Page 40 of Hidden Desire

“No, I’m good. Thanks, though,” The door closed, and Kelly looked up from her phone and took a drink from her juice.

“They want you on the set in fifteen minutes.”

Stassi looked around the room. “I don’t have my outfits yet.”

Kelly grimaced. “Never fails. I’ll take care of that.” She called a number and took another drink from her juice. “Stassi is waiting on her outfits. How do we expect her to be ready in fifteen minutes? Do I have to do this all by myself? Fine.” She hung up the call, then turned to Stassi. “Give me a minute. There was a mess up. I’ll take care of it.” She left the room, and Stassi turned to Sage.

“She seems like a lovely woman,” Sage said, the sarcasm evident on her voice.

“She’s really not that bad. It’s just on photoshoot days, she can be a bit diva-like.” Sage nodded, and then they stood there, awkwardly. “Are you alright?”

Sage shrugged, then looked away as the door swung open, and Kelly reappeared. She had a clothing rack with outfits trailing behind her. “Five minutes.”

“It’s showtime.” Stassi glanced over at Sage. Sage looked like she was gonna be sick. Stassi frowned. Something was clearly bothering her, and Stassi would have to make sure she got down to the bottom of it.

They got through the photoshoot despite it taking the whole day—not the quick couple hours that Kelly had originally suggested. Stassi enjoyed it, though. It was nice having Sage there, even though it was clear Sage wasn’t enjoying herself. In fact, there were many times when Sage just kept to herself, barely making eye contact with Stassi, let alone talking with her.

They got sandwiches from catering provided by the studio, and Stassi was glad that Sage was allowed to partake in that, otherwise she would have been forced to go out and Stassi was already worried that Sage was going to say that she regretted coming to the photoshoot.

When they got back to Stassi’s apartment, it was time to really get to the bottom of what was troubling Sage. Or so she hoped.

“I think I’ll head on home,” Sage replied, standing just to the side of her car.

“Huh?” Stassi asked. “I thought you were staying overnight. Or, at least, I thought that was the plan.”

“It was, but…” Sage’s words trailed off and Stassi heard a sigh. “Plans tend to change.”

“Sage, I know something is bothering you. Can we please just talk about it? I don’t want you running home, leaving us in an awkward place. Please.”

Sage shifted from one foot to the other, but finally nodded and followed Stassi up to her apartment building. Stassi was relieved that she had convinced Sage to stick around because there was one thing she was certain about and going away upset about anything would be the first nail in their coffin.

“I can put on some coffee. We can order in Chinese. Does that sound okay?”

Sage shrugged. “I suppose.” She dropped her gaze to the foyer floor and Stassi had the urge to pull her into her arms and just say she wanted to have everything out there. Instead, she went to the kitchen and grabbed the Chinese menu for delivery. She handed it over to Sage and turned to make the coffee. As Sage looked in the menu, Stassi kept her back to her. Her coffee wasn’t anything fancy, but it would do the trick, something to keep them occupied as they were waiting on their food.

“I was out of my element,” Sage replied, softly. Stassi turned to face her, and Sage had taken a seat on one of the bar stools. “That was part of my problem. I felt uneasy all day. I was mistaken for an assistant. You were rushing around like you grew up on this.”

“Well, I kind of did,” Stassi stated.

“I know, but it was all new to me and I just didn’t expect it to be like that.” She pushed the menu away and looked up. “I didn’t expect today to go like this. I had plans and none of it worked out, so I guess I just felt on edge.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

Sage nodded. “And that’s sort of the problem.” Stassi’s mouth dropped. “That came out wrong. I wanted to come today to see your world and there’s part of me that is glad that I did, because I got to see something that was far more intense than I expected. And, I must admit, you were great. You totally seemed to be in your element and if that makes you happy, then I’m happy.”

“Are you?” Stassi asked, frowning.

“Yes.” Sage quickly nodded. “I just know that putting myself in that situation isn’t going to work for me.” Sage put a smile on. “And that’s okay. We can have different lives, as far as that goes.” Stassi considered that, still frustrated by how the wording was coming across. “Now, I’m famished. Go ahead and order what you want and just make it two. I’m going to go use the restroom.” She got up from the stool and glanced over her shoulder. “Which is…”

“Down the hall and to the right. Third door. Sage left the kitchen, with Stassi staring at the menu. Maybe it was alright that they had two different lives when it came to certain likes and dislikes. They always say opposites attract. She pulled up the phone number for Chinese Paradise and waited for the phone to be answered.

“Chinese Paradise, what can I get for you?”

Stassi rattled off her order, followed by the address and waited for the man to come back with her total. She disconnected the call as she heard the footsteps coming down the hall. A message dinged on her phone, and she saw Ariel’s name.

Ariel

How was the photoshoot?

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