More Than Fashion (15 page)

This shift also had Jeff and Derrick, but they took the table across the room. Gavin and I got our food from the buffet and sat down, but while Jeff loudly complained yet again about how large his model’s breasts were, we sat in silence. Jeff had to be the only guy who would complain about a girl’s boobs being
too
big.

Now that Gavin and I were supposed to kiss, I couldn’t think of anything to talk about, couldn’t stop thinking about him actually kissing me, and the fact that I was eating salad and probably had kale stuck in my teeth or tasted like garlic and oh god this whole thing suddenly seemed like a terrible idea.

“I want to hear about this Comic-Con contest,” he said, and I was grateful to him for breaking the awkward silence between us.

“This year I made costumes for me and my two roommates so we could enter the Masquerade.” I was about to say their names, but didn’t want to admit in front of Jeff and Derrick that Carla was one of them. “We decided to go with a Batman villain theme, but I wanted to do something different so I made punk rock outfits inspired by each character’s costume. My friend Maddie, the one I told you was on
The Sound
, was Harley Quinn, and…my other roommate was Catwoman. I was Poison Ivy.”

“I think I’m going to need to see photos of that.” He was stacking the mini coffee creamers into a pyramid again, but this time I wasn’t tempted to knock them over. Okay, maybe a tiny bit.

“Once the show is over, I’ll find some. Maddie’s band members and their girlfriends joined in, too, so by the time we were on stage, I’d made eight costumes. A whole rogues gallery of Batman villains, all with a modern, punk rock look. The Masquerade has a lot of prizes, but Giselle Roberts herself awarded me the
Behind The Seams
prize and asked me to come on the show.”

“That’s brilliant.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “I auditioned twice, by the way.”

“You mean your good looks and sexy accent didn’t win them over the first time?” I asked with my flirtiest smile. “I’m shocked.”

“Some people take longer to win over, I’ve discovered.” He gazed at me with smoldering eyes, and my heart sped up. I knew it was all for the cameras, but when he looked at me like that, it was hard to tell my body it wasn’t real.

“But no, my first audition was a complete disaster,” he said, adding another mini creamer to top off his tall pyramid. “It was my first time in New York, and I was jetlagged and overwhelmed and didn’t have the slightest idea what I was doing. I presented my clothes to the panel, which was Lola, Ricardo, and two of the producers. They asked me questions about my aesthetic, and I stammered through them. When they asked me to pull a dress out to show them, I couldn’t get the hanger off and tugged too hard and ended up knocking the entire rack over. Then, to top it off, I called Ricardo ‘Roberto.’”

I laughed. “It’s hard to imagine you like that.”

“It’s a miracle they let me audition a second time.”

He went on to tell me about his second audition, which had gone much better. Before I knew it, our lunch break was over and we’d forgotten to kiss, so wrapped up in our conversation. It was the first time we’d just sat and talked and the first time being around him hadn’t made me want to strangle him at any point.

I had to be careful. I was in serious danger of actually liking the guy.

***

Carla soon arrived to try on my superhero look—a kick-ass pair of black pants that were tight, yet easy to move in, under a fitted coat that was sexy, yet kept the ladies safe and secure. It had a hood and a bit of extra fabric around the neck that could be pulled up like a mask to cover the mouth and chin. Throw in a utility belt and boots she could run in, and it was a perfect modern, functional crime-fighting costume.

While she got dressed, I switched off my mic and explained my agreement with Gavin in whispers. Her eyebrows got closer and closer together with every word.

“It’s good you have a strategy,” she said once I’d finished. “But are you sure this is a smart idea?”

“I don’t know if it’s smart, but I think it will work.”

She nodded, biting her lower lip. “I want you to stay on the show as long as you can, but I don’t want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable either.”

“Don’t worry about that. Since when have I ever had a problem hooking up with a guy?” I handed her the coat, and she slid it on.

“True, but…”

“But what?”

“The way you interact with Gavin is different.”

I snorted. “Only because I’m forced to see him day in and day out. Any other guy would have been kicked to the curb a long time ago.”

