Elise whisks Rook off to the salon to wash her makeup off and take her hair down. I take the stairs to my apartment three at a time and head straight for my closet.
I hang up the tux and try not to let the disappointment wash over me as I trade my expensive clothes for an old pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Rook will be wearing the exact same thing, except she'll have a nice black bra on so that when she's soaking wet it will show through the fabric for everyone to see.
And that just pisses me off. Elise was right, I should be protecting her from this life, not encouraging her to give Antoine what he wants.
I take a few deep breaths to dampen down the anger and then pull on a pair of boots and head back downstairs. Antoine is waiting for me, still barking orders, but clearly waiting for me because he's blocking the stairs. He sends the technician off and turns as I try to push past him.
"Ronin, wait."
I shake my head. "Tonight, Antoine?"
"It might not rain again."
"It's called a f**king shower. We could just do it inside, in the warm f**king shower room."
"I want city lights," he says, like this explains everything.
"So f**king what?"
"Her contract is with me and I decide what we shoot. If you're too attached to her, then I can get someone else to finish the job."
"You're funny tonight, ya know that?"
"The quicker we get started, the quicker we can be done. Go."
He pushes me and I pull back out of his reach just as Rook comes out of the dressing room. Just as I predicted, white t-shirt, faded jeans, and a nice black bra that everyone can see. I smile at her because she looks worried.
"Hey," I say, accepting an umbrella from one of the techs standing by the terrace door. I open it and we walk outside together. The rain is pelting down with such force against the umbrella I have a hard time hearing what she's saying.
"What?"
"This sucks," she screams in my ear.
"Yeah," I agree, squeezing her arm a little.
"And I'm freezing!"
"It just gets worse, Gidget. So better to just put on the game-face and push on, because the sooner f**kwad Antoine gets his piece-of-shit pictures, the sooner we can go to bed."
She looks up at me. "We?"
I smile and let the anger wash off me, but I let that question hang there. It's hard to predict how this will turn out. Maybe good, maybe not.
We have a special platform that we do the city light shots on. It's raised up about six feet off the terrace floor and basically it's just a slab of concrete that has a railing, so it looks like you're on a terrace, but it gives Antoine lots of different ways to approach the photo. Tonight we have a tarp set up to protect everyone except Rook and me from the rain, and all the exterior lights are on. We have a mock street lamp and spotlights that are mounted on the ground. We slip under the tarp and I hand the umbrella off to someone who looks like he's about to pass out from fatigue. It's after two in the morning, so I can't blame him, I feel the same way.
"OK, Rook, let's just get this done as quick as possible. We go out in the rain, they adjust the lights, we make out, wiggle around a little, start undressing each other, I get you down to the bra and panties, end of shoot. Got it?" She starts shivering the minute I say the word undressing, and by the time I'm done talking her teeth are chattering.
"I'm f-f-fre-eeeezing," she repeats, her arms all drawn up against her body.
I hug her close and she melts into my chest. "I know. As soon as we're done I'll warm you back up, OK?"
She nods, but the chattering continues.
"OK, let's go." I pull her out into the rain with me and the shit is coming down so hard it actually stings my skin. I look over at Rook as I get into position and she's frantically trying to straighten out her wet hair. Elise appears in a rain slicker and begins adjusting her hair, leaning in to tell her encouraging things as she does it.
When Elise leaves I lean against the fake light pole and pull Rook into me again. She's very willing and this makes me smile. "Put your arms around me, Gidge. You'll get warmer, and besides, mauling my body is part of the job assignment tonight. This job has awesome benefits, doesn't it?"
She laughs and wraps her arms around my waist. Antoine is already shooting, so I slip my hands inside the edge of her t-shirt. It's plastered against her body already, we are fully soaked.
Antoine barks orders at the techs to adjust the lighting, but I tune them all out and concentrate on Rook. I lean down into her ear as her body trembles with cold against me. "Forget them. Forget the rain. Forget the job. Look at me."
She looks up.
"It's just us. Pretend we're in the warm car, all dressed, and we can't wait to get home so we can rip each other's clothes off."
"You have mind-reading powers, don't you?"
"What?" I laugh.
She winks at me. "You were reading my mind back there in the car, weren't you?"
I lean down and kiss her, just a soft flutter kiss to let her know I'm interested in playing. "You're on to me, huh?"
"I am," she coos back. "But do you know what I was thinking after I fantasized about ripping off your clothes?"
I nod.
"Tell me."
"You were thinking that maybe I'd take my hands and slip them inside your shirt, like this." My fingers travel up her ribcage, a light drag that makes her gasp and hold in a giggle, and then I push against her breast. "And I was thinking about how I wasn't allowed to kiss you all night because of your lipstick. But now, it's all gone."
