Broken Rules (4 page)

As she started to try to get up, he pulled her
back down to him so that now she was straddling him and said, “I’ve got your
payment right here,
Corazon
.”

Alex laughed. It was fun being playful with Marco.
But she knew she needed to de-escalate this situation since he clearly wasn’t
going to. “Marco, Jesús will be back in here in a minute, maybe two. So unless
you want a black eye marring that pretty face of yours, I suggest you let me go
and um, rearrange.” As she said that, she looked down. It was all she could do
not to press down and rub herself against his hard-on. He sighed and loosened
his grip so that Alex could get up and out of the tub. Once she was out, she
asked, “So, when we’re at your home, will your mom be there?”

Marco looked confused at the sudden change of
subject, but then nodded and answered, “My mother, my sisters, my grandmother…
all the Flores’.”

 “Your grandmother, tell me about her.” Alex
could see him starting to think and shift gears.

 “She’s a strong woman. Very strong. Doesn’t
take any shit from anyone. Especially not me. And trust me, I’ve tried to
bullshit her but it doesn’t work. She sees right through it.” He then went on
to briefly describe his mother and sisters.

He paused and Alex said, “Ok, I think we’re
ready.” She smiled, looking satisfied with herself.

 “Huh?”

Alex looked down at his pants, “Don’t get me
wrong, Marco, I am looking forward to hearing all about your family, but I was
just asking about them to, uh, help you with this situation.” At which, Marco
looked down and started cracking up.

 “Alexandra, you’re beautiful, talented,
smart, and sneaky!” he smiled as he stepped up and out of the tub and then
added, “I like that.” As he winked.

Thankfully, Jesús came in just after that and only
looked at Alex, “Ok, we’re all set.”

 “Great, thank you, Jesús.” Alex said.

 “I’ll walk you all out.” Marco said as he
put his hand on the small of Alex’s back. Once they started walking and Jesús
was clearly in front of them, Marco’s hand slipped down to Alex’s ass. The
touch sent shivers through her and as good as it felt, she knew she couldn’t
leave it there.

 “Marco, I’m so looking forward to meeting
your grandmother and mother and all the Flores’.” Alex said with a little too
much enthusiasm. He chuckled and lifted his hand off her back completely. Message
received loud and clear.

When they got to her car, Marco turned her to face
him and said, “
Gracias, Corazon
.” He leaned over and kissed her on the
cheek. Luckily Jesús and Luis were already in the car and couldn’t see them.
Alex was flushed again, but it was almost dark so perhaps he couldn’t see this
time. She smiled and thanked him.

 “Marco, I never thanked you for requesting
me for this shoot. I think we got some great stuff today and can’t wait to do
more.” This was true, though Alex realized that once again, she almost stuck
her foot in it. She tried to remain professional, though after the bathtub
incident, it felt a bit forced, “Thanks again for today and for being such a
good sport.  Jesús and I will see you Thursday morning at the airport.”

 “A good sport? Alexandra, you have an
interesting way with words.” He smiled and then added, “I can’t wait to do more
too,
Corazon
.” He winked and then said, “
Hasta Jueves
” as she
climbed into her car and drove off.

Alex processed out the shoot on Sunday. Typically,
the lab was closed Sundays, but Alex had worked with them for her entire career
and she wasn’t just another photographer to the lab owners. Sure, it didn’t
hurt that they displayed Alex’s work, which helped with free PR for the lab.
But the real reason the lab opened for Alex was because of the original owner,
Dan Perlmutter.

When Alex was growing up, the Perlmutters were
their neighbors. But they were more than just that, they were the types of
neighbors that inspired the true meaning of the word. They were always there
for Alex and her folks, and vice versa. They spent so much time together, they
were practically family. Dan and Ruth never had any kids, though they had
wanted them desperately. When Alex’s parents died, Dan and Ruth legally adopted
Alex, though her independence made the adoption more of a formality to keep her
out of foster care. Nevertheless, they took Alex under their wing and cared for
her as if she were their own, or, at least as much as she’d let them. Since Alex’s
parent’s house had been handed down to them by their parents, it was paid for,
so Alex had a roof over her head, but she still needed to eat. Dan gave her a
job at his lab, basically janitorial, cleaning up and doing whatever was asked
of her. She went there every day after school and on weekends. She knew that it
was a bit of charity, but she wasn’t so proud that she didn’t accept it.
Slowly, she began to learn about photography, film, processing, lighting and
business. Some of the bigger names who used the lab back then started taking a
liking to her too and, seeing her interest in the business and the craft, they
not only gave her their old cameras, but started bringing her along on shoots.
Once she graduated high school she was working full time either in the lab or
as a photographer’s assistant. The photographers who were regulars, as well as
the Perlmutters, became Alex’s new family. As much as she missed her parents,
she had a true support system, even if they weren’t related, she knew she had people
around her who cared.

