. shutter stock

[taylor maitson]

TAYLOR

Ever the professional, Cami knows how to chase the shot, giving the photographer everything he wants and then some. Taylor is allowing himself to be posed as needed, though having his more base desires take over has given him the confidence boost he needed, the old skills starting to come back to him. He remembers to tilt his head just so, the light catching his cheekbones dramatically. He remembers that his now bitten lip needs only the slightest of pouts before it turns comical, and that Cami would look best if his body was angled very slightly more towards her than the camera, framing her as the focal point of the shot. He makes no attempt to hide that he's watching her, assuming his eyes clouded over with desire was exactly what the brand would want. "Whatever it is, you have it in spades," he corrects, kissing her back before finally breaking apart enough to change. It's like coming up for air. "Hey, could I get some water? Thank you." He takes the bottle and finishes it in one go, squeezing it to extract every drop. "Fuck. I need a cold shower."

[camille de vries]

Camille

From the appraising look on everyone's face she knows the shoot's taken a turn for the better, curiosity getting the best of her as she ran to peek at a monitor. Sure enough the image she suspected is already in light retouching, though it's startling enough on its own. The way she's peering up at him, wide eyed and wanting. The way his gaze is basely flicked down to her, clothes almost a forethought though they too, manage to speak for themselves. It's perfect, momentous, Cami gleeful as she drifted through the changing tent, only to laugh when the next look was held out for her. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you might want to wait on that" she calls from behind the curtain, shimmying out when she was fully fitted. The denim shorts she wears now are tiny, almost indiscernible under the gauzy men's button up draped over her slim frame. Mind whirring with how best to display them she dares something, turning back to Taylor in question. "How do you want me?"

[taylor maitson]

TAYLOR

It was amusing to be praised for making out with a hot girl in front of a camera, but that's what's happening, various people giving approving nods in his direction. Cami's reaction is the one that wins out for him, laughing as he watches her face light up at her own handiwork reflected back at her from the monitor. He doesn't need much of an outfit change, keeping the vest but losing his jeans in favor of boxers emblazoned with the brand's logo. As soon as he sees her he lets out a low whistle, the story obvious; girl steals guy's shirt post fuck, a tale as old as time. He raises his eyebrows when she throws it over to him, trying to assess what would show off the outfit best. "C'mere," he says, pulling her back onto set and facing her to the camera. Stood behind her, he pulls her hair to one side to kiss her neck again, one hand slipping into the shirt to rest on her hip, her skin smooth under his touch.

[camille de vries]

Camille

Last time, he'd been the one to give her gentle direction. To have her loosen up, to coax the careful touches and looks that would send her career into orbit the moment they published. This time he again was giving direction but at the cadence of her request, knowing she held power here. On this set, over this industry, because she could be who they needed. The vibrant ingenue, the wanton fuck, the girl next door - every look melts over her features at the gentle c'mere, the careful setup of the shot, the pride of her heart as his expression morphed from decision to impulse, feverish lips once again pushed to her skin. Cami's hand curves up into his hair, expression edging on restraint, as if the moment was about to tip into something more and she both desperately wanted it and feared for what she was signing up for. Click, click, come the echoes, head lolling onto his shoulder to elongate her neck. "What is your favorite kind of kiss?"

[taylor maitson]

TAYLOR

When people had told him that they were jealous of modelling as a career path, this is probably what they were picturing. Not the crammed, filthy model apartment with a horde of European men. Not the pitiful pay after a long day of physical work. But being able to manhandle some of the most beautiful women in the world whilst pouting, that had been the draw. It was a pleasure to watch her work though, commanding the room with subtle nods or gestures, assistants and creative directors alike following her lead. He lets his body lead him, holding her against himself in a variety of ways as the camera clicked between poses. The hushed conversation between the two gives him something to focus on, thinking through her question. "Ones that catch you by surprise. How about you?" As she had done mere moments before. "Here," he says, moving to crouch in front of her, encouraging her to climb up on his back.

