Exposure
14
Vacations
“Leva” by Hank Shiffman, ID295380764 licensed from Shutterstock.com
“THIS NAME SOUNDS FAMILIAR,” I said. “Have we shot her before?”
“She was the first client I was here for,” Cassie said. “Just a portrait. Some kind of political campaign. She lost, though, and now she’s coming back for an Attic Allure special.”
“Oh, yes. If I remember, you explained to her that my photography was not pornographic,” I laughed.
“I thought sure you were going to fire me.”
“Not on your life. I love having you as part of our crew. By the way, even though we don’t need anyone now, keep an eye out for another assistant for this summer. I’ll probably look around campus, too.”
Our client arrived promptly and I greeted her.
“Miss Harmon, welcome back to Attic Allure,” I said, taking her hand. She had a suitcase and a bag which Cassie and Leora took from her and carried behind the privacy screen.
“Please, call me Leva.”
“Leva, come in and tell me what you are interested in for a new photograph,” I said. We sat at the table facing the gallery wall.
“I want to show feminism as feminine. I believe we are being slandered in the press and popular media as somehow less than women because we believe in women’s rights. It takes all kinds of women to truly be equal, just like all kinds of men are equal. I am working on a committee to draft a constitutional amendment that will guarantee women’s rights.”
“I see. That seems like a good idea to me. Logically, it seems pretty stupid that such an amendment is even needed, but I suppose the patriarchal system of the founding fathers—indicated by the term fathers—made women into second class citizens. How will we go about helping the cause?”
“I’m a woman.”
I had to agree with that. Perhaps she wasn’t the most glamorous woman I’d ever met, but my male-centric mind leapt immediately to the fact that she was definitely a woman.
“I’m not a beauty queen, but I’m not particularly disgusting to look at. I want to present an image of womanly presence and femininity that will show that feminists are not simply bull dykes out to cut the balls off all men,” Leva said.
“That is an uncomfortable image. I have, however, met a dominant lesbian feminist who came off as very feminine as well,” I said.
“Really?”
“That photo,” I said pointing to Adele’s picture.
“Oh my! She is very attractive. Can you do that for me?” Leva asked.
“What are your limitations?”
“Not pornographic,” she said immediately. Then she turned to Cassie. “I remember the lesson you taught the last time I was here. You’re a great feminist. I have set my own definition of pornography that I can live with. I recognize the artistry involved in your photography, Nate. I am not afraid to be seen naked, though I’m not the picture of beautiful sensuality of, say, that one of the woman dressed as a jester. She would be a great advertisement for the diversity of character involved in the feminist movement.”
“She considers herself a feminist and hopes to make a future as a comedienne,” I said.
“So, nudity does not bother me,” Leva continued “What I will object to as pornographic would be anything that actually focuses on the breasts or genitalia. I recognize that in your work, you may capture these in a photo. As long as they are not the focus and intent of the photo, I’m fine with that.”
“Okay. What did you bring for us to work with?” I asked.
“I have a miniskirt and crop top,” she said. “I’m almost too old to wear them, but I like them. I like what you’ve done with drapery in the picture of the woman over there.” She pointed at the picture of Charity taken a year previously.
“Okay. Let’s start with your miniskirt and crop top and do a few studies to see what we can come up with. You can change behind the privacy screen if you’d like.”
“I assume that you will see me in all stages of dress and undress, so I won’t be shocked if you need to come behind the screen at some time or another.”
“That does happen. At the moment, though, Cassie, Leora, and I need to get some props and set pieces ready, so you are safe from prying eyes.”
She grinned at me and headed behind the privacy screen. I turned to my assistants who were ready to launch a search for whatever I needed.
“You have an idea, don’t you?” Leora said. “I could almost see it taking shape in your mind.”
“Yes. We’ll obviously need fabric for draping the model eventually. I’m thinking very lightweight. Something that we can make float in the air. The problem with drapery art is that it either involves a bed or it seems to come out of nowhere and have no reason for being in the photo or painting. We need something that will give meaning to the drapery.”
“Besides seeing the naked woman,” Cassie nodded. “How about a symbol of femininity for her to hold.”
“Good. Let’s see what you can find. What else is a symbol of the feminine? How about the moon? Let’s see what we can get to represent the moon. Anything else?”
