Chapter 6

“Hey, what’s up?” a guy said, slipping through the little crowd of women.

He was vaguely Latino, though I had a hard time placing where his family may have originated. He also happened to be ridiculously good-looking and very fit, showing off his bulky arms in a muscle shirt. “Hey, Robbie Blane,” I said and offered him my hand.

He shook it and grinned. “JC. Looks like we’re the only two guys on the trip. There was supposed to be another guy, Wanda’s husband Brodi, but he got some sort of contract to shoot for Vogue over in Italy.”

“Damn,” I said, my eyebrows raising.

“Yeah, I know,” JC laughed. “Anyways, I figured I’d introduce myself. This much estrogen in one place, we’re probably going to need to throw back some beers at some point. You into sports?”

“I’ve dabbled with Fantasy Football but I didn’t have the patience for it,” I said. “I’ll sit and watch a game of just about anything with a buddy though. Except for baseball.”

“Awesome. There’s a big Champion’s League game, maybe we can get somewhere with wifi or satellite and catch it together.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said. “Are you here just as a model, or...?”

“Hah, sort of,” JC chuckled. “I’m only invited because of my girlfriend, Lou-Anne. She’s the shorter blonde over there.” He pointed to a group of women talking off to one side. Lou-Anne was the shortest of the group, wearing a clingy grey dress that was like a second skin on her. She was astoundingly fit, with muscled thighs and toned arms and a washboard stomach, and I could tell she had a bikini under the dress it clung so close. “She goes by TerraBell online, so most of the people here call her Terra. We’re both swimsuit and underwear models, but after last year I started doing cosplay stuff too since there’s a want for guys for shoots.”

“Cool,” I said. “I’m Cassidy’s fiance, and act as her photographer though I’m not professional or anything. She’s over there, with the violet hair.”

“Nice,” JC said. “Honestly, if you’re any good at all, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re getting asked for help a lot this week. Most of these girls know how to edit their own stuff, but having another pair of hands to take photos instead of doing it themselves is a big help.”

“That sounds like exactly how Cass looped me into it,” I laughed.

The old beater of a car had finally parked, and three women had gotten out and were unloading a ton of bags from the trunk and back seat. “We should go help,” I said.

JC grinned and shrugged. “Sure, I could get a sweat on. Have you seen some of these bags? I think the ladies stuffed them with bricks.”

Becca was quickly handing out the last of her forms to the three as we approached. “Hey, ladies. Can we help you out?”

“Oh, that would be great,” Becca said. “You girls alright if JC and- Robbie, right? If JC and Robbie get your luggage over to the group?”

“Sure, thanks,” said the woman who seemed to be the most outgoing of the three. “I’m Zenya.” She offered her hand and I shook it, and so did JC. Zenya had her hair dyed a bright red, and did her makeup in a sort of anime style to make her eyes look extra big. It was a little off-putting up close, but she was dressed in a tight t-shirt and cotton shorts that accented her generous, natural curves.

“Ginnie,” said the next girl. She was short, maybe the shortest of the entire gathering, a petite woman with a resting bitch face that she broke momentarily as she gave JC and I a small, thin smile in thanks. Her hair was long and extremely curly, running down to her lower back in curled strands almost like braids.