Free SHOOT: A Novel by Megan West, Kristen Flowers Page A

out the constant clicking of the camera. He took more photos
whenever I got more animated. He stood up and walked a bit off to the side,
causing me to stand and turn to face him without thinking twice about it.

 
    “That’s a wrap.”

 
    I stared at him in
surprise. Already? I felt my knees go weak when I saw his dimple form as he
smiled back. Just as I started to head back to the room where my clothes were,
Brad called out. “Chloe.” I turned to look at him, “Would you like to go out
with me Friday evening?”

 
    My eyes traced
over his face as I gulped nervously. Did he really just ask me to go out with
him?

 
    “Okay.” I said,
trying my best to hide my quivering voice.

 
    “Okay yes? Or okay
no?” His eyes squinted as he tried to make sense of me.

 
    “Okay yes!” I shot
back with a timid laugh.

 
    I left Shoot about
forty minutes later feeling over the moon, but more nervous than I had been
when I first arrived in New York. Not only did I just wrap up my first real
photo shoot, but I just agreed to go on a date with the one man who’s given me
wobbly knees ever since I got to the big city.  

 
    It wasn’t just
that he was someone I barely knew and worked with. The thing was, I’d never
been on a ‘real date’ before. Sure, I’d had a boyfriend or two briefly in high
school, but I never thought of hanging out with him as being a date. It was
totally different. Now I was on my own in the city and living a life that was
radically different from the one I had known forever.

 
    I continued to
walk, ending up at Central Park. It was a lovely evening and there were still
plenty of people roaming about. I walked rather aimlessly, wondering how I had
gotten into this. What did I even have to say on a date that would be
interesting? I sighed and sat down on a park bench, picking at the strap of my
purse. As I looked down at it I realized I didn’t even know what to wear. I had
absolutely nothing that was good for a date! I quickly got up and started to
head home, hoping that one of my roommates would be there and be willing to
loan me some clothes.

 
    The big city life
was starting to get very interesting.

 

Friday evening
rolled around much faster than I anticipated. Between meetings with Sonja to
pick out the best shots for my portfolio, interviews for blurbs to place in my
bio, a meeting with the other scouts, and even an audition for a future photo
shoot in a teen magazine, everything had been a flurry.

 
    In between all
that, I managed to squeeze enough time to plan an outfit from my roommates’
closets and even go shopping for my own pair of black heels, which cost more
than I could have ever imagined shoes could cost. I settled it in my mind as an
investment and a treat.  

 
    I met Brad at a
swanky tapas restaurant in the Lower East Side. I wore a knee-length, pleated
plum cocktail dress that just barely showed off my cleavage. It was fitted at
the upper part of the bodice, but mostly flowed. It was quite alluring on my
fair skin especially paired with my new black heels.

 
    Brad was standing
outside the main entrance to the restaurant when I arrived. He looked at me and
for the first time I felt like his eyes raking over my entire body was him
actually checking me out instead of making sure I looked good for the camera.
It gave me an entirely new feeling. My stomach tumbled and I felt my heart
pound.

 
    Brad was
irresistible in a sport coat, dark jeans and leather shoes. He looked
simultaneously casual and dressed up properly for a date and I couldn’t help
but wonder how it was he pulled it off. I wondered if he had just been born
with an innate sense of style or if he had been molded into this through his
work as a photographer. Either way, it was his natural charm that stood out
above everything else about him. He walked forward to greet me and, much to my
surprise, leaned in to kiss me on the cheek.

 
    “You look gorgeous,”
he said with a smile.