Have you ever met someone so unpredictable that they take your breath away? Not in the "psychotic, never sure if they'll attack you" sort of way but in a way that makes your head spin as you try to keep up. It's exhilarating, and almost terrifying, that an offhand comment about something new can bring up so many thoughts and possibilities.
I have. I've come to realize that she probably owns my soul, if not
quite
my heart. She doesn't own my body, though. Or if she does, she's given me free reign to express my desire elsewhere as long as I return to her from time to time. Come to think of it, that sounds a bit closer to the mark. After all, I can only really think about allowing myself to be with those few women who approached me at her suggestion.
For most men, it would probably be a fatal blow to their precious pride to realize they jump like Pavlov's dogs when a woman calls to set up an assignation. I don't care. When Vanessa called to say she had an idea for a shoot, I leapt at the opportunity. Not only has she become a creative (not to mention beautiful and seductive) model but we often follow up our photo sessions with vigorous rounds of sex.
(Yes. "Rounds". Plural! When you're in your mid-forties, somewhat overweight and balding, like me, multiple times in succession are something to crow about.)
I didn't exactly jump in the car the moment we got off the phone but that was mostly because she called me at work. Too bad that meant I'd have a boner for the rest of the day thinking about what she had come up with this time. Just to drive me wild. Thankfully, she'd suggested I come over for the shoot the moment I got out. Since I already had my camera, a handful of lenses, and lights in the car it was a simple enough request to accept.
I've never really been into cosplay. Sure, I can appreciate it as an expressive outlet. Not to mention I get just as turned on by the women in spandex, leather, vinyl, and/or latex as the next guy. I'll even admit I had my share of fantasies about Carrie Fisher in the slave outfit, back when Return of the Jedi came out. But all of that has never really led me to go out to conventions in search of the best costumes to photograph.
However, when Vanessa mentioned an interest in doing a shoot to model the outfit she'd put together, for the next 'con', I was more than willing to oblige. After all, I never knew what I would get when we set up a shoot. The only certain thing would be that we'd have some fun, whether or not we got it on.
In part, I was intrigued to find out what kind of costume she had come up with. For all the power she had developed over me, I'd only known her for about a year. I didn't even know her all that well; beyond the carnal knowledge and the photo shoots. I had no idea what she'd dressed up as for Halloween costumes last year, for example.
The costume a person wears can tell you a lot about them. This is especially true for women since, on a guy, it might simply mean they're to whipped to say no when their significant other demands they match and goes to the effort of finding or making it in his size.
I knew Vanessa wasn't going to be one of those types who threw on a hat and boots and calls herself a fisherman. Anything she did, she threw herself into it with exuberance. Whatever it was, it would certainly have the authenticity and attention to detail that a Hollywood studio would envy.
No. It was
who
she chose that was the intriguing mystery. And the only way I'd discover that would be to see in person.
The thought of her costume wasn't the only thing to inspire anticipation. For all the times we'd worked together, and all of our more intimate sessions, this was the first time I'd been invited to her place. She'd been over to my house a couple of times for shoots, since I had a nice acre of land with woods that formed a pleasant backdrop, but I'd never been there. It didn't bother me. I'd never been to any of my models' places. It was generally an unspoken rule that a model shouldn't let a photographer that close to her life just in case he turns out to be disreputable.
Vanessa might only be a sophomore in college but she lived off-campus. I'd never before thought about her financial status but it dawned on me then that she had to be at least comfortably well off because she lived alone in an apartment. Myself, during those formative years, I'd been forced to share the rent in order to make ends meet. And I came from a solidly middle-class background.
When I knocked, her mezo-soprano voice drifted through the wall that it was open so I announced myself and let myself in. I immediately complied when she suggested, from somewhere deeper in the apartment, that I lock the door. She trusted me enough to go alone to a shoot at my house, it wasn't a big surprise she'd allow herself to be locked in a room with me.
The room was relatively Spartan. Across from the door was a single window that let in a pathetic amount of light. Along one wall sat a futon with deep green sheets covering it. Across from that was a decent entertainment center and a doorway that led into a tiny kitchen and, presumably, the rest of the apartment since her voice had come from that general direction. I sat on the couch and waited for her to be ready.
