Run Free (James Cassells, Asking Alexandria)

7. Shoot

Natalie-
"Perfect." The photographer smiled as the last bit of my hair was made sleek and gorgeous.

"Thank you." I smiled, tightening my robe a bit. The stuff I was modeling was gorgeous...just super revealing. I was a bit uncomfortable for the first time in my life, and knowing that a male model who was a stranger (who had yet to show up) would be with me made me even more nervous. I hadn't had much interaction with males because of James's over protectiveness through the years. In other words, I didn't know what the hell to do and I was scared shitless.

"You're kidding me." The photographer sighed as her phone buzzed, revealing a text.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"Our other male model didn't show up. Which kills this shoot."

"That's insane. Can't we just find someone else?" I asked.

"Not this last minute. You know how most models are with last minute things. If only we could get someone who would fit the part."

James strolled in at that exact moment and her eyes lit up.

"You!" She pointed at him. "What's your name?"

"James Cassells?" He looked confused.

"Are you a model?" She asked.

"Of course not." He chuckled.

"Then what are you-"

"He's with me." I informed her.

"Oh." She paused. "Take your shirt off."

"What?" We both looked confused.

"Take your shirt of...James was it?"

He nodded and stripped his shirt off, making her nod.

"He will work. Someone get some makeup on him and fix his hair." She snapped her fingers, walking away.

"What?" We both were flooded with confusion as the makeup artists practically tackled James into a chair and began to make his skin perfect, not bothering to cover his tattoos.

"James you will be our male model for today. You fit the role well. We will pay you cash today for your efforts."

We were both in shock at that point.

"She didn't even ask." He chuckled.

"Welcome to my world."

"What if I had plans today?" He chuckled.

"You don't. You would never have scheduled anything over me." I smirked as they finished his makeup, ruffling his hair a bit to make it look messier as they shoved him into a dressing room.

"You only gave me underwear!" He called out.

"That's the point." The shoot designer responded.

Not gonna lie, James was making this entire shoot much more interesting.

He walked out in black Calvin Klein underwear, making me blush immediately. Typical James had kept his necklaces on, along with a few bracelets.

"Okay this will work." The photographer nodded.

"Natalie, James? You ready?" We both nodded and stepped out into the shoot area where a staff member took my robe, making me blush even more as I felt James's gaze on me.

He looked me over hungrily, a look that I had never seen my best friend give to me, and that made me self conscious as I crossed my arms over my chest in an attempt to cover myself a bit more.

"Alright. So this whole shoot is supposed to be sexy. So I'm going to pose you all first and then kinda let it go for a bit. Just let your hands wander, don't be afraid to kiss, all that stuff. Remember. It's just a shoot."

It's just a shoot. I have done this one hundred times easily.

But never with James. My James who I had just started to feel a hint of attraction to. And let me tell you, seeing him in the underwear like that did not help my situation.

"Alright, I want James to lean in, about an inch from her face, hold her waist with your left hand and her upper thigh with your right. Natalie, put your left leg up so it looks like you are putting it around his waist, grip his face, not too tightly, but as if you are in the middle of a heated make out session." She instructed.

We got into position and the camera began to click as we let our hands move a bit, both of us shaky, unsure of what to do.

"Be more natural." She called out.

How could I be natural? This was one of the most un-natural things that I have ever done.

I sighed and just let my body take control. I didn't realize what was happening or how long we had been shooting when I realized that James was standing straight up, his head looking down over me, a look of sensuality in his eyes as I had my back arched, my hands in my hair as one of his hands rested around my waist, another just under the top hemline of my underwear.

"Great job." The photographer called out.

James and I stared at each other for a moment before quickly drawing back.

I had completely lost myself in that shoot. It felt...real. And we hadn't even kissed.

What an experience.

We quickly dressed, they allowed us to keep the clothes, not that I'd be wearing them out in public without anything over them. But it was a nice gesture.

James and I were about to walk out the door when the photographer ran up to him with a wad of cash.

"Oh, you don't have to pay me. She's payment enough." He winked at me.

Such a little flirt. To think that his hand was almost in my underwear thirty minutes ago made me blush redder than I had ever been.

"Thanks so much." The photographer smiled graciously as we walked out and got into his car.

"That was something." He chuckled.

"Y...yeah it was."

"So do you always lose control in your shoots like that?" He chuckled.

"No. I'm just comfortable around you."

"I'm glad that's the case. Because I wouldn't want you touching another guy in that way. Or you touching any other guy in that way."

-----
A/N: Thank you all so much for your helping me to decide to continue this book. ofmiceandashby your comment really helped me gain inspiration and you have always supported me through my writing. So I'm dedicating this chapter to you :) I will not be updating this weekend, I am posting this now because I wrote it last night and forgot to hit publish. I hope you all have a great few days, and leave your feedback! Much love ❤️-Anon