It was the third morning of the trip and Evelyn was ready for the day's activities, dressed in a new bikini. While her son was washing himself in the bathroom, she checked her email on her phone and her heart nearly sank.
The bathroom door opened and her son came out, noticing her despair.
"Is everything okay?" Chris asked, confused by mom's sudden mood change.
Evelyn put her phone away and stood barefoot in the hotel room, ready to have some fun. She did her best to be upbeat, even though the news was devastating to her.
"Oh, nothing," she replied, being a good mother and hiding away her grief from her son.
"Are you sure? Maybe I can help."
She smiled. "What's important is, I'm very glad that we get to spend alone time together. You know how busy I've been at the firm, and I know you've been busy with college."
"Yeah, I'm glad we get to do this, too. Seriously though, what's wrong? Anything I should know about?"
She sighed. "If you really want to know, your father and I were supposed to do something on this trip. We missed our chance, but oh well. That's okay."
This was supposed to be an anniversary trip between Evelyn and her husband. She had booked and paid for everything. But when something came up at her husband's work, he had to cancel at the last minute, and Evelyn was forced to drag her son along.
What their son didn't know, however, was that they had all sorts of adult-related activities planned at this exclusive island resort. Things which had been her fantasy all her adult life.
"Can't you do it next year?" Chris asked.
"No, it's not exactly an annual thing," she sighed, then put on a lovely smile. "Let's forget it. It's nothing. I didn't mean to be a downer. Let's have a great time today, okay?"
Chris paused for a moment and pondered. "You know, before coming on this trip, dad told me to take his place. He said it a few times. I just assumed he meant swimming and sightseeing. All the usual stuff."
"Your father was teasing," she laughed. "Trust me, you wouldn't be interested."
"Are you sure? I can do anything dad can do. Come on, you keep treating me like I'm in high school. I'm an adult now."
Evelyn winced at the idea. "I don't know."
"We won't know unless we try it, right?"
"Well..."
Evelyn's voice trailed off and a slight smile formed on her lips. Would it be such a bad thing if she invited her son? Or in some way, treated her son as a replacement? It made sense, since Chris was handsome and was a real ladies man, just like his father was at that age.
"What is it?" Chris asked.
She thought for a moment, then pursed her lips. "I'm only telling you this because your father offered, whether he was joking or not. Have you ever heard of a famous photographer named Mr. Woo? He's from Hong Kong, but educated in Britain."
"Never heard of him."
Evelyn blushed. "Well, so you know, Mr. Woo is world-renowned when it comes to making fine art. He's directed several music videos in Asia, but mostly he's known for his exquisite photography. He's won countless awards and he's one of the highest paid artists in the world."
"I think I get it," Chris nodded. "This person is doing something here on the island and you wanted to join with dad. I saw a bunch of camera equipment in the lobby the day we arrived. It makes sense."
She smiled. "Great detective work. Yeah, we had plans to have a photoshoot by a true professional. It would have been great memories."
"Is that what you did yesterday, besides getting a full body massage? You seemed... I don't know... evasive or something. You seemed super relaxed after we split up yesterday."
"I did see Mr. Woo yesterday morning," she confessed. "I signed up months ago, at a very expensive price. It's non-refundable and I wanted a chance to meet him and his team."
"That's cool. You should have told me. It would have been exciting to watch, since apparently this guy is a pro."
That was the moment Evelyn paused and gently bit her lower lip; a natural reflex whenever she blushes. Any decent mother would have stopped at this point, but being a woman with certain needs and desires, she pushed things a little further.
"Trust me," she said. "It's better that I went alone yesterday."
"Why?"
"Think about. We're on an exotic beach resort. Lots of married couples. World famous photographer and his team."
It only took a few seconds for the realization to sink in and Chris understood.
"Oh, so you were...." his voice trailed away.
She shrugged. "It was an adult shoot. Yes, I was hoping to do that with your father. It's something we'd have cherished."
"Oh..."
