I got into San Francisco pretty late. It ended up being a twelve hour drive with meals, gas and a bunch of traffic, and I was just exhausted when I checked into the hotel. Yeah, no Air bnb this time, the modelling agency had a corporate rate for their travelling employees, and I was able to get that. I liked it, since I could just relax and get room service if I needed to take a night off.

               The vibe of the city was entirely different too, at least for where I was staying. The San Diego beach attitude had been replaced by a more professional attitude, and it made me feel colder on the inside. It was the very first day, and I was already missing San Diego.

               So much so that I wanted to check in with Izzy, since I was still worried, and I sent her a quick text just to check in.

               Me – hey, how are you feeling? All better?

               Izzy – I'm fine, thanks for asking.

               Me – Can I bring you anything back from San Fran to help you feel better?

               Izzy – You don't have to do that. I wouldn't want anyone to get in trouble.

               Me – Ok. Let me know if you change your mind. Good night.

               Izzy – GN. Be safe

               Yeah, I was bringing her something back. I just had to find something to make her smile! Her texts sounded completely at odds from what she was like in person, and I wanted to see her smile more.

               Downstairs in the hotel there was a little coffee bar, and I stopped there the morning after I arrived, and felt a little better. The latte was great, as was the little chocolate pastry, and the woman that stood across from me might have been better than both. Her skin was maybe a shade darker than mine, and her dark hair and eyes were mesmerizing. She had a winning smile, and her power suit made her look like she could walk into any boardroom in America and take charge. She obviously had the confidence to sit down with a stranger and strike up a conversation too.

               "Hi there. My name is Sophia. Do you mind me joining you?" she asked before sitting. I appreciated that a lot more than the asshole from the empanada place!

               I smiled up at her, she made it hard not to. "Of course not, have a seat. My name is Trish."

               "It's very nice to meet you, Trish. Are you staying here at the hotel?"

               "Yes. I checked in last night. I'm here for a week or so," I replied. I was already enjoying her voice, it was rich, as though she was as tasty as the dark caramel of her skin.

               "Does that mean that you might want someone like me to show you a nice dinner spot tonight?" she wondered.

               Damn, this girl wasn't fucking around. She must have immaculate gaydar too, because I didn't think I was giving off any vibes other than nerves this morning! "I think that sounds great! I should be back in the hotel by five or so."

               "Perfect!" She slid a business card over to me. "Text me when you're back, and I'll send a car to get you." She flashed a brilliant smile, and then left. Just swoop in, hit on me, and then leave? Well, okay then! That was very different than what I was used to!

               Send a car? Well, that was a new one. Who the hell was Sophia? Should I have recognized her? I had no idea, but she was beautiful, bold, obviously ambitious and had a nice enough job to afford a driver. I was suddenly looking forward to the day! Or at least the evening. It was odd that a local was in a hotel coffee shop instead of a local Starbucks though. Was she looking for guests for a fling? Did it matter? Part of me thought so, and part of me thought I should see what would happen, even if a fling wasn't what I wanted. At a minimum, it was an ego boost to be flirted with like that.

               With a smile on my face, I walked the two blocks to the building containing Camera's Eye Modeling and took the elevator up to the fifth floor. As soon as the elevator opened, I was surrounded by noise. People were bustling around in all kinds of outfits, and it seemed like a very chaotic atmosphere. Luckily, a receptionist at a nearby desk must have sensed my confusion and waved me over.

               "Hey, I'm Trish Poole. I'm supposed to be here for a fitting and an interview I believe? I'm still a little vague on that." I hated sounding like I was new to this, but I was, so I guess I could be honest.

               "Welcome Trish, I'm Kirsten. Let me see what we have scheduled for you!" she started typing away on her computer and hummed to herself as she did so. "Okay. It says you're here to do a fitting and then some test shots, and then you're done here. I'll take you down to Denise, she's your contact here, and she'll get you all sorted out with the paperwork."

               It was a whirlwind after that. Kirsten brought me to a bubbly brunette named Penny that was evidently Denise's personal assistant. She then handed me off to a girl named Robin, who took all my measurements in much more detail than Xochi had because it was more than just swimwear. Once we were done there, she brought me back to Penny, who ran over some human resources information and then we finally got to meet Denise.

               My head was spinning with all the names and faces that I'd been passed between, so I was happy to just relax in her office and chat for the moment. "So, I guess you've been poked and prodded for a bit, eh?" Denise asked. She was a statuesque dirty blonde who looked like she could easily have been a model not too long ago. She was, despite the smile on her face, a rather terrifying lady.

               I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm not really used to the modelling world yet. Maybe once I've done it a bit more, I'll be more comfortable," I admitted. "I was in San Diego doing swimsuits just the other day, and it was a lot less hectic. This place is a lot busier!"

               She smiled in agreement. "We're pretty much the only agency in the city of note, so we're what you'd consider a body shop. Any of the fashion designers or boutiques that need a model come to us, and we send our girls all over. LA and New York may have more agencies, but we think we're the better choice because we're more flexible. Most of those agencies want to work with the big brands and stars, where we'll work with anyone who needs a model."

               I could tell that from a work perspective, Camera's Eye gave me more options and better prospects for work. But I wasn't sure I wanted to be just a model. I still had my YouTube channel up and running, and the movie and book deals would hopefully be signed soon when Madison had looked over the offers and gave me her recommendations, so modelling might be more of a fun thing to do than an actual career.

