Fire and blood (Book2 of Wolves of Milano)

7. Photoshoot at the station

No props are needed for this one, because they will use the fire trucks and the hoses and some fire. The firemen assured her they can light a fire and keep it safe from spreading to the building. She can see it even now, the glorious photos of the firefighters and real live fire. And Otto is jumping from excitement by her side as they watch the fires being lit. The men are only wearing the protective pants from their fire gear and the helmets are all lined up with their jackets. A wet dream in the making, she thinks and looks around for Alessio. 

He is in the far corner, talking with Domenico and some guy she thinks is familiar, but she can’t place him right now. She can’t see enough of the new guy to make the connection and she is distracted by the flames dancing in front of her. She always thought fire was fascinating, but they never get to use it in the photo shoots for fashion designers. And with the perfect chiseled muscles of the men around her. The testosterone level is so high she has trouble breathing right. It’s just not fair that all the good looking guys she met in the last few days are happy with their jobs. They all agreed to do this calendar, but nobody is even partially interested in a modeling career.

“This is the most interesting photo shoot I’ve done in years!” Otto exclaims by her side.

“I know!” She concurs and glances around at the preparations. “It’s so exciting to see. I just love my job.”

“Right. My wife wants one of these calendars. She saw the pics last night. I wonder what her reaction will be to the new ones?” Otto tells her.

“I can’t wait. These will be spectacular!” She nods to him and the excitement is growing in both from minute to minute.

Alessio is coming their way with the other man and she gasps at the blue of his eyes. Oh, damn! That’s Vittorio, Marco’s older brother! She is dumbfounded and only stares at the guy. Oh, god! I hope my mouth is not hanging open, she thinks and takes a deep breath. The guy looks like he was photoshopped, all rugged beauty they are trying to recreate with make-up on all the models she knows. He is a natural and she will die if he says no to a place in the calendar.

“Hey, lovely lady!” Alessio greets her. “This is our chief, Vittorio. He’s also my cousin.”

“Hello…” Grazia melts and falls in the deep blue pools of his eyes. “And I thought Marco looked great? Where were you hiding?”

“Oh, you know my brother?” Vittorio laughs. “I wasn’t hiding, but that’s a long story to explain. The Commissioner filled me in on your project and I was volunteered to do this. At least my girlfriend will have something out of this.”

“Mhm, modesty? I like it. I have to thank whomever volunteered you for this.” She laughs, too. “The list is on the board. So the ones who are not modeling at the time can watch over the fires. We don’t want any accidents.”

“I’m all ready with the set up, so we can begin.” Otto calls to them.

“Wonderful! Alessio, you’re up first. What did you choose?” Grazia asks him.

“My favourite axe. We need some sharpness in the pics.” Alessio winks at her and picks up an axe and walks all casually over to Otto. His muscles rippling with every move he makes and the sweet sweet lines of his back and arms flexing with the weight of the axe. 

“What do you want me to do?” Alessio asks Otto and she is still watching his back.

“Just walk towards me through the fire. They assured me it’s safe and the path is just wide enough. Keep your eyes on the camera and stop on the X.” Otto explains his vision for the pictures.

“Easy.” Alessio answers and she can hear his chuckling.

She watches with interest how he makes his path through the lit fires and carries the axe with confidence of a man who knows just what he’s doing. Alessio stops on the X mark and casually lays the axe over one shoulder, flexing the muscles in his arm as he does so. The sun kissed skin and his black hair is a nice contrast to the fire. He looks at the camera with just the slightest hint of a smile and she knows they have the money shot. And that tattoo on his chest just makes the pictures that more intriguing. 

“You’ve got a thing for my cousin?” Vittorio leans down to her. “A word of advice, he’s a playboy, who’s got a list of his conquests longer than Milano’s phone book. Don’t get your heart broken over him.”

“Thank you.” She whispers back. “I get the feeling he likes me and then nothing for days. Maybe I should just conquer him and move on?”

“Good one. You go girl.” Vittorio chuckles. “He needs a lesson.”

“Do you know his schedule? Is he free on the weekend?” Grazia has an instant idea, she is sure Alessio will not object to it.

“What do you have in mind?” Vittorio asks.

“I’ll ask him to ride up to Lugano with me. He told me it’s one of his favourite roads to ride.” She smiles and makes a small note for reservations at her favourite boutique hotel in Lugano.

“Oh. You ride a bike?” He is surprised and he looks at her sideways.

“Yeah, I know I don’t look like a biker chick, but I have quite the collection. I inherited my fathers bikes.” She nods and glances around to see where Alessio is.

“Don’t worry, he’s out of hearing range.” Vittorio chuckles. “I’ll see to it that he’s free. I like you, because you’re exactly the opposite of what he usually goes for.”

