Chapter 15: Modeling

Saturday December 20

"Get up! Get up! Get up!" Kara shouted as she ran into my room and bounced on my bed.

I think somebody was a little over excited for six-thirty in the morning. Of course somebody had flown in from Italy, and her internal clock was messed up. I guess I should feel lucky that I got to sleep this late.

"Should we go wake everyone up?" I asked getting into the spirit of things.

She nodded with a gleam in her eye.

I got up and went to put on my boxers.

"No, let's go naked and wake them up. It's more fun," Kara said as she pulled off her shorts and t-shirt.

We decided to wake up Adrienne and Tyler first. They were already awake when we came bursting in. The image of Tyler between Adrienne's legs will be burnt into my memory forever. I tackled Tyler and Kara went for Adrienne. Adrienne had Kara pinned in record time. I don't think she was trying very hard.

"No boys allowed!" Tyler told me.

"What? I promise to be good," I begged.

Adrienne had Kara in a lip lock as Tyler pushed me out of the room. What the hell! Life is so unfair. Mr. Happy was so hard he hurt. I went back to my room and abused him twice. For some reason he would remember seeing Kara and Adrienne rolling around on the bed. From there my imagination would take over and my problem would spring back up.

I finally got up to go work out. The bunkhouse had a full gym, indoor pool and hot tub. After my workout, I went and made breakfast. The smell of coffee and bacon lured Tiffany and Kendal out of their room. I found all the fixings for omelets, so I made my agents breakfast.

Tyler came out first and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Kara was out next, followed a few minutes later by Adrienne. I ended up making them all omelets.

I made myself a six egg white scramble with ham in it, and had some of the left over bacon and a hot tea. I was back on my protein diet to help build up muscle and to reduce my overall body fat. After I had eaten, I made a protein shake, and took my supplements. The supplements were easier to take after I had eaten.

We all went out front, where Tiffany had a van for us all to ride in. On the ride to the shoot, I was in the very back with Kara, and she snuggled up to me. She didn't even feel bad that I got kicked out earlier. I can't say that I blame her. If Adrienne had pinned me to the bed, and Kara had been kicked out, I would have just gone with the flow.

We drove to Park City, with Tiffany taking us through the downtown area. It reminded me of a Norman Rockwell painting of old Americana, as the old buildings were all decked out with Christmas decorations. We pulled up to a photo studio and everyone got out. Tiffany led us in and the receptionist escorted us to the back where I saw Bev, the photographer from last year.

"David!" she called across the studio and came over and gave me a hug.

I introduced Bev to everyone, and she remembered Kendal from last year. Kara and I were sent to makeup and wardrobe where they had a barber waiting for me. The barber compared my hair length with what it looked like from my shoot in the UK. She then gave me a haircut and Bev was brought back to confirm my hair was the same.

I was then sent to makeup. While I was getting my hair cut, Kara was doing her first set of shots. We were in an old building which had previously been a warehouse. It had fifteen foot ceilings with exposed timber and the outside walls were brick. It would have made a great loft to live in. The room was divided up so two photographers could be working to get the catalog and internet work done quickly. Bev was overseeing the whole thing.

While my makeup was being applied, Adrienne was sitting next to me explaining what they were doing.

"The first thing you always do, is apply a moisturizer," Adrienne coached.

I had never had this done first. Young skin can get away with not doing this step, so the makeup gal was just going to start working.

"Why do we need moisturizer?" I asked.

"Two reasons. The first is the more you put makeup on the more likely your skin will start to dry out. Dry skin leads to damaged skin. This is your livelihood. You need to protect your best asset. The second is because it makes putting on makeup, easier."

Adrienne sorted through all the moisturizers and selected one for me to use. It was a rich facial balm. Once the moisturizer was applied, the foundation seemed to glide on more smoothly.

"They use a foundation to cover any large pores or lines. You can tell if they have the right color foundation by taking a long brush stroke and applying it across your cheek. If you can't see it, you have the right one. You need a touch of concealer to even out your skin tones under your eyes," Adrienne pointed out.

