The shoot was finished and Lyssa changed back into her old clothes while Dan talked to Stella in the corner of the studio. Lyssa tried not to notice, but she could see the body language between them wasn’t friendly. She wondered if they were arguing about her. Maybe she didn’t look so great in the photos. She sighed and slung her backpack on her shoulder and walked over to Brad and Chloe.

‘Thanks for all your help. You guys are really good at what you do,’ she said shyly.

‘It’s easy when girls are as beautiful and lovely as you,’ Chloe replied cheerfully.

‘And don’t forget what I said about your hair,’ Brad ordered. He handed her a bag. ‘Here are some products I think might help.’ Lyssa took the bag from him, her face hot. ‘Oh, I can’t pay for these,’ she said awkwardly.

‘Oh, honey, these are free,’ laughed Brad. ‘I get so many samples sent to me, I can’t bear it. You’ll do me a favour by taking some.’

‘Thanks.’ Lyssa beamed at him.

Stella walked over, smiling now. ‘I think the pics will be amazing from what I’ve seen on the photographer’s computer. You want to look?’

‘Okay,’ said Lyssa.

They walked across to where the assistant was working. An image of Lyssa in the Prada dress came up on the screen, and then one of her in the Yamamoto. Lyssa leant in.

‘That doesn’t look like me,’ she said softly. She looked taller, thinner, prettier. Perhaps even lovely.

Andre was standing close to her, clutching a bag with his new things from Dan. She patted his hand, still watching the screen.

‘You look great,’ Stella said. ‘I’m going to send these over to Yolanda before we do touch-ups.’

Lyssa nodded, as though she knew what Stella was talking about. ‘Okay, well I’d better get home,’ she said, and quickly gave Stella a hug. ‘You made today so fun. Thanks.’

‘That’s my job, to make you look incredible. But it’s not hard.’

‘Oh my god, stop! I’m gonna get a big head,’ Lyssa laughed. She turned to say goodbye to Dan, but he was gone. For some reason, she felt disappointed.

‘Let’s go,’ she said to Andre, heading for the door.

‘Hey, take these,’ she heard Stella yell and a rolled-up pair of jeans flew towards her.

‘What?’ asked Lyssa, grabbing them.

‘Once they’re worn, good jeans take on the natural shape of the first wearer. These are yours now, no good to anyone else,’ Stella said as she packed up the racks of clothes.

Lyssa held up the jeans and smiled. ‘Wow. Thank you.’

Stella waved her away and Lyssa almost floated down the stairs to the street outside. As she stepped out of the studio she saw Dan, leaning against his car.

‘Hey,’ he said, his voice friendly.

‘Hey,’ said Lyssa.

If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve thought he was the perfect guy for Bella. He was very handsome, in a boy-band kind of way: his crushed white linen shirt slightly too big for him, and his jeans perfectly worn at the hem.

‘I’m glad you’re still here,’ she said formally. ‘I wanted to say thank you for looking after Andre.’

‘No problem.’

An awkward silence settled between them.

‘Do you … ?’ she said.

‘Are you … ?’ he said at the same time.

They both smiled.

‘You first,’ he said to her.

‘Do you help all the models like this?’ Lyssa asked, looking at him suspiciously.

‘Of course. That’s my job,’ he said, looking at his feet.

‘Oh.’ Lyssa felt let down somehow.

‘Are you going home now?’

‘Yeah, we’d better head to the bus stop,’ she said shortly, turning away. ‘Thanks again.’

As she and Andre walked off, she felt Dan’s eyes on her. She wondered if she’d imagined him trembling a little when he’d touched her neck. Maybe she’d been carried away with the Cinderella feeling of the whole day. She felt silly now.

‘Do you want a lift?’ Dan called after them.

She looked back. ‘I don’t think you’re going where I’m heading,’ she laughed.

‘How do you know where I’m going?’ he asked, smiling.

Lyssa wished she was more experienced around boys, so she could tell whether he was flirting with her or not. Perhaps if she had stopped studying for a moment, she might know what was actually going on here.

‘Are you going out to the northern suburbs?’ she questioned him. She thought it was unlikely he was going anywhere near her neighbourhood.

‘No, but I could,’ Dan said. ‘Consider it part of the agency’s service.’

Lyssa felt herself smile. ‘Well, if it’s part of the service then who am I to argue?’

That had to be flirting, didn’t it? she wondered as she walked Andre back to Dan’s car and helped him with his seatbelt.

She slipped in the passenger side, putting on her own seatbelt and settling into the comfortable seat.

