"They're grabbing dinner down the street in a few. Time to get dressed?" Anna asked, checking her phone, referring to the other models she was shooting with this week. We were lying naked in bed after a satisfying romp in our Santa Monica hotel room. I lifted the sheet and stared at her body briefly, acting like I was committing it to memory.
"Alright, I'm ready," I said after a long pause. Anna laughed and kissed me, a quick peck, before rolling out of bed. The afternoon sun was streaming through the vertical blinds, painting her in an orange glow, thin shadows passing over her as she moved.
We gathered up our clothes and put them back on, and she ran to the bathroom to touch up her makeup. Looking beautiful as ever, Anna emerged a few minutes later and offered her hand, grabbing the door handle with the other. Her light brown hair had been put up in a bun on top of her head, a few loose strands framing her gorgeous face, blue eyes inviting me to join her.
I took her hand and we walked to the elevators, her flowy orange pants billowing as she walked, the tight matching top showing off her chest and midriff. She had the effortless beauty of a professional model, and she grinned when she looked up at me and caught me staring.
"Love you," I said quietly.
"Love you too," she replied, and rested her head on my shoulder.
Our moment of peaceful contentment was broken the minute the elevator doors opened. The other models she was shooting with this week were finishing up at the hotel bar, raucous laughter echoing across the lobby. We made our way over to them, hand in hand.
"Hey, Anna's back, everybody ready?" Daisy asked the group. Daisy was pale and beautiful, with freckled cheeks, piercing green eyes, and fiery auburn hair. Her choice of outfit for the evening was a tight grey T--shirt that showed off her well-endowed chest and a pair of loose jeans -- she gave off the impression of someone who hadn't bothered to dress up because she knew she was gorgeous either way. Nods and murmurs of assent swept through the group, and they started standing up, gathering their things and stepping away from the bar.
"How was your tour of the room, Charlie?" Michaela asked mischievously. Michaela was a pretty blonde with big brown eyes and just a hint of freckles on her cheeks. Her smile showed off her perfect white teeth. She was wearing a blue and white sundress, baring most of her chest, the soft swell of her small breasts visible over the neckline.
"Very satisfying," I responded, giving her the kind of response she was looking for. The nearest girls who heard our exchange laughed while Michaela grinned at Anna and me. Anna squeezed my hand and smiled, adding her own assessment.
"He was very attentive on the tour," she winked at Michaela as the group shifted and we headed out the doors.
"Isn't Michaela the one who was hitting on you yesterday?" I asked Anna quietly as we fell in behind the mass of beautiful women leaving the building.
"Yeah, that stopped once I said I had a boyfriend though, don't worry," Anna responded. "This is just the normal amount of flirty for a group of Instagram models," she added with a giggle. I noticed a brunette model glance back at us with a haughty look on her face -- or maybe it was just a case of resting bitch face, as they call it. She was pretty but looked unapproachable. Another woman fell in step beside us as we walked down the road, a pretty Latina with olive skin and dark, lustrous hair pulled into a ponytail. She looked younger than the average girl there.
"Hi, Charlie. I don't know if you remember, I'm Juanita," she said. Anna stepped forward to talk to both of us.
"She's a Disney fan too, but she's never been to the Florida parks, just Disneyland," Anna said. Juanita grinned.
"I love meeting other Disney people! I really want to get out there for a visit. Anna told me if I needed a hotel, you're the guy to talk to," she said, her gorgeous smile infectious. Juanita was wearing a tan-colored lacy top that was tight to her skin and had vaguely bra-like cups holding her breasts, and tight jeans that showed off her round butt and sexy thighs. While most of the other girls had chosen more understated outfits that showed off their beauty, Juanita almost looked like she was headed to a club rather than a quick dinner.
"Uh, yeah, I guess I am. I work for Obsidian hotels," I told her. Anna rolled her eyes.
"He starts as GM of the biggest hotel in Orlando on Tuesday," Anna said exasperatedly. "But also, I told you that when we first met, before I knew we'd get along so well. You don't need a hotel now, you can stay at my place if you want to come out," she added.
"Awesome, thank you!" Juanita gushed. "So new job, huh, Charlie? Are you excited?"
The conversation carried on while we walked to the restaurant the girls had chosen. Juanita seemed like a genuine and fun person; she was only 19, which wasn't unusual for a model but somehow, she was the youngest one in tonight's group. She was also on her first Riviera contract shoot like Anna. Most of the others, according to Anna, had been on at least three or four. Daisy had been a model for them for more than two years and was kind of the elder stateswoman of the group, or so it seemed.
