“Tell me about it,” I huffed, nuzzling into his touch.
“Hey, do you two have a sec, or were you about to jump in the shower?” Phoenix asked, his shadow falling over us as he leaned against the lockers.
“Always have a minute for you,” Murry replied.
“Good, ‘cause I’ve been digging into that guy from the birthday party who gave me his card the other night,” Phoenix replied.
“Creep or wackjob?” I asked, the cynic in me rearing its ugly head.
It wasn’t the first time someone had given us a card and asked if we’d ‘model’ for them, and each time it had turned out to be for video porn or graphic nudes. Phoenix always shut that shit down hard for us, so we didn’t have to deal with the assholes, which was nice, because my snarky ass hated confrontation, despite how many times I’d been told that I had a mouth on me that tended to incite it.
Chuckling, Phoenix cracked a rare smile before answering. “Neither. Dude is actually legit. Former model turned clothing designer. I checked out his website and social media; he’s strictly on the up and up. Didn’t come across any complaints from previous models accusing him of being creepy or inappropriate with them, either, and I checked thoroughly and even contacted a handful of them just to get a feel for what the shoots were like.”
“So, he really does design pet play gear?” Murry asked. “How cool is that? I wonder if he’s ever made a bunny suit. It’s difficult to choose from the cosplay ones whenever I want something edgy.”
“Actually, I did see some bunny gear on the website for his shop,” Phoenix explained. “And a ton of kitten gear too, including a cream-colored tabby that a certain someone might want to try and snatch up before someone else grabs it.”
Perking up, I turned my attention from Murry’s hand still stroking my cheek to where Phoenix stood watching us. “Seriously?”
“Oh yeah.”
“It’s been over a year since I’ve gotten new kitty gear,” I remarked, practically purring at the thought.
“There ya go,” Phoenix said. “I’d say it’s safe for you to call him and set up an appointment to meet and talk about what he’d like you guys to do, but I’d still like you to loop me in on when it will take place so I can go with you. It’s not that I don’t trust you to take care of yourselves….”
“It’s that you don’t fully trust him yet to not make it necessary,” Murry finished for him.
“Exactly.”
“Yeah, we can do that,” I said. “I’d actually prefer it. We don’t know fuck all about modeling or what to look for in a contract if he asks us to sign one.”
“All good then,” he replied. “Do you want me to come back in twenty minutes and walk you out?”
“Naa, we should be fine tonight,” I replied. “There haven’t been any lurkers in the parking lot lately.”
“Okay, but if you see any unfamiliar faces, you turn your asses around and come back in and find me,” he declared.
“Aw, are you spoiling to toss someone else headfirst into a bush?” Murry asked, batting his lashes at him.
“Gotta stay in practice,” he remarked with a wink.
“Uh-huh, we all know you get a thrill out of seeing how far you can toss someone,” I said.
“I’m not going to deny it.”
“Good, ‘cause we both know it will be a lie.”
“Hey, Phoenix, are you in here?” A voice bellowed, echoing through the locker room while Phoenix rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, what do you need?” He hollered back.
“Me, nothing, but James is itching to talk to you about something, and he doesn’t look happy about whatever it is, either.”
“Joy,” Phoenix groaned, shoving away from the wall. “Guess that’s my cue to leave you to it.”
“Thanks for digging into this Mr. Dorian for us,” Murry said.
“No problem, it’s what I do,” he remarked as he started heading for the door.
