The Model Couple [on hiatus]

📷 Chapter 14

📷

I keep my arm around her to steady her as we walk next door to the garage. I roll my eyes at her because she has thanked me no less than three times. "Alright Buttercup, I'm just helping you walk, not fixing climate change here."

She giggles at that and I like the sound of it. "Sunflowers."

I can't help but smile, "Whatever."

Someone made the corner of the garage look like a chemistry laboratory with black countertops, lots of colored water in glass beakers. It looks like a movie set. One of the show's cameraman is filming our photoshoot and it feels a bit meta. I've gotten so used to the cameras being around that I almost don't notice them anymore. They are starting to fade into the background.

The next five minutes involve Skippy telling us to 'stand there', 'look here', 'put your hands there'. It is clear Brook and I have no idea what we're doing. Hopefully we will get better with more practice.

Skippy has me stand behind her and instructs her to pick up one of the glass containers of blue colored water. "Chase, take your hands from her hips." I carefully remove my hands because I have been helping to steady her in these ridiculous shoes. "Put your hands on your own hips." I follow his instructions. "Brooklyn, lift your right leg in a flirty way." He demonstrates the cliché way girls raise their leg when being kissed. "Now turn towards Chase."

Brook immediately complies, as per usual. But she quickly starts wobbling. I reach out to grab her hips to steady her. Unfortunately not before she drops the beaker of water that smashes to the floor into a mess of liquid and glass shards.

Skippy instantly loses his shit, "Are you fuckin' kidding me right now?! What the hell was that?!" I look down at the mess only to see that there are a few red streaks forming on Brook's foot, she's been cut. "We don't have time to clean this up now, let's just keep going." He points at Brook, "Don't drop anything else."

I grit my teeth and lift Brook up bridal style. "She's bleeding, I'm going to clean her up." Skippy gives an aggravated growl but he doesn't argue. If you do things with confidence, people usually don't question it.

I carry her over to a counter with a utility sink on the back wall of the garage. I set her up on the counter and start to remove her shoes. I hear Skippy storm out in a huff of swearing laced complaints. Good riddance, Fucker.

It hits me again how out of character it is for me to help someone else. She does this to me, only her. 

She touches my shoulder, "It's not that bad, I think I could keep going." She looks into my eyes with a worried expression. "You know, to make him happy."

I continue to remove her shoes as I look back into her hazel eyes. I've noticed they change color depending on what she's wearing. They are light brown, almost gold, with this outfit. I've seen them look blue and green as well. People always compliment me on my eyes, but I think hers are so much better. 

"You have glass shards in your shoe, we need to take care of it now." She nods and sighs. I tip my head in the direction of the door as I say, "Besides, I'm pretty sure there's nothing we could do to make him happy."

With her shoes off, I pivot her on the counter and lift her feet into the sink. I turn the faucet away getting warm water going before turning it back to wash over her feet. Almost every human touch for me is an exercise in self control. It is a good thing I have a lot of it. 

"You're going to make someone a really great boyfriend." 

My eyes flash to hers. She grabs her bottom lip with her top teeth. Her expression makes me think she didn't mean to say that out loud. I almost chuckle, she's done that before. Fucking adorable. Little does she know that I'll never have a girlfriend. She starts to squirm under my gaze so I go back to inspecting her feet for more glass.