We arrived at the restaurant, a local farm-to-table type place that was decorated with greens and whites, and had what appeared to be actual grass growing on almost every flat surface other than the counter and tables. The server led us upstairs to the rooftop patio. Juanita got to the stairs before me, and I had to consciously look away from watching her ass move as she went up. Anna whispered in my ear.
"Go ahead and look, Charlie. They can drive you crazy, too. Imagine if we were both as worked up as I was earlier," she said quietly. When I turned to look back at her, she just winked at me.
We sat at a long bar table with grass growing in a groove down the middle. I drew looks from several guys in the restaurant, who were no doubt wondering who I had to kill to hang out with this group of women. I found myself seated on the end, with Anna to my left. Another blonde model who she quickly introduced as Natalie was on her other side. Michaela ended up across from me, Juanita next to her, and the severe-looking brunette sat next to her. More girls were sitting along the rest of the table, but from my position I figured I wouldn't be talking to them much.
"And this is Sophia," Anna added, indicating the brunette. The woman just made a sort of throaty sound and vaguely nodded in my direction, never bothering to look up from purse where she was fumbling with something. Anna turned and looked behind us, moving her mouth close to me. "She's the one who has been kind of bitchy, if you can't tell," Anna added quietly into my ear.
Michaela started asking us about how we met. I guess since I was the token boyfriend at the table, which made us the token couple, that made a good icebreaker. Anna told the story, using her line about me "walking over to take advantage of the pretty sad girl on Main Street" again, which got her laughs from around our end of the table. I didn't mind; she was charming enough that everyone knew she wasn't serious. Sophia just rolled her eyes.
Juanita told us how she met her current boyfriend; in my head I thought our story was better, which I obviously didn't say out loud. Her guy was a sports marketer of some sort with the Rams who had essentially just hit on her at a bar. He sounded more like a pick-up artist than boyfriend material based on her story. Michaela was single, and her last breakup had gone poorly so she'd remained single for almost two years.
"Charlie, Anna told us you were a hotel manager back home, what's that like?" Natalie jumped in to ask. I didn't mind meeting new people, but this many at once was going to get repetitive, especially since I didn't love talking about myself; I much preferred listening. Still, I briefly told her about my new job before Anna could cut in, hoping the other girls would hear it so I wouldn't have to go through it again.
Natalie seemed genuinely interested, which made it easier. She had golden hair and tan skin, and without knowing where she was from, I guessed she was a Southern California local. Her top was a loose white T-shirt with a dipping neckline that put her stacked chest on display, and I desperately focused on keeping my eyes from wandering while I talked.
"That's awesome, love that," she said when I told her about the size of the hotel. "Maybe we can get Riviera to do a shoot there!" Juanita was nodding along. From what Anna told me, being a self-represented model meant these girls were all here because of their networking ability as much as their looks, and it showed. Natalie started talking about the last shoot they'd done, which was also here in California, but she implied that Riviera occasionally does destination shoots, too.
I kind of dropped off while Natalie was talking about another contract she was leaving to shoot for when this one ended, in New York. She was mostly talking to the models on the other end of the table that had started listening in. Anna turned to me with a smile.
"Did you see Natalie's tits?" she whispered in my ear. I nearly choked on the water I was drinking, which just made her smile wider.
"Knock it off," I whispered teasingly in her ear. When I looked across the table, Michaela caught my eye and held her hands out in front of her chest, obviously having caught on to Anna's little game. I lowered my head for a moment, before lifting it back up and glancing between them.
"You're both trouble," I muttered. They only seemed encouraged by that.
***
Dinner was fun. Drinks flowed freely, all clear alcohol except mine; I didn't have to worry about not being in perfect form to be photographed tomorrow.
With the one exception of Sophia, whose mood did not improve, they all seemed like nice people. Riviera was apparently covering the bill as an expense; if there were more guests there I'd have been on my own, but the women collectively agreed that they wouldn't care about one additional meal. Sophia's eyes flashed but she didn't protest.
A loose agreement had formed for several of the models to hit the hot tub after dinner. It wasn't late; the sun was just setting as we made our way back to the hotel. Anna and I went to our room to change, parting ways with Michaela and Daisy when we exited the elevator on the same floor.
"They seem like great people," I told Anna as we closed the door, referring to all her new model friends. "I could have done with a little less teasing though," I added, but she ignored me, clearly preoccupied.
"Yeah, except Sophia," she spat. "I have no idea why she's such a bitch. She's not really close to anyone else here, but she's at least polite to some of the girls, why the fuck is she being so goddamn rude to me?" As far as I could tell, no one was reciprocating Sophia's rudeness, which made it a bit mystifying. "She was an ass all day at the shoot too, acting like I didn't know how to do the job. None of the photographers had a problem with me, and the Riviera people seemed happy, but she made it clear that she thought I was incompetent."