I hang up the tux and try not to let the disappointment wash over me as I trade my expensive clothes for an old pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Rook will be wearing the exact same thing, except she'll have a nice black bra on so that when she's soaking wet it will show through the fabric for everyone to see.
And that just pisses me off. Elise was right, I should be protecting her from this life, not encouraging her to give Antoine what he wants.
I take a few deep breaths to dampen down the anger and then pull on a pair of boots and head back downstairs. Antoine is waiting for me, still barking orders, but clearly waiting for me because he's blocking the stairs. He sends the technician off and turns as I try to push past him.
"Ronin, wait."
I shake my head. "Tonight, Antoine?"
"It might not rain again."
"It's called a f**king shower. We could just do it inside, in the warm f**king shower room."
"I want city lights," he says, like this explains everything.
"So f**king what?"
"Her contract is with me and I decide what we shoot. If you're too attached to her, then I can get someone else to finish the job."
"You're funny tonight, ya know that?"
"The quicker we get started, the quicker we can be done. Go."
He pushes me and I pull back out of his reach just as Rook comes out of the dressing room. Just as I predicted, white t-shirt, faded jeans, and a nice black bra that everyone can see. I smile at her because she looks worried.
"Hey," I say, accepting an umbrella from one of the techs standing by the terrace door. I open it and we walk outside together. The rain is pelting down with such force against the umbrella I have a hard time hearing what she's saying.
"What?"
"This sucks," she screams in my ear.
"Yeah," I agree, squeezing her arm a little.
"And I'm freezing!"
"It just gets worse, Gidget. So better to just put on the game-face and push on, because the sooner f**kwad Antoine gets his piece-of-shit pictures, the sooner we can go to bed."
She looks up at me. "We?"
I smile and let the anger wash off me, but I let that question hang there. It's hard to predict how this will turn out. Maybe good, maybe not.
We have a special platform that we do the city light shots on. It's raised up about six feet off the terrace floor and basically it's just a slab of concrete that has a railing, so it looks like you're on a terrace, but it gives Antoine lots of different ways to approach the photo. Tonight we have a tarp set up to protect everyone except Rook and me from the rain, and all the exterior lights are on. We have a mock street lamp and spotlights that are mounted on the ground. We slip under the tarp and I hand the umbrella off to someone who looks like he's about to pass out from fatigue. It's after two in the morning, so I can't blame him, I feel the same way.
"OK, Rook, let's just get this done as quick as possible. We go out in the rain, they adjust the lights, we make out, wiggle around a little, start undressing each other, I get you down to the bra and panties, end of shoot. Got it?" She starts shivering the minute I say the word undressing, and by the time I'm done talking her teeth are chattering.
"I'm f-f-fre-eeeezing," she repeats, her arms all drawn up against her body.
I hug her close and she melts into my chest. "I know. As soon as we're done I'll warm you back up, OK?"
She nods, but the chattering continues.
"OK, let's go." I pull her out into the rain with me and the shit is coming down so hard it actually stings my skin. I look over at Rook as I get into position and she's frantically trying to straighten out her wet hair. Elise appears in a rain slicker and begins adjusting her hair, leaning in to tell her encouraging things as she does it.
When Elise leaves I lean against the fake light pole and pull Rook into me again. She's very willing and this makes me smile. "Put your arms around me, Gidge. You'll get warmer, and besides, mauling my body is part of the job assignment tonight. This job has awesome benefits, doesn't it?"
She laughs and wraps her arms around my waist. Antoine is already shooting, so I slip my hands inside the edge of her t-shirt. It's plastered against her body already, we are fully soaked.
Antoine barks orders at the techs to adjust the lighting, but I tune them all out and concentrate on Rook. I lean down into her ear as her body trembles with cold against me. "Forget them. Forget the rain. Forget the job. Look at me."
She looks up.
"It's just us. Pretend we're in the warm car, all dressed, and we can't wait to get home so we can rip each other's clothes off."
"You have mind-reading powers, don't you?"
"What?" I laugh.
She winks at me. "You were reading my mind back there in the car, weren't you?"
I lean down and kiss her, just a soft flutter kiss to let her know I'm interested in playing. "You're on to me, huh?"
"I am," she coos back. "But do you know what I was thinking after I fantasized about ripping off your clothes?"
I nod.
"Tell me."
"You were thinking that maybe I'd take my hands and slip them inside your shirt, like this." My fingers travel up her ribcage, a light drag that makes her gasp and hold in a giggle, and then I push against her breast. "And I was thinking about how I wasn't allowed to kiss you all night because of your lipstick. But now, it's all gone."
