Chapter 3

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Thirty minutes later the girls were gathered in the cracked concrete parking lot of a run-down beach apartment building. They had packed up their belongings and stowed them in their cars, then followed the two musicians across the street to the location of the shoot. There they met the photographer, his assistant, and the three other members of the band. After introductions the band members abruptly disappeared, leaving the girls to watch the photographer set up his shots.

“Are we just gonna stand around all day?” Suzanne grumbled. She let out an impatient sigh and crossed her arms across her chest.

“I was kinda hoping we’d get this over with in an hour so we could get back to the beach,” Wendy agreed. “This is my only day off this week. I don’t wanna spend the whole thing standing around in some parking lot.”

Nicki chuckled as she chomped her gum. “Ain’t no way this is gonna be over in an hour.” She turned to look at her friends. “I betcha it takes at least three. Maybe four.”

“What makes you think that?” Carmen asked. “All the guy wants to do is take pictures of us soaping up some cars.”

“Oh, it’s not that simple,” Nicki replied loftily. “You see…”

“Okay, Ladies…” Joey the photographer’s assistant thankfully chose that moment to approach, stifling Nicki’s lecture before it began. “We’re just about ready for you. Time to get you dressed.”

“Dressed?” Kim gave the young man a confused look. “I thought we were washing cars in our bikinis. That’s what Jon said when he convinced us to do this.”

“Well, yeah,” Joey grinned. “But we need some sort of visual tie-in with the album logo. So…” He pulled a hand from behind his back, revealing a fistful of white fabric. “We’re gonna have you wear band t-shirts.”

“T-shirts?” Nicki sneered. From her tone it was apparent that was the most ridiculous idea she had ever heard. “You want us to cover up all this…” she swept a hand downward, indicating her barely-clothed body. “With that?” She flicked her pink-tipped finger at the wad of shirts in the assistant’s hand.

“Well…” Joey hesitated for a moment, realizing the stupidity of the plan. Here they had six beach beauties in skimpy bikinis and Mark wanted them to wear t-shirts? “Maybe you can tie them up short or something.”

“Gimme.” Nicki reached out and snatched the shirts from Joey’s hand. Startled, he blinked for a moment before deciding not to challenge her. Nicki pulled a t-shirt from the clump and handed the rest to Marie. “Hmmm.” she mused, holding up the garment for inspection.

Marie passed around the rest of the shirts before looking at hers. “They’re all smalls?” She slipped her arms inside the tee, stretching it before lifting it over her head. Marie tugged the soft garment down over her torso, pursing her lips with the movement. “Yeah, I don’t know. Seems kinda stupid. Why would you wanna wear a shirt when you wash your car? It would fuck up your tan.”

“Yeah.” Nicki turned back to Joey. “Go get some scissors,” she commanded.

Joey started to ask why, but again realized he should keep his mouth shut and do the blonde’s bidding. He hurried over to the white van parked next to the building and rummaged around in a container in the back of the vehicle. Seconds later he returned and handed a pair of shears to Nicki.

Without thanks Nicki grabbed the scissors from Joey and turned to Marie. “Hold still.” Tossing her own t-shirt over her shoulder to free up both hands, Nicki raised the shears toward Marie’s torso. Working quickly, she slashed through the thin cotton, separating a sleeve from the tee in a matter of seconds. With a few more frenzied snips and tears she removed the second sleeve, the neckline, and half of the t-shirt’s length.

“Turn around,” Nicki directed her friend. With another snip she separated a thin strip of fabric from the scraps, then gathered the shorn bottom of the tee around Marie’s midsection, pulling it tight under her breasts. With a quick flourish she knotted the fabric strip around the handful of excess fabric at Marie’s back, creating a snug cropped tank top over Marie’s bikini top.

“There,” she pronounced, turning Marie back around to evaluate her handiwork. “You can still read the logo but it don’t look like some stupid record-store freebie. Now it’s sexy.” Though she was speaking to Joey she didn’t turn to look at him, knowing he was watching and listening.

Without waiting for a response Nicki took the scissors to her own t-shirt. She again slashed the length, sleeves, and neck, then slipped it over her head and turned to allow Marie to tie it up at her back. As soon as the fabric was pulled snug against her torso Nicki handed the shears to Marie. She reached up behind her neck and untied the hot pink strings of her bikini top and tugged upward. The bow at her back gave way and Nicki yanked her bikini top out of the neck of her new tee-tank. Her unfettered breasts spilled against the thin cotton, her peaked nipples on prominent display.

“Hmmm,” Nicki mused, looking down. She reached again for the scissors and raised them to her chest. Another careful snip opened a small hole in the fabric between her breasts, and a tug of her fingers enlarged the opening until an enticing peephole was created. That done, Nicki turned to face Joey.

