Bohemian

by Kathryn Nolan

  And what I wanted was for Lucia to come over here so I could kiss her senseless.

  “Where the fuck is Taylor?” Ray asked, clapping his hands together.

  “Sick,” Lucia piped up. “I think it’s food poisoning. Ray, I’m sorry—I thought he might be up for it this morning but he’s still completely out of it.”

  Ray made a face like he wanted to freak out, but kept it together. “Yeah, so…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “it’s just that with the storm, and this weather, everything is getting really behind schedule. I mean, Lu, I could photograph you all day.”

  “Obviously,” she agreed with a grin.

  “But Shay was clear. And Rag was clear. They wanted sexy couple’s photos. Two people together.”

  “What about a stand-in?” she suggested. “Also, where in the hell are we shooting today? The roads are closed and we’ve done a ton in this location already.”

  Ray grinned, devious. “I have an idea. It might be dangerous.”

  “Well, then, I’m in,” Lucia said immediately. This entire Hollywood drama had been playing out in front of me, but not a single person had addressed me. Or probably noticed me, as usual. I had shit to do, so I tried to sidle across the back of the room, tip-toeing quietly. If I could just get to my desk…

  Except I was so busy quietly sidling that I failed to notice the snarl of power cords, which my foot caught, sending me flying across the room. I dimly heard my coffee mug shattering as I fell, face first, into the floor.

  “Motherfucker,” I groaned, rolling over to stare at the ceiling, willing the earth to open and take me away. Immediately, a trio of concerned faces appeared in my view.

  “Calvin,” Lucia said, with a wry smile. “Good morning.”

  “Oh…hello, everyone,” I said, sitting up. I rubbed the side of my face that had smashed against the carpet. “How’s it, uh, going?”

  “Dude, you okay?” Ray said, looking not the least bit concerned. He was on a time-crunch after all. Except, suddenly, his face changed as he was looking at me. “Cal, can you come here a second?” He grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the heavy studio lighting being set up.

  “Josie, Joanna, come here,” he said and they trotted over. Lucia came too, sensing something was up.

  “We need a stand-in, right?” Ray said, staring at me like I was the Mona Lisa.

  Josie’s face lit up as she reached forward, removing my glasses. “We sure do, boss.”

  “I do need those to see, I’m afraid,” I said, automatically reaching for them, but Josie held them from my reach.

  “Good bone structure,” Ray said, cupping my face and moving it from side to side. “This scruff…I like it, Cal. It’s very bohemian.”

  Oh no.

  “What?” I asked, but Joanna was unbuttoning my shirt. I started to laugh nervously. “Wait, what are you doing?”

  “Relax, Cal. We’re just taking your clothes off,” Lucia sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. I looked at her, and her smile blazed across my skin. I gave her a pleading look, but she just shook her head, hiding a smile. “I get naked every day. So can you.”

  Sweetly submissive Lucia was not without some defiance. I sensed somewhere, deep in my brain, that this was payback for my instructions.

  My shirt slid to the floor, my hands went to cover my chest. Ray held them back, studying me.

  “Can I please say this is the most bizarre thing that’s ever happened to me?” I asked, but no one answered. They were picking me apart, examining every square inch. I didn’t know if I liked it.

  And Lucia did this every damn day.

  “Calvin, Calvin, Calvin…” Josie said, tsking. “Who knew you were hiding this gorgeous bod underneath all those plaid shirts?”

  “Um…I don’t…”

  “Turn around,” Ray said, but then physically turned me before I could move an inch. “Let’s see your back. I mean, mostly it’d be body shots. I don’t know if Shay would mind if we replaced Taylor for a day. Especially since mostly I could shoot Lu’s reactions to Cal.”

  Behind me, I heard Lu choke for a second.

  “What do you think, Lu?” Ray asked, turning me back around. He gave me a wide smile that I thought was meant to be reassuring, but only made me more anxious. “You think you can, you know, get into it with Cal for a day?”

  I glanced at Lucia. Our eyes briefly met, but then she turned towards the cameras. “I mean…I am a stalwart professional.”

