Pencils & Polaroids

39: idiots everywhere

"Seriously, were you shooting for Baywatch or Sex Life?" One of the guys snickered. 

"Why is everybody obsessed with Sex Life? I've got to watch that damn show." Rainer remarked. 

He didn't know the show--wow. "Fine! After, 50 Shades or 365 Days--whatever floats your boat. What the hell was that shoot, Rain?" Another guy with a deeper voice retorts. 

Rainer laughed. That laugh, I could recognize from a mile away. "I don't know we got into character and everything just clicked. I knew we had chemistry but I didn't suspect it to be this fierce. She was . . ." I lean closer to the door. "She was just . . ." 

"Red Hot. She was red hot." Jayden interrupts, and I am about to punch him in the nose again. How hard is it to shut up and let a guy complete whatever he has to say? "I fucking hate her too but damn I couldn't look away the whole time. She was on fire. Does anybody recall when exactly did Park Mellon get that dreamy?"  

"She was always dreamy." 

The words make me frown into an upside-down smile. I'm surprised I recognized Zach Fell's voice through a closed door. The boys burst into a loud cooing almost like teasing the boy who defended me in locker room talk. 

"How was it Zachy, watching your buddy get steamy with your crush?" I cannot believe Grayson Finley said those words. "I'm sure you got some slick pictures behind the lens." 

"Fuck you, Gray," Zach responds. 

"Rain, that was mean." It's Grayson again. I wonder if Sam has seen this side of him. 

"What?" Rainer's deep voice fills the room. He's happy. "He had the opportunity and he backed out because he got shy. It's not my fault I made hay while the sun shone." Wow. Just when I thought he wasn't fully an ass. "And let's be honest Fell, you can't handle her." 

"I can't handle her?" Zach repeats with a laugh. 

"Nope," Rainer's confident. "Even I can't. No one can. She's not meant to be handled." 

"Then what is she meant to be, Sage Cross?" 

"Fucked." Jayden answers and the room fills with laughter. 

I roll my eyes but wait if he's going to finish his sentence. He does. "She's meant to be experienced. Like life. You live through her unpredictable surprises. You think you have her figured out but--" he snaps his fingers "--the next moment, you're back to square one. It's challenging. Exciting. Terrifying. But it's--she's magical." 

I'm smiling at how beautifully he put it. 

And the moment is short-lived when Jayden says, "Sure, magical. She's dark, scary, and cryptic. Makes sense." God, just take this creature back. "Tell me how I can get her to find an interest in me." 

I hold back a laugh but Rainer and Grayson clearly don't. Their laughter is so loud, it sounds insulting even from this side of the door. 

"You want Park Mellon to like you?" Grayson asks aloud, in between laughing. 

"Not like me," Jayden pfts. "I want to grab her attention. For just a night." They laugh again, but a few other boys join in. "Oh come on, she rocked a bikini today and I'm faintly attracted to her. I want to know if there's a possibility." 

"--A possibility?--" Rainer and Grayson mutter together and continue laughing. 

"You know, what? I think I know how this works. The same old flirting and complimenting--telling her she's beautiful and gorgeous etcetera etcetera." If Jayden believes that'll get me to agree to sleep with him, I want to join in on the laughter.