“This work?” she asked, not caring whether he thought it did or not. She could tell by his expression that he wasn’t going to argue with her; he was just going to leer at her breasts and nod breathlessly.

“Good.” Ignoring Joey again, Nicki turned back to her girlfriends. “Who’s next?”

*****

“Christ, look at ‘em!” David rubbed his palms together and grinned. “Good find, Jonny! And there’s six of ‘em?” He chuckled dirtily. “Who gets two?”

“Who do you think?” Richie drawled. He pointed the thumbs of both large hands at his chest and grinned rakishly. “King of Swing, Man!”

“Fuck that,” a deep, Latin-tinged rumble responded. “This ain’t Vancouver, Man. You’ll be lucky if one of these chicas gives you the time of day.” Tico grinned through his tease; he had no doubt Richie would find some way to get at least two of these girls in the sack. Probably simultaneously.

Jon snorted at his bandmates’ exchange. The men were standing at the second-floor railing of his apartment complex, looking down on the parking lot. Jon’s gaze swept over the setup for the photo shoot, noting the green garden hoses and buckets of soapy water next to the cars. Several yards away the girls were standing in a close group, tugging at each others’ clothing. Jon’s lips curved into a smile as he saw they were all wearing the band’s white logo t-shirts. Well, sort of.

“C’mon. We gotta get this shit done before the Manager gets pissed at me for blocking the driveway.” Jon moved for the concrete stairs at the end of the balcony and descended to ground level. Leading the pack, he wandered nonchalantly over to the girls’ huddle.

“Nice shirts.”

The sound of Jon’s voice sent a shiver up Kim’s spine. She wasn’t sure what had happened earlier, but some sort of spark had ignited inside her. Jon had barely spoken to her as she packed up her beach bag and slipped into her shorts, but somehow just his presence was stimulating. Kim turned her head toward his voice and her breath caught in her chest.

He was still wearing the cutoffs and ripped-up tee from the beach, but now Jon looked like a bona-fide Rock Star. His eyes were again masked by the mirrored aviator glasses, but she knew they were sparkling bright blue behind their shield. A grin stretched his soft lips across gleaming white teeth, dimpling his cheeks. Kim realized Jon was now clean-shaven; on the beach his angular jaw had been shadowed by dark stubble. And now his thick honey-toned mane tumbled across his tanned shoulders, flowing with the brisk breeze off the ocean.

Fuck, he was gorgeous.

“You like?” Nicki pirouetted in front of the men then stood with her hands on her hips, automatically posing for their appraisal.

Richie let out a low whistle. “Yeah, we like.” Like the other four men, his eyes were immediately drawn to the hole in the center of her tight t-shirt, right under the word Wet. “You ladies look great.”

“Good enough to eat,” Alec added, his dirty subtext obvious.

“Shit, I thought those shirts were ugly as hell until just now,” David wisecracked, grinning at the women. “Now I think we’re geniuses for having them printed!” His comment was rewarded with musical female laughter.

After a brief glance at Nicki’s display Jon’s gaze found Kim. She was standing calmly beside Carmen, smiling at him from behind her white-framed Ray-Bans. Jon’s pulse kicked up a beat as he let his eyes wander over her trim, tanned body. Kim was still wearing her short-shorts over her bikini bottoms, and her tucked-up t-shirt revealed her taut abs and a hint of cleavage. She wasn’t voluptuous by any means, but Jon found her girl-next-door wholesomeness alluring.

This girl was definitely not like the parade of bimbos he had dallied with recently. This one was something else.

“I think we’re about ready to go.” Jon’s eyes were still on Kimberly as he spoke. “Mark talk to you about the money yet?”

“Nope,” Carmen replied. “But he will before we step in front of that camera, right girls?” Her statement was more a demand than an answer.

Jon chuckled at Carmen’s tough-girl attitude. He liked her, even if she did come across as a ball-buster. With a little grin at Kimberly Jon turned to call over his shoulder. “Yo! Mark! You gonna pay these ladies or what?” His bark was playful, but it was obvious he expected immediate action.

The dark-haired photographer finished talking to Joey then strode over to the group. “Hey. Yeah, sure.” He gave the women a friendly smile. “Sorry, ladies… I get a little involved in setting stuff up. Kinda forget there are other people around.”

“It’s okay,” Nicki purred sweetly, stepping forward to extend her hand to the photographer. “I know how an artist can get all wrapped up in his work.” She gave him a little wink.

Nicki’s blatant attempt to suck up earned a snort of laughter from Wendy and smirks from the other girls.

Mark chuckled and shook Nicki’s proffered hand. “Yeah, well… sorry.” He looked at Jon, then back to the girls. “Anyway, I figure it will take us about two hours to get this all, both group shots and individuals. Scale is fifty an hour. I pay cash, at the end of the shoot. That okay with everyone?” He looked from face to pretty face.