Eventually, she started shooting for herself and
when she was getting regular gigs she eventually quit working at the lab and
stopped assisting other photographers, but she never forgot her roots. There
wasn’t a day that went by that Alex didn’t recognize how fortunate she was to
have Dan and Ruth look after her. She could have just as easily slipped into
God only knows what. But they helped shape the woman she became both personally
and professionally, and she would always be grateful to them for that. They
knew how much Alex appreciated them. When the whole industry changed from film
to digital, their lab was one of the last holdouts, mostly because to change
everything over was more than they could afford. By then, Alex was very
successful and convinced them to let her take care of the expenses. They were
proud people, but they weren’t foolish. They knew they needed her financial
help. And Alex knew that even though they didn’t want to accept it, there was a
certain amount of pride they took in knowing that Alex’s success was partly due
to them.

When Dan had a massive heart attack a few years
before his death, he and Ruth reluctantly agreed to finally sell the lab. One
condition of the sale was that Alex always have access and use as if it were
her own place. When Dan did pass, Ruth was so heartbroken that she followed him
exactly one month later.

It was because of the help that the Perlmutter’s
gave to Alex, that giving back was so important to her. It was why she started
volunteering and was probably a big reason she felt so strongly about helping
Jesús. She knew there were all kinds of reasons why some people made it and
others didn’t. Having the opportunity in the first place was half the battle.
But picking up the ball once it’s in your court, well, that’s the other half.
Alex picked it up. So did Jesús. But Alex saw a lot of other kids in the
volunteer program who didn’t. She couldn’t help them. They had to want to help
themselves, they had to meet her half way.  In much the same way that the
Perlmutter’s gave her a chance, and she made them proud, she could see a
similar dynamic with Jesús.

So, Alex had a key to the lab and knew the code to
the alarm system so that she could come and go without bothering anyone on
their day off. It helped Alex feed her obsessive nature that she could see a
shoot immediately this way. And it was nice to have the lab to herself. Though
Dan and Ruth were now gone, being in there always felt like home.

Even before she started, Alex knew the shoot was
good. It didn’t hurt that her subject was not only spectacularly gorgeous, but
it was his charisma and charm that brought him, and his photos, to another
level. It was why he had risen to fame so quickly. In Hollywood, as the song
goes, there are lots of pretty, pretty boys. Lots. So it wasn’t just Marco’s
good looks. He really did have that certain something. Alex chuckled to
herself,
you know better than anyone not to fall for a pretty face!
But
there she was, looking at the shoot, starting with the shots of him in the
pool, and she could feel herself getting wet. After having shot as many actors
as Alex had, and after making a couple mistakes with boundaries early on, she
made a hard and fast rule for herself: never date an actor. Ever. Period.

The better the actor, the more dangerous. Good
actors make their audiences believe whatever role they’re playing. When Alex
was younger, she fell for a couple guys who made her feel beautiful and smart
and funny and desired. That is until they got what they wanted or got bored or
whatever it was that flipped the switch and they got tired of playing that part
and were done. She was amazed at how manipulative people could be, but she
learned quickly. She even understood that they couldn’t help it. It was part of
who they were. She just knew that being with actors wasn’t for her.

But whatever this Marco Flores had, he had in
spades. As Alex continued looking through the shoot, every setup looked better
than the last. Usually, there was one shot or one setup that Alex knew was the
hero. But with this shoot, the more she looked, the more she liked. Then she
got to the last couple shots of her and Marco in the tub. She stared at them
for a while. It was odd seeing herself in a shoot. Odder still seeing herself
laughing with such carefree abandon. She looked genuinely happy with him. She
also remembered feeling his hard cock under her and thought,
Maybe that’s
why you look so happy. Regardless,
it’s just a couple photographs with a
man who makes his money pretending, Alex. Remember that
. She pulled the
shots of her from the drive so that they wouldn’t be sent to the magazine, but
made sure to keep them for herself.

Alex had a lot to do prior to leaving. She was
about to walk out the door for a pre-light Monday morning when her doorbell
rang. She was greeted by a flower delivery, a beautiful bouquet of irises and
tulips. She was shocked and couldn’t figure out who would be sending her
flowers. She hadn’t dated anyone recently, or more accurately, for years. It
wasn’t her birthday…

She opened the card and found this note:

Alexandra,

After spending all day Saturday together, I found
myself missing you yesterday. Hope your week goes well, Corazon.