She had an eagle eye on the makeup gal, and had her adjust the concealer.

"Now we'll apply powder to set the makeup. This will also prevent any glare under the lights."

The girl did the powder, and then Adrienne had me stand up and step back from the mirror.

"Stand back and look at the overall effect. I think it looks good," she said smiling at me. "Now we do what is called lifting. This is where we look to see if there is any part of your face that needs more definition. Because we are looking for a natural look for a sporting goods shoot, you don't need anything dramatic. We're going to use muted eyeliner to draw out your beautiful eyes. I think a little lipstick will brighten your lips just a touch," Adrienne directed.

When they were done I was happy to see I looked natural. I was just a little better version of myself.

Bev had me start with hunting gear. You would be amazed at how many different clothing options there are for the sport. I spent the morning with Bev and Adrienne. Bev got into the spirit of teaching me, when she saw Adrienne was giving me tips. She showed me things like the different diffusers on the lights, and the different affects you could achieve with lighting. A photographer's worst enemy can be shadows. That was why most shoots are indoors. It allows them to control the lighting.

I noticed Kendal and Tiffany were all paying rapt attention to what Adrienne and Bev were teaching me. Learning the why of things made it easier to understand what was going on. I was finding I needed to learn a lot to become more than just a living clothes mannequin. A good model could assist in the shoot, and help the photographer. After all, who knows your body better, or the best way to display it?

Adrienne taught me how to make subtle suggestions. She had Bev take a set of shots, and then made a slight change in lighting or how I was posed. Then she would show me the difference. Bev didn't seem to mind us eating into her time, because Adrienne was keeping the pace moving and I think Bev was learning some things that would make her a better photographer.

I was also being taught what makes a good photograph. This was where Tiffany and Kendal really paid attention, because they had to approve the work.

I was surprised when Bev called a stop because it was lunch time. The morning had gone fast, and I was really enjoying myself.

I had to chuckle when I went to eat. Instead of cigarettes and coffee, they had actual food! I was happy to see a salad, steamed broccoli, a plain baked potato, and a steak. Sandy Range must have organized this for me. Over lunch, Adrienne told me she would be working with Kara the rest of the day. I understood, because Kara was actually working for Adrienne. I was under contract with Ford for this shoot.

Bev made the other photographer switch with her. At least Kendal stayed with me. Tiffany and Tyler went to the other set to watch Adrienne work with Kara.

My new photographer was an arrogant ass. I acted like a professional and did my job. I could tell Kendal wanted a piece of him. He was just one of those guys who rubbed you the wrong way.

For the afternoon, I was doing sports gear ... things for baseball or rugby for example. Towards the end, I had to put on lacrosse shorts and t-shirt. These are fitted, and made with a gel layer to help distribute impact. Very similar to what I'd wear for football. I came out and Paul gave me a dirty look.

"Go back and take the padding out of your crotch. We are not doing this so you can fool the ladies," he snapped.

"I think you just crossed the line with that comment," Kendal said.

Her jumping to my defense slowed me down from just kicking his ass. He was on my last nerve, and because of the outfit I had no way of hiding my assets. It was just part of being a model. It was very bad form for a photographer to comment on a guy's package, and attempted padding to enhance that area, unless he knew for sure. I had seen other models do it before, so I knew it happened. The proper action would have been to go talk to the wardrobe lady instead of embarrassing the talent on set. A two minute discussion could have avoided a confrontation.

"There is no way he is not padded. If it is all him, then I want to see it," he shot back.

Normally I would just drop my drawers, but this guy had pissed me off. The next thing I knew Kendal was in his face letting him have it. I think she had been taking lessons from the mama bear: my mom. Soon everyone was over to my shoot to see what was going on. Kara winked at me when she saw my outfit. It really didn't leave much to the imagination.

When Bev found out he had requested to see my junk ... Paul was suddenly having a bad day. On big corporate shoots, you were required to be extra careful about sexual harassment. I smiled when Tyler went into lawyer mode. She had made me some money in New York for something similar. In this case though, I wasn't looking to get payback for anything. I liked working for Range Sports and Bev was good people.

