DAC_II_GenVers_Sept2013 Read Free Page B

despite the little voice in his head lecturing him to act mature.
    “Yes. Great. Can you stand the axe handle down, but blade up, without it cutting you?” the photographer asked.
    Walter nodded and laughed as he complied.
    “ Excellent. I wish all guys were as sharp as you. Now perch the hat on the side of the axe—yes, just like that. That’s fantastic. Now lean it out just a bit to your right,” the photographer ordered, leaning down to the lens again. “Now hold it. . .yes, right there. Perfect.”
    Fascinated with the un-glamorous pose the guy was orchestrating, Walter smirked again as he heard the camera clicking away. Someone yelled “ My, Walter, what a big axe you have ” which caused him to belly laugh as he raised his head to look for the culprit. The photographer said nothing about his movement, just kept snapping away. Walter chuckled at several of his now oiled up fellow firemen rubbing their chests and making kissing motions to him as they looked on.
    “Laugh all you want, dudes. I’m not the one covered in cooking oil. And I still have on all my clothes.” Walter thumped his chest with his fist and swept a hand down over his t-shirt, cackling when several oily middle fingers were raised in his direction.
    His smile was wide with amusement as he struck a model pose with the axe to heckle them, sliding the edge of his shirt halfway up his stomach as they whooped and hollered for him to take it all the way off.
    “Are you kidding? None of you guys are pretty enough to see me naked,” Walter declared, lowering his shirt as he gave his full attention back to the photographer. “Need me anymore?”
    The photographer shook his head from side-to-side. “Thanks for the help. What’s your name? You’re not on my calendar roster, are you?”
    Walter snickered again as he shook his head. “No. My parents would kill me if I posed for the calendar.”
    The photographer laughed and pulled a business card out of his pocket. “How would they feel if you wore suits instead? Modeling can be quite lucrative with looks like yours.”
    “If that’s a come on, don’t bother, dude. I’m straight,” Walter said easily. He shrugged and grinned when the guy’s laugh echoed off the walls.
    “So am I, Mr. . . are you going to tell me your name?”
    The photographer was smiling wickedly now. Thinking the guy had to be gay regardless of what he said, Walter wasn’t keen on giving up his name, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t handle the attention. His family had excelled at being in the public eye, even though his mother often lamented his tendency to just say what he thought. Discretion was hard for him and he didn’t see that it ever helped matters much.
    “The name is Graham. Walter Graham. I’m not interested in being a model, Mr. . .” Walter paused and looked down at the business card in his fingers, “. . .Ames. I’m working on my MBA and just recently bought a business. Between that and firefighting, I’m completely booked for work.”
    He tried to hand the business card back, but Marcus Ames, Artistic Photographer —whatever that meant, shook his head and held up a hand.
    “Keep it, kid. You never know when you’ll need extra cash,” Ames said, saluting. “Thanks for helping me set up the shoot.”
    Walter watched Ames look around the firehouse until his gaze landed on the growing group of oiled, grinning men waiting for their turn in front of the camera.
    “ Mr. January ? I’m ready for you,” Ames yelled.
    Still questioning the man’s sexual leanings, Walter snorted and tucked the guy’s card into his pocket. At least helping Ames would be a good story to tell Harrison over dinner that evening.
    ***
    “You should be proud of me, Harrison. Today I turned down a chance to be in the fundraising calendar. I was feeling pretty righteous until I realized I had also passed up a chance to let the photographer’s cute assistant rub oil on my chest. That wouldn’t have happened a few months