Chapter 19

“You’re sure we’re not going to visit Wendy again?”

“I’d be happy to drop you off so you can spend the day with your lesbian life partner, if that’s how you’d prefer to spend our date.”

“Ha! No, it’s just that I’ve wracked my brain all morning, and I still can’t figure out what you’ve got planned. I don’t even have a decent guess. The very few clues you’ve offered don’t help very much, either. You said that it was important that we drank a Spanish wine last night, but unless you’re taking me on a very strange detour to the airport — though neither of us are packed for that, and I don’t have my passport anyway — I can’t fathom what that has to do with anything. This morning you insisted on picking out my clothes, and you made me pack another overnight bag. I thought the clothes might be important, but your choices were haphazard and indifferent, which is very unlike you. You paid special attention to my personal grooming and then to yours, which is why I couldn’t help but think about Wendy, but you’ve been adamant that your plan doesn’t necessarily involve sex. On the other hand, you cut us off last night and wouldn’t touch me this morning either, which makes me suspect that sex is somehow involved after all. I’m so confused.”

“I don’t care if you’re confused, Luke,” she observed as Google Maps ordered her to take the next left. “I only care if you’re intrigued and excited.”

“Unquestionably yes to the former. And I trust you, so it’s also yes to the latter. But the thing that confuses me the most is when you called our date ‘years in the making.’ I’ve only known you for a few months.”

She just smiled, and the intrigue grew.

“This is it,” she announced, pulling into a garage and handing the attendant her phone. He studied it for a moment, nodded, and raised the gate. Three floors of descent later, she pulled into an empty spot. It was far from the first they’d seen, so he knew that she’d been aiming for a specific space, but it was another clue that brought him no closer to an answer.

He was reaching into the back seat for their bags when she stopped him. “Not yet. Right now, the only thing you need to bring right now is yourself.” She took his hand, openly delighted at his ongoing bewilderment, and led them to the elevator. Upon its arrival she looked at her phone again, typed a code into the elevator’s numeric pad, and hit the button for the seventeenth floor. The door had barely closed when she started humming a strangely familiar tune.

Luke’s tension dissolved into snorting fits of laughter when he finally recognized the melody. “Def Leppard? Really?”

She kept starting straight ahead. “Maybe it’s another clue.”

His mind raced. “Photograph?” What could...? His head whipped around to stare at her. Her eyes were wandering, seemingly indifferent to his intense glare. “Are we...?”

ding

“We’re here.”

The elevator opened to a small office. There was no sign. No name on the wall. Nothing to indicate what sort of business it was. Just a neatly organized but unoccupied desk, a few filing cabinets, and a plant. She opened the only other door and led him into a cavernous space. One corner was packed with a chaotic forest of lights on adjustable stands, mirrors, screens, and a random assortment of furniture. On the other side of the room, there was an organized circle of equipment surrounding an antique green velvet settee.

“What’s going on?”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like a photography studio. But what...?” He gasped as unexpected conclusions arrived alongside a rush of conflicted emotions. “You don’t mean...?”

“Kathryn! Until this moment, I did not necessarily believe you would arrive. Yet here you are, and though it seems impossibly unfair, you are even more surpassingly beautiful than ever. And this will be Lucas, about whom I have already heard so very much.”

A tall, muscular, olive-skinned, and devastatingly handsome man with long, dark, wavy hair was approaching them. He was fully clothed, but Luke recognized him immediately. Every muscle in his body tensed. After offering Kathryn traditionally European cheek kisses, he gathered her into a warm and familiar embrace, which he broke a few seconds later to shake Luke’s hand. Even his fingers are enormous. “It is a great pleasure to meet you.”

“Luke,” Kathryn announced, resting her other hand on the man’s shoulder, “I’d like you to meet Alejandro.”

As his hand reflexively pumped up and down, he blinked with disbelief, stammering out a response. “I ... I ... it’s nice to meet you, Ale...”

The photographer smiled and waved his other hand. “Please, there is no need for us to stand upon pretenses or formality. Kathryn has told me everything. She assured me that you do not know me in a professional sense, yet you do know who I am in a very different and decidedly personal sense. In this you have me at a disadvantage, for I almost never appear before the lens, and you are among the very few who has witnessed one of the rare exceptions.”

