Aunt Mara's Photo Session

I can't remember when I first met Mara. It was over 35 years ago and she became an instant object of interest - dark, full hair; amazing, leggy figure; haughty demeanor; seeming secure but not; collector of suitors - a classic Hungarian Gypsy kind of woman. Mara is Donna's aunt (approximately my age) and, when I met her, I was (and still am) devoted to Donna. Back then, however, though fascinating, Mara's charms couldn't turn my head from the object of my life's desire. Nothing could nor has.

But a few months ago we visited Donna's sister, Renee', in a suburb of Tucson. Renee' and husband, Dale, had moved there after Dale's retirement as an airline pilot. We were charmed by the stark desert landscape and the ominous majesty of the nearby mountains. Renee' and Dale had been drawn to Tucson after visiting Mara. Mara and her retired husband, Don, had been charmed by the desert, and had moved there a decade before.

During our two week visit the six of us had dinner and an early evening together several times. I was again beguiled by Mara's haunting beauty - she carried the years with amazing grace. Even though she was burdened now with Don's failing health, she was beautifully maintained and presented. Her gypsy hair was dyed black and still big and beautiful. It seemed she hadn't gained a pound over the years and her figure was captivating - a bit softer here and there, hips a little higher, breasts a little lower - but captivating.

It was during one of those evenings that I felt the pangs of a ‘connection' with Mara. I had always been attracted to her but our closest physical contacts had been merely the touching of arms, shoulders and cheeks during greetings and goodbyes in typical family style. As a rule, in the family setting, Mara was not a flirtatious person - actually a bit cold and ‘arm's length' - even though cheerful. But just before dinner that evening, everyone was gathered in conversation around the kitchen. Mara happened to be standing next to me sipping wine while I sat on a stool at the breakfast bar. During the casual chatting, kidding and laughing Mara had remarked that her exercises that morning had left her with a sore hip. I playfully offered to massage it for her. She laughed and jokingly went along with the offer and, not wanting to spoil the fun, I gave her a quick massaging rub on the hip nearest me. In those few moments I could feel how firm and well-toned Mara's upper derriere and the side of her lower tummy were; and how smoothly curved her hip was as it blended into her waist.

When I withdrew my hands I gave her hip a cute little pat to signal the end of the massage and with a chuckle asked if it felt any better. She continued the fun and said ‘it had been good for her' and asked with a smiling leer if ‘it had been good for me'. Everyone got a chuckle out of the exchange. We adjourned to the dining room shortly after, and throughout dinner I kept thinking about that moment of intimacy and sensed a feeling of closeness to Mara that had never been there before. Several times I caught myself looking at her across the table. Was I looking for a sign that she too had sensed something? A few of those times she looked back at me. Had she felt me looking at her? It seemed silly at the time, but I thought there was a question in her eyes. My, my - how we tease ourselves with little fantasies.

The goodbyes that night at the door when Mara and Don were leaving were typical for Donna's family except for Mara's and my shoulder and cheek touches. Mara's hand on my shoulder noticeably squeezed, and when I brushed her cheek with mine she turned her head and briefly kissed my lips. I smoothly kept the ritual very natural, but managed to softly kiss her cheek in response and squeeze her hand as we parted. We exchanged momentary, questioning looks as though something had changed in our friendship.

At the time, I didn't know what to make of the evening's seeming special moments. Donna and I were a happy couple and I had never strayed during our three decades together. For the past couple of years we had engaged in virtually no sex because I seemed to have lost interest and had become impotent. I still ogled pretty legs and attractive bodies, I even ‘got firm' dreaming an occasional fantasy, but sex between Donna and me had lost its freshness and excitement. And I was ‘aging' and seemed unable to maintain an operational erection. Mara had always been charming but ‘arms length' with the male family members, including me, so that night's events had been very titillating - and very confusing. We went home two days later, but even many days after getting back into our ordinary routines in Florida, I kept remembering those moments and the squeezes and goodbye kiss.

