Anna took off my glasses and set them on the counter. “And those eyes. Can you imagine what a bit of liner and shadow is going to do?”
“What?” I gaped at them.
“Hoodie off,” Missy commanded. She began flipping through the rack until she found a blue jumper type dress that looked far too clingy.
“A dress?” My voice rose a couple pitches as my heart sped up. Rachel attacked my hair, and Anna began applying things to my face. “Oh God.”
“Think of all the fun camera stuff, Tory,” Missy reminded me. “Dollar signs, sweet boy. That girl was going to make a couple grand today.”
A couple grand? I blinked in shock. Wow, I’d been getting peanuts compared to that. “For real?” Would it be enough to buy the new camera I’d been dreaming of?
“For real,” she nodded. “Let’s get you glammed up. No one will recognize you when we’re done.”
“Okay,” I agreed thinking of my new camera and all the pictures I would get to take.
By the time they released me, my knees shook like jelly. I hadn’t more than glanced in the mirror. Would the clients notice I wasn’t a girl? Would they cry foul and scream at my aunt? I hated for her to lose the business and really wanted a chance to buy my new dream camera.
And then there was Lucas, standing in fitted purple jeans, a tight, black V-neck shirt, under a purple jacket. His dark hair straightened, and combed to frame his face, all those nice angles highlighted with natural makeup. I felt strange standing nearby, like a fraud, and half blind without my glasses. Would he recognize me? Tell everyone at school or make fun of me? My heart raced a little with anxiety, but I was also drawn to watch the way he worked in front of the camera.
He moved effortlessly with the flow of the camera and Aunt Patty’s instructions. “Left, look back over your shoulder, great.”
I sucked in a deep breath and prayed to whatever cosmic powers that I’d survive this day with minimal humiliation, and maybe earn a bit more money.
“There she is!” my aunt exclaimed. “Sorry for the delay everyone. Tory’s going to fill in for us.” She touched my hair, patting the curls Rachel had styled and whispered, “Breathe, sweetie. You look good. You’ve watched hundreds of shoots. You know how this works.”
“From the other side of the camera,” I whispered.
“Just follow Lucas’ lead, and try not to look like a deer in headlights.”
“You mean like I do right now?” I hissed at her. Was it hot in here? Everything was very bright. She nudged me toward Lucas.
“Tory hasn’t spent much time in front of the camera,” my aunt said. “But she knows how all this works. Looks like she’s a good fit for this line, right?”
The woman nodded, “She’s perfect.” The man’s gaze was sharp. Did he notice I wasn’t a girl?
Lucas gave me a warm smile and offered a hand. I took it, letting him pull me into the center of the stage. Much warmer under the lights, and his touch. I sucked in big gulps of air.
“Relax,” Lucas whispered. “It’s easier if you pretend the camera isn’t there.”
The heat of the lights intensified. No one said being on this side of the lens felt like being a bug under a magnifying glass in the sun. The assistants appeared like creepy Oompa-Loompas to adjust lights, fix hair, and touch up makeup. Lucas’s manager and the woman from Moreland’s stood behind Patty as the camera began to flash.
“Good. Tory, look over your shoulder. Lucas, hand on her hip,” Patty said.
His touch was like fire. And not in a bad way, just surprisingly warm.
“Don’t bite your lip, Tory.”
“Think of that dumb kissy face all the adults do when they see a baby,” Lucas whispered, his smile gentle. “It sounds silly, but it will keep you from tensing up. Make the face and then relax, face and relax.”
I attempted it twice before he nodded and helped prod me into position for the next shot. It took two outfit changes, and several touch ups before I began to feel comfortable under the lights and with Lucas’s touch. His hand almost always at my waist, or around my shoulders, or fingers woven through mine. He even kissed my fingertips in one shot. Something that made everyone applaud like it had been the best shot of the day. Though I didn’t understand how that was possible. My face had heated, and felt a bit like it was on fire every time he looked at me.
The solo shots were easy. I didn’t do much other than turn slowly to show off the clothes. Girl clothes were strange, but kind of flowy. I liked swishing the skirt around. The breeze cooled my legs, and the fabric was soft and colorful. I didn’t have much for colorful fabric. School uniforms with jeans and tees for home. Simple, and still I felt a little cheated. Maybe this was why Jenny looked at those fashion magazines.
Lucas’s clothes were a lot of similar things. Snug pants or jeans, a top with varying neck cuts and sleeve lengths, somewhat draping, and sometimes a jacket on the top or flung casually over his shoulder. He started each set solo, then we’d share the lights, taking pictures together, then came my time under the glow. He changed while I was on my own and vice versa. We flowed through easily two dozen clothing sets. I knew most sessions yielded thousands of photos and only a handful chosen. But being on this side of the camera was exhausting. Standing, turning, looking at him, he was pretty and nice to look at, or away. Be flirty. How did one be flirty?
Lucas leaned in close, arm at my waist, face super close to mine, almost as if he meant to kiss me. I froze in a bit of shock while the camera snapped. “Great, perfect, keep going.”
Keep going? Was he supposed to kiss me?
