Chapter Four
Mimi stared at herself in the mirror. Her green eyes were wide, and she might have laughed if she hadn’t been giving herself a pep talk.
“You can do this, Mimi. Just keep your eyes away from him. Maybe zero in on his hair or something. Do not let your eyes wander down. He’ll be waiting to tease you if he sees you looking even one time.” She glanced at the bathroom door and worried that a person standing outside might be able to hear her.
What am I doing here? Why did I agree to come to Jasper’s photo session?
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to rid herself of any thoughts of him. Her plan was to be professional and detached today. The photo shoot would last a few hours, which she was sure would pass at a snail’s pace.
Memories of the kisses they’d shared last week crowded into her head the moment her eyes closed. The taste of him, the feel of his hands on her face and in her hair, the way his body pressed against hers—
A bang on the door jolted her back to staring at herself in the mirror. “It’s nearly time,” a voice called out. She quickly splashed water on her neck, trying to cool down—anything to take her mind off him and the feelings that were hurtling through her body.
Before she opened the door, she took one last look at herself.
You’re so fucked, Mimi…
***
True to form, Jasper was cracking jokes and filling the room with his confidence. A black towel perched precariously on his hips as a makeup artist and hairstylist fussed over him. An assistant rushed around with camera lenses as Cate directed another young man to adjust the lighting. There was movement everywhere, and Mimi wasn’t sure what was required of her. Jasper had insisted she be there and nothing more.
She watched as his hair was tousled into his trademark mussed-up look. Just out of bed, wildly satisfied from an extended night of passion, and looking for his next conquest—that’s what that hair had always telegraphed to her. Even in high school, he’d had the swagger of someone who knew his place in the world. Mimi had admired him from afar, making sure she never slipped into his orbit. High school was hard enough without embarrassing yourself in front of your entire year level because you couldn’t speak when the hottest guy in school addressed you. Until he’d appeared at the hall all those weeks ago, she didn’t think he even knew her name.
He zeroed in on her the moment the lights were turned down. “Hey, Mimi, you want to be in a photo with me?” he called out as her face turned bright red.
“Thanks, but no, Jasper. You’re the star today, just like always,” she called back sweetly, watching as his satisfied smirk settled over his features. She pulled her eyes away and addressed Cate. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, I don’t think so. We’re a pretty well-oiled machine, here. I’ve chosen to do this late in the afternoon, so we can get the studio set up. The day after tomorrow, we’ll try to get through everyone else in one day. It’s a big ask, but I’m hopeful that we can make it. Jasper organised shift changes for his crew, so if it’s not complete, we’ll have to fit in with whoever hasn’t been photographed, yet.”
Damn. Nothing to do but stand here and watch Jasper. I was hoping to be somewhere else when that towel fell.
In the end, they’d decided to let each of the models say how far they wanted to go. The men had enjoyed ribbing each other, as they’d had to nominate if they were prepared to take all their clothes off or have themed items cover the most vulnerable parts of their anatomy. Of course, Jasper had opted to go fully nude; she was sure it was to tease her. She really didn’t need to see what was under that towel, as she’d felt it for herself when he’d kissed her senseless at her front door. Nevertheless, here she was, sticking to her end of the bargain, since he’d kept to his promise to get her a calendar full of models.
Hair and makeup were finished and the two women returned to the dressing room. They’d agreed that only essential staff would be on site for each of the nude shots. Mimi was sure Jasper couldn’t care less about who was in the room, but it was Cate’s rule and he had to abide by it. She didn’t think she’d imagined the look of longing the makeup lady had thrown at Jasper as she slipped from the room.
I know just how you feel. He has that effect on a lot of us.
Cate started the shoot with Jasper sitting exactly where he was. She chatted and made him laugh a few times. Mimi could see she was trying to get him to relax, but as far as she could tell, it was a lost cause: Jasper was already so relaxed that he could nod off to sleep. The thought of taking off his clothes in front of strangers didn’t faze him in the least.
When they were ready to do the nude shots, she asked him to drop his towel. He followed her instructions exactly. As the towel slid to the ground, Mimi kept her promise to herself and focussed on his hair. She stared at him, not daring to even blink in case her eyes betrayed her and slid down to examine his glorious equipment. Cate called to her assistant to tilt a light away from Jasper as she clicked away with her camera, apparently immune to his considerable charms. The chatter continued, but it was punctuated with instructions from Cate to the few people left.
As Jasper held a certain pose, Cate wanted the towel at his feet to be removed. She ordered him to stay exactly where he was, and she looked around for someone to remove the towel. Everyone was occupied either carrying out her orders or holding lighting a certain way. With a sinking feeling, Mimi realised too late why Cate was looking at her.
“Mimi, be a darling and move that towel, would you?”
“Umm… what?”
Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down!
“The towel. This shot is perfect, but I want to zoom out a little and the towel cannot be there.”
Jasper smirked at the stricken look that descended on her face. She’d never wanted to slap someone so hard. “Can’t you just kick it away, Jasper?”
“No!” Cate called out. “Don’t move. Where you are standing is perfect. Come on, Mimi. Just dart in there and whip the towel away.”
