My sister and I model together. You may even have seen us on the internet now and then. Not that we've got a website or anything, but you know how these pictures find themselves on the web, right? Well, that's how the trouble started. With somebody seeing the pictures on the internet. The trouble, and, I suppose, the opportunity to sort things out. But it was never as simple and easy as it sounds writing it down on paper. Anyway, I'll go back to the beginning because back then, everything seemed so much simpler, and a whole world of innocent.
My younger sister, Helena, had always been the pretty one in our family. Mom had always said so to tease me (knowing that I had a place on the cheerleading squad, and no end of young teenage suitors), but she was right. Helena had the kind of clean, simple beauty that didn't need much make-up to make her look stunning. Like me she had long blonde hair that behaved itself without the use of too much hairspray; a natural color-mix of ash- and strawberry-blonde. The two of us were about the same height; a little over average, and we both looked after ourselves (in our own ways). But Helena had a jaw and cheekbones that framed the beauty of her face perfectly. Some women look stunning when they have time to get up, scrub and put on some make-up. Helena was able to look stunning as soon as she opened her eyes. It made her very popular at college; in a quiet way even more popular than my position as a cheerleader, but Helena never showed too much interest in the pursuit of others. She concentrated on her studies, and on her beauty.
So when, at the age of eighteen, she was stopped in a shopping mall by a guy with dark glasses and a leather trench coat saying she was the most perfect specimen for his 'artistic creation', flattering her with his off-hand compliments and promises of stardom, it didn't come as a shock to her. Mom was sceptical, and rightly so, even though at the first shoot, at which mom chaperoned my sister, the guy seemed totally professional with a full photographic studio set, and magazine covers bearing his 'creations'. That first shoot was all about lighting, apparently, and Helena was given long, flowing dresses to wear (in which she looked gorgeous in a girl-dressed-as-a-grown-up way. So on the second shoot, Helena was allowed to go on her own and this time, the guy showed his real colours. Helena came back saying that his 'artistic creations' were fairly explicit, involving a lot of fruit that Helena had to hold against her naked skin because the lighting (apparently) demanded it. Mom called the police and they raided the guy's house, finding several more explicit images that Helena hadn't mentioned. And in these ones, the fruit wasn't just held against her skin. I must admit that I got the green-eyed monster a little, even though the guy had tricked my sister and exploited her. There was just a little part of me that craved that kind of attention too.
The whole experience had had an effect on Helena. Just not the one mom or I expected. Rather than become a little withdrawn and inhibited, Lena seemed to have discovered her teenage wings. She spent a lot more time on her cell phone, and a lot more evenings having to explain to mom why she was so late back from a friends' house. Her wardrobe changed too. Rather than the older, slightly more frumpy styles she used to wear, Helena now wore tighter-fitting, more fashionable clothes. Personally, I found this change refreshing, seeing my sister become a little more like me (and someone whose new clothes I could borrow too!).
It was on an evening a couple of months later, playing a computer game in my room, that Helena and I talked about her experiences at the photoshoot.
"Actually, it was pretty cool" she said, leaning her body to one side as her virtual car skidded round a corner on the screen in front of us. Helena was dressed casually, in jogging pants and a vest top, her long blonde hair left to fall around her shoulders. My hair was identical to hers, even if it covered shoulders a little more toned, and less finely boned than hers.
"What was cool?" I said, leaning my body in the same direction as I gunned my car to chase hers down.
"The photoshoot" she said. "It was pretty cool"
"the first one?" I answered, paying most of my attention to the screen in front of me. I was determined not to lose to my sister. Again.
"Well, yeah. That too." she said. There was a pause as the fender of my virtual car nudged the bumper of hers. I'd hoped to push her car off the road, but had only succeeded in giving it a further nudge of acceleration.
"Dammit! What do you mean 'that too'?" I said, flicking buttons with my fingers to change gears and speed up.
"Well" Helena said, effortlessly splitting her attention between talking to me and swerving round old cars to reach the final, "I liked getting dressed up and all, but it was kind of difficult to let go with mom sitting ten feet away."
"Let go?" I said, watching with dismay as another computer-controlled car shot past my one.
Helena's car sped across the finish line and a colourful 'Winner!' slogan lit up the screen. She dropped the game pad onto her lap and turned to look at me.
"Yeah, let go. Like, get into the mood of the photoshoot. Like an actress in a film. Anyway, it was cool the way I could do that in the second shoot."
"Are you kidding me?" I said. "That guy made you take of all your clothes and do that- do that fruit thing!"
Helena squirmed a little on my bed, looking uncomfortable. "Well, kinda" she said, cagily. I put down my control pad, not bothering to see if my virtual car had limped over the line in last place.
"Helena..." I said, using the 'mom' voice.
Helena suddenly brightened up, grabbed one of my hands in both of hers and pulled it onto her lap.
"Cassie, it felt so free and uninhibiting being pictured like that." There was a pause as I watched her look away for a moment and squeeze my hand. She looked back at me; a wicked little glint in her eye.
"Cass, it wasn't his idea to take my clothes off" she said, blurting out the admission. "It was mine."
"Yours?"
"uh-huh. It just felt, I don't know, it felt natural."
"And what about the fruit? Was that your idea too?"
"No. But I didn't mind at the time."
"You didn't mi-" I began, then broke off, incredulous. "Helena, he made you put that fruit where it shouldn't belong. He took pictures of you doing-"
"I know, I know" said Helena, holding up a hand to stop me. "And it was wrong." Then she brightened again and the devil glint was back in her eye again.
