Chapter 21 #2
She was luminous in pink tulle kept in place by slender gold metal chains around her torso and the fabric undulated beneath the wind from a large fan.
She looked sexy as fuck in cream-colored lace with stiff strips of vinyl encircling her waist and neck like an S&M tutu and collar.
She emulated a dreamlike state in sky blue satin with chain link cuffs.
But when she stepped from her dressing room in a red satin dress that stood apart from all the other designs as it hung to the floor from a wide black leather collar, and hugged her in places that made it very apparent she was wearing nothing underneath, I felt a surge of need I hadn’t felt in ages.
Goddamn she was beautiful. The anger I’d held onto all day like a life raft dissipated in the wind from the fan and I stood across from her as we waited for the lighting to be changed, watching as her makeup was touched up.
A few minutes later, makeup done, she moved closer to me, still not looking my way.
“Hey,” I said, my voice quiet. “I’m sorry for the other day.”
“No worries,” she said, studying her nails.
“Lior.”
She looked at the nails on her other hand.
“Lior?”
She turned her hand over and traced the lines of her palm with one red and black fingernail. I started to laugh.
“What’s it telling you?” I asked.
“That I have lousy taste in friends.”
“I’m telling Addie.”
She turned her face away but I caught the grin she was trying to hide.
“Can I explain what happened?” I asked.
“I think I got the gist.”
“No, you don’t. I was set up.”
When she turned to face me, she looked upset.
“I’m telling the truth,” I said.
She sighed and stared at me for a long moment before saying. “I believe you. Mostly because I know how her twisted little mind works.”
“It’s par for the course with her.”
We were asked to move off the set while they tried out a new idea with props.
“I was just getting ready to come meet you when she showed up and marched her way in. It was a whole… thing. And then B peed on her shoe and she fell into me trying to get away from it and I dropped my phone in the puddle and while I was trying to save my phone, she ran upstairs and took a shower. Because apparently a shoe in pee means you have to wash your entire person.”
Lior pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh.
“Well, that explains the wet hair,” Lior said. “And the no response to my texts.”
“While she was in the bathroom she apparently made some calls. I don’t know if it was for you or for her boyfriend to see, but it was fucked up and I would’ve gotten in touch with you but then something happened with Bronte and I had to take her to the vet and…
I didn’t even get to the store to get a new phone until the next day. And when I did, well…”
“You saw the pictures of me and Jeremy.”
I was quiet, watching a myriad of emotions play across her face.
“Is B okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. She’s just old.”
“I know you have a vet, but I could ask Addie for some ideas on how to make life a little more comfortable for the sweet girl. She has some interesting approaches sometimes.”
“Anything to help would be appreciated. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We grew quiet again, but I found I couldn’t help myself. I was still curious. Still bothered.
“So, you and Jeremy Lane are dating again?”
“No, we are not.”
“Was that just…” I trailed off, not wanting to sound presumptuous.
She didn’t look at me for a moment, and then turned to face me, shoulders squared, eyes fierce.
“I was mad,” she said. “But that wasn’t for you. It was for me.”
Jealousy snaked up my spine. Even though I already had been since the picture was posted, I didn’t need an even more vivid picture in my mind of her and Jeremy Lane having sex.
She continued, “I felt… small. I just wanted…”
“I get it,” I said. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”
She shrugged. “Of course, as these things go, I knew it was a mistake as soon as we got to his hotel. The picture they posted of me leaving was taken about ten minutes after I’d arrived.
” She started to laugh then. “Sorry.” She held up a hand.
“It’s just… the media makes me out to be a maneater some days, and a sad sack that can’t hold on to a man other days.
If they knew how many of those dates were for show and how many of those men I’ve never slept with, their minds would be blown. ”
“But didn’t you and Jeremy used to be a couple?”
“Yes. And that’s another reason I said yes to going out with him. If I was going to go there, at least he was safe. And I needed safe, because I was feeling pretty down and lonely. And—”
But she stopped herself before she said more. And then we were called back to set, preventing me from asking what she had been about to say.
After some direction from the crew, we got into our first pose, me reaching up to her, her reaching down, her palm on my face.
“I’m sad you let them shave the scruff and cut off the waves,” she said. “I like you that way. It feels more you. More authentic. Less…”
“Pretty?” I asked and she laughed.
“You are still very pretty, my friend,” she said. “It’s just less styled. Less perfect.”
“Hold it there,” the photographer said. The camera clicked several times. “Next position.”
For our last scene of the day I wore a sheer black t-shirt with faux leather bands that wrapped twice around each bicep with another at the collar, and faux black leather pants. I was barefoot, my features had been played up with dark makeup, and my hair was slicked back.
I was Dark.
Lior emerged after me and I had to look away for fear that every thought in my mind would read on my face.
She was devastating in a sheer shimmering white gown with bell sleeves and a faux white leather strip that ran down the center of her, from bust to mid-thigh where the dress then split, revealing the bare skin of her legs.
She wore a long platinum wig, and the makeup around her eyes and at her temples sparkled.
She was Light.
“Are you blushing?” she whispered as we moved into our places. We were facing off, arms and fingers spread as if pressing each of our elements toward the other.
“I might be,” I said, keeping my eyes on hers even though other parts of me were begging to skim downwards.
“But you’ve seen me in all states of dress today, Graham,” she said, her voice low and breathy. “You’ve even seen me wet.”
I knew she was alluding to earlier scenes we’d done when we’d both been doused with water, but the way she said it made it sound distinctly like she was referring to a different kind of wetness. And now I was blushing. And she… she was flirting.