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I read the sign as we pass, but it’s just a name with no other information. Jordan Forester. That’s it. No indication of who this Jordan person is or why Harlow brought us here. Ignoring the questioning looks Piper and I send her way, Harlow pulls open the door and motions for us to enter. I sigh and lead the way, Piper behind me.
I’m greeted by a brightly lit room with white walls. There are several potted plants scattered around, adding pops of color to all the white. There’s a small desk on one side of the room and several photos hung on the walls. It takes me a second to notice the subject of the photos on the walls. They’re all women and they’re all in various states of undress. One woman is strategically covered by a white sheet and nothing else. There’s no visible nudity, but it’s clear she’s naked. The photo is gorgeous and the woman looks sexy, empowered and happy. Eyes narrowed, I turn to look at Harlow to ask for an explanation as a woman enters from a side door.
“Harlow?” she calls, looking between the three of us.
Harlow smiles and steps forward. “That’s me. Hi.”
The woman shakes Harlow’s hand before turning to look at me and Piper and smiling.
“I’m Jordan,” she says. “I’ll be taking your photos today. But first, let’s get you into hair and makeup. Follow me.
Then she turns to exit through the same door she just entered. Photos? What does she mean? I glance around at the photos on the wall, noticing for the first time one of a woman wearing a nearly translucent negligée. What sort of photos are we taking today? Harlow doesn’t say anything. She just motions for us to follow Jordan. She’s still clutching the large bag in her hands. I want to know what’s in that bag. I eye her suspiciously as I pass, following Jordan down a short hallway until she stops in front of an open doorway. Holding out a hand, she motions for us to enter.
I give her a small smile as my stomach dances with nerves. When I walk into the room, I see three chairs sitting in front of mirrors. Beside each chair, a smiling person stands there as if waiting for us. I turn back to look at Piper who looks just as confused as I feel. Harlow brings up the rear looking totally unbothered.
Jordan looks to Harlow. “Did you bring your own outfits?” she asks.
Harlow nods and hands her the bag. “I wasn’t sure what to bring, so I brought a bunch of different colors and styles.”
Jordan unzips the bag and peers inside before smiling at Harlow. “I’ll take these to the studio and hang them up. You ladies take a seat, and we’ll get started.”
When she disappears through the door, I shoot Harlow another look. This time, she sighs and her smile falters.
“What is this?” I whisper.
“It’s a boudoir photo shoot,” she says.
“A what?” I ask.
“Oh, I’ve heard of these,” Piper says, her eyes lighting up in excitement. “You get professional hair and makeup artists to make you look and feel beautiful and a photographer takes pictures of you looking gorgeous and sexy. It’s supposed to be really empowering.”
I blink at my sister, wondering how she learned about boudoir photo shoots. For that matter, how did Harlow come up with this idea? I doubt there are many boudoir photographers in Peach Tree.
“This is going to be fun!” Piper says.
There’s a little bounce in her step as she makes her way over to one of the chairs to introduce herself to her makeup artist. Harlow smiles at me.
“Come on,” she says. “I think you’re going to love it.”
Am I the only one who has reservations about this? It’s not that I’m a prude about nudity or sexuality. I just don’t know how I feel about meeting someone for the first time and then stripping to my underwear or even getting naked for them to take pictures of me. I don’t hate my body, but if I’d known I was taking photos today I might have gone easy on the hashbrowns at breakfast this morning. I’m probably bloated.
“Stop thinking so much,” Harlow says. “This is for all of us. I already paid for the photo session. If you don’t want to purchase any of the photos afterwards, fine. But do the shoot and see how you feel afterward. Please? Besides, Piper’s already loving this.”
I look over at my sister and smile. She’s chatting it up with her makeup artist who’s already applying products to her skin.
“Fine,” I sigh. “Let’s do it.”
“That’s the spirit,” Harlow says, looping her arm through mine and pulling me over to one of the chairs as though she’s worried I might take off running if she lets me out of her sight.
When I finally take my seat between Harlow and Piper, she looks over and smiles at me, her expression filled with excitement. The stylists go to work immediately, making small talk and asking us questions as they work. My stylist introduces herself as Sara and asks me what sort of look I want to achieve. When I tell her I want to keep things realistic and subtle, she smiles and nods knowingly. I begin to feel more relaxed as the minutes pass and think that maybe I can do this. I’ll choose a modest outfit and take a few photos and be done with it. No big deal.
“I can tell you’re nervous,” Piper says as her stylist works on curling her hair into pretty waves down her back.
“Is it that obvious?” I ask, the sarcasm clear in my words.
She laughs. “Only because I know you. Everyone else probably just thinks you’re a bitch.”
My mouth drops open as Sara works to hide a smile and Harlow laughs out loud.
