The photo shoot had ended a few hours ago and most everyone had left, but that was just fine as far as Minako was concerned. It had been a long day and she felt relieved at having finally been able to take off the layers of dark make-up that had been applied across her eyes. The only thing that didn't change was the dark wig that had been used to cover her normally blonde tresses. She had always been fond of her natural hair color, but today she liked this color – it reflected her mood.
At the wrap of the shoot, Zane had happily embraced her and pulled her to the side so that she could see some of the sample prints that had been shot. Did he even remember how she felt for him? Or had he already forgotten how she tried to kiss him? No matter how much it hurt, she knew that he was not capable of being so callous. That still didn't help.
She could feel her legs becoming numb as she sat cross-legged on the floor with her chin resting in the palm of her right hand while her left hand restlessly tugged at the waist tie of her sweat shorts. The numbness started to spread further up her legs, but she didn't want to move just yet, she enjoyed the calm quiet of the studio. She suddenly brought both hands to her face and took a deep breath. She would get over this, it wouldn't hurt forever, it would just hurt a lot until then.
Taking a deep breath she let out a scream as loud and as long as she could manage. When she was done, she felt relieved. Sometimes she just needed to let it out so that she could move on..
"Miss," a panicked male voice suddenly called out to her, "are you ok?"
Minako froze, recognizing the voice as belonging to that good looking guy from earlier. Kai was his name. Slowly she slid her hands from over her face to rest over her mouth, still afraid to speak.
"I thought I heard a scream coming from in here," he said when she still didn't answer him.
Her cheeks tinged with pink as she brought her hands to rest in her lap. "I'm sorry, I was just yawning," she lied badly.
"Yawning?" he asked her skeptically, stepping further into the room. With only a few feet separating them, he squatted down in front of her, getting a good look at her features. "You're the model from earlier, aren't you?" She nodded her head dumbly, still chastising herself for not coming up with a better excuse. Even saying that she saw a bug would have sounded more believable. "I thought you had blonde hair," he smiled kindly.
"I do," she responded dumbly. Her hand quickly flew up to grab some of the loose strands of her ponytail, the meaning of his comment slowly dawning on her. "I just felt like being someone else for a little while."
"I didn't realize it was so bad to be you."
The genuineness of his voice touched her and she felt comfortable in his presence. How could she feel so strongly for two men at once, yet feel so differently for each. Zane was beautiful and she needed to be near him, but Kai was strong and she felt safe when he looked at her. She could hear her heartbeat speeding up in her chest and she took a deep breath, trying to stop her cheeks from flushing any further. Her lips started to pull into a smile and she prepared herself to say something in return – something funny and smart and witty this time – when they were interrupted by the arrival of Zane.
"Sorry I ran late, Kai. Are you ready to go?" He leaned into the door frame and Minako could see that same familiar look in his eyes from earlier as he stared at the broad shoulder man in front of her. Did Kai know that Zane was enamored with him? Or maybe was Kai just as enamored? It would only be fitting that she would end up alone without either guy.
"Zane promised to buy me dinner for coming in to work today. Although between you and me he tends to pick some of the worst restaurants to go to." Kai winked playfully and stood up to his full height of 6'2. "Until next time, Miss Aino."
Kai walked away towards Zane and clapped the smaller man on the back, a whispered joke being shared between them as they strode out the doorway and out of sight.