“We’ll keep an eye out and see what we can find. This is like a treasure hunt,” Leora said. The two women headed into the props closet to see what could be located.
Leva emerged from behind the privacy screen in a nice miniskirt and her crop top and high heel shoes. I looked at her critically as she stood in front of the white backdrop.
“Let’s lose the high heels,” I said.
“What? I thought you’d like high heels with this.”
“That’s not the point, though, is it?” I said. “I love the look of your legs in high heels and a miniskirt. It’s very sexy. But that’s what we don’t want to emphasize. Not disproportionately. We don’t want your image to be one of sexual come-on. That’s part of the stereotype that men have of women already.”
“Wow! You understand,” she said, removing the heels.
“Hold it!” I said as she turned to toss the heels behind the screen. “I mean, hold the heels in your hand. I just saw something. It’s the natural woman who can be just as appealing enjoying herself as displaying herself for men. It’s that sense of joy that you get from removing the heels. Feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s the same kind of feeling I get when I take off my bra at night. It’s freedom!”
“We’ll get to that part of freedom in a bit.”
We started working together to show a lovely woman simply enjoying being a woman for herself and not for the sake of pleasing someone else.
In the second roll of film, I got her out of the bra under her crop top. I helped her out of it, and she pulled her arms inside the shirt so I could pull the bra off. I might have brushed against her boobs a little. She wasn’t heavily built and I had the impression that her breasts were not suffering from aging, no matter what she felt about being thirty.
I handed her the bra and she held it as we did several poses that made it obvious that she’d just taken it off and was happy about it. The last one was an iconic photo of her tossing it in a trashcan.
“Can we lose the top and skirt now?” I asked softly.
“Could you just pull it off over my head?” she responded.
I did pull the top off and massaged her shoulders for a moment, then unzipped the skirt and pulled it down off her hips. She stepped out of it and turned toward me.
“I could… um… just discard the panties, too,” she whispered.
“I don’t have a reason to keep you in them unless you feel better that way. You know. Doing it in stages.”
She shook her head. “No. Might as well do it all at once.” But she didn’t move to remove them.
I chuckled to myself. I remembered Christine talking about a book Miss Ludwig had for curious young women which was about how to go about getting a man to seduce you when you’d already decided to give in. I slid my hands into the waistband of her panties and stroked down her butt as I pushed the panties down and off her feet.
She had a nicely trimmed bush. It wasn’t shaved, but it wasn’t wild, either.
“I hope you’re having fun,” I whispered.
“It seems like it could be a lot of fun.”
Still, it surprised her when I went about fluffing up her pubic hair and lightly stroking across her nipples to bring them to full erection. She didn’t object at all.
“Fabric,” I said. Leora placed a long bit of sheer blue fabric in my hand. I tossed it up in the air and it fell around her shoulders and draped forward. I pulled some up over her head, leaving her face mostly uncovered and her shoulder-length light brown hair tangled in it. “Almost. Black backdrop.”
The girls hustled to change backdrops as I moved lights, focusing them on the fabric and filling from the sides. That would be a good start. We took a roll of pictures just like that with her turning and twisting in different directions.
“Okay, what do we have for a moon and a scepter?” I asked.
“Cool technique,” Cassie said. She turned on a spotlight that showed through a die-cut of a crescent moon onto the backdrop.
“Good, but we’ll need the red backdrop instead of black. We need some tonality to the sky.”
“Red?” Leva asked. “A blood moon?”
“You forget the photos are in black and white,” I laughed. “It is simply a dark shade of gray that will pick up the moon nicely. What about her scepter?”
“Here we go,” Leora answered. She handed me a cross with a loop on the top.
“What is this?”
“An ankh. If I remember my mythology correctly, it’s the symbol of an Egyptian moon goddess,” Leva said.
“What on earth are we doing with something like that back there?” I asked.
“Darned if I know, but it looked like props from some German play called Zauberflöte.”
“Oh, that’s an opera by Mozart. That makes sense,” Leva said taking the ankh and holding it up. I liked it.
“Okay, let’s see what we’ve got.” I took a picture and adjusted the lights to isolate her with just the moon showing in the back. “We need some movement in the fabric. It looks dead. Um… Cassie, ladder. Just over here where you won’t interfere with the moonlight. Get a broom handle.”
