"Do you want me to?"
"No, not at all. But I wanted you to feel like you have the option and I wanted to be honest.”
Amy smiled. "Thank you, I appreciate that, but I'd like to watch as much as I can. I need to do some work too, but I'd really like to see more of you in this world, it's fascinating. Is it a problem if I’m sat on my laptop nearby?”
Luisa beamed in delight. "Not at all. Look, I need to get back to it but let me introduce you to one of the assistants. They'll take care of you when I'm busy." She led Amy over and made some introductions, leaving her in the assistant's safe hands.
***
It was late afternoon when Luisa and Bel were due to pose together, and while Amy waited to one side as Luisa got her latest outfit on and had her makeup touched up, she felt her tension rising. Not for any particular reason, she realised, but simply because she hadn't seen Bel all day, she'd been doing scenes elsewhere, and Amy had missed lunch to catch up on her work, and, well... it was only natural to feel a bit tense after what she'd walked in on the night before, even if it had all been rationalised.
She saw Luisa come back, looking stunning as ever, another bikini with a patterned shirt on top, open at the waist. And then she saw Bel emerge, walking from another direction, exchanging a brief smile with Luisa before talking to one of the stylists.
Amy watched her, getting her first real look at Bel, and at the very least couldn't fault Luisa for taste... Bel was stunning, absolutely stunning. Beautiful, yes, but it was the way she carried herself that made her so much more. There was an intensity and a confidence that kept on drawing Amy’s eye to her, even when she tried to look away… it was just there.
Her dark hair was long and straight, falling below her shoulders, and her body... Amy had seen it the night before, all of it, but she hadn't really been focusing on Bel in the room back then. In the bikini that she was wearing for the shoot Amy could see that shewas slim and athletic, with a core that spoke to a lot of work. She was fairly tall, an inch or two taller than Amy and Luisa, long limbed, stunning.
This is ridiculous, Amy thought as she watched both Bel and Luisa get ready.I’ve got a silly crush already on Bel, just from seeing her last night and now. She knew that a psychologist would have a field day breaking down her head at that exact moment, developing a crush on the insanely hot model who you'd walked in on having sex with your girlfriend, but she didn't care. She could understand, certainly, why Luisa talked about her how she did. And she hadn't even spoken to Bel. Yet.
She watched as Luisa walked over to Bel and talked to her, easy, confident, talking like the old acquaintances that they were. There was some gesturing, Bel said something and Luisa laughed, and Amy really started to appreciate their dynamic properly... it really was something that the two of them did and didn't take any further. There was nothing, nothing whatsoever, to suggest that anything had happened between them last night, or that Amy had walked in on them, or that Luisa had spent the rest of the night in a deep conversation with Amy. Nothing. They were two models who worked together, friends, and that was it. The definition of friends-with-benefits.
At that moment Amy felt relief, a huge sense of relief. It was proof, she realised, that Luisa hadn't been putting any spin on her whatever-it-was with Bel when they'd talked the night before. Not that she didn't trust Luisa, but it was human nature to put a more positive take on something that you wanted or something that might portray you in a bad light.
Luisa said something and looked over at Amy, and Bel turned and looked too, their eyes making contact. They held eachother’s gaze for a second or two, but then Bel surprised Amy... she smiled. Not a broad smile, it was a slight smile but it reached her eyes, and the expression it conveyed could best be described as respectful and conciliatory. Not hostile, like she was a competitor for Luisa, not smug, like she'd claimed Amy's girlfriend from her, nothing like that. It was much better than that. Amy smiled back, trying to convey the same emotions but well aware that, unlike Bel, she didn't smile for a living.
Then Bel looked away and the photos started, and Amy watched enthralled. They'd clearly worked together enough times to have a sixth sense for what each of them was doing and how the other could complement them, and they worked well as a team. Amy had to admit she felt more than a little jealous on occasion, when there was a hand here or a leg there that seemed to cross the boundary a little, but she understood that these were all professionals doing what they needed to do.
The shoot went on for a while, but Amy didn't care. She could have watched two professionals like Luisa and Bel performing like that all day long.
***
When they finished, Luisa came back over and greeted Amy again with a long hug. "Did you enjoy it?"
"I did... I surprised myself considering who you were posing with, but I really did."
Luisa smiled happily. "I'm really glad. I'm going to go and get changed, how about we meet back in the room and then we cango for dinner? I've got a recommendation for a really romantic place."
"That sounds perfect." Amy paused, looked around conspiratorially, then lowered her voice. "Do you think you could... borrow, I guess... the black bikini with the gold chain you had on this morning?"
Luisa looked at her grinning, her eyes narrowed. "Why...?" she whispered.
Amy blushed. "You know why... don't make me spell it out."
"Ok," Luisa replied, laughing as she walked away, her voice back to normal volume. "I'll see what I can do."
Amy watched her go, shamelessly enjoying the sight of Luisa in a small bikini from behind as she headed to get changed.
***
A few minutes later Amy was heading back to the room, mind not thinking about much at all, when she rounded a corner to see Bel stood near the entrance to the hotel, drinking from a bottle of water. She was changed already, wearing a dress, but still looking impossibly beautiful... there was no mistaking her profession.
On instinct, and also if she was honest with herself because it was the only way to get to the room, Amy headed towards her, stopping in front of her, close enough to be heard but careful not to be so close as to seem confrontational or aggressive.
Bel looked at her, a neutral expression that gave nothing away, nothing at all.
"It's ok," Amy said simply.
Bel arched a brow, silent but sceptical. A conciliatory smile exchanged at a distance was one thing, talking to each other something else altogether.
