Page 68 of Exactly What I Needed
She nodded.
“You take pictures of me naked, or nearly naked.”
She nodded again.
“I don’t know how to pose all sexy or whatever,” I mumbled, feeling extremely shy.
“I help with all of that. Just relax and have fun with this, okay? Now, close your eyes. I need to touch up a little bit of your eyeshadow, and then we can pick out your first outfit.”
My mind was reeling, thoughts crashing through it. I’d never thought about doing something like this before, but now that I had, what would be the harm in maybe catering a little bit of it for Asher? Would he want something like this? I could do whatever I wanted with the pictures, right, since they were of me? So, I could maybe give him one or two? Or was it too soon? But his bite mark hadn’t started fading yet, so I could proudly display that for him.
“Hold on. Sydney told me about this beer poster trend girls did for their partners a while ago. Is this like a professional version of that?” I gasped in realization.
She laughed, and I opened my eyes. “That’s one way to put it.”
“So, if I possibly wanted to do something like that for a couple of the shots to give someone, would that be possible?”
She sprayed some setting spray on my face and raised her brows. “You want me to edit a couple pictures into a beer poster?”
“Sort of?” I tipped my head as she rifled through what I now knew were different lingerie pieces. “Not beer, though. Like a music poster. You know when someone has a concert or whatever?”
“Your boyfriend is a musician?”
My heart jumped in my chest, and I bit my bottom lip.
My boyfriend.
That he was.
“Yes,” I answered giddily.
She grinned and held up the first string, lacy piece of lingerie. “I think we can make that work. Now go put this on and let’s get started.”
It definitely took a minute to figure out how to get this thing positioned on my body, but I eventually figured it out, and we got to work. I hated to admit that Sydney had been right. As Izzy helped me position my body, changed my lingerie out, my confidence was growing and growing. She took several shots that focused on my tattoo, on the bite mark, both were once again a request from me with Asher in mind. When she showed me some of the photos, I couldn’t believe that it was actually me in the pictures.
During the shoot, someone brought in one of the microphone stands that had been on the stage downstairs, and then Izzy told me to take everything off, except for the pair of heels on my feet.
“As in get naked?” I gasped, and she nodded.
“I’m going to have you hold the microphone stand with one hand strategically placed in front of your coochie. The other hand will hold the microphone itself, but you’ll be standing close enough that your elbow will cover one nipple, and then your hair can cover the other side. Now go.” She waved both hands at me, but I was frozen in place.
“Cosette, you asked for something like this for your boyfriend. Now go on, take that off,” she stated again.
I swallowed stiffly and took a deep breath before eventually stripping down completely. Doing my best to keep myself as covered as possible, I sheepishly walked over to the microphone stand. The background was the greenscreen that she’d put up in front of the bookshelf beside the piano.
“Be proud of your body, honey. You’re gorgeous!” Izzy said and then helped me place my hands at the perfect angle. “Now pretend to sing, and I want you to look at the camera like it’s your boyfriend and you’re horny as fuck.”
I nearly choked on my snort. I definitely hadn’t expected that. But it helped get me comfortable, and the camera began clicking. She moved me around to a few other positions, used the guitar to cover my not-so-hidden body, and then I had one last thought.
This one was for me, though. For the side of me that I kept hidden from everyone. Everyone except for Asher.
Izzy found a white, see-through lace bralette and then walked me over to the piano. I sat on the bench, facing away from the keys, and then leaned back. One hand I placed between my legs, gripping the seat to cover myselfthere. Izzy slipped the strap off my shoulder on that same arm and then had me thread my other fingers through my hair above my head.
“Stunning,” she whispered, and I heard the camera clicking away again.
For once in my life, I agreed with her. For just a small moment, I did feel stunning. Confident and sexy. For one minuscule, fleeting minute, I felt like the main character. That I was the star of the show, and most importantly, that it was okay to be.
Just this once. And my mind drifted to Asher.
