Slow Spinning Redemption

Friday October 29, 2010
Helsinki, Finland
8:35 am

“Wakey, wakey.”

Isolde groaned at the very familiar male voice outside of her comforter cocoon. “Go away, Ben.”

“Nope, come on. Up!”

She felt the tug of the comforter and held on tightly, covering the top of her head as Ben pulled. “God, go away!”

“I’m not God, I’m Ben. All though,” he said, stopping his tugging for a minute as he spoke, “The man that I was with last night called me ‘God,’ multiple times.”

“Ugh. Benedict, get the fuck out.”

“Nope! I’m under strict orders to get your arse up.” He pulled harder, successfully causing her to lose her grip on the comforter and the cold air of the hotel room to hit her nearly bare body, as the silk slip she wore to sleep in didn’t hide much.

“God damn Izzy, you know what silk does to me!”

“Only when it’s on men,” Isolde muttered, burying her face into her pillow, avoiding looking at the ginger that was standing at the foot of the couch, most likely grinning.

“That is true. Now get your very nice arse off the couch and into the bathroom for a shower.”

Isolde groaned again as she turned and looked up at Benedict Knight, his shaggy ginger curls hitting the tips of his ears, only making his face look more pale. The light freckles that were sprinkled liberally over the bridge of his nose stood out much more against his bright green eyes, which always held laughter. But it was Ben’s cheekbones that killed Isolde; cheekbones that could cut through glass, and lips that were in a perpetual pout.

“You’re too pretty for your own good, you know that?” Isolde muttered, causing Ben to laugh.

“Believe it or not, I actually get that a lot. I also know if I were straight, we’d be married and have about a dozen gorgeous kids running around.”

Isolde snorted. “Right. How the hell did you get into my room, anyway?” she asked, sitting up and running a hand through her tangled mess of hair, wincing when her fingers caught on a knot.

“Told the pretty young girl downstairs that I was your husband.”

Isolde stared up at his in disbelief. “And she believed you?”

“Apparently along with pretty, I’m very trustworthy. Now up; I’ve already rummaged through your mess of a suitcase and picked something for you to wear, and I have coffee waiting for you at the table.”

Isolde turned her head and raised an eyebrow. Not only was there a carafe of coffee sitting at the table next to a mug, but there were also a variety of baked goods, a bowl of mixed fruit, along with an actual breakfast of what looked like bacon, sausage and an omelet. She had to have been extremely tired to not hear Ben not only come into the room, but have time to order and arrange breakfast on the table.

“You know,” Isolde started as she stood up and stretched, “Your job description doesn’t require you to dress or feed me.”

“Ah, but as your assistant I enjoy it,” Ben said, giving her cheek a quick pinch. “Go on, get to showering.”

Isolde sighed, giving one last stretch that cracked her back loudly, causing Ben to chuckle as he pulled the comforter completely off the couch and started to fold it.

“Your back wouldn’t be that bad if you just slept on the bed like a normal person.”

“TV’s too far from the bed,” Isolde muttered. “Couch is closer.”

Ben shook his head. “Normal people aren’t meant to sleep on a couch twenty-four-seven, Isolde.”

“Well thank God I’m not normal,” Isolde said with a laugh. “And Ben, when I get out of the shower, that food better be gone.”

“You’ll eat a muffin and some coffee. I won’t have you starving all day.”

She rolled her eyes and made her way to the bathroom, closing the door behind her as she stripped. She turned on the water to the shower, fixing it to the right temperature, before stripping off her panties and slip, leaving them on the floor. She stepped into the warm water of the shower and dropped her head so her hair got wet first.

She turned, running her fingers through her wet curls and smiled as she heard the door open as Ben’s voice rung out. “Don’t mind me, just getting your slip and knickers.”

“No sniffing,” Isolde teased.

“No promises,” Ben teased back as the door shut again. Isolde rolled her eyes as she thought about Ben and his need to organize everything, especially when it came to her suitcases.
She’d met Ben and his boss, and best friend, Alisha, five years ago, when she’d been contracted to model for Alisha’s magazine, ‘Beauty Within,’ or ‘B.W.’

Apparently a letter Isolde had written to an editor of some magazine, concerning body image in young girls, had gotten Alisha’s attention. She had asked Isolde to visit London to model and talk about her some of her views for B.W.

The rest, as some would say, was history. Isolde had gotten along so well with Alisha and her assistant, and chief-editor, Ben, that when Alisha had found out that Isolde was starting to pick up photography, Alisha had encouraged it, then hired her to do ninety percent of the shoots that B.W. needed to get done.

Even though Isolde was freelance, working for different magazines and websites -for both her modeling and photography, and even worked for herself selling some of her prints online, Alisha still provided a very good chunk of Isolde’s paycheck at the end of the month. Though settling wasn’t in Isolde’s future, Alisha tried her best to get Isolde to work full time for B.W. Isolde wasn’t going to lie, the pay would be amazing working for Alisha. It already was, and while Alisha wouldn’t stop Isolde from traveling, for Isolde felt like something that tied her down, which was something she was trying to avoid… for the time being, anyway.

Shutting off the water, she stepped out, grabbing the white fluffy towel from the rail and drying off. She then wrapped it around her hair and looked over at the fogged up mirror. She laughed quietly when she saw an outfit folded neatly on the counter.

“Ben,” she muttered with a roll of her eyes, looking at the red tights with a raised eyebrow. But trusting Ben’s judgment, she grabbed another towel and finished drying off. She put on her yellow lace panties and matching bra, going through her morning routine of putting lotion on her body before actually dressing for the day. Once the lotion was on, she stretched the red tights over her legs, settling them on her hips.

The shorts were next. They were dark denim and sat high at her waist, ending at the top of her thighs. Next came the black and white tank with the row of black buttons going down the center, and a white plastic pearl and black fabric flower necklace that was attached to the shirt.

“Obviously fashion comes over warmth,” she muttered, unwrapping her hair from the towel and running her brush through the curls. She plugged in the hair dryer and ran her fingers through her hair as she dried it, letting the blonde curls form their natural ringlets, and tucking the black streak behind her ear, reminding herself to hit up a beauty supply store for a new color, as she was coming up on her second week with the black in.

Pulling open the door, she walked over to the table where Ben was sitting with her computer open, finishing off the plate that had the omelet. He looked up at her and nodded.

“Shoes are by the bed.”

“You do realize that it’s nearly November here right?”

Ben blinked. “Yeah, so?”

“We’re in Finland Ben. It’s colder here than your London.”

Ben snorted. “As if I didn’t choose anything you wouldn’t have chosen yourself. Shoes are by the bed, as is a jacket.”

