Newly Exposed (37 page)

Adam: I love you, muffin. Wish I was in your bed, cuddling into your neck and listening to you softly purr during the night. Yes, you purr, it’s so fucking cute.

“You purr?” Nolly asked, looking over my shoulder.
 

“Don’t read my text messages,” I said, as I quickly hid my phone, feeling slightly embarrassed.
 

“Sorry, but that’s like the twentieth one you’ve received in an hour from the guy; if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought you two were sexting.”

“We’re not sexting, he’s just reassuring me. I need it right now,” I said, while I looked at the picture that was taken outside of the pool party of Zia and Adam together.
 

It was almost nauseating to see Zia drape her body all over Adam. She didn’t even like him when he first came in for casting, but now that she’d physically changed him and saw the reaction from all the Teeg Model fans, she was all about exposing him. She was acting like a groupie, and it made me want to go up to her, rip that stupid smile off her face, and quit on the spot, but I was better than that, at least I thought I was.

And, of course, Zia had to be wearing a skimpy bathing suit that was flesh-colored, making her look naked. Her hair was pulled back in a high pony tail and she was wearing a string of pearl and gold necklaces, along with a pair of gold strappy heels. Who wears that to a pool party?

God, she looked gorgeous, and the way she hung all over Adam made her look that much better. They looked like a Hollywood couple. I tried not to think about it, but how could I not when Adam had that giant smile on his face and was wrapping his arm around Zia?
 

It meant nothing. I knew it, but there was always that thought in the back of my head…that thought that said, it could happen. I mean, we were on rocky terms right now. I didn’t feel fully confident about my relationship with Adam, since we literally just talked this morning for the first time in two days. It was slightly reassuring, but I still felt uneasy, and with every new picture I had to post, my confidence wavered.
 

“Solo, look at me,” Nolly said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
 

I turned to look at my best friend, who I’ve held through all her break ups, my best friend who I needed more than anything right now.
 

“You need to trust him. Forget about what happened with Ty back then; that’s history. Adam is different and he adores you. You know that.”

“I know,” I nodded. “I just don’t trust Zia. Damn it, I should have told her about Adam. I doubt she would have cared, and she probably wouldn’t be all over him if she knew he was with someone.”

“That’s not true. Remember Gunner and Celia?”

“I don’t think they were that serious…”

“They were together for two years before Zia booked Gunner. Once Zia found out Gunner was packing, it was done from there. Zia takes what she wants, we know that, and she really doesn’t care who she hurts in the process. I love you, girl, but it’s time you realize that Zia isn’t the best person. Yes, she’s given us amazing jobs, but when it comes to personal lives, she’s not all that great.”

My stomach twisted in knots at Nolly’s assessment. She was right, and I hated admitting it. Zia, although a good boss, didn’t really care about us personally, at least she didn’t show that she did. She was always business with us.
 

“How is that supposed to make me feel better?” I asked, as more pictures were loaded up to my email. This time, the first picture was of Zia sitting on Adam’s lap and laughing at something he must have said. God, he looked so good, sitting there with his aviators and hair styled to perfection. He had his arm around Zia, and the other guys were surrounding them, all toasting.
 

“I hate life,” I slumped in my chair and looked up at the ceiling, just as my phone buzzed with another text message.
 

Adam: There is a gay couple here who told me they were, by far, the best gay couple that I would ever meet. I beg to differ. Bashty and Thad 4Ever!

A small smile peeked across my face as I read Adam’s message.
 

“Is it a picture of his penis?” Nolly asked, as she tried to look at my phone.
 

“No! He would never do that…” at least, I thought he wouldn’t. Who knew with Adam? He was a wild card.
 

“Have you sent him a picture of your tits yet?” Nolly asked, grabbing a nail file off my desk.
 

“No, why? Do you think I should?”

Laughing, Nolly shook her head and said, “No, but you should definitely send him a picture of a pair of tits. Here, let me see your phone.”

I handed her my phone and asked, “Why would I send him a picture of someone else’s tits? That makes no sense.”

“Well, genius,” she said with sarcasm. “The guys he’s with most likely will be hounding him for being on his phone, so if you send him a picture of your tits, you’re increasing the chances of the other guys seeing them. If you send him a picture of someone else’s tits, then you will still send him the message that says, ‘hey, big boy, suck on these,’ without exposing yourself,” she said casually.
 

“You are mentally deranged, you know that?”

She shrugged her shoulders and then handed me my phone back. “There, see what he says.”

I looked down at my phone and saw a naked pair of breasts in my text history with Adam and a text that read, “Thinking of you, my Luke Skywalker.”

A snort came out of my nose, and I shook my head. “I do not call him that!”

“I don’t know what you
Star Wars
freaks do. Don’t act like I didn’t hear your little sexcapades the other night. That damn theme song was blasting through the walls, alright. You think I’m deranged…take a look in the mirror, sweetheart. You fucked to an outer space theme song while playing dress up.”

Laughing, I tried to tell her that’s not how it was, but she didn’t care. She drew an image up in her head, and there was no way of getting around it.
 

My phone beeped again with a text back from Adam.
 

Adam: Umm…okay, first of all, your tits are so much nicer than those. Second of all, I know that’s from Nolly, because, if anything, you would have called me Han. There is no way I would fuck my sister, Leia.
 

With a giant smile on my face, I turned the message toward Nolly, who took a second to read it and then rolled her eyes.
 

“You guys are sickening, you know that? I need to get some food, want anything?”

