Edited by: Pope1944. Thanks!
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Note: If you've read some of my other stories, you may have already met Aria, Nella and Ian. This isn't a sequel or prequel to the other stories. Instead the names are just the fictitious ones I use for the same real life people that have inspired these characters. This is a brand new story not connected at all to the others.
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It all began with a phone call. A phone call that wasn't even intended for me. My wife's best friend, Aria, called one afternoon to talk to Nella. She wasn't home so Aria and I talked a bit, and I asked her if she liked the pictures I had taken at her birthday party last week. She told me she hadn't received the link, so I sent her a new email as we were talking. She unzipped the file and looked at them live with me right there on the phone. And she loved them.
Over the years, I've grown into a decent photographer even though it wasn't my job. And, unbeknownst to her, Aria was my favourite model. She was my muse in fact, something nobody knew, not even her. About eight years ago we had done a couple of sessions for her latest art project. We had spent two days together outside under the warm early fall sun. These two days were some of the best memories I had. Working on those pictures for the following weeks, for her, and months, for me, had also been delightful. Since then, there had been no reason for full photo sessions, but I usually carried my camera whenever I knew she'd be around.
Hearing her reactions live on the phone was quite a treat, and I ended up smiling for twenty minutes as she looked at the hundred or so pictures I'd sent her. I'd taken quite a few more of her, framed and composed differently, focusing on her breasts, her hips, her hair, her waist, her hips, her thighs... I would, of course, keep these just for me. But I was flattered that she liked the ones I'd sent. And once she was done scanning through them, she said "Ian, I have a big favour to ask of you."
"Go ahead." I replied, curious.
"You know I've been trying to become a better photographer... But every time I see your pictures, I'm faced with the harsh truth that I'm still a stumbling beginner."
"Well, your pictures are not that—" I tried to say before she cut me off.
"Ian, you don't have to try and be polite. I know my photos suck!" she said, laughing. "Now, you've been generous enough to give me some tips and teaching basic techniques, but I'd really appreciate it if you would give me real lessons."
"Well, I'm sure we could arrange that."
"Thank you!" she cried, clearly excited by the prospect. "I really want to know how you do it, how you select your subjects, what makes you select the angle to get the best the shot... I want to learn to do what you do!"
"Oh..." I said, the tone of my voice different.
Aria sensed it. "What's wrong?"
There as indeed something wrong. Well, not wrong per se, but I didn't think that Aria could ever do what I did. It wasn't because I didn't think she could learn or that she wasn't talented enough. The core of my approach was that I tried to become invisible in a party. Not in the sense that I was trying to hide, but in the sense that I tried to be as unobtrusive as I could. Despite the fact that I was 6'1" tall, with a big, noisy DSLR in my hands, I knew I could move around without people paying too much attention to me.
Aria, on the other hand, could never do that. She was simply too gorgeous and sexy. And it wasn't just because I was infatuated with her. It was simply obvious, and after years of seeing other men look at her, I knew I wasn't seeing her as more beautiful than she really was.
She was just slightly on the small side of the average height for women and rather thin. On the other hand, she had breasts that never seemed to end, nor seemed to lose their battle against gravity. They were completely out of proportion with the rest of her frame and even a thick wool sweater over a sports bra couldn't hide them. The first time I met her, I was convinced that she had implants. It just didn't fit. But when I saw her wearing a one piece swimsuit, it became clear that they were all real, all woman.
Above and around those breasts, Aria had a full head of silky hair, very long and heavy tresses of pale brown hair that flowed everywhere. Every time she unpinned them, as she liked to wear them twisted up in a tight bun, I felt a warmth deep inside me. As her hair cascaded down to the small of her back, she lifted her arms and grabbed her hair to redo the pin.
As she moved around to grab every last strand, her breasts would dance and jiggle in front of her, making me feel altogether different sensations much lower in my belly. A few times during those precious moments, she would look at me and smile brightly. I smiled back, always feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, never knowing what to do. During those special moments, Aria didn't look like she was angry that I was staring at her breasts. She never said anything, just smiled brightly. And at her birthday party, I managed to capture a photo of her doing exactly that. I knew I would cherish that picture for a long while, with her generous breasts almost bursting out of her thin shirt...
In any case! She had asked me what was wrong and I had let the silence lengthen on the phone. I took a deep breath and made a decision that could have disastrous consequences. "Aria, can I answer your question honestly?"
"What? Of course... Why would you even..." she paused. "Oh. You think I'm not good—"
"No! No, no..." I cut her off. "That's not it at all." I took another breath. "You see, the secret to my technique is that I can blend into a crowd, almost as if I can disappear. This lets me see my subjects as they are, without having them act, move or smile differently because they know I'm there."
"Ok... This is how you do it. This is why your portraits are so natural..." she said.
"Yep. It takes patience, and it means that I spend a good part of the party on my own, watching the others without talking."
"Ah. I see. You don't think I can do that?" she asked.