“True,” Isolde nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed and nodding her approval at the black heeled booties with studded detail as she slipped them over her feet. “So what’s with the early wakeup call? I thought I wasn’t meeting up with you guys until noon?”

“We are meeting Alisha at noon, but we know you.”

“You know me?” Isolde laughed sitting at the table once her boots were on.

“Yes. We know that if we let you come on your own; you’d get distracted and arrive an hour late. And while usually we’re all for it, we have some meetings we needs to get to so we need to be on time.”

“So you’re my babysitter?” Isolde laughed, not taking offence. She was flighty and distracted easily, and because of her refusal to wear a watch, people either dealt with her tardiness, dubbing it ‘running on Isolde time’, much like Josef did, or they directed her much like Ben and Alisha were doing at the moment. “Tell me, do you get paid hourly or do you have a flat babysitting rate?”

Ben snorted. “Funny.”

“I thought so,” Isolde shrugged, as she picked at her muffin with a frown. “What are you snooping on?”

“Your pictures, as always. Who’s this adorable little one?” Ben asked, turning the computer to show Isolde the picture of the baby boy sitting on the floor of her flat in Prague.

“Mika,” Isolde smiled. “Mila’s little boy.”

“Mila?”

“Josef’s older sister,” Isolde said, popping a piece of muffin in her mouth. “You know who Mila is Ben, you’ve met her before. This is just your twisted way of asking about Josef.”

“Is it?” Ben asked, tilting his lips upwards as he twisted the laptop back to face him.

“I haven’t spoken to him lately.” Isolde shrugged, grabbing the carafe of orange juice and pouring herself a glass. “Last I heard, he’s choreographing in New York for the company and traveling for a bit because of it before starting rehearsals. He’s also in a relationship with some security guard by the name of Russell, but I haven’t heard too much about that.”

Ben shrugged. “We’re fated to be; it’ll happen.”

Isolde laughed. “Of course. But if you want to know more about Josef, and don’t want to call him, his dance partner is here in Helsinki.”

“Soya?” Ben looked up with a raised eyebrow. “She’s here?”

“Ah, that’s right; you’re actually a ballet fan,” Isolde nodded, before sending him a quick grin. “If you’re a nice babysitter, maybe I’ll let you meet her.”

“You’re such a bitch, Isolde,” Ben laughed, closing the folder and switching to a more recent one on her computer.

“Ah, but would you really have me any other way?”

“I didn’t think you knew Soya. Every time I asked about her in the past, you swore you didn’t know her.”

“Met her recently,” Isolde said with a shrug, picking at her muffin again and popping another piece into her mouth. “She’s quite the little sweetheart.”

“I know she’s from here, but I thought she resided in New York.”

Isolde nodded, throwing the muffin on the empty plate and wiped the tips of her fingers on the cloth napkin. “She’s roommates with Josef.” Isolde shrugged. “I know her boyfriend lives here, as does her family, so she may have taken advantage of her dance break to come visit them.”

Ben nodded, sliding the computer to face Isolde. “Not going to lie, they are fucking beautiful together.”

Isolde laughed as she saw the candid picture she’d captured of them in the studio. Ville turned towards Soya, while Soya was sitting cross legged on the floor looking up at him, both of them grinning at each other.

“God save the world if those two procreate.”

Ben laughed, shutting the lid of the laptop and looking at the silver watch on his wrist. “You have ten minutes to get your shit together.”

“You are a crappy babysitter. It’s going to take me twenty; I have yet to put my face on!”

“You have ten. You don’t need makeup, it’s just me and Ali,” Ben pointed out. “Plus we brought the interns, so if you really want to get done up we can have them do it over at the studio you’ve rented.”

Isolde rolled her eyes. “Fine, no makeup. Let me just go through my bag and repack it and we’ll get out of here,” she said as she took her camera out of her bag and dumped the rest of the contents on the unmade bed. Ben stood next to her as Isolde sorted through the random things she’d been stuffing in her camera bag for a last couple of months.

“Why in the world do you need five different tubes of lipstick? One is really all you need, two at most.”

“I keep forgetting I have them in there,” Isolde shrugged, checking the colors, before putting the deeper red back in her bag.

“And how often do you eat out?” Ben asked picking out the napkins in the mess and crumpling them up, moving to throw them away.

“Wait! Some of those have notes on them.”

Ben sighed, as he sorted through the napkins. “This one says, ‘Call mom, let her know I’ll be in town the twentieth’.”

“Did it,” Isolde waved off, looking back into her pile and picking out the pens and memory cards she’d sworn she’d lost.

“Call Ivan and-”

“Not relevant,” Isolde waved off again.

Ben threw the two napkins in the trash and looked down at the third with a smirk. “Who’s Jussi?”

Isolde turned and snatched the napkin away from Ben before he could get a good grip on it, stuffing it back into her bag and closing the clasp. “Are we ready to go?”

Ben blinked. “Are you hiding a man from me?”

“Nothing to hide.” Isolde shrugged, pulling on the leather jacket that fell just a bit below her chest.

“Seriously?”

“Really, there’s nothing going on,” Isolde said, pulling her bag over her shoulder and grabbing her camera off the table, placing the strap around her neck. “Now are you ready? I’d like to get at least an hour of photos before I meet up with Alisha.”

“Isolde-”

“It’s just a number Ben,” Isolde shrugged, starting out the door, holding it for Ben as he grabbed his messenger bag from the table and followed her out.

“If it were just a number, you wouldn’t hide it; you would share,” Ben pointed out as Isolde put the ‘do not disturb’ sign on her doorknob. They both started towards the elevators.

“He’s just some guy,” Isolde said, pushing the button for elevator, trying to figure out why she didn’t want to talk about Jussi to Ben.

Something deep down told her that Jussi was different. That when she slept with him, as there was no question as to if she would, rather when she would, that he wasn’t just a one off. He’d be a regular visitor in her bed, and if she wasn’t careful, in her life.

“He’s a friend of Soya and her boyfriend. I met him yesterday,” Isolde finally gave in, knowing that Ben, much like Josef, wouldn’t let the subject go until she gave in. “He’s a drummer in a local Helsinki band,” she said as the elevator doors opened. If she underplayed Jussi, the less likely it was that Ben would keep interrogating her.

“Oh, a musician!” Ben smirked as the elevators doors opened and they stepped in. Ben leaned against the wall as Isolde pushed the lobby button and copied his stance. “That’s outside your norm.”

Isolde ‘hmm’d’ in agreement, as it was true. Jussi was outside her usual type. She tended to stick to men that were in a more professional and steady profession, such as doctors and businessmen; men that didn’t want to settle, but for the most part lived in one place, rarely traveled and came running when Isolde called. A musician was unknown and much more difficult to pin down. It took more planning to get together, and Isolde hated planning.

