AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Uh… favorite dessert,” Nick asked. “Inspired by me eating peach cobbler for breakfast.”
“Oh that one’s easy,” Kyir said, looking straight at me. “Brookie.”
What. The. Fuck???
“Those cookie brownie things?” Dean asked. “Yo, Holly made a pan of those for Christmas. Got mad cause I maxed the whole dish, but what she expect?” he went on, falling right in line with Kyir’s double-entendre.
Nick, though.
Nick looked at me, then back at Kyir, then at neither of us with a little smirk.
He knows.
My gaze shifted to Kyir, who winked at me.
Instantly, my face grew hot, but again, I didn’t say a damn word, refusing to give away anything else. Luckily, the conversation transitioned back to the music, staying there for the rest of the morning. Nick walked me through several different shots, allowing me to focus on the matter at hand, learning from the best in the business while I had the chance.
But I was still relieved to get out of there.
After lunch I was spending the afternoon with Jules, a friend and peer from before I’d moved here, who was actually a big part of the reason I came. We’d met working atGlow Upmagazine and hit it off, so when I was looking to change pace from LA—a move most people didn’t understand—it was a no-brainer for me to reach out.
I wasn’t looking for her to offer as much as she had. A place to stay in the apartment she’d been subletting with her cousin, a flexible position at her photography studio, but I was certainly grateful.
“Oh thank God,” she gushed, as soon as I walked in the door. “How busy are you for the rest of the day?”
My eyes went wide. “The rest of theday?” I repeated. “Uh… not very? What’s up?”
She sighed. “My uncle, Anika’s daddy, is from Owens Harbor and their senior photos are supposed to happen today, but the photographer flaked. He has volunteered my time to that and I didn’t want to say no because…”
“It’s their senior photos.” I nodded.
“Exactly.” She sighed. “I don’t know these folks, but he’s like… distinguished alumni or something, so now I’ve gotta drive two hours to take pictures of these kids.”
“And you need me here for the graduation sessions?”
She nodded. “Yup. Instead of assisting, I need you on lead.”
“Not a problem,” I told her, because it wasn’t.
These were all studio shots, pretty straightforward. We had backdrops in whatever color, props, everything for the classic image these kids’ loved ones would display in their homes. It worked well because while on-location shoots were popular, they were incredibly time consuming, and only so many could be taken on. Studio bookings ranged from thirty minutes, usually the boys who thought the whole thing was lame but wouldn’t dare disappoint their mamas, to two hours for people who wanted to change outfits, switch up hair, stuff like that.
Today, I was taking over three appointments.
The first was an absolute sweetheart who came alone, clearly nervous but outright adorable with her distinctive blue hair. I made a snap judgement about that little detail, but didn’t say anything at first. She came ready to shoot, so we got right into it. But when I asked her if she wanted to use any props for her last few shots, her eyes went straight to the box filled with BSU gear.
“Iknew it,” I gushed, making her eyes go wide. “Go pick out what you want!”
Her shy gaze dropped to her hands and she shook her head. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea. My dad doesn’t want me to go to an HBCU. He says it’s ‘bad enough’ I was raised here instead of the ‘real world’.”
Girl, your daddy is fucking stupid.
I wanted to say that out loud, but I settled for justthinkingit.
“I understand the fear of leaving you unprepared for the world, but babe… you’ve got plenty of time to be surrounded by folks whodon’tlook like you. Soak it up while you can.”
She looked up with a grin. “My mom says the same thing. And… they offered a full ride, so my dad can’t really threaten not to pay for it.”
“Girl your daddy was nevernotgonna pay for it.” I laughed. “Not only accepted, but a full ride? Youhaveto take some BSU shots. Here,” I said, grabbing a BSU pennant to put in her hands.
