I go home?
* * * *
Victoria looked over Lucas’s shoulder. “Wow! That’s me?”
She was surprised at the picture she saw on the screen. She stood beside Lucas in their workroom as he pieced together images. He had dark rimmed glasses on. He smiled when Victoria told him he looked ‘cute’.
“Yep, you in all your naked glory, sweetheart.”
“Hmm, at least I don’t look too fat.”
“You’re not fat.” Lucas sounded exasperated. “Why do women always think that?”
“It’s all the abnormally thin women around who freak us out. That and the television, movies, and magazines that insist we’re fat.” The media had a lot to answer to. She came around to his side.
“Men don’t worry about stuff like that.” Lucas pulled her onto his lap, his arms wrapping around her waist.
Victoria felt instantly at peace. “Except their penis size.”
He looked up at her, his glasses sliding down his nose.
“Got a complaint about that?”
She pushed his glasses back up. “No, it’s just an observation.” Victoria looked back at the screen. “I look like a cartoon.” The redheaded animation was her but not her. “That’s pretty nifty.”
“Yeah, that’s why we needed a real woman’s body to film.
We then work at turning it into a stylized animation. The way you move forms Betty Bombshell.”
“Oh.” And that was the crux of it. She was the model for Betty. They needed me for work. This is business. Remember that woman.
“Disappointed?”
“No, I mean, it’s just funny seeing yourself as someone else does.” I’ve gotten way too involved with these men. No matter how many times she told herself it was business, in her heart she called it love. It was pure madness to fall in love so soon.
Surely only the desperate and needy did that? And I don’t want to be either. Victoria knew in her heart there was more to love than that.
“Do you like it, sweetheart?”
“Yeah but it’s not me or you two.” And maybe that was the best way to remember it. What they had was for a reason. Sure, people could be sexually compatible but it didn’t mean anything more than the delightful use of body parts. As for the ‘talk’ they wanted to have with her? Victoria wanted to avoid that. Some things were too complicated to verbalize and, therefore, better left unsaid.
“And you don’t like that it’s not clearly defined pictures of us and what we have together?”
Ah, Lucas wanted the ‘talk’. What do I say? What do we have together? What does he think it is? Am I the only one going mad thinking it’s more than lust? And how is it even possible it can work when we live in two different countries? But she said none of that.
“Why would an audience want to watch three cartoon characters making love—er, I mean having sex.” Uh oh. And then it hit Victoria hard and irrevocably. I’ve fallen in love with Shane and Lucas.
****
Lucas’ head jerked up at her “making love” comment. For all her tough, smartass ways, Victoria was pretty sweet and simple in the way she viewed life. As far as he was concerned, what started out as the pleasure of sex with Victoria was now much more.
“Tell me what you feel.”
“About what?” Victoria moved off his lap.
He could hear that caginess in her voice. There was no way either he or Shane was going to allow her to run away from her feelings. “You know what. About us.”
“I’ve enjoyed my time with you guys.”
“And?”
Victoria avoided looking at him. “And what?”
While Lucas enjoyed stubborn and independent it was also damn frustrating. “How do you feel in here?” He leaned over and touched her chest. That she jumped made him smile. As indifferent as she was trying to act, Victoria wasn’t.
“I—um, you see, I like you both a lot…”
“And?”
“Can’t we leave it at that?”
“Can you?” There was no way Lucas could, nor did he imagine for one second Shane would take this calmly.
Once more Victoria stepped away from