Page 3 of Wish You Knew
“You staying in a hotel tonight?”
She nodded.
I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me. “Then what are we waiting for?”
2
Rosie
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beeeeep.
I cracked open an eyelid and reached for the phone to stop the alarm. What idiot agreed to a shoot the day after her best friend’s release party? Had the shoot not been for a friend who owned an up and coming brand, I would have cried off. But the happy coincidence of being in Manchester, was something I couldn’t turn down.
The bed next to me was empty, unsurprisingly. Scott would have gone by now, it was his thing, he never stayed the night. My thighs ached deliciously from our unexpected workout. I stretched back on the pillows.
Why did we always end up in bed?
Like he was a drug I couldn’t quit, a habit that was impossible to break.
Despite everything, I was addicted to Scott Lincoln.
My phone pinged with a message to say the car would be coming to pick me up in around thirty minutes, enough time for a functional shower; the hair and make-up team would sort me out properly when I got there.
The shoot location was at a hotel in the centre of the city. TheSFUteam had commandeered the entire penthouse suite for the day.
“Rosie! I haven’t seen you in ages!” Ellie Porley enveloped me in a huge hug. “I feel like you’ve been neglecting me, living your fancy London life instead of slumming it with me in Manchester.”
I laughed as she released me. “I know, it’s such a hard life, what with jet-setting across the globe for fancy modelling jobs.” I put a hand to my brow in a show of mock dramatics.
“I’m honoured you agreed to bestow some love on little ‘olSFU,” she said, carrying on the light-hearted banter.
SFU- akaSexy For U- fought for much coveted space in the underwear market. Their mix of fun sportiness and classic sexiness was gaining in popularity. With me in this ad campaign, Ellie was convinced the brand would really take off. If I possessed the same level of arrogance as Scott, I would agree with her. The more modest side of me knew it would take more than a pretty blonde in a pair of lacy panties to really make it shine.
We chatted for a few more minutes until the male model taking part in the shoot arrived.
“Hey, Mark!” Ellie’s enthusiasm didn’t waver. “This is Rosie. Have you worked together before?”
“No,” we answered at the same time.
I gave Mark a surreptitious once over. He looked like a typical Abercrombie model, blond hair, teeth and clean-cut muscles. Not my type. But then I was only doing an ad campaign with him, not giving myself over to him for the rest of my life.
“I’m looking forward to working with Rosie,” he said. “She has a great portfolio.”
His comment struck me as a little creepy, but I dismissed it. It wasn’t totally out of left field for one model to compliment another.
“Hair and make-up are ready for you,” Ellie said to me. “Shouldn’t take long, then we can get started.”
I headed over to the corner of the living area which had been set up as the dressing room, saying hello to the team who would be working their magic on me. While they began styling, I checked out the rail with the new range of garments. Bodysuits, bras and panties in a few different hues, hung next to boxers, briefs and trunks in similar shades.
Ellie decided to shoot the sporty sets first, the look fresh, almost innocent. Showcasing the cotton sets in pastel colours, my hair was pulled up in a bouncy ponytail, with natural lips and barely-there eyes. Mark and I laughed and joked with each other, occasionally embracing or touching as directed by the photographer. Sometimes working with a male model was awkward or uncomfortable, but he made it easy, making me relax.
Over lunch, we hung out, chatting and talking about other jobs we’d done.
“Who’s the worst photographer you’ve ever worked with?” Mark asked.
“I couldn’t possibly say! You never know when you might work with them again. Plus, they might be your best friend and I’d offend you as well.” I spooned some more yoghurt into my mouth. Photoshoot lunches had a tendency to be heavy on the carbs and after stuffing my hungover self with a couple of delicious bagels, dessert had to be something healthy. “Worst brand?”
Mark laughed. “Same answer you gave me. I’d never diss a brand because they know people who know people. Suddenly, your phone barely rings and you’re scraping a living doing catalogue work.” He looked down at his feet. “Kind of like I’m doing right now.”
