Engelbert Trentworthy -- dear God, call him Trent -- is a bit of a slut. Most people don’t take him seriously, and really, neither does he. Trent keeps things simple and doesn’t allow others to get close for reasons he never shares with anyone. Then he meets photographer Elias Lane at the customer service desk where he works.<br><br>Elias is captivated by Trent’s appearance and asks him to be part of a photo shoot. Unfortunately, Trent’s image ends up in a shop window near his job and causes all kinds of havoc. To make it up to him, Elias buys Trent dinner. But when Elias tries to push for more, Trent backs away.<br><br>Somehow, between the coworker who’s harassing Trent for sex and the specter of Trent’s black past, Elias is determined to get Trent to give him a chance, in every possible way.

Paint It, Black

“You’ll like this, I swear. Come on.”


I followed him to a room I hadn’t noticed at the back of the studio. It turned out to be his office. He sat behind the desk and moved around the mouse to wake up the computer screen. Then, he clicked on a folder called RockFestHoeDown.


I stood behind him and looked over his shoulder as he clicked through some amazing photos. He brought up two of them, side by side. “I’m trying to decide which one to use as the lead image. I have my preference, but what do you think?”


Chapter 9