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Chapter 8 – You Eat Pie Saturday February 13
I woke up to find both Kara and Pam in my bed. When we’d gotten home, I’d gone to my room and made some calls. Well, truth be told, the women had kicked me out of the living room. I was amazed at how quickly Pam bonded with Adrienne. They wanted to talk about the baby. I got the distinct impression that Tyler and Adrienne were thinking about either having one or adopting. If Adrienne ever wanted to have a baby, I would move to New York and stay until the deed was done.
I threw on a pair of boxers and strolled out to the kitchen to see what they had in the way of breakfast.
“Damn,” Tyler said as I found her making coffee.
“Sorry. I have my own apartment. I’ll go throw some clothes on.”
“Don’t bother,” Adrienne said as she walked into the kitchen.
I rolled my eyes at her. Despite her comment, I returned to my room to throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. When I came back, Tyler had everything set out for lox and bagels. She was also making scrambled eggs. I found a coffee mug and poured myself a cup, then sat down next to Adrienne and watched her make me a bagel. I think she was afraid I wouldn’t know the right way to do it.
“Pam’s a sweetheart. If she lived here, I’d talk to her about being a model,” Adrienne said.
“I think she likes you,” I teased.
“She told us about your fantasy.”
“And?” I asked, hopefully.
“I don’t think I could turn her. For some reason, she likes a certain boy too much to get her thinking bent. Plus, I don’t need you watching from the sideline. You’d be too much of a distraction.”
“Who’d be too much of a distraction?” Kara asked as she and Pam joined us.
“Adrienne is planning on turning Pam into a lesbian and won’t let me watch. Reminds me of when we stayed at the Range Ranch,” I complained.
I’d tried to join Tyler and Adrienne in bed when Kara was there. They let her stay, but I’d been kicked out.
“He’s such a ‘stupid boy’ sometimes,” Tyler said. “If he’d let us turn her, there might be side benefits down the road.”
Pam acted like she was at the US Open as we each talked about her. Her head snapped back and forth as if watching the tennis ball bounce between players. I could tell she was feeling a little unsure of herself, so I put my arms out, and she moved to sit in my lap.
“See. Told you,” Adrienne announced.
“We’re just having fun. I’d never let Adrienne take advantage of you.”
It was Adrienne’s turn to roll her eyes at me. I decided that Pam had been abused enough, especially when she took the other half of my bagel.
“So, who’s on the agenda today?” I asked.
“Today we have Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister. Abercrombie owns the Hollister brand as well as A&F,” Tyler explained.
The Hollister concept was to attract consumers aged 14–18 at a lower price point than Abercrombie. Hollister had a Southern California vibe and was geared toward casual wear. I think everyone recognized Abercrombie & Fitch. They were known for their male models who rarely wore shirts. I wasn’t even sure they sold any.
The main attraction for their stores was many of the models for their ads worked in the stores as what they called ‘brand representatives.’ Abercrombie sold sex the same way Victoria’s Secret did.
“Can I come and watch?” Pam asked.
“No,” said Adrienne. “I think a day of beauty is in order. You’re coming with me today.”
I’d arranged for Adrienne to spend the day with Pam as a Valentine’s present from me.
“I’ll go with David today,” Tyler offered.
“Could Kara and Kendal accompany you?” I asked Adrienne.
“That sounds like fun. I’ve wanted to get ahold of Kendal for a while,” Adrienne said, and then realized how that sounded. “Uh, I mean …”
I just waved a hand.
“Tyler, when do we need to leave?” I asked.
She looked at the clock.
“The car will be downstairs in thirty minutes. Go take your shower. One of our new accounts sent over a present for you. Check out the top drawer in your room.”
I ran off to shower and shave. When I opened the top drawer, there were several pairs of Calvin Klein underwear inside. The first pair I tried on was called ‘Iron Strength Micro Hip Briefs.’ I felt like I had on a Speedo. I next tried on a ‘Liquid Stretch’ pair. Not as bad, but still not my style. I found the next one was what they called ‘boxer briefs.’ It had three buttons on the front, and the legs went down a couple of inches but were snug against your legs.
I had been wearing boxers for a couple of years now. I liked the freedom they provided compared to the traditional tighty-whities. The only complaint I had was that my sack sometimes stuck to my leg when I perspired. When you see a guy adjust himself, it’s often because of that. It can be uncomfortable. What I liked about these was there was a pouch for the jewels that held them away from my thighs. The bonus was it didn’t push my package out and make my bulge more noticeable. I think some guys wanted that for the same reason women wore the Wonder Bra.
I figured I’d give them a shot and see how they worked out.
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Our driver took Tyler and me to a studio on 26th Street, just a block from the Hudson River. It was a great space on the top floor of an old industrial building. The top floor housed five studios, and all of them were being used for this job. I was sent to Studio Five. The space was amazing. All along one wall were eight-foot-high windows that let in a lot of natural light. The studio itself had thirteen-foot ceilings and was 3,000 square feet. The floor was concrete, and the overhead was all exposed wood, ducts, and pipes, which reinforced the industrial feel. Walls and ceiling were painted white to best reflect light. Spaced throughout the room were massive circular concrete support pillars.
The place was a madhouse as models, photographers, and all the support staff were busy in the other studios. Along the wall of windows was a makeup location with two stations set up, and to the side, there were racks of clothes. Through a door that led to a lounge came a young Asian woman. She and Tyler seemed to know each other.
“David, I would like you to meet Jackie Chan. She’s one of the best photographers in New York. Adrienne insisted that she shoot you today.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” I said, shaking her hand.
“I want to get some test shots before we get you done up,” she said as she grabbed one of five cameras she had on a large table.
She took three test shots and then hooked her camera up to a large TV screen. She stared at it for a minute and then left us alone. While she was gone, two guys came in and added some different filters to the lighting and placed additional lights from above. I assumed she’d seen some shadows.
“Do you know what we’re doing today?” I asked Tyler as we waited.
“This morning, you’re working with another male model named Ryan Barlow. The two of you will be doing both web and catalog work for both Abercrombie and Hollister.”
“Why two of us?” I asked.
“Jackie likes to work fast. If you noticed, there are two setups. She’ll switch back and forth between the two as you change clothes.”
“What about the rest of the day?” I asked.
“The afternoon will be geared for group work. They have store employees who do a lot of the modeling. You’ll work with them. Later you’ll work with Melinda Kesh,” Tyler said, which made me smile.
Melinda Kesh did her first modeling job for Victoria’s Secret when she was sixteen. She was now nineteen and one of the most sought-after models in the industry. She wasn’t like Adrienne or Hannah Minacci in that she wasn’t full-figured. Melinda had thick brown hair that flowed down her back and eyebrows that reminded you of Demi Lovato. She had clear blue eyes that set off her flawless face, and a smile that made every guy who saw it feel like it was just for him.