Page 48 of Lights, Camera, Love

‘A bit early in the morning for a ride, isn’t it?’ she jokes with a nervous chuckle as she turns her back to me and climbs onto my lap. She slides her perfectly rounded ass backwards until it’s nestled snugly in my crotch.

Oh, I’ll give you a ride, all right.

My fingers curl lightly around her waist, and I rest one of my white trainers against the bottom rung of the stool to keep us steady. I hope to god she can’t feel how fast my heart is beating against her back.

One of the assistants presses play on a Travis Scott song, and immediately Evie begins to subtly groove and gyrate, like she can’t help herself.Shit, not there, Firefly. You’re going to give me a semi.I shift beneath her.

‘All right, looking good, you two,’ Marco says from behind his camera. ‘Evie, you lean against his chest and put one arm around his neck. Kye, you drape an arm across her abdomen. Let’s go.’

Evie leans back to set the full, warm weight of her body against my torso. I manage to focus enough to wrap an arm around her stomach, tugging her firmly against me so that she doesn’t slip off. I hear her breath snag.

Oh, you like that?I dig my fingers a little harder into her side, my lips turning in to her trembling neck as Marco clicks his camera.

‘Wow, you two arefire,’ he says, taking a few more snaps. ‘Who needs Austin Reynolds, you know what I’m saying?’

Marco sets down his camera to fiddle with one of the free-standing lights, but Evie doesn’t loosen her posture, or even move at all. She stays right where she is as I lightly trace my fingertips up and down the inside curve of her waist, her breaths quickening and her thighs becoming heavier on mine as she sinks further back.

Yeah, you like that.

You like me underneath you.

Marco scoops up his camera and brushes past us in his silky black trousers, which end three inches above his ankles. ‘Now, Evie, I’d like you to turn around so that you’re facing Kye. Make it look like you’re just about to kiss.’

Jesus. Fuck.

I watch the gulp travel down Evie’s throat as she shifts around in my lap to face me.

A sweet look of shyness swims in her eyes as she stares at me at close range, our uneven breaths mingling together.

Marco calls out, ‘Now, bring your mouths close together like you’re about to kiss.’

Send me strength.

Her heavy gaze lands on my lips, and I reach out to cup the side of her face, my fingers trembling. Marco’s camera clicks while I stare into Evie’s eyes, attempting to communicate what I can’t say aloud.

I want to kiss you so badly that everything hurts.

Her eyes burn into mine, and I gently clasp her chin between two fingers and bring her mouth close. Our lips fall together and brush with the faintest whisper of a kiss as a helpless groan rises in me.

The bar door blasts open, and Evie and I break apart. Austin paces into the room with the subtlety of a tornado, his polished dress shoes clomping against the floorboards. He halts a few feet behind Marco and narrows his gaze on Evie and me, our bodies still entwined.

‘Hey,’ I say as I quickly let go of her.

Marco trudges over to Austin and grips him in a tight handshake while I carefully guide Evie off my hips.

I watch as she walks over to Austin to say hello; his mouth remains etched into a hard line. A memory of one of the worst times in my life dives into my mind. I try to meet Austin’s eyes—I want to reassure him that I have no more interest in reliving that scenario than he does. But Austin keeps his gaze fixed on Marco.

The rest of the shoot goes smoothly, and Austin looks every bit the movie star in the black suit and thin charcoal tie I picked out.

When Marco finally calls it a day, I hang back at one end of the bar while Austin murmurs words to Evie that I can’t hear. He wraps her in a hug as he says goodbye, then strolls past me towards the exit door, without a single glance in my direction.

‘Austin, wait up,’ I call out, adding atskof annoyance because what’s his deal? I was only standing in for him because he was late, and besides, we have lunch plans. I chase after him and he stops at the door, turning to face me.

‘Sorry, man, I don’t feel like hanging out right now,’ he says. His lips are tilted down and his eyes barely lift to mine.

‘Why not?’ I ask, a dart of alarm piercing my chest.

‘I’m just not feeling it today, bro.’ He tugs his phone out of his trouser pocket and sighs. ‘I’m gonna go find something to hit, if you catch my drift.’

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