love came calling, twice // olly murs

27.

"Knock, knock," Amelia said, stepping into Olly's studio later that afternoon. "You all ready for me?"

She was putting on a front. A confident appeal in place of the nervous beating of her heart. She didn't know what she was so anxious about the situation, but something about Olly photographing her had caused butterflies to take over her entire being.

And she didn't necessarily mind it.

Olly jumped when he heard her voice. "Hey," he said, trying to calm himself. He adjusted the trilby on his head and smiled at her, almost nervously. His eyes glanced over her and his mouth fell slightly agape. "Wow, you look, um, you look great. Perfect."

Amelia was wearing a white dress, different from the one he had suggested. It was simple, a sleeveless number with tiered chiffon layers that fell to her knee. She had worn red lipstick, also per his request and her hair was done in soft waves. "Are you sure?" she asked, "Cause I can go change if you want. I know it's not the same dress, but the other one is in the wash, so..."

"No!" Olly said, coming over and grabbing her by the shoulders. "It's perfect."

He directed her over to a chaise lounge he had placed in the far side of the room, one that she didn't know existed in the household. It was timed of cherrywood and the cushion was a deep plum colour. He motioned for her to sit down and she did so.

"Is everything all set up?" she asked, looking around. There were several light fixtures up that hadn't been there before, as well as a dark black drop-sheet behind her. Across from her, Olly was getting his camera and went to crouch in front of her.

"Yeah," he responded. "Do you mind if we just jump into this? Seeing you all dolled up has given me a burst of inspiration and I want to strike while the iron's hot."

Amelia blinked, slightly surprised. Wasn't there more to this than that? "Um, no, it's fine. Just...tell me how you want me."

Olly titled his head, observing her. "Okay, um, sit against the back of the chaise and let your arms rest on the back of it on either side of you. Lean back, but don't lean."

She moved accordingly, shifting until she felt comfortable. "This okay?"

He nodded, smiling anxiously. "Yeah, perfectly. Tilt your head back and look through your lashes."

When she did, he snapped a photo and a loud pop was heard as the lights flashed. This set off something in him and he snapped several more photos after that.

"Okay, um," he glanced up at her again. "We're going to play with things for a while. How about you cross your legs and rest your hands on your knees? Lean forward a bit."

Amelia did so, but found the position was uncomfortable. Instead, she let one arm rest over her thighs and her elbow on her knee, propping her head up in her hand. "What about this?"

Olly grinned. "Perfect. Can you give me an apathetic expression along with that?" She did so and he laughed. "Perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect."

They carried on this way for quite some time, both testing out different things. Olly told her to bite her lip and she would, but she give her lashes a bit of a flutter, too. He'd tell her to toss him a smile and she'd grin brightly. She moved across the chaise several times, bringing her knees up to lay beside her at one point and another she was sitting with her head thrown back in laughter.

There was something about how comfortable she felt in front of Olly, yet how nervous she felt at the same time. She had felt it before, she knew she had, but she couldn't quite place it. As he snapped shot after shot, she tried desperately to figure it out, but it wasn't happening. This was much stronger, that was for certain, but what as it?