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Chapter 1 - Geneva
“That’s perfect, Geneva!” Tyler, my photographer encouraged from behind his camera lenses. “Move a little to the right.”.
I pushed a wave of spiral blonde curls off my sun kissed cheeks and pointed my other hand down to the hot south Florida sand.
“Here?” I called out to make certain. From the slant of the hot sun above, I knew we were reaching the golden hour of the afternoon—magic hour to many photographers—and from this point on every shot counted.
“That’s the ticket!” Tyler gave me an enthusiastic thumbs up and crouched down with camera in hand, an exposed tongue slivering out of his mouth.
Out of the entire ‘Essence and Elegance’ modeling agency, Tyler was my favorite photographer. He was kind and peppy and always gave us models the kind of positive feedback attention they deserved.
“Now, poke your hips out a little,” my manager Samantha said.
I did as they instructed, wanting to make sure we got the best shot possible. Though I couldn’t wait for this photo shoot to be over for the day.
We were currently at the Sun-N-Sand resort in Miami, a quaint, cozy, teal-colored stucco building nestled right on the shore. I appreciated the culture and loved absorbing the nightlife and electric energy the entire city had to offer. As soon as we were done for the day, I planned on enjoying myself.
“That one was perfect,” Tyler called out. He finally emerged from behind his camera, exposing a set of perfect white teeth with a partial gap and a mop of wavy chestnut hair.
“That’s a wrap!” Keith, our scene manager shouted to the rest of the crew.
A handful of colleagues began to clap, cheer and give group hugs. The grueling day in the sun was now over, but I’d had a blast all the same. I’ve been a full-figure model for a little over six years, but still counted the completion of every photoshoot as a victory. One of my personal philosophies in life was to never take anything for granted. Even though my career was going nowhere but up, I strove to be actively grateful.
My set assistant approached me, a different team member for every photo shoot I attended. She wrapped a terry cloth robe around me and draped it over my shoulders before trotting away again.
“Thank you,” I said as I turned, looking around the set. I was not the only model who had been posing this afternoon, but it appeared I was the last to wrap up. Finally, I spotted my friend, Tamara, and waved.
She waved back and approached me with a wide smile splitting her bright red lips.
Tamara and I were exact opposites on the spectrum. Although she was also considered a full-figured model, she had chocolate brown curls that fell halfway down her back. She was also gifted with gorgeous, lagoon-colored eyes, which revealed an earnest kindness.
“How did you do today?” she asked. “It looked good from here.”
“Fine, I think. I can’t wait to see the pictures,” I said, brimming with excitement.
“Come on over.” Tyler waved to me, apparently overhearing our conversation. “I’ll give you a little taste with the digital footprints on the camera.”
“Really?” I walked over to him.
“Sure.” He shrugged, leaning in to start showing me the specs from the shoot. “Let’s go to the highlights.”
I had been in the modeling business since I was eighteen. Now, at twenty-four, I still felt I was developing the ‘eye’ for what made a good shot and what didn’t. These were good. Really, really good. Hair, make-up, and an attitude helped but the photographer did wonders.
“These look incredible,” I told Tyler.
“You were born to be in front of the camera, I was born to be behind it,” he joked before stashing his camera away. “I’ll still have hours of touch-up to do back at the studio. That’s not a jab—just how the cookie crumbles!” he quickly added.
I nodded and glanced out to the beach. The waves crested and crashed to the sand, creating a splash of white foam that was a beautiful contrast to the straw-colored shore. A gentle breeze tickled my skin. The ocean was a shimmering aqua color, almost translucent.
Tamara followed my gaze. “Girl, I’ve been wanting to get out there all day.”
“Let’s go, then,” I said, grinning.
I had my back turned to the sand dunes, so when I was jostled from behind, I was taken completely off guard. I stumbled a few wobbly steps, almost getting my balance back before gravity won out and I plummeted into the soft sand. Right on my butt.
At least the photoshoot is over, I thought, chagrined. Though there were still enough crew members around that everyone probably saw.
Tamara was at my side in an instant. “Are you okay?” But before I could reply, she turned on the perpetrator. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”
I followed her gaze. My mouth went dry.
The man who had knocked me down had a body like a Greek god. Tall, with muscles looking sculpted out of a marble statue. He had a military-type buzz cut and piercing blue eyes. He stood, looking as shocked as I felt with a volleyball under one arm.
“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. The ball went wide and… here, let me help.” He reached down and I took his hand. His fingers closed, warm, around mine. One easy pull and in a moment I was standing. He was strong.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
Somehow, I found words. “It’s um… really. I’m okay.”
“He ran into you,” Tamara said as if I hadn’t figured it out. She glared at him.
He winced and glanced over his shoulder, back toward the dunes. “It was game point, and I can get a little competitive.” His free hand skittered over my shoulder and across my back as if he wanted to brush away the loose sand clinging to my skin.
“I’m not hurt.” I summoned a smile from somewhere, even knowing my cheeks must be flaming red. “Really.”
He relaxed and his answering grin lit up his whole face. His piercing blue eyes flicked up and down my body, not assessing for injuries this time. Now his gaze was appreciative.
Yeah. As long as he kept looking at me like that, I would be just fine.
Chapter 2 - Worth
I’d been running backwards in order to spike a volleyball, sun in my eyes, squinting and shuffling my feet, stirring up the sand in the process.
“I’m coming for you!” I roared to Ethan Bates, one of my best friends. “Be on the lookout!”
