Page 33 of Between the Stacks

Which meant coming in after the library was closed to do the bulk of the work. We’d use the warehouse to shoot the remaining scenes in an available room. Obviously, that would take the longest because not only was the room going to be transformed into stacks but also a library office, similar to Lowe’s. It was meticulous for sure, but I knew the end results would be magical.

Friday morning, three days before we’d start shooting, Cole knocked on my door. I’d been reading another book for my English Lit class while listening to music. He held up a black garment bag as he stepped inside. “This is for today. We’re leaving in an hour. Grab a shower.”

I stared at the bag, then back at him. “Uh... Okay.” I closed my book and paused the music. “What are we doing?”

“Well,” he said, kind of sheepishly. “Since Lorna selected Lowe for the month of February, he’s also doing a photo shoot with all of us. For the calendar.”

I remembered this part when we went over the script. He reminded me at some point we’d have to meet up with the photographer. I hadn’t realized it would be so soon, though. “Right. I’ll be down shortly.”

“Cool. Also, don’t worry about hair or makeup. We got a person for that.” Cole winked as he handed me the bag. “I’d ask to join you, but...”

I laughed. “Crunch time.”

“Yep.”

We’d settled in nicely. It wasn’t an everyday occurrence when we spent time together. There’d been a few days when Cole and Scott disappeared. Lowe too, but I figured it had to do with production obligations. Jonesy also came and went for work like it was no big deal. Seemed like sometimes I was the only one there. Which, given the circumstances, wasn’t a bad thing.

It was also during that time, I’d received an email from the school. It appeared, until further notice, I either had to reapply for housing come next year or live off-campus which would force my hand. I couldn’t afford an apartment in the Reno area even if I kept my job with work study and found something part-time outside of school. The area was a high traffic, premier tourist destination which jacked up the prices of everything. Maybe if I moved closer to the state line, but that also meant a commute plus putting miles on my car. I wasn’t sure what I was going to tell the guys. We’d all been having fun over the last few weeks.At least we have the rest of the year.If Lowe wanted me to stay, come next semester. If not, I guess I’d go home in a few weeks.

Only good thoughts, I chided myself. Today was going to be fun. I’d never done a photoshoot before. Definitely nothing like this. I also had time, no matter how fleeting it was. So, I’d take what I had and keep moving forward. Whatever happened next was unknown. I wanted to keep it that way.

After I showered, I dressed in the outfit Cole brought me. The librarian look was a bit surprising given the circumstances. But I rolled with it, curious what they had in store for me. Even though he said they had everything handled, hair and makeup wise, I still took a moment to blow dry my hair and defuse my curls. No one liked the frizzy look, especially not me. When I was ready, I joined them in the front room.

The hungry gazes ate me up, stealing my voice. Heat seared my cheeks as everything inside of me pinged to life. Each of them was equally delectable, but not as dressed up as me. This wouldn’t do. I wanted to know everything. I had so many questions bubbling up within me, I almost missed the step exiting the door to the garage. Had Scott not caught me, I’d have fallen face first.

No one had time for that.

“You’re nervous,” Scott said.

“Very. I have butterflies and they have butterflies,” I replied. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“It’ll be fun,” he answered. “I’ve done it a couple of times with Cole.”

“I’d like to see those photos,” I murmured, causing him to chuckle.

“Bet you would. Listen, you get through this, and I’ll show you everything.”

“Deal,” I said, focusing on the part when we finished. “How many people see these photos?”

“I don’t have the numbers,” he stated. “I don’t think any of us do. I can tell you some of those who cam can have thousands if not millions of fans, just depends on how good they are at it.”

“How many do you have?”

“Do you really want to know?” He quirked a brow.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t curious.”

“Almost three-quarter million subscribers, our viewership depends on the night,” Scott said. “Sometimes if we do something crazy, we have to make a plan, or else the camming session can get quite congested with viewers. Which in turn messed with the servers.”

“Shut up,” I said. “No way.”

He chuckled. “You’d be surprised how many people get off on the idea of stepbrothers being in a relationship.”

I had a few of those types of books. My favorite was the ones where they dated before their respective parents met. The heat and angst always tied me in a knot. I glanced at Cole then back to Scott and wondered how long they’d been into camming for a living. We were all about the same age, Jonesy and Lowe being the exceptions.

“See, I have successfully distracted you,” Scott whispered. “You know, I thought about showing you one of my favorite cam sessions, but I was afraid it might freak you out.”

“Are you kidding me,” I blurted, drawing Jonesy’s and Cole’s attention. “I love the stepbro trope. I have like twenty books on my kindle involving that with other genres attached.”

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