4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Sage

" B efore I show you," I start warning my brothers before they have a heart attack. "It's a little revealing, but just imagine we were at the beach, and this was a regular bikini."

"Yeah, no," my twin starts. "I'm good."

I bite back a laugh.

"For once, I agree with August." Sire agrees.

"Bonus bro," I tilt my head to the side. "Please!"

A smile reaches his face at my name for him, and I admire how happy he looks to hear it. I call him that because we adopted him when we were younger, so he's a bonus addition to our family, but I really do believe he was always meant to belong with us.

"I need to know if you think this is better than what I have. I need to win this!"

I'm on my way back to New York after spending the weekend with Royal in Chicago, and like last year's contest, which she won, she's doing something similar, so it's pretty sexual.

"I like the idea you have now, Sage." August voices, and I let out a breath as I sank into my seat on the plane. The boys have a private jet and, thankfully, let me use it quite a lot.

"You guys always have such different ideas, and I think that's what makes the contest cool." Sire starts next. "Don't make yours like hers."

"Okay, well, hers won, so clearly, this is what the people want." It wouldn't take much to make my project a bit sexier. It'll actually be very easy since we already have a group of hot men and stunning girls.

The boys don't budge, but I send them the pictures of the other girls since they're so opposed to seeing me in anything less than a T-shirt.

"Damn." Hazel pops her head into the screen, and August smiles before kissing his girlfriend. "These girls are hot. I vote on making your project sexier."

August laughs as she disappears, and I chew my lip in thought.

"Let me call Lis." I kiss my brothers goodbye before calling my sister and she answers after a few rings.

"What do you want?"

I let out a laugh, and a smile paints her face.

"I don't want anything."

She keeps her gaze on me like she doesn't believe me, and I smile at how pretty her blue eyes are. They're not a deep blue but more like a clear sky. When we adopted Sire, we didn't get to officially adopt Lis, but that doesn't change anything. She's my sister just as much as the boys are my brothers.

"I call bullshit." She rolls her eyes before walking out of her apartment.

"Where are you heading?"

A smirk grows on her face, and I immediately shake my head at her. "I'm on my way to piss off our lovely brother. You know it's my favorite hobby."

I tilt my head back with a laugh as she walks to her car. She and Sire fight all day, and she starts most of it, but it's too funny to even be bothered by it.

I give her the rundown on my dilemma, and when she echos Hazel, I decide to listen to them.

The connection starts to get bad, so I kiss my sister goodbye through the phone and brainstorm some ideas.

We're really behind since I lost my original photographer. I think she lied about having past experience so she could work with me, which is honestly cute, but I could be disqualified since it's technically cheating. I had to get rid of all the pictures she took and start from scratch.

Liam isn't the worst photographer, and it's been fun bugging him and making him move things only to put them back in their original spot. I really do think he's the sweetest guy after you break the ice, and I've made it a goal to make him laugh at least once before this project is over in two weeks.

My brothers made a lot of comments about how I shouldn't work with the Yankees since they always bump heads with their players. They didn't name anyone, but I've been working with five Yankees players, six with Liam, for a few weeks, and all of them seem cool. I think it's just an ego thing with my brothers.

When I land, there's already a car waiting for me, and I step in when the driver opens the door for me.

After grabbing a coffee, I walk over to the studio. New York is freezing compared to LA right now, but it's better than my weekend in Chicago.

A smile touches my lips when I notice Liam's motorcycle outside, and I quickly walk up the steps to the studio.

I hear two sets of voices as I walk up the stairs, and it sounds like Liam and someone else.

"Just let me see!"

I round the corner and see a boy I don't recognize reaching for something in Liam's hands. He isn't that much shorter, but Liam pushes his arm away and keeps the camera back.

"Fuck. Off," Liam bites out.

I stifle a laugh as Liam shoves him away.

"She will drop dead if something happens to this camera." Liam shoves him again. "Get your grimy hands off ."

Liam storms away but stops short with a frown that softens as his eyes meet mine.

"Good morning!" I walk over to them, and Jordan looks up from the couch before looking between all of us. I glance over to the guy they're with, and his cheeks slightly blush. "I don't think we've met?"

He doesn't answer, and Jordan rises to his feet. "This is the friend I asked if I could bring along?" He shoves his friend, making him take a step towards me.

"Moon," is all he says, and I give him a small smile.

He shakes his head softly before taking a step back. "I meant my name is Moon." He laughs softly, and I tell him it's nice to meet him before walking over to the couch.

