Matt jumped out of the Uber without even thanking the driver. His mind was on other things. He struggled to lift his two heavy suitcases out of the trunk. He has even more trouble trying to wheel them both up his aunt's driveway, especially while juggling the camera pouch around his neck and making sure the suit-bag he had wasn't brushing the ground.
He pauses halfway up the driveway. Was he really going to do this? He needed models for the online clothing business that he was starting with college friends Emma and Tim. The two models that he booked had cancelled on less than an hour's notice. He wondered desperately whether he still had time to post a classified ad, but he knew it was hopeless. They have an investor meeting scheduled in a few days, and the deadline for the photo submissions is tonight. Still, he isn't sure about having his aunt and uncle model the clothes.
His mom had suggested that he try reaching out to her sister and her husband to model as a replacement. He was desperate enough to do it, though he had some misgivings. It wasn't that they weren't model material. He was just a bit uncomfortable with seeing them in some of the outfits, or putting it on display for the whole world either. He was at the door and took a deep breath, before hitting the bell.
He exhaled sharply as the door shot open and revealed the smiling couple. Jane, his aunt, took a suitcase filled with clothes. James, her husband, took the heavier one. It had clothes as well as shoes and some equipment for photography. Matt felt a slight tinge of embarrassment at how easily his uncle carried it. James was 6'3 and had a body that only comes from a lifetime of dedication to the gym. He had a handsome face, with soft brown eyes and fine, brown hair. By comparison, Matt was slim, but only 5'7 and hadn't played sports since he was high school.
Jane was tall for a woman, at 5'10, with long legs. It didn't help that she loved wearing heels, bringing her height to over 6'0 and adding to the intimidation that any beautiful woman invites. She wasn't just ordinarily beautiful either, she had ice blonde hair and green eyes that gave her an almost magnetic attractiveness. She dominated the attention of every room she was in. Her height and stunning looks only added to the impression she still had of Matt, despite being in his early twenties already, as her kid nephew.
Matt steps into the house, and says, somewhat shyly, "Thanks for the help."
Jane, with an indulgent smile, ruffled his hair and said, "Anything for our little man!" Matt groaned internally. He hated the way they treated him like a kid. He felt his unease growing as his mind shifted to the various outfits that he had packed, but he tried to take this all one step at a time. It was early Saturday morning and they were both still in sweaters and sweatpants, though Jane had her hair done and was wearing makeup in preparation for the photoshoot.
They walked back into the living room and deposited the suitcases on the floor. Matt said, "Can we move the couches out of the way? The lighting here would be perfect if we could clear that side of the room," he was pointing to a part of the room where the large windows were casting sunlight on a bare wall.
James signalled for Jane to help move the couch. Matt opened a suitcase. He pulled out a flat folding screen. It opened surprisingly large, providing some privacy to change outfits behind. He then got out a tripod, different lenses and flashes and began setting up his camera.
The couple pour mugs of coffee. They sipped their own before pouring another for Matt. Matt finished fiddling with his camera setup before noticing his aunt towering over him with his mug, and a teasing smile. She knew how oblivious he could be when he was focused on something. He seemed surprised and mildly embarrassed before taking the mug, with another sheepish "Thanks."
Matt took a deep sip and sighed. It seemed like the first time on the hectic morning that he actually took a breath. He closed his eyes and breathed in the coffee before opening them again, feeling braced. That is, until he saw that Jane had finished her coffee and was kneeling in front of the suitcase, beginning to look at outfits.
He laid aside the mug quickly and spoke up, nervously, hoping she wouldn't look too far into the suitcase: "That suitcase is for uncle James. Your clothes are in the other," he said, "I laid out the outfits in order. There's only a few outfits ready. I was hoping to shoot the business formal ones first, there are matching blazers in the suitbag."
Jane smiled at Matt, "Very professional!" She teased.
James had deposited his coffee mug in the sink and was returning to the living room, stretching out and yawning. He grabbed the first outfit and the blazer and disappeared behind the screen. Jane yawned and began opening the other. She made her way behind the screen as James was emerging.
Matt sipped more coffee, but as James emerged, he suddenly felt more awake and more nervous than ever. Time to focus, he thought, you're a professional and they're just like any other models.
James was taller and fitter than the model Matt had planned for, so the slick charcoal suit was tight on him. On his body, though, that wasn't necessarily a downside. His legs stretched the fabric of the pants, and they reached only slightly above the ankle. Luckily the ankle-high boots made the look seem intentional. The fabric stretched around his crotch, though Matt made a point to not look too closely. The shirt buttons were straining slightly at the chest, but the jacket seemed to fit, though slightly short at the wrists. It could be worse, Matt thought.
