te quiero (novel)

24 - The Photoshoot

After I connected Rhys with Shane, they immediately made plans to have an indoor shoot at the condo-turned-studio in Ortigas that he rented. Zylo, who Rhys invited at the last minute, surprisingly agreed to join.

I would've thought he was kidding when he brought up inviting him, but I should've known. This was Rhys, after all.

"I'm nervous, babe," Shane said as we got off the sedan she drove to get here. "What if he won't like how I look? I've put on weight, you know. And"—she groaned—"this is the first time we're meeting. What if turn off? I've seen his feed. He's good, as in good-good."

I stopped walking to turn to her. Shane stopped as well, confused why I suddenly stopped. We were at the steps in front of the tower, a few inches away from the entrance.

Shane looked frantic. I didn't have to know her well to see how nervous and agitated she was feeling at the moment

I softened. "Calm down, babe. You look great and Rhys thinks so too. I showed your videos before he chose to contact you, 'di ba? Besides, you've seen his feed kamo. You know he's worked with pretty diverse people, so I don't think he's that superficial. The point of this shoot is to bring out your confidence in your own skin, on top of enriching his portfolio. So don't worry, okay? You look stunning. I'm sure you'll nail this."

"You promise?"

"I swear it," I said with all the sincerity I could put into my tone.

Shane sighed in relief and embraced me. "I love you."

"Love you, too." My phone pinged at that moment. It was Rhys, giving me the go signal that we could come up na. "'Lika na. He said the prep's done na. Nando'n na rin si Zylo."

"You think we're doing a couple shot?"

"I don't know, honestly. If you're not comfy naman with the idea, we can tell him. 'Yon naman sabi niya, right? He won't force you to do anything outside your comfort level."

"No, no. I'm okay with it naman. I'm just..." Shane let out a shy grin. "I'm a fan of the both of you. Dapat yata kayo ang may couple shot ni Zylo. Ate Via's also praying for it."

"Hay nako!" I rolled my eyes and laughed, pulling her with me to the lobby. "When will you stop shipping me with other guys?"

"I dunno, babe. Maybe until you settle down?"

"Which is like... never?"

Tumawa siya. "'Di mo sure."

'Di ko na siya sinagot. Bahala sila ni Ate Via sa shipping agenda nila. Basta ako, I decided not to let all the teasing get into me.

After talking to the receptionist at the foyer, we took the lift and got off on the 15th floor. We padded slowly across the hallway, checking each of the room numbers we were passing by until we found the suite that Rhys booked for the shoot.

Shane stopped me and gripped my arm before I could ring the door. "Wait, how do I look muna? Is my makeup okay? Or hulas na?"

"Babeeee," I said, smiling at her nervous energy. "You're great, okay?"

She pouted. "E kasi I'm scared. 'Di naman ako professional makeup artist. What if I won't look good in front of his camera?"

"You've been vlogging for years and wala namang issues with how you register sa cam, right? Look, this is just your nerves speaking. You're great. You look great. And there's nothing wrong with your skills. If you can't trust yourself, trust me, okay? There's no way I'll let you push through with this if I didn't know you were in good hands and you wouldn't be happy about it."