The slightest sound echoed off the cavernous room’s countless bare surfaces, yet the space fell eerily silent while they waited for Luke to say something in response. A task at which he proved utterly useless until Kathryn took pity on him.

“Surprised?” Though she said it in a spirt of jocularity, he could hear the tentative, hopeful inquiry in her question despite the roaring in his head. His tension grew by the moment. Is she here to...?

“I ... I mean yes, I know who you are,” he stammered at Alejandro. “I’m just ... well, yes. Surprised is a good word for it.”

Nestling against his side, Kathryn pressed her lips into his ear. “By now, you’ve probably guessed why we’re here, right?” He stared at her, unable to form words. I can’t believe she’d just spring this on me. I mean, I know we don’t have a claim on each other, but... To his mounting annoyance, Alejandro was placidly observing as if nothing of particular importance was about to happen. Suddenly, Kathryn correctly interpreted the ill-hidden panic in his eyes, gripping him even more tightly. “Oh my love, no! That’s not ... I’m not here to ... I’m so sorry, everything seemed so obvious to me that I didn’t think you’d...”

“Lucas,” interrupted Alejandro; his rich, sensual Mediterranean tones were oddly soothing, despite Luke’s anxiety and mistrust, “the past remains firmly in the past. As a man, I should have predicted the images clouding your mind, and for that I am sorry. I suspect my sensitivities have become too attuned to the eclectic anxieties of models and actresses, but those are not good guides to normal human behavior. I humbly beg you to let your memories of our past go. That is not why I am here.”

Looking back and forth between a disturbingly serene photographer and a visibly chastened Kathryn, he exhaled heavily and responded, “I’d be better if someone would tell me what’s going on.”

“Do you remember when I showed you the photos he took?”

Great time to bring that up, he thought with an unsuccessfully suppressed scowl, because now that’s all I can think about. “How could I forget?”

“Do you remember asking me if I’d ever do it again?”

His all too vivid memory of the photos, coupled with the realization that her partner for the erotic bacchanal that followed was standing right in front of him, surged through his arteries and straight into his loins. He felt like his manhood was shrinking in the presence of vastly superior competition. “Yeah?”

“And do you remember what I said?”

Oh, damn. I completely misread the situation and made myself look like a fool. “That you might consider more photographs, but...”

“ ... but not the rest. Luke,” she said, tracing her fingers across his cheek, “I meant exactly what I said. I want to do another photoshoot. For you, and only for you. After he’s done retouching, he’ll send them to you and delete the originals. Even I won’t have them. They’re meant as a special and unique gift; something only I can give to you, and something only you will ever have.”

His heart sank at how easily he fell into doubt and mistrust, even as it swelled with love. “I’m so sorry, Kathryn. I shouldn’t have...”

“Shhhh,” she soothed, planting a soft kiss on his lips and running her palms up and down his back. “I see where I went wrong. I was so focused on maintaining the surprise that I didn’t consider what you’d guess we were here for.”

“No, don’t apologize,” he said, finally regaining his sense of gravity. “I’m the one who’s sorry. You’ve never given me a single reason not to trust you, yet when it came to the test, I failed. Spectacularly. Anyway, I have no right to...” She looked at the floor, knowing what he was going to say. Instead, he turned to Alejandro, who was now regarding both of them with an expression of concern. “I’ve been unfair to you as well, and I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you. Tell me more about who you are and what you do. Kathryn told me I would know your name if I followed photography, fashion, or even celebrities, but for better or worse I’m locked in a fairly narrow world of my own interests.”

Alejandro smiled. “I must say that it is a rare and delightful pleasure to go unrecognized. My world is similarly narrow, so it almost never happens. Kathryn,” he said without looking at her, “you will find what you asked for in the changing rooms on the other side of that terrible clutter. I think Lucas and I will benefit from a few words while you prepare.”