"No, that's not it. Then again I think it would be harder for you than for me: you're a lot more sociable than I'll ever be." I said, knowing what was coming. My heart was already beating faster.
"I can handle that." She said, then asked the obvious question, "So what's the problem?"
"I don' think you could ever disappear in a crowd."
"Why not?"
"Well, perfectly honestly?" I asked one last time.
"Of course!"
"You are too extraordinarily beautiful and dangerously desirable to ever blend in a crowd."
There was a long silence on the line. As the seconds ticked, I closed my eyes and felt a deep pit of anguish opening in my belly. Aria was my wife's best friend, had been for years and years, and although Nella was really beautiful, she knew that I found Aria attractive. It had caused a many sparks of jealousy in the past, and many difficult conversations. One of the reasons I had never done another full photo session with Aria was because of that jealousy.
It had been many years since our last conversation on that subject, and even though her jealousy has seemed to wane, I wasn't in any way convinced that she was now fully at peace with Aria's beauty. I was convinced that she would be pissed if she knew I had just said that to Aria. On the other hand, she had already told me that she had spoken to Aria about it. I still remember how surprised I had been when she told me about that discussion between the two friends. For some reasons that had seemed good to her at the time, Nella had told Aria that I found her extremely beautiful.
And, surprising me even more, last year Nella told me that Aria thought that I was very handsome. I don't remember why they were talking about me, nor why they were talking about me that way, but Nella had been talking with Aria on the phone, a glass of wine in her hand. In the darkness of our room afterwards, just before we fell asleep, she had told me that. I declined to make any comment whatsoever, flabbergasted by the fact that she had told me.
So here I was, holding the phone against my ear, my palm getting sweatier by the second. I had just told a woman I intensely lusted over that she was beautiful and desirable... When Aria broke the silence, I could hear the smile in her voice. "Aw... You're sweet Ian. Thank you for the compliments, but I assure you that not all men see me like you do."
"Pffff..." I said. "Of course they do!"
"Oh well, I'm not going to argue against you telling me that all men find me so desirable, but I wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. Tell you what." she said. "there's a party at Mathilda's in three weeks. Bring your camera and I'll follow you and see what I can do. Deal?"
I took a deep breath. "Ok. Deal. I'll talk to Nella about it, to make sure it's alright."
"Hmm? Oh, this again?" she sighed. "She's still... damn it. I thought our last conversation had... Ok then. Let me talk to her about it. Don't say a word!" she finished, the smile on her lips noticeable in her voice.
"If you say so... See you soon!" I said, glad the conversation was over.
But it wasn't. Just as I was about to hang up, Aria said "Ian, did you take some pictures of me you haven't sent?"
Oh the little... She was teasing me now? "Well yes. I've taken about eight hundred pictures during the party. I've discarded most of them."
"Really? You've shown me all the good ones?"
"Er, yes... Why?" I said, definitely nervous now.
"I thought I saw you take a picture of me as I was arranging my hair... Was I mistaken?" This time it was I who remained silent for a while. And now I felt bad. A couple of very frank compliment on her beauty was one thing, but a deliberate photograph of her breasts like that... Shit! Luckily for me, she didn't let me hang myself with anguish. Instead, she giggled. "Oh Ian, just relax. You've been honest with me, and I wanna be honest with you. I knew exactly where you were at that moment, and also knew that you, well, that you really like it when I play with my hair, standing very, very straight. Am I a bad person for letting you photograph me like this?"
I grinned and shook my head. "This has been the craziest conversation we've ever had, Aria. And no, you're not crazy. You're very generous. Thank you for that moment and, in the spirit of honesty, know that I will enjoy that photo for a long while..."
She giggled again before wishing me a good day. After I hung up the phone, I remained on my chair for twenty minutes, trying to figure out what had just happened. There had never been anything more than friendship between Aria and I. No overt compliment like I had just made or comments like she had just made. Nothing. She knew I found her desirable, I knew she found me handsome, and that was it. In a matter of minutes something had changed. What it would amount to, I had no idea.
Three weeks later, during which time Aria and I didn't talk or email to each other, we met at Mathilda's house for a party. Nella was there as well, of course, and knew about the fact that Aria would follow me around for a part of the evening. I shook my head when I saw that Aria had chosen to wear a blouse with a deep cleavage. We mingled and ate with everybody, and as soon as we moved to the living room, Aria fetched her camera. Standing right next to me, she grinned and said "Watch me disappear..."
I snorted and glanced at her cleavage before saying "If you disappear dressed like that, people are going to freak out when they see a cleavage floating about in mid-air!"
Aria opened her mouth in surprised, then laughed. "Bastard!"
"What?" I asked her, smiling. "You're just making your job a lot harder..."
"Want me to button up?" she asked, a hint of a smile on the corner of her lips.
I sighed, unable to refrain from grinning. "Now who's being the bastard?" as she laughed, I said "Now shoo, and show me how you can disappear."
"Just watch me!"
