I turn back to Luke to find his glacial blue eyes narrowed on me. He’s royally pissed.
“What, exactly, are you mad about?” I ask as I turn back to the bed and begin stripping the sheets.
“Natalie, I just walked into this studio to find my girlfriend standing in what would only be appropriate as nightwear over a naked guy on a bed, and he’s got his hands on her bare leg. What do you think I’m mad about?” His voice has risen several decibels, but I’m stuck like stupid on one word.
“Girlfriend?”
He stops his rant and stares at me.
“Yes, girlfriend. I thought after this past weekend that that’s where we are.”
Oh.
Wow.
“Am I wrong?” His voice is worryingly calm.
“Well, no, I guess I just hadn’t thought about it.” I finish with the bed and turn to face him again.
“Luke, this is my job.”
“I don’t like it.”
“It isn’t your place to tell me that I can’t do this.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“That’s what you’re implying. I’ve done this for years. No one has ever gotten out of hand. Remember, I told you, I don’t have sex in here, and I don’t have sex with clients. Jesus, do you have so little faith in me?”
“No, it’s just…” He runs his hands through his hair again and paces back and forth. “I wasn’t expecting to feel the way I felt when I saw his hands on you.”
“How did you feel?” I tilt my head at him, my curiosity piqued.
“Like I wanted to kill him,” he growls.
“Oh.”
“Nat, think of how you would feel if I had to do a love scene in a movie. It would be work to me, but I’d still have to hold another woman, kiss her…”
“Stop right there.” I do not want to hear this.
“It’s the same thing for me.”
Jeez.
I take a deep breath and sit on the side of the bed, suddenly weary. “I’m sorry, it didn’t occur to me. Honey, I haven’t had to explain my actions to another human being in years.”
“I know.”
“You were jealous.”
“Jealous is too tame a word for what I was feeling.”
Part of me wants to squeal and do a little happy dance, but I hold it in and gaze at him impassively.
“You don’t have any reason to be jealous. You’re all I see, Luke, even when I’m not with you.”
He closes his eyes tightly, as though some great weight has been lifted and I take him all in. He’s wearing another button down shirt today, in black this time, and black jeans. He looks young and impossibly beautiful.
And I’m his girlfriend!
I stand and move to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He puts his arms around me, linking his fingers at the small of my back and we just gaze at each other for a minute.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” I whisper.
“I’m not.”
“You were.”
“Yeah, I was.” He kisses my forehead. “Don’t you have any real clothes in here?”
“Yeah, it got hot in here, so I took them off.”
He narrows his eyes again and they go cold. Shit.
“Don’t freak out on me, it happens no matter who I’m photographing. I don’t have A/C in here.”
“Why not?”
“Well, honestly, because a sweaty body is sexy on film.”
“Oh.” He furrows his brow.
“Hey, stop it. You have nothing to be jealous over, honey.” I run my hands down his face, loving the roughness of his stubble against my palms.
“I love it when you call me that.” He leans into my touch and closes his eyes.
“You do?”
“Yeah, you usually just call me by my name.”
“You’re a terms of endearment kind of guy, huh?” I stand on my toes and kiss his lips gently and his eyes warm up.
“Obviously, baby.”
“I love it when you call me baby.”
Now his eyes light up like it’s Christmas.
“Why?”
“No one ever has before,” I whisper.
He sighs and hugs me close. “I forget how inexperienced you are when it comes to relationships.”
“Yeah, so cut me some slack. There has to be a learning curve.” I pinch his tight butt and he laughs.
“Okay, okay. Just do me a favor.” He face is serious again.
“What?”
“No more single men. Please.”
I frown and want to argue with him.
“Please, Natalie. For me.”
“What if we have a chaperone?”
“Talk with me before you book another single man, and we’ll discuss it.
I don’t like feeling like this. I’m asking you to respect how I feel.”
Well, when he puts it like that.
“Okay, I’ll talk with you first.” It’s a concession, but I can’t help but think about what he said about love scenes and I know I’d go out of my mind with jealousy if I were in that position.
“Did you do any love scenes in your movies?” I ask and search his face.
“Why do you think there was a butt shot?” He grins down at me.
“I don’t ever want to see those movies, Luke.”
“Fine by me, baby.”
“So, I’m your girlfriend, huh?”
“Absolutely.” He kisses me deeply, and I grip onto his shoulders, pulling him down to me.
When he pulls back I can’t resist running my fingers through his hair.
“Okay, let’s go get lunch. Fighting with you makes me hungry.”
“You’re putting on some decent clothes first.”
***
I leave Luke with Jules in the kitchen and run upstairs to get dressed. I smirk at myself remembering the look of apprehension on Luke’s face when confronted with Jules, but she was cool as could be, and I’m relieved that her adolescent behavior
where
he’s
concerned has subsided.
I throw on a pair of blue jeans that hug my ass, a green top and matching green heels. It may just be lunch, but I never get to wear my heels, and Luke’s tall enough that I could wear them all the time.
So I think I just might. He seems to like them.
I brush out my brown hair, leaving it loose so it frames my face, and apply some eyeliner and mascara.
I’m good to go.
I find Luke and Jules still in the kitchen, talking about all things cooking.
“I bake my bacon,” Luke is saying.