At any other time, Evelyn would have been mortified sharing this with her son. Instead, she found the whole thing to be amusing. She loved seeing Chris squirm at the very thought of her naked.
"What do you expect?" she giggled. "I love modeling. I used to model as a side job to pay for my college education."
"I know, but still."
"What's that supposed to mean? Am I too old now?"
She put her hands on her hips and gave a stern expression.
"No, no," he backtracked. "You look great."
"Then accompany me today," she smiled. "Mr. Woo thinks I'm fantastic and he wants to film me. He emailed me this morning saying he wants to do something special with me, but only as a couples thing. That means I'll need a male partner."
Chris tensed. "You want me to fill in?"
"Yep, that was the offer. That's why I was so upset. It's the chance of a lifetime. It's a model's dream."
"Will you be... you know..."
Evelyn laughed. "Naked? Not a chance. Bikini only."
"What's this for, anyway?"
"It's for couples to take amazing pictures and film. Mr. Woo basically makes a ton of money from this, but I think it's worth the price."
"Oh? How much are you paying?"
It was Evelyn's turn to become tense. "Put it this way, I nearly cried when your father couldn't come along."
"Sure, I'll do it. I mean, it'll be awkward for me. You know I get uncomfortable being on film. But why not?"
"My sweet prince, what will I ever do without you?"
Evelyn puckered her lips and made her way towards her blushing son, offering a tender kiss on the cheek.
***
She walked barefoot on the hot sand in her bikini. Chris wore his swimming trunks and nothing else.
They walked for several minutes, past all the tourists, until they reached a secluded part of the island. That area was set up with all sorts of photography and filming equipment which was spread out. Mr. Woo was there, busy directing his team as he went around making sure that each shoot was up to his high standards of quality.
There were six other couples on the beach, mostly middle-aged people looking to live out their salacious erotic fantasies, and most were from western countries. They were scattered around the beach with different photographers.
Most of the sessions were innocent enough; couples kissing, some were dancing, some played in the water. Most were in their small swimwear.
What caught their attention was a couple who were getting dressed from having been naked. The woman's breasts were still exposed and she reached for her bikini top, meanwhile the man had just tucked his penis away inside of his swimming trunks.
"Jeez," he gasped.
Evelyn shrugged. "Did I mention that Mr. Woo makes a wide variety of artwork?"
"Without any clothes?"
"A little further than that."
Chris almost seemed shocked. "You mean like pornogra..."
"Don't use that word," she said, turning to put her finger on his lips. "Mr. Woo is an internationally acclaimed artist, got that? He's not... whatever dirty thing you're suggesting."
"Sorry," he said, when the finger was moved away. "Did you know there was going to be naked people?"
Evelyn carefully chose her words before speaking. "The female body and human sexuality is a big part of this."
"Did you see anything like that yesterday? I want to know what we're getting into."
Her son was right and Evelyn realized that she should have been more forthcoming from the start. After all, this was something that had the power to enhance the love life of any married couple, or change the relationship between any mother/son.
"Okay, I got naked yesterday," she admitted. "I did a photoshoot, undressed, and I sent the pictures to your father last night."
"Wow. Is that why you were so relaxed after?"
"No, I was so relaxed because I had masturbated to completion during the photoshoot. Now you know. Grow up."
She did her best to act like this was such a normal thing between adults, but deep down, she felt a burning feeling inside for revealing such things to her son. If she was going to follow through with this shoot, then she needed to be honest about everything, even at the last minute.
"Is that Mr. Woo coming here?" Chris asked.
They watched the famed photographer smile and approach them. The man happily wore a tropical shirt with shorts, while he had a camera around his neck.
"My star!" Mr. Woo exclaimed. "So glad you decided to return."
She waved her hand emphatically. "Absolutely! It's the opportunity of a lifetime."
Evelyn greeted him with a hug and kiss. They made small talk and discussed the undeniable chemistry they had during yesterday's naked masturbation photoshoot. Things took a drastic turn when Mr. Woo turned to her son
"Who is he?" Mr. Woo asked. "That's a beautiful young man you've brought today."
