Copyright ©, 2003: All characters, events, and text in this story are purely fictional, and are created by and the sole property of the author. All rights reserved.
* * * * *
My wish came true sooner than I thought. About two weeks later, Drake called me at home.
"Hi, Joann. I have a proposition for you, if you are interested in doing some more figure modeling."
He explained that a school classmate who was a well-known photographer had come to visit him. Bill, his friend, had agreed to do a shoot in Drake's studio loft, with me as his model.
"I told him that you have a great figure, and might like to express your sensuality via a camera lens. Knowing Bill's style, I must warn you that there might be some pretty potent shots. Interested?"
I agreed to meet them two days later at Drake's studio. When I arrived, he greeted me warmly with a social kiss that lasted a little longer than usual, and then introduced me to his friend Bill. They were both casually dressed in jeans with unbuttoned shirts, and Drake gave me a glass of wine to catch up to them while he assisted Bill in arranging his camera and lighting. When he completed his share of preliminary setup work, Drake described what he wanted me to do.
"Bill is well known for his eye and sense of that just-right look. He is also very adept at coaching his models, and extracting the ultimate performance from them. I believe that you can become an imaginative model, Joann. You have the potential to deliver some very sexy images that will be captured by Bill's camera. Just obey his instructions, and then do whatever your inner feelings tell you. OK?"
"Well," I said. "I'm not sure about my potential, but I am curious about what it's like to model for a photographer. It must be a lot different from what I did in your class. There, I just remained still for a long time. I doubt if that is what Bill expects from me."
"No, Bill will have you moving around a lot. Let me show you some of his work while we let him get everything ready."
Drake showed me a portfolio of dozens of photos of women, in all forms of dress and undress, including some that were very explicit. I didn't consider that any of the photos were offensive. In fact, I was quite taken by the images of men and women together. He had captured various moments of couples expressing mutual attraction, from simply holding hands to actual lovemaking.
"Your friend is quite good. I'm impressed," I said.
"You're going to be even more impressed with Bill after this morning. Come on, let me take you to him, and you and he can get started."
We walked past a disorderly array of equipment – lights, cables, props, and several cameras on a side table. There was also a laptop computer and a large monitor. Bill saw me inspecting that.
"We've gone digital in the business," he said. "Now we can see immediately what we have captured, and that sometimes helps us adjust and modify until we get exactly what we were after. I understand that you became a nude model for Drake's class by accident. Obviously, you must have enjoyed it, or you wouldn't have agreed to this shoot. Tell me, what part of the class sessions intrigued you the most while you modeled? Did you find it difficult to have people see you nude?"
I said, "Well, at first I was terribly nervous about taking off my clothes, but I think when Helen gave me a compliment on how I looked, she made me proud of my body. It became kind of fun after that. I learned that I have nothing to be ashamed of in what I did. I also realized that you can have perfectly normal reactions with your friends, even though you are totally starkers."
"Yes, Drake told me of your behavior in class that last night," Bill said, chuckling. "I'll bet that you even surprised yourself, letting a woman kiss you, and all the men fondle you. Well, today, I would like to see some more of that spontaneity and sexiness from you as well."
He turned away from me, leaving me to ponder just what he meant.
"Drake," Bill said. "I don't think that we should waste any of Joann's time and energy with the preliminary clothed warm-ups. Let's get right into some full nudes. Is that OK with you, Joann? I'll take care of your makeup. There's a real trick to getting it just right for color camera work."
I really didn't have time or opportunity to respond one way or the other. Drake led me by the hand to a small area behind the paper backdrop that Bill had erected for the shoot.
"Just take your time, Joann," he said. "When you're ready to pose, come on back. I hope that you followed my directions and skipped underwear today."
I nodded affirmative as he left me. Looking around, I saw a full-length mirror and a makeup table, plus a rack for clothes hanging. Some dresses, negligees, and lingerie were hanging on the rack. I took off my mid-length dress. A look in the mirror confirmed that I had indeed followed Drake's no-underwear instructions to avoid strap and elastic lines on my skin. Kicking off my shoes, I announced to Drake and Bill that I was ready.
"I wonder what's in store for me." I thought, as I walked out from behind the screen.
Bill cast a long look over my entire body. His staring eyes almost felt like fingers moving across my body, missing nothing. I felt a tingle of sexual desire warming up inside of me.
"Very nice, Joann, very nice indeed," Bill said. "Your body is absolutely beautiful, and your breasts are even larger than I imagined through your dress. The length and slimness of your legs are simply fantastic. You must work very hard to keep in such good shape."
I blushed at Bill's compliments. They made me feel very sexy and feminine.
"Drake," Bill continued. "I see what you mean about that subliminal something about Joann. I think that she and I are going to click on this shoot."
He took my hand to lead me over to a Formica-topped worktable.
"Would you mind if I tried to achieve perfection with your image, Joann? All I want to do is some makeup and hair grooming."
