Bad Habits

Chapter 2

"Ari!!"

I had barely entered the room before I was promptly engulfed in a crushing hug.

"Holy shit, Piper. You've gotten strong."

She pulled away and frowned, holding me at arm's length.

"Shit, I'm sorry," I began before realizing my mistake and shaking my head. "I mean, I'm sorry Piper."

She simply rolled her eyes and her beaming smile returned as she squeezed my arms.

"It's cool. I'm used to you being a bad influence," she laughed.

Piper is my closest friend in the modeling world (I don't have many, real ones at least), but we couldn't be more different. I am a complete free spirit while she is as innocent and sheltered as anyone could be in this industry. She doesn't like me cursing, so I always try to watch it around her, but we all know how that goes.

We had been signed by the same agency on the same day and somehow hit it off from the beginning. Now I can't imagine life without my purest friend.

"I'm so glad our shoots are so close! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" She said excitedly.

I smiled and nodded in agreement, about to respond before Gigi popped out of nowhere, quickly greeting Piper before pulling me away for hair and makeup before the photo shoot.

I plopped down in the chair with my name on the back as a small team descended upon me with a wide variety of hair tools and makeup brushes. I mindlessly scrolled through social media as they worked.

Once I was in the first outfit, the man running the shoot came over to introduce himself and look me over.

"This should work," he said before pointing to the set. "Go ahead and start at that first mark."

I took my place in front of the camera and positioned myself according to his instructions.

"Tilt your head a bit more towards me. Eyes toward that mark. Slight smile. Little less. Shoulders down a bit. Good."

Click. Click. Click.

Many poses and outfits later, he went to a screen to look over the pictures, nodding and mumbling while I waited.

"That's the one," he said to an assistant, pointing at the photo. "Make sure we smooth out the stomach area and that should be perfect."

I raised an eyebrow as he turned to me.

"Nothing our editing crew can't fix," he laughed and shook his head as if it were a joke. "Just maybe don't eat right before a cover shoot. This pic should be perfect though. Thanks for being such a great model, you're free to go."

I forced a smile and thanked him before hurrying over to Piper's shoot, hand ghosting over my mostly flat stomach, silently confirming my insecurity, before I pushed it down to my side.

As I watched the last of her shoot for a fragrance ad, my phone buzzed. I looked down to see Gigi had sent me a picture she had snapped as the makeup artist was painting on the finishing touches of my lip color earlier.

Gigi: Thought you might want to post this one.

It was like she could read my mind sometimes. I opened Instagram and posted it with a caption about the cover shoot.

I closed the app as likes and comments poured in. Just before I locked my phone I got a text.

Bennett: Hell of a week. Vibe tonight?

"I'm done for the day! Want to grab food?" Piper asked, pulling me out of my thoughts as she left the set and walked towards where I was sitting.

"Yes!" I practically yelled as my stomach rumbled before thinking back to the comments about it at the shoot. "Salad?"

"I was thinking more like a burger," she laughed. "But I could do a salad."

After deciding on a place, we settled into a quiet booth at the back to avoid curious eyes. We caught up, laughing and sharing stories for a while.

"I've missed you, Ari. It's been way too long since we hung out. Why don't we do something tonight?"

I nodded, picking at my salad, trying to make it look like I ate more than I did even though I wasn't really full. "For sure! Actually Bennett suggested Vibe tonight. You in?"

Bennett and I used to hook up once upon a time before we realized we worked too well together as friends. He worked for a PR firm that had handled a publicity "incident" of mine a while back and were instantly drawn to each other. Now he's my goofy and sarcastic partner in crime and occasional wingman.

"Yes! That sounds so fun! Rowan can meet us there," she quickly pulled out her phone to shoot her boyfriend a text.

They had been together for about a year now and were absolutely perfect for each other. While I didn't believe in relationships, they almost made me want to.

While she texted Rowan, a preteen girl approached our table.

"Miss Vega? I'm your biggest fan. Can I get a picture with you?" She asked tentatively.

"Of course!" I smiled, beaconing her to sit beside me for a selfie. "Call me Ari. What's your name?"

"Talia," she replied with a smile.

"Love it. It suits you." I said, watching her fiddle with her hair nervously. "Your hair is stunning by the way. Love the way it frames your beautiful face."

"Thanks." Her smile grew even bigger as quit fussing with her hair and snapped a couple pics. "I want to be a model like you."

"With that gorgeous smile, definitely. Can you do something for me, Talia?"

She nodded vigorously and I pulled her for a quick hug, whispering, "Work hard, never give up, always be yourself, and be better than me." I pulled away with a wink and she thanked me before walking back to her family.

"That was so cute! She's a doll," Piper put her hand on her heart as she watched Talia show her sister the selfie before her phone buzzed, snapping her out of it. "Rowan said he'll be there after his team meeting!"

He played soccer for the local minor league team.

"Great! That means you can come get ready at my place," I barely got the suggestion out before she squealed a yes.

I pulled out my phone to text Bennett back: Piper, Rowan and I are in!

A couple minutes later, my phone went off.

Bennett: See you guys tonight