“Maybe that’s all it is,” she said, but she sounded doubtful.

We walked to the mirror to check her out, and I could see the worry etched across her face. I turned her toward me and stared into her big brown eyes. “Seriously, it will be fine.”

“I trust your judgement. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Me? Never.”

She gave me a hug, and at first I stiffened, but then hugged her back. She’d been my model on the show long enough that it was fine. No one would suspect anything.

After she left, I heard Gavin muttering under his breath, his voice growing increasingly upset. His look—a crop top with a geometric pattern, plus a cape and a tight pair of leather pants—still needed a lot of work. Since I was in a good mood from our lunch and was pretending to be all doe-eyed for him for the cameras, I figured I’d offer him a hand.

I finished up the final touches on my coat, then moved to lean against his table. “You need some help? I’m already done.”

“No, thank you.”

“You sure? I could finish sewing those pants for you in no time while you work on that cape.”

“I can manage on my own,” he snapped.

I stared at him, trying to figure out why he was being so stubborn. “But you have less than an hour. You won’t be able to finish all this in time. I just want to help.”

“I don’t need your help!”

I blinked and threw up my hands. “Fine. Never mind, then.”

Stunned, I went back to my workstation and checked over my look again. What was his problem? One second we’d been bonding over lunch, and the next he’d bitten my head off. He was supposed to act like he was into me, not like a total dick.

I should have known this wouldn’t work out.

Sexual chemistry? Not a problem.

Getting along for more than five minutes? Nearly impossible.

***

The runway show was a fun one. Carla rocked her costume, looking fierce and sexy and amazing. I wanted to snap a photo of her and send it to my friends Tara and Hector, who’d created a graphic novel together called
Misfit Squad
. How cool would it be to have a half-black, half-Portuguese superhero with natural hair as the lead in a comic book? Or in a TV show or movie? I wished I had my phone so I could send them the idea immediately.

When the challenge ended, I was in the top three, and it was so obvious my look should win—yet they gave the prize to Jeff.
Jeff
. Even though all of the judges loved my look the most—except Lola, who inexplicably hated it, of course. Gavin was in the bottom for the first time ever, since his look was sloppy and barely finished, but he was safe. The only good news was that Derrick was out. The Jeff Jayson Fan Club was starting to break apart.

I trudged back into the backstage lounge, where the designers in the middle waited, and then kept on walking out into the hallway. That superhero challenge should have been
mine
, dammit. I’d worked so hard on it, and I knew with every fiber of my being that my look was better than Jeff’s. Seriously, what superhero would run around in a skimpy miniskirt that would only ride up her ass while she was fighting? I was so mad I wanted to punch something.

I leaned against the wall, burying my face in my hands, enjoying a second of solitude. I was nearly in tears, which was silly because I’d been in the top. The pressure of the show must have been getting to me. The long hours, the lack of alone time, being completely cut off from the world, plus all the design room drama…it was too much. I was starting to crack.

The door to the lounge opened. Gavin. He must have followed me out. “Are you all right, love?”

After his attitude today, I had zero desire to talk to him. “Go away.”

“I want to apologize for earlier.” He moved close, taking my hands in his. “I’m sorry for being so rude to you.”

“It’s fine, whatever,” I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the floor. I wished he would leave me alone to sulk by myself.

“No, it’s not fine. My behavior was unforgivable.” He drew in a long breath. “I have a hard time accepting help from others. I suppose I…prefer to do things on my own. With my own hands. But that is no excuse for the way I treated you.”

He sounded sincere, and when I looked in his eyes, I believed he was genuinely sorry. I tightened my hands around his. “It’s okay. I think we’re all having a rough day. I’m sorry you were in the bottom.”

“I deserved to be there.” He traced patterns on my skin with his thumbs. “Are you upset about something other than my very ungentlemanly behavior?”

That got a little smile out of me. “It’s…it’s stupid.”

“I doubt that.”

“I came in second, but I should have won. If it weren’t for Lola and her vendetta against me…but no, I shouldn’t complain. I was still in the top. Just ignore me.”

