Nothing To Prove

16 Literally Blood, Sweat, and Tears

We took the elevator downstairs and walked through the lobby out the pool. The place was paradise. Artificial trees surrounded each corner, made out of different shades of pink balloons. Flowers in similar colors floated on water by white potted greenery and lounge beds.

"I can't believe this!" I jumped with excitement.

"Relax." Ashton scanned the area. He looked so tense.

"Is this too girly for you?" I smiled, holding his hand.

He glanced at our hands, a small curve lifting his lips.

A few influencers our age were grouped across the pool, listening to music. The other two sides were taken by unimpressed, middle-aged men who might've been billionaires.

"Do you think they're sugar daddies?" I whispered to Ash. We had taken over the last empty corner (aka was the most picturesque option, thank God).

"Why do you care?" Ash grumbled, sitting on the edge. His back was towards the pink tree as I positioned the tripod to face him.

"You know, in case I need options." I teased him, biting back a grin.

"Oh, yeah?" His pinned gaze and dark chuckle were borderline terrifying.

Securing my phone on the tripod with long nails was a nightmare! I propped on my knees on the step underwater to lean forward. Damn it, the phone fell. I climbed on my elbows to—

"I swear to God, Samantha. I'll take you upstairs and fuck your brains out. Stop."

"W-what?" I laughed. Heat washed over my body from his serious voice, the dirty image causing a tingle between my legs. "I'm fixing the phone, dude."

We were just roommates.

"I don't think I've ever met a men with such an aggressive sex drive." I finished setting up and neared him.

For the first pose, I had to stand between Ashton's legs with my knee propped on his thigh. I was always nervous around Ashton, but right now I was dizzy and feverish. Instead of my head being flooded with a million thoughts, it was zeroed in.

All I wanted was to feel his hands on me.

I climbed the steps towards Ashton until I was out of water from the knees up. Ashton held my hips and slowly raked his gaze from my eyes down to my chest, waist and legs.

"What are you doing?"

"Posing." I slowly slid my knee on his thigh and snaked my arms around his neck.

Ashton chuckled and grabbed my ass with both hands.

"No, you're fucking not." He stood and quickly picked me up, turning away from the camera.

An embarrassingly loud cry mixed with laughter burst out of me. Some people looked, but I couldn't pay attention with Ashton's amused lips so close to me.

"AAAW, ya'll are adorable! That was such a cute moment!"

Three young women stood behind us in colorful bikinis. The one talking to us had long, blonde hair and a tall, slender body. Her blue eyes and plump lips were goals.

"I took a video by accident if you want it." She flashed us a smile as Ash set me down.

"Oh, thank you..." I laughed so lamely. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Nice tripod setup you got there, are you guys travel vloggers?" asked a redhead in a green bikini while the blonde gave me her phone to enter my number.

"No, we're just a normal couple," Ashton sighed, looking away like he was exhausted.

"Aw, how nice! Yes, couple's content is huge nowadays," said the blonde. "I know some couples who make eighty-thousand dollars a month."

"Really?" My eyes widened.

"Oh, yeah! Erika's also pretty successful." She pointed at her friend with shoulder-length hair and a black bikini. "We're invited to a Sephora campaign next week."

"Wow! That's like my dream," I chuckled sheepishly. "Do you have any tips for me?"

"Never say no to anything." She narrowed her eyes at me with amused curiosity. "Even if it's out of your comfort zone."

"Oh, then no wonder I'm not making it anywhere." I tried to joke.

She chuckled. "You should follow me. I always repost about upcoming events."

"Oh my God, really?" This was too good to be true. I rushed to get my phone from the tripod, forgetting about my long-ass nails. As a result, my phone slipped from my hands and fell in the pool.

"No!"—the sudden clenching of my body caused mother nature to attack. It was one of those lumps. "Oh, no...."

"I got it." Ash bent over by my legs to pick up my phone. I was fucking bleeding.

"I need to get to the room. Now."

"Okay, I'll come with you." He handed me my phone—

"No. You have to stay, we can't lose this spot." My voice was mechanic. I robot-walked out of the pool so nothing would spill out. "Uh, sorry. Can you give your info to Ashton? I have to go."

"You okay?" Ash asked.

"Perfect!" I grumbled under my breath. "Sooo perfect."

Upstairs, I changed tampons and tried to scrub the blood off the bikini bottom. It didn't work.

I couldn't take pictures like this. This was horrible. Tears welled up with panic.

I changed back into my dress and lit up a joint, using one of the candles they set on the bed. My phone was thankfully back on. Two of the girls had already followed me on Instagram, I stalked their pages. They had over a hundred-thousand followers each, their feed full of luxurious locations and their gorgeous bodies.

I approached the window overlooking the pool and spotted Ashton with them. He was gesturing with his palm and saying something while they leaned forward with undivided interest. Well, it didn't look like I was needed there.

After a minute though, he looked at his phone and typed something. Was he texting me?

My heart skipped a beat as he did.

"What's taking so long?"

"I'm busy."

"Doing what?"

"Stalking you through the window."

He looked up at the building and made eye-contact. A crooked smile formed on his lips, then he typed something.

"You little creep, get over here."

"Why? Aren't you enjoying the attention?" I giggled when he shook his head annoyedly.

"No. I only need yours. Come here."

"How is he so hot?!" I whined. "Stop saying things like that or I might actually believe it."

Ashton looked up, this time more serious and curled a finger to go to him.

It was so hot in there, I could hear the fire crackling.

Why could I hear the fire crackling?

I turned towards the sound and—THE BED WAS ON FIRE.

The candle had fallen on the bedsheets and now the gift basket was burning like a bonfire. I screamed and ran to grab a pillow, putting the fire out. Within seconds, the alarm blared my eardrums and sprinklers poured the room.

Now it was DEFINITELY a failed photoshoot.

~A/N~
At least... she networked? Let's see how these influencer events go... (hehe)