When we were set again, Cassie was on the ladder with Leora holding it steady. She had the fabric suspended from the broom handle and was waving it around over Leva as Leva posed with the ankh held high in her hand. We tried several different poses and different ways of moving the fabric.
“Hold it!” I said. Leva froze, looking up at Cassie. Cassie continued to move the fabric. It was a case of getting the timing right with the fabric and the light perfect. And there it was. I took the picture. “That’s it!”
Cassie came down and gathered up the fabric. I gave the ankh to Leora and led Leva behind the privacy screen as the girls shut down the lighting and cleared the stage.
“You were wonderful!” I said as I hugged Leva. She hugged back rather ferociously.
“Even when you weren’t touching me, I could feel you,” she whispered. “I could feel how to move and where you wanted me. I could feel when my nipples hardened because you wanted them to. God! I’m so turned on I could burst.”
She pressed her lips against mine and her tongue insisted I respond. While I’d made sure we were intimately connected as we worked for over two hours, I hadn’t focused on her breasts or her pussy. Now I changed my approach and stroked and squeezed her nipples, trailing my hand down between her legs, which she spread as she leaned back in my arm and continued to kiss me.
It was only a few minutes before I felt an explosion of breath in my mouth and all her weight relax into my arm. I slowly withdrew my fingers from her pussy and sat with her cradled in my arms.
“It’s over, goddess,” I said. “You can come back to the real world now. You have shown you are a magnificent goddess and I have worshipped you as a goddess should be worshipped. Come back now to the mundane.”
She opened her eyes and looked into mine.
“Wow!” she breathed.
It had been a month since I’d been back in Tenbrook and I needed to go home for the weekend. I missed Ronda, Anna, and Patricia. And Toni. In two weeks, Ronda would come to Chicago for her spring break, but I needed Anna and Patricia now.
I left after my last class Friday evening and was in Rockford by seven to pick up Anna and burgers for dinner. It was only the twenty-first of February, so all the parks were technically off-season. We’d found out, though, that as long as we didn’t need anything more than the pit toilets, we could overnight in some of them. I had a thermos jug of water, so we could brush our teeth and get a drink if needed. We’d worry about washing when we got back to Tenbrook.
“I’m so glad you came to get me!” Anna said. “There’s just so much going on. Classes are much more intense this semester than they were last semester.”
“I’m feeling the same way. Like the fall semester was just a warm-up and now they’re going to really get serious,” I said as we tumbled into the back of the bus.
“It’s cold out. I’m glad we have a lot of blankets back here.”
“You know they say the best way to stay warm is to take all your clothes off so your body heat mingles together,” I said.
“Do they really say that?”
“I’ve heard it. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s worth a try.”
“Okay,” Anna said. Whether it was true or not, we managed to stay warm pretty well.
I was a little surprised Saturday, when Patricia greeted Anna with a kiss. On the lips! Anna hugged her and then immediately went to pick up Toni so Patricia could hug and kiss me. I just needed to hold Patricia for a while and remind both of us that I wasn’t abandoning her.
Anna took Toni to her house and visited with her parents while I took Patricia to the studio. We went up to the fourth floor, where we still had a bed. Patricia was much livelier and more romantic than she’d been in December.
“Little Precious is sleeping through the night, at last!” she exclaimed. “I’m getting five or six continuous hours of sleep a night. I feel like a new woman.”
“I liked the woman you used to be pretty well, but I’m always willing to sleep with a new woman,” I teased.
“You wouldn’t believe it!” she growled, pushing me back and straddling me. “You’ve only ever made love to me when I was pregnant or sleep deprived. Don’t you remember the girl who pranced up to you in the studio up here and showed you her tits? I think she said something about hoping you looked at a picture of them while you got yourself off and that she was going to be thinking about the pole in your pants while she rubbed the button. Well, guess what. Now you can look at the real thing. You can touch them and suck on them. And instead of masturbating, you can shove that pole that was in your pants right up my nineteen-year-old pussy and fuck the real thing.”
Wow! Patricia was a real tiger. She slammed herself down on my cock and then bit my nipple! When I thought I was exhausted, she managed to get me up again and get another come out of me. She was right. I’d never experienced Patricia like this. Like I imagined she’d been with Tony.
And then when we headed to my house to meet Anna and the family for dinner, I got another surprise. My room had a crib in it and Patricia and Toni planned to spend the night with me.