[camille de vries]

Camille

"I like that answer," Camille trills, pleased with how quickly this set had turned. Had this been another talent, another relationship, she wasn't sure if she'd have pulled that, trust a flighty, transactional thing for the most part in the industry and she of anyone knew where to draw strong boundaries. But Taylor had always been foundational in some way, grounding and open, and she'd felt little hesitance in crossing a few of her own typically personal lines. It was likely the same way she'd been fine with the potential for nudity, feeling the shirt drift further open as she jumped onto his back. Instantly she clings tight to his shoulders, head pressed against his back as the photographer drifted further into the set. "Hold that, right there," he asks, Cami contemplating Taylor's question as he was directed to look back to her. When he seems satisfied she pulls herself further up, legs gripped against Taylor's hips as she hooked her chin over his shoulder. "The ones that feel familiar," she decides, features arranged in sweet-toned affection. "When you begin to understand what or who it is you crave." A hushed laugh falls from her lips then, squeezing him further with her thighs. "Though I can't say that was any kind of familiar to my birthday - you have finally learned how to use your tongue!"

[taylor maitson]

TAYLOR

With Cami on his back, her legs hooked around his arms, he's brought out of the trance enough to look around. Modelling had been a dehumanising job but it had been his ticket out of a bad situation and for that he would always be grateful-- and that's before factoring in everything else it gifted him, such as the friendship of the girl pressed against him right now. He tilts his head back so that it's in shot but still shifting the focus on to Camille. Alongside prostitution, modelling was a rare career choice where women made more than men and tended to hold the draw, something that suited Taylor just fine. "Ah, so the opposite," he grins, squeezing her legs back with genuine affection. Briefly his mind wanders to Kendra once again, though this time his stomach lurches. She would see these pictures, of course. The reality of that particular inevitability is one he pushes to the back of his mind, reminding himself that he was single, and besides, this was work, crazy though that was. "Hey, I'm a great kisser! All my fangirls tell me so."

[camille de vries]

Camille

She nods along to his reasoning, chin digging into his shoulder. Cami's life was already full of enough surprises, dragged across the world for shoots and celebrations, invites pouring into her inbox for this launch or that premiere. It was a wonderful world of access but at times it was overwhelming in its volume, craving an anchor of sorts to revolve her own personal world around. "Being grounded isn't so bad for me," Cami eventually murmurs, watching something troubling flit briefly over his features. Back to work. Lithe legs drop down to the floor, turning him back to face her and shifting his hand over her hip. The shirt billows around his reach, denim label peaking out as she arched her back to stare up at him in teasing wonder. "You've definitely had the practice, I will have to thank those fangirls even though they will send me hate mail after these photos." Cami sways on to her tip toes, drawing closer, camera drifting between wide and narrow focuses and her eyes flicking between his own and his mouth. "I can't say I will blame them for it."

[taylor maitson]

TAYLOR

A slower pace of life had crept up on Taylor without his seeking it out, though it suited him just fine. Touring and recording less, he'd finally been able to put down roots and start seeing LA as home. It doesn't surprise him to hear that Cami prioritised an anchoring point in a relationship, he could remember easily how much he craved at least one element of stability in his life when it felt like everything was in constant flux. "Think your life will ever slow down?" He's posed by her expert hands and grateful for the intervention. It's been so long since he's had to do something he doesn't want to do, or at least, something that's outside of his comfort zone. At least he's with a person he feels more comfortable with than anyone else in the world. He laughs, his head tilting back and the photographer seizing the photo op. "I'm not sure they're so rabid these days. I don't give them much to work with." He pulls her closer, a grin still tugging the corner of his lip up as his eyes fall to hers. "Besides, everyone knows I can't resist a VS model. Who can?"

[camille de vries]

Camille

Though there seemed to be no end in sight, Cami nods her head with clear determination. "It will when I say it will," flows simply out of her mouth, no longer a stranger to the power she held. Over herself and her choices, schedule still packed but thinned to bigger priorities. Allowing herself extra time to send Benicio chasing after her, or her after him, a worldwide tag that felt enticing and fresh. It’s what she thinks of now as her body sways closer, arms looped loosely around his neck. Taylor had always been fun to look at, to admire, eyes curving his features in a flick of desire. Mind elsewhere yet engaged she dares a sweeter kiss, reminiscent of goodbyes after late nights or first dates, at odds with the look she donned but knowing the juxtaposition might work anyway. "What’s that saying? " Cami asks when she pulls away, hand slipping down to rest against his chest. "Absence makes the heart grow louder?"

