Page 25 of Crash and Burn

I looked down at myself. The gauzy dress had an almost romantic feel to it, but the floral patterns were accented with edgier leather additions.

"Thank you," I replied, pleased at the compliment.

"Where can I find more of your work?" he asked.

"Uh… in my closet?" I replied.

His expression turned shrewd.

"Are you a student?" he asked.

"I work at a bar," I replied, taken aback.

"Hm." He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a card. "Here."

I took the white business card from his hand. It was gold embossed with only a name and phone number.

"Give me a call sometime," he told me with a crooked smile, then sauntered off.

I stared down at the card. I didn't recognize the name. I'd have to search for it online later. Was he some kind of modeling agent? He said he liked my look. I wasn't anything compared to the women here, but maybe he took on the more commercial-looking models?

A loud buzzer went off. The models stopped posing and came back to the wardrobe section to change back into their normal clothes. I hadn't realized time would pass so quickly.

"Why were you talking to that guy?"

I turned to find Grant coming up behind me, a frown on his face.

"You mean that suit guy?" I asked. "He said he liked my look."

The frown deepened and a crease lined Grant's forehead.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I think I know him," he said. "I recognize his face from somewhere. But I can't remember…" he trailed off, his mouth twisting, then he shook his head. "Anyway. I wanted to ask if you're free for dinner?"

I was about to say of course, but I hesitated.

"Is Missy coming, too?" I asked.

"No, she's got an appointment," he said. "Work at the bar has been so busy lately, I feel like we haven't had a lot of time to just hang out."

Probably because he was busy with his new girlfriend.

"I'm starting to miss you," Grant continued with a tilt of his lips.

The jealously rising in my chest deflated like a balloon. How could I stay upset when Grant was looking at me so earnestly?

"I'm down for dinner," I said. "Why don't we get Greek?" I knew it was Grant's favorite, and the exact opposite of raw vegan food.

"Sounds awesome." He picked up a strand of my hair and tweaked it. "For some reason looking at all these skinny models has me dying of hunger."

"We'll eat enough for all of them combined," I told him.

Grant put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side with a chuckle.

"Let's fill up on so much baklava we make ourselves sick," he said.

And just like that, things were back to normal.