Mom saw us glancing around at each other nervously at the dinner table and finally put both hands on the table and pushed back.
“Yes,” she said. “You may spend the night together.” Kat clapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes popped wide open. “And I’m not going to be a hypocrite about it. Anna, if you want to stay with them, you can.”
We all had our mouths wide open at that.
“Um… Thank you, Mom,” I said. She turned on Kat.
“Do not let this give you any ideas,” she said. “Nate is nineteen. You are thirteen. Talk to me about it in six years.”
Kat left the table and ran upstairs. I was going to try to do some repair work with her. I thought she must be really upset. First, though, we helped clear the table and do the dishes. Patricia fed Toni and by seven-thirty, the baby was drifting off to sleep. We all trooped upstairs to put her to bed and found the portable crib had been rolled into Kat’s room. Kat had moved her horse over to make room and was sitting on it. She held out her arms and Patricia handed Toni to her.
“I figured it wasn’t fair for you to have four in your room and me to be alone in mine,” Kat said. “This will even it out a little. I’ll check her diaper before I go to sleep and I know where her food is downstairs in the morning.”
“Kat, you’re a sweetheart,” I said.
“You’ve all done a lot for me and I love you all. Now go watch a movie or play a game or go to bed or something,” she said. We all hugged her and kissed the baby, then went downstairs.
I told Mom what had happened and she smiled. She didn’t say anything, just nodded.
For the three of us, though, it was time to do some serious planning for our spring break. This would be my last trip home for five weeks. And, as we figured it out, it seemed senseless for me to drive all the way back to Tenbrook, just to turn around and drive all the way to Detroit. It was decided that Patricia would catch the bus east on that Friday. Anna would board in Rockford. The two would get to Chicago and over to the studio to wait for me to get to them. Then we’d head east for our trip to Canada.
We slept well together, Patricia and Anna both cuddled close to me. After church in the morning and lunch with the family, I took Anna back to Rockford and I got back to Chicago feeling much lighter.
Supposedly it was almost spring, but Chicago still looked pretty bleak outside. The temperatures were going from zero to forty and back to zero in a day. There was mud everywhere and the studio was showing the dirt. On the first of March, we held spring cleaning day. Cassie, Theresa, Leora, and Beth all joined me to scrub the studio and get everything as clean as possible.
It didn’t take long for the girls to be naked and I was talked out of everything but my briefs. I was afraid that if I stripped any further than that, I’d soon find myself buried to the balls in one of my sexy assistants. They took every opportunity to rub up against me and have me pet them. In spite of all that, we got a lot of work done and the studio was sparkling clean by the time we finished.
The girls were all still naked and pushed me back on the sofa to mob me. Oh, poor me. Eight luscious tits to suck. Four wet pussies to play in. Not fucking in the studio was a narrowly preserved rule. Four girls had powerful orgasms and my cock was in the back of Theresa’s throat when I erupted.
We finally got dressed and the girls all left except Beth. She held my hand and whispered a few suggestions of what we might do after dinner as we walked downstairs. Her roommate was gone for the weekend and we’d be undisturbed in her room all night and most of the day Sunday.
Even though the housing was pretty independent in our building, the population density and roommates made it difficult to mess around in our rooms. Most of the time, when Beth and I decided we needed a night of focused loving on each other, we went up to her house and spent the weekend in her bedroom.
Ronda was coming to spend her spring break in a week and she’d already booked a hotel room for the time she was in Chicago. It was pretty much around the corner at the Blackstone, so I wouldn’t have too much trouble making it to classes while she was here.
“Nate, can I see you a minute,” Levi asked as we touched the mezzanine where the offices were. It was a funny kind of half-floor between the store and the studio space. Of course, I would always make time to talk to Levi, even when Beth and I were in a hurry to get food and go fuck.
“What is it, Levi?” I asked.
“We have an event coming up,” he said. “Your patrons want to watch you work again.”
“Oh. I guess I can’t really complain about that. Are they providing the model again?” I asked.
“Yes. She’s a professional model and performer, though she hasn’t done much still photography work. Her name is Rose Thorne. Of course, it’s a stage name, but I’ve taken care of verifying identity.”
“Thanks. When are we supposed to do this? It’s kind of a busy time at school right now.”
