Picture Perfect (5 page)

We were both brought out of our silent study of each other by Devon giving a little laugh.  Letting go of my hand, Tessa gifted me with the most heart-stopping smile I'd ever seen.  There was the faintest trace of a flush on her skin, and her eyes…
fuck
.  She was turned on too. If I didn't know that it had to be a complete impossibility, I'd swear she had been on the verge of a massive orgasm.

I return
ed her smile with what I hoped wasn't a totally inappropriate "
I want to superglue you to my cock for six to twelve lifetimes
" look.  It was time for me to say something… anything, but I was beyond flustered. If I could just remember why we were there right then, I'd have something to say.  Finally, my brain clicked in and provided some information. Pictures! She took pictures.  Pulling my mind out of the bedroom, I focused all of my attention on making a good impression.

"Tessa, it's a pleasure to meet you.  I was lucky enough to see your photos of The Chaps after one of th
eir shows a few weeks ago. When I went to your website and saw the rest of your pictures, I knew had to have you." 

Oh shit, that sounded terrible!
Real fucking smooth, moron
.

"I mean
I had to have you join the tour.  To be our photographer."

When did I turn into a bumbling idiot?
I was normally unflappable, but right then I sounded like a total douche. I was pretty damn sure that nothing I’d said really made sense.  If the expressions on Ian and Devon's faces were anything to go by, I really looked like a total tool.  Neither of them seemed to be able to believe what they were witnessing.

All my concerns about my idiocy evaporate
d like cold water on a hot day when Tessa smiled and spoke.  "It's a pleasure to meet you Flynn.  I'm a fan of your work as well, and it's an honor to have been chosen to do this job.  I promise not to let you down."

Even her voice wa
s hot.  Watching her lips move was a carnal activity, and I envisioned her lips opening to suck me.  Right then, I realized that I needed to put some space between us, immediately. There was no longer any question about my intentions toward her. I planned on pursuing her, but the way things were going right then, I'd be begging her to marry me before the night was over if I didn’t walk away.

"I know you won't Tessa. 
I've studied your work, and I have full faith in your abilities. Unfortunately, I need to make my way around the room for a bit, but I'll find you later so that we can
really
talk.  Enjoy yourself."

Flashing another smile, I turned and looked for someone else to talk to.  Anyone. 
Spotting Cole at the edge of the room looking in my direction, I made my way over to him. 

I wasted no time in filling him in. 
"Holy fuck Cole, you won't believe this shit.  I just met the photographer.  Remember how hot she was in those photos?  She's better in person, and I just made a total ass out of myself because I was flustered.  I almost dragged her to the nearest flat surface to fuck her.  She's got me so out of my mind that I swear to god I think I’d come in about two minutes inside of her. Hell, that’s being optimistic.  If she just talks to me while she’s naked, I’ll probably come without ever touching her. Me! I'm not even exaggerating.  What the fuck!"

Gi
ving me a surprised look, Cole just shook his head.  "Damn Flynn, it’s like that?  That’s crazy unlike you. Maybe there's something in the water, cause I'm all caught up with Devon and Ian.  He likes her, and I like them both.  I don't think he swings both ways.  Meanwhile, I have no idea if she likes either one of us.  I'm totally mind-fucked too, brother."

Clearly both
of us had our minds on things other than business.  Looking back to where Tessa was still standing with Ian and Devon, I noticed that all three of them had shifted so that the two of us were in their vision line. 

"Judging by the fact that they both watch you like a hawk, I think it's safe to say that they're both interested.  Ian looks a little unsure to me, so if I had to take a stab in the dark, I'd say he's never been attracted to a man before.  But there's no do
ubt in my mind that he is now. I'd actually noticed it for the first time earlier this week, but since you hadn't mentioned that you were attracted to him, I kept it under my hat.  Devon, on the other hand, is much easier to read.  She's not just attracted to you.  She covets you.  Quietly and with dignity, but she does it nonetheless.  Good choice by the way.  I like them both very much."

Cole
's smile spread quickly, like syrup covering a pancake.  "God, I hope you're right.  I'm going out of my mind over here.  I've never been so hot for anyone, much less two people.  For the record, you've definitely got the photographers attention.  She hasn't stopped looking at you yet.  You know what’s weird though?  Something about her seems familiar to me."

That threw me through a loop.  Maybe we
had
seen her somewhere before and I was too fucked up to remember.  I wanted to ask why he thought that, but our conversation was cut short by the arrival of our tour manager, Joe, and we spent a few minutes talking to him before spreading out to meet the few other people in the room that we'd not met yet.

I hoped the rest of the introductions would be short and sweet so that I could
make my way back to Tessa.  I wanted to spend time with her.

I was l
ight headed for a few seconds after Flynn walked away.  Ian was the one who broke the silence with a low whistle.  "Holy shit Tessa! What the hell
was
that?  You two just put off so much heat that I'm pretty sure I almost got burnt."

Blushing, I tried to shake my head.  Unfortunately for me, Devon was nodding hers in agreement with Ian.  "Don't pretend you didn't feel that Tessa! I've never seen anything like it. 
You all but ate each other alive with your eyes. I wish I’d been filming that so that you could see it for yourself.  That was unreal."  

Blushing, I
could only nod. "Alright, I admit it.  I was definitely caught off guard by how hot he is, and I
was
eating him with my eyes.  But I'm pretty sure he gets that type of thing every day. He probably didn't even notice."

Devon
was shaking her head before I finished my sentence.  "I've been taping with them for several weeks, and I've seen dozens of women, many of them as beautiful as you, make eyes at him.  I've never seen him react like he just did.  He wants you Tessa. Judging by the look he gave you, he wants you badly.  The chemistry between the two of you is tangible.  I know most people would advise against it, but if I were you and I had chemistry with someone like that… I'd fuck him six ways from Sunday."

