“Then I guess they’ll be the best-dressed homeless people in New York City,” she smiled.
5
Chapter Five (Hensley)
The promo shoot for the runway show was just a day away, and I had several small adjustments to make on the clothing. After the model fitting, my head had been spinning with a bunch of random thoughts, some of which were awesome and some of which were slightly disturbing. I should have been giving more thought to the fact that Kerynne would most likely rip her outfit to shreds if she kept prodding and pulling at it so much. Or I should have thought about Cai and how completely over-the-top he was during the fitting.
But instead, all I could think about was what Arlo said, and I wondered how many of those models he had actually slept with at one time or another. Not that anyone could blame him, the girls were beautiful; they were all beautiful. And Arlo could get any woman he wanted. Why shouldn’t he indulge in relationships that were fun and tempting, even if they were impermanent? I had no place to talk in the arena of dating. My life was void of any meaningful kind of relationship at all, except for my friendship with Arlo, of course. I had to remind myself that it was a friendship, nothing more. I couldn’t go getting jealous and bent out of shape over who he chose to sleep with or how many beds he had been in. That was his life to control, not mine.
I didn’t see Arlo between the fitting and the photoshoot. I was busy getting everything altered, and he was busy getting all the publicity venues set-up ahead of time. The photoshoot would only have Kerynne and Cai there, so at least there would be fewer models to manage. I kind of wished I could have picked two different models just so I didn’t have to deal with them, but they had the most impressive designs and were the face of the show. Plus, their visual couldn’t be replicated by any of the other models. At least the model who had tried to convince Arlo to find her panties wouldn’t be there. I was fairly certain I disliked her the most.
After I finished all the rest of the work, I laid out the two outfits that would be coming to the shoot tomorrow and then got ready for bed. My phone beeped while I was brushing my teeth.
“Hey,” Arlo texted. “Ready for the shoot tomorrow?”
I picked up my phone, leaving my toothbrush still hanging out of my mouth. “Yep,” I texted back. “Just set out the pieces that Kerynne and Cai will be wearing.”
“Which ones are they?”
“I chose the cerulean one for Cai and the sheer one for Kerynne, the one that I tried on first to show you in your office, remember?”
He didn’t answer right away, so I finished brushing my teeth. After a few minutes, my phone beeped again.
“Yeah, I remember that one,” Arlo texted. “I think it might have looked better on you.”
What?
I held the phone in both of my hands and stared at the text. Did Arlo just tell me that a nearly see-through dress looked better on me than it will look on one of the most beautiful, sought after models in New York City? I would have told myself that I imagined this one, too, but I couldn’t because there it was staring right back at me in text. What did he mean by that? There had to have been some sort of other meaning that he was getting because he couldn’t have possibly meant that in the way that I was taking it. I froze as I tried to think of how to reply to that comment, but nothing came to mind. I didn’t know what to say at all.
“Sleep well,” Arlo’s text came through before I’d had enough time to formulate a response.
Shit, I blew that.
“You too,” I texted back without knowing what else to say now that he had ended the conversation.
I lay in bed, trying to get to sleep but couldn’t. All I could think about were the two conflicting thoughts in my head—Arlo sleeping with the models and him telling me that the dress looked more beautiful on me then it did on Kerynne. Both of those things made my heart race in two different directions. One of them I didn’t want to think about at all, and the other, I couldn’t stop wanting to think about. Eventually, the warring ideas in my head faded into sleep.
This time, my alarm actually went off in the morning. Thank God, because if I were late for the photoshoot, Kerynne and Cai would have made me eat crow.
Since I only had the two garment bags to carry on the subway this time, my commute was quicker as I navigated around the city. The promo photoshoot was being held in the main lobby of Arlo’s office building, which had some really cool architectural features. He had said that he was going to be setting up a whole scene for the shoot, but I hadn’t expected it to be quite so elaborate. When I walked in, people scurried everywhere, setting up fake trees and lighting effects to simulate an actual forest for the shoot. It was actually pretty cool. I would have stopped to look at it longer if I hadn’t heard Kerynne’s voice shot from over the top of the bustling.
“Designer, girl!” she called. “We’re over here.”
Then she turned to Cai, who was standing next to her. “What is she blind or something?” she said.
I sighed and looked forward to another long afternoon with her. I walked over to them, and they led me toward the makeshift dressing area, where I helped them both get into their outfits. Then I took a step back and studied them. They looked amazing. The makeup and hair artists had already worked their magic, and they both came to life as ethereal beings who were stepping onto earth for the first time.
Kerynne was absolutely stunning in that dress, with her perfect body showcased from beneath the translucent fabric. Her silky, dark hair fell around her like a robe, and she knew exactly how to move her body in the dress to show off the architectural composition of it. Cai looked incredible, too. His androgynous look was accentuated to perfection in this outfit, and he looked like a wanton fairy king standing next to the most desirable beauty in the land.
His hair was spiked up on top of his head, just in the front, to give him a seductive and edgy look just like I had asked for. The two of them were going to completely rock this whole shoot, and they would set the tone for the upcoming show. When we left the dressing area to walk over to the fantasy backdrop they had created, it appeared as if everyone was almost ready for the shoot to begin.
Arlo was there standing next to the photographer, and the two of them were talking with their hands moving, busily bounding ideas off each other for the shoot. When he saw us, he looked over at gestured with a single wave. I smiled and started heading toward him, letting Kerynne and Cai go first so that I could watch the way they walked in the designs. When we got to the shoot set, Arlo looked at both models and was clearly pleased by the results.
“You both look amazing,” he said.
“We know,” Cai answered with a grin.
The photographer immediately started telling Cai and Kerynne where he wanted them positioned as Arlo scooted to stand closer to me.
“You’ve done a fantastic job so far,” he said. “The designs are beyond impressive, and you’ve used Cai and Kerynne’s natural features to play into it so well. It’s seriously expert-level stuff.”
“Thanks!” I beamed. I was pleased with the results, too, but it was extra meaningful to hear it come from him. Not only did I value his opinion as a friend and fellow designer, but I respected and desired his approval as one of the top names in fashion.