Shay wants to get her clothing designs seen more than anything. She wants it so bad that when she saw an ad for a modeling contest which would allow the winner to meet the editor of WhooNoo magazine, she decided to get some head shots done right away & enter it. Who would have thought something as simple as posing for some pictures could be so uncomfortable? Shay can't wait for this to be over with. The photographer, Gavin, stops shooting for a moment to ask her how long she's been modeling. Shay can tell by his tone that he's asking not because he's impressed by her talent, but dismayed by her lack of it. She starts to explain to him about the contest & wanting to show her designs to the editor of WhooNoo, but then gives up & decides the whole thing was a mistake & she gets up to leave.

But Gavin stops her and gives her some advice about modeling. He tells her to 'radiate' for the camera & he gets a little touchy-feely. Shay was a little nervous about coming to some guy's room for the photo session, but his prices were so much better than all the professional headshot places. She'd be running screaming out of his room now if it weren't for the fact that his house is full of people. Psycho rapist killers don't usually have roomates around to talk to the police about it later.....

Then he starts posing for her, showing her how it's done. Gavin is pretty enough to be a model himself & he obviously knows how to do it. In her mind's eye, Shay is dressing him up in a long velvet coat..he's the kind of guy who could really pull off a dramatic outfit...

She gives the posing thing another go. She really would like to win this contest & get to show her designs to the magazine editor. She forces herself to look at the camera, but it creeps her out, knowing that behind the lens is a guy, looking at her, judging her...Out of nowhere, he asks about her top & whether she made it. Shay is always happy to talk about her work, so she tells him about this top & other things she's designed, too, barely aware that he's snapping away while she's talking. When he tells her he finished her roll & they're done, she's kind of suprized.

Then he tells her most of the roll he shot is unusable because he couldn't get a clear shot of her face, and he doesn't want to charge her for it. What kind of person wastes his time & doesn't want to get paid for it? she wonders as she tells him she should pay at least for what is good. He seems very earnest when he says that she has everything it takes to be a model but the desire & that he doesn't want to see her wasting her money on a useless effort like this. How does he stay in business? she wonders. She's about to reply that she's just wasted his time & surely that must be worth something, but he continues before she can get a word out, telling her he wants to use some of the shots he took in his own work & if she'll sign a release form for him, they'll be even.

Now Shay is fully creeped out. "You want to use pictures of me?" she asks. If they aren't good enough for her to pay for, what does he need them for? She can't imagine it's anything decent....He then tells her how gorgeous she is & that while he got some really great shots, they aren't what she needs.....Shay's heard a few too many stories about jerk photographers always trying to get models to pose nude & then go on from there. She glances at his bed with the red satin covers & she's very suspicious now, of where this is all heading. "Is this some creepy photographer crap that supposed to get me in bed?" she asks, and is left dumbstruck & embarassed by his immediate "God, no," as though she were just that far beneath him. But he quickly adds that his girlfriend just broke up with him and he's too 'toxic' to be trying to get anyone in bed. Shay's not sure if this makes Gavin more or less creepy. She's never met a guy who wouldn't try to bed a girl despite having a girlfriend or a wife even...the thought that being newly broken up would make you 'toxic' is a totally new concept to her. But he doesn't have a lying kind of voice or demeanor & despite herself, Shay believes him. Still, she wants to see these photos before she signs any release.

NEXT