“Fucking crazy bitch,” Gabe said with a laugh. “Lance! Take some shots!”
The photographer circled as Ricky stalked over, pushing between the two of them, shoving them away with the flat of her hands. Shane staggered, trying to maintain his balance, but Jez fell back against the bike. Ricky was straight onto her, the camera whirring as the photographer took shot after shot of Jez and Ricky, groin to the groin, breasts just brushing the other’s, lips close enough to almost kiss.
She snapped away, moving to Shane now, pulling him closer by his belt buckle, then turning and dropping down, her mouth almost trailing along Jez’s jeans-clad thigh as her arse came to rest on Shane’s groin. I jerked as I felt a familiar rasp of Gabe’s lips along my neck.
“Gabe, Ricky’s gone nuts, you gotta have a look!” Mick said.
“Who knew she was hiding that under her overalls?” Macca said, looking almost alarmed.
“Mm-hmm,” Gabe said, moving to the other side, then pulling me over, so I was in his lap. He pulled my hair up, holding it as his lips moved down my spine. I shivered at the contact and his arm clamped down on my lap, pressing me harder against him. “We gotta go, love,” he said.
I saw the moment Ricky looked over to see if Gabe was watching. She faltered slightly as Shane was grinding on her butt, her hands slipping away from where they were tangled in Jez’s hair. Her lips looked bee-stung and so did Jez’s. The photographer looked like he couldn’t believe his luck, scrolling through the images on the viewfinder. Ricky just stood there, frozen, blinking, her eyes searching for Gabe, but unable to find him as he very enthusiastically explored my back. My heart squeezed when I saw it, the involuntary widening and shine in her eyes, the head dropped in defeat.
“Go back in for another kiss,” Lance said, “and Shane, either ditch the skirt or get out of frame. You’re ruining my shots.” Shane had all girl clothes off in a second, padding over to between the two women and grabbing them to bring them in close. Ricky obediently was drawn into the embrace, bringing a heartbreaking vulnerability to the shot that probably didn’t meet the brief. “Sultry, Ricky. Imagine he’s your fantasy lover,” the photographer said. Ricky looked up at Shane for a moment, then when she looked back her face was almost a mask of lust, authentic or not.
“Let’s go,” I agreed with Gabe, getting to my feet.
“Finally, the smell of your hair is driving me crazy. So sweet. . . .” he grabbed me and pulled me closer, burying his face in it.
“I just need to talk to Jez first. Here’s your keys, you want to take the bike or come with me?”
“You.”
He went to go start the car as I approached Jez. “You decide you want dark anyway?” Shane asked with a purr, opening his arms wider. “Plenty to go around.” Jez shook her head as if clearing it, taking in the crowd and Ricky and Shane and looking a bit alarmed.
“You OK Jez? I?
?m going to head off.”
Her eyes flicked to the other two and back to me, as if assessing the situation for the first time. “Stay,” Shane said in a much more reasonable tone, “We’ll have a ball. No pressure. We were just stuffing around here. Let me get you a drink.”
Jez shrugged, “OK, just one. I’ll catch you tomorrow, Ash.”
“Well, you’ve got my number, just give me a call if you have any hassles.” The two of them wandered off, leaving Ricky standing in the bright light. The photographer frowned, “Are you two going to have a go now? If so, move in a bit closer.”
“No,” I said, hands held up.
“What’s up?” Gabe asked, rushing over, eyes flashing. He put his huge body between me and the photographer. “Ash is not to go in any of the photos, you hear? Anything with her in it, I pull the whole contract.”
“Fine, fine,” Lance said. “What about you, girl?” he asked Ricky. “You’ve got nice tits.”
She looked back at us, eyes burning and then in a couple of quick movements pulled her top and then her bra off. The shed erupted in hoots and howls.
“Fuck, Rick, you sure about this?” was all Gabe asked. He didn’t look concerned or even interested, just mildly surprised.
She didn’t answer, turning to face the photographer with a smouldering gaze. He started clicking, not willing to wait until her mood changed.
We left after that, heading to Gabe’s place where he made good on most of his plans, though he had to go with spag bol rather than three-course dinner, due to lost time. It was lovely, but I couldn't get Ricky out of my mind.
“So, did you have something going on with Ricky at some point?” I asked as we let dinner settle, sitting in front of the TV.
"Rick? A long time ago, maybe when we were kids, but none of us were going to go there when she came to work for us.”
"Did you guys grow up together?"
"Kinda. Same school and her brother, Brett, was my best mate. Anyway, what's all this about? You jealous?" He grinned at this.
"No, it's just–"