Starstruck

Chapter 10

Written by G8rguy

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Things were going well, but the stress levels were getting higher and higher for Connor, though he thought he was handling it all pretty well. The All Star Game had been a great experience for him, he met some amazing players, and he played really well. Then the rest of the summer was spent house/condo hunting. Steve brought his girlfriend along with Jude and Connor, they told the agent for the woman's point of view, but in reality it was because Steve was getting really serious about her and had confessed to Connor that she might be "the one" for him. Steve and Alisha really liked the downtown condos in the towers but Connor really liked the houses on the beach and he knew that Jude was thinking the same. There were some great places that they saw but they were taking their time before making any decisions.

Jude and him had sat down at the beginning and drew up a list of everything they liked before they started and Connor had kept that list handy to compare it to places even though Jude kept saying they would have to compromise on some things. Connor was determined to find something that hit all their wants and dreams.

The summer was also the time that the sponsorships that Tanisha had worked on started lining up. David and Marcus, the guys from the contract signing, did in fact come to Connor's next game and at dinner they talked about their program for youth outreach for lower income kids and Connor had agreed to work with them. He had already gone to a skills camp and done a couple of other events and had a great deal of fun. The Padres really liked it when their players did community outreach work.

Financially, he had picked up an endorsement with Gatorade, much to Jesus's delight and amusement, as well as ones with Gillette, Rawlings, and Nike. He did a half dozen local deals for southern California businesses as well. What surprised Connor the most was the calls Tanisha got to asking him to do actual model work and how that turned into endorsements with Christian Dior and Ralph Lauren, much to the delight of his teammates not to mention Mariana. Connor secretly enjoyed modeling but pretended he didn't because Jude loved teasing him about it. However, he really did love the photos.

It was August, about a month after his cologne ad for Ralph Lauren had been airing when Tanisha called him. "Connor" she sounded really excited. "You have to come see me now!" she sounded like she was bouncing off the walls.

Connor agreed and swung by her office. Walking in she grabbed him and pulled him into her office. "Okay" Connor was laughing "what's got you all worked up?" he asked.

"You just hit the jackpot" Tanisha laughed. "ESPN called and said that after seeing your performance in the All Star Game and your Ralph Lauren campaign, they were definitely interested in having you but they had filled all the spots so they were going to wait till next year." Connor laughed as she was babbling she was so excited. "However, they had a last minute cancellation and want to know if you would be willing to pose for this year's body issue!" she gushed.

Connor froze in shock. "They want me to pose for the body issue?" he muttered "...naked?"

Tanisha laughed. "Technically you're naked, but it's tasteful and you know it won't hurt your reputation. Some of the absolute top athletes in every sport have done the shoot" she reminded him. "It is a huge honor to be asked and it definitely will improve your name recognition!"

Connor sat down on the couch in shock. He hadn't really taken the modeling seriously despite all of Jude's teasing about how he looked, but he never considered that would get asked to do this photoshoot. He knew that the shoot was always done tastefully and he had to be honest, he did have a good body, one he worked hard to maintain. The issue really highlighted the fact that professional athletes' bodies were their tools that they worked on every day.