Paul was finally convinced to shut his damned mouth ... Bev's words, not mine. Tiffany and Tyler decided to stay with Kendal for the remainder of the day. With Paul being civil, the rest of the shoot went smoothly.

When we returned to the ranch, Sandy wanted to go into town to eat and then go dancing. I was the only one who was willing to go with her. Kara was having problems with the time difference, and needed to get some sleep. I tried to get Kendal to go, but she told me she was being a good girl, this trip.

I went and put on a pair of vintage jeans, and a Jade t-shirt. I figured my outfit would be good enough, this time. I was not going to be teased about wearing fancy pants by her friends. Sandy was wearing jeans, too, so I was feeling okay about my choices. When we got to the restaurant, I was pleased to see I knew everybody. Sandy's best friends Kim and Joanna were there, plus the brother/sister snowboarders Bud and Laurie. I counted the girls, and then looked at Bud.

"Dude, I only see four, tonight. We'll have to go find me a couple more," I teased him.

Last year, Laurie and Bud had talked about me going home with four girls.

"That I want to see," he said, which seemed to irritate his sister. I could tell, because she hit him in the chest. It sounded like it hurt.

"You okay?" I asked.

He just grinned at me. Somehow, since I was picking up all four girls, I was paying for dinner. I was fine with that, because I needed to blow off some steam, anyway. Then I looked at the prices and saw it was very reasonable. I would just write it off as a business expense, because Sandy was with me. You have to keep the boss happy!

We went to one of the resorts to go dancing. Their club looked out over the town, and you could see the Christmas lights twinkling. Inside, the club wasn't big, but it had a good sized dance floor. The music was fun, so I anticipated we would have a good time.

"This is a great place to meet girls," Bud told me, so the girls couldn't hear us.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"They're on vacation, and figure they will never see you again."

I looked his sister up and down.

"Is that so?" I asked.

"Good luck. Laurie knows all about guys like you," he shot back.

A fun song came on, and I was pulled onto the dance floor by the girls. Bud was put in charge of guarding the table. Joanna cut me from the herd when a slow song came on. Sandy winked at me.

"I see someone has learned some moves since last year," Joanna teased me.

"Are you dating anyone?" I asked to change the subject.

"I met a guy at college: Bob. He's a junior studying engineering. I think I might like him more than a little."

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know? I'm just getting to know him, so we'll see. I can only hope for the best."

"How does he compare to the hunky village idiot you were dating in high school?" I asked.

She chuckled when I reminded her of last year.

"He's not as cute, but his IQ is about double. At least we can have a conversation about something other than hunting or snowboarding."

Joanna's ex had decided they needed a break, because so many girls wanted him. He thought he should give them a chance. She had asked for the same freedom. The only catch was, she had to find someone better than him. Sandy had stepped in to teach the poor guy a lesson. She arranged for me to hang out with Joanna. It had been pretty funny to see the reaction of her classmates when we danced. It sounded like she had moved on just fine.

I danced with the four girls until ten when Sandy took me home. Bud had to take up the slack when I left. It looked like Kim was interested in him by the way she was flirting. Both Sandy and Bud seemed to be happy with how things were working out.

On the way home, we got to talking.

"How is Devin doing? Has he found a girlfriend?" I asked.

"Not yet. I think he is finally over Lana. He thought he had found the one, with her."

Lana had turned out to not have a faithful bone in her body. Devin was better off finding out before they got married. I still felt bad that I had been involved in that discovery. There was a lull in the conversation, then Sandy changed topics.

"You know, Devin thinks the world of you. I think he acts like you are the little brother he never had. He still talks about the kiss you put on Adrienne in Chicago," she said with a smile. "He even brags about you testing the jet water board and just about killing yourself. Devin is really interested to see what girl has finally caught your eye."

"I think I might like Nancy a lot. She's older and lives too far away for me to see her more than a couple of times a year right now. I wanted her to come out for a couple of weeks to see if there might be something there. I guess I like her enough to find out."

