I finished with makeup first, so I went out and began working. Jade had sent over a shot list, and they had new clothes they wanted to add to their website. I had worked with this photographer before, and she was good. We fell into a comfortable rhythm and knocked out the web work.
Kendal brought the girls out, and I smiled. Gina and Cassidy had been transformed from cute teenage girls to models. Both girls had new hairstyles that made them look sophisticated. Gina reminded me so much of Kara it was scary. Gina had the same dark complexion and straight black hair. The only differences were Kara had those steel-blue/gray eyes that jumped out of a picture, and she was taller and more endowed. Gina looked like a younger version of her supermodel sister.
Cassidy had been transformed from a rough-and-tumble tomboy to stunning. They had given her a perm to give her hair more body, and whoever did her makeup had enhanced her beauty but not gone overboard, which sometimes happened on a photo shoot.
The photographer took some test shots and made a few suggestions to the makeup gal. The girls were both back shortly and ready to get started. Gina and Cassidy were both really nervous. I hugged them both and assured them I was there to help them. Not surprisingly, Cassidy had the most confidence. Gina struggled. The photographer stopped us because Gina wasn’t working out. Kendal saved the day.
“David, make out with her,” she said.
Kendal was right. I needed to get Gina out of her own head and make her forget all the lights and the cameras. Gina yelped when I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. She tensed up and didn’t relax, so I shocked her by cupping one of her breasts. It took a few minutes, but she finally began to go from tense to aroused. When I finally stopped kissing her, I spun her around and whispered in her ear, “Smile.” Gina did, and I saw the photographer nod her approval.
I was correct in my guess that Jade wouldn’t take a lot of shots with the girls. I understood because Jade was very much like Abercrombie in that they had a certain high-fashion look, and Gina and Cassidy were more the girl-next-door type. On the other hand, Mr. Hill loved them. He had a real demand for their type with his flyer ads.
Kendal, Brandon, and Mr. Hill sat us down after the shoot was done. The girls had a great time, and they were even more excited when they saw Brandon had several Jade bags with their names on them.
“How would you girls like part-time jobs modeling?” Kendal asked.
“David got his start doing newspaper insert ads for me,” Mr. Hill said. “I could promise you work one to three times a month to start. If you catch on with my clients, we might be able to get you more jobs.”
Cassidy and Gina both looked at me.
“Today was new and fun. Modeling can be a hard business if you ever decide to go further. If you don’t believe me, ask Kara. In fact, you should talk to her before you agree to anything. To be a good model, you need to have focus and pay attention every moment you’re in front of the camera. It’s hard to do the same pose with different clothes for the hundredth time. You have to power through and have the same energy and the same enthusiasm for each and every shot. If you don’t, your work will suffer, and they won’t ask you back.
“What Mr. Hill is offering is a tremendous way to get your feet wet and figure out if you want to go further. Plus, where else can you make as much money in a couple of hours?” I asked.
“Porn,” Brandon said.
“What did you say?” Kendal asked.
“You know, my former assistant might have a good idea,” I said to turn the focus on me because Kendal was not amused.
“What do you mean, ‘former assistant’?” Brandon asked.
“What he means is if you make comments like that … we’ll talk about this in private,” Kendal said as she caught herself.
I’ll give her credit, she was learning. ‘Praise in public and reprimand in private’ was the golden rule of handling employees.
Kendal made arrangements to meet with Coach Hope and Mr. and Mrs. Tasman. They would need to sign the contracts and would have to be supportive of the girls to be able to make this happen. I walked around and thanked everyone who helped with the shoot today. You never knew when you might work with some of the people involved again, and if they liked you, everything seemed to go much better.
◊◊◊ Wednesday September 2
I got up this morning and let Duke out in the backyard. Pam called me just as Precious and my boy went squirrel hunting.
“Hey, Studly. Want some company after school?”
“My parents have gone to Las Vegas, leaving me home alone, and I get scared,” I said in a little boy’s voice.
“You poor thing. I’ll hurry over and see if I can help you from being frightened.”
“Maybe we could play doctor!” I suggested.
“I could be your naughty nurse, and we could examine the patient,” Pam said, which made me laugh.
“I think we better not bring in others to play just yet. I haven’t broken you in yet.”
“That kind of worries me, but I think I might enjoy the experience,” she said as I looked into the backyard. Duke and Precious were missing.
“Hey, I’ve got to go. Duke was supposed to be in the backyard, but he took off. I’ll see you after you’re done with practice,” I said.
“Text me when you find him.”
“Will do,” I said and hung up.
I called my dog, but there was no trace of either Duke or Precious. I walked up and down our alley and then got worried. Duke had never left the yard before, let alone gone missing. I needed to tell Brit her cat was missing, too.
Brit and I covered the neighborhood to try and find our furry friends. I mean, how far could they have gotten? I finally got in my car and made a larger circuit. That was how I spent my day. Toward four o’clock I started to really worry. I stopped at the local vets and animal shelters to see if they’d been found. Then Brit sent me a text to come home.
I was never so happy to see Duke and Precious. They were filthy dirty and smelled to high heaven, but seemed to be alright. I refused to take Duke into the house. He wasn’t happy when he got a hose bath in the backyard. I got the worst of it off and then took him to my apartment, put him in the shower, and got him the rest of the way clean. Duke was okay with showers, but he loved being towel-dried.
Duke seemed to stay just a little closer to me once he got home. I wished the two escapees could talk. I was sure there was a story there.
◊◊◊
Pam showed up shortly after I got Duke squared away. He must have had a full day because he crept slowly to his crate and fell asleep. I ordered Chinese for the two of us since I didn’t feel like cooking.
“This whole situation with Mike is messed up,” Pam said to let me know what was on her mind.
Earlier this summer, we had asked two players to leave the team because they wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. We let another two skate even though the girl was drunk and, in my opinion, wasn’t able to give consent. The two that had quit the team were still working out with Cassidy. Both hoped to rejoin us next year. Was Mike guilty of taking advantage of Mona if she never said ‘no’? When he sent me the text, it made him a jerk and a former friend, but did he deserve to lose his spot on the football team?
Pam was here because she wanted to protect her fellow cheerleader. I was here because of my role as captain of the football team. I was friends with most of the cheerleaders, so were we really two different teams? I hoped not.
“Mona and her parents had Mike and his parents over last night. The discussion got heated, and her dad is talking about not letting her be a cheerleader anymore.”