Chapter 10: Closer

The landlord had finally fixed the AC. Thank god. Impending summer was brutal this time of year, and Brad had been living in a stuffy preview of hell for the past month. Lying on his couch in a pair of basketball shorts, while the cool air washed over his skin was as close to happiness as he had ever known. Okay, so he was being a bit dramatic –whatever. He was just happy that he was no longer sweating in his own apartment and there was some food and beer in his fridge.

There was a week left until the assignment was due, and Brad only written a few things about Lina down. He had gotten to know her more than he would have ever before, but coming up with twenty random facts and observations about Lina was a little harder than he originally thought it would be. Brad glanced at his assignment on the coffee table and groaned.

It was titled "Lina Anderson in a Nutshell". Yeah, a little cheesy but he really didn't care. And it wasn't like he could bullshit through the whole assignment. Mrs. Row threatened to fail anyone who wrote down things like 'likes to go to movies and hang out with friends' because honestly, who didn't? So he had to be creative. He had to tell the truth about Lina and how he saw her. Within reason.

The first fact on his list: -Lina speaks French fluently. She learned the same time she was learning how to speak English. Her mother is French and it is easier for her to communicate with her through her mother's native language because of mix-ups and forgotten words on her mother's end.

Brad decided not to elaborate on how sexy she sounds when she speaks French and that he watches her lips move when she does.

-Lina has been dancing since she was about twelve. She started out in ballet, but switched to Jazz. I went with her to a couple of her practices and she is obviously one of the better dancers in her group.

Adding that seeing her in her dance clothes and watching her move made him want to drag her out of there and ask for a private dance was decided inappropriate.

-Ebony Walsh is Lina's best friend. Ebony is the total opposite of Lina, in almost every sense of the word. You would never put the two of them together as friends. They act like sisters together. Ebony is living with Lina now.

-Lina doesn't know how beautiful she is.

That one had taken a while for him to write down. One part of him said it was an observation and was completely justified. The other part of him told him it had no business being a part of his assignment. But he gave in and scratched it down eventually. It wasn't like he had to present it in front of the class, or show Lina anyways. Besides, it was true. The girl was gorgeous –not only could she easily pass for a model, but she wasn't even aware when they were out and other guys gawked at her.

A loud knocking drew Brad out of his thoughts. He creased his brows together tightly and sat up, looking towards his door. The knocking didn't let up.

"Bradley, you open this door before I get mugged!"

Brad grinned, making his way to the door. Carlo stood on the outside of his apartment decked out in the usual expensive suit and shiny shoes and pushed past Brad, settling himself safely inside the apartment. He crossed his arms in front his chest and narrowed his eyes at Brad, who couldn't help but chuckle.

"I've been calling for over an hour." Carlo frowned.

"What's going on?"

Carlo gave a wicked grin and shook his head, "Honey, if you were gay and I were single..." he laughed, motioning towards Brad's bare upper half.

Brad laughed and rolled his eyes, "Okay I'll let you know if anything changes." He joked, "So what's up?"

"Moretti called." Carlo grinned, "You need to keep your phone on. I've been calling."

"What he say?" Brad asked, going to the fridge, "You want a beer?"

Carlo rolled his eyes, "No I do not want a beer." He sighed heavily. "Brad, please take this seriously. Moretti called about the photos."

Brad stayed silent for a long moment after taking a big drink from his beer and braced himself. His stomach was tied up in knots, but he didn't want Carlo to know how nervous he was about whatever he was going to say. "Okay, lay it on me." He conceded.

"He thinks your work is brilliant, Brad." Carlo beamed. "He's so impressed; he wants to bring you on as his official photographer for the next four seasons. And he's absolutely in love with that whats-her-face!"

Brad's mind was spinning. He took another long drink from his beer and ran a hand through his hair. "Lina." He murmured. "Her name's Lina."

"Oh I knew it started with an L!" Carlo huffed, checking something on his phone. "Anyways, he was hinting at offering her a two year contract. His words: 'This is the new face of Moretti!' ... Can you believe it? Where is that little dancer of yours, anyways?" he asked, looking around the apartment.

"Probably at her house." Brad mumbled, still trying to process all the information being shoved down his throat. "So let me get this straight ... Moretti or whatever, loved my work, wants to use me in the future and wants to offer Lina a two year contract? He's a well-known designer and all that right?"

Carlo's eyes widened in pure shock, his jaw going slack. "Brad, in all seriousness, if you want to make it in this business, you have to study up on designers. It's part of the gig." His voice dropped to a serious tone. "Angelo Moretti is probably one of the most powerful and influential designers right now. He's big ... really big. Having him on your résumé, especially since he loves your work ... it's really going to have people knocking down your door."

