Look into my eyes, it’s where my demons hide.

Look into my eyes, it’s where my demons hide. by pinklipstiiick featuring body art

My eyes fell on the blondes ass, slowly drifting up her tight body until I stopped on her face and realized who it was. While part of me was thinking it might be a better idea to leave before being noticed, my lips were already parting and the name escaped them, “Chloe?”

She stopped her lunges and looked up at me, “Yes?” 

I watched as she wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled at me, her face pink and makeup free. Surprisingly, the whole natural look worked for her. “You look. Different,” I said.

She laughed, “Yeah I'm at the gym genius. Why are you at my gym anyways? Do you miss my brother that much already?” 

I narrowed my eyes and ignored her questions, “Why is it that you wear the tightest smallest dresses in public but here you wear that?” 

She looked down at her baggy tank and shorts and shrugged, “I'm at the gym, who cares what I look like?” Just then a girl walked by us in a tight sports bra and leggings that could have been painted on her. I watched her ass and then looked back at Chloe, realizing I probably looked like a pig. “If you want to go after her you can, do you have an application with you?” 

I blinked, “An application?” 

“Yeah to be a part of your harem," She bit her lip as my lips quirked upwards.

I folded my arms over my chest, “Very funny.” 

She repined the hair back that had fallen out of the bun on the top of her head, “I'm super funny.” She winked back at me, “So what are you doing here. This isn’t your gym is it?”

"Is that some sort of insult?" I grinned and looked around the gym which was made up of mostly models. I wasn't sure, but I had always assumed that every model at the agency was given a membership here. "I know that I'm no model, but I don't think I'm too bad looking."

"Oh please, you make most of the guys here look amateur," She replied, my eyes returning to hers as her cheeks flushed. She crossed her arms over her chest and cleared her throat when I said nothing, only raising a brow. "So you never answered my question..."

"This is my gym," I replied. 

"Oh," She tightened her grip on her arms, pushing her breasts together despite the unflattering clothes she had on. She had curves... and clearly she couldn't hide them. Not that she ever should. "I've never seen you here."

"I come early," I shrugged. "Five am usually."

Her eyes widened, "What?! Don't tell me that you go to bed at nine pm too." 

"Ten usually," I said seriously, watching her break into a wide grin. "What?"

"I haven't gone to bed at ten since I was... I don't know, in middle school?" She laughed softly, biting her lip to conceal her smirk when she was finished.

I shrugged again, "I'm a morning person."

"And what about nights?" She lifted a brow, a coy look on her pretty face. 

"I don't live the way you do. I wake up early, work out, go to work, then come home and relax," I admitted, not one for hanging out at bars or going to parties. I despised clubs and loud music. When I said that I wasn't fun? I was being serious.

“I get up early too, but I don’t go to bed at ten," She said seriously. “Why bother at the gym if all you’re going to do is work and sleep? Doesn’t sound like there’s enough time to appreciate the hard work," She grinned while I shrugged. “Okay different tactic. Why are you here now?” 

“Do you ask everyone their daily schedules or just me?” I retorted, still not sure what her interest in me was.

She took a step closer to me, “Want to get some lunch?” 

I blinked, a little thrown off by the question, “Why would I want that?” 

“I'm sure I could list plenty of reasons. Because I'm pretty and would look good next to you for starters, plus that gives you something nice to look at for a few more minutes, because I know of a little hole in the wall that makes the best croissants you’ve ever had, because you worked out at a different time and so now you’re thinking about rebelling in other parts of your schedule…” She rattled off, looking like she was on a roll and might never stop. “Because it would be nice.”

“I'm not nice," I replied flatly. 

She nodded, “People aren’t just nice or not nice. You can choose right now to be nice and get some lunch and get to know me as more than Ben’s annoying dramatic, attention starved little sister so we can work together better, or you can choose to keep being a standoffish borderline rude guy I have to see at work sometimes.”

I grinned at her words and shook my head, "Your opinion on me isn't a very good one."

"Right back at you handsome," She replied in a monotone but them smiled. 

"Touche," I grinned wider. "Lunch sounds great actually."

She stared at me skeptically and raised a brow, "What's the catch? If you're risking being seen with me, there has to be some sort of catch."

"No catch," I shook my head and glanced at her outfit once more as she rolled her eyes and let out a dramatic sigh.

"Don't worry, I plan on changing," She said, getting the wrong idea. The sweats and loose top? It wasn't exactly camera ready, but I liked that. She was only human, not the flawless Barbie that everyone expected her to be.

"You can wear whatever you want," I said seriously. "I'll wait for you in the lobby."

