More than Fashion

28

But at the same time it was kind of…nice. I could focus on the present, on the people around me, and on my own headspace without all the drama of the rest of the world interfering. Maybe it was good to unplug sometimes.

“You know,” Gavin said, as he cut into the brown fabric we’d bought. “If we win, one of us gets to use the private suite again.”

I should have known he would bring up last night eventually. “Uh-huh…”

“Shall we continue what we started the other nights?”

I sighed and gave up on trying to hide our previous encounter from the cameras, since he couldn’t seem to let it go. “There’s nothing to continue. The first night I was drunk and horny, and you happened to be in the right place at the right time to get me off. Last night I was just returning the favor. Now we’re even, and we’re done.”

“Ouch,” he said, placing a hand over his heart. “You crush me. I was starting to think you might actually like me.”

I snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

He pointed his scissors at me. “You can’t deny you enjoyed yourself.”

I ignored that comment and instead asked, “Is that why you picked me for your team? Because of last night?”

“No. I picked you because you’re a great designer and our design aesthetics could work well together. And because, believe it or not, I like you.”

“You like me?”

“Sure. You’re like a baby T-rex.”

“Full of hate, but in a cute way?”

“No, small yet fierce. And you have a mean bite.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “And short arms?”

“I didn’t say it, but I did have to help you get that fabric down…”

“Hey, it’s not my fault they put everything good up so high only giants like you can reach it.”

“Aha, so you’re just using me for my body.”

“You know it.”

“I can live with that.” His grin sent a flush through my entire body, and I grabbed the measuring tape from around my neck and turned to my corset.

No more flirting. Back to work.

A loud giggle caught my attention at the next workstation—Dawn, covering her mouth as she laughed at something Trina had said. Trina looked especially dashing today in black suspenders and a pinstripe bow tie, a nice contrast to Dawn’s vintage floral dress and golden hair. Trina winked at me and grinned. I gave her a thumbs-up.

Gavin and I worked for hours side by side, sometimes in silence, sometimes asking for the other’s advice or offering an opinion. My corset was beginning to come together nicely. I couldn’t do a true Victorian-style corset in such a short amount of time, but I was going to do my best to make a simpler one with the same look. It wouldn’t cinch the model’s waist as much as a real corset and wouldn’t be as durable, but whatever, it only had to last one runway show.

Meanwhile, Gavin was working hard on the skirt, which would be a real show-stopper if he could pull it off. The keyword here being if. He’d promised me an adjustable length skirt and his sketch looked like a blueprint for some complicated feat of engineering, but I wasn’t confident it would work. Still, he was a great designer, so I was willing to let him try.

“Lunchtime is in five minutes!” Kelsey called out, breaking me out of my working trance. “You’ll send one of your team members for the first shift, then you’ll switch off for the next one.”

“I’ll go,” I said. “I’m at a good stopping point.”

Gavin kneeled by our dress form with a pin in his hand, trying to get the location of the ruffles on the back perfect. “Bring back some good intel.”

“Like what?”

“Anything we can use to win. Someone must have a dark secret we can exploit. Other than you, of course.”

“You’re ruthless. What house did the Sorting Hat put you in? Slytherin?”

“Which one is that again?”

“Oh my god, how do you not know this?”

He shrugged. “I never read the books. I saw the first Harry Potter movie, but that’s it.”

“But you’re English. Aren’t those books required reading over there?”

“That’s exactly why I never read them. Too much hype.”

“You have no idea what you’re missing. As soon as the show ends, we’re getting you a box set of all the books.”

“We?” He grinned. “See, you do like me.”

“You,” I corrected, shaking my head. “I’m going to lunch.”

He laughed and stuck his head under the dress, bringing back memories of our first night together. That man was always getting under my skirts.

Molly, Trina, Jeff, and Derrick were also taking this lunch shift. While I grabbed my food from the buffet, I overheard Jeff telling Derrick, “It’s hard to interact with your fans when you have so many. Once you hit ten thousand followers on Twitter, it just feels so impersonal. Not like the small, intimate feel of five thousand.”

It took all of my self-discipline to not upend my entire plate on Jeff’s head. Like any one of us wouldn’t kill to have even five thousand Twitter followers. He was such a freaking humblebragger. How could Derrick stand it?

The guys took one table, while Trina, Molly, and I took the other. “I saw you and Dawn getting cozy,” I said.

“Mmhmm,” Trina said with a slight grin.

“Good for you two,” Molly said with a warm smile. Her hair was so big today it practically needed its own zip code. “And Julie, how are things going with Gavin?”

“You mean, when we’re not trying to claw each other’s eyes out?” Or tear each other’s clothes off, I silently added.

“Aw, what a shame. I thought the two of you might have something there. You’re cute together.”

“Please. I’m cute with everyone.”