Dark Frame (9 page)

Evan rolls her eyes.

My phone starts buzzing on my lap. I look down.

Dallas.

Speak of the devil. I forgot to call him back. Whoops.

“
I gotta take this,” I say, standing up.

“
Who is it?” Evan asks, but I don’t respond. Of course I don’t respond, because if I told her, she’d be right over my shoulder, listening to my every word.

I duck into a nearby hallway and put the phone to my ear, “Whattup.”

“
Britain. You didn’t call me back.”

“
Sorry, sorry. It’s been kind of a circus trying to direct everyone. All the guys are dipshits, you know? You were the only one who wasn’t a special snowflake.”

“
Whip them into shape. I believe in you,” he says.

I smile. Damn him and Evan for breaking up.

“
Listen,” he says. “I called you earlier because I had just gotten off the phone with A.J. Harrison.”

And then he tells me his news.

“
Britain? You there?”

I finally gather myself just enough to respond.

“
No fucking way.”

Chapter Five

Evan

Britain wants to take a few sample shots of me to see how the lighting is in the manor. Also, it gives us both a chance to explore the place.

She’s been acting strange since she got off her call. She told me it was just an AA assistant letting her know their flight was on time so far, but I have a really hard time believing her.

Whatever it was, she doesn’t want to talk about it.

“
How’s your underwear?” she asks as we duck out of dinner early and make our way up the stairs.

“
Black lace and matching. Come on, Brit. I always wear nice underwear every time I’m doing anything for EPE.”

I’m about to mention that I know she likes to pull stunts on me like when she made Dallas and I shoot in the back of her car, but even thinking about it sparks way too many emotions.

Walking through the second floor hallway, I see my name on one of the doors. Too bad I won’t actually have time to use my room. I’d love to spend time in this weird place simply for the sake of curiosity.

“
Whoa, whoa!” Britain says, stopping me and turning toward a portrait on the wall. She starts giggling like a school girl. “Apparently I was too distracted to see this when I came up earlier.”

I feel bile rise in my throat. “Oh my god, is that—
bestiality
?”

“
That is way too weird for my tastes.”

“
You think?” I hiss, a shiver running down my spine. A Halloween launch issue and now this—EPE is getting a bit too fetishy under the reigns of Amora Acquisitions.

Thank God I am ducking out now.

We make our way to the third floor, trying our best to not stop at any more creepy photos. The chandeliers above give off just enough light to allow us to see where we’re going but not enough to relieve us of all the creepy, shadowy corners.

I moan and shake out my hands.

“
Dude, chill out,” Britain hisses, but even she is whispering, like she’s afraid some ghoul is going to overhear us.

Britain breaks the eerie silence by telling me about EPE’s newest male model, Jaime, and how he’s from her past.

“
Wait. Jaime.
The
Jaime?”

“
God,” she says. “You and Delilah have really good memories.”

“
Oh my God, Brit.” I place both of my hands on her shoulders to stop her. “Screw with him!”

She looks at me like I’m from Mars. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I sigh, thinking of a way to explain. Britain’s the kind of girl that never toyed with power. She simply demanded it—at least, for as long as I’ve known her. I pinch the bridge of my nose and shut my eyes, trying to think of everything Britain told me about Jaime. “This is the guy that embarrassed the shit out of you when he tried to kiss you in front of everyone at that party…”

“
Because he wanted to prove to an entire group of people that I had never been kissed before….”

“
And if you rejected him, the hottest guy in town, then everyone would know that you were afraid of men, yada yada, okay okay, I remember this now.” I push my finger against her chest. “You need to hit on him.”

She gapes at me. “
Excuse
me?”

“
Once you show that he no longer has control over timid little Britain, he’ll back off.”

“
Unless he takes the bait the wrong way!”

I shrug. “Then you have a sexy affair. So what? You’re the one who told me all those fantasies.”

“
Shh!”

