Page 8 of Curvy Crush
Chapter Seven
LOLA
It’s been a week since my interview with Evan and I haven’t heard anything back. I’m sure I bombed. I guess it’s time I put it behind me and just focus on improving my business. I’ve booked a few more sessions with some local families in town, and my schedule is filling up quickly. At this point, I don’t even know if I’d have time to take the job even if he did ask me. I guess that’s what he gets for waiting so long. I dress comfortably for the day in jeans, tennis shoes, and a shirt with a light jacket. I pull my long, red hair up into a messy bun and go light on the makeup, not wanting to sweat it all off. I just add some blush, concealer under my eyes, mascara, and some lip gloss. I fill a bottle of water and head out to my she-shed to get my equipment ready to hit the road.
I pack up my camera bag and load up in the car to shoot on location. I drive across town to the bottom of the mountain range. There’s already a red car parked along the side of the road, waiting on me.
I grab my bag and climb out of the car. The people inside notice me and they begin to climb out, too. I smile and offer my hand to shake. “You must be the Burns family. I’m Lola. It’s nice to meet you.”
The man shakes my hand and then the woman joins his side with their two kids. “Hi, I’m Lisa, this is my husband John, and these two are Lori and Blake.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Are you two ready to have your pictures taken today?” I ask, bending down to be eye level with the kids.
The little girl smiles and nods, but the boy only offers up a frown.
“Someone’s not big on having their pictures taken, I take it,” I say, looking up to Lisa.
She rolls her eyes. “He’s not. But he’s going to put forth his best effort, right?” she nudges him and he grunts.
I laugh and stands up. “Alright, the perfect spot is just right up this little hill,” I say pointing toward the trail.
All of us hike up the small hill, where there’s a flat patch of rock with the big mountain behind it. I arrange them in a family pose and step back to snap a few pictures. I do every combination: whole family together, just the parents, and just the kids. Once I feel I got what I need, I lead them back down the hill and over to the pond where I spread a blanket out across the ground and take their pictures with the pond behind them. The whole photoshoot takes about two hours, and when we finish up, I go straight back to my studio to start the whole editing process.
I plug my camera into the computer and get them uploaded before starting to edit. The phone rings, and I answer it without looking.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Lola?” The man’s voice is enough to have me freezing in my tracks. It’s Evan.
“Yes?”
“Hi, it’s Evan. I just wanted to call and offer you the job if you’re still interested.”
“Oh, I’m flattered,” I respond. I guess now’s the time I really need to make a decision.
“So, are you still available to take it?”
“Well, my schedule has filled up over the last week, and I won’t have as much time as I originally thought. It may take me two weeks to complete now.”
“That’s fine. Your images were the best I’ve seen, and I know you’re the best person for the job.”
“Oh… okay then. Sure,” I agree, not wanting to let him down. My nerves are working double-time now.
“Good. Are you free this evening? I’d like to go over the full details before you start. Say dinner at Benny’s around six?”
I nearly choke on my spit. “Okay,” I agree.
“Okay, I’ll see you then. Bye.” He hangs up the phone, and I still can’t move. Did he just ask me out to dinner? I mean, I know it’s not a real date, but still. He asked me to a nice restaurant at dinner time. If it was just a plain work meeting, he could’ve just asked me to swing by the studio again. Why didn’t he?
I’m not the type of person who would get involved with a person she works with, but this isn’t any kind of lasting job. This will be over in a couple weeks, and then what?
What am I even saying? It’s not like he could have any feelings for me anyway. He’s sexy and covered in muscles and I’m nothing like the girls he would normally go for, I’m guessing. Men who look like Evan don’t get with girls who look like me.
I tell myself to chill about the whole thing. He just wants to make his expectations clear and he’ll probably give me a key to the studio or something. There’s no reason to get worked up over it. With my head now clear, I’m able to get some editing done on the images I took this afternoon.
Around four, I pause my work to go in and get cleaned up. I’m sure I don’t smell the best after hiking around in the woods all day. I take a long hot shower, shave, and wash my hair. When I get out, I pull on my robe while I do my hair and makeup. I give myself smoky eyes and line them darkly. I add a thick layer of black mascara and apply some dark red lipstick. I blow dry my hair and run the straightener through it, making it smooth and sleek. When I’m happy with my appearance, I get up and walk to the closest to find something to wear.
I want to look nice since this is a work thing, but I don’t want to look overdone. I decide to keep it dressy, but casual. I pull on a pair of skinny jeans, decide on wearing a pair of wedged sandals, and then find a nice, white top with ruffles. It’s a good spring outfit that looks casual, but also nice and clean. With only twenty minutes to spare, I get up and get my things in my purse and find my keys. I climb behind the wheel of my car and back out of the drive.