[taylor maitson]

TAYLOR

There has not been a single minute of Taylor's life where he had the levels of confidence that now seem to come so naturally to his old friend. It's simultaneously surprising and unsurprising, a far cry from the young girl he once graced a set with but the hints were there. He doesn't think this is a level of confidence that you could learn if you wanted to, something so intrinsically carefree and assured that made it feel like it had to be genetic. "Don't let it get the best of you," he murmurs, keen to stay out of earshot of everyone else on set. He was a vehemently private person, opting to offer lies and jokes in place of  genuine insight, not interested in being a public persona but launched into it as a consequence of making music he loved. A soft kiss punctures his thoughts, bringing him back into the room with a gentle laugh. "Fonder, but close enough. Have you missed me? You can be honest."

[camille de vries]

Camille

It gets what I want to give it. Cami has it on the tip of her tongue, the resolute grip she has on the mirage she’d orchestrated a career from, but instead she chooses to let it go. Not allow this set to become a soap box or diverge from its intention. Cami’s dark eyes blink over his broad shoulder for a few moments, lips still buzzing with the lingering chemistry that passed between them. Allowing it to almost dizzy her, warm and woozy in his arms as she returned to his stare. Willing the feeling through another quick change, dimming the world to a syrupy slowness as they dragged the camera closer, asked them back to the couch, her dainty wrists gripped against its frame as she peered down from his lap yet again with a quiet, creeping rawness. "Oh, always, Taylor. You are one of the rare people I feel close to in a way that’s not transactional, you know? I would not be on this set without you."

[taylor maitson]

TAYLOR

Taylor's lips feel softened, transfer of the lip balm the makeup artist had used on both of them impossible to tell apart. Suddenly he's in a different outfit (that honestly looks completely the same to him) and he's back on the couch and now he wants to slow time down, knowing this could well be the last time he's on a set like this and almost certainly the last time he'd be here with her. Or would they do this every ten years? Would anyone want to see that? He's managed to completely forget there's a camera now, sat with her lithe frame in his lap. What she says next makes a blush creep up his cheeks, pride and embarrassment unfurling inside him, a layer of skin peeled back to leave him feeling vulnerable and exposed. He opens his mouth to reply but closes it again, taking more time to formulate this thoughts. Though it's not the first time she's said it, it seemed ridiculous that she could attribute even a small part of her dizzying success to him. A scruffy kid from Indy, who had felt he sounded as country as it was possible to sound when he'd introduced himself to her, her voice still carrying that same beautiful lilt. "I very literally would not be on this set without you," he says finally, a crooked grin back on his face. "You were born for this."

[camille de vries]

Camille

"Well who else could be here?" Truthfully there'd likely been a list, a plethora of options, but Cami knew that nostalgia was dragging its claws across culture right now and there was only one, rightful choice. Taylor Maitson had been a non negotiable in her decision to sign on, and she'd gone to great lengths, skirting agents and management and their people to make it happen. Unorthodox? Sure. Could she have made more money? Definitely. But memory was a powerful thing, and she knew that with even a decade of life between the heyday of these images people would still remember when they first came out. Talk about it, memorialize it once again. They'd have to put people under the same spells though, and one look at their softened, tender-hearted features gave romance and not the ultimate undercurrent they all knew they were after: sex sells. Cami tightens her grip with resolve, things shifting subtly more open. "As touching as this is, and trust me, we can go get chianti after this and have a little tête-à-tête, I think the camera wants us to remember that we want to tear these clothes off each other."

[taylor maitson]

TAYLOR

It had been a good choice for Cami to go the indirect route, since Taylor's agent would have turned down this request without so much as a whisper of it to him. He had become incredibly selective in what he did, not from any inflated sense of his own worth or any long term career strategy, but because he didn't have to do any of it. The trappings of wealth he had already secured were dizzying to him, sometimes pinching himself when he woke up in his kingsize bed in his ridiculous Los Angeles apartment, sometimes feeling sick with it. Why would he drag himself onto a set to pose for a camera, wasting hours of a day that could otherwise be spent listening to or playing music? Going for a hike? He was quite sure he was his agent's least favorite client, though at least he gave her no trouble. This booking had been as much of a gift to her as anyone. Cami's next encouragement makes him laugh incredulously, shaking his head. "Oh but Cam, how am I supposed to feel turned on by all this?" he says, glancing over her incredible physique with histrionic disdain. Pushing his more affectionate thoughts of her to one side, he pulls her deeper into his lap, trailing kisses up her collarbone, burrowing his hand into her mass of dark hair.