Special thanks to
"larryinseattle"
for his editing and patience.
*****
Gavin had always loved photography. He got his first camera, an old Browning 'Fold-out' model, from an aunt when he was six years old. After that, everywhere he went, people heard 'snap, snap, snap' as roll after roll of film poured from it. When he was in high school, he even became the school newspaper's photographer. So it was no surprise when he decide to pursue professional photography as a career.
The best photography schools were all on the East or West Coast so, after months of pondering where to go, he decided to head West. He celebrated the final night at home with his father, relatives, and friends. His mother had left years ago and no one seemed to want to talk about her.
During his second semester, he met Denise. Although six years older than him, she was a photographer's dream. She was 5-foot, 6-inches tall though she usually wore either high-hells or a pair of hiking boots, both of which added 2 - 3 inches. Her hair was deep auburn with blonde highlights and her eyes were a beautiful shade of green-grey. She was deeply tanned from years of living in the area and it was almost impossible to hide her 36D-25-36 figure, especially since she liked to wear loose tops or blouses that she tied under her bust, and a pair of shorts or 'Daisy Dukes'. Instantly he knew two things, first he wanted to photograph her and second, if he was lucky, he wanted to make love to her.
As it turned out he got his first wish just a few days later. Denise was a fashion student and needed some pictures of the clothing and designs she was working on. Her usual photographer was out of town and she had heard about how good Gavin was. The two of them met and after seeing some of his work, she agreed to let him take the pictures.
Everyone said the results were fabulous and that night, after a party, they became lovers. For the next four years they maintained a "friends-with-benefits" type of relationship but neither talked about a future together. All too soon graduation came and they went their separate ways.
Gavin pursued his career in photography by taking a job with a well-known photographic agency while Denise continued taking classes in fashion towards an advanced degree in design. They tried to keep in contact but slowly drifted apart. The last thing that Gavin heard about her was that she was starting her own clothing line while working as a part-time model.
Time passed and things happened. He seldom got home to see his dad, instead sending a card, including a photo of where he was working. On one job he suddenly found himself only 30 miles from home so he took a quick detour to see his dad. The surprise that awaited him was anything but expected.
When he knocked on the door, no one answered. Going around behind the house, he heard voices and looked over the fence. There he saw his father sitting in a lounge chair, a beautiful, statuesque woman carrying a can of beer towards him.
"Hello," he called.
"Hello?" his father replied.
"Hey dad. Surprise," he said as he opened the gate and walked in. The woman froze in place as if struck by lightening.
"Gavin? What are you doing home?"
"I have a job not too far from here and thought I'd surprise you."
"You definitely did that. Come on in. Take a seat. We've got a lot to talk about."
"So I can see," Gavin said as he looked at the woman.
Chuckling, his father reached out for her, "Gavin, I have someone I'd like you to meet. This is ..."
"Denise?" Gavin finished as the woman turned towards him.
"Why yes. Do you two know each other?"
A look of concern flashed across her face as she waited to see what he'd say.
"Ya, we went to the same college. In fact, I did some of my first work for her."
"Really? Why didn't you say anything, darling?" Gavin's father asked.
Looking from Gavin to his father and back again she stammered, "I honestly didn't know. There are so many people with your last name and we're so far from school that I had no idea."
Recalling all the pictures that his father kept on the walls of him when he was young, Gavin had a feeling there was far more going on then he was being told.
"I'm so glad that you know each other. It will make things much easier ... since she's your step-mother."
"My what?"
"You heard me. She's your step-mother."
"How?" Gavin asked, totally bewildered.
"We met at a business conference on the West Coast. I think you were somewhere in Europe at the time. We seemed to hit it off right away. We spent the whole week together ... and another week after that. When we said good bye, I knew I wanted her in my life so after a lot of persuasion and trips back to the West Coast I finally got her to agree. We were married in a quiet ceremony at a small church along the Coast Highway. The next couple of months were rather hectic since she owns her own clothing line, but she moved in her about 6 months ago."
"Ahhhhhh," was all Gavin said as he watched Denise out of the corner of his eye.
The rest of the evening they talked and reminisced but little was said about Denise. His dad went to bed at 11 PM as was his practice, leaving Gavin and Denise sitting alone in the backyard, silently.
"Are you happy," he asked.
"Yes."
"I'm glad. It looks like my dad's happy, too."
"I try."
"Try?"
"It's kind of hard at times. I honestly had no idea he was your father until after we were married and I came here to live. It's hard not to notice all of your pictures hanging around the house. At first they made me very uneasy but over time ... well ... they reminded me of a wondrous time in my life and a great friend."
"Friend?" he whispered as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure the bedroom lights were off. "We were far more than friends and you know it. For awhile I actually thought that we'd ... well that changed on graduation day when you said good bye."
"I said good bye!? It seemed like a pretty mutual thing at the time. All I heard about for weeks before then was about your new job, all the traveling you'd be doing and all the great places you'd see," she replied, anger creeping into her voice.
"I would have taken you with me if I'd known. I would given it all of that up in the drop of a hat if you had asked," he whispered, softly.
Stunned by what he had said, she stared at the moon, high above, before getting up and going to bed.
The next morning he left early after saying good bye to his dad. He didn't see Denise.
The months that followed felt like torture as he recalled their words.
"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!"
he thought over and over.
In the mean time, Denise realized that deep inside, she still cared for Gavin, actually LOVED him even after all this time. Days turned into weeks and then months as she continuously stared at pictures of the man she wanted to be with while being a dutiful wife. Finally, she couldn't do it any longer and asked Gavin's father for a divorce. He admitted that he had felt like they were growing apart but didn't know why or what to do to stop it. They separated as friends, each going back to their previous lifestyles.
Fortunately for her, she hadn't completely closed her business on the West Coast, so she was able to get back into the swing of things easily.
Life-events and work seemed in control of everything they did until Gavin's boss asked him to cover a swimsuit and lingerie show when the usual photographer called in sick. Reluctantly, he agreed without checking who was sponsoring the show or who the featured designer was.
Arriving early, since he had never done this type of work before, he was amazed at the way the room was set up. At one end there was a floor-to-ceiling red velvet curtain with a narrow stage in front of it. In the center of the room a runway, wide enough for two people, ran the full length of the room. He had just started setting up his equipment when he caught the briefest of glimpses of a face looking at him. He turned towards the face but all he saw was the curtain rustling. Shortly afterwards, he heard raised voices coming from behind the curtain but didn't think anything more of it.
The exhibit was fantastic, as was to be expected, and the models were all tall and curvy, moving with the sensuous grace of a cat. Their eyes gleamed and the 'bling' sparkled.
That was when he saw her. Her grey-green eyes locking onto his to the point that he forgot to take a single picture of her. Her auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders hanging below her bust, drawing attention to, rather than away from, the swimsuit she wore. The flesh-toned mesh swimsuit leaving very little to the imagination while exposing virtually nothing.