“That’s why I’m giving you plenty of notice. It won’t be for six weeks yet. That will get us through your guest next week, Beth’s spring break a week after that, and your spring break the next week. And Easter. So, plan for a hard weekend when you are back in town on April 12 and 13.”
“Two days?”
“They don’t want to totally exhaust the two of you by working ten hours a day. Not to mention that I don’t think they could last that long, even if you and she could. We’ll limit the sessions to four hours. I think you’ll need all four of your assistants. With such a long session, Elizabeth, I’m going to ask you to serve the guests. We’ll provide drinks and snacks. And you are known to them, so they won’t expect any extra services. I don’t think they’d expect that from the other girls, but it’s better to keep temptation out of reach,” Levi said.
“I’m glad we agree about that,” I said. “Is there anything else special we should prepare for?”
“Think up some things you’ve wanted to try but didn’t want to suggest to a model. Maybe because she didn’t quite fit the role you wanted her for or you discovered something in her to bring out. I know you work to find the art hidden in the model, but think of this as fitting the model into the art you want to create.”
“That sounds interesting,” I said. “I’ll have to think about it, though. Inspiration usually strikes based on what I have to work with.”
“Keep in mind that the patrons are looking for you to create a work of art. They all know, though, that producing art isn’t done on demand. You made that clear with Amy when you told her to get out of your studio. They still talk about what you did with her,” Levi laughed.
“Any idea what the model looks like?” I asked.
“None at all. She’s coming in from Las Vegas, so assume tall, stacked, and gorgeous. If you need anything, just say so. We’ll try to get it.”
“I’m thinking it might be time to move the theatre backdrops from Tenbrook back to Chicago. I’m really not doing a lot there,” I said.
“Let me see if I can locate some new ones locally, first. Think of this as your annual review. The patrons want to be sure they are putting their money someplace worthwhile.”
Of course, when Ronda got to town and we’d spent one night in our hotel room, she wanted to see the Chicago studio and meet people. We had a shoot scheduled for Sunday afternoon and Theresa, Leora, and Cassie were all scheduled to work. Beth wasn’t, but she was joining us in the hotel room after dinner.
Abe had sent model Brandi Flowers for a portfolio shoot. She’d talked to Abe’s other three models—Lori, Gwyneth, and Brittany—and was convinced that all she needed to succeed as a model in Chicago was an Attic Allure portfolio. I explained to her that we’d get a few shots this afternoon, but a full portfolio took a lot of time and care. It couldn’t be done in a single sitting. She was a little perturbed about that.
“I just want to get the shot that will make me a star like Lori. Even skinny Gwyneth is getting calls. So, bend me, shape me, anyway you want me. You got the power to turn on the light.”
I had to give her points for singing a pop song to give me permission to work with her. We started with the standard portrait and she quickly got used to me touching her to turn her head or position her hands.
“What kind of things do you want to model for?” I asked.
“Oh, I’ll take anything, but if I had my dream, I’d become a spokesmodel for Porsche. Can’t you just see me in an Irish Green 911 Coupe?”
“Sounds like you have your dream car picked out,” I laughed.
“Not that I’d turn down a Jag. Or have you seen the new Avanti II? I’m so glad they saved the Avanti when Studebaker closed up. Every one hand made. I’d have to have the gloss black ragtop. I’d want to drive someplace new every day,” she said.
I opened the buttons on her blouse and fluffed it open so it exposed the inside of her breast as she talked. I’m not sure she even knew I was undressing her. I took more pictures as she continued to talk about the cars of her dreams.
“It’s too bad I don’t have a sportscar in the props closet,” I said. “Cassie, see if you can find us some cool auto stuff. Leora, I’m going to need a sporty cap and a scarf. Maybe driving gloves if we have any. Theresa, we need the red backdrop and a double backlight. Then get me a high left spot. We’ll use a stool, but I want a low one, not the one we use for the portraits.”
I led Brandi behind the privacy screen.
“Is this where you get me naked?”
“What do you think of that idea?”
“It gets me kind of excited. They said you wouldn’t try to fuck me, but I should be prepared for about anything else.”
“I don’t just undress models to play with them,” I said. “I want to see what really turns you on—the way sportscars do. I want to connect someplace where we can find that work of art that’s inside you, begging to be freed.”
