Page 250 of As The Shifter World Turns

“Sorry,” I mumbled and kept walking down the street.

I was late for a shoot and the last thing I needed to do was engage in a confrontation. Pretty sure a broken nose wasn’t going to get me a paycheck. And he could’ve glanced my way too. It wasn’t only my fault.

Although from the looks of things when we collided, he was leaning against the building for a smoke break, so maybe it was all me.

It felt like everything was lately. No. That wasn’t right. Neil thought everything was my fault and somehow that manifested into me living in a by-the-week crappy motel that was similar to the scene of the opening murder in the forensic dramas that were all the rage.

I could afford more. I was making good money, but something stopped me from spending it all… that something being Toby. It felt wrong being away from him, but I couldn’t take care of him the way I needed to with this job. My hours were unpredictable and often ran late into the night. And it wasn’t just the shoots. Those were only a part of the job. I needed to be seen. It was what it was.

Neil was a better father for him right now, and I hated that. My mate had found success in an industry that was far from mainstream. Neil had created a niche and a company where friends and colleagues could work safely under his umbrella. Sure, he didn’t earn what I was at the moment, but his income was pretty steady. That wasn’t the case with mine. It could all end tomorrow.

Five minutes later I was walking into an old church. I had no idea why anyone thought the three-hundred-year stone building was good for high fashion, but they did and here I was to do my best to prove them right. This was so far from a catalog shoot, they barely seemed part of the same industry.

“May we help you?” Some snooty guy with a clip board asked as I walked through the door.

I wanted to bite back, asking him if he knew who he was talking to, but given the way he was currently eyeing me up and down, I had a feeling that wouldn’t end well. Instead I said, “I’m Martin and I’m here for the shoot.”

He took a step back and raked his eyes over me again. “Lucky for us Gus is working today.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Come with me.”

He turned on his heel and started to walk through the dark narthex, or vestibule. The place was creepy, like it hadn’t been used in a hundred years kind of creepy and had it not been for the sign out front announcing Sunday service, I’d have thought just that. We ended up in what looked like a Sunday School classroom where make-up was set up.

“Gus… work a miracle or something.” And just like that he flitted out of there.

“Don’t listen to Kaleb. He’s just Kaleb.” The man called Gus patted a seat for me.

“Kaleb… Kaleb Kyle?” He was one of the biggest up and coming designers from what I’d heard and he was here… this was his shoot? I got in the seat quickly wishing I had dressed more the part for our first impression.

“They didn’t tell you who the shoot was for?” Gus held up one pallet and then another next to my face.

“No. He just told me the location followed by a ‘You’re welcome.’” Which in hindsight I completely misinterpreted as it being a shitty gig.

“This is your make or break…”

“Martin.”

“This is your make or break Martin. Let me give you some hints about working with Kaleb.” He grabbed a cloth and wiped down my face as he began a forty-five minute one-sided conversation about all the things I needed to do or more importantly not do when working with Kaleb. Most of it was normal shoot stuff, but a few of the points were helpful.

I felt confident when I walked into wardrobe and ready to conquer the modeling world when I returned to the church. This time there was better lighting, although I quickly realized that the creepy vibe of the place was exactly what he was going for. The theme of the layout he was doing was Halloween Glamour even though we were many months away from the holiday.

It was less about costumes, although my clothing felt retro more than a current runway fad, and all about the expressions and posturing. The final shoot wouldn’t resemble a church at all, according to where I was standing andhow. They just wanted the old stone work and the mausoleum that housed the first clergy.

Would this end up being epic or weird? I had no idea. I didn’t even care as long as when all was said and done, Kaleb sent some good words around and I was able to get more gigs.

“I think we got it,” the photographer, Stu, said, bringing the camera to Kaleb to look through the frames. He did that after each pose/location. The first time I thought I was already done for the day. But no, it was just the beginning.

“You’re magnificent.” He handed the camera back. “Remind me, why do I not have you for all of my shoots?”

“Because I hate to eat where I shit.” Stu bit Kaleb’s bottom lip. “And I’d much rather work for a department store catalog shoot than be in bed without you.”

I looked down, feigning that I hadn’t heard a thing. There was something too personal about it. Or maybe it was me just missing being in bed with my mate—my Neil.

And it wasn’t even the sex part, although I missed that part of things as well, it was having someone to talk to about work and the past and the future, someone to share all aspects of my life with.

And then there was Toby. I missed him so much it hurt. I needed to figure out a way to make this work—to make this better, but it wasn’t all me who needed to be fixing things. Neil had his own part in this. Why couldn’t he just be happy for me?

“We’re done,” Kaleb announced and everyone clapped so I joined in as well. “See you all at Randolf’s in an hour.”

“Randolf’s?” I asked Stu.

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