Page 52 of Touch in the Dark

“So, we’re gonna be like, enacting a gang bang?” Damien draws my attention back to him.

“Probably a little more tasteful than that,” I point out.

“So, this is your thing huh?” Jason grins and I shrug. Still not embarrassed and I don’t bother explaining, they seem fine with it. I know NDA’s are always signed on things like this. Francis insists on it where the band are concerned.

Tania doesn’t have any other models on her shoot. I watch as the director moves onto the set to talk her through what they want.

“Shit, I’m hungry. I should have eaten something earlier.”

“There’s plenty of food,” I tell Damien.

“God no, I can’t eat now, it’ll bloat me up and Louis will kick my ass.”

I glance down at my own stomach. Louis didn’t seem to care I was filling my face with carbs earlier. I’ve been working out so much lately, I know I’ve bulked up a little and my abs have become more defined from the crunches I’ve been doing. I peek into the gap in my robe and am happy to see there is no pouch, or bloat.

“Sorry guys, sorry,” Louis hurries over to us. “Mel fell down the stairs this morning, they think she has sprained her ankle, possibly fractured it, she’s in the hospital.”

“That’s too bad, hope she is okay,” I say. “What does that mean for the shoot?”

“Well, we’re struggling to get someone over on short notice, but I have spotted someone here that I think will be perfect for the role, as long as I can convince her to help us out.”

“She’s not a model?” Shawn asks.

“Nope but she’s definitely got the look I was going for. Arizona is with her now trying to talk her into it. Sorry about the wait, Nick.”

“Hey, no bother. It’s not your fault.”

Louis smiles at me. “Thank you for that. I’m so used to dealing with more… temperamental people on shoots like this.”

“Are you saying we’re high maintenance, Lo?” Damien asks, sitting back in his seat.

“Never, Damien. You know you’re my favourite.”

He rolls his eyes. Louis says she’ll be back and disappears into another room. I decide to go grab my phone, excusing myself to the guys. They seem happy enough to chat amongst themselves. I sit down in the make-up chair, checking the time. It’s almost eight thirty. There are a couple of texts from Archer letting me know they’re on their way to the airport and he should be back home later this afternoon.

I decide to call him for something to do.

“Hey,” he greets me, and I ask him what’s going on. “We’re just waiting for the all clear to board and get ready for take-off, the winds picked up again.”

“You think you’ll be delayed?”

“The guy here doesn’t think so. He said it’s not that bad, but they need to be sure. What’s up? It’s a little early for you.”

“I’m working,” I say. I haven’t told any of the guys what I’m doing yet.

“On what?”

I look at my reflection. My robe is gaping open, and my chest is shining. I stand, let the robe open more, take a snapshot in the mirror, and send it to him.

“What the fuck?” Arch says, then laughs. “Dude, I’m not sure I wanted to see that this early in the morning. Where the fuck are you?”

“On a photoshoot. I’ve got a contract with Instinct, it’s an underwear company.”

“You’re modelling underwear?” I can hear the laughter in his voice. “That’s uh… different.”

“I know,” I grin. “But it’s passing the time, it’s good money and so far, it’s fun.” I explain what the concept is but that we’re stuck for a female model.

“You are so weird, you know that, right?”

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