Newly Exposed (2 page)

“I think it was Blaze or something ridiculous like that,” I replied, while thumbing through Polaroids. Nolly was right; there were some seriously hot men coming in for the casting, but like usual, they were your typical douche canoes, ignorant, but with bursting egos who thought that with the flex of a bicep and a pulled up shirt they could win over any girl. Contrary to popular belief, not every girl was like that.

“It was Blaze,” Nolly clapped her hands together and grabbed the Polaroids from my hand. “I need some material for tonight while I’m alone in my apartment.”

Well, I wasn’t like the other girls; Nolly was a different story, though. She was constantly getting wrapped up in Teeg Models and getting her heart broken, and I was there for every break up.
 

I, on the other hand, didn’t like mixing business with pleasure because first of all, these guys were so not my type and secondly, I didn’t want to have to have an awkward encounter at work like Nolly did all the time, and like I did at one point, but I refused to think about that mistake.
 

My style was a little different than the girls I worked with, who were plucked right from the pages of
Vogue
, in their high heels, made up faces and thousand dollar dresses. I was the hipster who knew I wasn’t cool and didn’t act like I wasn’t cool, but knew I was cool, if that makes sense. I knew I wasn’t cool. I wore Converse, skinny jeans, and graphic T-shirts to work almost every day. The only reason Teeg Models kept me employed was because I was damn good at my job.
 

Nolly and I were referred to as the Duo. Zia would give us a model and we would turn him into an overnight sensation by creating a social media account and pimping the hell out of him. We were also able to be professional on set when conducting video blogs, prepping the models, spraying water on them, making sure their man bits were properly displayed, and keeping everyone comfortable on set. Teeg Models wouldn’t be half as successful as they were without Nolly and me, and we made damn sure they knew that, hence the reason I was able to dress for comfort every day at work.
 

“What happened to Rocco?” I asked, referring to Nolly’s last crush.

“Ugh, turns out he was gay.”

“Aren’t the good ones always gay?” I asked with a dramatic sigh.

“I think they are.” She stuffed the Polaroid in her purse, and I just shook my head at my friend, there was no use in trying to fix her. “Did Blaze leave his headshot? I want to grab his number.”

“You’re lucky you’re hot, Nolly. Not every girl can get away with stalking men like you can without looking like a complete psycho.”

“They’re just not doing it right. When texting, you have to act like you’re sending a picture to your friend, but really send it to the guy who you’re hot for. That way he gets to see what you look like and he thinks you just happened to type in the wrong number. Simple.”

“That really works?” I asked, while uploading a video blog for one of our models who lives in the Teeg house.
 

“Every time,” she said, while giving me a devilish smile.
 

I rolled my eyes and continued to upload different videos for the guys. Zia Teeg was the owner and photographer for Teeg models. She was able to make every woman in America drool over her well picked and molded models. If you were signed on as a Teeg model, you had it good. You were put up in a house with the other guys and you lived in luxury. The gym available to all the models would make any professional athlete jealous, the kitchen was immaculate, stocked full of healthy food, and the bedrooms all had California king beds, according to Nolly at least. I hadn’t been in any of the bedrooms. The house was up in the Hollywood Hills, overlooking the valley, and it was not only a place for the guys to live, but it was also used for photo shoots. The yard was big enough to transform into any kind of set and the endless pool made for some amazingly wet worthy photos. There was also a grand room on the first floor that was used as a studio.
 

The unfortunate part of my job was that, not only did Nolly and I handle everything that went into prepping and preparing the models, but we were also glorified babysitters, meaning, there was a guest house on property that we were required to stay at. I think living there was one of the reasons why I was able to stay as far away from the guys as possible, because I got to see every last annoying habit of theirs.
 

“Um, excuse me? I’m looking for the…uh, Duo.”

The timid yet deep voice came from behind the curtain, where I looked up to see a guy walking in, shirtless, with his shirt clutched in his hands and worn jeans gracing his legs. His muscles rippled over his body, but were also natural, unlike some of the men I got to see on a daily basis. This guy was not using any kind of “supplement.” His brown hair was shaggy and his bright eyes stood out against some of the longest eyelashes I had ever seen. He was hot, I would give him that.
 

“That would be us,” I said, standing up to walk over to him.
 

“I’m Nolly,” Nolly said, stepping in front of me. “Do you know that guy Blaze?”

The guy looked at her with confusion. “Uh, I don’t believe so.”

“Damn,” she looked over at me and said, “Can you handle? I want to see if I can catch one more glimpse if he is still here.”

I knew Nolly wouldn’t be able to focus until she completed her stalking, so I nodded and she was off in a second.
 

“Who’s Blaze?” the guy asked once Nolly left.
 

“A guy who doesn’t even know what’s about to hit him.” I took a deep breath and held out my hand. “I’m Solo Cohan. I’m assuming Zia and Meryl want you in underwear and all greased up?”

“I believe so, and I’m Adam, by the way.”

I nodded and waved my hand in the direction we needed to walk. “Right this way.”

We walked in silence as I led him to the back room, where we kept all the clothes and “grease,” aka, baby oil.
 

Castings were held at the downtown office, where Zia owned another space which housed the admin offices, studio space, and storage. I enjoyed working at the office much more than the house, because I didn’t have to deal with the guys constantly flirting or getting in my way. They apparently all thought I was trying to play hard to get, but in fact, I was playing stay-the-fuck-away-from-me.
 

“Solo is an interesting name,” Adam broke the silence, as I shuffled through drawers to find some underwear.
 

