Page 6 of Salacious Star

I snorted a little at myself.A little weird, buddy. You're nervous that they asked you to wearmoreclothes?

I couldn't make it make sense, but that didn't matter. I was expected on set, and that meant that my identity crisis could wait.

Tess glanced me over after I tugged the clothes on, offering me a cursory nod of approval before she exited the dressing room, leaving the door wide open for me. I padded out, barefoot, down the hallway and to the left. Towards the low conversation that flooded from the open doorway that let into the photography studio.

"Hey, Em." I greeted Emmett with a smile, nodding at Dorian as I walked further into the room. They were standing to the side of the set, both staring down at the camera that Emmett held in his hand. Probably doing white balance, or whatever photographers and videographers talked about when they were on the job.

"Hey, Tris. You look good." Dorian smirked at me, running a hand through his blonde hair – tousled right now, as if he and Em had been making out before I had walked into the room – and offering a wink before he turned his attention back to Emmett. His hand stroked idly up and down his husband's back, and Emmett smiled at him before pressing a kiss to his cheek and nudging him away with his shoulder.

"Go. Xander is going to be here any moment. I don't want to spook him any more than I’m sure he already is."

Dorian nodded, smiling at me again before he disappeared from the room, and I approached Emmett, tucking my hands into the pocket of the jeans while I glanced around. They'd chosen the living room set for this one, a favorite; it was comfortable and evoked intimacy, something that a lot of our subscribers seemed to like.

All I knew was that the couch fabric was a little scratchy, though there was a soft-looking flannel blanket draped over the back, this time. That would help.

"Tell me about the new guy," I said, lowering my voice as Emmett lowered his camera and reached up to fiddle with one of the lights. His expression was distant, meaning that he was probably only half listening to me, but he looked at me with a quirked eyebrow anyway.

"His name is Xander. New to the business, in a professional capacity. Has done some cam work in the past, so he's not wholly green. Should warm up pretty quickly if you don't scare him off." Emmett winked, running a hand through his dark hair. Where his husband was tall and golden and pretty, Emmett was shorter, dark-haired, olive-skinned. A little rougher around the edges, to look at. A total marshmallow underneath, though he didn't go broadcasting that.

"Why does everyone think that I'm going to scare him off?" I mumbled, folding my arms over my chest.

Emmett turned his full attention to me, arching an eyebrow. "You're...oh, you're serious." He blew out a breath. "You tend to be a little intimidating, sweetie. You do that scowly thing with your eyebrows. It isn't exactly a come on."

"My fans seem to like it," I said, wiggling said eyebrows at Emmett, making him laugh.

"Sure, sure," Emmett said, snickering again.

Then his eyes drifted over the top of my shoulder, and his smile grew a little cooler, a little more distant and professional. "Xander. Nice to see you again."

Here we go.

I took a deep breath, then turned on my heel with a polite smile on my face.

Only to be stopped in my tracks when I saw the man that I was going to be shooting with.

Shorter than me, by half a head. Lithe, though not thin enough that anyone would dare call him twinky. Good muscle definition in his arms. Pale skin, dotted with moles that I suddenly wanted to trace with my fingers. Reddish brown hair that was a little long and artfully tousled, as if he'd just rolled out of bed. He wore a pair of comfortable jeans, the same as me...but nothing else. His broad, defined chest was on display, and my lips parted as I absentmindedly swept my tongue over my lower lip.

He waspretty, my new partner. When I finally looked at his face, I was met with strong cheekbones, a long, straight nose. Lips that were full enough that I wanted to suck on them, his eyes bright and blue and curious as he looked at me. There was a flash of heat in them before they shuttered, and I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what had causedthatreaction.

And as he looked at me, a polite smile stretched across those pretty lips of his, and honest-to-Goddimplespopped to life in his cheeks, deep ones that I wanted to stick my tongue in.

Fuck. Me.

He was fuckingperfect.

And I was absolutelyfucked.

Xander

I hadn't known what to expect when I finally walked on set for the first time. I'd spent more time than I was willing toadmit dawdling in my dressing room, waiting until the very last second that it would be acceptable for me to walk on set without being late.

It was intimidating! Doing cam shows...that was casual. Easy. I could sit on camera with my hand down my pants while I had a conversation with my viewers, and that would be enough to get me through a few days comfortably.

This was different, though. Not just in the scope of money that stood to be made, but the entire...well,thingof it. It was professional. I was on asetthat had been set up so that I could bephotographed.

With apartner.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I approached him – Tanner, the manager of the studio, had casually informed me that my partner’s real name was Tristan, which admittedly suited the man much better thanLance– and stuck out my hand. "H-hi. I'm Xander."

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