"I'll be just a minute," She nodded her head crossed her arms over her chest, pursing her lips like she might say something else but turned around to head over to the womens locker room. 

I glanced at her ass as she left, the baggy sweats showing off literally nothing. In a gym full of gorgeous models, her choice in wardrobe surprised me. Shaking my head, I walked straight to the lobby, sliding my cell phone into my pocket and then taking a sip of water. 

"Tristan," The girl across the counter grinned at me and leaned forward with her breasts on the counter to find my set of keys. "Have I ever told you that you make my day better when you come in?"

I recapped the bottle and smirked at her pickup line, and the fact that after giving her number to me five times she still wasn't giving up. It was annoying and flattering at the same time. "You have actually," I replied, catching Chloe leaving the locker room in a distance. Wow, not more than five minutes had passed. I was so used to women taking hours to get ready, I thought she'd leave me out here to fend off Amber for a while. 

"How was your workout?" She asked, licking her lips and pressing her double D's together. 

"Good," I answered. "How is your day going?"

"Better now that you're here," She stood up a little straighter as Chloe neared us. 

"You've mentioned that," I smiled at her before moving my gaze to the other blonde. "Ready?"  

  

“Unless you’ve changed your mind," She replied, looking at the girl who looked about three seconds away from stripping in front of me. 

“Nope. Let’s go. See you later," I threw Amber a forced smile and then walked with Chloe. “Nice outfit," I was smirked while taking in her skinny jeans and tank top.

“Ha hah," She rolled her eyes and I chuckled. 

“I was being serious.” 

She glanced at me while I lead the way into a café across the street, “If you’d wanted to be with that busty girl I wouldn’t have been offended.” 

I sat down across from her and we ordered drinks from the waiter. I waited until we were alone again to shake my head, “Nah, she’s one of those girls who can’t take a hint.” 

She shook her head, ‘Like me you mean?” 

“Not exactly," I smiled, remembering how strong she had come on to me when we first met.

“Yeah I was worse," She admitted with a shrug. “But you can’t blame a girl for trying can you?” She looked down at the menu before glancing back up at me.

“Why did you?” I asked, looking at her. 

“Why did I what?” 

“You clearly don’t like me much as a person, we don’t really get along, why did you try so hard?” I asked point blank.

She blinked and I felt bad for a moment, wondering if my words had come out harsh. Chloe was clearly good looking and could get any guy she wanted, yet she took interest in the one unattainable man; me. “Some people say I want what I can’t have?” She shrugged. “Plus you’re really hot.” 

I cracked a grin and shook my head, "Thank you."

A pout appeared on her face as she looked at me, "What, no compliment back?"

"You already know you're hot," I said seriously, having seen first hand how she worked in front of the camera. She oozed confidence and the way she carried herself? It wasn't really something someone could fake. She knew she was gorgeous and one of the top models in the agency. I didn't need to tell her that. 

She grinned and propped both elbows up on the table, setting her chin in her palms, "Do you think I'm hot? And stop making that face!"

"What face?" I lifted a brow curiously. 

"You look like it's paining you to admit I'm hot!" She said and her grin widened. 

I laughed, "It's not paining me. Do you really think that low of me?"

"Oh lighten up a little!" She said and sighed before biting down on her lip to conceal her smirk. "You're much more handsome when you're smiling."

"If I didn't know you had a boyfriend, I'd think you were flirting with me," I leaned back in my seat, noticing another body out of the corner of my eye. I turned and the waitress set our drinks down, asking if we were ready to order. I listened as Chloe ordered first, realizing that I hadn't once stopped looking at her to check out the menu. I scanned it quickly and went with a wrap since it was the most healthy option. 

"About that..." She trailed off while I lifted a brow, picking my drink up and bringing it to my mouth while I waited for her to continue. :Have you ever thought about trying a new career path?"

"I know you think I'm handsome, but I'm not interested in modeling," I joked.

She smirked and widened her eyes, "Was that a joke?! I didn't know you had it in you... but no. I meant PR."

I laughed and shook my head, "I have no interest in PR."

"Too bad. You'd be good at it," She said and sounded genuine. I had no idea where that had come from... I guess the way I always stuck my nose into models personal lives... I just took my job serious.

"Are you telling me that I'm not good at my current job?" I asked with a grin, knowing I was damn good at it instead.

“No I'm saying you’re too good at it," She replied. “I didn’t know it was in a casting directors job description to know more about his clients sex lives than their best friends.” I laughed and she raised a brow, “Or is that just with me?” 

I shrugged, “I keep tabs on my models. I want to know what they’re up to so that they’re sure to-“

"Make a good impression," She finished for me. “Yes I remember you not hiring me for years.” 

