ModelLove (2 page)

Ian watched the sun sink lower in the
crimson-and-orange-streaked sky. The reflection of the fiery sky kissed the
waters of the lagoon, turning them violet as the waves rolled over the white
sand. It was a beauty so grand it was almost overwhelming for him. That’s what
he thought the moment he saw Bora Bora from the plane, a verdant jewel outlined
in ivory sand embraced by turquoise waters. Even though it was the rainy season
and there’d been a downpour earlier that day, almost before it finished, the
sun pushed its way through the clouds once again.

He’d never seen a sunset like this before. Often Aiden would
drag him out onto the balcony of their penthouse to show him a particularly
pretty sunset or unusual cloud pattern. If Aiden could’ve seen this one, he’d
have tears in his eyes from the beauty. But Aiden had always been more of a
nature lover than him. Now he was beginning to understand why. It was easy to
forget about how breathtaking the natural world could be beyond concrete and
skyscrapers and all things manmade.

“Magnificent, no?”

Ian startled at the voice behind him. He whipped his head
around and froze. A man stood behind him, wearing only dark-green, slim-fitted
swim shorts, showing long legs lined in muscle. The tops of the man’s narrow
hips peeked out of the shorts. With his gaze, Ian traced each groove in the
other man’s defined abdomen up his smooth skin to thick pectorals. Even at
rest, his biceps and forearms looked solid and they led down to broad, strong
hands.

Ian moved his gaze to the man’s face. He looked young. From
how finely developed his body was and the maturity emanating from him, Ian
guessed him to be in his late twenties. His features were a striking blend of
Polynesian and European. He had fine cheekbones, full lips, but what caught
Ian’s attention most were the other man’s eyes, beautifully almond shaped and
golden-brown in color. His hair fell to his jawline, rich mahogany that the
sunset pulled bronze highlights from. His coppery skin glistened in the waning
light with a light sheen of sweat from the warm, humid weather.

Ian almost doubted it was a real man before him. He looked
more like a tropical god.

The other turned his gaze from the sunset to him. “I
apologize. I interrupted your solitude.”

In the honeyed baritone, Ian caught his accent with a French
lilt. It was mesmerizing to hear and he wanted to hear it more. “No, you’re
okay.”

“May I?” he asked, gesturing to the sand at Ian’s side.

“Sure.”

Taking a seat beside him, he extended his hand to Ian.
“Temaru Marceau.”

Ian took his hand. Now that Temaru was closer, he picked up
his scent, the sweet smell of coconuts edged with a delicate flowery fragrance
and beneath those, the faint musk of masculinity. An intoxicating combination.
“Ian Eldridge. Marceau…you’re French?”

“More like half. My mother is Tahitian, my father is French.
Where are you from?”

“Chicago, in the United States.”

Temaru grinned at him. “I know where Chicago is.”

Ian directed his gaze back to the sunset. Well, nothing like
starting off a conversation with a hot guy by putting his foot in his mouth.

Temaru broke the silence. “Watching the sunset is better
when shared with another, even a stranger, don’t you think?”

The memories of watching the sunset with his brother flashed
through Ian’s head. “Yeah,” he said softly.

“Though I’ll admit, I prefer the sunrise. I’m not sure why.
Perhaps because the light is growing stronger rather than weakening. It always
feels to me there’s more hope in the sunrise.”

A sarcastic snort came from Ian’s nose before he could stop
it. “What are you, a poet?”

Temaru laughed. “No. I’m a scuba diver. I have a shop near
the docks and a boat that I take tourists out diving and snorkeling. Have you
ever been diving?”

“A couple of times. My brother talked me into taking lessons
and we dove in Lake Michigan.” Ian glanced at Temaru, seeing the slight smirk
quirking one corner of his lips. “What’re you grinning at?”

“Lake Michigan? Did you see anything interesting beyond old
tires and beer bottles?”

Ian chuckled softly. “Hey, it’s not that bad. It might not
be coral reefs and tropical fish but there are some pretty cool shipwrecks down
there.”

“I stand corrected then. And since you’re already an
accomplished diver, you’ll have to let me to take you out.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m accomplished. Aiden was a much better
diver than me.”

