I run a hand through my mullet. Fucking hell.
“I heard you call him that on the phone,” she explains. “It’s the best nickname for him, by the way. Couldn’t be more perfect.”
Scott slaps my arm, shaking my shoulder. “Ha!” he laughs.
“We were just finishing up here,” I mutter. “Ce, are you ready to go?”
She nods. “Yeah.” She points at Scott and Westley. “I’ll see you two on Saturday?”
They both nod. “Yeah, looking forward to it,” Scott adds. Fuck, his eyes are glistening. He has an immediate boner, this fucker.
She walks off with a smile as she says, “Go, Seattle!”
Scott and Westley scoff.
Gavin says, “Go, Chargers!”
Then she’s out of the gym and walking to her car.
Scott and Westley watch, so I smack their chests and demand, “Let’s get out of here.”
Thank fuck by the time we walk out, Cecily is driving away.
Westley says, “I can’t believe she exists.”
I shake my head.
Scott chuckles. “Dude, I really thought we were being catfished. She’s a smoke show, man.”
I get into my truck and start the engine, trying to stop myself from being an overprotective… best friend? Yeah, best friend.
That’s all that I’m protecting here.
Our friendship.
10
Cecily
The moment I get home, I have to shake off the judgments of Dylan’s friends because I have to hop in the shower and meet with my photographer at a creek in thirty minutes. I couldn’t cut the gym time short with Dylan, so luckily, Crystal was able to reschedule an hour later.
At the parking lot, Crystal is reading the map at the start of the trail. She looks over her shoulder and smiles as I park right next to her car.
“Hey,” I say, stepping out.
She greets me with a hug. “It’s been a few weeks!”
“Yeah, it feels like forever. I’ve been so busy with college and work. This is going to be a fun campaign.”
I open the backseat door and grab the box of products I need photographed.
She closes the door after me, and I run through all the ideas I have in my head. I know she’ll be able to execute it all.
Crystal is in her mid-twenties. She’s married with two young children. She’s an amazing creative and a killer photographer. Sometimes I hire her to do graphic design. She’s a fantastic person overall, and I love working with her.
She repeats after me, “Five different shots of the serum. Trees, rocks, a creek, and you posing with it. And the active wear?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “We’ll shoot those first. Just on the bridge and under the trees.” I show my shoes. “And you’ll have to get a few of these because I want to work with them.”