“Lot of work,” Ben pointed out.

“Don’t get excited. I haven’t really decided anything,” Isolde admitted slowly. Which she really hadn’t -just that she would sleep with him, not what she would do after.

“Is he cute at least?” Ben asked as the doors opened and they walked out into the lobby.

“Cute enough,” Isolde laughed as he pushed the door open and led her out onto the sidewalk. “Can we walk for a bit?”

Ben looked at his watch. “Half an hour, then we should head to the studio. I know Alisha’s already there getting done up.”

“As if she’s needs it,” Isolde muttered as they started walking in the general direction of the studio. Ben walked silently next to her, only asking the odd question here and there, but for the most part, allowed her to be in her own mind and work.

Really, Jussi wasn’t only out of her norm in just what he did for a living, but in looks too. She never leaned towards the leather clad bad boys. If she were truthful with herself, which she always was, she never had a bad boy phase. If anything, she was the ‘bad girl’ in any given ‘relationship’ that she had.

She usually went with tall sturdy men. If not a bit lean, usually men with wholesome reputations. The nice ones, she thought with a sigh. Some of them a bit boring personality-wise, but tended to bring out her intellectual side; for the most part she always had something in common with them that kept her interested.

What the hell did she have in common with Jussi, other than the fact that they would most likely be amazing in bed together? And that was if she was only going by his body type.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Ben pulled her into a cab when her half hour was up and told the driver to head towards the studio.

“Get anything good?”

“A few. I’ll look through them tonight,” Isolde admitted, putting her camera back in her bag.

“Did you want to get together like we usually do?” Ben asked, causing Isolde to nod. Tradition between Ben, Isolde, and Alisha dictated that they all get together for dinner and start their editing process on the photos that had been taken, as well as the articles for the monthly magazine. They collaborated and put things together, spending most of the night with room service at their beck and call and laptops open in front of them. Even though Isolde wasn’t a permanent part of the magazine, Alisha enjoyed Isolde having an active voice.

“My room, I can have dinner sent up.”

“And Alisha is taking care of your bill, as usual.”

“Which I will remind her she doesn’t have to do, as I’m the one that brought you guys to Helsinki.”

Ben shrugged. “Alisha loves you. She’d go to Mars if you told her you wanted to do a photo-shoot up there, and she’d pay for the god damn expedition.”

Isolde laughed. “Oh Ali, crazy bitch that she is.”

Ben snorted as the cab pulled up in front of the studio. Ben paid the driver and slid out, helping Isolde out of the cab before they walked into the building holding the studio. They made their way up the stairs to their studio.

Isolde could already hear the rush and chatter of people from the stairwell. When Ben opened the door, letting her in, she couldn’t help but smile when she saw the transformation the empty studio had taken from when she’d used it the day before.

Clothes racks filled one side of the room for the different shoots that she and Alisha had talked about a couple of months ago over the phone. Three interns -two young girls, and a young man, were setting up the portable lights, though they weren’t turned on. Isolde knew the interns would be on standby, ready to turn on and turn off lights when Isolde said so, as they were paid handsomely to do so.

Alisha sat on one end of the room at a portable vanity with two more young female interns, who were taking Alisha’s directions as they did her make up.

“Looks like you’re outnumbered this time,” Isolde teased, patting Ben’s arms with a laugh as she walked over to Alisha.

“Well looks who’s on time!” Alisha lightly mocked as Isolde came closer.

“Har, har. Your babysitter wouldn’t have let me come late had I tried. Beth, Jenny, how are you?” Isolde asked, smiling at the two interns.

After replying with a fine, Alisha sent them to help set up the backdrops as Isolde leaned down to kiss Alisha’s cheek in greeting, before unzipping her heels and slipping them off her feet. Isolde also stripped off the leather jacket and dropped it on the floor next to her bag. She slid to the floor, leaning against the wall next to the vanity as Alisha finished her makeup.

Alisha Oriard was the most vibrant person Isolde had ever met. While she wasn’t the nice, quiet sort like Soya, she was the loud, happy-go-lucky sort that tended to call a bit more to Isolde’s own personality. With a grin on her face, Alisha took charge and proudly advocated for women with more full body figures, letting them know that it was okay to be curvy and plus sized, and to take pride in their bodies.

Alisha herself was a plus sized model that was known for her nude body shots, which she frequently put in her magazine, proving to people that she was proud of her body and didn’t need Photoshop to be society’s idea of beautiful. She was very much Isolde’s mentor and role model, and Isolde didn’t have many of those.

She’d pushed Isolde to take her photography much more seriously, later giving Isolde her first photography job. She encouraged Isolde to do her nude modeling shoot, assuring her that she had nothing to hide. She was also the only person Isolde had worked for that actually wanted her permanently, and reminded Isolde of that every time they saw each other.

“When did you get in, Izzy?”

Isolde looked up and grinned at her friend. “Two days ago; I’ve just been fucking around.”

“Fucking around or, fucking around?” Alisha asked, thrusting her hips up, causing Isolde to laugh.

“No, not that kind… as of yet.”

“Ooooh! Meaning you’ve found a potential partner”

Isolde shrugged as one of the interns brought over her camera case. “Thanks,” she said as the intern left Isolde opened the case, pulling out her work camera. “He’s…there.”

Alisha looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow, before pulling the blush closer to her. “You must really like this guy.”

Isolde chuckled slightly. “Truthfully, I’m not quite sure what to think of him. As Ben pointed out, he’s not my norm.”

“All right, now I’m offended,” Alisha said, pointing her blush brush at Isolde. “Ben knows about this guy, but I don’t? Next you’ll say Josef has met him.”

“I have no idea if Josef has met him.”

Alisha raised an eyebrow. “So a mutual friend? You’ve never gone for a friend before.”

“He’s a friend of a friend of Josef’s; I just met him yesterday, and I don’t know him all that well.”

“Well enough for you to be thinking about jumping into bed with him. You’re usually a bit slower on that.”

Isolde shrugged. “I like being chased; I’m not going to deny that.”

“And this boy, he’s chasing?”

“It seems like he is,” Isolde shrugged again, screwing on her lens and aiming it at Alisha as she finished her makeup. “But like I told Ben, I haven’t decided anything about him yet.”

“Can I at least get his name?” Alisha asked with a laugh. “I swear I won’t push you for more information than that.”

“Yes you will! But his name is Jussi.”

“Good strong, Finnish name.”

“Nice strong man too,” Isolde laughed, looking at her LCD screen. “I’m pretty sure the Greek gods themselves came down to chisel the man’s abs.”

“Oh! And he’s built! Why haven’t you slept with him yet?” Alisha laughed.

