Model Behavior Read online

  A tall, willowy blonde walked in.

  “You must be Christine?” Ronnie stood and offered her hand.

  “And you must be Ms. Mannis.”

  “Please. Call me Ronnie.”

  “Okay, Ronnie. Are you ready to get started?”

  “I like your attitude. Yes, I’m ready. The dressing room’s right over there. In there, you’ll find an old-style two-piece bathing suit. Go ahead and put it on and come on out.”

  Ronnie got out the ocean backdrop while she waited. This was going to be a simple shoot.

  Christine listened to directions very well and the shoot went smoothly. Ronnie was impressed.

  “You did great,” she said. “Are you new to modeling or just to me?”

  “I’m new to the whole thing. This is my third shoot ever.”

  “Well, you were wonderful.”

  “Thank you. That makes me feel good.”

  “Say, would you like to grab dinner this evening?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Sure.”

  “Is that ethical?”

  Ronnie laughed.

  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “I don’t know. Are you supposed to show preferential treatment to one model over the other?”

  “Well, for one thing, I’m the photographer, not the agent. And for another, I just thought it would be nice. To welcome you to the fold, per se.”

  “Sure then. What time and where?”

  “Are you familiar with Houston?”

  “Not really.”

  “Okay. Why don’t you give me your address and I’ll pick you up at, say, seven?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Christine wrote her address down for Ronnie and left the studio with a smile on her face. Ronnie couldn’t help but smile either. Christine was quite a looker. She could only hope dinner led to a sleepover.

  The rest of the day didn’t go as smoothly. Some of the models protested at the idea of being a pinup girl. Some just couldn’t quite do what Ronnie was telling them to do. How could she put this calendar together if her vision for it didn’t play out in the models?

  She finally finished at just after five. She ran through the pictures again and realized she could make them work. It had just been a long, grueling day. Some models were such prima donnas.

  She sat at the table in the kitchen and opened a bottle of beer. She finished it and was about to open another one when she remembered her date with Christine.

  “Shit,” she said. She checked her watch. It was five thirty. She just barely had time to get home, shower, and dress for dinner.

  Ronnie used some gel to put the finishing touches on her hair and she was ready. It was six forty-five. Time to go. She arrived at Christine’s apartment at precisely seven o’clock. She knocked on the door and actually found herself nervous. She was never nervous for a date. She just knew she needed to be careful. She’d watch Christine’s gestures carefully. She hoped the night would end back here at her apartment, but she couldn’t risk alienating a new model.

  Christine opened the door wearing a short skirt that showed off long, firm legs. The top, a matching green, made her eyes look like emeralds. She was a knockout. There was no doubt about it.

  “You ready for dinner?” Ronnie finally found her voice.

  “I sure am. I’m famished.”

  “Great. Do you like seafood?”

  “I love it.”

  “I know just the place.”

  Ronnie drove them to one of Houston’s famous seafood restaurants. There was no wait so they were seated immediately.

  “Oh wow. Everything looks so good,” Christine said as she perused her menu.

  “Order whatever you like. This one’s on me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  Ronnie decided on what she wanted and set her menu down.

  “I’ll have the seafood salad,” Christine said.

  “Are you sure? That’s all?”

  “Gotta keep my girlish figure.”

  “Fair enough.”

  The waiter came and took their orders and they sat in awkward silence. Ronnie finally thought of something to say.

  “So, you’re new to Houston and modeling? How did you end up here?”

  “My dad’s company transferred him here. I didn’t want to be too far from them, so I moved here, too.”

  “Ah. Where were you before?”

  “Dallas.”

  “Oh. So not that far then.”

  “No.”

  Ronnie felt like she was pulling teeth.

  “And how did you become a model?”

  “People always said I should be. So I got some head shots made and dropped them off at several agencies. Someone called me in, and voila.”

  “Nice. Well, welcome to the business.”

  “Thanks. The three shoots I’ve done have been a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the one we did today. It was my favorite so far.”

  “Well, you’re really easy to work with. I hope we get to work together some more.”

  Their dinner was served and they chatted as they ate. But as the evening wore on, it was clear to Ronnie that she was barking up the wrong tree. She wasn’t getting any signal from Christine that she was interested in anything more than a nice meal.

  After dinner, she dropped Christine at her door and headed home to an empty house. She liked her own company just fine, but some nights, she just really didn’t want to be alone. This was one of those nights. She checked her phone and regretted not having gotten Whitney’s number.

  Chapter Four

  Lana spent the day on the beach. She was careful not to get too much sun. She knew how important it was to keep her complexion the same. She waded out into the warm gulf water and sat, letting the waves rock her. She loved Galveston. And she loved her beach house right on the water.

  She thought back to the previous evening and the time she’d spent with Danielle. She was such a sweetheart. Lana hoped they’d be able to spend more time together. Maybe she’d take a break from work and spend a week down there getting to know Danielle even better. She knew that wouldn’t be the case, though. She loved her work too much. And she could stay in touch with Danielle and take an occasional day off to see her.