  Joanna ran her hand through my hair. “You’re cute. You’ve got good hair,” she said, winking at me. Lucia saw, her gaze turning murderous for the quickest of seconds.

  “Um, thanks?” I said.

  Josie looked up from chatting with the wardrobe folks. “How tall are you, Cal?”

  “Six foot two, I think,” I said. I was a little shorter than Taylor, although we were both pretty slim. She nodded, pulling off a few pieces and holding them against my chest.

  “Ooooh, nice. I really think this could work, Ray. Cal, have you ever modeled before?”

  I let out a sarcastic laugh. “Oh yeah, in between Star Trek conventions, I always squeeze in a little modeling.”

  Lucia snorted and I smiled at her.

  “Lucia will show you the ropes. You’re not going to have to do much, Lu will carry it. You’re just going to basically work off her energy. What her body is doing, what facial expressions she’s making,” Ray said.

  “What if I can only make one facial expression?”

  Lucia stepped forward, taking my face in her hands. Her blue eyes were practically dancing. “Look at me,” she said, as if there was anyplace else in the world I wanted to look. “Smile, kind of naturally. Like we’re friends and you just told me a funny joke.”

  I thought about it for a second, thought about last night and the conversation we’d been having. I smiled naturally and she returned it. I heard a click and looked over. Ray was holding his camera, staring at the screen.

  He made an impressed face. “You two…well, you do look kind of natural together.” Lucia glanced at it and some feeling crossed her face I couldn’t begin to decipher.

  “Is it good?” I asked.

  “I mean, I’m good,” she joked, hand on her chest, and I laughed.

  Ray clicked again. Looked. Made that same face. “You know, when you’re not tripping over power cords, you’re a handsome guy, Cal.”

  Lu tilted her head at me, thinking. “That’s how I make certain expressions. I play a little movie in my mind, and my face will naturally start to recreate it.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m still not sure I can…”

  “You’ll basically have your face in Lu’s boobs for six hours. You’ll be fine,” Josie said, pushing me into a makeup chair. She smiled at me, arching an eyebrow. “Just try not to get a giant erection.”

  ◊

  LUCIA

  I never thought Calvin and I would be sitting in conjoined makeup chairs, about to be photographed sensually touching each other’s bodies for an entire day.

  I also didn’t expect Cal to have such a nice body. His shirt was still off and they’d put him in terry shorts—easier to wipe makeup off. I was in a short towel, wishing desperately that we were alone. Because this close to his mostly naked body and I wanted to climb all over him.

  “You’re kind of a hottie-with-a-body,” I teased, looking up so Josie could layer on eye-liner.

  “Yeah, Cal. Agree. Are you like the heartthrob of Big Sur?” she asked.

  “Your sarcasm has not gone unnoticed,” he said, eyes closed as Joanna fussed with his hair.

  “We’re not joking,” Josie said. “You, uh…you work out?”

  I swallowed a laugh, since I knew she was only asking for me, because I wanted to know how he’d gotten so lean and fit but couldn’t ask without raising some eyebrows.

  He opened his eyes, giving us a look, as in seriously? Josie nodded.

  He glanced down at himself. “I just have a normal body.
I’m a normal person.”

  “With abs,” I said, before I could stop myself.

  Josie widened her eyes at me, and if we weren’t surrounded by people, she would have squealed.

  “Um…okay,” he said, as Joanna rubbed foundation on his forehead. “I don’t know, I run every day. I have a pull-up bar I use.”

  I liked the idea of Cal doing pull-ups. His heavy breathing. Sweat dripping down his lean stomach, the muscles of his broad shoulders bunching. Because he wasn’t bulky-muscular, but he looked strong and hard in all the right places. He had dark chest hair, a smattering on his stomach. I wanted to press my lips against every inch of him.

  “What’s happening on my face right now?” he asked.

  “Foundation. Globs of it,” I said.

  “You do this, like, every day?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I don’t always have huge shoots like this. Sometimes it’s runway, sometimes it’s for a magazine. They’re all different. But they all start by sitting in hair and makeup for hours. It’s a really unique blend of boredom and relaxation.”

