Dark and light: The Shadows

Chapter 13

The instructions from the photographer and her assistant can be heard loudly and clearly when you pass by the room. She loved how natural Abosk was with all of this. Many first-timers are nervous wrecks to work with, and that's understandable, but she already knew she'd like to have him in any future campaigns to be shot.
Rilen offered to accompany him, and surprisingly, so did Bekati. Rilen even wondered if Bella had told her they wanted to get her as a model.
From the way Bekati sat on the other end of the couch, though, he thought not. She kept herself occupied on her phone and only looked up once in the last hour. He kept his arms crossed over and his eyes closed, or read a book he brought. Or just giving updates when Bella texted every ten minutes. He was just glad he brought the book in the event that his phone got boring. Which it did.

Abosk was having fun and was surprised to know a couple of hours had passed. They tossed him compliments every few minutes, so he relaxed into it quite quickly. He saw some shots in between takes and got the opportunity to redo some moves because he thought he could flex a bit more. The team was more than happy. They wanted this campaign to be as outstanding as possible, He wanted to do the best he could for self-gratification; it was a win-win. One thing he was also grateful for was to get to the changing room. He was hearing - actual verbal and mental- inappropriate comments. Any fierce looks he had were partially attributed to this. He had a high disdain for the sexualization of the body, especially in the workplace.

When Abosk emerged, from the changing room, an assistant gave him a fruit platter and a flower bouquet with an envelope. Bella said the pay would be good for a day's work, so he was looking forward to seeing that bank figure go up. Maybe it already had.

He turned the corner and waved to Rilen. Bekati's slowly turned her head, then audibly sighed.

"Oh, you're done?" she spoke so quietly.

"Yeah, are you ok -" Abosk got cut off.

"Can I have your car keys?" she walked near with a smile, but Abosk noticed how she never met any of their eyes.
Just had her head high enough to pass as looking at them. He also noticed her black eyeliner. She used to wear makeup sparingly, but since Christmas, he's noticed makeup more often. He just chalked it up to trying something new since she had proclaimed that she hated makeup unless it was for special occasions. This was far from a special one. But it was fine.

She respectfully took the keys and walked away pretty damn quick.

"Hey, uh. Does your sister hate me... do you hate me?" Rilen motioned between the three of them.

"No, of course not. She just has... biases that need to be broken. And she doesn't know you that well... but don't sweat it. Listen, uh.. I'm hungry, I haven't had shit two hours before we left. Bella's advice." Abosk strapped his fanny pack on and put his hands on his hips.

"Ok. Yeah, that makes sense sense. I just don't want her to feel cornered. You're so calm by me, then there's this high level of anxiety from her." The worry was obvious on the man's face.

"Ay, don't sweat it, my guy, she'll come around to you. Just don't come on too strong." Abosk patted Rilen's shoulder, and that propelled them both to trail the path Bekati left. She was out of sight quickly.

The two engaged in a conversation about how the photoshoot went as they strolled to the parking lot. The snow was falling rapidly this morning. It slowed down now. After a couple of years of living here, Abosk still found snow mesmerizing. It was so damn cold, but it was magical. They shared jokes with each other before they got to the car. It was locked. Abosk sighed and knocked on the window. Bekati slightly glanced up and leaned over to unlock it. When they opened and entered the doors, she set her hand off her seat, letting her grip off something. Abosk looked at her questioningly, but her eyes were glued back to her phone.