“He’s one of those guys…” Isolde started only to trail off as she thought about the end of that sentence and winced.

Alisha looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. “What guys?”

Isolde sighed. “Never mind. Are you ready?”

“Sweetheart, I’m always ready,” Alisha assured with a teasing grin as she stood from her chair. Isolde looking up at the outfit that she’d failed to notice before. Alisha was nude, all but a male’s white dress shirt and pair of black strappy heels.

“Don’t tell me,” Isolde laughed, putting up her hand as she took in the picture Alisha was trying to create. “Boyfriend is away for some business trip, and these are the pictures you send to his phone during business meetings in order for him to hurry his ass up and get home.”

“How do you do that?” Alisha laughed.

“Gift,” Isolde teased as she stood up, using her bare foot to move the case with her lenses over to where the interns and Ben were setting up the backdrops and props. Isolde looked at it as Alisha moved forward to talk to her interns. She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked at the white backdrop and felt Ben stand next to her.

She felt the shift in their relationship easily; the way she and Ben tuned into each other on another level, above their friendship and more into the professional that allowed them to nearly read each other’s thoughts, allowing them to work with each other with ease.

“It’s not working is it?” Ben asked, looking at the backdrop with a wince.

“Not for this. I like the window,” Isolde said, nodding towards the large window that faced downtown Helsinki.

“I was hesitant because I wasn’t sure just how naked Alisha wanted to get for this.”

“Oh, as naked as the day I was born, Benedict!” Alisha called, causing Ben and Isolde to laugh.

“I’ll take down the backdrop.”

“No, leave it up. Just move it,” Isolde said, knowing that their backdrops were much more portable when Ben and Alisha traveled than when they were in their home studio. “I can make it work later.”

Ben moved, motioning one of the interns to move the screen, before shouting out orders to Alisha. “Ali, unbutton the top two buttons of your shirt and the last button.”

Isolde nodded and crouched down, waving the interns away from Alisha before smiling. “Ready, love?”

“Oh, always,” Alisha said as Ben moved over to the table he’d set up with the laptop.

“Then you know what to do,” Isolde grinned as Alisha moved over to the window. “Act like the sexy, pouty girlfriend, and we’re good.”

“Oh, I’m always a sexy girlfriend,” Alisha laughed.

They worked for two hours, only taking ten minutes breaks so Isolde could see the shots on the laptop, and so that Alisha could change into her other outfits. Ben kept them on a tight schedule, as Alisha and he both had meetings they couldn’t miss on the other side of town.

“All right, I think this may be the last set,” Isolde said as she crouched down in front of the table and Ben clicked through the pictures.

“We can fit two more in, Iz,” Ben assured.

“No, no; I don’t want you guys to rush out of here. Let’s get one more set done, and then you and Ali can go grab lunch before your meetings.”

“Not coming with us?” Alisha asked, coming up behind Isolde in her robe to look at the pictures.

“Nah, I got shit to do back at the hotel.”

Ben frowned down at Isolde. “Sherlock is over and that airs on Sundays.”

“It’s not Doctor Who yet, and it’s still another two months before the Christmas special. Plus we all know Isolde is still heartbroken about Donna Noble’s storyline,” Alisha said, pinching Isolde’s cheek.

Ben snapped his fingers. “Misfits!”

“Oh hiatus until December.” Alisha pointed out. “And that’s on Thursdays.”

“It’s Merlin, you twats,” Isolde said irritably.

Ben laughed. “That’s not on ‘till tomorrow.”

“I never said I was watching it, but since you both insisted on going through my TV shows, I thought I’d point out what show is actually on at the moment. And it’s Merlin, which I will most likely watch tomorrow.”

“So what’s so important that you can’t have lunch with us?” Alisha asked.

“I do have other employers other then you, you know,” Isolde pointed out. “As well as my own pseudo-business to run.”

“Fine, fine, don’t get all huffy,” Alisha said, waving her off. “You wouldn’t have this problem if you just came to work full time for me.”

“Just go over to the couch, Ali, and take off the robe,” Isolde said, waving her friend off.

“Oh,” Alisha laughed, faking a shudder. “I love it when you get all feisty.”

Isolde snorted, before turning back to the laptop. “Delete DCC1294 thru 1305, and DCC1500 thru 1512 as well as…..” Isolde scrolled through the files and found the pictures she was looking for. “DCC1404, 1420 and 1615.”

“You sure?”

“Pointless to keep things that are fuzzy. I hit bad angles and bad lightening, and no amount of Photoshop will help it without fucking the picture up.”

“You’re the boss,” Ben said, writing down the numbers.

“Thanks. Ready for the next set?” Isolde asked, putting a new memory card into her camera, as Ben liked to keep the different themed pictures on different cards, since it made it easier on him to sort through later when he edited the pictures.

“Which card was that?” Ben asked, closing the files they’d been looking at.

“1205,” Isolde answered, waiting for his thumbs up before turning back to Alisha, who was sitting on the red Victorian couch. She was nude, only using her robe to cover up her legs.

“Like this?”

“You know your body best,” Isolde shrugged. “You know what I’m looking for; we’re not looking for porn, so no open legs.”

Alisha laughed. “Got it.”

Isolde watched as Alisha removed the robe from her legs, handing it to one of the interns, before bringing her knees to her chest. Ben walked over and positioned her so that her arms wrapped around her knees and her chin rested on top. Isolde positioned her camera, only to drop it with a frown when a knock came at the door.

“Keep going,” Ben said to Isolde, motioning one of the interns to go answer the door. “Don’t let them in though,” He reminded the girl as she went to the door.

Isolde sighed. “You’d think the sign we put on the door would deter them.”

“You’d think,” Ben laughed, as Isolde placed her camera at her face and blocked out the noise of the studio as she focused on Alisha, taking picture after picture of her nude friend, making sure each picture was modest, but told the story they were trying to get across.

“Jenny, mind lowering the light,” Isolde said absently, moving closer to the couch, only to frown when the light didn’t move. “Jenny?”

Alisha frowned as she looked around the studio, seeing it clear of her interns. “Ben, where the fuck did they all go?”

Ben glanced away from his laptop, and around the room. “What the-” he frowned when he saw the door slightly open and walked towards it, only to glare at his interns as they all huddled around a man he didn’t know on the stairwell. “What the fuck are all of you guys doing out here?”

“Ben, it’s-” one of the girls started, only for Ben to cut her off.

“I don’t care who the fuck it is, you all have jobs to do, so get inside and do it!”

“But-”

“What the hell is going- Vuori?” Isolde asked, having gotten curious as Ben’s yelling, only for her eyes to widen when she saw Jussi signing a sheet of notebook paper and handing it to one of the interns.

