Page 2 of Crash and Burn

"I'm sure she'll grow out of it," Grant said.

"And what about you?" I asked. "How's your photography going?"

His eyes lit up.

"Really great," he said. "I've been booking some good gigs lately."

"Weddings?" I guessed.

His lips twitched.

"Boudoir," he corrected.

My eyebrows raised high on my forehead.

"Oh," was all I said.

I could imagine it. Grant, behind the camera. A beautiful girl, lying on a bed of silk. I could imagine her posing seductively. I could imagine his eyes roving over her, taking in every inch of skin.

Unreasonable jealousy nearly choked me.

Then the scene in my mind changed. It was me there, lying on the silk. I was the one posing seductively. Grant's eyes roved over my naked body. I could imagine the heat that would begin to simmer in that gaze. I could imagine him stepping out from behind the camera. He was coming closer, approaching me. He placed a knee on the bed, leaning down. His face got closer to mine.

"It's not what you're thinking," Grant said.

And now I could hear the squeal of rubber tires on pavement as my wandering mind swerved sharply back to reality.

"What?" I asked dumbly with a slow blink.

"It's not all provocative, sexy shoots," he said, the corner of his lips tugging upward.

"I wasn't thinking anything like that," I said quickly.

"My next gig is for a couple," he said. "They want a classy nude photoshoot as a present to themselves for their fortieth anniversary."

I did the math in my head. Suddenly I was no longer so jealous.

"I'm glad your photography is going so well," I told him. "You must really know what you're doing with this side business thing."

"And what about you?" he asked. "Do you know what you're doing yet?"

"No clue." I propped my elbow on the counter and rested my chin in my palm.

I'd told my parents I was taking a gap year, but somehow that year had turned into two, and then three, and I still wasn't any closer to deciding what to do with my life.

"I thought you were leaning toward going to college for English?" Grant's question was innocuous but it sent a spike of anxiety coursing through me.

"That was until I researched the types of jobs available to English majors," I told him.

"Let me guess," he said with a wry smile. "Not many?"

"I know people say the point of college is to learn and experience things, but I'd still like to get a job by the end of it, you know?" I said.

"You could just keep working here,” he said with a teasing smile.

"I wouldn't half-mind that," I admitted. "But without those extra tips…"

Grant made another sound of sympathy and patted my shoulder in a consoling manner. The heat of his hand burned into my skin, even through my shirt.