I had taken a few pictures during those get-togethers and had them developed when we returned home. Donna sent copies of the better ones to both Renee' and Mara. When Donna and Mara were chatting on the phone a few days later, Mara asked if we could send her the negatives for one of the pictures of her with Don and another of her alone on Renee's patio. Of course we did. I noted that Mara looked especially attractive in both pictures and that her figure was advantageously disposed in a warm late afternoon light in the patio shot. I was reminded that being attractive had always been very important to Mara, and she liked pictures of herself that confirmed her beauty.

The following week Mara called to thank us for the negatives. Donna was out so Mara and I chatted a bit. She was enthusiastic about the pictures and thought I was good at catching moods, using the available light, and composing. I thanked her modestly. Actually, over the years, I had taken some excellent photographs - people, landscapes, art objects - and Mara remarked that, when visiting us a few years ago, she remembered admiring some of those we had framed and displayed in our home. As we chatted I confessed that I had enjoyed taking the pictures of her and that she was as attractive today as she had been many years ago when we saw each other at family gatherings up north. It was apparent she relished that comment but she was very coy with her ‘thank you'. Finally I told her how much we had enjoyed visiting with her and with Renee' and Dale, and suggested that the Tucson area appealed to us enough that we might come out again soon to stay a bit longer. Just as we were ending the conversation she inserted at the last, "Oh! And David, if you and Donna come out, be sure to bring your camera things. I'd really like you to take some more pictures of m.. ... of Don and me." I was amused by the Freudian slip and agreed that I would be happy to take some pictures of ‘you' and Don.

When Donna came home that day I told her of Mara's call and her comment about bringing the camera if we went out again. Donna understood my amusement. We were retired and liked to travel when we could afford it. Donna remarked that she'd like to spend a little longer in Arizona next time, enjoy a longer visit with her sister and aunt and, maybe, look at houses and get a feel for the cost of living around Tucson. The idea of a few more weeks in Arizona appealed to me as well. The area was very enchanting, but subconsciously the desire to visit there again was now a little more complicated for me. In any case, affordable lodging would be key to such an extended stay because we couldn't impose on Renee' or Mara for an extended period.

A month or so had gone by when, during a telephone chat, Renee' mentioned to Donna that Mara's next door neighbors were planning an extended visit with relatives in Connecticut. A few days later Mara called to say she had asked her neighbors if they were interested in renting their place for a month or so while they were up East. Surprisingly, they liked the idea of having house sitters and suggested a very modest rent - enough to cover taxes and utilities and just a bit extra. Mara gave us their names and phone number. We called the next day. They seemed very pleasant and we agreed on the rent and a few reasonable conditions. We were thrilled when they told us they had a computer with Internet access and also suggested we use one of their cars as part of the arrangement. That day we sent a letter outlining our agreement together with a month's rent in advance. In a couple of days we received their confirming letter.

In making preparations for the trip we decided to buy a digital camera so that we could enjoy the family pictures right away with the family instead of having to wait to get them developed. Because of Mara's request, I also bought a portable tripod.

We flew out to Tucson the next month. The rental house was a two bedroom, two bath, ten year old ranch. It was nicely decorated and comfortably charming. Mara and Don lived right next door and the two back yard patios were joined by a flagstone walk. We quickly fell into a pleasant routine of our own activities interspersed with morning coffee on Mara and Don's patio, family get-togethers, and junkets. Donna and I began to use the neighborhood community facilities for exercise sessions, tennis and a little golf. The "girls" (Renee' and Diana), liked to shop and ‘do lunch'. I occasionally spent time with Dale working on his airplane at the nearby little airport, but spent virtually no time with Don because he no longer was companionable - his memory was like a sieve and a prolonged dialogue was impossible. Mara seldom joined the "girls" because she didn't like to leave Don alone for too long. He was unsteady and weak and frequently fell when he tried to get around on his own. It was clear that Don was fading quickly - both physically and mentally - which perhaps explained Mara's wish to have some family style pictures taken while Don was still viable, at least in appearance.