“You have to admit you were a bit of a hot mess at one point.” 

She sighed, “But at least I was hot.” She offered and I laughed again, “What made you change your mind? Besides the fact that I am actually a kick as.s model.”

“I believe in second chances. The cover you did was perfect.”

“It was really lovely," She agreed with a nod. “You casted it well. Tell me do you know who Amalie’s sleeping with too?” She asked about the model she had shot with while I gave her a slow smirk. “Is it you? Did she pass the harem application?!” 

I shook my head, “Actually she asked me for your number.” 

She widened her eyes, a little taken aback, “Huh. She never called me.” 

“I told her you were straight," I stated, raising a brow. “You are straight last time I checked.” 

Chloe gave me her best innocent face, which really didn't suit her, and tilted her head to the side. “You’ve never asked though have you?” 

I shook my head, “No I guess I haven’t. Are you?”

“I'm don’t think relationships should be boxed in by gender," She said seriously. 

I gave her a slow smirk, not even about to touch on the details there, “Well I’d apologize for ruining your chances but it doesn’t really matter anymore now that you have a boyfriend.” 

She nodded in agreement, “True.” She took a bite of her soup while I picked at my own meal. “Though can you call a guy your boyfriend if you’ve never really discussed it and sometimes you go weeks without hearing from him?”

I shrugged, probably the last person someone should ever go to for relationship advice. "You two are both busy people," I told her, knowing how it went having an important job that required a lot of travel. "Plus do people even discuss that sort of thing nowadays? It all sounds so juvenile."

She stared at me with a blank expression before lifting a brow, "Did you date a lot in high school?"

"Honestly?" I shook my head slowly, "No. Didn't have time for it." 

"So you were one of those guys who slept with the whole cheerleading squad and brought the homecoming queen home after prom?" She asked with a grin, making me laugh since she had me all wrong. 

"Not at all," I replied. "I went to an all boys school. My dad had me on the right track to be a lawyer since I was five. Tutoring, AP courses, there wasn't time for fucking around in my house."

She digested that new information and pursed her lips together in thought, "All boys school huh? Hot."

I grinned and watched her sip her soup, "It wasn't like how they portray all boys schools in movies. It was really strict."

"Did you like it?"

"Hated it," I admitted. 

“Is that why you have multiple girls now?” She smirked, “To make up for extreme sexual tension caused in your youth?” 

I laughed, “Maybe.” 

“You don’t have a favorite?” 

I shrugged, she was starting to sound like her brother. “They’re too different to compare,” I gave her the same exact answer I always gave Ben.

“Why can you get away with that shit and when I have a few one night stands I'm labeled the slut heiress?” 

I looked her over and then leaned in, “Well firstly I'm not an heiress, so no one cares what I do.” 

“I didn’t choose to be who I am," She rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t say you did. Secondly, it’s always how it is with girls. It’s not right, but that’s how it is.” 

She sighed, “If I ask you a question will you answer it honestly?” 

I blinked, “Depends on the question.” 

She nodded, “I have two. Do you believe in true love?” 

I ran my hands through my hair and then looked at her, “I do.”

She gave me a genuine smile before it turned a little mischievous, “If I wasn’t Chloe Lindsell and just another normal girl on the street would I have had a chance with you?” 

“Why does it matter?” I asked after a few moments, not sure where this was going.

“I'm a masochist and my wounded ego hasn’t had enough bashing yet,” She replied with a smirk.

I grinned at her and shook my head, contemplating her words. "I don't date," I replied, taking the easy way out. 

"I recall you bringing a gorgeous yet frigid redhead to a certain party..." Chloe trailed off with a brow lifted, calling me out since it was true, I didn't do relationships maybe but I did date. Technically at least. "And Evie seemed to think you guys were more than fuck buddies."

I winced a little, "I hate that term."

"So you stay and cuddle afterwards?" She grinned, leaning into the table. 

"I don't mind cuddling," I answered honestly while she faked a shocked face, complete with her mouth making a perfect O. God, was she a tease. "Your opinion on me is pretty bad, huh?" I laughed at her widened eyes. 

She shook her head quickly, "I think you're... Well, I don't know. I've seen you with Evie, this charming version of you appeared... then I open my mouth and poof! It's gone."

I grinned, "I take my job very serious."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Models hitting on me? The bosses daughter especially? It kind of puts me on edge," I shrugged.

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Are you trying to tell me you're an asshole to every single model that has ever hit on you? I'm not buying it." 

