AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A muscle ticks in his jaw. ”Don’t know. But it’s best you come back tomorrow. We’ll take some more just to make you’re sure you’re satisfied.”
I nod, feeling very, very happy all of the sudden. ”How much do I owe you?”
”It’s on the house, sweetheart. You don’t have to pay me a damn dime.”
”Phil,” I groan, ”you’re too generous.” I jump down from the stool. ”Not that I’m complaining!” I add with a mischievous snicker but choke on it when Philip clasps my elbow. His brows frown over his dreamy eyes that suddenly look tormented.
”When you walk out of here where will you go?” he asks.
I swallow. ”Home.”
”You’re not going to meet-up with any boys?”
I shake my head.
Philip’s voice lowers. ”Your skirt is lovely but a bit short. Boys can get the wrong idea, if you know what I mean. Men can get the wrong idea.” He winces. ”I don’t know how to let you walk out like that, knowing the things men think.” He shakes his head and grabs a pullover he has laying around. ”Tie this around your waist.”
I do as he says and something stern flicker in his eyes.
”Don’t come dressed tomorrow like you did today.”
”Yes, sir,” I breathe but secretly I wonder why he’s so worked up about this. It’s just a silly, old mini skirt. Everyone wears them. Even mom wears them. Philip’s eyes linger a little but around my mouth but he flinches when I lick my lips. He rubs his brow ridge, whirling around but slams right into one of his large tripods. It falls to the floor with a slam and he lets out a curse, wincing. I stare at him and he glares at me from the corner of his eyes.
”High school, huh?” he grits, shaking his head. ”Fuck me.”
I flush. ”I’ll be at the studio right after class.”
”Denise!” Philip says urgently and I stop in my tracks. ”If a boy tries to talk to you in class, you ignore him. Okay?”
”Okay, but don’t you think that’s rude?”
”Not as rude as my fist in his face will be.”
My cheeks heat. ”I wouldn’t want to give a poor boy a nosebleed.”
Philip’s face dims. ”But you have no problem putting an old man in the biggest, most grotesque discomfort he’s ever been in.”
I’m not sure what discomfort he’s talking about, but I do notice that walking seems difficult for have him as if he has shoved a rolling pin down his pants. ”I don’t see an old man here,” I say nervously, before gaining a bit more confidence. ”All I see is a zaddy.”
I whirl around and run away.
3.
Philip
I snap photo after photo. I’m on fire today. Something happened to me after I met Denise. I’ve awakened. In college I experimented a little bit with recreational drugs but this is nothing like it. This is better. I feel like a statue that’s been smashed only to be rebuilt in a much better format. My eyes are sharper, my mood is through the roof and I feel like I’m levitating.
As if that’s not enough, I’ve changed my shirt five times already. That’s how hyped I am and I haven’t even had any caffeine. Don’t need it. This morning, I jumped out of bed as if I had fire up my ass and but when I looked at myself in the mirror, I paid for the first time attention to the greying of my hair, to the creases around my eyes and I thought of Denise.
About how she called me zaddy.
I didn’t even know what the fuck that was and had to google it. It’s the kind of slang the kids use and at first I felt ancient and then I felt suave as hell. My eyes nearly bulged out of my skull when I read what it means. She thinks I’m hot as the youngsters say. An old guy like me. Hot. I’ve never been the kind of man to pay much attention to compliments. They rinse off me like water off a duck’s back. But knowing that Denise finds me attractive…now that’s something different and my hands clench around my camera.
I know I’m treading deep, murky waters now. The age gap does bother me, but at the same time…fuck, it’s pointless trying to justify myself. Trying to explain. It’s like trying to explain a question with the same question. There is no right or wrong in this equation. Besides, it’s not like I’ll do anything to Denise. I just want to be close to her. I’m not going to try to sleep with the young girl or make any advances. That would be wrong. I’ll keep my distance, admire her from afar and wait until she’s older. If she still thinks I’m a zaddy then I’ll shoot my shot.
Dropping the camera, I tell my models we’ve had enough for today. They thank me, then saunter off as I take a couple of sips of water and glance at the clock. Denise will be here right after she finishes class, which means I’ll have to wait roughly another hour more. I can barely contain myself. Just the thought of her feels like pure adrenaline shot up in my veins. Fuck, she makes me ambitious. Suddenly I want to enter the Guinness world record as the most famous photographer in the world. And I was almost ready to throw in the towel…but then she came along and switched everything up.
She…