"I'm actually glad some of you got here early." I pull out my iPad, and the boys walk over to me. "I was working with one of the other contestants, and I think we should make a slight change in–"

"Again?" Liam mumbles, and when I look up at him, he's shaking his head at something. "I'm going to be stuck here all year." He sinks into the end of the couch with a groan, and I stifle a laugh before pulling up the pictures from Royal's photo shoot.

"What do you think about changing our third section to something like this?" I turn the iPad to them.

"Shit," Jordan mumbles under his breath, and I glance down at the iPad again.

"Is that a no?" I swipe for the pictures of me before turning the iPad back to them, and Moon suddenly looks everywhere but the iPad. "What?"

"Nothing." Jordan shrugs. "All of my teammates would appreciate the change." He chuckles before sitting back on the couch.

When my team trickles in, we get started on my hair and makeup. I voice my idea to them and they also agree. Since we're doing five sections and outfits, I think it won't be too similar to Royal's since only one section would be more sexual rather than all of them like hers.

"When do you think you'll be done shooting the video?" Annet, my hair stylist, continues to curl my hair, and I let out a breath at the reminder.

"With the way I schedule it, the last part should be filmed during the last week."

She reminds me how that doesn't leave a lot of room for editing and reshooting in case we have hiccups, but at this point, we'd have to wing it if there were any more mistakes.

"Did you see Mr. Moore's interview last night?"

I slightly sit up in my seat as Cara, my main makeup artist, walks over with her phone.

Annet lets out a breath at the sight of Vincent Moore. "God, that man is too fine for his own good."

He totally is, but I don't voice my agreement, and instead, I focus on the interview.

" In regards to your post about your excitement with The Core Eight's friendly annual contests, whose piece are you most excited to see?"

I watch intensely as he sits there with his usual glare.

" All eight of the ladies come up with very creative pieces each year, and I enjoy seeing their improvement every year, but my eyes are on Sage Loana and Quincy Lock."

My jaw drops before I let out a squeal. "Oh my god!" I quickly grab my phone before calling Quinn. She answers immediately, and before I say anything, my jaw drops. "You look beautiful!" I feel my eyes water as I take her in. Quinn has vitiligo but has been using makeup to cover it up, at least until now. She was in a horrible relationship with someone who made her feel ashamed of how she looked, but she stands here now, so sure of herself.

"Please don't make me cry." She lets out a soft laugh as she nervously plays with her curls.

"I'm so proud, babe."

She looks so confident as she smiles at the camera. "Yeah, well, I was tired of letting people control my life." She holds her head up high, and I love how free she looks.

"Look at your phone. Now. " I send her the link, and when she starts screaming, it's safe to say she got the message.

"Holy shit!" Quinn drops her phone, and I think she's jumping.

"Right!" I let out another squeal and my entire team laughs around me. We watch the rest of the video, and he mentions the rest of The Eight, so I text the group chat, and my phone blows up as all of their messages come in.

Being that we're all in his upcoming show, we've met him a few times, but hearing he has his eyes on me ?!

I let out a squeal, and the girls laugh at me again.

I keep texting in the group chat after my hair and makeup are done, and as much as I'd love to sit and text my girls all day, I tell them we need to get on a group call later tonight and tuck my phone away.

My baby models get their hair and makeup done, and the rest of the boys come in later, but once everyone is in, I voice my new idea, and as Jordan said, no one is against it.

I have Trey, one of the guys on my outfit crew, run out and find some cute lingerie for the girls, and considering we're in New York City, it only takes him an hour, but in the meantime, we film.

The contest consists of three to five outfit changes and one video. Filming is my strong suit since I vlog almost every day, so when Stel and I won the vote to add a video to the contest, I was ecstatic.

When Trey makes it back, I have everyone change and as I look around the room, I smile to myself at how good everyone looks. I glance over at myself in the mirror, and I feel good… pretty even, but as I stare too long, every curve and stretch mark makes me feel like I need to crawl out of my skin. I blink the sudden tears out of my eyes, and when I glance around the room, a few people are smiling at me, but their gaze is suffocating, so I walk off to the bathroom.

Resting my hands on the sink, I force myself to swallow the sour taste in my throat, but all I can think about is how much I ate last night. I skipped breakfast to compensate for it, but as I watch my reflection, I feel bloated. I rush to the toilet and force two fingers down my throat, throwing up everything in my stomach.

I blink the stinging in my eyes and rush to wash my hands when someone knocks on the door. I take a deep breath and paint a smile on my face as I turn and open the door.

"Hey, you okay?" Annet asks gently before her brows furrow. "It sounded like you were throwing up. " She watches me carefully, and I give her a bigger smile.

"Yeah, I feel better." I walk off before she can question me and keep my smile intact as I grab a piece of gum. "Okay, let's take these pictures." I glance around the room for our photographer, but Liam isn't in sight. I debated giving him a minute, but we honestly don't have time to waste today, so I go in search of him.

