That Abercrombie Model

TWENTY FOUR

"Earth to Liza." I come out of my reverie to find Kystan standing in front of me, worry written all over his face.

"Oh, sorry." I shake my head. I get up from the bed and walk to my briefcase. The room Kystan got is a large master suite, with a king size bed, it's own ensuite bathroom, a desk, a vanity table and a two seater.

"The bathroom is good." He says as he starts to rummage through his bag, his back facing me. "We have a pre-party to go to in thirty minutes, better get ready or Angry Bird will be on you." He says and pulls out a pair of ripped jeans, a white t-shirt and a jacket. "Does this look good on me?" He asks and turns around to show me.

Upon noticing my anxiousness, he puts the clothes down. I look up. He is worried but at the same time amused. "You know I won't eat you, right?"

Huh? I am surprised at first, that's not what I expected him to say, then it morphs into mirth. Laughing makes me less jittery. "Of course not. I'd have taken you down ages before that happened." I answer snarkily.

"That's more like it." He says with a smile on his face. He picks up the outfit again, "So?"

"It looks horrible." I say and smile goofily. He rolls his eyes and sets it on the bed. I carry my toiletry bag and get ready in the bathroom. I put on a long red floral summer dress with two slits at the front and white sneakers.

Kystan enters after me to take a shower. I do my makeup as he is bathing. The door to the bathroom opens, and I catch his reflection as he walks out. Instead of being fully clothed, he walks out with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

I had imagined what his body looks like a couple of times, I admit, but damn! I can't get myself to look away even though I shouldn't be looking. Our eyes meet as I am still ogling his body. I look away, embarrassed at being caught. "I forgot my clothes." He says sheepishly and goes to the bed to get his clothes. I catch a whiff of his soap: something between a woodsy scent but it also reminds me of the beach and the sand.

A few minutes later, he walks out looking great as always. "Are you ready?" I ask him.

"Yeah, you?"

"Same." I put my phone and a few other necessities in the pockets of my dress and we are ready to go.

I walk out first, and he closes the door behind us. Our hands brush as we walk to the elevator. Some of the awkwardness from before returns. When we are in the elevator, he whispers to me, "You are beautiful." I don't know what to reply. Images of him hugging Belle cloud my mind, I can't form an answer before the doors open and the rest of our entourage comes into view.

We take the ten minutes drive to Fitch path where the A&F home office is and is at the same time the venue of the A&F challenge. I did my homework of course. The venue is jammed with people watching the live performance. As we get off the bus, girls recognize the models and flock around them. I squeeze between them as it gets claustrophobic. I catch my breath whenI reach the edge of the crowd. I make my way into the tent where everything is taking place. Kystan catches up to me and follows me. I end up at the concert listening to music I have only heard on the radio. Music booming in my ears, I clasp Kystan's hands and make him dance with me. We twirl, sway and jump as the beats alternate from song to song. At the fourth song, he excuses himself. I continue dancing but after a while the songs get too slow to dance to alone.

Feeling alienated among strangers, I set out to look for Kystan. My search should have been easy because he is tall but I can't see him anywhere.

Luckily, I spot Asher. He is already hammered despite the small amount of time we have spent here. "Asher." I call him. He looks up from his phone. He is holding his phone in one hand and a beer in the other. I take that away from him when he reaches me. "Did you see Kystan around?"