While I was talking, I slipped her blouse off her shoulders. She’d come in braless, so I didn’t need to worry about that. She had nice full breasts—not too big for her slender frame, but enough that I wanted to just caress them. Then I unzipped her skirt.
“Should I take my shoes off?”
She was wearing white tennis shoes and bobby socks. I thought they looked rather cute.
“Let’s keep those. We definitely want to lose these panties, though. I won’t be aiming the camera at your crotch, but it’s likely that a shot would show the panties and we want this clean smooth line of your hip and butt.”
I ran my hands down her butt and she shifted her weight, rubbing her thighs together as I pulled the panties down between them.
“Do I have too much hair?” she asked, facing me so I could see her pubic bush. She did have a lot.
“I don’t think so,” I said, plucking at it so it wasn’t matted down from her underwear. “If it looks like a problem, I’ll trim it up a little. That’s something you might want to consider in the future anyway. Abe often has nude models and it’s generally good practice to trim it neatly.”
“You can trim it if you want. It would be okay.”
“Hmm. Why don’t we do that just a little,” I said. I wiped down the stool and had her sit with her butt at the edge and her legs spread in front of me.
“Do you… um… take pictures of pussies?” she asked as I grabbed the comb and scissors from the makeup table.
“No. Not as a general rule. I don’t do porn. Nothing against it if that’s what you want to do. You have a very pretty pussy,” I said as I trimmed around the edges. I wasn’t really trying to cut close, just to reduce the length and wildness of it a bit. I did, however, massage it just a bit. Her legs opened wider.
“I could be persuaded. I guess you don’t get to choose your partner in that kind of thing, though.”
“I’ve never really studied it. Now, let’s see what the girls have arranged.”
We went out on the stage and Theresa had the lights arranged just like I’d said, with the stool in place and a spotlight focused on it. I wiped off the stool and had Brandi sit on it, first facing forward. I’d change that up later.
Leora handed me a light silk scarf and a beret. She brought me pins to hold the beret in place and I wrapped the scarf around Brandi’s neck and draped it over one breast. I turned to Cassie and she handed me a steering wheel.
“We had a steering wheel back there?” I said in consternation.
“We picked up some oddball stuff last month. A movie studio had done a car scene on their sound stage. We even have a bucket seat if you want that,” Cassie said. “I guess they didn’t use anything else. There’s a process of using a green screen in the background and having the rest of the scene replace the green. That way they don’t have to film the actor actually in a car. They can film the background of the car independently.”
“Wow! Well, Brandi, we can now assume you are in your favorite sportscar and we’ll treat our red backdrop as if it was a greenscreen.”
“Can you do that kind of thing?” Brandi asked. “I mean put a different background in?”
“I’ve done some similar work when I wanted to see through a ghost. Next year, I’m supposed to get a course on experimental and constructed imagery that might deal with using a green screen. The process I used for the ghost was pretty labor intensive. There. I think this gets the idea we want, Brandi. You need to hold the wheel as if you were driving the car. I’m going to isolate you. Cassie, I think we’ll want that bucket seat soon. Please make sure it’s nice and clean.”
I started taking pictures, working my way around Brandi, adjusting lights, and changing her position and expression. When I finished a roll of film, we changed the stool out for the bucket seat. This was good. I was beginning to see the image come together.
I got Brandi seated in the bucket seat and put the steering wheel where I wanted it. I adjusted her scarf and hat and went back to shoot the next shot right through the steering wheel at her. Finally, I took the wheel and examined the seat. As I hoped, it reclined. We needed to put a block behind it so it didn’t tip over.
“This is your love scene,” I told Brandi. “You aren’t driving now. You’re parked with the seat reclined and your lover hovering near you. Let’s open the scarf as the symbol of your willingness to receive your lover. You want him, don’t you?”
While I was talking, I untied the scarf and draped it so it hung over each shoulder and under her arms, opening both breasts to my view. And my touch. I softly caressed her and made sure her nipples were at attention. I stroked down her stomach and over her mound, coaxing her legs apart. Her eyes were drifting closed as I painted the picture and sent the feelings through her body.
I jumped back and got the pictures of the wanton maiden inviting her lover into her body. I shifted her beret so it looked nearly ready to fall off and brought the lights into a lower angle, then cut the intensity some. I added a filter to reduce contrast and soften the image so it looked like a moonlit night.