“Hey,” he said, only to smirk at her when he saw the surprise written on her face.

“You five, back inside,” Ben ordered, causing the quiet discontent of the interns as they walked past Ben and Isolde and into the studio. “And you have ten minutes,” Ben said to Isolde, pushing her out the door and closing it behind her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Jussi admitted.

“The sign that said, ‘Shoot in progress do not disturb,’ didn’t clue you in?” Isolde asked, stuffing her hands in her short’s pockets, as she’d left her camera on the table next to Ben’s laptop and had nothing to do with her hands.

“Granted, I thought you’d be the one to answer the door,” Jussi smirked.

“What are you even doing here? How did you even know I was here?” Isolde blinked. She hadn’t told Jussi where she was working, let alone that she was working in a studio at all.

“I may have bugged Ville until he told me.”

“So you stalked me?” Isolde asked with a small grin.

“I wasn’t hiding in bushes,” Jussi laughed.

“You were last night.” Isolde pointed out.

“As you haven’t called me, I haven’t gotten your phone number, and I wanted to see if you wanted to go get lunch,” Jussi admitted with a small shrug.

“I’m working.”

“So was I, but I took a break.”

Isolde laughed and crossed her arms over her chest. “So you expect me to just ditch my obligations to go to lunch with you? Why?”

“Because you like me,” Jussi said smartly, grinning when he heard her loud laugh that echoed around the corridor they were standing in.

“I tolerate you Vuori. And you didn’t even bring me gifts! I respond so much better to gifts.”

“I thought you responded to demands?” Jussi teased, his voice growing huskier as her eyed her. Damn those red tights made her legs look never ending.

“And yet here you are asking,” Isolde teased, before shaking her head. “I really can’t though. I only have my model for another half hour before she and my assistant go to another meeting, and I need to finish before she dresses.”

“Can I stay and watch?” Jussi asked. “Take you out after you’re done?”

“Ah, afraid not. My model is nude, and just for her sake, I’d rather not invite voyeurs,” Isolde teased. “Just, you know, integrity and all that shit.”

“Right.”

Isolde bit her lip before smiling at him. “I really do appreciate the offer though. If I weren’t actually working, I’d take you up on it, as I’ve only had half a muffin and the granola bar my friend found in her purse.”

Jussi laughed. “You said you’re done in half an hour?”

“Just with the shoot. I still have to do a ton of shit after that, but it’ll just be me.”

Jussi nodded. “I’ll be back in about forty-five minutes then.”

“What?” Isolde asked, confusion lacing her voice.

“How do you feel about Chinese?” Jussi asked, carefully making his ways down the stairs backwards.

“It’s okay…” Isolde said slowly, as Jussi nodded and turned, shouting ‘forty-five minutes’ behind his back before disappearing. “Well…all right then,” she chuckled before going back inside, seeing Alisha still on the couch, only the robe was back over her legs while Ben sat next to her. The interns were standing together silently, as if waiting for Ben to given them commands without pissing the British man off any further.

“Was that the man?” Alisha asked.

“It was; he wanted to take me out to lunch,” Isolde said, picking her camera back up.

“Then I should get dressed,” Alisha said, starting to get up.

“What for? We’re not done.”

“You turned that man down?” Ben asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, I told him I had to work. Now shut up and move off the couch so I can finish and you guys can get to your meetings.”

“Fine. By the way, there’s a difference between being in a local band, and being in a fucking rock band,” Ben said, getting up and taking Alisha’s robe from her.

Isolde laughed. “Yes there is, and I’m glad you’ve figured out the difference.”

Alisha laughed. “Leave her alone Ben. Obviously, Jussi is different from her other men.”

“He’s really not,” Isolde shrugged.

“Really?” Alisha said with a raised eyebrow. “Usually you shoo your lovers away with a wave of your hand, and poof they’re gone. You show your annoyance with them when they dare come in interrupt your work, and you’ve usually fucked them by now. Alas, you’re still thinking about this one, you actually went out and talked to him, and you came in laughing from whatever conversation you had out there. Tell me he’s not different, I dare you.”

“You know you talk a lot for being naked,” Isolde said, looking at her friend in amusement.

“And you deflect a lot,” Alisha shrugged with a grin. “We all have our faults.”

Isolde shook her head, not bothering to respond. Instead, she walked over and positioned Alisha and gestured for one of the interns. “Lower the lights,” she said, before resuming with what she’d been doing before Jussi had interrupted.

Trying not to think about Alisha’s words and the fact that she was in fact treating Jussi differently than the other men she’d ‘dated,’ she continued working, getting the last shots in of Alisha before calling it a day. She handed the full memory card to Ben so that he could transfer the last of the photos to her laptop, so Isolde could look through them at her leisure until they all met up again in the evening for dinner.

She was sitting alone in the studio, Alisha and Ben having gone off to a late lunch and then head out to their meeting, the interns having the rest of the day off, when a knock sounded at the door. Isolde looked up from her laptop and called a ‘come in,’ smiling lightly when she saw Jussi come in.

“You’re safe; everyone’s gone,” she said as Jussi hesitated slightly at the door before coming in.

“I bought a little of everything,” he said, lifting up the three bags filled with cartons.

“You didn’t have to, you know. I’m heading back to the hotel in a few minutes and could have just ordered food.”

“It’s fine,” Jussi shrugged, as Isolde cleared off half the table for him to set the bags down. “I wanted to, and I figure it makes up for my lack of flowers from before.”

Isolde laughed. “Ah, food, the way to any woman’s stomach,” she teased, picking through the bag and opening the cartons until she found the one with lemon chicken in it. “God, this smells amazing.”

“It’s from the place down the street. The guys and I tend to go every so often when we break for rehearsals,” Jussi admitted, pulling a lone chair from the corner of the room over to the table and sat down, picking through the beef and broccoli container.

“You guys rehearse around here?”

Jussi smirked. “We’re above you.”

Isolde blinked. “What?”

“Our rehearsal space,” Jussi said, pointing his chopsticks towards the ceiling. “It’s above you.”

“I didn’t hear a thing all today and I would have bitched about it too.”

Jussi chuckled. “We weren’t there today; we were at the venue we’re going to be at tonight. But we’ve been at it since this morning, so I don’t have to be back until later tonight for the sound check.”

“Which left you free to seduce me with Chinese food. Any rice in there?”

“Mmm, that it did.” Jussi set his container down and looked through the bags until he found the rice, passing it over to her. “How was work?”

“Amusing, as usual,” Isolde said with a smile as she closed her laptop and poked her chopsticks into the rice. “My employer happens to be a friend of mine, so anything I do with her tends to be fun. I have creative license, so I get to do whatever I want.”