"Where did you meet her?" Sandy asked.

"I went to a football camp at the University of Kentucky. One of my buddies was our camp counselor and was rushing a fraternity. They had a party while we were there and I tried to pick her up. She turned me down cold. I think her rejection made me want her even more. I like how she keeps me on my toes and is more mature about things. We just take it as it comes and tries to keep the friendship alive, while we figure out if we are right for each other.

"My biggest concern is she is four years ahead of me. I'll enter college as she starts law school. We would have to overcome a lot of obstacles to make it work long-term, but I am willing to try. I think she just might be worth it."

"What about Kara?" Sandy asked.

I sometimes forget girls read us better than we think.

"If Kara was not a full time model, I would be going out with her right now. If she told me she would be home at least one week a month, we would be going out."

"What ever happened to the country western girl ... the one who wrote the songs about you?"

"Eve? She went to Nashville and signed with Juke Records. I've only talked to her twice since she left. We're on shaky ground because the last song was supposed to be about our breakup, but it was not based on reality."

"That sucks. What about Tami?" she asked.

"Tami is the one girl I would give it all up for. She got a fellowship to study in the UK for the year. Right before she left we had a falling out and we haven't talked for nearly three months. Since around the Thanksgiving time frame, we have talked three times. She is my best friend, and I miss her a lot. My biggest concern is her moving on without me. She has found herself new friends, and even a love interest," I confessed.

"Any other love interests?" she asked.

"Well, I am dating a few girls right now ... nothing too serious. I do really like a couple of girls, but they have gone off to college. If Tami falls through, and they haven't found Mr. Wonderful by the time we get out of college, I'll be looking them up," I said with a chuckle.

"What about me?" Sandy asked.

"I consider you a friend. I hope I've never misled you about how much you mean to me. If we were not tied up doing business together, I would think hard about more. I think you're going to make some guy very happy. If we ever get to that point, I would be honored to go out with you. I just think for now, we make better friends," I said a little worried.

"No, you have struck the perfect balance of being a close friend and just enough of a flirt to be fun. My friends are all jealous I hang out with you. They'll flip when they find out Adrienne is at the ranch. You know Bud would be camped out in the bunkhouse if he knew."

I just laughed. I sometimes forgot Adrienne was such a household name. The more I got to know her the more I thought of her as my friend and mentor. I guess it would be as if Kate Upton was hanging out at the ranch. I would be star struck until I found out she was just a person, and not the fantasy I had built up in my head.

Speaking of fantasies, I needed to start working on getting her to be my prom date for this year. I would get Lily working on making my dream come true.

Sunday December 21

We hit the studio and did more catalog and internet work in the morning. This time, Kara and I were doing the shoot together. We had a natural chemistry, already, but with Adrienne's coaching we took it to another level. When we saw the pictures at lunch, everyone knew we had something special happening.

Bev called Devin, and their marketing guy, and ran some ideas by them. They didn't want to lose what we had going on today. You could just feel our affinity for each other and you wanted to be a part of the fun we were having. The best part for me was it wasn't faked.

In the afternoon, Adrienne joined us. The shots of just Kara and Adrienne were picking up on their new friendship. Adrienne was a bad girl. She got me revved up. Ever since I could masturbate, she had been the center of many of my sessions. She knew sexy! After all, you do not get to where she was, without knowing what turns men and women on. The evil woman was teaching Kara!

With the two of them giving me looks that would melt ice at the North Pole, I was having some problems. I actually busted out laughing when they both did an identical sexy shimmy and look, at the same time. I saw Devin and his marketing guy about cum in their pants. I called a time out.

"Bev, I either need a cold shower or we need to start losing some clothes and do this thing," I complained.

Adrienne and Kara were plotting over in the corner. Devin came up to offer his advice.

"I vote for fewer clothes," he said with a serious look.

I looked over and his marketing guy was nodding. Bev and I laughed at them.

"We could do some art shots you could use for your cover. I bet you could sell your catalogs instead of giving them away, with this sexy trio," Bev advised.

"Go talk to Adrienne, and see if she has some ideas," Devin told her.

