“Ready, pup?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Remember, all we’re doing today is talking.”
“I know.”
James leaned across the center armrest and kissed me.
“Come on, my little model,” he said as he patted my leg.
As we walked to the entrance, James kept his arm around my shoulders.
“Wait until you see the new pictures.”
“I can’t wait. Maybe we can walk around and look at them since we’re a little early.”
Once we were inside, we went straight to the main room and bar area. I looked around nervously and saw Ali sitting in one of the big comfy chairs near the archway that led to the hallway with the private rooms. She had a notebook on her lap and was twirling a pen between her fingers. She waved when she saw us, then stood and set her notebook on the chair. She hurried over and flung her arms around me.
“Ohh, Bran! I’m so excited about you guys getting your pictures done,” she said in an excited but quiet tone.
James gave my shoulder a squeeze and said, “I’m going to step over there and talk to Andrew for a few moments. You’ll be alright here?” I nodded and turned to look at Ali again.
“Have there been a lot of people meeting with the guy?” I asked.
“There have been. I was able to talk Sam and Josh into the three of us getting some pictures done too.”
“Hey, that’s great. It’ll be cool for the three of you to have some,” I commented. “That’s what I was thinking for James and me. We only have one printed picture from the weekend party when he collared me, and that was taken with a cell phone. It’ll be nice to have something professional with both of us.”
Ali glanced over at James.
“Think you’ll have a chance to get him naked for the pictures?” she teasingly asked.
“Ha! No way.”
“I’m hoping for a few nudes with Sam and Josh.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure what we’ll do exactly.” I glanced at James and Andrew and then turned to face Ali again. “I’m nervous about being naked in front of the camera again. I want to do it, but I’m afraid it will be hard to keep from thinking about… stuff.”
“It’ll be okay, Bran. The guy is incredibly nice, and so far, what I’ve heard about the consultations is that members all felt very comfortable talking to him.”
I nodded.
“That’s good to know. So he’s not a creepy looking dude?”
“Not at all. He looks like any guy you’d run into in a gas station bathroom on the side of the highway. Beer bottle in hand, cigarette balancing between his lips, and a camera hoisted on his beer gut.”
What?
“His tank top is clean, though,” she added.
Instantly, I felt hot and thought of Sebastian coming into the damp room when he had me strapped down to the board. I reached for my stomach as Ali wrapped her arms around me.
“Oh my God, I’m sorry, Bran.”
“It’s okay.”
“I didn’t even think. I’m so sorry.”
