“I’ll go with David today,” Tyler offered.
“Could Kara and Kendal accompany you?” I asked Adrienne.
“That sounds like fun. I’ve wanted to get ahold of Kendal for a while,” Adrienne said, and then realized how that sounded. “Uh, I mean …”
I just waved a hand.
“Tyler, when do we need to leave?” I asked.
She looked at the clock.
“The car will be downstairs in thirty minutes. Go take your shower. One of our new accounts sent over a present for you. Check out the top drawer in your room.”
I ran off to shower and shave. When I opened the top drawer, there were several pairs of Calvin Klein underwear inside. The first pair I tried on was called ‘Iron Strength Micro Hip Briefs.’ I felt like I had on a Speedo. I next tried on a ‘Liquid Stretch’ pair. Not as bad, but still not my style. I found the next one was what they called ‘boxer briefs.’ It had three buttons on the front, and the legs went down a couple of inches but were snug against your legs.
I had been wearing boxers for a couple of years now. I liked the freedom they provided compared to the traditional tighty-whities. The only complaint I had was that my sack sometimes stuck to my leg when I perspired. When you see a guy adjust himself, it’s often because of that. It can be uncomfortable. What I liked about these was there was a pouch for the jewels that held them away from my thighs. The bonus was it didn’t push my package out and make my bulge more noticeable. I think some guys wanted that for the same reason women wore the Wonder Bra.
I figured I’d give them a shot and see how they worked out.
◊◊◊
Our driver took Tyler and me to a studio on 26th Street, just a block from the Hudson River. It was a great space on the top floor of an old industrial building. The top floor housed five studios, and all of them were being used for this job. I was sent to Studio Five. The space was amazing. All along one wall were eight-foot-high windows that let in a lot of natural light. The studio itself had thirteen-foot ceilings and was 3,000 square feet. The floor was concrete, and the overhead was all exposed wood, ducts, and pipes, which reinforced the industrial feel. Walls and ceiling were painted white to best reflect light. Spaced throughout the room were massive circular concrete support pillars.
The place was a madhouse as models, photographers, and all the support staff were busy in the other studios. Along the wall of windows was a makeup location with two stations set up, and to the side, there were racks of clothes. Through a door that led to a lounge came a young Asian woman. She and Tyler seemed to know each other.
“David, I would like you to meet Jackie Chan. She’s one of the best photographers in New York. Adrienne insisted that she shoot you today.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” I said, shaking her hand.
“I want to get some test shots before we get you done up,” she said as she grabbed one of five cameras she had on a large table.
She took three test shots and then hooked her camera up to a large TV screen. She stared at it for a minute and then left us alone. While she was gone, two guys came in and added some different filters to the lighting and placed additional lights from above. I assumed she’d seen some shadows.
“Do you know what we’re doing today?” I asked Tyler as we waited.
“This morning, you’re working with another male model named Ryan Barlow. The two of you will be doing both web and catalog work for both Abercrombie and Hollister.”
“Why two of us?” I asked.
“Jackie likes to work fast. If you noticed, there are two setups. She’ll switch back and forth between the two as you change clothes.”
“What about the rest of the day?” I asked.
“The afternoon will be geared for group work. They have store employees who do a lot of the modeling. You’ll work with them. Later you’ll work with Melinda Kesh,” Tyler said, which made me smile.
Melinda Kesh did her first modeling job for Victoria’s Secret when she was sixteen. She was now nineteen and one of the most sought-after models in the industry. She wasn’t like Adrienne or Hannah Minacci in that she wasn’t full-figured. Melinda had thick brown hair that flowed down her back and eyebrows that reminded you of Demi Lovato. She had clear blue eyes that set off her flawless face, and a smile that made every guy who saw it feel like it was just for him.
Melinda looked good in anything you put on her. She had one of those bodies that could pull off tight jeans or high fashion. Clothes simply seemed to hang better on her than on most everyone else. I was excited to get to work with her. If nothing else, she would make me look better.
Ryan came in with Jackie, and she took some test shots of him. When she was done, the makeup artists were given their marching orders, and Ryan and I were soon in just our underwear.
“I need to have you take them off,” my guy said, pointing to my boxers.
“Why?” I asked, taking a half step back.
“Some of the shots might expose a lot of skin, and we need to shave you,” he said.
