“<span>Thatwas fucking grueling,”Lennoxsays as she pulls the pig puppet off her right hand.Sheproceeds to help me load my equipment into the back seat of my truck.Ididn’t need to bring much.Thesky was perfect today for family photos at the town park.It’sbright out, but a little overcast, so we had no issues with a re.Itwent much better thanst year.


    Welearned.Whenyou’re photographing an extended family that has eighteen members, eight of which are under the age of four, bring puppets, balloons, and snacks.Têxt belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    “Thatlittle kid,Jaxon, has a shocking resemnce to theChuckydoll.”Ishoot her a look. “<i ss="calibre2">What</i>?” she asks defensively. “Imean, like before the scar…but still with the evil eyes.”


    Idon’t say anything because she’s right.Jaxonis terrifying looking.Thekid was mean mugging me through the entire photo shoot, andIhave the pictures to prove it.


    Ilove theRichmondfamily.I’vebeen photographing them for six years now.Theirextended family is huge and it’s the patriarch,GrandpaJack, who always pays the bill.Hetips me as much as my services cost.Ithink he pities me, butI’mcurrently in no position to decline.He’sthe main reasonFinnHarveyphotography is still in business.It’salways why when he calls,Ibend over backward to amodate him.


    Idon’t normally do weddings, butImade a special exception for his favorite granddaughter,Katie.Theyhire me for everything—back-to-school photos, newborn pictures, engagement photos, and annual family photos.Ieven talkedKatieinto a boudoir photo shoot as a wedding present for her now husband,Bryce.Shetold me he loved them, but it’s been three years and the dude still won’t look me in the eyes.He’lljust shake my hand and smile at my shoes like he’s intimidated.


    Believeme,Katiedoesn’t turn my crank.Nothingturns me off more than the idea of cheating.Ihated cheaters because of my dad, andNora’santics put the final nail in that coffin.


    “Thanksfor your help today,”Isay. “Also, what the hell are you wearing?”


    Lennoxhas swapped her normally dark, gothic look for a beige, floral dress.Cometo think of it, her hair is pulled back into a neat ponytail andIthink she’s wearing pink lipstick.


    “Ihave a lot of looks,” she says nomittally.


    “True.ButI’venever seen this one.”


    Sheshrugs. “It’ssummer.”


    “You’reseeing someone new, aren’t you?”


    Sheshes me a sarcastic smile, her nose crumpling. “Iput some southwest eggrolls in your fridge, by the way.Yourdinner awaits you.”


    “You’rea good woman,Lennox.Thankyou.ButI’llget some more fresh tonight.I’mtakingAverytoRue52.”


    Lennoxsmiles so wide her face might split in half.


    “What?”Iask.


    “You’rehonestly going to throw on a sports coat?Youhate wearing a monkey suit and going toRue52.”


    “Yeah,Iwanted to take her somewhere nice.”


    “Wow.”Lennox’seyes are full of snarky condescension. “Isthis a<i ss="calibre2">thank you</i>dinner?”


    “Uh…in a way?”


    Lennoxpushes against my arm yfully. “That’sawesome.Soshe’s going to help with the website?”


    “Sheis…”Iwonder ifLennoxcan tellI’mtrying to dodge the details.


    “Whendoes she want to do the boudoir shoot?”Lennoxasks as she follows behind me.Iopen the door, crawl into the driver’s seat, and crank the car to get the air conditioner flowing.It’sdisgustingly hot today andIdon’t need my equipment warping from the heat.


    “Shedoesn’t.”


    “What?Whynot?Theset is fucking amazing ifIsay so myself.I’vealmost finished staging.”


    “She’snot into that sort of stuff.Wehave a different…<i ss="calibre2">arrangement</i>.”


    Anyother person in the world would shrug and think nothing of it.Butit’sLennox.She’sfamily, my best friend, and is not too shy to call me on my shit.


    “Youdog.”Shesps her hands together as she looks up at me. “Imean,Inever thought you’d pimp yourself out to save our business, but hey, whatever keeps the doors open.”She’ssnickering in glee, watching my unamused expression.


    “It’snot what you’re thinking.”


    “I’mthinking you slept with her.”


    “Ididn’t.”MorelikeIsat with my head between her thighs for about fifteen minutes.


    “Liar,”Lennoxsnarks. “It’snothing to be ashamed of.She’sreally cute, and here’s hoping she’s an upgrade in personality from your usual type.”


    “She’sway more than cute…she’s got a lot ofyers.”Averytoggles between shy and insecure to intimidatingly intelligent and direct.Itkeeps me on my toes howIcan’t quite pin down her personality.AllIknow is thatIlike it. “She’salso going through it with her ex.”


    Lennoxtents her hand over her eyes as the sun pokes out from behind a cloud cluster, blinding her. “Soyou guys have that inmon.”


    Iblow out a breath as my jaw twitches in irritation.<i ss="calibre2">Speakingof exes.</i>Ihave no one else to talk to about that phone call fromst night thanLennox, soImight as well get it off my chest. “Hopin?Air’sgoing.”


