Free Aberration by Iris Blaire Page B

like the world has flipped on its axis. It's like bears no longer shit in the woods."
    "Give me a break, Cam," I attempt indifferently, and then veer the conversation back on course. "What Jaime is saying is that confidence is what should make a model appealing."
    "Boner-inducing," Jaime challenges slyly.
    I raise an eyebrow. "Boner-inducing."
    Cam shrugs, and the conversation is cut short when Dad enters the kitchen. "You two ready?" he says, giving me a side-hug and kissing me on the forehead. "Want to hang out at the driving range with all the men?"
    "I'd rather eat rocks," I say cheerfully.
    When Dad and Cam make to leave, Jaime ever-so-slightly runs his thumb along the skin of my bare back, where my tank top is hiked up and doesn't reach the hem of my shorts. He says nothing when he pulls away and leaves. And it's like only being allowed one lick of melting chocolate ice-cream on a hot summer day. And I kind of want to act like a toddler and scream for more. But I don't. I watch the boys leave in silence, and then turn my attention back to my work.
    Andrea arrives at around eleven. After introducing her to mom as my "writer friend," I tell her to leave her luggage downstairs and she follows me up to my bedroom. It's time to start business.
    When the door is closed and I know we're alone, I tell her in detail all of the troubles I've had trying to find a theme, ending with the fact that I still don't have a storyline.
    She frowns.
    "The closest thing we came up with that was promising was something to do with sororities and fraternities, to keep the image young and fresh."
    She mimics a gag.
    "What?" I nearly cry.
    "The thing with Boston was that the whole haunted mansion theme was weirdly sophisticated." She shakes her head. "Same with the professor-student shoot with Dallas and Evan because it was Dallas and Evan and it was sexy instead of cheesy. But sororities and fraternities? Not sophisticated. Not at all. How would you work the erotic edge into it anyway? Naked beer pong? If you make hazing seem sexy, isn't that, I don't know, encouraging people to do stupid shit?"
    I scowl and start to pace. "I don't know, okay? I'm good at taking pictures of naked people. Stories on the other hand..."
    "I think you're being too afraid. The pictures you sent me last night of Evan and Dallas... it's the same poses they've been doing for a solid year. Him dominating her."
    I cross my arms. "That's what they're good at."
    "I know," she says. "They're so good that you haven't tried anything else. How do you know that Evan dominating Dallas won't be hotter than hell?"
    I scowl, but mostly because I know she's right and I'm too prideful to admit it.
    "My advice to you?" She sits on my bed. "Scratch the whole sorority-fraternity dream. I'll write a story about a bunch of friends who decide to rent a house in Malibu for a week-long vacation, and all the girls make a pact to seduce to boys."
    I bite on my bottom lip, thinking. "Like, flipping gender roles?"
    "Exactly," she says. "You won't need props or anything. The story will be in the house and in the action of the women."
    I sigh. "All right, Andrea, you've convinced me. Now let's see if this is the key to making magic."
    Thank god she is here. I feel more relaxed already. Andrea gives me a sense of courage — my right hand girl. Plus, she's much better at outlining than Jaime. I read through the notebook this morning.
    Evan sticks hand down Dallas's pants.
    The boy should definitely never take up poetry, that's for sure.
    I drive Andrea over to Micah's house, and the second that we roll up to the gate, she already has her notebook out and is scribbling down ideas. "Holy crap, Brit, this house is insane. You know how many sexy things we could do with a glass house on the water?"
    When I enter the house, it looks like the models have gone shopping; the kitchen is filled with boxes and bags of health and diet food. Evan and Delilah enter the kitchen in workout clothes and sweaty from a