Lina sighed heavily and plopped down onto the living room couch next to her old gray and white cat, Mr. Jiggs. She looked down at him with slight amusement ... he had been the only constant companion she'd really ever known –kinda sad. Unfortunately he was older than dirt, but not too old to demand attention from her by pawing at her leg. But Lina sighed and softly pushed him away. She just didn't have the energy to deal with poor Mr. Jiggs at that moment, so finally he got the hint and settled with snuggling up next to her side, his purring slicing through the heavy silence of her house.

Her mind was drifting again –which could be considered dangerous at times. Especially now, when all Lina could really think about or process was that her parents quite literally left her for good this time. Thinking about it made her bitter and confused. What kind of parents just up and dumped their house on their daughter without having the balls to confront them face-to-face? She supposed it wasn't totally unexpected of them. They'd never really been there for her when she needed them. What kind of parents even left their thirteen year old child home alone for three weeks for the first time? Bad parents, that's what kind.

Cruel tears threatened to fall, but Lina bit her bottom lip harshly and plucked at the hem of her shorts, willing herself not to give in and cry. She'd be damned if she gave her parents the satisfaction of making her cry. Not that they openly set out to make her sad, but still. Lina wished Ebony was home, but she was about an hour away supporting Greg at his band's gig. Lina just hadn't felt up to it.

So she sat there, abusing her bottom lip, holding her breath, trying not to cry. Abandoned by her parents that really shouldn't have had a child in the first place. Used by a boy who won her over with fake charisma and a killer jawline, and who thought she was this innocent little loser of a virgin. She couldn't help it, she laughed bitterly. Almost everyone always assumed she was this stuck-up, naïve virgin. But she wasn't.

Lina finally gave in and scratched Mr. Jiggs' back as he stood up and stretched like one of those Halloween cats. She sighed heavily and stretched out her body as well –she was a little achy from practice. Miss Rosie had been hard on them since they had a performance in a week. Mr. Jiggs meowed harshly at Lina, with a glare on his old furry face. She couldn't help but smile at him before standing up to stretch out more.

She looked around her living room and grinned. Living with Ebony had really brought out her inner artist. They had painted the living room walls a burnt red-spice kind of color and brought in new furniture after selling the old. It was a nice change and more inviting to look at and spend time in.

The doorbell rang through the house, abruptly pulling Lina out of her thoughts. She opened it carefully and sighed, folding her arms in front of her; it was Brad.

"Hi." Her voice came out small and tired.

Brad grinned as she let him in, and settled himself on her couch. Her cat immediately got up and padded to the stairs, a look of great distain plastered on his face. How dare Brad for sitting next to him. Lina gave a lopsided grin at her cat's actions and remained standing in front of the couch, picking at her nails. She didn't trust herself to sit next to Brad.

"I have awesome news." Brad smiled candidly. It was the first time Lina had actually seen Brad smile that big before. And it was absolutely charming. Damn him.

"What's going on?" Lina asked. She couldn't help but return Brad's smile.

Brad ran his hands through his hair, "I got the job. Like ... THE job. Angelo Moretti was impressed and ... gave me a fucking job!" he breathed a laughed, brows raised. "All thanks to you."

Lina smiled "Oh, Brad that's awesome, I'm so happy for you!" how could she not be, with all the ooey-gooey rainbow fudge-sickle energy pouring out of him? He was so excited about it.

"He's practically in love with you, too." Brad stood, grinning. "Carlo said he was hinting at a contract for you. He even said you're the new face of Moretti."

Lina frowned, "I'm not a model."

Brad shook his head, "I seriously doubt that this guy gives a shit about that. Carlo said that Moretti's damn serious about you and would be more than willing to shell out some serious cash for you to model for him."

"Holy shit." Lina blanched.

"Yeah" Brad grinned, "Do you know what this can do though? For either one of us? Angelo Moretti! I did some research on him. This is huge, Lina."

They smiled at each other before Brad scooped Lina up in his arms, hugging her tightly. Lina, although taken aback, chuckled and hugged him back. The hug lingered, loosening up; Lina felt every muscle on Brad's body as it contracted and moved. He might have been lean but the boy's body was hard as a rock. Brad's hands slid down to the small of her back and somehow, Lina snuggled her face into the crook of his neck and sighed. It just felt too good. Too right in his arms.

Then it slipped out, just a soft hitched little breath that escaped Lina's lips, blowing a small surge of hot air on Brad's neck. It made him pause and drop his hands down to her hips. He held her against him possessively and turned his head, catching her lips with his.