“Yeah, my parents have an obsession with
Star Wars
,” I said, pulling out a white pair of briefs and studying Adam’s size. “Medium?” I held them up and he nodded.
 

“That’s some good decision making on your parents’ part, but why not Leia?”

“Having two gay dads who are head over heels in love with Harrison Ford and his character Han Solo will do that to you,” I shrugged my shoulders and smiled.
 

“Well, I think your dads are bad ass.”

“You like
Star Wars
?” I asked, not holding my breath, because the guys who usually walked through these doors didn’t even know what an ewok was.

“
Star Wars
, like I do,” Adam said in a pretty lame Yoda voice, but I gave him credit for trying as I laughed.
 

“Wow, I never met a guy who came around here who had an interest in anything other than his muscles.” That wasn’t necessarily true, most of the guys were pretty nice, I was just jaded from a previous relationship.
 

Adam laughed a deep baritone laugh as he twisted the underwear in his hands. I couldn’t help but notice the little dimple that peeked out of his cheek and his adorable smile that made me want to cuddle up right next to him.
 

Whoa, slow down, sister. A guy says he likes
Star Wars
and you start to lose your mind, has it really been that long?

“Serious question,” Adam said, while cutting off his laughter. “The new sequence of movies coming out, are you excited?”

I thought about it for a second and said, “I’m sorry, I believe there are only three movies in the
Star Wars
trilogy. I refuse to acknowledge any other editions after the eighties.”

Adam gripped his chest and said, “My God, a girl after my own heart. I couldn’t agree more. Fuck the other trilogies; give me Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, none of this Jar-Jar Binks bullshit.”

I held up my hands and said, “I could not agree more.” I waved them in front of my face and said, “Oh shit, I’m totally geeking out right now.”

Adam laughed again, a sound that I was starting to become addicted to.
 

Adam looked around and leaned forward as he said, “How come you’re the only normal one here? I’m sorry if this sounds bad, but holy shit, the people here are weird. I tried to have a conversation with some of the guys in the waiting room and they were talking about omega things and fish oil and tanning beds. What the hell is all of that?”

I laughed at the distressed look on his face and patted him on the shoulder. “Welcome to the world of modeling; they’re not all bad, though. There are some really nice guys out there. I take it this must be your first casting?”

“Yeah, I’m not really into all of this, but could use the cash.”

I nodded in understanding. “That’s why most of the guys get started. Believe me, if you’re picked up by Teeg Models, you’ll be set.” I pointed at the underwear and said, “Put those on, and when you’re done, come out to the hallway so I can rub you down.”

Clearing his throat, he asked, “Rub me d-down?”

“With baby oil…you know, to make you all shiny and defined.”

“Oh, Jesus,” he responded, while holding his head with his hand. “I’m sorry, but this has been, by far, the strangest experience of my life. I was asked about my penis size, if I was into porn or something like that, and then they asked about me being naked on camera. When you said rub me down, I thought it was a test to see if I could get it up for everyone in the other room.”

My head flew back and I laughed so hard that a little tear rolled down my face from the look on Adam’s face. He was not the typical model that I ran into, not even close. He was sweet, funny, and damn it, he liked
Star Wars
. He was almost my type, except for the fact that he was about to be standing in a scrap of underwear, rubbed down in oil in front of Zia and Meryl. He was a model, and that meant off limits.
 

I waited outside for Adam to get changed. I sent Nolly a text message to let her know that I wasn’t the only geek who liked
Star Wars,
which garnered me a “You’re still a nerd” text back from Nolly. Such a loving relationship that we had.
 

Adam poked his head past the door, hiding his body, as he said, “Uh, are these britches supposed to ride low…on the ass?”

“Britches?” I crinkled my nose and laughed. “Yeah, they’re not supposed to be old man whitey tighties. Let me see.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Seriously? If you can’t show me, then there is no way you will be able to step out into the casting room. It can’t be that bad; just step out here.”

Taking a deep breath, Adam opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. My breath escaped me as I took in his entire body.
 

Holy. Shit!

I felt myself literally gulp as I took in his physique. He was toned from his head to his toes. The deep V cut in his waist was mesmerizing, and his legs matched his upper body. He most definitely didn’t forget his leg workouts. The underwear sat low on his hips, showing off his brilliantly sculpted stomach, but what really gained my attention was his package that was sitting on display. I could feel my tongue wanting to lick my lips in appreciation, but I stopped myself. Instead, I told him to turn around, which he did.
 

He was right, the underwear rode low on him, but it wasn’t because they were a bad fit; it was because the man had the ass of a god. To see such a round and sculpted butt on a man was rare, so I made sure to take the glorious piece of man meat in.

“Do they fit alright?” he asked self-consciously.
 

“Perfect,” I said, while prying my eyes off of his ass and looking him in his eyes, which were smiling from my perusal.
 

“Were you just checking me out?” he asked, while turning around completely.
 

“It’s part of my job,” I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed a baseball hat that I put on his head backwards. “There, that will keep the ladies from being distracted by your hair.”

“What’s wrong with my hair?” he asked, offended.
 

“See this?” I asked, touching his hair that flipped out from the side. “That needs to be cut. Zia likes her models with styled hair.”

“Some people like the scruffy look,” he defended himself.

“Hey, I think it’s cute, but I know what Zia likes.”

“You think I’m cute? Just cute? And after everything we’ve shared…”

I rolled my eyes, pumped some oil into my hands, and attacked his chest, which I instantly congratulated myself for because the feel of his skin under my hands was incredibly pleasing. His sharp intake of breath led me to believe that he was just as affected as I was.