"But it was so... so erotic, Cassie. It was like nothing I'd felt before."
"Erotic? Helena what are you saying; this guy turned you on?"
"No, silly. Not him. He was creepy and a bit too obviously enjoying seeing me naked. But the feeling of being photographed; knowing the person doing it thinks you're gorgeous. Knowing that everyone who looks at your picture thinks you're gorgeous. Do you know what I mean?"
"Well-" I began, but Helena was already a step ahead of me.
"Cass, didn't you get a thrill when the Sidewinders won the college cup and they took all the photos of you and the other cheerleaders?"
I flicked a glance toward one of my bedroom dressers where a framed picture of that momentous evening sat. I was dressed in my cheerleading outfit; one arm around Amanda, my best friend and fellow cheerleader, and one arm around Josh, who mistakenly thought he would get lucky later that evening.
"Yeah, I guess so" I said, remembering how good it felt.
"Okay, so what about the photoshoot before the game? All you girls had to look sexy, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And it didn't feel good?" Helena said, squeezing my hand.
"Well, yeah I suppose it did" I admitted.
"So let's do it!" said Helena, pulling at my hand, suddenly excited.
"Do what?" I said, wondering if she wanted me to stick up for the creepy photographer or something.
"Let's get some pictures taken. Of us. Together." she said. And that was when the bombshell hit me.
"You want someone to take erotic pictures of us together?" I said
"Yes!" said Helena. I pulled my hand away from her.
"Lena" I said, levelly. "Are you a lesbian?"
Helena deflated noticeably. "Aw Jeez, Cass" she said. "Don't you get it? This is roleplaying. Acting. It's incredibly erotic, and if we do it together, neither of us is likely to get exploited. Come on. Try it out already. Just one. For me."
I thought about it, and reluctantly said yes. Later that night, once Helena had gone back to her room and I'd got ready for bed, I stood in front of the my full length mirror and thought about what she said. It was a side of my sister I'd rarely seen; something wild, daring. She seemed almost elemental when she spoke about the eroticism of the photoshoot. I thought more about her proposal too. Why had she said that? Had she been more rattled by the creepy guy than she cared to admit? Was this part of her plan to carry on doing something that interested her but without being alone? Was she attracted by the prospect of 'facing her fear'? Then I thought about why I'd said yes so readily. Normally I would have said no, flat out (sometimes just because it was my sister making the request and I was feeling bitchy). But Helena seemed so enthused, so determined. Something inside me just went click and I said yes.
On an impulse, I grabbed the hem of my nightshirt and hauled it over my head. I stood in front of the mirror and gave myself a critical appraisal, turning this way and that to look at my own body. I was suddenly conscious of the prospect of being photographed and a built-in fear of body-image kicked in. I looked hard at the naked body facing me. I was a little more toned than my sister; defined where Helena was soft, and my breasts and hips were a little bigger, a touch wider, but not so much as you'd notice. I realised I was being picky. Helena was only a year and a little bit younger than me, and we were often mistaken for twins such was our similarity. When we both wore our hair down and had similar clothes on, we looked a lot alike. But how would we look without those clothes on?
I pulled my nightshirt back on, got into bed and turned the light off. At that point, I had no idea how advanced my sister's plans were. Helena was way ahead of me.
********
The following day I didn't see much of Helena. She was busy with college classes, and so was I. We chatted over dinner, but her proposal of last night didn't surface. I wondered if she had had second thoughts about it, and let it drop from my mind. But later on, as I was getting into bed, I stood naked in front of my bedroom mirror once more and stared at myself again. This time, I let myself twist and turn like a model, striking little poses to see how it looked. After a few minutes, and feeling a bit foolish, I went to bed.
The next day, I woke up to a knock on my bedroom door.
"Cassie, Cass! It's me. Open up." I rubbed sleepy eyes and yawned.
"Door's open" I called out. I heard the handle turn and Helena brushed in like a warm breeze. She was wearing her low-cut pyjamas and looked like she'd been awake for some time. She walked straight up to my bed and sat on the unmade covers.
"Come on, lazy bones" she said, excitedly, shoving at me with one hand. "Get up and get showered already. We've got a busy day!"
"Get lost" I said, a stock answer. Helena started bouncing up and down on the bed, giggling. "Come on, get up you lazy bitch. We've got tings to do!"
I felt Helena move the covers, then her hand was snaking underneath them, reaching in to pinch and tickle me.
"Ow. Get off." I said, trying my best to ignore the way her hand was grabbing chunks of my flesh.
"I'll pinch your ass" she said, reaching again to get underneath me.
"all right, all right!" I muffled, wriggling away to the cold side of the bed. Giggling again, Helena dived under the covers to chase me. She could be so irritating. I felt her barrel into me underneath my bedcovers and was suddenly struck by what this looked like; two hot sisters rolling around together underneath the bed sheets. I scrambled out of bed and stumbled over toward my bathroom. I looked back through a thin veil of uncombed hair and saw my sister grinning wickedly underneath my covers. I used the bathroom, took a quick shower, then went back into the main room. Oddly, Helena was still laying in my bed, snuggling up under my own covers with her eyes closed.
"Hey" I said, rubbing a strand of hair between two ends of a towel. "Thought you said we had things to do." Helena looked up and threw me a guilty look, then flashed a smile and threw the covers back.
"That's right" she said, bounding up to me and giving me a hug. "Lots of good things to do today." I felt her press her hands against my back, pulling me closer to her. I gave her a light hug back, then pulled away.
"So what's the hurry?" I said. "What are these 'good things'?"
