10. Ethan #2
“It is. But I can find time for you.”
He reached up to dismantle the rig I’d needed as the sun dropped lower in the sky. My mouth dried out as my gaze snagged on how his biceps flexed and bunched.
“You don’t need to,” I said belatedly, tearing my gaze away. “Sam said there are lots of hot men living here. Maybe a few of them can be persuaded to sit for a session.”
Rami stiffened suddenly. “I don’t think any of them would be interested.”
My gut twisted at Rami’s confirmation that he found his housemates attractive.
Why does that bother you?
“That’s a shame,” I said lightly.
“I can keep you busy,” Rami added hastily. “Don’t worry about that.”
I laughed, reaching to take my equipment from him. “I’m sure you can, big boy. But like I said, I’m not interested in that.”
Rami smirked, hitching the bags over his own shoulders. Well fuck, how was I meant to reach them up there? Dude was built like a fucking tree. “Now who’s being cheeky? I was talking about photo shoots, nothing else.”
I waited for him to add more. I hadn’t spent long with Rami, just a few hours. But somehow I knew he was biting back an additional comment.
One.
Two.
Three.
“Although, I’m always open to showing you the other ways I can keep you busy…should you find yourself single.”
And there it was.
The laughter that came out of my mouth surprised even me. It was loud. Free. Seemingly never-ending. By the time it ebbed, I was clutching my stomach with one hand and wiping tears from my cheeks with the other.
“Sorry,” I wheezed, still chuckling between breaths. “Don’t know what came over me. You’re just unstoppable.”
“I can’t seem to help myself around you.” Rami reached out to tuck a curl behind my ear. He kept his promise—not a millimetre of his skin touched mine as he did so. Didn’t stop my face flaming as if it had though. “But I like hearing you laugh.”
“I haven’t done that in a while,” I said ruefully, still rubbing my aching muscles. “God, I forgot how good it feels to laugh.”
Rami’s ever-present grin fell. When it reappeared, it seemed…strained.
Whelp. Look at me, overanalysing again.
“I’ll try to make it happen more often,” Rami said. “At our next shoot, of course.”
Whenever that would be.
With all my equipment packed, I realised there was nothing left to do but say goodbye.
We’d finished earlier than I’d anticipated, mostly because Rami was so easy to work with.
And, to be frank, so photogenic. I was itching to get home and start editing.
And I wasn’t going to drool over a single shot.
I wasn’t.
Oh fuck, I totally was.
Despite my excitement about getting to that, I couldn’t seem to make my feet move. “I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”
Rami’s head bobbed. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“If you just wanna hand that over—” I gestured at the equipment over his shoulder. “—I’ll be heading off.”
“How are you getting home?”
“Probably an Uber,” I said, wondering why he cared. “The bus nearly killed me.”
Rami flinched. What did he have against buses? “I can drive you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
He grinned. “I know, but I want to. Besides, Uber drivers can never find our house.”
I laughed, pointing at the fuck-off mansion behind us. “You mean that place?”
“Yup. Wouldn’t believe the issues they have.”
I hesitated. I really should get myself home.
“Come on,” Rami wheedled. “Let me do this. I’m happy to help.”
Happy to help.
When had anyone been happy to help me? Sure, they’d done it, but happily?
“Okay,” I heard myself say. “Thank you, that would be great.”
Rami drove a Mercedes-Benz S Class. I would’ve thought it flashy if I hadn’t glimpsed the other cars in the garage. “Who owns the Lamborghini?”
“Theo,” he said as he smoothly reversed us out and onto the driveway. “The Ferrari and the G-Wagon are his too.”
Fuck. My brain hurt trying to work out the cumulative worth of those three vehicles alone. “What does he do for a living?”
“Annoys everyone else, mostly,” Rami grunted. “I’d love to say he’s compensating for a small dick, but sadly that’s not the case. He’s far too quick to strip naked for my liking.”
I chuckled. “What about the Rolls?”
“That’s Micah’s.” He grinned across at me. “You know about cars?”
“Some.” I shrugged self-consciously. “My dad was a huge car nerd. Guess some of it rubbed off on me.”
“Are the two of you close?”
“No.” I let out a brittle laugh. “He took off when I was fourteen. Haven’t seen or heard from him since.”
Rami blew out a breath. “Shit, that fucking sucks. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. He wasn’t the best dad when he was there. Made little difference when he wasn’t.”
“What about your mum?” he asked as he steered us around a roundabout. “What’s she like?”
My lips curled in a wistful smile. “Mum was awesome. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for me. I loved her more than anything.”
There was a long pause before Rami spoke. “Loved?”
“She died three years ago,” I said softly, staring out of the windscreen as the memories threatened to assault me.
The call that came in the middle of the night.
Driving to the airport with my heart in my mouth.
Learning I was too late before I even boarded the plane.
“A stroke. I didn’t make it back from the states in time. ”
“I’m so sorry, Ethan.” A large hand slid over my knee and squeezed. I turned my head to see Rami’s brown eyes had turned mournful. “I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like.”
“It’s okay.” It wasn’t, not really. But that was what you said in these situations. “I just wish I could’ve said goodbye, you know?”
“I do.” He squeezed my knee once more before returning his hand to the steering wheel. “I’m sure she would’ve wanted that too.”
“Sorry.” I sniffed, rubbing my nose. “Didn’t mean to trauma dump on you there.”
“You weren’t trauma dumping,” he said as he turned into my street. “I asked questions and you answered.”
“Still, I don’t usually open up to people like that,” I said quietly. “Don’t know what came over me.”
“Blame me. People always say I have a kind face.”
I chuckled as I took in his wide grin. “It’s certainly kind.”
And hot. So fucking hot.
Bad Ethan.
“Is this you?” he asked, peering out of the window at the row of terraced houses.
“Yep. I’m the one with the green door.”
There was a frown on his face as he turned to me. “The green door?”
Now I was the one frowning. I leaned over him to point. “Right there.”
“Okay.” His brow was still creased. “Let me help you with your stuff.”
“You don’t need to,” I protested, but Rami was already unbuckled and stepping out of his door.
“I know I don’t need to,” Rami said when I joined him at the boot. He handled my equipment with care as he passed it out to me. “I want to.”
“Well, thank you,” I said once I had it all in place. “Seriously. This isn’t anything I’ve come across from a model before.”
He winked. “I’m one of a kind.”
“That you are.” I grinned. “A one-of-a-kind flirt.”
“Got to keep you on your toes. I’ll be seeing you, Ethan.”
He saluted at me before getting back into his car.
The pressure I’d been feeling since getting the email from Sam suddenly lifted. I’d done it. The shoot had gone smoothly, thanks in no small part to Rami.
This was it. The first step towards my new future.
I stepped into the house, bubbling with excitement. I couldn’t wait to tell Dave. He should be home by now. Maybe we could go out to celebrate. A date night. It’d been forever since we’d had one of those, what with everything that had been going on.
Silence greeted me.
I swallowed the disappointment, choosing instead to focus on the positives. I had my health. My future.
And, after today, hopefully a career that would make up for the happiness that was eluding me elsewhere.