“He’s your brother?”

“Is…and was. He passed away a few years ago.”

Temaru’s countenance shifted to an expression of sympathy.
“I’m sorry.”

Ian shook his head to let Temaru know his words hadn’t upset
but couldn’t muster his voice to say so. Not knowing what to say, he raised a
hand to his mouth and began systematically biting at his thumbnail following
along the edge.

“That’s a bad habit,” Temaru said.

“Yeah, I know. I don’t even know where or when I picked it
up. Just sort of happened without me realizing.” Ian pulled his hand away from
his mouth and placed both slightly behind him, leaning back on them. Out the
corner of his eye, he saw Temaru contemplating him. He didn’t need to look at
him to feel the intensity of his gaze. It wasn’t a gaze of hot attraction but
more as if Temaru was studying him. He wondered what Temaru was thinking. Did
he find him attractive? Was Temaru deciding if he was good enough to sleep
with? Was he regretting having spoken to him at all? His thoughts started to
make him edgy.

“Did you travel here alone?” Temaru asked quietly.

Ian’s heartbeat quickened at the deep tone of Temaru’s
voice, the unasked question underlying the spoken one. “No, I came with
friends.” He looked at Temaru. “But just friends.”

“That’s good to hear. Would your friends be disappointed if
you abandoned them for an afternoon to dive with me?”

Ian quickly shook his head. “Not at all.”

“Then how would tomorrow morning be? About ten o’clock? You
could meet me at my shop. After our dive, we’ll have lunch.”

“That’d be great.”

Temaru gave Ian directions to his shop. With their plans
set, he stood, lightly slapping sand off his shorts and smiling at him. “I wish
I could stay longer, but I have a group waiting for me to take them on a night
dive. Until our date.”

Dumbstruck to speechlessness, Ian only managed a nod. He
continued to stare at Temaru’s muscular back as he walked away until the
growing darkness stole him from sight. It seemed a surreal dream that a few
moments ago, Temaru had sat beside him. Part of him even wondered if he really
had or if Temaru was nothing more than a beautiful hallucination. But he had a
date with him.

Ian’s mind locked up at the thought. He had a date. He hadn’t
been on a date in years. That wasn’t to say he’d been celibate. There was a
difference between a date and a hook-up. A date meant more than sex. It was
companionship…which usually led to sex. For him, at least. But a hook-up was
just catching a name before the first orgasm and didn’t require him to remember
it beyond the last one of the night.

Of course, he could be completely overreacting. Just because
Temaru said “date” didn’t mean he thought of it as being anything more than
taking a tourist on a dive. If that was the case, he’d be disappointed, but
he’d also look forward to simply seeing Temaru again. Besides getting to admire
his breathtaking body, he felt drawn to Temaru’s calm, quiet confidence.

At the thought of spending more time with Temaru, an excited
rush went through Ian. He couldn’t remember when he had last felt excited about
spending time with someone. When he did go out for a hook-up, he never felt
excited to be with them personally. It was more the rush of getting laid and
even that hadn’t been too hot lately.

Ian reached up with one hand to run his fingers through his
hair, his progress stopped short by tangles. It might have been wind-blown but
it was also a mess in general. He got a mental image of himself and how he must
look, thought of the clothes he’d brought with him and let out a low,
self-deprecating groan. No matter what Temaru had in mind for tomorrow, he
needed to get himself cleaned up. He should at least buy a new pair of swim
shorts other than the frumpy blue ones he was wearing.

Ian stood and walked up the beach. He was sure one of the
posh resorts would have a good salon. He needed to look as fine as possible for
his date.

Ian shifted his bags to open the beach house door. He took a
breath, preparing for the scolding he knew waited on the other side. Having
spent the evening in a salon and shopping, he had missed dinner with everyone.
But whatever bitching Mitch dished out would be worth it and wouldn’t bring him
down. He felt too damn good.