I just kept talking her through the scene as I paused to pet her and touch her lips or her breasts. A flush began to deepen across her chest and I knew she was where we wanted the photo. I took the picture. Then I scooped Brandi up in my arms and carried her behind the privacy screen. There, I kissed her as I seated her carefully on the stool. She grabbed my hand and dragged it down between her legs as I kissed her again. She quickly mounted the last steps to her climax and relaxed in my arms.
“Did we do it?”
“I think we got the picture we wanted,” I said.
“If it worked, I’ll come back and have more done. That was quite an experience. Thank you, Nate.”
“Thank you, Brandi. Now get dressed so we can all go home.”
It was great to have Ronda in Chicago for the week, even though I had to attend classes. She had a good time going to museums and shopping. At night, we were together in her hotel room.
“I don’t need to spend every minute of my time with you,” she whispered to me as we lay in bed basking in the afterglow of phenomenal sex. “I’m just so glad I could spend a week in the same town. Sometimes I get jealous of Beth, but I know she doesn’t get even as much of your time as a rule as I’ve gotten this week. She just… is here.”
“It seemed you were getting along very well Sunday night,” I said, kissing her.
“Yeah. She said she didn’t think she was really bi, but she didn’t see a problem with helping a sister out a little. It was nice to be in touch with each other while we made love to you and not feel like one of us was just watching cartoons, waiting for our turn.”
“You’ve also given her the idea that I should be able to commute to class from her house week after next when she’s on spring break between quarters. I don’t see a problem with that.”
“And then the next week you’ll be off to Canada with Patricia and Anna. Find us a place to live, Nate.”
“Honey, I don’t know how we’d buy something with only some of us there, but we’ll be looking at the possibilities,” I said.
“Try those English villages that have so much art stuff going. They looked like good places to have a photography business.”
“I love you, Ronda.”
“Oh yes. Oh yes. I love you, too. We’ve got so much to get through before we’re independent and controlling our own destiny,” she said.
“Do we ever control our own destiny?”
“If we’re going to have that conversation, we need to be high.”
That wasn’t going to happen, so we let the conversation lag as we made love again.
Elizabeth had finals all the next week and I had two sittings in the evening. Fortunately, they were just portraits. Theresa assisted with one and Leora assisted with the other. I managed to get Brandi’s photos printed and she ordered a dozen, then wanted to know when we could have another session. I had time on Saturday while Elizabeth was recovering from her finals and we had a very satisfying session. I was pretty sure we got another true Attic Allure photo. We hadn’t quite gotten a work of art from our sessions yet, but we were definitely capturing portfolio pictures that told a story.
I kept thinking about what kind of photo I wanted to take that I hadn’t managed yet. And what kind of woman would this Rose Thorne be? Should I go for something simply artistic or should I try to capture more of the Attic Allure type image? It was really hard to figure all of it out in advance when I was used to just flying by the seat of my pants when I walked into the studio.
Over the course of the first semester, I’d joined a few friends in a study group. The group included my roommate Devon, the revolutionary Carrie, Leslie Lewis from my photojournalism class, and Leanne Kim from my Lighting class. None of us shared more than a single class with each other. I was the only straight guy in the group with one gay guy and three girls. Like all girls my age, they seemed to be pretty and flirtatious. Nothing serious, but fun girls to hang around with.
“So, my problem is to come up with some inspiration for a work of art before I actually meet the model or know anything about her,” I explained.
“I’d model for you again,” Devon said. “It was fun.”
“So would I,” Carrie jumped in. “I’d do it just to get the orgasm.”
“Wait! You got an orgasm for modeling?” Leslie asked. One of her photos from the student protests had been published in the newspaper. She kind of credited me for getting her that opportunity because I passed on the tip to the class.
“Oh… uh… well… Not like it’s a payment. It just sort of happened. It’s really an erotic experience to model for Nate,” Carrie said.
“Was it erotic for you, too, Devon?” Leanne asked.
“Uh… I didn’t get an orgasm… there. But, yeah. It was a very sensual experience and one I’m happy to have had. And my picture is still on display at the club as a favorite entertainer,” he said.
“Would we get thrown out if we came to see you?” Leslie asked. “I mean do they only allow guys?”
“No! You’d be surprised at the number of girls who come to see a drag show. Sometimes they bring their boyfriends. You could all bring Nate.”