“Really?” Jussi asked.

“I’ve always wanted to do a pin-up girl shoot, and she has the perfect body type for it, so we chartered a boat for tomorrow, and I get to have her dress up for me. And this is strictly for fun, so I’m very excited about it.”

“I can tell,” Jussi laughed, seeing her smile and the excitement nearly brighten the blue in her eyes, making them that much more vivid.

Isolde looked at him only to look back at her containers. “Why are you different?”

“I’m sorry?” Jussi asked, looking at her, confused.

Isolde shrugged. “You’re not…I don’t usually go for men like you.”

“Like me?” Jussi asked, confused.

“I have a type; most girls do.”

“And what’s your type?”

“Blonde for one. Tend to have stable jobs, tend to be pretty pussy whipped, too.”

Jussi laughed, running a hand through his spiked hair, before nodding. “Technically my job is stable. I just travel ninety percent of the time for it; and depending on how pretty that pussy of yours, is I might just become whipped for it.

Isolde snorted, swallowing the rice in her mouth, before pointing her chopsticks at him. “It is very pretty.”

Jussi laughed before admitting the last bit of information “And I’m a natural blonde.”

Isolde blinked. “You are?”

“Yeah. I dye it once every month or so. Why does that surprise you?”

Isolde shrugged, not wanting to admit that he had the softest chemically treated hair she’d ever felt. “Just can’t picture you as a blonde, is all.”

“I’ll need to dig up some pictures for you then. Are you a natural blonde?”

“As in, does the carpet match the drapes? Because I don’t have carpet, and haven’t since I was sixteen thank God. Do you know how much of a hassle it is to shave down there?” Isolde said bluntly, smiling lightly when he laughed again, only to raise an eyebrow when he lifted the hem of his shirt to show his low riding jeans and the clean shaven V of his hips.

“Yes, I know of this hassle you speak of,” he teased.

Isolde snorted and poked her chopsticks back into her rice, trying not to let it show that the little move of his had gotten to her. “Yes, I’m a natural blonde. But I’ve wanted to dye it for the last couple years; I just haven’t been able to decide what color.”

Jussi narrowed his eyes. “What of the stripe then?”

“My testing stripe,” Isolde admitted, fingering the black curl that fell in front of her eye, before pushing it back behind her ear. “I’ve been testing colors for the past two years to see what suits me. I haven’t been able to decide, though.”

“Blonde suits you,” Jussi smirked.

Isolde shrugged. “For now… until I decide.”

Jussi nodded, throwing his empty carton on the table. “So I’m not your type, huh?”

“Well, I mean if you’re a blonde,” Isolde laughed, but lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know… I guess you’re not; doesn’t mean we’re not compatible, though.”

Jussi smirked. “I think I’d like to see how compatible we are.”

Isolde laughed as she put her own container on the table. “Is that the reason you came here? To see if I’d give in?”

Jussi shook his head. “No. My actual intention was to just drop off the food, but those tights are just doing so much for me.”

Isolde looked down at her tights, lifting her leg up to look at her foot that was encased in red and wiggled her toes. “They are cute, aren’t they?” She put her foot down, only to blink when she saw Jussi in front of her. “And you walk very silently,” she stated, biting her lower lip before wrapping her feet around the lower part of his legs and pulling him forward. “Any reason you’re so close, Vuori?”

Jussi didn’t answer. Instead, he ran his hands up her legs and around her thighs, causing Isolde to laugh. “I’m not fucking you in this studio, Vuori.”

“Wasn’t asking you to,” Jussi smirked, letting his hands slides up to her waist before lifting her up off the chair. Her legs quickly found their way around his waist while her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. “I’m just asking for a kiss.”

“A kiss huh?” Isolde said, before leaning forward and kissing him softly, pulling back. “How’s that?”

“Bit more.”

“Mm, see this is where the demands should come in, Vuori.”

Jussi chuckled softly, leaning forward to skim his lips against her ear. “Kiss me, Isolde. Now.”

“There it is,” Isolde laughed, and before he had a chance to reply, her lips were on his. Her arms tightened around his neck, moaning against him when his arms banded around her waist and his lips moved roughly against hers, his teeth nipping and coaxing.

He moved them around so he could set her on the table, only for Isolde to resist in his arms, her arms and leg’s tightening around him.

“Food and work on the table; couch,” she murmured as she pulled away from him, only to lean down and nip at the side of his neck, taking great pleasure in leaving her lipstick on him.

“Knew I liked you for a reason,” he murmured before walking across to the studio to the couch and laying her on the red velvet, kneeling between her legs. He leaned over her, taking the time to kiss her neck, her head tilting to the side to grant him more access to the skin.

“I dreamt about you.”

“I bet they were amazing dreams.”

“The best.” He admitted. “Did you know you could do this thing with your tongue…?”

“Oh! One of my best tricks,” Isolde teased, only to whimper when his teeth nipped hard on her collarbone. Not one to lay there while the man did the work, Isolde unwrapped her arms from his neck and ran them down his back, her nails scratching lightly before finding the hem of his shirt and pulling up.

“You take it off, and there’s no stopping this,” Jussi admitted, still working on her neck as he enjoyed the taste and softness of her skin on his lips.

“I just wanna feel,” she whispered, a happy moan escaping her lips when she felt his skin soft and warm underneath her fingers. “I’ve had dreams about these abs.”

Jussi chuckled against her collarbone, his fingers ghosting along her sides, taking pleasure in her uneven breathing as he spoke into her ear. Not sure what her line was for them yet, he spoke his crass words in Finnish. “Olen haaveillut vittu teitä.”(I’ve dreamt of fucking you)

He heard the quiet whine in his ear, and felt the way her back arched against him. Her knees hitched higher around his waist, fingers still running up his chest, only to make a slow trek downward. He wasn’t sure what Rock-and-Roll God he had to be praying to, but this woman was addicting.

The way her body fit like a perfect puzzle piece against his, the way his tan skin looked against her paler tone, and the way he couldn’t stop thinking about her, even though he’d only met her twenty four hours before. Fucking addicting, he thought as he nipped at the lobe of her ear, feeling himself respond to her own mouth as it nipped and sucked lightly on the side of his neck. He’d have a mark, he thought, but was quickly distracted by the fact that her fingers reached the hem of his jeans, playing with the brass button.

He reached down and grabbed her hand, bringing it up above her head and pinning her there, before moving his lips back against her ear as he whispered, his voice low and rough in tone.

“Olit juuri näin, mutta sanoit nimeni, yhä uudelleen ja uudelleen.”(You were just like this, but you were saying my name, over and over and over again.)

