The Model Couple

🌻 Chapter 47

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I walk down along the beach a bit, lost in thought. I'm followed by a cameraman, of course.

All things being fair, both Ry and I should be going home today. We definitely had the the worst pictures of the day. Andy is right when he says his photos were better and I'm sure everyone knows it.

Realistically, I should've probably gone home weeks ago. I don't belong with these glamorous people. I'm more of a cutoff shorts, no makeup kind of gal. I ruined the Chemistry photoshoot, but the advantage saved us. I never even saw the pictures from the ice pool in Hawaii, but the fact that I was hospitalized kept us from being eliminated. I messed up on the photoshoot this week so badly that I really do deserve to go home today. No question. If I pick Andy to be my partner, I will be out next week for sure. One hundred percent.

But...

Does Ry really deserve to go home? He's undeniably such an amazing model. The reason we had such terrible pictures today is because I was drunk and mad. And also the photographer's interpretation was off. It had nothing to do with Ry. The reason he's doing this flashes through my mind. He's trying to get money so he can provide a stable environment for Danny. They both deserve that. And there's no denying Ry has the looks and talent to win this competition.

So even though we don't deserve to win today, I think Ry deserves to go on and possibly win the whole thing. And I will go along for the ride merely because I was paired up with the best model here.

Why they chose me to make this decision, I'll never know. I certainly was not better than Ry in today's photos. They should let him pair up with Alexis or Chrissy. Their pictures are always amazing. And yet, he's still stuck with me. Maybe that's why they made me choose, because they know I'll choose Ry because he is the best. That doesn't seem fair to him. But I definitely know what I have to do.

I walk back down the beach to the stage. Everyone is already in place. Ry refuses to look at me as I walk in front of him. He keeps his unmodulated expression, but I see his jaw flex. He's not happy.

The cameramen shuffle into position. Chris greets me, "Brooklyn, have you made your decision?" I nod. "Will you be keeping Chase as your partner going forward or would you prefer to switch to Andy?"

They might be hoping for a dramatic pause but they can edit it in. "I'm going to keep Ry as my partner." Everyone seems to do a sigh of relief. I guess I really had them on edge for this one.

Chris is almost jovial as he bids goodbye to poor Andy and Sarah. Usually he at least tries to pretend he's sad to see the models go. As soon as they are all gone he introduces the new package.

"We have a big change happening this week. You no longer have modeling partners." I frown. Then why did they make me agonize over choosing Ry or Andy? "This week's theme is Relationship Goals."

Onto the screen a video plays that shows couples doing various activities together. I can barely register it because I can't get over that Ry is no longer my partner. It's like Ellie predicted it last night. She said I need a new partner. It's good for Ry though, he deserves to model with someone competent. My stomach clinches. The thought of him with other models makes me a little sick. I selfishly don't want him to film with someone other than me.

When the video stops, Chris says, "This week is Men's Choice. Each male model has the choice of which female model they'd like to work with. Each man will do two photoshoots, one with the model they choose and one with a model of our choice. It is possible some women may have multiple photoshoots whereas others might only have one. As always, photographers will choose who they would like to work with, in order of ranking this week. Each photographer will have two shoots. Pay attention to the schedule because it's going to be a busy week!" He says 'week' but I know it will be like three days, tops.