Author's note:This is a longer passage than the teaser that came out first. Romance lovers will like that there is an actual date. All in all, it is an upbeat portion. In the next chapter, 8 to 5 life intrudes, and drama ensues.
Special thanks to clairegerm for editing.
Interlude:
25
th
Anniversary
Cindy:
Dad never did become a paying client, though there were a few friendly sessions. Somehow Aunt Francine got involved, though I was never clear on exactly how. Knowing Aunt Frannie, it was probably inappropriate advice about their love life. Mostly, Mom and Dad just hit it off. The first day, even before they had a date, Mom sent Dad a workout picture of herself. I think it must have been pretty racy, since Dad will not show it to me.
Chapter 2
--
Coffee Break
Sheila:
Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep
The alarm had gone off. I never sleep to the alarm. Sitting up in bed, I stretched like Scarlett O'Hara the morning after Rhett's "Behold my hands, my dear." Oh my goodness. He said that just before not entirely consensual sex. But Scarlett loved it the morning after, and this was my morning after.
There was a definite sated quality about me that morning. I ached, but there was a languor to my movements and a completion to my sensibilities. I had not felt this good in years. It was all because of him, G. Sean Richards.
I rose and pulled on a robe. How far out of it had I been last night? I still had on my stockings, but nothing else. I never slept in the raw, and rarely without bathing. My thoughts went back to wanting a shower the night before, but I had had to print my pictures.
Pictures. Leaving the shower running, I went to the entrance table, and there were the pictures. Years of editing pictures for clients had made me something of an expert on certain types of photography. These were quite good.
If I say so myself, the full -- length shot was arresting. The arms were bound back, of course. My head was down and slightly to one side and the eyes were hooded from the camera. My hair was pulled over the near shoulder, mostly covering one breast, which served to accent the other. My thatch was fully visible, and clearly due for a trim, but the arresting part was the dewing I had seen the night before. One leg was straight, while the other was bent to allow Sean Richards to massage it. The expression on my face was one of near rapture.
I had to remind myself that the woman in the picture was me. This was not the me that looked out of my mirror in the morning. I carefully packed the picture in an acid-free sleeve. Who knew what the future might bring. There was a chance I might show it to someone, eventually.
If anything, the other picture was better than the first, though in a sense, they were the same. The second photo was a cropping of the first picture, enlarged to fit the paper. This one was a simple torso shot, beginning just below the chin, and extending to just past the cleft. In the closer frame, the dewing was much more apparent. But what really made the shot was a curl of hair, my hair, neatly framing my right nipple. That detail had gone unnoticed when I printed the picture the night before. The nipple was fully erect, stiff even. This, merged with with the taught musculature and the dewing, screamed sexual tension. Just looking at it brought hot flashes, and I am not normally much taken by visual erotica.
As simple and anonymous as this picture was, I could easily sell a dozen among my clients. Triple the price if they knew who was in the picture, though I doubt any would guess. None of them, for example, had ever seen the birthmark above my navel. The rights for internet reproduction would be worth thousands. On this one picture, I could go wild at the online auctions some Saturday night. Smiling to myself, I decided Mr. Richards would get a bonus with his disclosure documents.
Hours later, I had completed my first round of clients for the day. Fortunately, I was able to do my appointments almost on autopilot. I had gotten a few odd looks, but no one made any comments, and sessions proceeded as expected. At 11:00 AM I could break for lunch and business. Today, business was G. Sean Richards.
The name caused problems, but it was only because there was disagreement on his first initial. Charles had told me "G". There were hits on that name in town, but the Chamber of Commerce listed him as C. Sean Richards, owner, founder and proprietor of Richards Imports and Richards Consulting. Their bio painted a picture of a local man, who had taken a small family import store and turned it into a group of successful businesses. The import business maintained offices on the far side of downtown. There was also a warehouse address not far from my studio. The website of his consulting firm offered advice on customs issues, liaison, brokerage and auctioneering services. A list of accountants and lawyers were provided as well.
Going back to the biography, I could see I misjudged his age. I had thought early 40s, but his listed high school graduation was much later. Then it hit me; Frannie knew him. She had to, since they graduated in the same class from Mt. Pleasant HS, which is not that big a school. Everyone knew everyone else, at least a little.
Finding Francine was not difficult. Within five minutes, I had left a message with her service. By the time I finished calling in my lunch order, she had called me back. After a minute of signing off the other call, I said hello.
She almost squealed back, "Sheila Schwartz. Oh my