I laugh because no one is on this level to hear us. It’s funny to see something actually get to brazen, ballsy Britain.

This guy must have had a serious effect on her.

A small wrought-iron staircase leads up to the fourth floor. “How big is this place?” I ask, changing the subject.

Britain only shrugs as our feet clink against the wobbly metal. “Have no idea. Haven’t been up this far.”

“
Great.”

“
You’re such a pussy.”

“
Shut up.”

Above us is a trap door. Have we reached the attic already? Britain pushes up and the door gives in with a loud groan.

“
Wow, it’s dark up here.”

“
Maybe we should go back,” I suggest.

“
Not in your life. There’s a switch on the floor right next to my hand… here we go.”

Two seconds later, she says, “What the fuck?”

I’m pretty sure
what the fuck
is going to be the phrase of the week.

Britain steps up into the room, and I follow her.

It looks like we’ve stepped into a lounge from the twenties.

A lounge from the twenties with some serious kink attributes.

There’s a sleek bar, some cocktail tables, a stage, and a piano. There are also cages that line the walls, big enough for people.

“
What the—″

“
Fuck,” I finish.

Hanging from two steel beams at the center of the dance floor are long strands of crimson silk. They remind me of the support used in aerial yoga.

“
This is… wow…” Britain removes the lens cap to the camera hanging around her neck and snaps a few photos. She looks through them. “We’ll need better light, but this is definitely where I’ll be shooting tomorrow.”

“
What about me?” I ask, feeling nervous for a reason I can’t place my thumb on.

The glint in Britain’s eye is unsettling. “Ever climb silk before?”

^^^^^

After a good hour of attempting to climb the silk scarves in my underwear (and lots of rope burn), Britain finally lets me go for the night. I take the train back to Cambridge, shivering the entire way. I exhale deeply into my coat.

This cold is going to take some getting used to. And it’s still September.

In the hallway, I catch Miles wiggling his door handle and cursing.

“
That’s what happens when you’re out late and you’re supposed to be studying Shakespeare or some shit,” I tell him. “Your room turns on you and makes you sleep out in the hallway for the night.”

“
Hardy har,” he says when he sees that it’s me. “Maybe you should speak for yourself.”

“
I
was at my job,” I say as he struggles a bit more.

“
And I was at a reading.”

“
Oooh,
a reading. Sounds important.”

He finally gives up on the door, his shoulders sagging. “Do you always give your new neighbors shit?”

I smirk, gripping his doorknob, twisting, and shoving the door forward. “Only when they can’t figure out how to work a lock.”

He sighs in relief. “Okay, okay. Tease me all you want. As long as you stick around your dorm often enough to help me when I’m too stupid to figure out how to get into my own room.”

I grin. “Don’t count on it.”

“
Can you stick around enough for me to grow the balls to ask you out on a date?”

I laugh in surprise.

“
Well?” He leans against the open door frame, his brown eyes caught on my own. “What do you say?”

I bite my lip. It’s not like Miles isn’t my type. Any guy that’s cute, can make me laugh, and is smart enough to get into Harvard definitely has my attention. “I just… I’m really busy.”

“
I know this amazing Italian place in Boston. Has the best gnocchi you will ever taste in your life.”

“
I’m also vegan. I’m busy and I’m vegan.”

He looks offended. “What is
wrong
with you?”

I laugh. “I’m sorry! I’m really not trying to blow you off. It’s just that I have a pretty demanding job and school is already overloading me. I have two exams in the next week.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Or you think I’m annoying.”

I keep a straight face. “That too.”

He dramatically grasps onto his door frame and swings into his room. “Goodnight, Evan.”

“
Wait!” I shuffle with my keys and open my door, racing to the tin can on the windowsill that holds my pens. I grab a Sharpie and hurry back to Miles, taking his wrist and sloppily writing my number on it. “Call me Friday, and I’ll let you know if my schedule has cleared up.”