The rest of the photo shoot goes by in a blur. The testosterone overload is a bit much for her and she enjoys every minute of it. Small talk inclusive with any one that comes close to her, because it keeps her sane and on track. And she tries not to laugh at the firemen, she knows they have it hard right now. Posing is not what they are used to, but they assured her it’s fun, for once. None of them can picture himself doing it as a job.

“How is it going?” Domenico asks her from the sidelines.

“Great. I think we’ll get it done today.” She smiles at him. “I’m happy I chose Otto for this, he’s got the patience to pull it off.”

“He is a rock, nothing phases him much.” Domenico comments.

“And the way he does things is easier on the men. With clear instruction and minimal stress.” Grazia nods. “Besides the fact his work is always different. He comes up with angles others wouldn’t have.”

“Is there a chance to see some pictures from the other day?” He inquires.

“Sure.” Grazia smiles and pulls out her phone. Accessing her email is a work of the moment and she shows him some of the pictures Otto sent her.

“Wow! They do look good. Even as a man I can’t object, I have to say: you nailed it.” He tells her as he scrolls through the pictures.

“Thank you. I admit I had my reservations, but Allegra helped me to see that my idea has merit and she introduced me to all of you.” Grazia admits.

“Reservations about what?” He asks, perplexed.

“About their ability to pose, about the cooperation in the first place. I know it’s not a new idea and you could have turned me down flat.” She tells him.

“I see. You hide it well. I guess you have that from your mother, because your father was the impulsive one.” He laughs.

“Hey, guys!” Otto shouts. “Is there a chance we could have some light rain effect? Maybe sprinklers or something? Would it put out the fire?”

“It can be done with a garden hose and the front sprinklers. Those can be turned on separately from the rest. We don’t want to flood the station.” Vittorio answers him.

“How long will the fire hold?” Grazia asks.

“About half an hour.” Domenico estimates. “We used a water resistant accelerant, but enough water will smother the flames anyway.”

“OK. Otto? Can you work with that? I know the timeline is short.” She turns to Otto and he laughs.

“With these guys? Half an hour is great! Let’s do it. Let’s give the ladies something to drool about.” Otto waves the guys together.

Grazia has to laugh at Otto’s enthusiasm, he really likes working with the guys and the ideas they have come up with are resulting in some of the best pics she has ever seen. And all with untrained models on a very short time frame. She listens to the planning and she likes what she hears so far. The group photo at the end is a great idea.

“It’s going to be tight, so line up and give a space of about 30 seconds. Walk the path and please don’t swipe at the water running down you. When the last one is through, we’ll do a group picture. I don’t care about the fire in that last one. That one is all about you.” Otto gives out the instructions with a smile.

“Let’s do it!” The guys shout and she can see the camaraderie between them. They are a team, no matter what they do. Even Vittorio and Domenico join in on the last run and they have as much fun doing it as the rest. She just knows the pictures from this part will be a great bonus and she will do a little album for the wives and extras for the calendar buyers. The relaxed session, she’ll call it.

The final pictures done and a few happy cheers later, the firemen pour sand on the fires and turn off the sprinklers. Apparently they don’t mind being wet as nobody rushes in to get dry or put a shirt on. 

“Oh, I just love them. No experience in being models and nobody complained. Nobody cried and nobody left in protest. Can we do this more often?” Otto asks her while he scrolls through the pictures on his camera.

“I can see what project would go well with normal people.” Grazia smiles back at him. “It's a nice change to work with grown up men for once.”

“I have one of you, too. You look happy.” He tells her and shows her a picture he snapped. “I’ll send it to you.”

“Oh. Nice one, thank you.” She smiles. “I need a new profile picture for the agency.”

“A word of advice from an old man?” Otto looks at her all serious. “Don’t get involved with Alessio, it can’t end well. You are too different in everything.”

“Am I that obvious? You are the second person today to give me a warning about him.” She asks him.

“Yes. To me, you are. I know you, remember?” Otto nods. “Just be careful. I’d hate to see you get hurt.”

What doesn’t she know? To get two warnings from two people about the same guy is a bit strange. Especially since she only met Vittorio today. She knows Otto all her life, he’s like a second father for her and she takes his advice to heart, but this time she will listen to her heart. There is something there when she’s with Alessio. He draws her in like a moth to a flame. She will explore this, but carefully. No need to fall in love too fast, but she can have fun.

She helps Otto collect his tripods and lights, because he refuses to have an assistant to do all the heavy lifting for him. He once said to her, he will quit professional photography when he gets too old to carry his own tripod. She hopes that day is long in the future, because she hates to lose him too soon. So helping him is the only reasonable thing to do. And he never said she can’t.