After another kiss, this one considerably more passionate, Kathryn practically scampered away, as eager as a child, while Alejandro led Luke to the area where the photo shoot was to take place. One by one he turned on a series of unfathomably bright lights, fussing with their positioning and then with the screens that filtered and softened their glare. As he worked, he offered a brief resumé. “If you can think of the name of a fashion or style magazine, I have most likely worked for them, in some cases hundreds of times. Many famous images of actors, actresses, models, and other personages of note with which you might be familiar are my work. My colleagues and subjects, but also my friends, are almost all either models, actors, or in those industries. I emphasize this because it is normal in my circles to speak of such people without undue caution, and I do not wish for you to think that I am casually namedropping in order to show off. They are simply the people with whom I share my professional and personal existence. I also do more artistic photography, but I will never achieve renown in that realm because of the work I have chosen to do. This is simply the way of things.”

“I came from relatively modest beginnings in Valencia, and though my talent was recognized at an early age, I arrived at the confidence to be who I am today only gradually. There are perhaps five or six people to whom I would openly attribute the birth of that confidence, and one of them is Kathryn, even though she only appeared before my lens the one time.” With a brief glance at Luke, he continued. “I know she has revealed to you that our relationship began in mutual personal interest rather than the pursuit of art. For many reasons that is not what developed, and in retrospect it would never have worked between us; I had far too much growing up to do, and by the time I did, what each of us wanted from life and relationships had diverged”

“I know you have seen what we created together, and before we begin today, I need your assurance that what happened then will not cause insurmountable tension between us. I warned Kathryn that it might, but she decided that the risk was worth the potential reward; unfortunately, I did not press her to reconsider the entirety of our history together. Even when there is no personal history, what I do sometimes incites jealousy in my subjects’ partners. Viewed logically, this is not my fault, yet emotions are not logical, and as a result I try to avoid situations where jealousy might arise. I recognized your concerns the moment I walked into the room, and wanted us to be alone so I could address them, but it was clear that this would not be possible and so I prematurely intervened. I promise that you need only speak a single word of displeasure and this will stop now. As I said, I owe much to Kathryn and that is why I agreed to her proposal, but I would rather not proceed if it will lead to problems between the two of you.”

I never thought I’d actually meet this man, Luke mused, and I certainly didn’t think I’d ever have this conversation. And yet, I already find that I like him. As for the dilemma at hand, how could I possibly deny her this? Especially as it’s all being done for me. This is the first test of my petulance and selfishness in the pursuit of sexual adventure since that little outburst over Irina, and I simply can’t fail so quickly or easily. Not again.

“Alejandro, do you have a nickname that you prefer?”

“No. Some have attempted Alex, but I do not care for it.”

“Alejandro is it, then. Call me Luke, please. And look, I’ll be completely honest: after seeing the pictures, and knowing what you two did ... well, when you walked into the room I acknowledge that I made assumptions. I’m embarrassed; not just because of the way I reacted, but also because I have no right to react that way.” He ground to a stop, concerned about what he’d just revealed. He wasn’t sure if Kathryn had explained the nature of their relationship or not.

This, too, turned out to be a baseless concern. “I am aware of your delicate personal situation. For reasons similar to those I just mentioned, Kathryn had to assure me that I would not be damaging either relationship by taking on this task. You need not say more; I understand, perhaps better than you might realize.”

Dropping his barriers, Luke sighed. “I should trust her more.”

Returning to his work, Alejandro observed, “I am aware that what you have seen does not necessarily engender trust. When I said that Kathryn and I would not have succeeded as a couple, I was also remembering my many early failures in this area. When my star was most rapidly ascendant — this was not long after my time with her — I came to possess far too much regard for my own desires, and far too little for others’. I took advantage of any and all interesting offers, without pausing to consider the consequences for those who had not necessarily been consulted. While I was not acting maliciously, many trusts were damaged or destroyed anyway, and I finally learned my lesson in a painful and embarrassing fashion. Since that time, I have been much more cautious about rupturing trust. Eroticism and sex are easy. Trust requires more observation and care. For example, if Kathryn had come to me with the proposal you suspected, I would not be here.”

“Thank you. I’m not sure why, since I barely know you, but I believe you.”

“That pleases me, for it is the truth.”

“I also should’ve remembered that you’ve had more than a few chances to revisit your past, yet nothing’s happened.”

“The caution of which I spoke ruled over those encounters as well. As I believe it did for her, though as you know there were other considerations as well.”

“But you’re here now.”

