I shifted my backpack in an attempt to lessen the weight on my aching shoulders. I'd walked this same Rocky Mountain trail many times before with the same backpack. Never had I been this sore. Maybe I was just tense.
A couple steps ahead of me Christine looked to be moving without any discomfort. Ahead of her, the same appeared to be true for Jeff, who had the most to carry with his camera equipment stuffed neatly into a huge pack.
Perhaps knowing what was on our agenda for the day was causing my tension. Or not knowing.
Two weeks earlier I had posed for Jeff in his basement 'studio.' He's an eighteen year old amateur photographer with designs of doing it for a living. It started out innocent enough. Then I got braver and he got braver and eventually I was naked. Then he was naked. Then we had the best sex I'd had in ages.
Christine is a thirty two year old bank manager. She's gorgeousβblonde, perfect face, perfect body. She could be a model. Today, she's going to be Jeff's model. I had arranged for them to meet and now we were heading for a wooded area Jeff knew about that he thought would be great for some shots. Nothing like getting back to nature.
My name's Rachel. I'm thirty, not blonde, not perfect in any way, certainly not a model. I'm an assistant bank manager at a different branch than Christine. But I know how to have fun, and today was full of promise.
"Can we stop?" I heard Christine yell up to Jeff.
He turned around. "Sure. Let's get up here in the shade a little."
We followed him off the path to a spot under several large pines. It felt great to sit down. We all slid off our packs and pulled out water bottles. Sweat poured off Jeff's face and he rinsed it off. I was surprised to see Christine do the same, considering the water flowed down her neck and under her tank top, which already stuck to her braless chest like skin. Christine had perfect breasts...of course...and Jeff and I both had to sneak peeks at the exposed nipples as they pushed against the wet top.
I'd always been jealous of Christine's looks and body, but it never hurt our friendship. I couldn't lose sleep over something I didn't have. None of the men I'd been with had run away once I was naked, so I never worried about it. But God she was good looking. If the day went the way I expected, Jeff was in for a real treat.
"How much farther?" Christine asked.
"Less than a mile," Jeff said, looking in the direction we were heading. "Not that far. You OK?"
"Sure," Christine assured him. "How about you, Rachel?"
"Fine," I said, trying to hide my weariness. "I'm looking forward to this. I think it will be fun."
"Me, too. It's a perfect day," Jeff added.
"Let's go then," Christine said, the first to pop to her feet.
We got back in line and headed onto the trail. Around the next turn we passed a middle-aged man coming down the trail. He was a ruggedly handsome man whose eyes seemed to linger much too long on Christine's breasts. We smiled as we passed. I found myself looking back to make sure he continued down the path after he'd passed us. When we got to a long, straight stretch of path I looked again to make sure he wasn't there. He wasn't.
Once over my paranoia, I waited for Jeff to give the word that we were there. I didn't have to wait long. The trail turned into a heavily wooded section and our 'guide' stopped to let us catch up.
"This is it. It's probably going to be much cooler in there so don't hesitate to put on jackets if you want," he warned. As hot as we were from the climb, it seemed highly unlikely we'd be doing that.
We walked side-by-side back into the dense cluster of trees. We went up and down small hills before reaching an opening in the trees that offered a magnificent view of the mountains.
"Wow! This is really beautiful," Christine said. "You've been here before?"
Jeff said, "Only by accident. And I didn't have my cameras with me. I just always thought it would be a good spot. Lots of variations in lighting and background and stuff."
"It's so quiet," I said. "Like we're the only people on Earth."
"So we shouldn't be bothered," Jeff added as he opened his backpack and began pulling out equipment.
Christine looked over at me with a mischievous grin. She was enjoying this, I could tell. And she hadn't even turned on the charm. I wondered what schemes she had in her brain.
Jeff had two cameras on the ground near him and a host of lenses sitting on a blanket. Luckily, he didn't have to worry about lighting or backdrops. Nature would take care of that.
Finally, everybody was ready. Jeff had a camera and lense assembled and Christine had her hair the way she wanted it. She really did look good...as usual...in her shorts and top. The top had dried a little and didn't look like a second skin anymore. Still, her perfect body made me very envious.
"OK, Christine. I need you over here," Jeff said, looking up at the sun and pointing to where she should stand. "I want the sun in your face."
Christine did as she was told and Jeff moved back a couple steps, checking the view through his camera.
"Tell me what you want," Christine said.
"Just stand there and look gorgeous for now until I get the lighting right," he said.
"I can do that." Christine looked over at me with that smile again. I gave her the finger.
"OK. I'm ready," Jeff announced. "Just poseβlook natural."
Christine was actually very good at it once they started. She turned to give Jeff silhouettes and played with her hair just like you'd see in a magazine.
"Great!" Jeff said.
"This is fun," Christine said while Jeff was moving to a new spot. "How much am I getting paid?"
"You get the pictures for free," Jeff said.
"I want a new agent."
"Talk to Rachel," Jeff recommended. "She arranged this."
I just shrugged when Christine looked over at me.
"Let's move over to that log," Jeff said, pointing to a huge tree trunk lying on the ground a few feet away.
"Want me to sit on it?" Christine asked.
"For starters, yes. Be creative," Jeff said.
If Christine was anything, she was creative. There was no doubt in my mind she would find something artistic to do. At first she simply crossed her legs while sitting. Then she turned a little sideways and put one hand on the log while leaning over. More and more of her skin was showing as her shorts crept up her thighs and her top hung open. Eventually, she was lying on her side, her head resting in her hand. Then she lifted one leg up as if she was doing stretching exercises. It was an incredibly sexy position. There was no telling what Christine would do next.
Jeff encouraged her like any good photographer would. It was hardly necessary. Christine was getting into it as she rolled onto her back. I saw her using both hands to balance herself on the tree trunk. Then she let both legs fall over the sides. She stretched out her arms above her head and looked back at Jeff. He was shooting down the length of her body, undoubtedly getting a great look at her breasts as they struggled to fall free of her top.