Chapter 22
"He said he loves you?" Sarah squealed, shaking my knees with her hands as she leaned forward, eyes wide open.
She'd picked me up in the RV a little while ago. We were sitting in it now, waiting for Violet to come out of her house and join us. I saw her come out with her parents, her dad carrying most of her luggage.
"So?" I looked back to Sarah. "What's the big deal?"
"What's the big deal? Are you fucking kidding me?" she laughed. "Honey, it's a
huge
deal! I mean, how do you feel about him?"
"I dunno," I shrugged. "I like him, a lot." Sarah raised her eyebrows as I admitted, "A whole lot, actually."
"But do you love him?" she asked.
I regarded her for a moment. It was both easy and difficult to answer. "What I know is how I feel about you, Sarah." All humor fell from her face. At first, I thought it was terror, but then realized it was surprise. "If what I feel for you is love, then no, I don't love Trevor."
Sarah shook her head. Her mouth worked, but nothing came out, then she grabbed my face and kissed me passionately. "I love you too," she whispered against my lips. My stomach flipped a thousand times in a single second, but it was the good kind of stomach flipping. Sarah kissed me again. She drew back before we could be seen by Violet's parents, then she met Violet outside.
"Hey, babe!" Sarah squealed and threw herself at our friend.
They giggled with Violet's mom, letting her dad store her luggage in one of the compartments outside, except for her handbag, of course.
"Take care, baby," her mom kissed her cheek.
"Call us when you get there, okay?" her dad said.
Violet said her goodbyes, and we promised to take care of her. Sarah climbed into the driver's seat. I plopped down into the passenger seat, and Violet settled on her knees between us.
"Great idea grabbing the RV, Sarah," she gushed, running her hands over the polished wood interior and soft leather seats.
"I know, right?" Sarah giggled.
Violet caught my eye and smiled. "Oh, and hi to you too, babe."
She rose up on her knees, grabbed the back of my neck, and French kissed the holy shit out of me. I was breathless when she pulled away.
"What was that for?" I asked.
"I missed your mouth," Violet shrugged, then glanced at my lap and flashed a playful grin. "Among other things."
I blushed furiously and Sarah laughed. When Violet left us to check out the rest of the RV, Sarah grinned at me. "She wasn't the only one that missed parts of you."
I blushed again, but with Sarah, I also managed to give her a coy smile. I was more comfortable with her. The developments with Violet were too new for me to just take those kinds of comments in stride.
"Any job interviews lined up?" I asked Sarah.
"Hmm?" she mumbled, then glanced at me. "Oh...yeah. You know the accounting firm my dad works with now and then?" I nodded. Sarah's father owned a software development company, one he started with his college buddies. His biggest client was an information technology firm in the middle of a huge software overhaul, one that included licensing her dad's latest and greatest stuff. "They're looking for college interns to help with some of the file conversions and disaster recovery tests. Boring stuff, but their office isn't far from campus, and I'll get to work on more interesting projects pretty quickly. They have a fast-track program that was just redesigned from the ground up, and they're eager to try it. What about you?"
I sighed. "I haven't gotten any callbacks yet."
"Nothing?" Sarah widened her eyes.
My passion was photography, specifically fashion model photography. I was stellar, if you believed my mom, but otherwise I think I was pretty good. I'd sent out my portfolio to twenty-two agencies across several states, pretty much anywhere I could afford to go to college. Three requested to see more of my work, and two of those were within an hour of NYU. That was months ago. I hadn't heard from any of them again since.
I shrugged. "We'll see what happens. Was thinking of pestering Armia tomorrow."
"Was that the one that asked for more of your work?" she asked.
"No, that was Dangerous Angels."
Sarah screwed up her face. "Strange name for a modeling agency."
"Not really," I smiled, watching her expression. "Their biggest clients are S&M manufacturers and shops. You know, cuffs, chains, restraints, dildos, strap-ons."
"No shit?" Sarah's eyes widened again. "Oh, you totally need to go work for them."
I laughed. "I'll admit, it sounds fun, but that's not exactly the kind of work I was going for."
"It's not any less reputable than anything else, you know."
"I know," I admitted.
Sarah glanced at me again. "Besides, didn't Barry Watson end up working there?"
Barry was a fairly big nerd from our high school, five or six years ahead of us. His little brother was a friend of Trevor's. I'd met Barry a few times. He was tall, gangly, awkward with girls, but his photography was incredible.
"Yeah, he did," I told her. "Don't get me wrong, his work is beautiful. He can make anything look professional." It was true. Barry maintained a blog showcasing samples of his most recent work. One of my favorites was a series he did of women in the throes of lovemaking, usually involving restraints, strap-on dildos, and some very interesting sexual positions, but no actual moneyshots or anything. Barry managed to capture the beauty of the models, the ecstasy on their faces, the joy of the moment. "I don't know, Sarah. I don't think I'm good enough for that kind of thing yet. Dangerous Angels isn't exactly a starter firm. They're looking for real talent."
"Have you ever tried shooting anything like that?" she asked.
"No, actually, I haven't."
Sarah gave me a coy smile. "Well, I guess we'll have to come up with something."
I raised an eyebrow, definitely intrigued.
