“A quarter of a million dollars,” I stuttered.
“Oui.”
Lex shot up from the sofa. Standing beside me, she asked, “What’s the catch?”
“Yeah.” Vive and Blake followed.
“You are a Brillford. The daughter of the royal house in Austria, are you not?” Gustave stood tall, rocking himself up on to his tippy toes.
“Sorta.” I crossed my arms. I had no flippin’ clue where he was going with this.
“We shoot you, here, in the Eden castle. Made up like a princess.”
“Okay, sounds easy enough,” I said, as my besties started to sit back down.
“Then throughout the shoot, you disrobe.”
“Naked?” Vive shouted, and everyone crowded around him.
“It will be tasteful,” Gustave defended.
“No frickin’ way!” On instinct, my hand came up to strike Gustave across the face.
He grabbed my wrist and hissed at me to cool it. “Mademoiselle, you know my work. If Claudia and Naomi can show their bodies off, why can’t you?”
“We’re not like them,” Vive answered for me. “For starters, Gus, Taddy doesn’t need this job. She’s got my money for school.”
“Yeah, and while your publication has a reputation like Vogue, we can’t start off our first year at college with more tabloid crap.” Lex’s hand rested on her curvy hip.
“Crap,” Gustave echoed her insult. “I see. Well, if you don’t do the shoot, Fabian is out of a job. Leon too.” He glared at me as if he knew of my feelings for them. “And we shall invoice Minnie for our time, airfare, hotel, day rates, and etcetera.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Watch me.” Before I could get another word in, Gustave was out the door.
“Fabian, how could you just stand there and not say anything?” I turned my frustration on him.
He didn’t seem as fazed as I expected him to be. Perhaps Gustave had threatened to fire him before. Or maybe Fabian didn’t dare challenge his boss.
“We shoot at nine in the morning. I’ll be at your room at seven to get you ready.”
“Just a second.” I grabbed his shoulder. “You’re in on this with Gus.”
“I don’t have a choice, Taddy.” He said my name without the “b.”
My heart came to a slamming halt.
The alliances had been set. It was Team Taddy vs. Team Gustave.
“What’s the big deal?” Blake chimed in. “Their magazine is artsy. You’re gorgeous. Gus is the best photographer in the world.”
“Blake! You heard what Lex said. We don’t need any more media mud in our face.”
“This will help your reputation, Mademoiselle.” Fabian said.
“How so?” Vive asked.
“Anyone who poses for Gus has—how do you say in English? A career transformation. They become goddesses, immortal superstars or supermodels, oui.” Fabian spoke with confidence.
“I want to be yours truly, Taddy. Honest. I don’t want fame. I just want my friends and school.”
“Then do it with style, with us.” Fabian rubbed my arms sending an electrical surge of anger and excitement through my body. I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss him or punch him, probably both. “Do you trust us?”
“I don’t know…”
Fabian appeared hurt by my reply. “When you were lost at sea, did you, or did you not, put your life in my boyfriend’s hands?”
“That was different.”
“Answer the question.” His black eyes widened as if hungry for my reply.
“Yes, I trusted Leon with my life.”
“Then allow us this opportunity to do right by you, Mademoiselle.”
I didn’t know what else to say other than, “Let me think about it.”
“Very well.” He said his goodbyes to my besties and left.
My palms at my face, I rubbed my eyes and pulled back my hair. I felt as if I was going to go out of my mind. “Could this week get any more insane? First Leon and I have sex in the water and again on the beach. Now this,” I said, frustrated without thinking.
“Come again?” Blake asked.
“You lost your virginity to a gay guy?” Lex blurted.
“Shut up, Alexandra!” Vive snapped as if Lex had hit a nerve.
“Oh. My. God.” I smacked my lips, realizing as Blake and Vive stared at one another with a look of “been there, done that” on their faces—they had sex when we were at Avon Porter.
“Holy shit!” Lex, who was sometimes a little slow, even without the Xanax, caught on.
“Seriously, Vive, Blake popped your cherry? It wasn’t Sanderloo?”
Lex’s mouth hung open, “Holy—” I covered it with my hand.
“We were fifteen,” Blake said.
Unfrickin’ believable.
“Sixteen,” Vive corrected. “We were drunk.”
“And stoned,” Blake admitted.
Lex and I were getting dizzy from turning our heads back and forth.
Vive’s voice rose, “I was nervous. Sex was awkward back then.”
“No. You were perfect, Vive.” Blake reached out for her hand, kissed the top of it, and said, “I couldn’t think of any other woman in the world that I would’ve rather lost my virginity to. That night was special for us.”
“Why do I suddenly feel jealous?” Lex asked, when I released her muzzle.
“That explains why you two are so close,” I reasoned.
Together, we all sat on the sofa and talked.
Blake looked at me and said, “Can you imagine if society said that you had to have sex with a woman? You knew it wasn’t your cup of tea. But you’d be willing to try, to see if it was or was not for you. Would you do it?”
“Maybe,” I offered.
“Who would you pick?” Blake pressed on.
“Vive, no doubt.”
“Forget jealous. Now I’m offended.” Lex tossed me a decorative pillow.
“I’m sorry, honey, but Vive is…hot.”
“Thanks, Taddy. You’re pretty too,” Vive said, acting as if we were about to have a lesbian moment.
We weren’t.
“And Lex who would you pick?”
“I don’t like this game,” Lex said, reminding me of the dream I had earlier of our childhood. It was obvious this conversation was making her uncomfortable.