Page 38 of Beauty and the Nerd
“We just kept telling you how perfect you’d be for this every time we saw you drooling over the outfits,” her friend teased as Emerson gave her a nod.
“You look perfect, Emma. You were made to model this line,” Emerson reassured her, but when she was in front of the camera, she wasn’t too sure about this.
“Relax sweetheart,” the photographer said after several shots. “There’s no way to make your body look bad but you’re stiff as a board. Women will be wishing to look as gorgeous asyou do in these pieces, but it’s the look in the eyes that sells them to men.”
“That’s really not helping,” she groaned with a sigh, looking to Emerson to get herself out of this.
“Just forget about everyone else that might see these,” Emerson said coming over to her, squeezing her hand gently with a smile for her. “Just picture it’s Ben standing where the photographer is and you’re teasing him while he’s unable to move or touch you.”
“Do I need to go buy you some jellybeans to get you in the right frame of mind?” Megan added after a few more shots were still a little stiff making her laugh.
“Oh, that’s it, sweetheart,” the photographer stated, the camera clicking away. “That’s what will have men buying these for their girls.”
Every ounce of trepidation and worry vanished from Emma’s entire body, and she turned and moved, showing off the outfit, then five others before Emerson gleefully announced they had the perfect shots. She wasn’t quite sure what to think of it all, but any worries died when the door opened, and she spotted Ben’s tall frame standing behind Emerson’s assistant.
“Is it alright if he comes in?” Selena asked, and Emerson nodded with a glance her way.
“If you’d rather wait to change first, just let us know,” Emerson said to her, but she shook her head no, fine with it since it was just Ben. “And so you both know,” she added when Ben’s eyes flashed with heat as he came into the studio space, heading straight towards her, “we only allow approved visitors in the studio. Normally that doesn’t include men, just so the models are more comfortable, but I know he only has eyes for you, so I won’t worry if he’s around in the future, because I’m hoping you’ll come back and model the second half of this collection for me as well.”
“What do you think?” Emma mused, glancing up into Ben’s hungry eyes, loving that look and she really wished her dad wasn’t going to be coming into town on Monday now. No way was she going to talk Ben into having their first time with Megan in the apartment, which meant waiting until her dad left to push him for more now. “Can you handle if I have some pictures taken out there in things like this?”
“Yeah, I can handle it, Emmy, because I know you’re mine. Men drool over you just walking down the street in jeans and a sweatshirt, so it’s not going to bother me one bit if they see you looking so incredibly sexy in things like this or those bikinis you love. I’m the only one that gets the privilege of touching you, so it won’t bother me. Your dad on the other hand…”
“I know,” she said with a laugh at the warning in his tone. “You’ll have to be with me when we tell him. How do you think your mom…”
“My mom gets no say in anything and if she utters one single goddamn syllable of negativity against you, she won’t hear from me for a long fucking time,” he grumbled, his tone making her body tingle with the sweetest pleasure, and she rested in his arms with a huge smile on her lips.
“Something tells me you won’t have any issues getting her back here,” Megan said, reminding her they were all still there.
“I guess not,” she agreed, giving Ben a soft kiss before heading into the backroom to get redressed.
She spotted Ben, Megan, and Emerson behind the photographer’s computer as she came out and she laughed when Ben slipped his hand back behind her head, giving her a long, slow kiss that made her melt into him entirely.
“You are so fucking gorgeous, baby. Your dad might hate them, but I can’t wait to see them out there, so others see just how amazing you are because the look in your eyes…that’smyEmmy. The one I fell for almost two years ago now,” he told her, making her grin, resting her head against his hand.
“I only look like that because Megan asked if I needed some jellybeans, which you know…”
“I owe you what, five foot massages?” he teased and she nodded. “Far less than the hundred and eighty-two kisses I get to steal whenever I want.”
“So, you’re counting that kiss as a stolen one are you?” she asked, snuggling into his side when he turned them back towards Megan who was explaining the meaning of the jellybeans to Emerson.
“Yeah, that one definitely counts,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, his arms holding her a bit closer as the door opened and a man headed into the studio.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you still had others here,” the man said, moving straight to Emerson.
“It’s okay, this is Emma,” Emerson stated, motioning towards her.
“Ah, you convinced her to give it a shot. I knew you would, no one can say no to you, angel,” he added as his arms wrapped around her and Emma was a bit shocked to see that far from being some huge, muscled mammoth of a man, he was likely two inches shorter than Ben was and just barely thicker than him. His glasses were quite reminiscent of the ones Ben normally wore and she couldn’t quite stop from smiling seeing him with Emerson, who was stunning—even if a bit too short to model in most minds.
“This is my husband, Lyle Cort,” Emerson said in introduction. “And this is Emma’s friend Megan who thankfully helped me get her to do some test shots which turned into masterpieces, and her boyfriend Ben…”
“Morris,” Ben said, holding out a hand to the man. “You own Cortland Finance, don’t you?”
“I’m impressed,” Lyle said giving him a nod. “Most early twenty-somethings don’t have a clue who I am.”
“My economics professor is impressed with your work, mentioned to me that they were trying to set up an internship program with your company, that if I’d be interested he’d make sure to put me on the list he would send out if it happened,” Ben said, making Lyle’s brow lift curiously.
“I haven’t heard anything from any colleges about setting up internships, but I wouldn’t immediately turn them down if they have merit. You’re majoring in economics?” he added as Emma happily rested into his side, not at all bothered with the discussion she couldn’t fully get behind. Finance and economics weren’t her thing at all and based on the way Emerson had gone back to the photographer and computer, it seemed it wasn’t hers either.