  Whoa. She was getting way ahead of herself. She’d had a great time with her and she was looking forward to seeing her again, but she didn’t need to be planning some long-distance relationship. It was just because she was so relaxed with nothing on her mind that let her thoughts wander in such a direction. And it kept her thoughts off Ronnie. Or not. There she was, invading her daydreams again. Why couldn’t she keep Ronnie out of her mind? Lana wasn’t interested in her. Even if Ronnie was interested in her. Although she knew that any interest on Ronnie’s part was of the one-night kind.

  And that’s not who Lana was. She got out of the water and lay out in the sun for a few minutes until she was dry. She walked back to her house and took a brief shower in the outside shower to rinse off all the salt and sand. Satisfied that she was clean enough, she walked up the stairs to her house where she took a real shower and dressed for her date that evening.

  She texted Danielle to see what time she got off work.

  “I’m off at five,” Danielle texted back.

  “Great. So, dinner at six?”

  “Sounds great.”

  It was four o’clock, and with nothing to do, Lana picked up a new book and started reading it. She got into it and was surprised when she checked her watch and saw that it was five thirty. She had to get going. She grabbed her overnight bag and went downstairs to drive into town to meet Danielle.

  Just before she got in the car, she checked her phone. There was a message from Danielle suggesting a restaurant. Lana sent a quick response that it sounded good and drove off into town. She arrived at the restaurant to find Danielle in the bar waiting for her.

  “Hi.” Lana kissed her cheek.

  “Hi.” Danielle got u
p from her seat and engulfed Lana in a bear hug.

  Lana was happy to know this thing, whatever it was, wasn’t one-sided.

  “Have you been waiting long?” Lana said.

  “No. Just long enough to order a drink. Would you like one?”

  “Sure.”

  Lana ordered a martini and sat next to Danielle on the barstool.

  “It’s not crowded, as you can see,” Danielle said. “So we can eat any time. I just thought a drink first would be nice.”

  “It is nice. No worries. And one won’t hurt me since I have to drive to Houston tonight.”

  “When do you think you’ll be back in Galveston?”

  “That’s hard to say. It’ll have to be a day that I’m not scheduled to work. But I do love my work and try to have as many shoots as possible.”

  “I’m sure. That must be such an exciting life to have.”

  Lana laughed.

  “It’s a fun life. That’s for sure. But it’s not too exciting. Unless we do shoots in exotic locations, which hasn’t happened to me yet.”

  “Maybe you’ll do a shoot in Galveston someday.”

  “Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” She smiled broadly. “I’d love that.”

  “And then I could see you again.”

  “True.”

  “I know you have to get home tonight, so we should probably get a table.”

  “Yeah, we should,” Lana said.

  They took their drinks and walked over to the hostess stand.

  “Would you like to sit inside or outside?” the hostess said.

  “Outside, please,” Lana said. She turned to Danielle. “If that’s okay with you?”

  “That’s fine by me.” Danielle favored Lana with another warm and genuine smile. Lana felt something shift inside her.

  They were shown to a table overlooking the bay, and they sipped their drinks and chatted amicably before picking up their menus to choose their meals. When they’d decided, they set their menus down and Lana gazed into Danielle’s eyes. They looked like sapphires, and Lana thought they were the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen. Except maybe Ronnie. Ronnie had the most piercing blue eyes Lana had ever seen. She shook her head to get her thoughts of Ronnie out of her head.

  “Are you okay?” Danielle said.

  “Hm? Yeah. I’m fine. Just unbidden thoughts sometimes work their way into my brain. I’m sorry. You have my undivided attention.”

  “You want to talk about it?”

  “No, thanks. I’m fine.”

  The waitress came by and took their orders.

  “I love the bay,” Danielle said. She stared out over the open water. “Does your house overlook the bay?”

  “No. It’s right on the gulf.”

  “You’re so lucky.”

  “Tell me. I love having a house I can just disappear to.”

  “I’d like to see it sometime. If that’s not too bold of me.”

  “No. Of course it’s not. We’ll plan on grilling there the next time I’m in town.”

  “That’ll be wonderful.”

  “And you should bring your suit and make a day out of it.”

  “It depends on what day it is. I have Mondays and Thursdays off.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll try to make it down on one of those days.”

  “That would be great. Thank you. You know? I never imagined I’d ever meet a real live model. And I never dreamed one could be as nice as you are.”

  Lana laughed.

  “Really? What did you expect?”

  “I guess I figured you’d be conceited and all.”

  Lana laughed again. She wasn’t lacking in the self-confidence department, that was for sure. But she didn’t like to think she was conceited, either.

  “Well, I’m glad you don’t think I’m stuck up. That wouldn’t sit well with me.”

  “Oh no. You’re very approachable.”

  “Good.”

  Their dinners were served, and they kept up the pleasant conversation as they ate. When dinner was through, Lana paid and they walked out to their cars. The silence grew awkward, and Lana finally spoke.

  “So, it’s been fun getting to know you.”

  “Yeah. It really has. Will we keep in touch?”

