Page 66 of Hooked
“Cute and Well Cared Forshould be the title of your album.”
She smiled. “Yeah, it should be.”
“Come on.” He reached in the back of the truck. “This one yours?”
“Yep.” Tayla put her phone in the long zipper pocket on the side of her thigh and held her hand out to take her backpack. It was aqua blue and summer yellow, pretty colors that went well with the flower pattern on the pocket of her shorts and the fitted T-shirt they’d sent.
“You know, if all brands sent stuff this coordinated, my job would be so much easier.” Tayla slung her backpack over her shoulder. She’d have to keep that in mind if she went to work for SOKA.
“Can I ask how much you make for something like this?” Jeremy asked. “They send you free stuff, obviously, but do you make actual money from brands for posting their stuff?”
“Yeah, a little.” She put her sunglasses on. “The free stuff accounts for a lot more. I looked on their website and all this stuff together would cost well over three hundred dollars if I ordered on my own. But I get it for free and then a hundred dollars or so for the post.”
“A hundred dollars?” Jeremy’s eyes went wide. “Maybe I need to start doing Instagram.”
She pointed to all the gear around his waist. “I’m guessing all that stuff is pretty expensive. You might get free stuff with enough of a following. You’re a good-looking guy.”
“And black.” He smiled. “Advertisers might not go for that, especially in climbing, which isn’t exactly the most diverse sport out there.”
“I’ve noticed that.” She’d maybe been doing a little research on rock climbing. Just out of curiosity. “Seems like it’s mostly a lot of skinny white guys.”
Cary walked up. “And a few skinny Asian dudes. More and more women all the time, which is nice to see.”
“And twelve black people,” Jeremy said. “In the entire world. There’s only twelve of us.”
Tayla laughed. “That can’t be true.”
He smiled. “It’s not, but there aren’t too many. More all the time, which is cool. I’m not the only black guy at the gym anymore.”
“And not many big girls, I’ve noticed.” Tayla looked down. “But I guess that kind of makes sense. I don’t think these boobs would work with rock climbing.”
Cary frowned and studied her body. “Yeah, that could be an issue, but you’ve got great legs.”
Jeremy punched his shoulders. “Hey.”
“What?” Cary shrugged. “She does. They’re strong and she’s got a low center of gravity. You could climb, Tayla. You’d just have to wear a really good sports bra.” Cary frowned and stared at her boobs. “Probably. I don’t have any, so I can’t speak with authority on that.”
“Dude. You can quit staring at her tits anytime.”
Cary shook his head and looked up. “Just trying to help.”
Tayla bit back a laugh. She’d normally have been offended, but Cary really did seem to be evaluating her from a technical perspective. “I’m really okay with not climbing, but thanks for saying I have great legs.”
“Sure. You guys ready to hike?”
“Yep.”
Jeremy nodded at the truck. “I got a little more gear to pack.”
“Then stop flirting with your girlfriend and pack your shit up, dude.” Cary and Jeremy walked away, and Tayla stood frozen in the middle of the woods.
Girlfriend?
She’d avoided being a girlfriend for twenty-eight years. What was happening? Jeremy hadn’t objected when Cary said it. Did he think of Tayla as his girlfriend? Had she agreed to any of that? Didn’t that have to be a mutually-agreed-upon label?
“What’s wrong with you?” Emmie walked up to her. “You look like you feel sick.”
“I’m okay.” She forced one foot in front of the other. “Just… fine. I’m fine.”