He’d managed to find a nice salon in one of the resorts,
where he’d gotten his hair shortened and layered all around, leaving enough
length that he could style. He’d had an exfoliation done and a treatment for
the circles under his eyes, though he didn’t see much difference in those. The
manicurist had looked in horror at his gnawed-on fingernails. She did a
beautiful job with what she had to work with, though. After his waxing, he’d
loaded up on new hair and skin care products, then headed out to buy a couple of
new outfits.

The people who’d worked on him kept commenting how he looked
like a model and he almost felt like one again. He was reminded how much he’d
always loved getting prepared for a shoot. Even more, he remembered how good it
felt to take care of himself. It was how he’d always been even before becoming
a model. He’d always go to nice salons, buy the finest clothes he could afford,
work out regularly. And he didn’t do those things out of vanity, but because he
enjoyed them.

It’d been a long time since he felt that way or even cared
to try.

Ian let out a single soft laugh. Nothing like a hot guy to
make him perk up. Though, Temaru wasn’t the first hot guy he’d talked to in
recent years. Maybe
the
hottest, but he also had a feeling Temaru was
the kindest and it was that part of Temaru he wanted to impress most.

Ian took a deep breath and turned the doorknob. No point
holding off getting bitched at. He opened the door and stepped inside to the
large, open living room. He didn’t see Mitch, but Rodney and Jared were sitting
on the couch. Both turned to look at him. Jared’s eyes widened. Rodney’s jaw
dropped open, the piece of mango he’d just put in his mouth fell out and
plopped onto his lap.

Ian didn’t know whether to laugh at them or roll his eyes.
All he’d done was get a haircut. Well, and all the other treatments, but those
wouldn’t really show. Other than the eyebrow waxing. His eyebrows had gotten a
bit on the bushy side.

Rodney jumped to clean the mango off his lap with a napkin.
He stood and walked toward Ian, holding out both hands to him. “Honey, you look
incredible!”

Ian took Rodney’s offered hands. “I just got a haircut.”

“Oh no you didn’t. You did more than that.” Rodney pulled
one hand from Ian’s, touching beneath Ian’s chin and guiding him to turn his
head back and forth as he inspected him. “Your skin looks fabulous. You got a
facial, didn’t you? And look how nice and trim your eyebrows are. But your
hair! Since you mentioned it, I love it. Hold on, though, because the wind blew
it out of place…” His sentence trailed off as he lifted both hands, stretching
to reach Ian’s greater height to fix Ian’s hair.

Ian let out a soft sigh. “This really isn’t necessary.”

“The hell it’s not. Now bend down so I can get this right.”

Ian rolled his eyes, but a smile slipped onto his lips. He
bent at the waist to humor Rodney.

Rodney shook his fingers through Ian’s hair, flipped and
tossed it. “I like how they styled it, but you always worked the
just-out-of-bed look beautifully.” He paused and stepped back to admire his
work, tapping his chin with his index finger in a contemplative look.

Ian stayed in position, having learned during shoots not to
move unless he was told to start working it.

“You know…” Rodney started, his voice showing he was still
in deep thought while speaking.

Mitch stomped into the room, putting a halt to anything
Rodney was about to say. “Where the hell have you…holy shit.” He stopped so
short, the wine in the two glasses he carried sloshed dangerously close to the
rims. “You look amazing!”

“Like I told Rodney, all I did was get a haircut.” Ian
glanced to Rodney. “Can I stand up straight now?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Ian straightened and took a step forward.

“But don’t move!” Rodney said.

Ian froze in place.

Rodney waved for Mitch to come over. Mitch stopped at
Rodney’s side, handing him one of the glasses of wine. Rodney took it,
motioning with his other hand up and down Ian’s body. “He’s got a whole new
aspect to him now, doesn’t he? Maturity, character. He’s not the pretty boy toy
anymore. He’s a man who can be elegant, sophisticated, passionate, strong. Do
you see it?”

Mitch nodded, his gaze traveling over Ian. “I do. He’s got
the kind of strong masculinity to him now that some of the blue-chip clients
love. Are you thinking D&G, Armani, Calvin Klein? Because I am.”

“Absolutely, I am.”

Ian aimed a scowl at them. “Too bad I’m not.”

