The Model Couple

🌻 Chapter 49

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"Wow, this is delicious!" Ellie takes another big bite of cookie then frowns, "If you were a good friend you would have brought me more than just two of them."

"Did I mention that I made them with HAYDEN?"

She gives me a knowing look. "Right, the human garbage can. No wonder I only got two." She lays back on her lounge chair, "Well, at least the advantage was easy this week."

I frown, "Easy?! Are you kidding? I had no idea about any of those questions."

Ellie laughs, "Really?" I nod. "Well, I did take several psychology classes last year including Courtship and Marriage. Maybe that helped."

"Oh man. I need to take a class like that. I knew nothing. Nada." I think about Ry asking me to be his girlfriend. Maybe I need to know more about successful relationships before I say yes. "And I'm certainly due for a lesson on non-toxic relationships." I look over at her, "You know, considering the one I just got out of."

"Hey, that's all behind you now. No way but up, am I right?" I nod. "Hey, at least you had a good photoshoot today. Hayden always makes it fun." I nod in agreement. "Ralph and I did a 'sexy' photoshoot today." Her fingers curl in the air making quote marks, showing it was supposed to be sexy, but wasn't.

I cringe a bit, "That's gunna be me tomorrow. How'd it go?"

I can tell by her expression that it didn't go well, but she shakes her head to accentuate her point. "It's partly my fault. I have been turned off by him since day one. I've never been into older guys and he always comes across skeezy to me."

Lying here in the evening shade, I close my eyes and let the warm air brush over the hairs on my arms. "Go on, tell me what I'm in for."

Ellie flops back onto her lounge chair, "Well, I wore a negligee." There is an annoyed tone to her voice. "It wasn't even that cute!" She sits up. "It was like puce? Is that a color? Some dusty pink thing. It looked old, like they got it at a thrift store." She flops back again.

I frown but don't open my eyes, "They wouldn't!"

"No, it was new, I pulled off the tags. I'm just saying, it was a popular style in like nineteen eighty."

"Gotcha."

"They had us laying on some white cushions in filtered sunlight with gauzy material floating around us in the breeze. Ralph pretended to be all into it, but honestly I don't think either of us did well. Mainly we just embraced and looked at each other with longing. Thank God we didn't have to kiss. The whole thing felt awkward and..."

"Well, well, well... if it isn't the losers of the modeling world. You two probably think you are hot shit laying out here being filmed." My eyes snap open at Draven's unmistakable vocal fry. I see the mentioned cameraman who either just arrived or was so quiet I didn't notice him before.

Alexis takes a chair without a word, which is unlike her. Ellie glares at the two of them invading our space. "Seriously? Is there nowhere else you two could be right now? Why don't you go find your intellectually challenged third troll? She probably found something shiny that's distracting her."

Alexis and Draven don't seem bothered by Ellie making fun of Chrissy. Alexis says in a sing-song voice, "Oh, she found somethin' shiny alright."

Draven laughs, "I never thought of Chase as shiny. But yeah, she has a new toy, for sure."

I feel a catch in my stomach imagining Chrissy and Ry together. I've tried to keep from thinking about their photoshoot all day. I take a couple deep breaths. I'm sure they are just trying to get me going.