Chapter 6

                                    

                                          
I am not a fan of stares. Uninvited eyes always make me think something is wrong with my face or my clothes or something deep inside that suddenly became visible to the world. But eyes were part of the job. A compliment or a curse depending on why someone was looking at you. It was a tightrope between judgment and admiration. But today the stares were not just for the clothes and those particular stares were very pleased by the view.
                          
They were all for Tate, taking him in with unveiled approval as he walked into the light, sporting clothes that made him look both handsome and adorable all in one package. Their eyes snapped to my outfit, smiles growing wider as their glances bounced back and forth between us, taking us in like we were an adorable couple as we stationed ourselves under the lights.
                          
"MY DARLING ALLIE WINTERS!" Michale, the photographer said with a bright smile as he looked me up and down, professional eyes taking in every aspect of my look. "I get to actually shoot the creator today? What a wonderful surprise!" 
                          
Before he could even ask, I turned, letting him take in the full outfit. "It's always a pleasure working with you Michale." I came to a stop, waiting to see if anything needed to be changed. But he offered a pleased nod, seeming to say I passed his inspection. 
                          
Then he looked over at Tate, his eyes growing minutely wider as he scanned Tate with pleasant surprise. "My my, where have you been hiding this handsome one?" 

                          
Before I could say a word, Michale walked up to Tate and gripped his jaw in his fingers, bright rings glistening in the studio lights. Tate stared back at him wide-eyed as Michale tilted Tate's head back and forth in his hand, eyes analyzing his face. "That jaw! Perfection! You could cut fruit on that thing!" 
                          
He let Tate's chin go and pulled up Tate's hands, flipping them over. "Goodness. Such long fingers..." He laughed to himself, seeming to edit his thoughts. "Even your nails are well-groomed," Michale said close to drooling. He let go of Tate's hands and motioned for Tate to spin around. 

                          
Tate shot me a confused expression. I shrugged. We were under Michale's creative vision now and nothing was going to stop Michale from making sure Tate looked perfect before he began to incessantly snap pictures. Tate spun quickly, coming to a stop and throwing his hands up like a kid who had just performed a magic trick. 
                          
I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. That wasn't even remotely close to what Michale wanted. 
                          
Michale stared at Tate confused by his quick and comedic take on a clothes assessment turn. "No, no, no." Michale motioned for Tate to turn again. "Turn slowly. I have to see how those jeans fit at all angles." Tate glanced at me again, eyes growing wider. 
                          
He very clearly didn't want Michale to stare at his butt while he turned in a slow circle. Yeah, he's never going to drive me anywhere again. 
                          
Tate let out an uneasy breath and turned slowly, staring at me with a pointed expression. Yeah... he's quitting after this.
                          
Michale nodded, staring at Tate's butt. "Yes. Fits well..." Michale reached forward. "Oh, you have a piece of lint on your—" 
                          
Michale's hand moved towards the inside hem of Tate's jeans. "WOAH!" Tate laughed as he jumped out of reach, surprised, yanking a small piece of lint away from his pants. "Buy a guy dinner first!"  Tate looked far more flustered than I had ever seen.
                          
Michale placed a hand to his chest, clutching his scarf, an amused grin crossing his face. "Quite jumpy! But if you are asking me out to dinner, I am free." 
                          
Tate's mouth fell open, shocked. "I... what... Oh... Um..."
                          
"Michale, you are going to give him a heart attack!" I laughed. "I hate to disappoint you, but we already have plans," I lied, saving Tate from short-circuiting. Tate nodded, fully on board with my lie.