Not waiting for them to respond, he pushed by them, going
toward his bedroom. He stepped in and gave the door a hard swing to close it
but it didn’t get a chance to latch before Mitch shoved it open again. Rodney
followed after, softly closing the door behind them.

Mitch moved toward Ian. “Why’d you storm off like that?”

Ian flung his bags onto the bed and faced him. “Because
you’re doing the exact damn thing I thought you would!”

Mitch held up both hands in a gesture of confusion. “What am
I doing?”

Ian jabbed his index finger toward him. “You’re pushing me
to get back in the game.”

Mitch adopted a look of innocence. “Seriously? Is that why
you think I invited you on this trip?”

Ian folded his arms across his chest, fixing him with a
stern glare.

Mitch held his ground for a moment, then relented with a
huff. “Okay, okay. It’s possible I was thinking we could get some new shots of
you, but no pressure and no pushing.”

“Really?” Ian said, his tone revealing his skepticism. “What
do you call mentioning A-list clients?”

“Chatting. Speculating. Thinking out loud. Just bringing up
names doesn’t make a contract magically appear, you know.”

Ian narrowed his eyes at him. “Yeah, I’m pretty fucking
aware of that. Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid.”

“Then don’t blow things out of proportion,” Mitch snapped
back.

Rodney stepped between them, holding a hand toward Ian and
resting his other on Mitch’s chest. “Boys, boys, boys. Let’s all settle down
and take a deep breath.”

Ian half turned away from them but followed Rodney’s request
and inhaled a deep breath. As he exhaled, he sat on the edge of the bed,
leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

Rodney went to him and sat at his side. He rested a hand on
Ian’s back, his voice soft as he spoke. “Sweetie, you were right. Mitch and I
did have ulterior motives in inviting you here.”

Ian closed his eyes and shook his head. “I knew it.”

“But it’s not fully what you think. You’re thinking we wanted
you to come here because we want to shoot you so we can try to throw you out to
the modeling world again. But how would we ever be able to force you to model
again? We can’t. It’s something you have to want to do for yourself, otherwise
any shoots or shows you do would be a disaster. But are we trying to nudge you
toward that world again? Yes, we are. And it’s not for the reason I know you’re
thinking. It’s not about money. It’s about you.”

Ian gave a snort of disbelief. “Yeah, right.”

“If you really think about it, you’ll see. Think about the
clients I work with. Think about the models Mitch has on his roster. And I
won’t deny you have the potential to be one of his most successful, you were
before. But sweetie, what you’d bring in is a drop in the bucket compared to
what all his models bring in.”

Ian lifted his head slightly as the truth in Rodney’s words
hit him. All this time he thought Mitch wanted to get him modeling again to
make money off him. But Mitch already had his moneymakers. If anything, Mitch
lost money wasting his time on him when he could be promoting his other models.
Hell, he wasn’t even contracted with Mitch and the Kallos Agency anymore. He’d
never stopped to think that while his world had grown smaller and slowed down,
Mitch’s had gotten larger and kept moving.

Ian closed his eyes tight against emotion welling inside
him. Since losing Aiden, his depression and loneliness had made him so blind to
the world.

Rodney rubbed his hand up and down Ian’s back. “And you were
right that we’re pushing you. But it’s because we care about you and we don’t
like the way you’ve been living. You’re better than how you’re treating
yourself. You have greatness in you. We’ve both seen it before and we know it’s
still there. You’ve got that special spark that shines through the camera,
where with just a gaze you lock people into the photograph and your world
inside it.” He bumped lightly against Ian. “You were always my muse. You know
that.”

Ian cleared his throat to loosen it from the emotion holding
it. “I thought Aiden and I both were.”

Rodney’s voice became even warmer and gentler as he spoke.
“And you were. I still go back through old shots I have of you both and admire
the two of you together, how you both glowed. But for as similar as you two
were in appearance, you each brought something different to a job.”

Ian looked at him with a sad smile. “You know you were the
only photographer who could tell us apart.”

“Of course I was. Because you two were such different people
on the inside and that presence shone through to the outside. You always came
across so bold, commanding on camera. Whereas Aiden had a softer touch to his
style. It was one of the reasons you both worked together so well. You
complemented each other. But remember there were a lot of times you two didn’t
work together and when he worked without you, he was magnificent. When you
worked without him, you were magnificent.

