Free Distracted by Alexandra Warren

their own?”
    He could tell I was flustered so he took a step closer to me, his voice dropping an octave as he said, “But I want my stylist there.” I held his eyes for a moment, refusing to back down from the challenge of his presence.
    I could do this.
    I could face Bryson straight up without falling into his traps.
    I could… damn, that smile.
    In what seemed like slow motion, Bryson brought his hand to my face, stroking my cheek as he said, “You look beautiful today, Kennedy. Glowing in fact. Like you got some.” I snatched my face away, heading to his state-of-the-art kitchen to grab a bottle of water. And of course he was right on my heels, each of his barefooted steps matching the clank of my chunky heeled ankle booties against his hardwood floor.
    “My sex life is none of your business, boss ,” I tossed over my shoulder as I yanked the refrigerator door open. The second I bent over to grab a bottle from the bottom shelf, I felt Bryson directly behind me, his hands on my waist and his pelvis right against my ass. I closed my eyes, immediately picking up on the fact that he couldn’t have possibly had on any boxers… or briefs. But no matter how good he felt, I had to handle this the right way.
    I had to be strong.
    So I stood up - not panicked, or urgently - but just enough so that our bodies could separate. Then I closed the door and turned around right into his usual cocky expression to ask, “Where’s the photo-shoot?”
    He looked even more confused than I expected. “ The photo-shoot ? That’s what you wanna talk about? The photo-shoot ?”
    “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? To do my job? The job you hired me to do?”
    He was at a loss, rubbing a hand against the nape of his neck and letting out a spacey, “Yeah… yeah, I… I guess so.”
    “Good. Now let’s get to work.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
                 
     

Bryson
    Kennedy had been floating between the dressing room and set all afternoon and though it should’ve made me happy to see her happy, it didn’t because I knew I had nothing to do with it. In fact, she was beyond pissed the last time she left my house, so her newfound excitement about life had to be a result of wack ass Landon. She didn’t talk about their relationship much other than surface-level shit like how much she loved him, but I was interested to see exactly what type of dude who he was.
    I smiled through the last set of fifty frames before the shoot was finally called to a close. Then I headed to the dressing room where I figured Kennedy was hiding out for a break. I opened the door and found her leaning on the arm of the couch fast asleep. She looked radiant, her makeup and hair for the day still completely intact, as she let out short puffs of breath. I felt like I could watch her do this all day, but I didn’t wanna creep her out in the event that she actually woke up. So instead, I sat down next to her, pushing her hair over her shoulder before tapping her awake.
    Her eyes flashed open for a second, but quickly closed again as she readjusted in her seat on the couch.
    “Kennedy. Kennedy, wake up.”
    “Five more minutes,” she pleaded. I wanted to give her all the time in the world, but I knew she didn’t really mean it so I tapped her shoulder once more.
    “Kennedy, you can sleep in the car. We gotta go. I have a flight to catch.” The mention of a flight woke her right up.
    “Oh my God! I can’t believe I… how long was I…” She rushed over to the mirror, checking her face and rearranging her hair.
    I stood up, finding a spot right behind her in the mirror as I told her, “Relax, Kennedy. We’re all done with the shoot and you were only out for ten minutes tops.”
    Her hands fell to the countertop as she put her head down trying to pull herself together. Then she turned around, facing me with the most embarrassed expression. “I’m so sorry. I just… didn’t get much sleep last night.”
    The smirk came on its own as