“All right, we’ve got that.” Tessa moved from behind the camera and grabbed a chair that had a wooden frame and an open back. She set it down directly in front of him with the seat facing him. “Straddle it,” she said as she scurried quickly back to her camera.
“I like it when you talk dirty,” Jake teased as he watched her move with lightning speed. She obviously didn’t trust herself to be close to him any more than he trusted himself to be close to her.
She let out a puff of breath that sounded like a forced laugh and dismissively waved her hand at his comment. When she turned, he saw that a light pink blush had crept up on her cheeks.
While she adjusting the lighting and her camera, he pulled the chair slightly towards him and did as she asked. Placing his legs on either side, he straddled it and sat down, leaning his forearms on the frame.
“Good,” she said, her voice sounding strained. “That’s perfect.”
She snapped several more shots and moved the tripod to the left. Jake assumed it was to get another angle of the pose. He could hear more mumbling under her breath and she sounded a little frustrated.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
Jake was pretty sure that he wasn’t doing anything that would cause her aggravation. He’d been doing these calendar shoots since he’d moved back home from college and they were pretty straightforward. Take your shirt off and look into the camera like you want to have sex with it. Normally, with Mary standing behind the lens, he had to do a bit of acting. But not today. With Tessa as photographer, he would have a harder time looking into the lens and not looking like he wanted to have sex with it.
“Yep. Everything is fine,” Tessa said a little too brightly through clenched teeth.
His brow rose in question. “You sure about that?”
Pursing her lips, she nodded her head determinedly. She dipped her head, looking at the base of the camera, and Jake noticed her unscrewing something, then pulling the camera off the tripod with purpose. Jake saw a fire in Tessa’s eyes that made his body stand even higher at attention and salute. Luckily, in his new seated position he didn’t think it would be quite as obvious. Not that he really gave a damn.
Jake watched as Tessa alternated holding the camera in her right hand then her left, simultaneously shaking the hand that was empty. Then, taking a deep breath, she knelt to the ground. His eyes followed the lens. He saw the shutter closing and opening rapidly as she tilted her head and spread her legs farther apart, moving lower towards the ground. Her action caused Jake’s dick to twitch in his pants, begging for attention.
After another torturous half hour or so Tessa pulled the camera from in front of her face and smiled as she looked down at it. Her thin finger swiped the flat screen on the back as she announced proudly, “Got it.”
As she continued looking, her eyes widened. “Wow, Jake. I’ve been tempted to tell every other guy I’ve shot over the past few days not to quit their day jobs. But holy smokes! If you ever wanted to change your profession, you could definitely be a model.”
She crossed the room, heading towards the computer he’d seen her standing at when he’d come in, just in time to witness her shooting down Julian the wonder cop. As she passed by him, the sweet scent of fresh flowers drifted through the air. Tessa always smelled good. Sometimes she smelled like vanilla or watermelon. Other times, it was flowers or just pure clean and fresh. And somehow, no matter what the scent, she smelled uniquely like…Tessa. Jake had no idea how she managed to do that.
Standing, he followed her like she was the Pied Piper and her ass was the flute. He mindlessly crossed the room, Tessa only a few steps in front of him. She stopped and pulled out a small card before feeding it into the side of the computer. He continued, only stopping when he was directly behind her. He wasn’t touching her but he was so close to her that he’d be surprised if a piece of paper could fit between their bodies.
Jake noticed her hand shaking as her fingers moved over the mouse and she clicked the right side. She stood a good foot shorter than him at five foot two, but he could still smell the flowery scent of her shampoo. His fingers itched to reach out and stroke her silky hair, the same way he had when they’d spent the night on his couch. He’d stayed up the entire night just watching her as she slept.
It was still so unbelievable to him that she was actually back in Hope Falls. Even if it was just for a short time. He hadn’t wanted to waste a moment he had with her sleeping. Like his dad always said, “You can sleep when you’re dead.” Jake had always considered that a morbid saying, but that night, with Tessa lying in his lap, he’d understood it perfectly.