“And you know what, sweetie? You still are. All that
charisma is still inside you. That’s one thing I always tell models when I work
with them. Yes, those pretty looks are valuable property but it’s that charisma
inside that truly makes one successful and unlike physical beauty, it never
fades.”

Ian gazed into Rodney’s eyes. He leaned into Rodney,
wrapping his arms around him. His voice came in a whisper. “Thanks.”

Rodney gave him a squeeze. “No thanks needed. You know
that.”

Mitch loudly cleared his throat.

Ian glanced toward him.

Mitch pointed at himself with both hands. “Don’t you think
you owe me a little bit of an apology?”

“For what?” Ian asked.

“For thinking the worst of me!”

Ian sat back from Rodney. “I wasn’t thinking the worst of
you. I thought you were money obsessed, which you are. It just happens you’re
not in relation to me.”

Mitch gave him a flat look, showing he was less than amused
with him.

Ian chuckled. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But I was right that
you guys brought me along for more than to get a tan.”

Mitch disregarded the fact with a wave of his hand. He
dropped down to sit at Ian’s other side. “Minor detail. But what I want to know
is what inspired you to get brightened up? If I would’ve known all it’d take
would be a few rays of sunshine to put you in a good enough mood to spend more
than ten dollars on a haircut, I would’ve sent you here a year ago.”

“I met someone on the beach.”

Mitch and Rodney shared a shocked look.

“And who, pray tell, is this mystery man?” Rodney asked.

Ian reclined back on his elbows. “His name is Temaru
Marceau. He takes tourists diving and snorkeling.” He glanced to Mitch again.
“And let me just say, he could put every model in your stable to shame.” He
launched into describing Temaru.

“He sounds impressive,” Mitch said.

Ian nodded. “Yeah. And I’m meeting him tomorrow morning to
go diving.”

Rodney laid his hand on Ian’s thigh. “I’m glad you found
someone to spend time with while we’re here. Just…be careful. I don’t want to
tell you to guard your heart, but well, actually I guess I do want to say
that.”

“I know. I’ve already got the walls up. Nothing that happens
is going to go beyond this trip.”

Mitch spoke up. “Well, no matter where it goes, I still want
to meet him to tell him thank you for inspiring you to get a manicure. Your
nails don’t look quite so much like they’ve been chewed on by a starved rat.”

Ian shoved Mitch on the shoulder. “They weren’t that bad.”

Mitch made a low noise in his throat expressing his
disagreement. “And on that note, we’ll get out of here and let you rest since
you have an early morning.” He stood and offered his hand to Rodney.

Rodney placed his hand in Mitch’s and got to his feet. He
looked to Ian. “Actually, there was one more thing I wanted to say before we
leave.”

Ian felt the little bit of a light mood he’d manage to
collect start to fade. “What is it?”

“I want you to consider letting me shoot you while we’re
here. We don’t even have to do anything with the films. I’ll give them to you
after we’re done, if you want.”

“Then what would be the point of shooting?” Ian asked.

Rodney smiled at him. “To let you feel like your old self
again.”

Ian fell silent. Slowly, he lowered his gaze.

“Will you at least consider it?”

Ian nodded and muttered a barely audible “yeah.”

Rodney stepped away from Mitch to stand in front of Ian. He
bent down, placing a kiss on Ian’s forehead. “Thank you.” He went back to
Mitch’s side, each slipping an arm around the other.

As they reached the door, Mitch called back to him, “Good
night.”

“Sweet dreams,” Rodney added.

“Night.”

As they closed the door behind them, Ian fell to his back on
the bed. He felt exhausted, as if it took strength and a conscious effort to
keep his eyes open. He let them fall shut, wishing he knew why he felt so
drained. Maybe he’d been through too many emotions, from reeling at how
beautiful the island was, to mourning Aiden, to the excitement of meeting
Temaru and now everything with Rodney and Mitch. Yet of all the thoughts, it
was Temaru who both calmed and revitalized him.