               Besides, I'd already found a place to stay in San Diego, even if that was just a spur of the moment decision, and I could easily see myself living there. Once the shoots were done for the swimsuits, I could concentrate on my channel and live my life how I liked. Of course, I could shoot a few episodes here too, just to see how it goes. Could I live in both cities at the same time? Rent rooms in each and travel back and forth depending on my mood? That seemed way too expensive though.

               I guess I had time to figure that out. I still had several days to explore the city, a date with Sophia tonight, and I'd try to shoot a video tomorrow. That would give me more information to go on for what I'd like to do in the future.

               But first, that meant doing the test photos here, and holy shit was that a different experience. As I said, they did a lot more than bathing suits, so that had an assistant going through clothing racks and finding half a dozen different looks for me. Instead of taking a bunch of photos in the same look, we cycled through each of the outfits, and took maybe ten pictures in each with a photographer who didn't say even one bitchy thing to me. It was so much more refreshing than dealing with Jeremy!

               But it was hectic, and I felt a sense of relief when we were done. It was much more businesslike here than in San Diego, so when I was finally changed out of the last outfit, I just collapsed in a chair for a few minutes.

               With that done, I made my way back to Denise's office to check in. "Was there anything else you needed for today?"

               "Not today, Trish. Everyone tells me you did great, so we'll be showing your photo to our clients, and I wouldn't be surprised if we start calling you for some shoots." Denise seemed pretty confident about that, though I guess when they have so many clients with different needs they'd want a lot of models with different looks. So, I might not get a ton of work, and they might not be big brands, but I was okay with that.

               With a satisfied smile, I made it out of the building, and headed back towards the hotel. I took my time, checking out some of the stores around the area including one where I bought a cute pair of socks with the golden gate bridge on them, and a tin of cookies decorated in trolleys that would be cute for Izzy. Once that was done, I looked at the menus of several places before I settled on a Philly cheese steak sub at a place near the hotel. I know, not exactly posh, but fuck it they're delicious. I sat in the little sandwich place, just absorbing the atmosphere and relaxing while constantly having to wipe melted cheese from my mouth.

               It was a nice place, with windows on the front so you could people watch, and I already had my eye on the chicken parmesan sub for a visit in the future. But for now, I was happily making a mess, with an ever growing pile of napkins situated on the edge of the table as evidence of that. With a final bite, and then a wipe of my lips I added the last napkin to the pile, only to knock half of it to the floor.

               With a sigh, I bent over, grabbing the napkins so none of the staff would have to. As I twisted to the right to grab one stray piece of paper, I happened to look out the window, and out across the street, where I had a perfect view of a jacked up Ford F-150 in matte black. My blood turned cold as I froze in place. The windows were all tinted, so I couldn't see the interior, but I knew that truck. I'd been in it enough times to recognize Max's ride because he loved that truck almost as much as he loved bragging about his penis and all the mythical girls that wanted it. Not that either of them got much action. He was all talk.

               I sat back up, pretending as though I hadn't just seen my own personal demon's truck, and then took a deep breath. There wasn't much of a reason for him to be in the middle of San Francisco only a block from my hotel. He had to know I was here. Moreover, he had to know where I was staying. Who else knew that? Well, the Camera's Eye people, obviously. But also, Madison's office, as they were the ones that told me about the details, since they arranged them. Shit, everyone at Xochi knew too, because I'd discussed it all before I left!

               But who among all those people could know Max? One thing was for certain, I couldn't stay here. Not in the city, alone and without anyone around. I needed to get back to San Diego. At least there I had friends at work, and a new roommate. One who I'd have to warn about Max. I'm sure that would be a great way to kick off our new roommate relationship!

               I threw all the trash away, then refilled my Coke and sat back down for a bit. I wasn't afraid while sitting here in the sandwich shop, so I just needed traffic to make sure he couldn't see me leave. Luckily, the truck was pointed away from the hotel, so that helped too. There was a back door, but it looked like it led to an alley, and I didn't trust that at all. But maybe five minutes later, a delivery truck stopped in traffic right between me and Max's truck. I quickly stood and walked out but stayed still until the truck started to slowly move towards the hotel along with the congestion, then I followed along while keeping it between me and Max's truck. Moments later, I was power walking into the hotel and up to my room, bolting it securely.

               I raced around my room, throwing everything I could into my suitcase and then double checking it. I didn't even check out of the hotel. I could call and do that later in case Max called the front desk to see if I was there. I almost ran back to the elevator, my roller bag bouncing behind me, and took the elevator to the garage, where I loaded everything into my car. When I left the hotel, I turned away from where the truck was parked, and took a roundabout way to the highway south.

               I breathed a sigh of relief, then called Madison's office to let them know I was going to be in LA for a bit again, and to let me know if they had anything for me. It was a lie, but if the leak was in her office then I was going to cover my tracks if I could. I texted Sophia too, to tell her I had a change in plans and couldn't make it. She didn't even reply, so I guess it wasn't a big deal. Honestly, a local like her hanging in a hotel coffee shop might have just been looking for one night stands anyway, so she could easily find someone else. Nobody other than Erin, my new roomie, knew where I lived now, and I could hide there for the rest of the week before heading back to Xochi for the swim calendar.

               I hoped it was enough.