I had no response to that.  God knows that I wanted to fuck him six ways from Sunday, but the fact remained that I didn’t
do
things like that.  Also, according to the one and only man I’d ever been intimate with, I was less of a turn on than a Dr. Seuss book.  Flynn was attracted to my exterior, but if it really came down to it I’m sure he’d be disappointed with my lack of experience.

As
I continued speaking to Devon and Ian, I noticed that the three of us had subtly turned so that we had eyes on Flynn and his band mate, Cole.  While Cole was incredibly attractive, I was not harboring any desire for him. I was only thinking about Flynn, but it wasn't lost on me that Devon was looking at Cole like he was a filet mignon.  A second later, I noted that Ian was also drinking Dillon in.  He looked tentative about it, but he was definitely interested in him.  That got an internal eyebrow lift from me, because I’d have sworn that when I walked over to them earlier, Ian and Devon had been eye fucking each other.  How odd.

After we were finished watching them speak for a few minutes, Devon and Ian took me around the room and introduced me to everyone. 
I met the engineer in charge of the CD recording and the stylist for the tour, along with several of the bands management team.  Ian got the attention of the three band members I hadn't met yet and brought them over to perform the introductions.  I liked Cole, Tyson and Gavin right away.  Each one was down to earth and totally unaffected by celebrity.  They remind me of the musicians I work with back in Philly, and that made me happy.  No stuck up celebrity head trips to navigate.

As the party was winding down, I wound up sitting on one of the ridiculously uncomfortable couches next to Devon, talking about all the people I'd met tonight.  I
felt him before I saw him, and when I looked up Flynn was making his way towards me. The look on his face was pure sin, and it left no doubt about he wanted. Immediately my core clenched as I went liquid all over again. 

Devon made her excuses and scurried away, leaving me alone with Flynn.  He took the seat right next to me, and
it took everything I had not to moan and beg him to take me.  Anywhere, anytime, however he wanted me, even if it was on one of those ridiculously ugly sofas.  Sadly for my libido I needed to remember that I was there in a professional capacity, and I needed to keep my legs closed.

"It looked like you got to meet everyone tonight.  What did you think?"

Put at ease by the professional tone of his question, I relaxed.  "I liked everyone very much.  I can see that we're all going to get along, and I think you've chosen to a perfectly matched group of people to get everything you want out of this tour."

Smil
ing, he nodded at me in agreement.  "We're all really happy with the group we've chosen.  We've had some pretty rough tours in the past, so we were very particular when we assembled this tours principal people.  You were the final piece to the puzzle.  We went through dozens of photographer portfolios, but nothing clicked until the night The Chaps showed us what you'd done for them.  And now, you're here.  Are you excited about going on a world tour?"

Shaking my head in the affirmative, I laughed.  "I'm really excited actually.  I know it's going to be rou
gh not going home for four months, but I'm ready for the experience.  As thrilled as I am to go, I don't think I could do it for years the way you have all done.  Of course, you're used to it I’m sure.  It must just be a way of life now."

He looked pensive for a moment before answering.  "It's interesting that you
would say that.  We're making the announcement to all of you tomorrow afternoon, and later tomorrow on our website and at a news conference… but, this is our last tour.  We're done.  We all love each other, love the music, but we hate the grind of the constant touring.  We've decided to grow up.  We started a record label and The Chaps are our first signed act. As friends, the band will be together forever, but no more touring."

I was stunned.  I'd pre-judged Flynn and the guys as being rockers for life. S
tories of the bands debauchery were legendary, and talking to Ian earlier today confirmed that they fucked way more people than the folklore claimed.  It seemed I had put him and the other guys in a box they didn't belong in. 

"Wow Flynn.  I guess I never really thought about how tedious it must have become.  Here I am whining about
missing my house for four months, but you can't really have been home very much at all for the last decade.  That must have been really difficult."

Giving me a surprised loo
k he replied, "You weren't whining Tess.  You were being honest.  We don't get enough of that.  Real life went on without us for the last decade, and we wound up being surrounded by people who enabled us and agreed with everything we said, even if we were wrong.   Besides, you're right.  The road sucks.  Never going home sucks.  Never having any kind of real connection sucks.  We all just want to move on."

He called me Tess.  I heard every word he said, but what stood out the most was that he called me Tess.  I've never allowed anyone to abbreviate my name, but for some reason I like
d that he did it.  It seemed intimate, like it was something between us.  I knew that it was silly of me to think that way, knew that I was just being fanciful.

The rest of the people in the house disappeared from my mind as I
continued talking to Flynn.  He was so easy to talk to, and our conversation flowed naturally.  Still, the sexual tension between us was right there.  If anything, talking to him was attracting me to him more.

I startled when Pam the party planner interrupted us to
let Flynn know that everyone had gone, and the wait staff was leaving as well.  Jesus! We talked for so long that everyone left.  Worse, I didn't even notice that people were leaving.  It was like the previous two hours passed in a Flynn bubble. I was embarrassed thinking that my driver probably thought I was a total slut, in here doing the groupie grab ass. 

Jumping up from the miserably uncomfortable couch, I smoothed my skirt down.  "I'm so sorry I monopolized your time like that Flynn.  I'm goi
ng to go.  I'll see you tomorrow at the meeting."

When I went to walk around him, he stopped me with a touch to my knee that I felt everywhere.  Standing up, he put his hand on my shoulder.  "Tess, you didn't monopolize my time.  If anything, I monopolized yours.  I'm sorry.  I'll take you
back to the hotel now."