meet her partway. “Troy agreed and I didn’t hear any bitterness from him. He seems interested to see you in action and he’s not familiar with your early work.”
“ Okay.”
“ Don’t be nervous. No one is expecting perfection when you’ve got something like this dropped on you out of the blue.”
“ I’m not, and yes they are.”
“ It’s okay if you only get one or two decent shots.”
“ Okay.”
Nicholas stopped as they reached where Troy and Chris waited. The men halted their conversation and looked at Lexi expectantly. Nicholas knew she was nervous, but gratefully couldn’t see any signs of it in her now. She knew what she was doing.
Lexi offered her hand. “Troy? I’m Lexi. I hope you don’t mind me cutting in for a few shots. I promise not to wear them out.”
“ Good luck to you. They’ve been a bit off.”
“ I noticed a bit of tension. Speaking of which, where’s Flynn?” Lexi frowned as she looked at the rest of the band resting in the shade, then up and down the beach for the lead singer and the girls he was flirting with.
“ What? Oh, not again,” Chris moaned as he stood and motioned for his assistant. The redhead, Rachel, walked over carrying her shoes and eying Lexi warily.
“ Where’s Flynn? We need him back here now.”
Rachel nodded curtly and headed for a small oasis of palm trees and hibiscus bushes. Lexi smiled as Flynn stood up from behind one of the flowering bushes , a sheepish look on his face. Quickly bringing her camera up to focus, she snapped a few shots as first one, then the other bikini-clad girl stood up behind Flynn. Rachel’s back was to her so Lexi couldn’t see her face, but her posture said enough. Flynn, thankfully, kept his sheepish expression long enough to be useful before he transitioned to looking chastised. Lexi caught every look, even the girls’ unease and embarrassment.
As Rachel and Flynn headed back , Lexi finally stopped taking pictures and prodded Nicholas forward.
“ Get waivers from the girls and ask if they’d like to come play.”
Nicholas dutifully trudged over to get the attention of the girls before they wandered off.
Chris walked over to the benches where the band was and Lexi followed along behind him. He waited until Flynn joined them, giving Lexi an appraising look.
“ Gentlemen, this is Lexi Frost. For everyone except Drew, she’s a photographer known for her sexually suggestive and nude shots.”
“ What about Drew?” Lexi asked playfully.
“ He’s a shutterbug. He’s the reason I knew who you were.”
“ Ah.”
“ Since Lexi has kindly agreed to go a few rounds with you guys, I’d like you to behave. Flynn, that means no trying to seduce her or mentally undress her.”
“ Don’t be silly, mentally undress me,” Lexi laughed. “Can I get you guys back over where you were?”
Obediently they all moved back into the positions they were in before the break. Lexi saw even Charlie was moving a little easier although Zane was still watching him. She rearranged their lineup to put Flynn and Drew between Zane and Charlie. Then she pushed Charlie a little to the back and brought Flynn just a step to the front so Zane couldn ’t see the object of his wrath any longer. Drew goosed Flynn now that he was in front, but Lexi missed it. She sighed wistfully; that would have been fun.
Lexi looked around for Nicholas and found him standing off to the side with the girls. He gave her a thumbs-up. She grinned and motioned for him to wait. She focused on the band; they were in position, but not really ready yet, just waiting for her cue. She cued Nicholas instead.
Sure enough , as the girls started walking across the beach between Lexi and the band, all eyes turned to look. Lexi laughed as she took a series of shots. Then Zane noticed and snapped at Flynn and Drew to pay attention. They both looked at Lexi guiltily.
“ Zane! My God, you’re not their father. Let them look at the pretty girls!” Lexi
Learning to Kill: Stories