More than Fashion

22

I managed to finish both my looks in time, and my bridesmaid dress paired perfectly with my wedding gown. It was knee-length, with the ombré effect done in reverse—the bodice all black, fading to lavender at the waist, then blue and pink, and finally snow white along the hem. Together, the two dresses were stunning, and I thought for sure the judges would love it.

But I ended up in the middle.

I tried to be happy about that. Being in the middle was better than being in the bottom three and possibly going home, after all. But I’d really thought I would be in the top this time.

Those of us in the middle returned to the backstage lounge to wait for judging to finish. I took some pleasure in seeing Gavin among us, even though—and I would never admit this to anyone out loud—I’d loved his wedding dress and thought he should have been the winner. He’d made a very structured, high-collared ball gown with long sleeves and a low neckline, all in black satin except for white tulle underneath that peeked out. It was incredibly beautiful, straddling the line between elegant and sexy, modern and classic, goth and bridal.

Trina had made my second favorite look, a cream-colored pantsuit with a plunging neckline and a cape. Her bridesmaid dress was actually a cobalt blue romper done in a similar style, and both looks had a unique blend of masculine and feminine, while still being very sexy. It was a bold and risky take on the challenge, and she’d known the judges would either love it or hate it. She was out on stage now, but I didn’t know if she was in the top three or the bottom three.

I picked a seat across from Gavin to avoid any moments like the one we’d had in the fabric room. Unfortunately, that meant I was stuck on the couch with Jeff. Derrick sat on the other side of him, and he stared at Jeff so hard I could practically feel the fanboy waves coming off him.

“Your look should have been the winner,” Derrick said.

“The judges just didn’t want to give me a win on my first challenge back on the show,” Jeff said. “Not to mention, my model is far too busty. It’s really unfair for me to have to design around that. Everyone else has a normal-sized model.”

Give me a f*****g break. He had a gorgeous redheaded model with an amazing body, and now he wanted to blame her for not winning? When he should have been the one designing for her proportions? What an asshat.

“Totally unfair,” Derrick agreed. “You were my favorite designer on last season’s show. I was shocked you didn’t win! It should have been you.”

Jeff shrugged, smoothing his bleached hair. “It’s my fault, really. My work last season was too conceptual for the judges. Too avant-garde, too fashion-forward. They didn’t get it.”

I rolled my eyes so hard I gave myself a headache. Too avant-garde, my ass. His problem was he refused to take constructive criticism from anyone. And I doubted he’d gotten any better since then.

“Is it tough being back on the show?” Derrick asked.

“Not really. The hardest part is leaving my boyfriend for such a long time again. He misses me so much when I travel all over the world for work. He’s totally lost without me.”

Wow. It wasn’t that he missed his boyfriend. It was that his boyfriend couldn’t handle it without Jeff for a month or so. I wondered if they would still be together once this footage was aired on TV.

They carried on, but I draped myself over the armchair of the couch and tried to tune them out. Across from me, Nika scooted very close to Gavin, and I couldn’t help but notice how short her skirt was and how her bare thigh pressed against his and how she leaned toward him to show off her low-cut top and huge breasts.

Not that I cared. She could have him. Really.

“It must feel good to be the only straight guy on the show this season,” she said to him, and it was tough not to gag.

He looked taken aback by her question. “I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”

“It means you can have your choice of just about any girl here.”

He gave a short laugh. “I didn’t come on the show to meet women.”

She rested a hand on his knee. “Nothing says you can’t have some fun while you’re here. I bet every girl here would be happy to help.”

It was pretty clear she wanted to be the one he picked for that fun, but I couldn’t stop myself from muttering, “Not this girl.”

His eyes met mine, and an amused smile lit up his face. Dammit, I should have pretended I wasn’t listening.

“You sure about that?” he asked, his gaze traveling down my body in a way that made my face flush. Not from embarrassment, but because I remembered the way he felt between my legs and couldn’t help but want him again. And, from the smug look on his face, I could tell he knew exactly what I was thinking.

Cocky asshole.

“True. Some girls here don’t like dicks.” Nika flashed me a pointed look as she said it. Like I gave a single f**k if people thought I was gay.

“Somehow I don’t think that applies to Julie,” Gavin said, giving me a devious grin.

Nika laughed in an exaggerated way, throwing back her head and exposing her neck. She squeezed Gavin’s leg at the same time, clearly trying to get the attention back on her. But he ignored her, keeping his eyes locked with mine.

We stared each other down while the rest of the room looked on, neither one of us willing to back down from the challenge…or able to deny the heat flickering between us. If we’d been alone, the urge to kiss him would have been impossible to resist, not with the fire in his eyes that matched the one inside me. It was only the space between us and the other designers walking back in—with Trina as the winner, luckily—that saved me from the temptation.

But a girl could only resist for so long.