    Lennoxwalks around the truck and opens the passenger side door.She’sdramatic as she grabs the interior handle and hoists herself up like she’s mounting a horse.Shehates my truck because of how high it sits off the ground.Idon’t love it either.It’slike driving a monster truck around town.ButIdidn’t exactly pick it out.Itwas an over-the-top present from my dad a year ago.


    “What’sup?”Lennoxasks.


    “Morgancalled mest night.I’mtrying to shake it off, but he got to me.”


    “Whatthe fuck did your ex-girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend want with you?”Lennoxturns in her seat, facing me directly, her brows pulling in concern. “Andhow did he get your number?”


    “They’reback together.They’vebeen back at it for a couple months apparently—”


    “Ofcourse…typicalNora.Alwaysneeds a stand-in—”


    “Hemust’ve grabbed it fromNora’sphone.Hecalled because he wanted to ask me<i ss="calibre2">man to man</i>ifIwas sleeping with her behind his back.Hesuspects she’s cheating on him again, and sinceIwas the culprit all those years ago, naturally, he figuredIwas at it again.”Iknock my thumbs against the steering wheel. “Hiswords, not mine.”


    Lennoxgrumbles to herself. “It’sbeen three years,Finn.Itstill bothers you?”


    Ibury my hands in my face, letting the memoriesIpush away daily bubble to the surface.


    Norawas a stripper.Imet her atRuby’s, a gentlemen’s club my grandpa owns.Oneof his many random properties amongst theLasVegasStrip.It’sprobably the only one he isn’t keen to brag about, but it happens to be his biggest cash cow.


    Ihosted a bachelor party for one of my buddies atRuby’s.IwatchedNoradance on stage all night and after the final call, when she was dressed and had wiped off most of the body glitter,Iasked ifIcould take her to breakfast.


    Ourfirst date was at anIHOPright outside theLasVegasStripat three in the morning.Thenext day,Iwoke up to a slew of congrattions texts from my buddies for taking home the hottest stripper in the club, butIdidn’t actually take her home.


    Sheordered a double stack of in pancakes and soaked them with boysenberry syrup.Igot chocte chip pancakes.Weswitched halfway through.Itwas that tame.Wetalked about how she used to be a ckjack dealer, but stripping paid much better.Ruby’streated her well.Shefelt safe and in control.Mygrandpa’s club has very strict rules in ce to protect their dancers and they don’t tolerate illegal activity.You’dhave to find your happy ending elsewhere.Ruby’swas one hundred percentw-abiding.Andplus,Norastayed out of the private rooms…unless her car needed repairs.


    I’venever fallen in love that fast.Withinthree months of us dating, she stopped stripping atRuby’s.Ibought my house for her.Iasked my dad to cosign the damn loan…<i ss="calibre2">all for her</i>.


    Itwas a few weeks after she moved in with me thatIlearnedNorawasn’t single.


    AndIwas the other man.


    WhenIfound out aboutMorgan, she had every excuse in the book.Shedidn’t know how to break it off, he was abusive and controlling, she was reliant on him, he owed her money.Shedidn’t love him.Shejust didn’t want to see me end up in a fight over her.


    That’sthe part of the story whereI’mno longer the victim becauseIlistened to all the bullshit andIstill chose to stay.Iloved her that much.Ikept her.Ibelieved her.Whenshe ended it withMorgan,Iforgave her.


    Andthen somehowIbecame the asshole who snaked his girl right from under him.


    “Thenarrative bothers me, that’s all.Ididn’t know aboutMorganuntil it was toote.I’mnot that guy.”


    “Everyonewho matters knows that.”Lennoxreaches over the center console and gently pats my shoulder. “Butit’s okay if you’re upset that she’s back with him again.Youdon’t have to love her to be hurt over her.”


    “Iknow…”Thereare two sides toNora.Iwon’t deny there is good in her.Butin the end, the bad far outweighed the good.


    “ButI’md to see you’re moving on.”Lennoxpats my shoulder. “Weshould all hang out.Doubledate?You, me,Avery, andn.Lookat that—we’re both datingAnames.”


    Ichuckle.<i ss="calibre2">nwho likes sundresses, huh?</i>“AveryandIaren’t dating.We’rejust friends who apparently are going to hang out for the summer.”


    “What’sa four-letter word for<i ss="calibre2">hang out</i>that starts with f?”Sheshes me a wicked smile. “Ithink it’s spelled f…u…c—”


    “Lennox—”


    “It’snot a big deal,Finny,” she says as she opens her passenger side door. “Whateverkeeps the lights on in the studio.Bringher around.I’dlove to get to know her.Plus, you’re no longer authorized to enter into a rtionship without my prior approval.Ihave a knack for sniffing out the rats.Itold youNorawas bad news from day one.”


    “Yeah, yeah…Getout of here.Gosee your new boy toy.Wait, do you want a ride to your car?”


    “Nope,” she says, pointing across the small yground. “I’mparked just on the other side.”Shehops out of the car but holds the door open. “Forthe record, you were really smiley today.Waymore than usual.”


    Iraise my brow at her. “Really?”


    “Definitely.”Lennoxpoints at my chest. “Mustbe the change inpany.”Provingher point,Ismile to myself as she shuts the truck door and heads to the overflow parking lot.


    <i ss="calibre2">Hm, must be.</i>