  “What do you do to pass the time?”

  “Well it helps when your best friend is your makeup artist,” I said, reaching out to squeeze Josie’s hand.

  “True,” she said. “Lucia and I usually spend a lot of time talking—”

  “—Instagramming—”

  “—Snapchatting—

  “—Talking about our feelings,” I said. “Gossiping.” I shrugged. “It makes the time pass quickly, because once the shoot or the runway show begins, it’s really physically exhausting. Sometimes this is the only time I’ll sit all day.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, you do so much standing, for hours on end. It’s why I have crazy-strong legs,” I said, pointing at the limbs in question.

  “How many fans do you have?” Cal asked. “I’m curious.”

  “On which platform?”

  Josie snorted. “Lucia’s Followers,” she said, sweeping blush across my cheeks.

  “You say that like she’s a cult leader,” he said, smiling.

  “Because she is. I mean, you have to be in this industry.” My hands were twitching at the mere mention of “followers” and “fans.” I picked up my phone on instinct, glaring at the No Service.

  “On Instagram, I have over five million followers,” I said. “It’s all part of the whole…you know, the whole persona you have to have. Friendly but not too friendly. Aloof, but also approachable. People want to get a glimpse into this glamorous other world, but also want to see me eating Cheetos and binge-watching Netflix.” I paused. “I am losing followers, so…and not having internet this whole time, I’m sure, is not helping.”

  “Mija,” Josie warned. “Stop.”

  “So some people dropped off…what’s the big deal?” Calvin asked. My stomach clenched. Why was I bringing this up? It was such a dark, shallow side of myself and I didn’t want Cal privy to it.

  “Oh, just…” I started, ignoring the look on Josie’s face. She thought I was too obsessed. “As a celebrity, you need to stay relevant. Always doing something new, something different. Standing out. It’s how you stay famous. How you keep getting paid.” I swallowed. “Models don’t have a particularly long shelf-life.”

  “What are you, like 24?”

  “26, which is about as old as we get,” I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  Cal glanced at me, sympathy playing across his face, which clued me in that I was sharing more than I should.

  I opened my mouth to make a joke—change the subject—but Ray came over with his notepad. “How do you two feel about heights?” He paused. “And rain?” Another pause. “And high winds? Also cliffs.”

  “Specific cliffs? Or cliffs in general?” I asked.

  “Specific. Specifically, the cliffs in front of the cabins.”

  “The ones that jut out hundreds of feet over the roaring ocean?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “I feel fucking great about that,” I said, and watched Cal half-faint out of his makeup chair.

  ◊

  CALVIN

  “I would like it to be known that I object to this,” I said, standing in front of one of the cabins under a pop-up tent that was threatening to blow away any instant. The storm was dying down, and the rain had settled into a gentle drizzle. Really, taking pictures in the rain wasn’t the issue. Or the fact that the wind made it freezing.

  It was those fucking cliffs.

  “Duly noted, Cal,” Ray said, examining his notepad. “We’ll have you sign a waiver. It’s fine.”

  It was not fine.

  “It’ll be wild. And dangerous. And totally arthouse,” he said, showing us his drawings. “Kind of…I don’t know, animalistic. Two people who can’t keep their hands off each other, even outside in a fucking storm. And the ocean adds this element of danger.” He looked at us, laying a hand on each of our shoulders. “Because really, you could fall in at any moment.”

  “Totally,” Lucia said, a gleam in her eye.

  “This is fucking ridiculous,” I said, but neither one of them heard me. In fact, they were shuffling us closer to where we’d be shooting, keeping an umbrella over our heads. I was wearing a patterned vest, no shirt, and ripped jeans. My hair had weird gel in it, and my face felt sticky with the foundation they’d layered on.

  Lucia was a rain goddess. She was in a black, two-piece bathing suit covered in turquoise and white stones, with layers and layers of necklaces. Leather sandals laced up her calves to her knees. Joanna had created a large crown of leaves and branches that sat on top of her head, her blonde hair crimped and curled and wild looking. She had only a little makeup on, since the rain could downpour at any second.