I was surprised when Adrienne suggested we get into biking gear. That was, until I saw Kara and Adrienne in what amounted to spandex. When I saw them, I hurried over to Kendal to make sure I had the resale rights, because this was going to be money.

When Adrienne and Kara saw me, they made me go lose my underwear. When I came back Bev actually blushed. The evil twins huddled around me and Adrienne had Kara adjust me so I wasn't obscene. It became obvious neither one of them had underwear on, either, when their nipples popped.

Sometimes it is just sexier to have clothes on. Neither Adrienne nor Kara had any need for a bra. Adrienne's D cups were a force of nature, and Kara was sporting a solid C cup. They were a couple of those rare women who didn't sag. You would think their boobs were fake by the way they stood so firm. I had been in contact with both, via hugs, and more intimate means with Kara. I could attest that they were 100% natural national treasures.

All I can say is the afternoon flew by. Devin was so happy he invited us all out to dinner at his friend's steakhouse. Even Adrienne thought it was a special day.

When I got back to my room I saw Kara was sound asleep in my bed. I went to get a drink of water when my phone rang, and it was Tami. It must be serious, because it was something like three in the morning in London.

"What's wrong," I asked, letting the concern come through my voice.

"I just got home from a party," she half slurred.

This was something new, because Tami never got drunk. She was always the responsible one.

"Have you been drinking?" I asked.

I knew the drinking age was 18 to purchase alcohol in public in London, but it was entirely legal for kids 5 to 17 to consume alcohol on private property.

"We went out to a party and got pissed. They threw a going away party for me. I just wanted to warn you when you come and pick me up at the airport, and that Simon decided to join me. He bought the ticket tonight. I know how you get. I didn't want him showing up unannounced."

"I'm not picking you up," I told her.

She took it wrong.

"Damn it, David! I thought you had outgrown the pettiness of me dating someone. If you just gave him a chance you would like Simon. The two of you are a lot alike."

"Hang on! I'm not picking you up because I am in Park City, Utah."

"Oh," was all she managed.

"Do you need someone to pick the two of you up?" I asked.

"Yeah, mom is working. I told her I had it sorted."

I chuckled because she was picking up some of the English word phrasing. Next she would have a proper British accent.

"It sounds like you just need to go to bed. I'll make sure someone picks you up. I'll even get over my pettiness, and see if they will let Simon into their car."

"Fine!" she yelled and hung up on me.

That was not the way to endear yourself to somebody doing you a favor. I thought about who would be willing to drive to O'Hare and pickup Tami and her new beau. I called Jeff.

"What's up!" he answered.

Great, another one who had been drinking...

"Tami needs someone to pick her up from the airport. Can you do it?" I asked.

"Sure. Why aren't you doing it?" he asked.

"I'm in Utah, plus she is bringing home her boyfriend. I couldn't last that long in the car without wanting to kill him."

Jeff knew how I was, and accepted it. Then I heard him chuckle.

"I'll get Alan to go with me. He'll get all the info out of them."

That made me laugh. Between Tami and Alan, I didn't know which one was a bigger gossip hound. What would make it fun was he had no filters most of the time. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall once Alan got started. This was the perfect revenge for Tami being bitchy to me.

Monday December 21

My guest was showing up today. Nancy had sent me a text when her flight would be in. I had originally set it up so she would have flown in with me, but she wanted to spend the weekend with her family. Devin volunteered to go get her. He said he would show her around while I worked. I thought it was a little strange, because we were snowboarding today, and Devin loved to snowboard.

The rest of the shoot would be outdoors. Overnight it had snowed, giving us an inch of nice new powder. Adrienne and Kara could ski, so Bev was going to have them on skis instead of snowboards. I was happy to see Bud and Laurie were waiting for us. Bev got us together before we hit the slopes.

"We have blocked off one of the ski runs for the shoot. I want you all to go make a run on one of the public runs to get your legs under you. Once you feel comfortable we'll do the shoot on the fresh snow. So go have fun."

