Page 1 of Moonstruck at Midnight
March 13, 2009
MY FRESHMAN YEARat Paris College of Arts was nearly finished. Our time in Paris was almost over. It was crazy to think how many things were going to change. But I still had a lot to get done before we left. Cecile was going to sit for my Black and White photography class that day, which was my favorite class ever, but she canceled on me the second I arrived at school. I tried calling Sophie, but she didn’t answer my call. She was probably busy at school too.
Nearing panic with no other choices, I turned around and asked my security detail for help. “Could one of you sit for a portrait?” Aaron and Caleb looked at each other with raised brows. “Please? I don’t have anyone else to ask, and the class starts in five minutes.”
Aaron refused right away, deeming itinappropriate, so I shifted my attention to Caleb.
“Caleb, please? You have to help me.” I looked in Aaron’s direction because I knew he was the one objecting to my request. I knew Caleb would gladly do it, but Aaron had to agree to it first. “Aaron.” I widened my eyes at him—a silent plea.
“Okay, Miss Murphy. Just this once,” Aaron replied with hesitation. “I’ll park the car, and Caleb will walk you to class.” Aaron said something to Caleb in Hebrew afterward, which sounded more like a warning than anything else.
“Could you at least take your earpiece off once we’re in the classroom?” I whispered to Caleb as we made our way to the main entrance.
“Sure,” he replied with a wink. “Aaron won’t like the idea, but I don’t feel like arguing with you when you always get your way.” Caleb was a smart guy. He was right every time, but Ialwaysgot my way with him.
The suit, the tie, the fancy shoes—he didn’t need any of it to attract anyone’s attention, but it made him stand out even more. Caleb could easily blend in with the college crowd if it wasn’t for his elegant outfit.
A small group of girls swooned as we flew down the corridor.Welcome to the Caleb Fan Club.And who are we kidding? Helovedthe attention, and I enjoyed teasing him nonstop about it. At least with Caleb by my side, I could count on feeling invisible—all eyes focused on him. Thank you, Caleb.
Portraits were the theme of the week in today’s class. And what better face than Caleb’s going through my lens? I made a mental note to thank Cecile for ditching me because her understudy turned out to be an excellent choice.
We walked inside the studio classroom and took a seat at one of the high tables. It was surreal having Caleb sitting beside me during class. They usually waited outside.
Our instructor, Miss Genaurdi, finished setting up the lighting equipment and backdrop for the different stations as the rest of my classmates walked in with their models. We were six students in total in that group.
Everyone arrived, and Miss Genaurdi explained the purpose of the day’s lesson and how we would take turns with the provided set for the photoshoot. She offered guidance on lighting and camera configuration as each student stepped forward to use the set.
“I’m next after he’s done,” I whispered to Caleb. “I need you to take your jacket off,” I said as I prepared my camera. He raised a brow. “Please?”
“That’s not possible, and you know why,” he said as he leaned against the table, arms crossed at his chest, legs crossed at his ankles, looking my way.
Of course. Caleb had to conceal his gun. And just reminding myself that he carried one all the time made me shudder. I sometimes forgot that Caleb wasn’t just a friend following me around everywhere. He was there for protection—myprotection. And I wanted the portrait to be as casual as possible, but I didn’t have a choice.
“Um—right,” I said, pressing my lips together. “Take your earpiece off, then.”
“Aaron’s gonna be pissed,” he replied, keeping his posture in place and showing no intention of removing his earpiece.
“Good. That way, you’ll have a real reason to argue instead of the usual UFC fight nights and such,” I said, standing on tiptoes to pull the earpiece out of his ear. “This looks really uncomfortable and not at all inconspicuous, by the way.”
“That’s the point, actually. Security should be obvious,” he replied, putting the earpiece back on. “Wait.” He clicked on it, said something in Hebrew, and took it off again.
“We agreed you’d take it off for the shoot, so don’t look at me like that.”
He smiled, amused. “Okay, what else?”
“Um, I need you to lose the tie too,” I said with an exaggerated grin. Caleb licked his lower lip and turned away as he loosened up his tie to pull it over his head. “And a couple of these”—he pressed his lips as I undid the top two buttons of his shirt—“because we don’t want you to look like a hipster.” He searched for my gaze, and I felt how his Adam’s apple moved up and down when he swallowed. But he quickly looked away afterward.Stop making me nervous!
“Do you need me to take my shirt off, too?” he joked, lightening the mood. I laughed, releasing a bit of tension. That wouldn’t have been a half-bad idea. But having his face so close to mine wasn’t something I was used to. So yeah, I was tense.
Miss Genaurdi called my name last. It was finally my turn to photograph Caleb. He took a seat on the stool and looked my way with a frown as a bunch of lights hit his face.
I adjusted the lighting, and Miss Genaurdi checked my camera settings to verify if everything looked good. I dashed toward Caleb, undid another one of his shirt’s buttons, and ran back to screw my camera to the tripod.
He snorted, and I shot an annoyed face at him, with anI heard thatkind of gesture. I instructed him to keep a straight face and look into my camera.
And for somebizarrereason, my fellow female classmates gathered behind me to see me photographing Caleb. I could hear them whispering. And I had to agree to all of their spot-on observations regarding Caleb’s beauty.
Luckily, all of their remarks were said in French, so that meant he didn’t understand two shits of what they said—we wouldn’t want it to go to his head.Psh… as if he didn’t already know what kind of effect he had on women.