"Okay! Come on back!"
I stood up and followed her voice through the doorway to the kitchen. Not that I had to follow anything, really. The kitchen was the size of a postage stamp and opened into a six foot long corridor that had a bathroom off the side (even smaller than the kitchen) and opened into what could only be the bedroom. I could already see the light from a window along the same wall as in the kitchen and living room and the corner of a very sturdy looking queen-sized bed.
I stopped just inside the room and glanced down at the bed. Sure enough, Vanessa lounged in all her glory in a pose reminiscent of Carrie Fisher in her memorable costume from Return of the Jedi. For a moment, I thought she was naked but then I recognized the costume for what it was.
"You're allowed in a convention like that?" I asked, incredulous.
She nodded. "Hell, there's some characters that can only be done with body paint. If they're modest, the women actually wear a nude bikini bottom and paint over that. Some just wear the paint."
I chuckled, imagining it. I found myself growing hard just thinking about it. That was something I hadn't thought to do for a shoot. Unfortunately, I didn't know any artists skilled enough to paint a model. Of course, it was always possible one of the models did. It was something to consider.
"Prism, right?" I asked in confirmation of her costume. The huge grin that spread across her face was answer enough.
Although it had been decades since I followed comic books, I vaguely remembered her. She could shoot a rainbow-colored ray from her hands. In the Eighties, when comics suddenly decided to include scientific realism, it had come out the beam was actually a fine mist of radioactive crystals.
Personally, I thought it was a thin attempt to connect her lightshow to her other marked power, not to mention her unusual attire. In addition to the beam, she had the ability to manifest objects out of crystal. As a result, she carried a long thin crystal spear and wore what amounted to a two-piece bathing suit made of the same material. Fan-boys knew exactly which pages of which issues the artists had discreetly shown her tits and genitals through the refraction in the crystal bra and bikini. Of course, the publisher always insisted it was nothing more than a smudge on the press.
I couldn't begin to figure out how Vanessa had imitated the costume! The corkboard on the wall, filled with posters and pin-ups of her favored character, demonstrated the level of study she'd poured into the design, however. Unlike the artists, however, she'd made sure the mock-crystals were semi-opaque. It was no more revealing than most lace underwear.
"I'm impressed!" I admitted. I was, too. I might not follow cosplay but there was no way I could miss the time and effort that must have gone into the outfit's creation.
"Thanks!" She beamed bright enough to have those rainbow blasts of her own. "I'm really proud of it. Nobody ever does her, so I can be sure I'm the only one there. At the same time, she's popular enough that I don't have to worry about recognition."
I nodded. I could see that. As much as I might have enjoyed standing there and absorbing all of that exposed flesh, I could do that just as easily from behind my camera. While I had great respect for her dedication, I wasn't all that interested in the details that surrounded it and I had a feeling she'd give a long explanation if I allowed her to.
"So what were you thinking for a shoot? A couple of basic shots then a series of pinups?" If she just wanted to catalogue the costume, she could have done that on her own. I figured I was there for the sexy stuff.
"Pretty much. Though, I think I have a surprise for you." She spun from her pose and bounced off of the bed. "Come on. We'll start in the living room. You can set up the lights while I get everything else ready."
The enigmatic response intrigued me. Vanessa was nothing if not surprising. Not only had she seduced me, when I'd been adamant about the 'hands off the models' rule, but then she'd started talking me up among other women I worked with. She'd single-handedly resurrected my long-dead sex life and made sure I had a harem to boot! So I generally found I looked forward to anything she could dream up.
She waved me towards the empty corner by the main door when we reached the living room. While she vanished into the tiny closet next to the front door, I shrugged and began to set up for an indoor shoot. Soft lighting, with a single pinpoint spot on the floor off to one side. Usually it hung on a stand and pointed into a diffusion umbrella but I figured it would work best to capture the facets of the crystalline outfit.
I might enjoy her surprises but that didn't mean I wasn't curious. She usually waited until I was already shooting to spring them on me, when my focus was so completely on the digital screen in front of me that a truck could blindside me and I'd never see it coming. This time, I wanted to catch a glimpse before she was ready.