"Maybe most models don't find me attractive," I said nonchalantly, tempted to tell her that if she thought I was mean to her, she should hear a conversation between me and the PR girl. Now that girl? I would rather light myself on fire before spending another five minutes alone in her office which was ironically very comparable to hell. Satan in high heels as I told Ben, she made Chloe seem like an angel in comparison. 

“I know this is going to sound like I'm hitting on you again but there’s no way," She said seriously. 

“I'm not everyone’s type," I replied, still smirking as I said it.

“I’ll give you that, maybe you wouldn’t be someone’s first choice but no straight woman in their right mind would kick you out of bed," She ran her tongue over her lips. “Unless you were being super grumpy.” 

“I thought you said I was always super grumpy,” I grinned and she shrugged as she ate the salad the waitress had brought over.

“You’re actually pretty pleasant right now," She told me, giving me a genuine smile that I returned. 

“I'm trying really hard.” 

“Don’t stress out over it or anything. It is only me.” My phone chose that moment to start ringing and I pulled it out, pressing a button on the side and then sliding it back into my pocket. Chloe gave me another wide look, “And now you’re even ignoring calls for me…what did I do to deserve such cute treatment.” 

I shook my head, “Maybe I just didn’t want to answer it.” 

She pouted, “So that would mean it wasn’t a harem girl and it wasn’t my brother. So it was family or work. I'm flattered you’d ignore either for the “bosses daughter that puts you on edge.”

"It was my mom actually," I told her, knowing I'd get hell for ignoring the call later on.... I'd been doing it all morning. "Nobody puts me more on edge than that woman."

She lifted a brow and cocked her head to the side so her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulder, "Are you two not close?"

"She's my mom," I shrugged, not sure if close would be the correct word when describing my family. "She was supposed to come visit for mothers day but had a last minute gala to go to."

"Oh," Chloe nodded her head, probably finding it sad that me and my mother weren't close when her mom seemed to be one of her best friends. "Did she reschedule?"

"Next week," I answered, showing no emotion on my face or in my tone. The idea of my mom spending a week in my apartment, telling me how small the place was and how I made a mistake by falling into the fashion industry instead of following in my dads footsteps, it didn't sound like a vacation. Sure I missed her, but that sounded like hell instead. 

She frowned a little, "Your dad isn't coming?"

"We're not close," I admitted, watching her frown get bigger. Only another thing we didn't have in common in her eyes. While she was daddy's little princess, I was the fuck up of the family; the son who had a bright future and wasted it all on a joke of a career. Bringing my glass up to my lips, I drank it until it was empty and then let my eyes scan the room for the waitress, "Do you need a refill?"

"I'm sorry," She told me, ignoring my question.

"For what?" I asked with a brow raised. 

She pulled her hair up, "Family can be tough." 

"Says the girl with the perfect family."

She smiled sweetly, "I am lucky, but it's not always easy. I'm pretty much crazy, I have a dad who still thinks of me as his baby princess, a mom who's kind of a snoop and a brother who calls me awful." 

I laughed, "But you're close. They don't think you're a major fuck up." 

She blinked at my words, "Major fuck up? You're super successful and famous in your field. What else could a family ask for?"

"A partnership in a major law firm?" I asked with an unintended edge to my voice.

"Oh," She gave me a look of pity and grabbed my hand, squeezing it. "I know my opinion doesn't matter really but I think they're stupid if they can't see how successful you are. If you're happy? They should be happy for you." 

I smirked, "How do you know if I'm happy?"

She grinned back at me, "Good job, good friends, hot girls, what are you missing?"

"Good point," I nodded and she pulled her hand back, blushing a little whether she realized it or not. 

"I'm not as bad as you thought am I?" She winked and I chuckled lightly. 

"When you're not trying to get into my pants," I teased and it was her turn to laugh.

"You missed out, I'm very good," She smirked, biting her lip.

"So I've heard," I smirked back, my phone ringing again. With a sigh, I set my empty glass back down and pulled the iPhone from my pocket out only to find Ben's picture on the screen. The thought of explaining to him why I was out at lunch with his sister? I ignored the call.

"Ignoring my brothers calls now? I feel special now," She said and when I tilted my head back up, she was leaning across the table with her face not more than an inch from mine. She bit down on her lip and raised a brow, shooting the coy look she was known for, the come hither look that got her into trouble on more than one occasion as far as her reputation was concerned. 

"I'll call him back later," I replied. "I never answer while I'm eating. Common courtesy."

She grinned slowly, "Such a gentleman."

"How is everything? Could I get you a refill?" The waitress appeared beside us, already grabbing my glass. Her eyes moved from me to Chloe who was shaking her head. 

"I'm fine, thanks," She replied before the girl turned to walk away. Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes, "Do you ever go somewhere and not get hit on?"

