Lesson 1 - Action
Steve threw his phone down angrily.
"Damn, damn. Stupid woman. Tch."
"What's up, Dad?"
"Jesus, Natasha don't skulk around like that! You startled me."
Natasha poured some cereal into a bowl and went to the fridge for some milk.
"Alright, Mr Grumpy!"
"Yeah, sorry. It's just that stupid woman."
"Mum?" she asked, crunching a spoonful of corn flakes.
"No! Celeste."
"Oh. And Celeste is....?"
"My model."
Natasha shrugged her shoulders.
"In my art group?"
Blank look.
"The PAINTING group I've been running in the shed every Saturday for the last 3 years?"
Natasha shook her head and resumed her breakfast.
"I didn't know you painted, how come I've never seen anything?"
"Well I don't stick it on the fridge with a magnet!"
"OK. Coffee?"
"Yes, thank you."
"No, I mean, is there any coffee? So what's she done this Celine?"
"Celeste. She's cancelled. Someone in her family has selfishly died."
"Pff, some people eh? Well just postpone it."
"Too late, they'll be here in 10 minutes. Ray's local but Jim comes from out of town."
"Maybe ask Maud next door, she always seems a bit of a show off."
Natasha browsed her phone for important Whatsapp news.
"Maud? Are you mental? She has no poise, no class. I might as well get them to paint a sack of potatoes."
His phone pinged. Ray was at the corner shop getting provisions for the lunchtime sandwiches.
"I suppose we
could
do still life. Some apples, a bottle..."
Natasha had lost interest and was busy texting Hayley.
"...bit cheaper too, you can get a lot of apples for £100."
"You pay her? Just to sit down for a few hours?"
He studied his daughter quizzically. It's like she had no idea how the world outside of social media actually worked.
"Where are you going?"
"Back to bed."
"Oh well obviously, it being nearly 11 o'clock and all."
She shrugged, and headed for the stairs.
"Wait, you could do it!"
"Uh, that would be a no."
"Why, you have class and poise. You could scrub up. You scrub up well, I've seen you."
"I AM scrubbed up! This is me in scrubbed up form. I have no desire to be ogled by three middle aged men for a measly £200."
"One hund- OK yes, two hundred. Hundred an hour, not bad eh?"
"Deal."
He shook her dainty hand.
"Yes! You're definitely my favourite daughter."
Only child Natasha gave him a sardonic sneer.
He looked critically at her grey sweat pants and baggy top.
"Um, could you wear something else? Loose clothing is quite difficult to paint."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, a nice skirt and blouse? Anything kind of....smart. Oh here's Jim, I'll see you down the shed in 10 minutes."
Left alone, Natasha felt somehow slighted but she couldn't work out why. Kind of co-erced, bullied even.
As she sorted through her rather meagre wardrobe she wasn't quite sure what was expected. She picked out, and rejected, some jeans, several T-shirts, but nothing really - Ah....!
She had found a pair of denim shorts at the bottom of the drawer which she hadn't worn for a year or so, but pulling them on over her simple white knickers they were perfect. What 'perfect' actually meant in this context she didn't know. Was there some kind of power move in the air; some need to redress the wrong she felt? She looked at her reflection, the shorts were tight but not impossibly so. Her tanned legs looked fantastic, even if she said so herself. She threw on a pair of white ankle socks and trainers.
Recalling the other part of this ensemble which had always worked well, she retrieved the white crop top from another drawer. Dare she even wear such a thing? It would mean no bra of course but... She eyed the whole effect in the mirror and felt a sudden panic. But also a sudden surge of something almost sexual. 'Yes, this'll teach him,' she thought.
Before she could change her mind she made her determined way to the shed.
***
"Ah, here she is," said Steve as the door opened. "Oh, for Christ-"
Natasha had decided to play high status and brimming with confidence, the very opposite of what she was feeling. She entered the dimly lit shed and introduced herself, fully cognisant of the thinly veiled lechery in the eyes of the two strangers.
"Bit dark isn't it, Daddy?"
"Um, yes, I haven't turned the big light on yet. Are you sure you're OK with this, we can probably paint apples or-"
"Fuck that!" exclaimed Ray. "I'm not wasting time on no stinking fruit."
Steve switched on the powerful daylight lamp and the room instantly became bright and cheerful.
"OK, so we'll start as normal with a few action sketches. Remember you're after a gesture here, the lines should be dynamic and flowing. Use charcoal or pencil and don't even attempt any kind of likeness. More like a stick drawing. Natasha we'll be posing you at one minute intervals, so it shouldn't be too taxing."
Feeling slightly uncomfortable he moved his daughter to the floor and asked her to put her hands behind her head. He bent her knees and turned her face away.
"OK the minute starts NOW."
Natasha felt the burning stare of the three artists as she faced the wall. She was somewhat aware that the crop top had ridden up slightly and she tried to shimmy it back without moving too much.
"Try and keep still if you can, Natasha."
This was going to be harder than she imagined. Thankfully the minute soon passed. However there was no time to reflect, as Jim was now called upon to set the next pose.
Jim encouraged her to stand and then moved her feet apart about a metre. He twisted her torso to her right and in doing so lightly grazed her breast with his thumb. Then he moved her arms in the air as if she were catching a football.
This time there was no escaping the fact that her top had ridden up two inches and the underside of her breasts was clearly visible. Nobody mentioned it however so she held the position for a minute that seemed somehow much longer.
"OK Ray, your turn."
Ray turned her to face the wall, in doing so he casually groped her breasts through her top as though it was standard procedure in model posing technique, and then tilted her body forwards, hands resting on the chair. He kneeled behind her and spread her feet apart.
Natasha couldn't be sure whether that grope had been deliberate. Her nipples poked through her top as she wantonly thrust her bottom in the air for one minute.
"OK good, both of you are getting a lot of action in your sketches. We'll have one more round of that, and then I suggest a quick break while I go to the loo."
Steve tried to restore a bit of order in the posing and sat her down on the chair, her legs crossed. He moved one of her hands behind her head and had the other pointing in Ray's direction.
Natasha's nipples were still very hard, and she felt them straining against the thinnish material of her top. As she looked at Ray he adjusted himself ostentatiously, clearly erect in his pale trousers.
Jim asked if she could do the splits. Natasha said she would try, then realised that the shorts were a bit too tight to allow a full stretch. He said no worries and undid the top button and lowered the zip about half way, letting his finger slide between the denim and her panties, discreetly brushing her mound.
Natasha managed about 140 degrees split, the white waist of her panties visible to all.
Ray had her sitting backwards in the chair, facing away from the artists. Out of view of the others he scooched up her top and mauled her breasts greedily, tweaking her hard nipples before pulling the top down again. Before taking to his easel he pulled Natasha's face forward and ground his groin into her face making sure she could feel his urgent need.
Finally this part of the session was over. Steve hurried to the bathroom and Jim busied himself with preparing his materials for the painting part of the day, selecting various colours and oil based media. He went to his car retrieve a new tube of Titanium White.
In the bathroom Steve wondered what on earth she was playing at, flaunting herself like that. He was sure she was getting back at him for some reason, why else would she be so provocative?