Leveling The Field (Gamers #4)(5)
She pushed around the contents of her burrito bowl. “No, he was…resistant.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Resistant? And you couldn’t charm your way into getting your lens on him?”
“I think he was charmed, but my lens was still not his friend.” The memory of the heat of his body made her shiver.
“Bummer. So how’s the project looking?”
She wiped her mouth and opened up her file for the Rona’s Scars project.
Every time she photographed someone who was scarred and listened to their story, she came away bruised, but also fuller. After a car accident had left her sister, Rona, with severe scarring on her face and the use of only one eye, she’d begun to lose her ambitious drive that had always made her Rona. Lissa’s big sister. Her idol.
She’d been studying to be a lawyer, and while Lissa and the rest of her family thought Rona was coping well, she wasn’t. At all. And a year after the accident, she’d taken her own life with a bottle of pills.
The guilt over what she could have done to help her sister, how she could have prevented her death, was a constant weight on Lissa’s shoulders, sometimes so heavy she couldn’t breathe.
Starting the Rona’s Scars project and the scholarship was the only way she felt like she could give back. For the project, she talked to people who dealt with physical, non-genetic disabilities, and once the website launched, she hoped the pictures and stories would make others in similar situations feel less alone.
Donations would go to the scholarship fund, which would be awarded to black women studying to be lawyers.
This was her dream, her sole focus. And she’d roped Daniel into it, too.
She gazed at the list of participants. “We have about a dozen. I’d really like a couple more.”
He nodded. “Too bad that guy was a bust.”
Lissa bit her lip. As much as she wanted Ethan to sign on, she had a feeling dealing with him would be like walking on fire. “Yeah, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Daniel tossed his wrapper in the trash and stood up. “I’m going to get the studio ready. You have a family shoot in a half hour.”
She waved him off and he strode out of the room, whistling to himself. Her cell phone rang, and she smiled when she saw who was calling. She answered it. “Hey.”
“Hey, babe.” Chad’s voice was a little breathless, like he was running outside.
She frowned. “What’re you doing?”
“We got a dog!”
She was in mid-sip of her soda and had to turn her head so she didn’t spit it all over keyboard. “I’m sorry,” she sputtered. “What did you say?”
“O and I got a dog. He’s this tiny little yappy thing. We got him at the shelter, and he’s mixed with, like, three breeds. He’s actually kind of ugly, but O fell in love with him.”
Chad, the former wild child who couldn’t be tied down, had moved in with his boyfriend Owen and lately they were the perfect example of domestic bliss. Now, with a dog. “So why are you running?”
“Oh, I’m at the park and he pulled the leash out of my hands. I had to run after him.”
“And you called me mid-chase?”
“I needed something to get my mind off the fact that I was running. It’s all good now. Got the leash!”
She smiled. “You’re weird.”
His voice was muffled. “Don’t do that, Dap!”
“Dap?”
His words were clearer now. “Yeah, Owen named him Dapper, and he wears a little bow tie. It’s pretty fucking cute, honestly.”
“I can’t believe you have a dog. And a boyfriend.”
His laugh was loud in her ear. “You and me both, babe. Anyway, what’s up?”
“You called me.”
“How’d that thing with Ethan go?”
She blew out a breath. “Oh, Chad.”
He didn’t speak for a minute. “Dude’s kind of a brick wall.”
“You think? He wouldn’t even let me take pictures for the magazine. I didn’t even bother to ask him about my project.” A bell jingled from over the phone and then, a wet sound. “Chad?”
“Sorry.” He grunted then said something muffled. “I picked up Dap and he attacked my face with his tongue. God, his breath smells. Anyway, Ethan’ll be at Marley’s wedding, you know.”
Lissa straightened in her seat. The wedding was in two weeks, and she was the photographer for the event. “Seriously?”
“Yep. Rare for him to attend anything social, but he RSVP’d yes. You get another shot to charm him, babe.”
She rubbed her sweaty palms on her pants. Why was she so nervous now? All she had to do was talk to him again. Maybe he’d be less angry this time. Weddings were happy, right? He’d be happy. And maybe drunk. This could totally work in her favor. “Okay, this is good news. Maybe I can catch him alone at the end of the night.”