He felt her tense underneath her fingers, her knees locking at his waist and her hips thrusting up against his leg. Her lips detached from his neck as she tilted her head, a stuttered gasp escaping her lips, causing him to pull back and look at her in wonderment as she opened her blue eyes wide in surprise.

“Did you just…?” Jussi trailed off with a smirk.

“I have never had that happen.” she said, her voice shaky and low as she pushed at his chest. “You are dangerous!” she scolded, unwrapping her legs from his waist.

“Now tell me; was it my voice that caused you to come, or was it the Finnish?” he teased as he got off the couch, arranging himself to get a bit of relief.

“Oh, shut up! One stroke of my fingers, and you would have been there too!” Isolde said, blowing her hair out of her face.

“I’m not going to apologize,” Jussi smirked. “It’s quite an ego booster that my voice can get you off.”

“Don’t you have some drums to go hit?”

“I give you an orgasm, and now I’m being mocked. I’m still waiting for you to return the favor!” he laughed.

“You’re annoying,” Isolde said, though she smiled up at him. “I can if you want. I’m told I have wonderful lips.” She winked at him, causing Jussi to groan and laugh at the same time.

“As amazing as that sounds, I’ll take a rain check. I should head out anyway, my phones been buzzing for the last half hour.”

“You sure that’s just not your reaction to me?” Isolde teased.

Jussi chuckled. “Unfortunately, no. It’s really my phone, and I’m being summoned. Now tell me, are you coming tonight?”

“I thought I just did,” Isolde teased, causing him to give her a mocking glare. “I don’t know; I have some work I have to get done.”

“Then don’t come to the concert, come to the after party. Have a few drinks with me.”

“I don’t deal well with drunks, mostly because I’m a horrible one myself,” Isolde said with a small smile. “I’ll think about it, Vuori.”

“Oh come on now. I think we’re on a first name basis, considering…”

“I think I prefer your last name,” she said, her eyes narrowing playfully.

Jussi smirked but nodded. “Fine, call me what you like. I’ll put your name on the list so you can get into the bar without waiting.”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

“You’ll come,” Jussi smirked. “I’m sure of it. Just like I’m sure the reason you still haven’t stood up from the couch is because your knees are still weak for the amazing orgasm you just had.” He winked at her before turning around. “See you later, Isolde.”

“I’ve had better!” she called just as he opened the door.

“Ah, you shouldn’t have said that,” Jussi said, turning to look at her. “That’s just going to make me work harder when I finally get you into my bed.”

She smirked when the door closed, before blowing out a slow breath and standing up, rubbing the palms of her sweaty hands on her tights and cursing the Finn that left her itchy and needy in all the right places.

XxxxxxX

“So, did you buy the Chinese food?” Ben asked as Isolde came out of the bathroom, her hair wet from recent shower.

“No, Vuori did.”

“So this is drummer sex food?” Alisha asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Ben, I think we just ate sex food.”

“It’s not sex food,” Isolde laughed as she pulled on the blue t-shirt and faded jeans that she usually wore when she was too lazy to dress up, and went to sit down with her friends. “We didn’t copulate on it or anything.”

“Oh, the day Isolde uses the word ‘copulate’ instead of ‘fuck,’ we know the world is ending,” Ben said, setting his own container down, causing Alisha to laugh.

“Look, the man just kissed me,” Isolde said with a roll of her eyes, handing Ben the blue nail polish that he’d asked for so he could paint her nails. “Nothing else happened.”

“Well it was nice of him to bring you lunch,” Alisha pointed out as Ben shook the color and dragged Isolde’s right hand closer to him and set it on the table.

“Stop biting your cuticles, Isolde,” Ben admonished.

“Just be happy I stopped biting my nails,” Isolde said with a roll of her eyes.

“God I feel horrible for your fingers when your shows start back up,” Ben muttered as he started painting them.

“And the only reason Vuori found it in his heart to bring me food,” Isolde continued, ignoring Ben’s lecture on nail care, “Was because he’s trying to convince me to go to some stupid after-party for his band tonight.”

“Yeah, let’s go back to that,” Alisha said, closing her laptop, knowing it was useless to try and get work done when Isolde was sitting on a goldmine of gossip. “He’s a drummer in a local band?”

“The band is Helsinki based, that means they’re local. I didn’t lie,” Isolde said with a shrug.

Ben snorted. “When you use the word local, I image some dead beat musician living in his mother’s basement and meeting in his front man’s garage with a six pack of beer….or is that just me?”

“Just you, sweetheart,” Alisha said kindly, patting Ben’s head. “Come on now Izzy, he’s a cutie. And that man is built’ I Googled him. Holy shit, would I like to lick whip cream off of him.”

“Good thing you’re lactose intolerant and won’t have that option,” Isolde teased as Ben grabbed her other hand to work on.

“I would deal with those consequences,” Alisha laughed. “So what’s this after party he invited you to?”

Isolde shrugged. “They have a show tonight, and since I don’t like the band, he invited me to the after party at his bar.”

Ben blinked at her. “You didn’t tell him you didn’t like the band, did you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“That’s the equivalent someone telling you, you take crap photos,” Alisha pointed out.

Isolde blinked. “Well first that’s bullshit, because I take amazing pictures. And secondly, everyone is entitled to their opinion. It’s not like I’m going to sit there and make a person enjoy my pictures, just like he can’t make me like his band.”

“How can you be friends with Josef and not like The 69 Eyes?” Ben asked. “Doesn’t he salivate over them?”

“I do have a mind of my own, and because of that I’m capable of choosing my own musical taste,” Isolde said as Ben started on the second coat of blue.

“Trust me; no one is arguing that you have a mind of your own,” Ben chuckled. “So are you going?”

“Does it look like I’m dressed for a night out at a bar?” Isolde asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Why aren’t you going, Izzy?” Alisha asked. “You seem to really like this guy.”

Isolde chewed on her bottom lip, shrugging. “He’s nice enough.”

“Let’s see,” Ben said, getting up and going to the bathroom to grab the top coat on the counter. “In Isolde speak, ‘nice enough’ means he’s good looking, with a decent personality, but at risk of getting close to the ever-guarded Isolde.”

“Or it means, ‘nice enough,’” Isolde said as Ben sat back down and untwisted the cap to the bottle.

“Sure, but it doesn’t,” Ben stated with a lift of his lips as he started putting the top coat on the nails. “It means that you actually like this guy in more than a one-time kind thing.”

Alisha gave a scandalized gasp. “Izzy! Would you share a bed with this man?”

“Oh shut up, both of you,” Isolde said shaking her head, trying not to laugh at their teasing. “You both think you know me so well.”

“We do,” Alisha and Ben said simultaneously.

