A Hidden Talent

Hannah

“What about this one?” Parker held up what I assumed was some kind of strapped lingerie, but it looked terrifying.

There would be much more skin showing in that contraption than I would be comfortable wearing in private, let alone getting photographed in to post on a social media account.

“No,” I vetoed with a firm shake of my head.

“This one?” he asked, holding up another hanger.

“No! That’s even worse!” I exclaimed, looking at the garment that more resembled a spider web than underwear.

“Is that a giant red bow on the ass?” Tatum laughed as she looked over at the “lingerie” Parker was holding up. “Maybe you need that one for your date.”

“Can you please find some normal sets?” I pleaded, looking at both of them.

“Fine.” Parker pouted as he tucked the two hangers back into the rack they came from. “Spoilsport.”

“Parker, I don’t want to look like a trussed-up piece of poultry. Please try to find something not designed for toothpicks.”

“Try this one on.” Tatum handed me a pretty, floral lace bra-and-panty set, so I headed to the fitting room to try it on.

It only had one decorative strap around the waist. It took me a few minutes to get changed and pull it on, but I actually really liked this one.

“Do you have it on yet?” Parker questioned impatiently. I should have found it surprising that he was so eager to see a woman in lingerie, but I didn’t.

“Yeah.” My voice was quiet as I answered him.

I looked at myself in the mirror, and while I still had a ways to go, I thought I looked good. For once, trying on underwear wasn’t something to rush through, avoiding looking too closely in the mirror.

“Well, open up and show us.” I could see his foot tap against the carpet outside of the dressing room door. He was such an impatient diva sometimes.

“Hold on. Gimme a sec.” I adjusted the way that the elastic waistband sat and then unlocked the door.

“Damn, girl, you look hot,” he complimented with a wide smile spreading across his face.

“That’s the one for the after pics,” Tatum said decisively.

“Shouldn’t I just do it in the leggings and sports bra like the before pics?” I asked. Isn’t that what you were supposed to do? Show the difference using the same pieces of clothing?

“Nope.” She shook her head as she reached forward to straighten the way the strap lay across my shoulder.

“Bor-ring! You need a sexy after shot,” Parker urged excitedly. “Show off that new body. You earned it.”

“Fine.” I looked at myself in the mirror and tried not to pick apart the few things I didn’t like about how it fit. “Okay. Let’s get it.”

“Let’s get going; I still need to adjust the box lights. We’re burning daylight, ladies.” Parker clapped twice.

“And I’ve got my curling wands and makeup kit in the car. I’ll take care of getting her ready while you do that,” Tatum replied.

“I’m just along for the ride. Do with me what you will.”

***

Three hours later, I wiped the heavy foundation off my cheeks with a makeup wipe as Parker sat at the kitchen island with his laptop.

“I think we should just put all of them up in black and white,” Tatum told him as she peered over his shoulder.

“I can try to colorize the floral pattern if you want,” he suggested as he traced his finger along the lingerie that covered me in the photo.

“No, I kinda like the idea of black and white too. Then you’ll have to do less color correction.”

“So, is this one for the after?” He looked over at me.

“Yeah, I like that one best,” I agreed.

“Please, can I put these two up?” he begged. “Even if it’s just on my portfolio page? You look amazing in them.”

On the screen were two photos of me, totally glammed up, lying across my bed. The white sheets were strategically placed to cover my nudity.

It had been fun to shoot them, but now I was second-guessing Parker’s insistence on posting them somewhere.

“I think you should share them as a part of the Project Peanut Butter Cup posts,” Tatum shrugged.

“I don’t know. They really are pretty, but I don’t want to seem like I’m trying to sexualize my progress.”

“Yeah, they’re sexy,” Parker agreed, “but they really don’t show that much skin.”

“All right, but let’s do two separate posts,” I conceded. “One with the before and after, the other with those.”

“I think you’re gonna need to warn Jordan that you’re posting those. Wouldn’t want the poor dude to embarrass himself with a client.” Tatum laughed.

I could just imagine the look on his face if he pulled that up on his phone.

“Maybe I shouldn’t post them,” I said, backtracking. My nerves were starting to build, and I was genuinely going to chicken out with the racier ones.

“Don’t wimp out on us now,” Parker scolded as he made a few corrections to the light balance of the photos and started saving them to a folder on his desktop.

“Fine,” I sighed. “Where’s my phone?”

“Yes! Girl!” Tatum cheered as she clapped her hands together.

Hannah

where are you?

Jordan

just got out of the shower. What’s up?

Hannah

at home?

Jordan

yes, you want the address? 😉

Hannah

Parker and Tatum are still here.

Jordan

everything ok?

Hannah

it’s about that project:

Jordan

you actually going to tell me?

Hannah

more like show you

“Email me the files, Parker.”

“On it. Spank bank material is on its way,” he laughed as his fingers flew over the keyboard, attaching the pictures to an email and sending it to me.

“Oh, shut it.”

“He’s gonna need another shower when he gets those,” Tatum laughed.

“Quit reading my texts over my shoulder.” I shielded my phone from Tatum and saved the digital images to my camera roll.

Jordan

you still there?

