Page 31 of Hot and Bothered

Instead of agonizing over it, though, I decided to simply let things unfold naturally. I would do and say whatever felt comfortable to me at the time and hope for the best.

“I wish I was good at something like you guys,” I said.

“What are you talking about?” Evan said. “You’re an amazing model.”

“My legs cramped up from posing and I fell over,” I reminded him.

“You model?” Lizzy asked with interest.

“Not really,” I said. “I was just helping Evan with one of his book cover things. He needed a reference model.”

“And she did an awesome job, by the way,” he said.

A spark of interest lit up in Lizzy’s eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and sized me up with a keen eye.

“You’ve got the right shape,” she mused. “You’d probably fit into my outfits perfectly.” She nodded to herself, seeming to come to a decision about something. “I need more models for my photoshoot later next week. Would you be interested?”

Model? For an actual, professional photoshoot?

“I don’t know,” I said hesitantly. Despite what Evan had said, I didn’t know if I’d done very well at posing for his sketches.

“Does it pay?” Evan jumped in.

“It does,” Lizzy said.

He nudged me in the ribs lightly with his elbow.

“What do you say?” he asked. “It could be fun. Plus, money,” he added.

It was true, I could use the extra money. I was saving up everything I made at Sin and Tonic, but since they kept me away from the customer service aspect, I didn’t exactly rake in the kind of tips the others did.

“It doesn’t matter that I’ve never done anything like this before?” I asked Lizzy.

“Nope,” she said. “We’re mostly doing product shots. Your face doesn’t even have to be in the photos if you don’t want.”

I still had my reservations but… money.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll do it. Thank you.”

“Great!” Lizzy chirped. I’ll text you the details.”

“Maybe this can be your thing,” Evan said. “You can be a model.”

“I don’t want to imagine what my parents would say about that.”

They’d probably say something about it being superficial and unladylike. They’d say I was throwing away everything they’d done for me so I could go show off my body shamelessly.

Funnily enough, thinking about what my parents might say made me want to do it even more. I was finally free of them, finally free of their control. I could do whatever I wanted with my life.

I didn’t know if that was modeling or something else, but it felt good to explore my options.

“You’re sitting there with a pleased look on your face,” Evan whispered in my ear. “Care to share with the class?”

“I was just thinking about how nice it is to have my freedom,” I told him. “I never realized how trapped I felt before. I didn’t know life could be any different. And now…”

“And now?” Evan prompted.

His arm was still around my shoulder. I placed my hand over his.