  “You, um, you look really pretty,” I said, as if really pretty could describe Lucia Bell.

  “Thanks,” she said, nudging me with her shoulder, “you’re not too shabby yourself.”

  “Let’s go,” Ray said, looking at the sky. “The clouds are perfect and the rain isn’t too bad. You ready?”

  “Nope,” I said, as Lucia yelled, “Fuck yeah!”

  Ray marched us over to the collection of rocks, pointing out the one we’d be leaning against for most of the day. I looked over and down, at the sheer drop. Huge rocks jutted out of the ocean, white water swirling around their jagged edges.

  “We’re going to die,” I said, pointing.

  Lucia looked, gave a casual shrug. “Probably. But at least we’ll be having fun, right?”

  I was already captivated by the sight of water on Lucia’s eyelashes. I shook myself.

  “All right, Cal, remember: follow Lu’s lead. I’m going to be shooting mostly her face anyway. Just be natural. I’ll tell you if you look weird or constipated or anything.”

  “Jesus,” I said, but then Lucia was backing up against the rock and crooking her finger at me and my mouth went totally dry.

  “I think you’re in front of me in the beginning,” she said.

  “Okay,” I said, moving slowly towards her.

  There was an entire crew of people behind us, shivering under tents and umbrellas, the ever-present Ray, already rattling off a string of instructions to Lucia, who was nodding in understanding.

  But really. Really, there was just Lucia, water rolling down her skin, gazing at me like I was the sexiest thing she’d ever laid eyes on.

  I placed my hands on either side of her head, firm against the rock. It was freezing, but Lucia was a total professional: no complaints.

  “Closer,” Ray said, so I did, pressing the lower half of my body against hers. I was hard and she felt it, her eyes widening.

  “Right leg up, Lu,” Ray said, and she complied. My hand automatically left the rock to wrap around her lower thigh, holding it against my hip. Beneath my fingers, her muscles flexed gently.

  “Beautiful,” Ray said. “Keep looking at each other just like that and hold it.”

  “Um…fo
r how long?” I asked out of the side of my mouth.

  “Hours and hours,” she said.

  “Can we at least talk—”

  “Cal, stop talking,” Ray called out and I clamped my mouth shut.

  Lu didn’t change the expression on her face but her eyes were bright and dancing. She was enjoying this. She moved her hands, slid them up my bare chest, up the side of my neck and into my hair. She gripped the strands, slowly pulling my face down into the crook of her neck.

  “Old model trick,” she whispered in my ear. “They won’t catch us if we whisper like…once every hour.”

  I stifled a laugh, accidentally scraping my teeth against her neck. Every muscle in her body stilled.

  “Sorry,” I whispered.

  “Don’t be,” she whispered back. My eyes closed for a second and I rocked, as subtly as I could, against her. There was just a thin sliver of fabric preventing me from being inside her—something we were now both very much aware of.

  “Get your head out of her boobs, Cal,” Ray said, and we both laughed. Click click went the camera. “And stop being cute. I need raw. Lu?”

  “Got it,” she said, eyes on me. “Calvin,” she said, hands drifting up my back. I felt her fingernails bite into my shoulders. “You need to, um, pretend, that you want to fuck my brains out.”

  “Yeah, Cal, just what Lucia said,” Ray called out.

  I turned, looking at him helplessly. Did he know? Did they all know?

  Ray tapped his watch. “The sooner you rip each other’s clothes off, the sooner we can get out of this god-forsaken rain.”

  I turned back to Lucia. “You have a really weird job,” I said.

  She pressed the entirety of her body against the rock, arching her back. Water arced between her breasts and down her lean stomach. I almost broke the rock in half with my palm. Like a dream, she reached forward, looping her fingers in my vest, pulling me slowly, slowly, slowly until our lips were almost touching. My hand slipped under her other thigh, lifting until she was pinned against the rock, legs wrapped around my waist.

  “That’s the spirit,” she said against my lips. “And you should know, your cock is driving me crazy.” I tightened my fingers on her thighs, giving another subtle rock. The smallest whimper escaped her lips.