“That’s fine,” Nicki answered confidently, ignoring her friends’ shrugs and nods. She turned to look at Suzanne. “See, easiest hundred bucks you ever made, right Suze?”

“Probably, but it ain’t done yet.” Suzanne didn’t want to agree, but shit… Nicki was right. Playing with some soapy water and good-looking guys was one Hell of a lot easier than waiting tables for eight hours.

“I don’t know, Mark…” David’s sarcastic voice caused all eyes to turn his way. “I’m awful pretty. I usually get paid way more than scale.” He playfully tossed his head, shaking his shaggy mane back away from his face.

Mark chortled at David’s posturing. “Shut the fuck up, Davey. You don’t get paid a dime.”

“Shit, Man… you should pay the photographer to let you be in the picture,” Jon added with a grin.  "I think you mean pretty awful, not awful pretty."

Kim chuckled at the men’s playful banter, feeling butterfly wings flutter in her stomach at Jon’s throaty laughter. Damn, everything about the guy was sexy.

Mark turned his grin back to the women. “Okay girls, ready to take some real rock-and-roll pictures?”

“Hell yeah!” Marie grinned, stepping forward beside Nicki. “Where do you want us?”

Mark led the group over to the convertibles parked in the driveway. After consulting with Joey for a minute he turned to regard the girls. The photographer pursed his lips in concentration as his practiced eye slid over each of his subjects, then he decided. “You.” He pointed at Carmen. “Let’s shoot you first.”

Carmen threw Nicki a smug grin before she strolled over to the spot Mark indicated, next to the red car. Kim couldn’t contain a small chuckle at Nicki’s pout at not being the first girl chosen to show off for the camera. She loved Nicki like a sister, but DAMN could she be a Diva.

“I thought you said you didn’t want any posing shit?” Suzanne’s question was directed at Jon as he stood watching Mark position Carmen against the convertible.

He shrugged in response. “He always shoots solos. It’s his way of warming up. Sometimes he uses them for the liner notes, singles sleeves, stuff like that.” Actually Jon had no idea why Mark was wasting time shooting individual shots of the girls, but he wasn’t about to admit that.

The group watched Carmen smile for the camera, the girls calling out encouragement and the guys grinning at the girls. Jon and Richie exchanged a look as they realized they had made the right call.

The bandmates had endured their share of photo shoots and were used to being around scantily-clad women. Usually the models’ brains were as skimpy as their clothing. But this group was different. These girls were smart and outspoken and, well, fun. Jon had definitely been right to demand local girls for this project. Even to Jon’s and Richie’s untrained eyes it was apparent a little Jersey attitude would find its way into the finished product.

After Carmen finished her shots Mark called Wendy over. She giggled and posed her way through the session, then it was Nicki’s turn. Popping her gum, the buxom blonde strutted confidently over to the black convertible, striking a pose for the camera the second she stopped moving.

Kim jumped at the soft chuckle near her ear. “So, what’s Nicki’s deal?” Jon had moved up behind her while she watched her friend start her session. His voice was soft and low, smooth as satin. It sent another tingle racing through her senses.

Kimberly turned slightly toward him. “What do you mean?” As she asked she felt a little stab of disappointment. But she wasn’t surprised that Jon was interested in Nicki. All the guys wanted Nicki. She was just that kind of girl.

“I mean…” Jon gave Kim a conspiratorial little smirk and tipped his head toward Nicki as he dropped his voice. “She’s a stripper, ain’t she?”

Kim’s lips parted in surprise as her eyes first widened, then narrowed behind her shades. “No. She’s NOT a stripper.” Her voice was calm but held a hard edge. Sure, Nicki may act like a tramp, but nobody but her girls got to call her that. Or anything like it.

“Oh. Uh…” Jon was taken aback by Kim’s defensive tone. He looked down at the ground, then returned his gaze to Kim’s displeased expression. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just thought maybe, because she’s just, well… she’s kind of an exhibitionist.”

Kim couldn’t hold in a soft chuckle at Jon’s choice of words. She couldn’t have picked a better descriptor for her friend if she tried. “Well…” Kim gave Jon a little smile. “Yeah, she can be.” She felt another flutter in her stomach as he returned her smile, one corner of his mouth twisting a little more crookedly than the other. “Her motto is ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it.’ And as you can see, she’s got it. Lots of it, in fact.”

Jon nodded slowly. “Yeah, she has some… assets. And she’s definitely not shy.” His smile widened, his lips parting to reveal gleaming white teeth. “Gotta say, I agree with that philosophy.” He paused for a long moment, smiling at Kim. When he spoke again his voice was softer, almost seductive.

“So, Kim… why don’t you flaunt it?”

~