Something was happening to my feelings for Mara. I found myself looking forward to our morning coffees with her and, when we got together for family dinners and visits, I sensed that I liked being near her and felt good when she paid attention to me. It also seemed that Mara was becoming much warmer toward me, reacted almost affectionately when I spoke to her, and occasionally made a special effort to be near me or sit next to me and chat - sometimes a bit flirtatiously with cute nudges or pokes. Even the subjects of our conversations together were becoming warmer and more personal. We didn't talk about sexual intimacies directly, but Mara inferred in vague ways that she had been sexually inactive for several years and missed it. With at least as much vagueness I let her know of my hiatus.

I thought perhaps my imagination about Mara's interest in me had become overactive until one evening, after she made a cutely kidding remark about me to the others during dinner, she wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at me. She was careful to let no one but me see the gesture, just as she was again a few days later when I had good naturedly defended something Mara had done that Donna and Renee' were criticizing. On that occasion she had sent me a surreptitious air kiss. Chemistry and pheromones had begun wafting in the air. Hellos and goodbyes were becoming a little more touchy-feely; the obligatory cheek-to-cheek now was a pair of actual soft kisses sometimes accompanied by caresses of cheek, arm strokings, or hand squeezes. Our eyes were exchanging knowing, questioning, even affectionate glances. I don't think the others noticed.

It wasn't long before Mara reminded me of my offer to take the photos of her and Don. We agreed on doing it first thing the following day, right after breakfast to take advantage of the charm of morning light. That morning Donna and I walked next door with the camera and tripod and joined Mara and Don on their patio for coffee. To my genuine surprise, that first picture taking session evolved into a pleasantly titillating experience, but not at the outset. The original focus, of course, was pictures of Mara and Don. While Donna was there, family conversation dominated the beginning of the session. Don and Mara had just finished breakfast and Don was feeling fairly good. He was in his wheel chair and contributed an occasional halting, short comment to the conversation.

After Mara cleared the coffee dishes from the patio table I began to ease them into poses and casually took candid pictures of them interspersed with Donna's and Mara's cheerful chatting. Don usually responded when spoken to, but never initiated an idea or contributed materially. After a half hour or so Donna left to join Renee' on a venture into Tucson for shopping and lunch.

After Donna had left I urged Don and Mara into a few more natural poses. Together, Mara and I got Don into a comfortable chair and Mara and he looked quite good - cordial and upbeat - for a few photos. Soon Don began to fatigue. It was still just mid-morning and I realized more fully how difficult Mara's life had become because of Don's rapid decline. Don became agitated with the picture taking and visibly needed to rest. I helped Mara get him back into the wheel chair. She told me she would help him to bed and be back in a few minutes. It was more than a few minutes and I knew it involved a call in the bathroom, with all that probably entailed, as well as helping Don into bed. I busied myself repositioning the camera for solo pictures of Mara.

When she returned Mara seemed much more at ease. I sensed that having Don comfortably disposed and probably asleep let her feel free to enjoy her personal part of the day. I greeted her return and remarked about the amount of care Don required. She came close to me and, taking my hand, kissed my cheek. I kissed her cheek in return and impetuously moved my lips toward hers. We surprised each other with a soft but brief kissing touch of lips. We snapped back to ‘reality' when she thanked me for my concern, assured me of her loyalty to Don's continued well-being, but let me know that, for the moment, enjoying our photo session was more important to her than dwelling on her caring for Don. The kisses surprised and thrilled me. I didn't raise the "Don" issue again.

Mara had always been narcissistic - couldn't pass a mirror without looking and had always loved to have her picture taken. There was usually at least one mirror in most rooms of her home - or a picture of her framed somewhere. And she clearly enjoyed attracting the attention of men with her dark, gypsy-like beauty. I had always naturally responded (silently and privately) to her sensuality and allure and, even after all these years, nothing had changed. As the second part of our photo session began I was captivated by her mature beauty, the way she now responded to the lure of the camera, and perhaps her sense of my growing interest. Our being alone together for an hour or two was a new experience.

After the first few perfunctory pictures, I found myself suggesting poses and changes in the placement of an arm or hand or lock of hair. She began to ask me to show her what I was suggesting. Frequently I would leave the camera to help her with a pose and found that the touching this involved heightened my sense of intimacy and affection for her. A certain look in her eyes and nuances of body language at those times suggested the touching and closeness was affecting her as well. This had become a very private time just between the two of us, and I sensed the chemistry was growing stronger and very personal.

