Page 25 of The Pact

Damian lets out a laugh. “Good or bad?” He asks, half joking.

“Fuck if I know. Probably both,” I answer honestly. I glance at Sutton and see the concern on his face. “You know the rules, man.”

Sutton puts his face in his hands before running them over his head. “Yeah, I do,” he replies, annoyed. “Doesn’t mean I have to like them.”

There’s a knock at the door and I see Jessie’s face in the window as she opens it. “Morning boys!” Her voice is chipper, yet her face is tired.

She’s older, maybe in her fifties, with gray roots pushing into the dirty blonde that’s tied up messily on top of her head.

Jessie sets down the bucket of cleaning supplies. Looking around, her face contorts. “Shit, what happened?”

I get up, not wanting to get into it again. I’m heading downstairs, but not before I hear Damian’s voice.

“We need everything with gluten in it tossed out. If you aren’t sure, just get rid of it. The kitchen needs a deep clean, fully sanitized.”

There’s a pause. I can see Jessie’s what-the-fuck face in my head. “Did something happen?”

“Cole got himself a girlfriend. She can’t have gluten.”

“Oh, fuck,” she groans. She isn’t saying it about the gluten thing. Jessie’s been our housekeeper for years. She knows more about what goes on in this house than anyone else. Which means she knows what’s about to happen.

It’s been two years since any of us brought someone home. Well, someone we’d consider a serious relationship with. The last one went down in flames. So yeah... “Oh, fuck” about covers it.

I jog down the steps and push my door open. Flicking on the bathroom light, I grab the bottle of pills sitting on the sink, open it, and pop one into my mouth. It’ll take the edge off soon.

In the meantime, I need to use my body to work out these feelings.

Pushing the small white headphones into my ears, I find my go-to playlist and hit play. I max out the volume as the screaming vocals drown out all of my thoughts.

Opening the door to the gym, I hit the lights and start my workout before I have to meet my first client of the day.

THEA

“Are you sure this looks alright? I feel silly in this position.” The woman posing in front of the mirror scrunches her face, not seeing what I do. But this is part of my job. She needs to know how beautiful she is.

“Kam, if you do this pose, exactly how I showed you, I’ll let you see how it turns out. I promise it’ll be amazing. You just have to trust me.”

The woman nods, her blonde curls bouncing with the movement. “Okay, I trust you, Thea.”

I have her laying on the floor, belly down, with one hand propping up her chin and the other outstretched towards me. Her knee is pushed out so that I can see her thigh. From this angle, it’s sexy, yet it’s the view she can’t see that I’m most excited about.

In the mirror, I have a perfect shot of her ass in the red lacy panties she brought with her.

Click. Click. Click.

As promised, I turn the camera to her. In the viewfinder, I scroll through the pictures I took. A tear rolls down her cheek. “I didn’t realize how beautiful I was.” I grab a tissue from the pocket of the apron I wear and pat away the wetness on her face.

“You are stunning. Now that you fully trust me, are you ready to give it your all?” She nods excitedly. “Let’s get wet!”

The rest of Kam’s shoot was a breeze. This is how most of my sessions go. I know the drill. Take a few photos and show the client so they can see how amazing they look. It’s smooth sailing after that. It’s the second best feeling of the job. The first is when they get their book and I get to see their reactions as they flip through it. It’s magic and makes my entire day.

“Tell me you’re finished for the evening.” Cassie pops her head in.

“Yes, ma’am. Busy day?” She strolls in and plops down on the velvet couch.

Rubbing her eyes, she huffs, “You have no idea.” She glances around, seeing that I’m cleaning up after my last client. “Well, maybe you do.”

Cassie pushes up from the couch and starts stripping the bed while I squeegee the plexiglass I used for a makeshift shower scene.

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