She took a step forward and succeeded in keeping her eyes firmly on his hair. Unfortunately, the studio floor wasn’t flat, and she was going to have to look down or risk falling up the step to the platform where a very cocky model grinned at her—a very naked model.
With a sigh and a groan, she gave up any pretence that she wasn’t going to look. He laughed as she strode up the step and over to the towel. She tried to push it with her foot, but it wouldn’t move across the carpeted surface. To her absolute mortification, she had to bend down right in front of Jasper to pick it up and make her escape. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting with herself about whether she wanted to see or not.
As she straightened, she blushed, remembering his ample length pressed against her a few nights ago. To compound her embarrassment Jasper whispered, “You owe me a sneak peek, now.”
She choked as she quickly moved away from him and dropped the towel onto a nearby chair. Cate resumed the clicking of her lens, and Jasper stared into the camera following each of Cate’s instructions. Mimi was exhausted from the effort of looking anywhere but at him, and she plopped into the chair with his towel. As she slid it out from under her bottom, she had a wicked idea.
So, Jasper likes being naked, does he?
Let’s see how much.
***
An hour later, Cate declared them finished and Mimi let out a relieved sigh. Jasper hadn’t stopped badgering her to have her photo taken with him, insisting that the person who volunteered at the hall should be in the calendar, too. Cate had semi-agreed, and she’d only gotten out of it when she pointed out that Alyssa and several others were also volunteers who put in just as much effort as she did, so it wouldn’t be fair to have her in the calendar and not them.
Mimi slipped out of the studio first and breathed the crisp air outside. She didn’t realise how stuffy the lighting made a photographic studio and she sucked in the clear air. She leaned against her car and waited for the fun to start.
The makeup and hair ladies had already left and Mimi knew this was the only reason her prank was going to work. If they’d still been here, they’d have taken pity on Jasper and probably offered to help him. Putting him into their clutches minus his clothes wasn’t her idea of a smart move.
Within minutes, her phone chimed and she opened the message from Jasper with an enormous smile on her face.
ARE YOU STILL NEARBY? I NEED A RESCUE PARTY!
MAYBE. WHY?
JUST COME BACK, PLEASE. PARK RIGHT NEAR THE DOOR AND DON’T ASK ANY QUESTIONS!
OKAY, KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON!
She grinned to herself as she started the car and flicked through her Facebook feed. She didn’t want him to think she’d been standing outside, waiting for this moment. When enough time had passed, she pulled her car up to the front door of the studio and texted him to say she’d arrived. A moment later, he slipped from the door and into her front seat.
“What happened to you? Liked it so much, you’re making a lifestyle change?” She could barely keep a straight face as he rolled his eyes and urged her to drive. He gave her his address and put his seatbelt on. She was glad the road required her full attention or she’d have, once again, been tempted to look.
“No one seems to know where my clothes went—even the towel you rescued has disappeared. Where the hell could they be?”
“No idea. Did you check everywhere?”
“There weren’t too many places they could be. I left them neatly folded on the makeup table. When I went back, they weren’t there. You don’t think one of those ladies stole them, do you?”
“Stranger things have happened, I guess. Maybe they needed them for something and they’ll get returned. They could have been packed into a bag, if someone accidentally put something on top of them and then put that something into a bag.” She snickered to herself and then felt bad.
“You can laugh—don’t try to hold it in. I’d be laughing my ass off if it was you.”
“That’s not very chivalrous, Jasper. I thought you were God’s gift to women, anyway. Surely you’re not unhappy to give us a little more eye candy.”
“Eye candy is fine, but the thought that someone took my clothes is a little creepy.”
“Maybe they were overcome by your attractiveness.” She snorted as she drove.
“Are you making fun of me, Mimi?”
“Maybe. You have to admit, it is pretty funny. For someone so keen to flaunt his nakedness in the studio, you sure slipped into the car without any fanfare. I thought this would be right up your alley.”
“You thought?”
“Umm… I would have thought,” she corrected herself, but it was too late.
“Oh shit, you did it! You took them!”
She laughed loudly and concentrated on keeping the car on the road. “You should have seen your face when you came out. I nearly had to confess right there.”
He joined in her laughter and smacked her on the leg. “Don’t pretend you didn’t just want to keep me naked a bit longer. I’m relieved I’m going to see my clothes again, though. Those were my favourite jeans!”
She pulled up outside his house and popped the boot to return his clothes to him. When she shut the lid, she was horrified to see him standing beside the car, not bothering to cover himself. She quickly handed him his clothes, but he didn’t put them on or retreat to the house. Instead, he stepped close to her and pulled a tendril of auburn hair through his fingers.
“You need to go inside,” she said, when he made no move to leave or say anything to her.
He leaned in close and her heart rate escalated. Being close to him had an immediate effect on her and she took a step back. “Don’t worry, you’re quite safe for now, since children live in this street. Just remember this day, Mimi, because I owe you one—and I always get my revenge.” His wicked grin told her he wouldn’t forget, and he turned and walked up the pathway holding his clothing in one hand.
She didn’t care. The chance to watch his muscled back and toned buttocks walk up that path were worth any revenge she had to endure.