^^^^^

I have to get back into my modeling groove. I haven’t modeled for an issue in months. Normally, I try not to think about school when I’m working, even if I’m super behind on homework or have a test coming up.

Grad school—at Harvard—that’s a bit different.

The team from Amora arrived early this morning, and apparently haven’t taken a break (or a nap) since they got off the plane. They hustle around in their black clothes with their iPads, mapping out the entire house for possible shoot locations and bossing their tech and work team around.

I got to Veda Manor at seven this morning and was the third girl into hair and makeup. Everyone—even the models, act uptight and on crack. Maybe because if anyone steps out of line at all, Britain takes to barking at them. She’s already screamed at Adam and Jaime at least four times this morning.

When I’m done with my hair, Britain approaches me, a tall, dark, and incredibly handsome man following right behind her.

“
Rylan, I’d like you to meet…” her eyes grow wide and she points to my lap. “What is
that
?”

I shift my legs awkwardly beneath the weight of my textbook. “Dude, I’m not an undergrad anymore. If I don’t keep up on my work—″

“
I’m teasing you, chill.” She gestures to the man behind her. “This is Miguel, one of our models I hired after the last issue. I’ll have him shoot with you today, and if the images turn out, I’ll continue to pair you up.”

Miguel smiles at me, and I nod. “Hi.”

“
He took some amazing photos with Delilah during his audition back in June.” She lowers her voice to a whisper and says, “But I think he has even more potential with you,” and winks at me.

“
Cool,” I say. “Well, just so you know, Miguel, I like to improvise.”

“
I can work with that,” he replies before Britain ushers him into hair and makeup.

The safest, most controlled space that I can find to work is one of the cages. I spread out my textbooks and binder around me as I take notes on the Danielli-Davson model and how I will be incorporating it into my research project. I’m dressed only in a robe and lingerie and can feel the eyes of others as they pass. I try my damnedest to tune them out and work furiously until the chandelier extinguishes and the set lights are turned on. It’s almost go-time.

Britain ushers me over and introduces me to a woman named Melissa and a man named Dwain. Apparently these two are A.J.’s primary assistants and will be closely keeping tabs on the shoots.

I can tell from Britain’s face that this isn’t what she wants—to be
directed
. I can also predict that she’ll be giving them lip the second either of them open their mouths to give her instruction.

Luckily, I’m allowed to wear a pair of black leather driving gloves for the shoot. I nearly shredded my hands last night when I practiced climbing. As I put on the gloves, Melissa studies me and says, “She should be naked.”

Britain sneers. “Topless.”

“
It won’t be edgy enough.”

Britain’s eyes roll to the ceiling as she tries to keep her patience. I know it isn’t working. I want to laugh so badly. She looks at me and says, “Take your top off and climb the damn scarves.”

I do as she says, feeling everyone’s eyes on my tits. It’s the same every shoot. You’d think that the shock of boobs would get old after a while for erotic magazine workers, but it doesn’t. Not even for Britain, because Britain is totally a voyeur, even if she won’t admit it.

I took an aerial yoga class a few years ago when initially trying to get in shape to start modeling. It was a lot of fun until I no longer had time for the bi-weekly, hour-long session.

“
Quiet on set,” Britain yells as I place my hands on the scarfs.

“
This is going to look less spooky and more circusy,” I say.

“
Wait!” one of the makeup artists yells. He runs forward and hands me a sequined masquerade mask.

“
Yes!” Britain says. “Perfect. Put that on.”

I do so. The mask might be a good idea. I know every model is in the room right now, sitting on the edges of the cages. The mask will help me focus.

I begin to climb.

I’m so thankful that Britain fought to make this a topless shoot. My legs are slipping all over the place climbing these scarves, and this moment would be extremely X-rated if I didn’t have panties on. Finally, I find my place, wrap my arms in the scarves, and hold myself up long enough for Britain to take a few shots.