Shutter

Chapter Nine

Elle sat in her apartment editing some L.A. skyline pictures she took while she was out that night – yeah, instead of getting any good pictures of scandal-worthy celebs like her agent wanted her to, she was off capturing a skyline that was photographed billions of times before. Whatever.

She couldn't be held accountable for the celebrity population all of a sudden being upstanding, law-abiding, chaste citizens. But then again, she probably would be held accountable for it the next time she was sitting in Erica's office getting reamed out for the shit photography she was bringing her.

Ex-ing out of the photoshop tab, Elle sighed to herself. Erica was going to kill her. No, she was going to drop her as her client and then kill her. Elle had nothing for her. She was not bringing home the bacon for either of them.

With a sigh, her eyes focused on her computer's background image. It was one of those pictures – one of the ones from that night, one of Julian's special pictures. Elle cropped it slightly so that less of her skin was invading the screen. Her neck was craned to the side and Julian was kissing her lips. Both of their eyes were closed, and just the way his long eyelashes fell perfectly against the tops of his cheeks made him look so... angelic. He was intensely beautiful.

Elle licked her lips and took a deep breath as she started snaking her way through the folders on her computer, going straight for her Swiss bank account of folders where the pictures were hidden. As the icons of the pictures flooded the screen, her cheeks flushed immediately. They were just so... intimate. She had never been that intimate with anyone... ever... in her life. But with Julian it just came so easily.

As she clicked through the pictures, looking at them one by one, she could feel herself getting turned on by the thought of his hands and lips and everything else on her. Good God.

She quickly clicked out of the folder and looked around, the blush still on her cheeks. She was all alone, this she knew. But still, she felt like a voyeur or something with pictures like that. And there was only one person on earth she wanted to be a voyeur with.

Elle smirked, licking her lips as she picked up her phone, opening up the camera app. She shuffled the straps of her bra and tank top down her shoulders and took a picture from her naked collarbones up to entice Julian into stopping by. She quickly messaged the photo to him and received a response almost immediately.

Julian: Hot damn!

Elle: I'm all alone at home

Julian: Is that an invitation?

Elle: Hopefully the best damn invitation you've ever gotten

Julian: Oh, most definitely. Give me a half hour.

Elle: Done

Julian: You are so awesome.

She was awesome? Did that put her in the friend-zone? Friends with benefits? She's awesome? Cool... dude.

Elle didn't text back and decided not to dwell on what the compliment meant. Julian would be there in a half an hour and she needed to freshen up.

She closed the top of her laptop and pulled herself up quickly from her seat, nearly skipping to the bathroom. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror trying her hardest to do a million things at once. She had her toothbrush stuck out of her mouth, the toothpaste foaming around her lips as she quickly brushed her mascara wand through her eyelashes after applying a little more eye shadow and liner. She ran her fingers through her hair quickly before teasing it slightly to give it that just-volumized look.