When she came to him it had all been arranged by phone. Discreet and private, he promised he could meet her needs. She wanted a portrait for herself, a picture of how she was now so she would never forget. A nude, but it was to be more, it was a reminder of when she found her own wants surface. A gift from when she finally became herself, not someone else's version. It was to be black and white. She wanted classic but nothing shy, demure. She had worked hard to look good and was willing to show it, and besides she thought, it was always for her to decide who saw it in the future.
When she went in she was surprised to see him bent over a desk, a calculator humming his books. She half imagined a photographer always behind a lens or huddled in the darkroom, his potions calling up the images he stole. She smiled, loving that image of the wizard calling up the souls taken just as tribes thought in stories she had read. They shook hands, idle chatter about weather, her clothes, fees. Satisfied she was directed to the changing room, a robe prepared for modesty. She breathed deeply once more, asked if she was ready, and stepped in to begin.
The room was simple like all studios, designed for space and ease of use. Music piped in from overhead speakers, soothing and cool as she had asked for. She saw that the walls could be covered by sliding panels, backdrops that slid down from the ceilings to change the view. She had described what she wanted in the most general terms. Whistling to himself he directed her to a chair to wait, then wheeled in a small stage. He explained he had made this just for her shoot, he hoped she liked it. It looked old to her, like something from movies about gangsters and speakeasies. Small lights rimmed the edge, the cubbyhole for the giving of dropped lines in place. It was flanked by large columns, the swag of fabrics held back by grinning small demons. Plastic she was sure, but she did not like looking at the little faces, leering at her like they could see under her robe. She thought the overall effect was beautiful, a place of display and desire. He seemed pleased by her whistle of approval, slipping film in without looking up at her.
He took her hand and arranged her on the chair placed stage center. For the first series she gripped the chair back, her legs open as she leaned in. she felt the velvet of the seat hitting her labia when he moved her, arched her back more to kick her posture up. The fabric seemed to kiss her as she felt it wet under her. Her face started to blush as she realized what was happening, wondered if anyone else had left themselves on this same chair. Her mind buzzed as the image poked in her head, she could see the stain spreading with each breath, her eyes locked on the lens. 'Point your toes, point' he repeated to her when she relaxed and forgot. She moved as he asked, turning first one way then another.
Each time he moved to her it was cool, clinical. She knew that he had seem women, had looked at the examples in his book. But now it was her being moved, handled, posed. She found the detachment appealing. She looked at him again, his lines, the angular face, her eyes tracing a bulge as he brushed against her to place her hands as he wanted. He never spoke more than few words, 'Hand up, down...leg right, point dear, back arched, more, more'. Each command she felt herself smiling more as she posed for him, her role as muse to his creativity a new thrill she had not imagined.
She turned the chair around, facing him now. Her nakedness seemed to be an afterthought to her as she opened herself up, her lips crimson. She asked him to look at her again, to stop a moment. He placed the camera at his side, staring as asked.
" Do you like the way I look?"
"Yes, very much"
" Do you want me?"