“He’s just a guy. They’re all just guys. And yes, if he’s willing to take on a causal relationship with me, then great. But he’s just a guy.”

“If he’s just a guy, why don’t you go to his party?” Ben said, patting her hand, letting her know he was done.

Isolde sighed, knowing that she wouldn’t get any work done unless she gave in and went to the stupid after party. “Fine, I’ll go. Ben, go get my Converse from my suitcase. Fuck him if he thinks I’m changing.”

Alisha laughed. “This must be true love if you’re letting him see you in your home jeans and Doctor Who tee.”

Ben groaned as he got up, grabbing her blue converse from her suitcase. “At least put something on that’s low cut, Iz.”

“Nope. I don’t even want to go, but you’re making me prove a point. So put on my shoes while my nails finish drying, and I’ll go.”

Ben did as he was told, putting on her shoes for her while Isolde shook her hands, trying to get her nails to dry faster. Once done, she got up, putting on a zip up hoodie, not bothering to zip it up and grabbing her wallet from her bag.

“I’ll be back in two hours, and I expect work to get fucking done when I get back.”

“Deal,” Alisha nodded as Isolde left the room. She turned to Ben, who grinned at her. “Do you think she’s coming back?”

Ben shrugged. “Isolde doesn’t go to the guy’s house, no matter how cute and convincing they are, and she’s not bringing him back here. So yeah she’ll be back. I just give her half an hour.”

“She is resisting a lot with this one, isn’t she?”

“What does that matter?”

Alisha shrugged. “She resisted a lot with you-know-who, too.”

Ben nodded slowly. “Well hopefully this works out better.”

XxxxxxX

She hadn’t meant to go to Bäkkäri. She actually was just going to tell the cab she’d gotten into outside of the hotel to drive around for an hour, only for the words ‘Bar Bäkkäri’ to come out of her mouth.

That led her to stand across the street with her still drying hair and her hands in her baggy jeans, looking through the window of the busy bar and seeing Jussi laughing with his friends. God damnmit, she hated it when her friends were right. Jussi was different, and she had been actually contemplating sharing a bed with him, not just in the ‘let's have sex in the bed’ type of sharing, but actually sleeping in the bed with him, something she hadn’t done in nearly five years by herself, and something she’d never done with any of her lovers.

She wasn’t going to lie to herself, as she didn’t lie. Stretched the truth yes, but never lied. The fact that Jussi was becoming this close to her freaked her out a bit. She’d only known him twenty four hours, and he already had a way to get a spine shivering, knee weakening reaction out of her, something she hadn’t felt in forever. And she definitely couldn’t forget the ease of the conversation both the night before in his car, and earlier that day in the studio; how amazingly easy it was to have a conversation with him, mixed in with playful bantering and crude flirting.

Jussi was the type of man that could easily worm his way past the shields she put up and make himself at home in her heart. And for some reason, she found part of herself wanting to let him. Another part of her was afraid to let anyone else see a part of herself that she never shared easily, even with her closest of friends.

Signing and running a hand through her curls, she looked away from the window towards the open patio the bar set up outside, smiling lightly when she saw Jyrki’s familiar face in the crowd, talking to his own friends. Looking both ways, she crossed the street before walking up to the black iron fence the Jyrki was leaning on.

She taped him on the shoulder, causing him to turn and smile kindly at her, recognizing her from the get together the night before. “Isolde, right?”

“Right,” she nodded.

“Jussi had me keep a look out for you. He’s at the bar.”

“No, yeah, I saw him,” Isolde laughed. “I was actually wondering if you could pass along a message to him.”

“Not staying?” Jyrki smirked.

“Not tonight,” Isolde grinned. “Do you have a paper and pen I could write on?”

“Napkin all right?” Jyrki asked, handing her a cocktail napkin and a pen.

“Perfect,” Isolde said, only to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Well turn around so I can use your back as a desk.”

Jyrki looked at her in surprise before turning around a letting her use his back to write on, only to turn back to her when she lifted the pen to see her kissing the napkin and fold it before handing it to him. “Give it to Vuori?”

“Sure,” Jyrki laughed, looking at her. The baggy faded jeans and blue converse, the blue Doctor Who shirt that read Keep Calm and Don’t Blink. “You know, you’re not his usual type.”

“Well that’s good to know, as he’s not mine,” Isolde smirked. “Just make sure he gets that. He’s been after it for a while.”

“It’s not your virtue, is it?” Jyrki teased.

Isolde snorted. “Please, that’s been gone for a while. No, it’s my phone number.”

“I’ll give it to him.”

“Thanks,” Isolde smiled. “You’re sweet.”

“I’m taken,” He teased.

“I know. I keep up to date. You’re not my type either,” she laughed. “Tell Vuori I had fun today, and next time I’ll return the favor,” she smirked before turning and walking away.

Jyrki shook his head in amusement before excusing himself from his amused friends and going into the bar to find Jussi. He found the drummer easily, resting against the bar, talking with the bartender as he got another beer.

“Hey.”

Jussi looked up at nodded his greeting. “Want another beer?”

“I’m fine. I actually ran into your girl outside.”

Jussi blinked as he sat down in his stool, looking around the bar. “Isolde? Is she here?”

“She left. She wanted me to give you this,” Jyrki said, holding out the napkin Isolde had written on. “And to tell you that she had fun today, and she’ll return the favor next time.”

Jussi laughed. “Did she really?”

“Is that where you ran off to this afternoon?”

“We had lunch,” Jussi said. “I took her food over to the studio she’s working out of.”

“So the favor is food?” Jyrki asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

“Sure,” Jussi chuckled, opening the napkin and seeing Isolde’s number scribbled down, along with a short note with her lipstick kiss.

“Corona Bar. 8 pm.” Jyrki smirked. “Gutsy, especially after standing you up.”

Jussi laughed. “I don’t think it’s being stood up if she never actually agreed to come out, and technically, she could have texted me this note. She has my number. But she came all this way to give it to me.”

“Via your friend,” Jyrki pointed out, only to look at Jussi’s smile. “You really like this girl, huh?”

“I think she may be the most interesting woman I’ve ever met.”

“Really?” Jyrki laughed.

“And that includes Rosalind,” Jussi nodded. “She’s just different. It’s nice. She’s like….this mixture of Soya with her sweetness, and a mixture of Rosalind with her crassness and that…oddly enough, appeals to me.”

“Well you seem to appeal to her. Which is odd, because she did not seem to like you last night.”

“She’s a stubborn one, but I think I’m starting to break her down.”

Jyrki laughed. “Well good luck.”

“Thanks, I think I may need it,” Jussi grinned, stuffing the napkin in his pocket, with every intention of meeting Isolde the next night, and very much looking forward to it.