“I can just imagine macho Nate at a drag show,” Leslie laughed.
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing the act,” I said. “As long as I was in the company of some beautiful female women.” I think I was turning red. “But that doesn’t help me come up with anything for my photo shoot.”
“You could try something based on other arts,” Leanne said. “Make her a character in a play, or base the shoot on some symphony. Something like that.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Maybe even a series of famous artwork,” I speculated.
“I suppose a key element is that you have to get her nude,” Carrie said. “It seems that is what you are known for. Your patrons would be disappointed if you shot a whole series and she stayed dressed—no matter how artistic it was.”
“I can’t believe that you just get women to come up to your studio and get undressed for you,” Leanne said.
“You should see his studio,” Devon said. “But I suppose you’d have to be willing to get undressed.”
“That’s not a requirement,” I said.
“I might be, but I’d definitely want to see it first,” Leslie said.
“We could go over at lunch Wednesday if everyone is available,” I said. “We usually meet at 1:00 on Wednesday.”
“I’m in,” Leanne said.
“Okay, me, too,” Leslie agreed. Devon and Carrie were quick to agree.
We got to the studio about one o’clock Wednesday and I was giving them an introductory tour as we went up the stairs.
“So Devon and Carrie have been up here before, but this is where I do my best to create a little photographic magic,” I said as I waved them into the room.
“Wow! Are you photographing today?” Leanne asked.
“No. I’m just…” I looked past my guests and saw a very startled Theresa, Leora, and Cassie. They were carting boxes from the freight elevator and were all naked.
“Oh, shit!” I said. “Um… Please ignore the elves behind the curtain. They are my assistants and I didn’t warn them I was bringing guests today. It’s okay,” I called to them. “Just… As you were. We’re just taking a little tour.”
Leslie was giggling with her hands over her face.
“Really, it’s okay,” Devon said, patting Leslie on the back. Leanne had already turned and was studying my gallery.
“Do… Do you get naked when you’re taking pictures,” Leslie laughed, turning to me. “It’s just too funny to find a photo studio where the employees are all naked.”
“No,” I said. “I’m probably the only one who ever comes to the studio who stays dressed. Well, and the audience of patrons when they get here on the twelfth. Which is what we were discussing. What am I going to create for an audience?”
“Feed them all mushrooms and just parade your assistants around,” Leanne said. “Damn it, Nate! They really just run around naked up here?”
“Yeah. Not when we have a client, but they see so much nudity up here that I guess it’s contagious. I do have model releases for all three of them if I want to try out a pose or type of film or something,” I explained. The girls had huddled but then just went back to work. “I’m guessing we just got a new batch of junk to integrate into the props closet. We get new stuff almost every week and in order to keep the space from overflowing, they box up and ship out stuff that we have already used or that just is too junky, even for my style.”
“So, you developed your Attic Allure style based on improvising scenes with a naked model and bits of junk,” Carrie said. “My picture has an army hat, walkie-talkie, and a cigar. Why don’t you just keep doing that?”
“It’s a matter of expectations. I will probably start off with the same routine as always. First a series of portraits while the model and I get used to each other. Then we’ll start adding scenery and props until we find something that works. But my patrons expect me to take it a step further. They want to see a work of art created. When you look at Carrie’s and Dora’s photos, you see great examples of Attic Allure glamour photos. But when you look at this product shot I did with one of my favorite models, you see a work of art. It was something else to get that puff of powder falling on her. Everything was right.”
“Like that one,” Leslie said, pointing at the shot of Avery under the streetlamp.
“That one is closest to what I’m looking for. I saw the fog and the streetlight early in the day and spent the day getting the model, the timing, the composition, and everything just right so that she didn’t need to stand in the cold mist for long. But even with that, a serendipitous arrival of a truck that cast its lights on the scene gave us two seconds to create a work of art.”
“So, even if you get everything planned and set up correctly, there’s still only a chance that you would get a work of art out of it,” Devon said. “That is so bizarre!”
“How many do you have?” Leanne asked.
“Maybe a dozen. But half of them I can’t even display because there’s a five-year hold on the model release. The one I exhibited at the State Fair a year and a half ago was shown by special permission of the model. All her other photos are under a five-year hold.”
“I’m hungry,” Carrie said. “Let’s go get lunch and talk about it a little more.”
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