  “I hope so. Please don’t be afraid to text me. I’ll respond as soon as I’m able, okay?”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  “No problem. I’ve really enjoyed our dinners.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Okay. Well, Danielle, I need to get going.”

  “Okay. Drive carefully.”

  “I will.”

  She forced herself to turn away from Danielle and get in her car. She wanted to stay a little longer, but she needed to get home and in bed. She had another shoot the next day with Ronnie.

  Lana put her car in reverse, waved to Danielle, and backed out of the parking lot. She thought a lot about Danielle as she drove home. She wondered if she was really ready for a relationship. She didn’t think so, but then Danielle made her think she might be willing to try. It was an odd sensation she got whenever she thought of her. Oh well. Who knew when she’d be in Galveston next? She’d stay in touch with her and just see where things went.

  She got home and climbed into bed with thoughts of Danielle and Ronnie running through her mind. She wished she could forget about Ronnie, but she had to see her the next morning at her shoot. She was sure that was the only reason she was on her mind as she drifted off to sleep.

  * * *

  Ronnie was up early the next morning. She had another long day of shoots, starting with Lana Ferguson. Her pulse raced at the thought of working with her again. Lana was gorgeous, stylish, and completely unattainable. But that wasn’t why Ronnie was so intent on having her. She knew, if she were honest, that the reason she wanted Lana was because Lana looked almost exactly like Constance, who had unceremoniously dumped Ronnie after a six-year relationship. She’d found someone new, she’d announced, and said good-bye without even giving Ronnie a chance to fight.

  Constance was the reason Ronnie had sworn off relationships. And she intended to stay that way. Unless she could have Lana. She had a feeling Lana wouldn’t settle for a one-night thing. And that was okay with Ronnie. She truly believed she could settle down if Lana just gave her a chance.

  Ronnie showered and dressed for her day. She drove to the studio, unlocked it, and got ready for the models. She made a pot of coffee and was sipping a cup when Lana walked in.

  “You’re early,” Ronnie said.

  “I’d rather be early than late.”

  “And I appreciate that. Have a seat. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

  “Thanks. Cream, no sugar, please.”

  Ronnie fixed it as instructed and set the cup in front of Lana.

  “I hope I didn’t interrupt your private time or anything,” Lana said.

  “Oh no. You’re fine.” Ronnie was thrilled to have a few extra minutes with Lana. “Did you enjoy your day off yesterday?”

  “I did. I went to Galveston.”

  “Oh man. I love it there. I even have a house there that I hardly ever get to use.”

  “Really? Where is it?”

  “Jamaica Beach.”

  “Oh wow. Mine, too.”

  “Really? Now there’s a coincidence.”

  “How is it we’ve never seen each other on the beach?” Lana said.

  “I don’t know. Like I said. I don’t get there that often. Maybe this weekend I’ll give myself a break and go down there.”

  But even as she said it, she knew it wasn’t true. She’d be at the club seducing women. Then she thought, what harm would it do to take a break and go to the beach?

  “You really should,” Lana said. “I don’t know about you, but I always come back so invigorated and inspired.”

  “I’ll tell you what. I’ll go to my beach house this weekend if you’ll go to yours. We can hang out on the beach together and I can grill us dinner after.”

&n
bsp; “I’ll think about it. I was just there yesterday, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go back in a couple of days.”

  “Great. You about finished with that coffee?”

  “Hm? Oh, yeah. I’ll go get changed.”

  “Yeah. I hear the makeup people in the dressing room now. They’ll get you all hooked up.”

  “Thanks.”

  Ronnie thought again about Constance as she got the lights set up and the white backdrop down. Could she actually put her heart on the line again for Lana? She was getting tired of the string of meaningless sex she’d been having. She thought she could seriously settle down with Lana.

  She was looking forward to this shoot. She couldn’t wait to see how Lana looked in the red dress. She set the fans up for later in the shoot.

  Lana came out of the dressing room looking stunning. Ronnie’s heart caught in her throat. She looked so much like Constance it was almost painful. She shook the thought out of her head and focused on the shoot.

  Lana was a perfectionist and insisted they do several shots over and over until she was happy with them. Ronnie didn’t mind. She was a perfectionist, too and would have made them redo the shots as well.

  It was after one in the afternoon when they finished.

  “You want some lunch?” Ronnie said. “You’ve earned it.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.”

  “Sure. I’ll have my assistant go pick us up some sandwiches. Do you eat sandwiches?”

  Lana still looked leery.

  “I don’t know, Ronnie. Don’t you have other shoots lined up?”

  “My next one isn’t until three. Now, you go get changed and I’ll have Devon pick up some lunch. What would you like?”

  “Turkey and Swiss on wheat?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Ronnie sent Devon out to pick up the sandwiches, and she set about taking down the lights and fans from Lana’s shoot. Devon was back by the time she had everything broken down. Lana came out of the dressing room looking equally beautiful in her street clothes as she had in the red dress.

  “Come on into the kitchen. Our sandwiches are here.”

  “Great. Thanks.”

  They sat at the table together and each unwrapped her sandwich.

  “So, have you given any more thought to going to Galveston this weekend?” Ronnie said.