Chapter 04
I’d love to have you.
The email acceptance still haunted me two weeks later as I sat in the parking lot of an old building downtown. The windows had been boarded up after the latest hurricane and various styles of graffiti painted the outside bricks.
It wasn’t too late to run. To disappoint two strangers I’d never met and reverse my car straight off the road into the lake to hide from the entire experience.
I tapped the center console and glanced from the clock to the entrance Sadie told me to take.
There were no cars parked along the street. At least, not any that looked remotely interested in what would happen in the abandoned building. Loose leaves dragged down the sidewalk more than people enjoyed an evening stroll.
An alarm blared from the passenger seat. I set it to remind myself when I was supposed to be inside.
I gripped the gearshift and inhaled deeply.
“You can do this.“
I lifted my hand from the gearshift. “Change is good.”
I turned off the vehicle and reached for my bag.
The old building was beautiful inside. Broken glass laid along the edge of the walls and various beams of raw wood held the strong ceiling in place.
“It’s quite the place.“
A blonde woman smiled as I pulled my eyes from the way sunlight glittered through a translucent part of the small section of glass ceiling. “You must be Eloise.”
I crossed the room to meet her.
“That’s right. Sadie?“
I shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too!“
She beamed a smile.
I crossed my wrists over my bag and took in the equipment set up near the right of the room. The sun was beginning to set, leaving us with little time to work in a building with no electricity.
“I didn’t even know this place was here.“
I blushed as memories rushed into my head. “I've lived here all my life.”
“It’s always an adventure when you step out of what you know.“
Sadie said, smoothing down her long blonde hair. She pointed behind me where a few popup stations and more equipment were positioned. “You can change there and then I’ll introduce you to your partner. We only have about an hour and a half to get everything shot while the sun is working with us.”
“I’ll get right to it, then.“
I took a step toward the stations, then turned back around. “Thank you, again. I can’t imagine how many, much more interesting, applications you received.”
Sadie had kind eyes. Her thoughts read across her features like she was paid to keep a smile on her face. It was natural, at least. Not the fake southern sweetness I was used to around here.
Refreshing, truly.
“You’ll have fun. Just take a deep breath and let me know if you need anything.“
She reached out and squeezed my shoulder, then guided me toward the changing stations.
The photoshoot was meant to feel raw. A boudoir shoot without guidelines and gentle boundaries where I’d walk out in my underwear and meet a total stranger.
Kathryn would have drooled over seeing Hayley participate. I wasn’t surprised she dashed at the chance to tell her wife about the opportunity. But telling me? That was a shock and a half.
The tent to my right ruffled as my partner stepped out. I paused, shuffling my panties up my thighs to listen.
“That looks great!“
Sadie’s gleeful voice spoke first. “Maybe ruffle your hair—yeah, yeah, that looks perfect.”
“Thanks.”
I frowned. A one-word response wasn’t much of a hint toward who waited outside for me.
God, I was being silly.
“Just walk out there.“
I whispered to myself, staring at the opening of the pop-up station.
I stepped toward the door, then shuffled backwards. Who the fuck had I become thinking I could handle a boudoir shoot with an absolute stranger?
The mirror behind me captured the panic in my dark eyes as I turned around. It oozed from deep inside me, burning behind my eyes.
“Eloise?“
Sadie called from the other side of the curtain. “Do you need any help?”
Kathryn helped me pick out my outfit over the past weekend. It was her job, apparently, to ensure I picked something that carried my ‘hot ass rack’ into the face of whoever I was meeting.
I regretted ever taking her advice.
The maroon two piece made the color that rose into my cheeks an accessory. It complimented the straying freckles around my pale skin, but simultaneously created a stamp out of the stretch marks that painted my stomach in a squiggled half-moon, and covered most of my upper thighs.
Kathryn nailed her personal goal. My tits were pushed up high and felt like I’d fall over if I leaned too forward. They cradled in the lace with only a thin pad separating my hardened nipples from the cold air.
“Eloise?”
“I-I’m fine. I’m done!“
I shook myself out of my thoughts.
It’s a quick photoshoot. An hour with a stranger in my underwear was less than I had done fooling around in college at lesbian bars and frat parties. I could tap into that old forgotten side of me enough to make it through.
“Hey, if you’re uncomfortable, it’s okay to back out.“
Sadie gently spoke after a few minutes.
“I want to do it!“
I called over my shoulder. “I’ll be right out.”
Ugh. Bless her and all she put up with me.
Between the five hundred questions I needed her to answer, Sadie had been a complete doll through the entire process. I couldn’t put her through all my anxious spiraling just to leave her high and dry.
I pulled my long hair over my shoulder.
With a deep breath, I stepped out from the changing tent.