I raised a brow, "She wasn't hitting on me."

"For someone so damn cocky, you're kind of modest."

I stared at her blankly and then laughed, "It's either one or the other. I can't be both." 

“That’s a silly attitude to have. You can be anything you want to be," She replied, looking like she was struggling not to laugh.

“I know I said I wasn’t close to my mother but that doesn’t mean I was asking you to be one.” 

She gave me a wide grin and bit her lip as she shrugged, “I guess my mother’s optimism rubs off on me more than I thought.” She set a chip in her mouth and chewed, “She said she wasn’t always that way though. I think I would have liked to see a pessimistic Ava Lindsell.” 

I gave her a half grin as I watched her for a second, “Something tells me the pessimist was Ava Alere.”smiled widely.

“I guess that’s probably true," She nodded and then rolled her eyes. “There’s another thing wrong with my family. Unrealistic expectations of love.”

“You don’t think you’ll find love?” I asked as she ran her hand through her hair. 

“I don’t know if I’d recognize it even if it hit me in the face," She admitted seriously, a thought that had actually crossed my mind before.

“And here I thought your boyfriend was a lucky man," I said offhandedly and she rose a brow at that statement but ignored it.

“You can’t say anything about my feelings of love when you wont even try," She teased, smiling to let me know that she was and not being mean or rude.

I grinned back and shrugged, "The thing about me is that I'm not looking for love... if it happens, then it happens."

She lifted a brow, "And you think I'm looking?"

I parted my lips and thought about that, taking a bite of my food instead of answering because with Chloe Lindsell? I never knew. That girl was a mystery, I never had any idea what was going on in that pretty head of hers. Swallowing, I took a sip of my water and then cleared my throat, "I do actually. But when you find it? I think you're going to freak out and ditch the guy the first chance you get."

"What?" She crossed her arms over her chest and gave me an unreadable expression, "Why would you say that?"

"Just a prediction," I replied honestly.

“That would be sad," She said frowning at the thought.

“Are you pouting?” I asked and she looked up to find my eyes at her mouth, making her bite her lip.
 
“You have pretty low opinions of me," She said quietly. “I'm not sure what I’ve done to deserve them.” He blinked.
 
“I think you’re a good person Chloe.”
 
“Well most people are good people, that’s not super comforting," She replied, forcing a small smile before taking a sip of her  water.
 
“We have different opinions on that one.” 

She looked hard into my eyes and took a deep breath, “Well at least it’s something.”
 
“I like this version of you better than the one you show the rest of the world," I said in one breath.
 
“What do you mean?” 

I reached out and pushed a stray hair out of her eyes before I spoke, “Look at you, dressed down, no makeup, you’re a lot more real this way. It’s a good look on you.” 

Her entire face flushed while I resisted the urge to smirk, her own eyes falling onto my lips, “I’ll remember that.” 

"Blushing looks good on you also," I added with a smirk, the one I had been holding back.

She let out a soft laugh and bit into her bottom lip again, leaning into the table as my eyes dropped down to her cleavage. "Can I get you two anything else?" A voice interrupted and I looked up at the waitress, shaking my head as Chloe told her no thanks. "Here's your check when you're ready."

"Thank you," I said and watched her as she walked away from the table, ass swaying more than it should. 

"So that's your type?"

I looked at Chloe and lifted a brow, "Come again?"

"Brunette and busty?" She let her expression match mine, only with a grin playing on her lips. "Then again, you also have a thing for redheads..."

"I guess it's safe to say that I don't have a type," I winked before grinning at her. 

“I was brunette once," She grinned at me and I blinked, trying to imagine that but coming up with no real result. I just couldn't picture it.  
 
“I think blonde suits you.” 
 
She nodded, “I think so too. And you’d stare at any girls ass that was playing you like that.” 
 
“Playing me?” 

She nodded towards the waitress, “She’s waiting to see if you’re going to touch me or kiss me before we leave so she can figure out if we’re a couple and decide whether or not she can hit on you.” 
 
I glanced sideways at the girl then back to Chloe, “No. I can tell when a woman’s interested.” 
 
“Then maybe she’s into me," She winked at me before leaning in. “When did you realize I was interested?” 
 
“About the time you started inserting sexual innuendos into every sentence?” I replied, trying to sound annoyed but really holding back a grin. 
 
“Then your radar is off," She grabbed the check and placed her card inside before I got the chance to do the same. “I wanted to go home with you the first time I met you. Until you opened your mouth and I realized you were kind of a jerk.”
 
I bit back a laugh at that, “Oh and then you were put off?” 

“Nope. Even more turned on. Thank god I have better taste now.”