“Indeed, and I am placing a great deal of trust in her assurance that your situation is different. But now that I have received your confirmation, I would prefer to delay further discussion of this subject until after we are done. I admit to having many questions, but I am also responsible for creating the appropriate mood for what is about to transpire. I only wished to make certain that you want this to proceed.”

“I understand, and I do. Though to be completely honest, and possibly even a bit rude. I’m also wondering just how much this cost her. I don’t expect you to tell me, especially as it’s her gift to me, but I have absolutely no idea what professional photographers at your level charge for your time, save that you can’t possibly be cheap.”

“Actually, I would be happy to tell you: it cost her nothing. I am doing this for free.”

“Really? Why?”

“As I said, she is part of who I am, and I owe her for that. I rarely do this sort of photography anymore, as I am too busy with work that I freely admit is very well compensated. And there is also this: it seemed like...” Luke waited, intrigued. “Fun.”

“Fun?”

“Since you have seen our earlier photographs, you know how she blossoms before the lens. I am curious to see what maturity has wrought. When I knew Kathryn, she was a confident but young woman still exploring her sexuality. Now she is an adult in full control of her erotic energy. As a photographer, I cannot resist attempting to capture that change, and that curiosity will drive many of my own artistic choices on this day.”

“You said you rarely do ‘this sort’ of photography anymore. What did you mean by that?”

“Luke, you understand that Kathryn will be naked for much, or perhaps all, of the session, right?”

He laughed. “Frankly, I’d be surprised by anything else. If all she wanted were normal, everyday pictures, she could’ve gone to anyone. She picked you for a reason. Also, she’s not exactly modest, as you obviously remember quite well. Frankly, I’m more used to her naked than dressed.”

Alejandro sighed. “You are a most fortunate man, then, for she is as exquisite a being as I have ever known. To answer your question: I photograph a great many subjects in various states of undress, and even if it is not within the scope of a commission, it saves everyone a great deal of time if my subjects are unconcerned by occasional or transactional nudity. That said, I sometimes take on private requests for fully nude or even erotic series, meant not for publication or sale but for my subjects’ personal enjoyment, perhaps to be shared with a partner or a lover, like our session today. In the past, I used to do such shoots with fair frequency, and as long as they did not interfere with paid work I rarely charged extra, for the rewards were obvious. Now I am usually too busy, and moreover I am hesitant for the reasons I described earlier.”

“That makes sense. It makes me trust you even more, actually, because you’ve obviously seen some things that few others have.” Alejandro just shrugged, but Luke caught the smile that briefly turned up the corner of his mouth. “So is Naked Photoshoot 2: Electric Boogaloo the full extent of her surprise?”

“I am sorry, but I do not understand your reference.”

Luke chuckled and waved it off. “It’s not funny enough to make the explanation worth your time.”

“As you wish. She gave me permission to tell you everything once you were here, so I will be breaking no confidences. My role is to capture whatever she decides to reveal, offering artistic advice when warranted, but otherwise letting her direct the flow of the shoot. In this vein, I suspect she may once again do more than pose.”

“I remember. But I’m sure you’re used to that as well.”

“Obviously, I cannot answer your question, but I am prepared for whatever she wishes to do. While we have a few more moments, do you have any requests of your own?”

“No. This is her show and your field of expertise. I’ve almost no artistic skill, especially in the visual realm, so my suggestions couldn’t possibly be helpful. And, frankly, I’d rather not know what she’s going to do in advance. I’m half-tempted to go sit in the office rather than watch, just so the results are a complete surprise.”

“You can do so if you wish, but I believe she will object to your absence. She was very specific about wanting you present. Still, do not discount the possibility of surprises, even now. I certainly do not know all her plans, and maybe she does not either. Art creates its own narrative in the process of becoming, and there will be strong emotions involved in what is to follow.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”

“To bring forth the best from a model, I must make them feel something for the camera, but since the camera is inanimate and cannot interact, this means that I must make them feel something for me. This is hard to explain to someone who does not have experience on either side of the lens, but if the feelings are not real they will not look real in the finished work. The one and only time I photographed Kathryn she instinctively understood this, and had she not pursued another course she could have been a very, very successful model. She still could, albeit in a different category. With time and experience I have gotten much better and more efficient at catalyzing those feelings, and if Kathryn has not lost her natural ability, you will see and hear me trying to draw forth some of the same emotions she exhibited in our first session, even though the personal tension that existed between us on that occasion no longer applies. Will you be okay when you see that transpire? Let me caution you that it will look real, and since you have seen our photographs and have already expressed trepidation over this prospect...”