I was happy when she gave us all Go Cams to strap onto our heads. I thought it was a genius idea to show us having fun on the slopes. Bud was acting funny, so I made sure the two of us were on the same ski lift to the top of the hill.

"Why are you acting weird?" I asked.

"That is Adrienne!" he blurted out.

"Yes, and Kara... ," I teased him. "Adrienne is a pretty good kisser."

"I call bullshit! There is no way you kissed her."

I pulled out my phone, and played him the video.

"Send me the video," he ordered.

I just smiled at him, and texted him the link.

"Tell you what. You follow Adrienne and Kara down the hill, and make sure they are okay, and I'll follow your sister," I suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Bud agreed.

When we got off at the top, Laurie headed towards the snowboard run. They didn't want the skiers getting wiped out by a snowboarder doing something crazy. She didn't give me any time to think about it and took off. I had to hurry to catch up.

Speed was the last thing I needed when we hit the first set of bumps. She was ripping it up as I came flying up behind her. Luckily she saw me as I hit the first big bump, and caught some serious air. When we viewed it on her Go Cam, later, it was a spectacular face plant. I must have done three flips before I came to a sudden stop. She zoomed up to see if I was alive, and she found me laughing.

"Again! I want to do it again!" I yelled as she helped me up.

"Oh, dear lord! You are worse than Bud, and he is like a three year old, sometimes," she scolded me.

I had a blast snowboarding with Laurie. She was teaching me tricks as I continued to wipe out. She was impressed I just kept bouncing back up and going again.

When we got to the bottom of the hill we found a worried Adrienne and Kara ... and no Bud.

"Where's my brother?" Laurie asked.

"The ski patrol is bringing him down. He ran into a tree," Adrienne told her.

Laurie got a panicked look on her face, because hitting a tree could kill you. We saw two guys with red vests and a white cross. One was in front, and the other was behind with a rope attached to the back to help guide the toboggan which had Bud on it. I heard the ambulance as it pulled into the parking lot. Bud looked to be in bad shape.

Sandy pulled up while Bud was being loaded. She took Laurie to the hospital while the ski patrol gave Adrienne Bud's equipment. His board was broken and there were marks on the helmet where his head hit.

The Go Cam seemed to be okay. We played it to see what happened. It showed Bud checking out Adrienne and Kara. As the trail turned he was intent on watching them and ran off the edge. You could hear him cuss as his head snapped around. Then he ran right into a large pine tree. It would have been funny, if we hadn't just seen him being rushed to the hospital.

We went to the tent to get ready for the shoot. Adrienne talked to us about being professional and doing our job. I knew she was right, but I was worried about Bud. I was starting to like him. Before we began the shoot, Sandy called Bev to let her know Bud was going to be okay. He had broken his left wrist and left leg, but was awake and responsive. She let us know that Laurie was bowing out too look after her brother.

The run they had blocked off had a section that was out of view of the camera. It turned almost ninety degrees and then there was a nice straight run. They'd arranged it so there was a jeep that would run us up the slope and then we could make the short run where Bev could photograph us.

For the first run Bev wanted us to play follow the leader. Since I was the least experienced, I was made the leader. That way I didn't run anybody over. She wanted me to do some wide turns and slowly wind my way down the slope. Bev seemed happy with the result. We spent the rest of the morning wearing different outfits and different combination of skiers.

We broke for lunch and ate in the resort to get warmed up. Sandy Range showed up and ate with us. She told us Bud was fine, and Devin had picked up Nancy.

After lunch, we went back to the ranch. They had a snowmobile with a circle sled attached to a rope on the back. Of course I volunteered to ride the sled first. Sandy decided to drive the snowmobile so Kara could learn to drive it. They got on, and the only advice Sandy gave me was not to fall off.

I had on my Go Cam because Bev wanted to capture the video. Sandy gunned it, and I flipped off the back, to the amusement of everyone. We tried it again, and I was ready this time. On the first turn the edge of the sled caught in the snow, and I went rolling into a snow bank. I learned to lean into the turns, so the lip of the sled would stay up. Once I figured it out, I had a blast.