Camera Shy (Lessons in Love, #1)(99)

“…because it was fucking stupid, Aves. You almost ruined everything.”

Avery, dressed in the hotel’s robe, is standing at the kitchen island, staring into her phone with her eyes narrowed. She looks ready for war. But before she can say another word, I step into the front lines because I don’t know who the fucker is on the video chat who’s yelling at her, but I’ll be damned if anyone speaks to her that way.

I slide right next to her, forcing myself in front of the camera, not giving a fuck that I’m half naked. The man on the other line is brunette, his face fixed into a scowl.

“Lower your voice when you talk to her,” I snarl at him as I snake my arm around Avery’s waist. “Or you’re going to hear me raise mine.”

“Who the hell are you?” He holds his hand up, offended, like I’m being unreasonable.

“Finn, this is Mason. Mason, this is my…neighbor, Finn,” Avery mumbles, her eyes still narrowed at the screen.

I take my time pressing my lips against Avery’s temple. “You smell nice. I didn’t even hear you shower.” I don’t bother to whisper and I’m enjoying watching Mason’s lips flatten into a hard line. Good. I hope it hurts.

Avery ignores my compliment. She’s clearly too agitated at something else to play the make your ex jealous game. “We’re just talking business.”

“I know,” I assure her. I wouldn’t have interrupted out of petty jealousy. I just didn’t like the way he was speaking to her. “I’ll give you your privacy.”

“No need. We’re done.” Avery nudges me aside playfully with her hip before leaning into the phone that’s propped up against the coffee maker. “Mason, are we good? Like it or not, you know I’m right.”

“Fine,” he huffs. “Just please don’t cut me out of any more decisions.”

Avery gapes as she balls her fists up by her side, out of Mason’s view. “We’ll talk soon,” she says curtly before ending the call abruptly. Her cheeks puff before she blows out a long, frustrated breath. “Something not so nice almost came out of my mouth.”

“Rough morning?” I ask.

Her pursed lips relax into a sweet smile. “Better now. So are sex coaches supposed to get their feathers ruffled when someone raises their voice at their student?”

“Fuck yes,” I deadpan. Mine or not, you’re still mine to protect. “He doesn’t have to like you, but he sure as hell will respect you. And if Mason speaks to you like that again, he better not let me hear about it.”

“Good God,” she mumbles as she runs her hand over my shoulder and down my tatted arm. Her smile turns sly and seductive.

Ah, fuck being a man of my word. I can’t believe we didn’t have sex last night. If she really doesn’t want to do the photo shoot, I’ll let it go.

“Look, about the boudoir shoot—”

“I’m not trying to be difficult,” she interrupts. Swiveling around, she fetches a clean coffee mug from the wire rack. After pouring me a warm cup of coffee and sliding the sugar and cream already on the counter toward me, she continues, “It’s not that I don’t want to do it. Truthfully, I’m intrigued, and if you were just some random guy, I would’ve done it by now.”

“We’ve had sex at least ten times, but you’d be more comfortable getting undressed for a random guy?”

“It’s the pictures. I don’t want you to see them.” Avery pinches her eyes closed like she’s trying to separate herself from her body as she admits whatever is next. “It’s just my thing. I look in the mirror and I’m okay. But I see pictures of myself and I hate them. And I’m worried if you see what I see…you’re going to be disappointed.”

I sigh sharply. “Avery—”

“Ah, stop.” She holds up her palm. “I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t expect you to understand it. Just respect it.” She draws out the word respect, knowing I’m powerless to combat it. If she’s feeling insecure, that’s one thing. If she’s telling me to leave it alone, that’s another.

“So it’s just about me seeing the photos, not about you seeing them?” I ask.

She ducks her head and then lifts her eyes to meet mine, the mug in her hand grazing her lips. “Pretty much.”

“I have an idea.”

Avery cocks her head to the side. “What idea?”

“How about we do the shoot old-school? I have a really good film camera, and I’m still great friends with one of the TAs at UNLV. She has access to the dark room and can develop everything without me seeing it. She’s a random person you’ll never have to meet if you don’t want to. When the pictures are ready, I’ll make sure she seals them up in a box and marks them for your eyes only.”

Avery blinks at me slowly, and I know she’s trying to think of any holes in my master plan. “Old-school, huh?”

“Yeah, I usually shoot with a DSLR and it makes editing easier, but for your peace of mind, I’m happy to whip out my old AE-1.”

“Any more acronyms that I don’t understand you want to throw my way?” she sasses.

I laugh. “You should know what a teacher’s assistant is. I went to school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. A DSLR describes a lens, but in layman’s terms it’s just a digital camera, and my AE-1 is the first Canon film camera I ever bought for myself. It still works like a charm.”