‘This is a nice car,’ she said aloud, and then realised she sounded impressed. She needed to be more relaxed, she decided. ‘You know, if you like cars, which I don’t. But if I did, I guess I would like this one.’ Shut up, Lyssa, she told herself. Why did she sound so stupid?

Dan was looking at her as though she’d just spoken in Arabic.

‘It’s okay for a car. Actually, it’s Mum’s,’ he said as he pulled out of the alleyway. ‘You didn’t eat today, I noticed,’ Dan added as he drove.

‘I was too nervous to eat,’ she admitted.

‘You have to eat or else you’ll fuck your body up,’ he said firmly as he turned a corner.

‘Don’t swear,’ Lyssa said sharply, frowning at him.

Dan looked in the rear-view mirror to see Andre staring out the window. ‘I don’t think he’s listening.’

Lyssa said nothing, but her lips were pressed together.

‘Sorry,’ said Dan.

‘That’s okay. You never know,’ she said. She immediately regretted telling Dan off, not to mention accepting the ride.

‘Do you like to drive?’ she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

‘Yep,’ he said, not looking at her.

‘My dad drives a taxi,’ she said, and looked at his face for a reaction.

There was none. ‘That’s cool.’

‘Not really. He’s a trained optometrist but can’t work here.’

Dan glanced at her. ‘Why not?’

‘He has to sit registration exams and they cost money. Everything costs money,’ she sighed.

Dan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as they neared Lyssa’s neighbourhood. ‘I hear that.’

They sat in silence as Dan headed towards her home. A few times she wanted to start a conversation, but her opening lines sounded trite when she ran them through her head.

‘How old are you?’ she asked him finally.

‘Nineteen.’

Lyssa nodded and made a face. That seems so…

‘What?’ asked Dan. ‘Do I seem older or younger?’

‘I can’t answer that,’ Lyssa said seriously. ‘I hardly know you.’

Dan laughed. ‘Are you always so considered when you answer a question?’

‘Usually,’ Lyssa said, with a faint smile.

‘You gotta relax. Live a little.’

Lyssa wondered what life was like for him. He probably had no problems, no worries, no dramas.

‘I’ll live a little after my exams,’ she said, looking at his nice hands on the steering wheel. They were big and broad, but still looked soft.

‘Can you drop us off at the corner of my street?’ she asked, tearing her eyes away.

He frowned at her. ‘Don’t you want me to drop you home?’

‘Too many questions. It’ll be easier if we just walk the rest of the way.’

Dan pulled over, and Lyssa paused for a moment before getting out.

‘Thank you,’ she said, her eyes searching his. She leant in to hug him as he leant forward to kiss her cheek. They ended up awkwardly entangled, with him kissing her ear.

‘Sorry,’ he said.

Lyssa noticed his face had turned red. ‘That’s okay, ear kisses are nice,’ she said. Okay, that was definitely flirting.

‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ Dan said cheekily.

Lyssa laughed. ‘I’d better go,’ she said reluctantly.

Dan nodded and looked ahead. ‘Do you think … ?’

‘Yes?’ She waited, holding her breath.

‘Do you think you might want to go out with me sometime?’ he asked softly, turning to her.

Lyssa felt her stomach flip over. ‘When?’ she said casually, as though boys in linen shirts asked her out all the time.

‘Are you busy tonight?’ he asked.

‘Like a work thing?’ she said, because she didn’t want to mistake this for a date if it wasn’t.

Dan cleared his throat. ‘Ah. Yeah, sure.’

Lyssa got out of the car, disappointed, and then helped Andre out too.

‘Um, yes, I’m free tonight,’ she said. In fact she was free most nights. But then she remembered. ‘Oh no.’ She put her hand over her mouth. ‘Actually, I’m not. I promised I would see my best friend’s band tonight.’

Dan shrugged, ‘Okay.’

Lyssa saw a flash of weirdness on his face and her stomach lurched.

‘You could come with me, if you like,’ she said slowly. ‘Or whatever.’ She was trying so hard to be cool, she thought she might freeze. ‘We could talk about work afterwards?’

‘That’d be good,’ Dan said easily. ‘Will I pick you up?’

‘No, I’ll meet you there,’ Lyssa said. ‘I’ll text you the address.’

Dan nodded and smiled at her. ‘Cool, see ya later. Bye, Andre,’ he called out as Lyssa closed the door.

Lyssa smiled all the way home. Maybe she wasn’t imagining his lingering glances at her during the shoot, or his hands shaking when he’d put the necklace on her. Even though she wasn’t as experienced as some girls, she got the feeling that Dan might actually be into her.