I was using a very high definition setting on the camera which limited the number of exposures that could be packed onto a memory stick. I checked the remaining storage capacity and decided to swap it out for a fresh stick to be sure we wouldn't run out of capacity. At this point I discretely suggested a pose that would highlight her breasts a bit more. Whether to please ‘the camera' or to tease me, she clearly liked the idea. Mara had always been noticeably proud of her prominent and completely natural bosom. Her breasts still were lovely even though their shape was a bit softer and slightly more relaxed than in earlier years. Helping her with this pose required that I make subtle adjustments in the placement of her arms casually under her breasts and rearrange the way the neck of her sweater was laying on her. The effect was to push her breasts together slightly and up a bit. The resulting decollete was subtle but inspiring. She glanced down at her display and asked if I thought she looked alright. I assured her she looked marvelous. She sent me a cute air kiss.

All of this was causing a surprising stirring in my shorts, and I thought I could hear Mara's breathing elevate just a bit when I stepped closer to help with the pose.

Serendipity evolved in our sense of closeness and, after that first modestly sensual pose, she suggested a few more equally appealing poses and insisted that I help ‘arrange' her. Eventually, she changed out of her slacks into short shorts for poses that incorporated her long, magnificent legs in smart, half-heeled strappy sandals; and finally, much to my surprise, she changed into a bikini bathing suit. My response to those stunning legs and feminine curve of hip was a strong urge to cuddle in her gorgeous thighs and nuzzle in her enchantingly wonderful cleavage. Her breathtaking bosom was trying, with moderate success, to escape the confines of the bikini bra and my hands longed to help her prevent the escape. By now the man-thing growing in my groin was amazing me; it too wanted to escape its confines. Very distracting. I hadn't been this ‘firm' in a long, long time. I had assumed it was no longer possible.

Throughout these latter poses, Mara continued to encourage me to help her arrange her hair or an arm or a leg or even her garment. She seemed to be enjoying the intimate touching and frequently found reasons to invite those personal moments between us. When I was near her or moving her she often would touch me, lightly stroking my arm or hip or leg. Suppressing my growing banal urges was difficult, but I managed. The bulge in the front of my shorts had become very noticeable, however, and I had given up trying to rearrange it's position to hide it. The frequency of Mara's glances at my shorts made it clear that she understood the effect she was having on me. Surprisingly, I didn't feel embarrassed. I even had the distinct feeling that some of her behavior was purposefully intended to see how much she could affect the bulge. That suspicion was particularly strong when she said her bikini bra was too snug and asked me to loosen the bow at the back of her neck.

By the end of that first session the intensity of our attraction to one another was no longer in doubt, but we both had managed, sometimes with difficulty, to maintain an outward decorum. The session ended when the second memory stick hit its capacity. When I offered to go next door for a third stick she demurred and said Don would be waking up soon. It was then that Mara first openly hinted at her feelings. She asked about when or how we might get together to look at the pictures, and wondered if just the two of us should look at the shots we had taken after Don had gone to bed. Though a bit surprised at her openness, I was warmly receptive of the intimacy of the suggestion, and agreed that some of those later pictures were a bit ‘glamorous' and questionable as items for family consumption.

Everyone would be welcome to view the earlier pictures on Renee's or our computer, but Mara might wish to keep some of the other, more sensual and revealing poses, to herself. I likewise wasn't too anxious for Donna to see some of the pictures I had taken and the way Mara was looking at the camera (and me). I reflected that the timing of my inserting a fresh memory stick had been fortuitous.

Mara further surprised and thrilled me when she expressed a strong desire for a second photo session of ‘just the two of us'. Our parting at the door when I was about to leave was warmer and more intimate than any of our previous greetings or departures. She was wearing a light, sheer breakfast jacket over the bikini, but had left it open. The deep and wide separation between her lovely, softly pendulant breasts was inspirational. She stood very close to me and there was a little touching and light stroking of arms. Finally, I found myself stroking her back and hips in an embrace during which she may have felt my bulge poking her tummy. It ended with a surprising series of feather light kisses before she playfully patted my behind and shooed me out.