Psyching myself up to press send, I attached the images and closed my eyes as I pressed the screen over the little button. Jordan’s response came back almost immediately.

Jordan

holy fuck

Jordan

tell them to go home, I’m coming over.

I let out a surprised giggle as heat flared low in my belly.

Hannah

you know they won’t go

Jordan

I don’t care what you’re doing after work Tuesday. Cancel it. You’re mine for the night.

Hannah

date night?

Jordan

or I take you home with me after class tomorrow

Hannah

you make that sound like a bad thing.

Jordan

I’m trying to be a gentleman

Hannah

Tuesday…I’m yours

***

When Tuesday rolled around, I was a nervous wreck for a multitude of reasons.

I was anxious because of the video I knew that the coaches would be posting with the results of the challenge. And more importantly, because of the anticipation of what would happen tonight when I went to Jordan’s house.

Parker

you gonna watch it live?

Hannah

yeah…I’ve got my headphones. Hopefully, my boss doesn’t walk by and see me on my tablet

Parker

just hide it under your desk

Hannah

I’m nervous

Parker

there’s nothing you can do to affect it one way or the other. But I’ve got a good feeling.

Parker

or are you nervous because you forgot what to do with a penis?

Hannah

both?

Tatum

they just posted the feed

It was showtime.

I pulled up the studio’s Facebook page and clicked on the feed for the live video. There were only a few people on so far.

Ty, Mal, and Jordan were standing behind the desk in the reception area wearing matching coach shirts.

“We finally combed through all the data we collected over the last several days, and we’ve got some exciting news for you guys,” Jordan announced.

“We’re especially excited because none of us know what’s in these envelopes.” Ty held up a stack of envelopes with pink and blue numbers on them.

“But we do know that all of the challenge participants worked their asses off.” Mallory laughed and then made a face, whispering, “Can I say ass on Facebook live?”

The three of them laughed, and Mallory looked a little nervous at her slip.

“Just go with it,” Ty urged.

“Okay, so first off,” she kept talking at the camera.

“All of the challenge participants, even the ones who unfortunately were disqualified for not meeting the challenge requirements, lost an astounding percentage of total body fat.”

“We added up the stats for all three teams combined, and it was over 310 percentage points lost!” Jordan announced with awe.

“But one lucky team alone lost over 120 of that… Mal, you want to do the honors?” Ty motioned toward Mallory.

“Let’s see… was it Team Fire? Team Green Machine? Or the Rowing Rockets?” She opened the envelope and took out the card, flipping it to face the camera.

“Looks like Team Green Machine better get ready to be spoiled! You guys won the team total loss challenge!”

“Well, normally, I’d say ladies first on this next one,” Ty said. “But since there were more men in the challenge this year, we’re gonna start with our top men’s winner.”

Jordan took the envelope he was handed and pulled out a little notecard. “First place for the guys is Jack Hollis for Team Green Machine with a loss of 9.1 percent.”

“Second place is Kyle Morris with Team Green Machine with a loss of 6.4 percent,” Ty announced next.

“Will Coach J have a clean sweep this year?” Mallory asked as she opened the last envelope. “Nope! He won’t. Ray Summers from Team Fire took third with 5.9 percent lost.”

“Let’s see if we can keep those upsets going. The top winner for the ladies is…” Ty pulled open the envelope, and his face lit up. “Connie Hollis with Team Rowing Rockets.”

“It looks like despite being rivals, this husband-and-wife team managed to secure the win for both sexes! Way to go, Connie and Jack!”

“She lost a whopping 10.7 percent body fat overall. That’s some determination right there!”

I sat there and tried to keep paying attention. I knew that the odds were probably stacked against me. But I somehow still thought I had a shot at winning.

“The next two winners were neck and neck, only separated by point-two percent. Is it time for Team Fire to have another winner?” Mallory nodded over to Jordan with a smile.

“Not for second place!” Jordan said excitedly as he opened the next envelope and peeked inside. “Hannah Daniels from Team Green Machine locked down second place with 8.7 percent overall total loss. Way to go, Han!”

“Holy shit!” I squealed as I saw him turn the card to face the screen with a proud smile on his face.

Parker

you did it!

Tatum

oh my god! You got second! Yay!

The look of pride on Jordan’s face was priceless. He looked so excited. I wished I could have been in the studio with him.

“We’ve still got one winner left! Let’s give it up for Mackenzie Dylan on Team Fire for her 8.5 percent loss,” Ty continued.

“I’m so proud of all of you!” Jordan said excitedly. “Every single challenge winner worked hard and put in the time to get to their goals for the last two months.”

“So we’ve got a special surprise,” he continued.

“Each of the participants, winner or not, will be getting a special treat at your next class. We’ve ordered custom water bottles for each of you as a thank you for all the hard work you put in.”

“Team Green Machine, keep an eye on your emails for details about the team dinner,” Mallory chimed in.

“And congratulations to all the winners!” Ty cheered as the video stopped, and I sat there for a few moments, my hands shaking.

Jordan

congrats, baby. I’m so proud of you. I’ll see you in a few hours

And then my hands were shaking for an entirely different reason.