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I take a shower and put on shorts and a Rolling Stones T-shirt. I fix my hair and go into my bedroom to grab a few changes of clothes for the shoot and in case I stay at London’s. Once my bag is packed, I go into the kitchen and sit down with Jax and Brody.
“Hey, guys, what’s up?” They’re both having a beer, and I wish I could, but I’ll have a few later.
“I was just telling Jax that I’m going out to see Shannon next week, so I need both you idiots to make sure you don’t fuck off on the job.” I grin at him, happy as hell that he’s taking this step, and let him know I totally intend to fuck off on the job. “Blake, don’t be a dick.”
“I’m not. I’m happy for you. I’m so glad you’re finally getting back out there and, even better, getting some ass.” He rolls his eyes and Jax tries to cover up his laugh with his beer.
“Thanks, I guess.” We talk a little bit longer, and he tells us he’s leaving Sunday morning and will be back Saturday night. I can’t believe London didn’t tell me any of this. I check my phone and realize I need to leave. I tell them both I’ll see them later, and I head to the beach for my shoot.
When I get there, I’m surprised the beach isn’t more packed, but grateful at the same time. I don’t mind shooting with people around, but sometimes it makes the shoot longer, and I don’t want that to be the case tonight. I get out with my bag and go find Lee. I walk onto the beach and see her sitting there snapping pictures of the water, so I walk over to her. “Lee?” She lowers her camera and glances up at me. When she sees who it is, she stands up and brushes the sand off herself.
“Blake, hi. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.” We shake hands.
“Nice to meet you too. I’m impressed with your photos, so I’m looking forward to this.” She is definitely a pretty girl, and a few months ago, I’d probably ask her out for a drink, but now it’s not even a thought.
“Great. Why don’t we get started?” She’s just as professional as Kallie, and she gets right into it like her too. She tells me we’re going to start with a few photos in front of the water. We do a bunch with my shirt on before she tells me to take it off. I do and she has me turning this way or that way, appearing pissed, happy, and sad. I think one of my favorite shots is when she has me staring out at the water. She told me to picture losing someone I care about. I don’t know what my expression was, but when I was focusing at the ocean, thinking of losing London, I could feel the pain. She must have been impressed, because she took that photo from every angle, including standing behind me.
We took a lot of photos in the water, which was nice since it was hot out. She had me in up to my waist, and she was right out there with me. It was pretty cool. When we finished in the water, she wanted me to lie on the sand. “I know it’s sticking to you, but that’s what I want. You’ll see when I edit them how sexy it will be.” Who am I to question it? I start on my stomach and end on my back. I’m sure the pictures will be great, but I can’t wait to rinse the sand off. It’s driving me crazy. “Before you rinse that off, I want you to stand and start walking off the beach. First walk away, but a few feet away, turn your head over your shoulder and glance at me.” I do just as she says, and when she’s done, she tells me to go rinse off. Once I do, I come back out of the water and smile at her.
“Damn, I can’t wait to see these. Definitely different from most of my shoots.”
She gives me a huge smile, and we walk over to our bags. “I should have the edits done in a few days. I’ll send them to you when they’re finished.” We pick up our bags, and I turn to leave.
“Sounds great. Thank you for a great shoot. I look forward to more.” We say our goodbyes and head to our vehicles. I get in and call London to let her know I’m on my way and need to shower to get the rest of this sand off me. She tells me no problem, and I throw the truck in gear.
It takes me about a half-hour to get to her house from the beach location, but I finally pull in the driveway. I get out with my bag, and as soon as I do, I can feel the excitement to see her. I knock on the door, and she answers in a short white, strapless dress. Her hair is curled, her makeup is flawless, and she’s barefoot. I drop my bag and pull her to me, kissing her. She runs her hands to my back and up my shirt. She starts laughing in my mouth so I pull away.
“Did you just laugh?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
She tries to stop her laugh, which just causes her to laugh harder. “I’m sorry, but it was like running my hands on the beach.”
I laugh and kiss her quickly before I pick up my bag. “I’ll go shower the beach off me, but if you laugh after that, we’re going to have problems.”
I go into the bathroom while she finishes up in the kitchen. It takes me longer than I wanted in the shower, but damn, I really do have sand all over me. It’s in my damn ears and ass, for Christ’s sake. I finally get it all off me and step out of the shower to dry off. Once I’m dressed and clean up my mess in the bathroom, I go back out to London. She’s sitting on the couch but stands up when I come out.
“Don’t sit, dinner is done. I have everything in the dining room.” We go into the dining room, and she has the table set and dinner on the table.
“Damn, it smells delicious.” She gives me that shy smile of hers, and we sit down to eat. She made broiled chicken, potatoes, and baby carrots. Everything tastes as good as it looks. “It’s so good, baby. You are one hell of a cook.”
“Thanks. I love cooking, but when it’s just for me, it gets boring.”
When an idea hits me, I put my fork down. “London, have you ever thought of having people over for dinner? I know Jax and Kallie would love it. You could invite your friends. I’d love to meet them.”
She finishes chewing and takes a sip of wine. “I don’t really have any friends.”
I dip my eyebrows. “What do you mean? You have to have friends, everyone has friends.” She lifts her shoulders and gives me a sad smile. “What about the people you work with?”
“They’re just people I work with. Shannon is my friend, but she’s so far.”
I’m so confused by all of this. I mean, I can understand her not trusting men from getting her heart broken, but why no friends? That makes no sense to me.
“London, what did you do before we met?” She appears hurt now, but I’m not trying to hurt her, I’m trying to understand.
“I wrote, Blake. I worked, I wrote, and I sometimes went to the bar with a few girls that I would talk to. I told you before, I don’t let people in,” she angrily says.
I take my last bite of food and push my plate away. “I’m not trying to upset you, baby, I’m just trying to understand how a woman as funny and outgoing as you has no friends.” She finishes off her wine and gets up from the table, collecting our plates. I’ve pissed her off. I stand up and grab the rest of the plates, bringing them to the kitchen. She puts everything in the dishwasher, and while she’s washing her hands, I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her bare shoulder. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you pissed at me.”
She turns around in my arms and lays her head on my chest. “I’m not pissed. Blake, it’s because of you that I’m who I am again. I shut myself off to everyone when I moved to California. I lived in a bubble of shopping, working, and writing. You popped that bubble and made me remember who I really am. So no, I haven’t made friends here, and until I met you, I didn’t care. Now, I want to be around friends and laugh and get drunk.” I chuckle at the get drunk part, because she hasn’t been drunk since we’ve been together, except for New York. “You made me want to enjoy life again.”
