Modeling Gig

When I awoke this evening for my classes, I expected the night to be no different than all the other nights in my casual, everyday life. Ichijo always met me at my house since it was on the way, and we would walk to class together. Tonight, the blond vampire was unexpectedly perched in my bedroom window.

"Not planning on sleeping in this evening, were you Shiki?" he greeted me with a smile.

How did that bastard know that tonight was the night I had planned to skip? Oh, well. Either way, that wasn't why my usual routine didn't work out.

I picked up my camera and the folder that I kept my pictures in, and followed Ichijo out the door. Usually I only took pictures of inanimate objects, and usually, my fantasies about doing things with Rima never actually panned out…

Ichijo and I were sitting in our Biology class while the instructor was going on about some nonsense concerning the reproductive methods of mammals. I wasn't very interested; I'd already glanced at the chapter earlier in the week. But I had noticed that someone was missing—

Then the door opened, and everyone's heads turned as Rima Touya walked into the room.

"Sorry I'm late," she said. Rima was almost always late, but this is college, so no one really cared. She walked down the stairs and took the seat on my other side.

"Late as always, eh Rima?" Ichijo smirked. Rima took out a stick of chocolate Pocky and threw it at him. He deftly caught it between his teeth.

"Oh yeah," I remembered, keeping my voice down so as not to interrupt lessons, "I have some new shots, if you want to see them..." I pulled out the small folder that I kept my pictures in.

Rima grabbed it enthusiastically, almost before I was sure Ichijo had registered what I said. She started to leaf through the album. "Where are these from?" she asked.

"From the beach a few miles north of my place," I responded. "Just after that big storm."

"So, Shiki…" Ichijo started tentatively, "Have you considered photographing people? You know, like model photography?"

"Hmm…" I had considered it, of course, but there was only one person that I was interested in shooting, and the thought of asking her to model for me made me antsy.

Ichijo nudged me in the ribs. "I bet the Milton twins would model for you, if you asked."

"Oh, please," Rima whispered harshly, "The Milton twins? They are the biggest sluts on this campus!"

"Are you jealous, Rima?" Ichijo winked, simultaneously at me and Rima.

"What on earth would make you think I was jealous of them?" Rima shot back indignantly.

She was right. The Miltons were pretty hot, but they were also overrated. They had nothing on Rima - no one did. She always vastly underestimated her own beauty, though.

At midnight, Rima still had one class left, but I was free to go. I walked her to her class before heading to my car. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rima."

"See ya, Shiki," she smiled. Now was my chance; it was the perfect opportunity to casually ask her if she would mind being photographed, but, like always, I let her walk into the room and out of my day.

As I was walking to my car, the drops began to fall lightly on my head.

Rain, I thought with a chuckle, how appropriate.

I pulled my car into the empty driveway about twenty minutes later. I sprinted up the front steps to the door as I fumbled with my keys. I sat my bag down just inside, and went into the kitchen. As I walked over to the refrigerator to get a drink, I noticed a note on the counter.

"Shiki, I went out of town for the weekend to go shopping. I will see you on Sunday, before you go back to school. Love, Mom."

When I got to my room, I lay down on the couch, not even making it to the bed, or taking off any of my clothes, for that matter. I grabbed the remote for the stereo, and turned on something indistinguishable with a lot of bass.

Why didn't I just ask her? I'm sure she would let you take some shots…

I opened my eyes, and there she was, right on top of me, looking me in the eye. "Shiki," she whispered, "I know you want to take pictures of me. And I want you to take them, too."

"R-really?" I stammered, "You want me to?"

"That and more…" she moved a little closer to me, her face now very close to mine. She lightly ran her tongue over her bottom lip, and leaned in even closer…

I jolted awake as I heard the doorbell ring. I looked at the clock; it was over an hour after I had gotten home. A quick glance out the window told me that the rain hadn't subsided at all. In fact, it had become more like a flash flood than a spring shower.

The doorbell rang again. It's probably someone looking for a donation for something. I sighed, and walked down to see what was so important. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door and found none other than Rima, dripping wet, standing on my doorstep.