Marco

Shit, he was good. Alex’s heart was pounding. Damn
him! She quickly put the flowers inside and then raced off to her prelight.
Once in the car, she called Kara,

 “There’s only one way he could have gotten
my home address, Kara.” Alex said calmly.

 “It was that damn accent, Alex! And he was
so nice and charming. And he promised me he wouldn’t do anything bad with it,
Alex! He just said he wanted to send you some thank you flowers since the shoot
went so well! Isn’t that sweet!?!” Kara’s tone was a mixture of fear and
girlish exuberance.

 “Kara, we’ve talked about this before! Boundaries!”
Alex rose her voice now.

 “I know, I know. But, ugh, I’m sorry Alex!
I’m just not as strong as you!” Alex just sighed. Kara was the antithesis of
strong. She was a damn pushover. The girl was too sweet for her own good. Which
is probably why Alex liked her and kept her as her rep. She was so sincere and
earnest and wore her heart on her sleeve. Alex still wasn’t sure what the hell
she was doing in Hollywood, or how she survived… maybe it was because of her
sweetness, that she was so nice, that was how she survived because no one could
get really mad at her. At least Alex couldn’t. Or not for very long at least.

After a beat, Kara sheepishly asked, “Sooooo, are
they pretty?”

 “Ugh! Kara! You are such a girl! Yes,
they’re pretty. They’re beautiful! But that’s not the point!” Even Alex
couldn’t take herself that seriously and was smiling as she was trying to
chastise poor Kara.

 “I’ll bet they are. I can’t wait to see
them! And I can’t wait to see the pictures! He said the shoot went really
well!” Kara was back to being her girly self and Alex knew that any discussion
of boundaries was long gone.

 “Yes, it did go well. It went great. We got
some amazing shots.”

 “Ooooh, goody! Yay!” Alex could hear Kara
clapping her little girly clap and all she could do was shake her head and
laugh.

 “Kara, what am I going to do with you!?!”

 “So sue me, I’m a sucker for hot men and
romantic gestures like flowers!”

 “Well, he is hot, I’ll give you that. And,
I’ve now seen him shirtless, and let me tell you,” before Alex could even
finish, she had to practically plug her ears from Kara’s shrieks.

 “Oh my God, you saw him without a shirt! Ok,
start from the beginning, I want details! Do not leave anything out!” Alex
could just picture Kara bouncing up and down in her chair, clapping her hands
as Alex recounted the day. And she didn’t leave anything out. She told her
about the wet t-shirt and the tub incident.

At decibels probably only a dog could hear, Kara
screamed, “You felt his, um, manhood!?!?” Alex couldn’t help but laugh out
loud.

 “Yes Kara. And there’s good reason he’s so
damn cocky! The man is huge.”

 “Oh my God!!! I cannot believe you didn’t
jump him right then and there, Alex!”

 “Kara! We were working! And he’s an actor,
and you know my rules! Not to mention, Jesús was right there!”

 “But if Jesús weren’t there, maybe you would
have?” she asked excitedly.

 “Kara, you’re hopeless. If you pimp me out
to all of our clients, we won’t have any clients left! You shouldn’t be
encouraging anything to happen!”

 “I’m not pimping you out! I’m living
vicariously!”

 “Ok, I’ve got to run, I’m at the studio. But
not a word of this to anyone!” Alex knew that as excited as Kara got and as
girly as she could be, she trusted her.

 “You’re no fun! Ugh! Since I can’t talk
about this with anyone, I’m going to make you tell me again!” Alex laughed as
they said their goodbyes and she went to her prelight.

Alex kept herself busy between the prelight on
Monday and shooting Tuesday, processing Wednesday so that only left Wednesday
night to do laundry, pack, walk Kara through all the animal info, and worry
about the flight.

Kara was always happy to house-sit, really
animal-sit, when Alex travelled. Kara loved animals but her apartment wouldn’t
allow them, and it being a rent-controlled place only four blocks from the
beach, she wasn’t about to give it up. So she got her animal fix often enough
with Alex’s brood.

When Kara came over, before Alex could run through
all the various feedings and information Kara demanded, “Ok, let’s see them!”

 “Kara, you’re acting like a teenager!
Flowers are over there, and gimme a sec and I’ll pull the shoot up on the
computer.” Alex brought her laptop over and started scrolling through the
photos, pausing when Kara would squeal with delight “Oh my God, he is SOOOOO
gorgeous!” which she said so many times, Alex lost count.