Page 45 of Punt

If I was honest with myself, I was thinking about Chase more than Kris. I enjoyed having someone to talk to, who knew what I was going through. Operation ‘Make the Exes Jealous’, aside, I liked him. He was smart, funny, hot. Exactly the kind of guy I didn't look twice at, because they never looked at me.

I found myself staring at a photo of him. He stood at the end of the catwalk, looking intently at something to the side of the camera. His mouth was slightly upturned, but the real smile was in his eyes.

I thought back and my heart skipped a beat. I had stood to the side of the camera. He couldn't have looked at me like that though.

Could he?

No, there must have been someone beside or behind me. People turned up to support the team. He must have smiled at one of them.

So why did I wish his eyes smiled at me like that?

Don't be stupid,Ash, I told myself.He wanted to get Brandi's attention, just the way you wanted to get Kris'. Nothing more, nothing less.

Damn though, he looked good in those black jeans. I scrolled down to a few photos later and admired his ass.

"Nice view," Mel said over my shoulder.

I jumped so hard she took a step back so I didn't hit her in the face.

"Yeah." I clicked on the top of the screen to close it, and brought up the emails from various designers, which I wassupposedto be reading right now.

"You should talk to him." She plonked down on her chair and swivelled around to look at me.

Was it bad that I wasn't sure which 'him' she meant?

Rather than tell her that, I said, "I should be working."

"Looking at fashion parades is part of our work," she pointed out.

"Ones not put on by us," I said.

"It never hurts to have a refresher," Mel said. "I haven't seen that suit the blonde guy was wearing." She let out a dreamy sigh.

"Did anyone see the suit?" I asked, only half-joking.

Mel snorted. "Good point. He should come with a warning label." She grinned wickedly. "And nothing else."

I barked a short laugh. "I have a feeling he wouldn't go for that." He didn't seem to like people staring when he was dressed. Naked, he'd probably be one big blush.

I was blushing just thinking about it.

"You could ask," Mel said. "That would give you an excuse to see Chase again."

So that was the 'him' huh? That figured.

"Why would I want an excuse?" I asked. "Or need one? We're just friends, that's all."

"Uh ha." Mel nodded. "Of course you are. That's why you're looking at photos of him and sighing like a schoolgirl."

"I am not," I protested. "I was just…reminding myself which style shirt he wore. We should get more in different colours. Blue would be nice, don't you think?"

"Nice deflection." She gave me a slow, sarcastic clap. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I will," I said. "Later, I'm going to call Kris and invite him to meet me for dinner."

Mel regarded me for a moment, then shook her head. "Suit yourself. Remember if you do that— Once a cheater, always a cheater."

She turned away then, leaving me staring at the back of her head.

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