“Lola does seem to have it out for you. Maybe you should talk to someone?”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. Kelsey? One of the producers? Maybe even Giselle Roberts?”

“Why would they listen to me over her?” I sighed. “No, I’m going to be sent home soon. I can feel it.”

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest and his warm embrace. “We’re not going to let that happen.”

I buried my face in his shoulder, breathing in the scent of him, digging my fingers in his black shirt. “How?”

“By making sure they won’t dare send you home.”

A small laugh escaped me, and I raised my eyes to his. “What’s in it for you?” I asked, repeating his question from last night.

“This,” he said and pressed his mouth to mine. Unlike last night’s fervent kisses, this one was slower, softer, a gentle teasing at my lips, a light flick of his tongue. He eased me into it, slowly bringing me out of the darkness, making me forget why I was upset at all. I clung to him, gradually opening up and kissing him back with more and more passion. It was the first time I’d kissed him without wanting anything from him other than his comfort and the sheer pleasure of being close to him.

“But what about this exactly?” I asked, my voice breathy.

“The longer you stay, the more I get to kiss you,” he said against my lips.

“The longer I stay, the higher the chance of you going home.”

“I’m willing to risk it.”

Then we were kissing again, and I moved my hands up to weave my fingers in his beautiful hair. God, I loved his hair—short on the side, long on top, and soft all over. I loved the way it felt like silk against my skin and that I could grab a good chunk of it and tug. I loved that he put an effort into making it look good, like he did with every aspect of his appearance.

Someone whooped, and we pulled apart. “It’s about time you two finally hooked up,” Trina said behind us.

She stood there with all the other designers, each of them openly ogling us. Molly clapped her hands together, like she was delighted with this turn of events. Dawn wore a big smile, while Nika glared at me so hard I thought she might burn holes into my clothes. Jeff just looked bored by it all.

I snapped back into reality, where Gavin and I were competitors, on camera, and only pretending to be together. Of course he hadn’t meant what he’d said. It had all been an act for the camera recording everything. I’d let myself forget, as I always did with him. When he kissed me, it was far too easy to lose myself, to give in to his soft lips and hard body. To forget that, no matter how good a kisser he was, this was still pretend.

The others went back inside the lounge, leaving us alone to make out some more, I presumed. But the moment was over.

I switched off my mic and stepped back from him with a deep breath, trying to regain control of my runaway heart. “It worked. Thanks for playing your part.”

He frowned and turned off his own mic. “You don’t need to thank me, love.”

“It must have looked convincing. Now they’ll all be talking about the two of us being together.”

“Yes, you got exactly what you wanted.” His voice sounded almost…bitter. What was his problem? Last night he’d said he wasn’t interested in me and had agreed to this plan. Crap, he better not be having second thoughts.

“What
we
wanted.” I smoothed my dress, making sure I looked presentable. “We should go back inside.”

“You go ahead. I need a moment.” He adjusted his jeans in that way guys did when they were trying to be subtle about having a hard-on, but it only made it even more obvious.

I grinned as I joined the others. I almost felt bad for the poor guy.

Almost.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I 
was pretty sure I’d never heard sweeter words than: “For today’s challenge, we’re letting you leave the building.”

We stood in the lobby, the door to the outside world only a few feet away. All of us had been cooped up in this place for almost two weeks, our only moments outside being quick breaks on the roof or sticking our heads out of the Loft windows like dogs in a car. But now they were letting us leave, thank god.

“This challenge is all about New York,” Lola said, today wearing a black-and-white, color-blocked dress. “You’re going to have a few hours to wander the city and breathe it in like inspiration.”

Yes! I did a quick fist-pump. This was my first trip to New York, and so far I’d seen a hotel, a short car ride, and the inside of this building. My only real glimpse of the city was from the windows or from a five-story rooftop. Now I would actually get to explore it.

“But don’t get too excited,” Lola said, crushing all my hopes under her pointy heels. “For this challenge, you don’t have a budget. Instead, you’re limited to anything you can find around the city for free.”