Page 31 of Ravenous

Have a good night. Happy New Year, Just Finn. Ollie sent back. Putting the phone on his chest, he sprawled out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, torn.

Another chirp brought him out of his musing and its message made him smile, kindling warmth in his chest.

Happy New Year, Sunshine. Expect a call from me at midnight.

Despite his hesitation, Ollie was looking forward to that call.

There were two knocks at his door, quick and sharp in succession, and Ollie rose, bracing himself on the bed until the dizziness subsided before shuffling across the room.

“Mason,” he said in confusion once he opened the door. In the few months he’d been living there, Mason had never initiated contact, not once. Ollie assumed that he’d been sleeping in the basement since he hadn’t seen Mason in ages; he even paid rent through an app.

“Do you have plans for tonight?” Mason asked, although his monotone made it sound like a statement and not a question.

“For New Year’s Eve? No.” It was sort of a lie because he sort of had plans, which were finishing his workouts and getting in an extra run. But he was curious about what Mason wanted.

“I have to shoot a wedding tonight-”

“Shoot?Oh, you mean photograph.”

Mason looked at him like he was an idiot. “Yes. And my regular assistant just got into a car accident.”

“Are they okay?”

“I guess?” Boredom streaked Mason’s face. “She called me from the emergency room so she’s not dead. But I need another assistant on,” he glanced at his watch, “two hours’ notice. I’ll pay double.”

Ollie wanted to hug Mason. Although his suspended account had been reinstated, he’d lost all his Christmas affiliate cash and needed to bring in more soon, but since no one was hiring until after the holidays, this would help until he landed something.

“What do I have to do?” Ollie could take pictures but he’d be out of his depth with Mason’s fancy cameras.

“Hold lights, carry my stepladder, and fetch equipment.”

That would require a lot of moving around. While it wouldn’t replace all the cardio that he’d promised himself, it would still burn a ton of calories.

“Sure. Will there be some downtime for me to put up a post?” He wanted to do a story or two throughout the evening but a picture would suffice if he had to work.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of waiting around. Weddings are usually boring,” Mason sniffed. “But this one will have fireworks at midnight.”

“There’s gonna befireworks?” Excitement surged through Ollie’s veins. Hopefully, he’d be able to get a few shots for his followers.

“Wear black and be ready by five.” Mason shrugged and turned away but, before he took a step, he looked back over his shoulder at Ollie. “And thanks, I guess.”

Ollie couldn’t believe that he was once again back at The Pointe. But that wasn’t a bad thing; he actually liked the place. How could he not? The minute he stepped into the foyer he got hugs from everyone he’d met at the Christmas Eve party, and he found out that Liam would be stopping by later on to help ring in the new year.

Plus, it was official. Ollie adored weddings. Not the ones he had to attend but the ones he got to work at. Since he didn’t know the bride and groom he wasn’t personally invested in their joy so his dread left him alone. Or maybe it was the large coffee he’d guzzled on the way to the hall that left him vibrating hard enough to ward off negativity. Either way, he was enjoying himself.

Everyone was jubilant. Sure, there was an open bar, but it couldn’t be fully responsible for the contagious happiness that buzzed in the air, lifting Ollie’s spirits. Also, seeing the guests in gorgeous suits and dresses was right in his wheelhouse; while the affair wasn’t black tie it was still very posh and he counted two Vera Wang gowns and a Prada dress before the ceremony had even started.

And he had plenty of time to gawk because Mason had been right - weddings were a lot of hurry up and wait. There were a few moments of peak stress but between those moments he chatted with several of his new Pointe friends. The news of the day was that a stack of chairs had fallen in the storage room, causing a domino effect into chaos, and some of the employees had been down there for hours clearing it all up.

Ollie did not envy them, grateful to be wandering the gleeful and boisterous cocktail hour with one of Mason’s second-string cameras, ignoring the spread of food by taking candid photos when he caught a few bridesmaids trying to do a meme dance in the corner, one of their friends capturing it on her phone.

That was his cue.

“Hello, gorgeous people!” He smiled as he approached them. “I could be the cameraman but you’d have to start over.”

“Oh my god, that would be great!” the friend said, handing him her cell.

“Would it be okay if I shared this on The Pointe’s social media too?” He batted his eyelashes.

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