee again, and that’s when I notice he never moved his hand. He’s already told me this is just a friend thing, so I’m not going to make a big deal about it. He is probably just a touchy guy.
“Yes, Brody and I are very close. What about you? I know you said you were doing a family photo of your brother’s family. Are you close to him?” I nod my head and finish off my wine.
“Braden is one of my best friends. He’s always supported my dream; he was the one who suggested I photograph people not just objects. He has always given me the little push I needed. He’s married and has two of the most beautiful girls in the world now. I adore my nieces. They are some of my favorite models.” He finishes off his beer and grins at me.
“I bet they are beautiful if they look anything like their aunt.” I look down at my empty wine glass wishing it were still full. I know he’s not flirting, well, I hope he’s not flirting, but it does make my stomach swim with butterflies. I know I’m not an ugly girl, but when a man this sexy, this unbelievably hot, says you are beautiful, it feels pretty fucking amazing. I look up at him with a shy smile.
“Thank you. Is your brother married?” Before he can say anything, I smell something and jump up. “Fuck! Dinner is burning.” I run out of the studio, racing to the kitchen. I open the oven and pull out the eggplant. “Shit, shit, shit.” I throw the oven mitt and lay my head on my arms on the counter. I fucking burned dinner. How fucking embarrassing, and not to mention, we have nothing to eat now. I feel Jax behind me, and suddenly, he is rubbing my shoulders.
“Kallie, it’s my fault. I sat down in the studio to talk instead of out here. Don’t worry about it. I’ll go pick us up something and bring it back.” I don’t even bother lifting my head. I just talk to him with my voice muffled in my arms.
“You don’t need to do that. It’s my fault for not setting the timer. I can order something and have it delivered.” I allow him to rub my shoulders for a minute longer before I stand up. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe I fucking burned it.” He starts to laugh, and at first, I want to punch him in the face, but after a few minutes, I start laughing with him. The more I thought about it, the harder I laughed. I burnt fucking dinner.
“See, no harm done. I’ll go pick up Chinese. Are you good with that?” I nod my head and go to my bedroom to get some cash to give him. When I come back, he is standing at the door waiting. I go to hand him the money, and he grabs my hand. “Not a shot in hell. What do you like?”
“Please, Jax, I owed you dinner, and I burned it. Let me pay for the Chinese.” He opens the door and walks into the hallway.
“I already said no. Now tell me what you like.” I lean against the doorway and hold out the money again.
“I like chicken and broccoli, now take the money.” He smiles and walks down the hallway, pushing through the stairwell, just like he did the first time he was here. I close the door and pour myself another glass of wine. Taking a sip, I think this dinner may be a burnt mess, but I’m having a great time getting to know him.
ON MY WAY BACK FROM picking up the Chinese food, I can’t stop thinking about what a great time I’m having. I don’t usually open up to women about my past, or honestly, how I feel about things in general. I feel comfortable with Kallie. She gives off this amazing aura, making me feel like I can trust her. That is something I am not used to with women. It may be that she is in this industry and gets it, or it may be just the person she is, I honestly don’t know.
When I first got there tonight, I had all intentions of making a move on her, but after she told me how she has worked so hard to get where she is and that it is her life, I couldn’t do it. I don’t want to be the reason she lost her dream. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t make me any less attracted to her, it probably makes her more attractive to me, but I won’t do it. I’ll do exactly like she wants and be friends because I do feel a connection to her.
I pull into a parking spot and grab the Chinese food off the passenger seat. I make my way into her building and take the stairs. I rarely take the elevator, it seems lazy to me. This building she is in is beautiful. Her apartment is amazing, especially that studio. I didn’t expect to see such a kick-ass place inside her apartment. She definitely worked hard to get it the way it is, which again proves to me just how important this is to her. I knock on the door and walk in. She is standing in the kitchen and smiles that genuine smile of hers. “Where do you want me to put it?” She grabs her wine glass and another beer for me and brushes past me.