The only trace of him on the second floor is his helmet, so I know he didn't leave. I decide to check downstairs, and as I make it to the last few steps, my eyes land on his back.

He's wearing his jacket as always since it's pretty chilly in here. He holds his phone to his ear, and my eyes trace the tattoos covering his hand. I glance down at his other hand, which is also covered in ink, and my mind wonders how far his tattoos go.

He's always covered since he isn't in any of my pictures, so he doesn't walk around shirtless like the other guys, but his neck is also drowning in a dark design.

"Is she okay, though?"

I pause at the last step, hearing the worry in his voice.

"Okay, so what do you need?"

My brows slightly raise at the sudden shift to annoyance in his tone.

"I already told you I can't go. Call me if there's an actual problem." He ends the call before whipping around, and my feet forget how to function when his heated gaze meets mine.

"Is everything okay?"

He lets out a tired breath before running a hand through his blonde hair. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Asking me if I'm okay. Why do you care?" His words aren't harsh, but his genuine confusion surprises me.

I shrug, not entirely sure myself. "I just do? I care about everyone…"

He watches me for a second before brushing past me. I turn on my heels and follow him up the steps.

"I wasn't eavesdropping or anything," I clarify for, I'm not sure what. "I only just stepped downstairs and only because I was looking for you."

"Okay," is all I get before he grabs the camera.

"If you're not up for it today, you can–"

"I'm fine, Sage. Go sit over there and look pretty so I can finish."

I steal a glance at him, and he's already shaking his head.

"That sounded really bad," he mumbles as he rolls his eyes, and I bite back a laugh.

"Look who has a dirty mind now." I tease, trying to get a smile out of him, and I swear his lips twitch. His eyes cast down my frame, and I feel my entire body flush as his eyes cast down my frame in approval.

"This is the change you were talking about?" He slightly brushes my jacket, opening it a bit more to reveal my lingerie set.

I nod softly, losing my next words with the way his blue eyes stare into me so intensely. Every ounce of uncertainty I felt in this outfit slowly faded with how his eyes practically undressed me.

"Remind me of the vibe you were going for?"

I bite back a smile at the way he says vibe, and I know he's only teasing me. "The third section is supposed to be… sexier."

He nods slowly, his eyes scanning every inch of me. "Are you ready?"

I don't respond at first, then shake my head at the sudden cloudiness. "For?"

He lifts the camera. "The pictures."

I choose to nod, not trusting my voice.

"Unless you have something else in mind?" He trails off as he tilts his head to the side.

"Are you flirting with me?" I shake my head at how ridiculous that sounds, considering this man has two moods: neutral and leave me alone.

"I asked a simple question." He shrugs ever so innocently, but the smirk on his pretty face is far from innocent. "If your mind is elsewhere, that's on you, pretty girl."

He needs to stop calling me that if he expects me to think he isn't flirting.

"My mind is on my work."

"So is mine." He shrugs again. "So, are you ready, or did you want to take that off?" He gestures to my outfit, and my jaw falls open just a bit.

" What ?"

"The jacket," he clarifies, and when his smirk grows, I feel my entire face burst into flames. "Looks like your mind isn't just on work, Sage Loana." He takes a step towards me, and I snatch the camera.

"Yes, it is." I walk off, my face still warming, and I hope it isn't noticeable to anyone that he made me so flustered. I swear I hear him chuckling behind me, but when I turn, he just watches me with his usual look.

He follows after me and plucks the camera out of my hand. "You never told me how you were going to help me get in my coach's good graces."

I busy myself with fixing the props on the bed we're taking pictures on even though they're perfect. The truth is, I have no clue how I'm going to help him. I don't even remember his coach's name.

He flops onto the bed beside me, ruining the pillows I just fixed. "I'm starting to think this is one-sided when it was supposed to be a symbiotic relationship, Sage."

Why is he suddenly so chatty?

I glance over at him as he lays on the bed lazily. He keeps his eyes trained on mine for a beat, but slowly, his eyes drag down to my chest, and my breath gets caught in my throat as the tip of my ears starts to warm. He keeps his eyes on my body, and I watch them trail lower. His eyes snap up to mine, and when I don't say anything, a smirk grows on his face.

"Are we ready?" Someone asks from behind the lights, tearing Liam's eyes away, and he rises from the bed.

"Yup." He glances down at me again. "Sage was just deciding if she wanted to take this off for me or not." He studies my frame, and his eyes aren't on my jacket anymore.

"It's staying on." I whip around, and when I walk off, he definitely lets out the softest laugh, and a smile grows on my face at how sweet he sounds.