of them—even the male designs that Cai would be wearing—all I could think about was the way Arlo’s hand had lingered against my back. I knew it was only a few seconds and that I was probably being totally ridiculous. But it seemed like there was such palpable angst in the air for that tiny moment, and it was hard not to wonder about it at least a little bit. Of course, I knew that I was just indulging a fantasy, much like the clothing designs.
Arlo and I were just good friends, and there was no way that he could be interested in me in that sort of way. I wasn’t even his type, and he was constantly surrounded by beautiful models all the time that I was sure he hooked-up with. I was more akin to be his “awkward, artsy, designer friend,” than I was to be a contender as one of his love interests. Still, I couldn’t help but allow myself a few moments to be swept up in the ridiculous and appealing thought of it.
Ever since I had first laid eyes on Arlo, I had thought he was one of the hottest men I had ever met. He looked like he could be a model himself. Getting to know him made him even more attractive because he was such a good guy—at least he was always a good guy with me. He constantly seemed like he was looking out for me, although I realized that was more characteristic of a good platonic friend or a big brother than someone who wanted to spend the night having amazing sex with you.
Arlo would probably drop dead if he knew I was still a virgin at my age. I honestly didn’t know any other twenty-three-year-olds who hadn’t had sex. Although then again, I really didn’t talk to many people, so maybe there were some. All the guys I had dated turned out to be complete assholes by the second or third date, so I chose to dump them rather than sleep with them. That meant that not only wasn’t I Arlo’s type, to begin with, but I was way too inexperienced to even be in the same league as the women he was always around. Most of the women in the fashion industry were seeped in sex-appeal. I was only seeped in blue hair dye and the ramblings of creativity that I mostly kept inside my head.
Still, there was definitely something there when he had touched my back. Maybe it was just that he was blown away with the designs. Good, that was what I was hoping for. Speaking of the designs, I needed to keep working.
I had brought all ten pieces home with me, and I had all the supplies and materials that I needed in the workshop area of my small apartment to continue working on making the final versions of them. The rest of the line would have more time to be completed, but the upcoming show's runway pieces needed to be done at a record pace. Meaning, I would have to put in some work hours at home. I didn’t mind, honestly, not with this project. It was everything I had always wanted to design, and it was my chance to break into the industry's upper echelons. There was no way that I wouldn’t put my absolute all into this.
I took one of the designs out of the garment bag, a piece made for Cai to wear, with deep cerulean velvet that would make the audience want to reach out and touch him just to feel the color of what he had on. I gathered all the supplies around me that I would need to construct it and got to work. I worked for hours and hours, moving from one piece to the next. By the time I looked over to press my cell phone on and see how late it had gotten, I was shocked to see that it was already four in the morning.
I needed to get some sleep. Arlo had called the models in for tomorrow to try on the pieces. There would be more than just Kerynne and Cai this time. Everyone involved in the runway show would be there. The downside to being the only designer meant that I would have to dress them all, mark adjustments on them all, and hope to get they didn’t tear the clothes by trying to slide then on or off to quickly. Arlo told