As a beautiful, dark haired woman left the trailer wearing a brown leather jacket over a blue one piece swimsuit, a fit man with brown hair shaved close to his head met her at the stairs. “Hey, Raven, thanks. Really. You saved my job. Gophering’s thankless, but it’s all I’ve got.”

“Matt, really, it was no problem. A little spilled coffee won’t kill me. Vukmer’s just a little grumpy sometimes. A little sweet talk will usually change his mind. Besides, I like having you around. It gives me something to smile about during these shoots.”

Matt blushes a little, and says, “Aw, thanks, Raven. I just do my job, though.”

“That’s what I mean, Matt. Models get used to drooling stares from guys when they’re on a shoot. Guys who just do their job are a rare treat. You’ve worked a lot of my shoots. I’ve posed in a lot of provocative ways in some very skimpy clothing, and I haven’t caught you staring yet. That makes me smile, and my photographers just love smiles.”

Matt winced a little bit, and bit his lip as he said, “Well, I’ve got to be honest with you: it’s just that you haven’t caught me yet.”

Raven smiled, brushed Matt’s face with the tips of her fingers, and with one finger curled under his chin, she leaned towards him, and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Pulling back from the kiss only a little, she said, “Honesty’s sweet, too.” Raven smiles amusedly as Matt blushes again. Turning towards the direction of her car, she calls back over her shoulder, “Thanks for the loan of your jacket. I’ll get it back to you soon, after I get my clothes back from the dry cleaners.”

Matt, more interested in Raven’s nearly bare derrière than her parting comment, snaps back to attention briefly. “Wha...? Oh, sure.”

Raven pivoted in mid-stride to face Matt, with her hands in the pockets of Matt’s leather jacket. Flashing a thoughtful and flirtatious little smile, she said, “Oh, and Matt? Thanks for your help with the spilled coffee. You’re very gentle to have such strong hands.”

A bit sheepishly, but no longer blushing, Matt answers, “Hey, coffee’s the biggest part of my job. It’s a gift, like the jacket. And believe me, it was my pleasure. I just appreciate you sweet talking Vukmer for me.”

Raven smiled an alluring smile, and with her hands still in the pockets, she pulled the jacket a little tighter around her. Turning to go, she brought her hands out of the pockets with a dramatic shrug, and said, “What can I say? It’s a gift.” Pivoting on her heel again, she bit the left side of her lip a second, and added, “Like the kiss. That was my pleasure.” With one last smile, she turned and broke into a light run to her car.

Unlocking the door and getting in, she started the car, and sat there for a minute. Rummaging around in her passenger seat for a few seconds, she sat up, seemed to be looking at something she found there, and then she tossed it back in the seat. Putting the car into gear, she backed out, and just as she was pulling off, her window glided open a crack, and something fell out.

Curious, Matt walked over and picked it up. It was a piece of paper, folded over once. Unfolding it, he read:

Feel like coffee?

Call me at 7:00

for directions.

555- 3674

-Raven

Matt’s head jerked up to look after Raven’s car, just turning the corner at the end of the studio drive. Folding the note back over, and shoving it in his pocket, Matt looked around suddenly, wondering if anybody had seen his exchange with Raven. Seeing no one, Matt turned back towards the studio, and with a slow smile and a light laugh, he commented to himself, “Well, how about that?” As he walked up the steps, he checked his pocket, pulling the note out again just to make sure it was real. Satisfied that it was, he shoved it back in his pocket, and said, “Huh.” Laughing an elated laugh, he ran up the last few steps to the door, and swung the door open wide as he ran in. Just before it closed, Matt could be heard cheering his good fortune with with one long, “Whooooooooo!” People from the sidewalk and through the lobby stopped to watch him until he got into the elevator.

Story and characters owned by Chris Bishop, copyright 1997?, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.