He said to James: "Try to centre yourself between those two lights." He said, pointing to the the two ceiling lights he used to centre his camera. He quickly snapped upper body photos and then zoomed out for full-body. He began to relax as things seemed as normal as any other shoot he had done.
He felt slightly awkward as he instructed, though it sounded almost like a question with his lack of confidence, "Turn around...?"
James smiled reassuringly and turned his back. Easy, Matt thought, "Without the jacket now," he added. James threw off the jacket, it landed on the couch. Matt walked up to adjust James' pants, ever so slightly lifting at the waistband to remove an awkward crease. He was more hesitant than he'd normally be.
Matt couldn't help but notice how tight the fabric was across his uncle's butt, though he blushed at the embarrassing thought. James turned around and Matt quickly snapped the shots. He breathed a sigh of relief, though he realised this was just one outfit of many and possibly the least awkward.
He tried to ease the tension for himself, "Maybe I need to start hitting the gym," he ventured shyly. James gave him a warm laugh, "I'll take you sometime, bud."
Jane had been watching from the sidelines, and escaped Matt's notice until James went to dress in the business casual selection and she stepped into centre-stage. If James was slightly tall for his outfit, Jane was much too tall. Her high heels clacked loudly on the hardwood. Matt refused to move his face from the viewfinder, wanting to cover his slight embarrassment at the poor fit. It definitely didn't look bad on her, but he wasn't sure he'd want his aunt looking like this on his website.
Jane's long silky legs were exposed to mid-thigh in the tight skirt. The shirt was stretched across the chest, the buttons wanting desperately to pop. She fastened every button except the top one.
Matt stammered, almost not saying anything, but he did not want to reshoot more than he had to: "Um... Aunt Jane, we... uh... actually need to unbutton the second button as well."
Jane gave him a teasing, good-natured smile as she unfastened off the button. She posed with one hand on one hip and that playful smile transitioned into a distant, smouldering look. It left Matt almost breathless as his affectionate aunt was transformed into a stunning, sexy woman through the camera lens. He never expected to see bedroom eyes on her. He shot the upper body shots. He wasn't sure if he wanted to save the images for himself, or if he wanted to cancel the whole shoot. He had strong doubts about publishing these as he zoomed out to show her long, white legs sculpted by the heels.
She knew the drill from watching James, and spared Matt the agony of asking, and she turned around. He felt guilty as he stared at the ample curve of her tight ass, it was the focal point of the photograph. She slipped off the jacket and he realised he was breathing heavily. He moved his eyes, forcing them to focus on the collar of her shirt, trying to shoot without looking too closely.
He cleared his throat and said, lamely, "Great. That was really... great. James?" He blushed. He knew he wouldn't be able to shoot her in some of the other outfits. He couldn't.
James swapped the button-down for a polo shirt. It was still tight, and the sleeves showed off his massive, chiseled arms as well. Matt breathed easily as he shot this outfit, feeling in control again. Upper-body, full-body, back. Simple.
Jane emerged from behind the screen and Matt was faced with his aunt in the business casual. He breathed easy after he saw it, confident again he could manage this. His aunt looked pretty, even sexy, and he'd seen her in outfits like this his whole life. No short skirt or bedroom eyes to throw him off this time. It was a tight black turtleneck, hugging her chest, and a pair of tan pants, ending above the ankles. He even managed to work up the courage to walk over to her as she towered over him in the heels and adjust her hips, careful to barely touch them.
Upper-body. Full-body. Back. Simple.
---
Matt stepped out from the camera to drain his now-cold coffee, grateful for it nonetheless. He smiled uneasily as he looked at his models, still in their last outfits. He said, "We don't have any men's casual wear right now, so you're off the hook for this round." James seemed grateful for the break, pouring another cup of coffee for himself before walking back.
He connected a cord to his camera and shoved it into his phone. He selected all the images and hit upload to cloud, before removing the cord from the camera. He shared the folder with his business partners: Emma and Tim.
Emma: Looks great!
Tim: Investors will love this!
Matt felt more relaxed, everything was going great and he seemed to have broken the ice. James stood next to Matt and looked at the camera setup: "I'm surprised you've got so many outfits already! You guys must be working pretty hard on this."
It was an understatement, but Matt smiled as James looked down at him: "We've been working on it for a long time, we're really excited to see it all coming together."