“Salad would be great, thanks,” I called over my shoulder, as Nolly walked away.
 

Everything was going to be okay, I thought, as I texted Adam back. I put my phone down and went back to uploading pictures. Going to events like the pool party today was great exposure for the models, and our followers absolutely loved the updates; it was as if they were at the party with them.
 

I was happy to see that Adam wasn’t the only model Zia was paying attention to. There were some steamy pictures of her and Ty, as well as Scout, which surprised me, because Zia loved the guy, but treated him more like a brother. She must have been drunk because she was awfully touchy with all of them, which eased the tension in my chest as well.
 

The party still had some hours to go, but by the way everything was looking, the guys had a roped off section where only Zia was allowed, and they were just drinking and eating food, occasionally going out to the crowd for pictures. Sometimes party goers were allowed in their VIP space, but to my enjoyment, they were kept in the pool.
 

Another text came and I smiled as I pulled my phone up and looked at the message from Adam.
 

Adam: You know that song “Latch?” They’re playing some kind of remix of it right now, but all I can think about is the time we listened to the acoustic version by Sam Smith and I held you in my arms, stroked your arm, and watched you fall asleep. I’m latched onto you, Solo.
 

Chapter Twenty Eight

Adam

Another pair of naked breasts shimmied at me from the pool below, and I refrained from cringing. When Zia told me about the party, I wasn’t expecting for there to be people having sex in the pool, naked women throwing themselves at us, and no one really caring about what the hell was going on. The only control there was, was the security that lined our private area, and thank fuck for that, or else I probably would have been molested by now.
 

Scout told me how great the parties were, and I could see that from a single’s guy perspective, but when it came to being a guy who was madly in love with his little chocolate-eyed girl back home, I would rather eat razor blades then be at this party.
 

Zia was extra attentive to my needs and….my body ever since we got to Vegas. She was overly nice and would occasionally rub my arm or think her new seat was my lap. I knew the pictures Solo had to post because every God damn time Zia came around me, the photographer made it his mission to capture the fucking moment.
 

I could sense Zia getting irritated with me because I wasn’t giving in like the other guys. I wasn’t touching her like she wanted, and whenever I had a chance, I would send Solo a text message. At one point, Zia told me to put my phone away, which I did, but I still stole chances to speak to Solo when Zia was occupied with someone else. There was no way I was about to stop talking to Solo, especially since our relationship felt so uneasy.
 

This morning, when I woke up, I knew I had to see her, to reassure myself that she still loved me even after my two day neglect. When I saw her red-rimmed eyes and the sullen look on her face, I knew I had to stop being a giant douche and put aside my feelings. It was time to be a big boy and deal with the fact that shit happens and people have pasts. I couldn’t hold the fact that she’d been with Ty against her; it wasn’t fair.
 

I hated Ty, though, with a passion. That fuck nut has been smirking at me since the moment I set foot on the plane, and I think it’s because he knows I know about him and Solo. I want to blast his face off and hang him up by is fucking small ass calves, but getting into it with Ty could only lead to one thing, me losing my job, and I couldn’t afford that, not with my mom still looking for a new heart.
 

“Here, dude. You look like you need this,” Scout said, handing me a beer.
 

“Thanks, man.” I looked around and said, “I feel like a total douche asking, but want to take a selfie with me so I can post it?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” Scout said, smiling.
 

He gripped my shoulder and held up his beer while sticking out his tongue. I Held up my beer as well and gave the camera the peace sign with my beer holding hand. I went with the serious look and snapped the picture.

“Don’t forget to tag me,” Scout clapped my shoulder.
 

“You’re such a girl, you know that?”

“Hey, I’ve been working hard on this physique,” he said, flexing his tattoo-covered muscles. “I want girls to know who the hell the sexy mother fucker is that’s with you.”

“And modest too,” I responded, while rolling my eyes and tagging Scout in my picture.

“Hey, the word modesty doesn’t exist in this profession. It’s about time you realize that. If you want the big bucks, you have to flaunt yourself, man.”

“Zia does a good enough job of that on her own,” I mumbled, pocketing my phone.
 

The sunset was looking beautiful in the background with the mountains that surrounded Las Vegas, and the lights from the Strip were buzzing as they started to turn on, getting ready for the night life.
 

I could feel the vibration in my shorts pocket from my phone, so I pulled it out, expecting a text from Solo. Instead, the stupid thing was just telling me that I had a low battery and needed to charge it.
 

“Damn,” I mumbled, as I pocketed my phone again.
 

“What’s wrong, the foursome you had planned tonight was cancelled? Don’t worry, brother, Ty, Nikko, and I have you covered. We might not be curvy, but we know how to have a good time.”

“Do you charge?” I asked with a smirk.
 

“Only Nikko, but it’s because that dude has some sweet ass moves.”

“I think I can handle that.”

“Hey, Axel,” Zia said, as she came up next to me. “I wanted to tell you that you did a great job for your first event.”

“Uh, thanks,” I responded with my beer bottle halfway up to my mouth.
 

I had to give it to Zia, under all those dark clothes that she usually had on, she had a pretty fantastic body. Who would have known? Granted, it was nothing compared to Solo, whose ass has rocked my world, but I could understand why the other guys in the house would not be opposed to ending up in Zia’s bed.
 

Very smoothly, her hand glided into my pocket and she said, “Room 1109, one room down from yours. I’ve been wondering what it’s like to have this body under me. Meet me there if you’re interested.”