“I can’t answer truthfully if I don’t know, and I don’t. I can only repeat what I said before: my initial reaction was wrong and born of unworthy emotions. I may have to hold my breath at times, but I trust her ... and, having gotten to know you a little bit, I trust you as well. Most importantly, she trusts you, and that alone should be enough for me.”

Alejandro studied him for a while, then smiled. “Very well. I am finished with my preparations. Now we must await our subject. Were she a professional model, we would be standing here for at least another half hour, after which I would have to diffuse empty complaints about one deficiency or another in my preparations, but I suspect she will be more responsible.”

“Here I am!” she called, her outrageously provocative heels clacking and echoing across the floor as she approached. Though he would’ve liked to study the shoes in greater detail, he was unable to give them a second thought, for the only other thing she wore was a thin blue silk robe, so loosely tied around her waist that every step revealed an enticing expanse of her otherwise naked form. When she drew close enough, Luke caught a brief glimpse of the glistening arousal between her thighs. His own began to elevate in turn.

She’s doing this. She’s really doing this. Just a few weeks ago on the boat, I was essentially rendered nonfunctional by the mere mention of photographs like this, and now I’m about to stand here and watch while she takes more. He tore his attention from Kathryn and glanced at Alejandro, who was fiddling with the settings on his camera. Photographs that will be taken by her one-time lover with his elephant-sized ... no, never mind. That way lies madness. I’m sure, all things considered, that her continuing relationship with Irina is infinitely more complicated than what I’m imagining right now, but there’s nothing in Irina and Kathryn’s past to complicate my feelings, just their own. This is the first time I’ve had to face down my own anxieties, live and in person. I remember how I felt when I saw the continuation of their first session, and it all came rushing back the moment he walked into the room. I have enough trouble seeing her being affectionate with Bill, and now I’m going to see her naked — and perhaps more — in front of someone with whom she’s been sexually intimate. Despite my brave words, will I actually be able to manage my emotions? And what does it say about me if I can’t?

He looked back at Kathryn. Her hair was a volcanic eruption of luxuriant carmine, her eyes were vivid green fire, her porcelain skin was flushed by arousal, and her steely nipples threatened to rend the fabric of her robe. She was staring at Alejandro, taking slow, calming breaths, ostensibly waiting patiently yet practically quivering with energy and anticipation.

Finally, the photographer looked up from his camera and joined in the study of her form, though his eyes roved and assessed more professionally than Luke’s. When he was finished, he reached out to her.

“I suggest we begin with the robe draped over the back left corner of the settee. I will ask you to wear it again later, but the mood is not yet right for what I imagine.”

Without neither a word nor a moment’s hesitation, she untied the robe and slipped it from her shoulders, revealing every inch of her spectacular body and the patently obvious evidence of her arousal. Alejandro took it from her, draping it across the furniture and making multiple adjustments to its folds, seemingly oblivious to the exquisitely naked body from which Luke couldn’t wrest his lustful gaze. She noticed the intensity of his stare and winked, clearly delighted that he’d finally embraced the eroticism of her surprise.

“Kathryn, if you would join me back here, just behind your robe ... yes, right there. Grip the back of the settee with both hands and bend over a little bit ... a little more ... then drop your head, letting your hair fall as it will. Good. Now, raise your head and look to your left. Not that far. Yes, perfect.” As she followed his direction, he leaned close to lift some of her hair over her shoulder and arrange the rest on either side of her other arm. Though he was fully dressed and not actually touching any part of her save for her hair, from Luke’s viewpoint it looked like he was preparing to take her from behind. Certainly, the open sensuality that Kathryn radiated did little to dispel that illusion.

Here we go...

Movies and television had given him the impression that professional photographers issued a running monologue of instructions and meaningless approval to their subjects. Whether that was a myth, not the way that Alejandro worked, or specifically inappropriate in this particular situation he didn’t know, but after carefully describing a few of the earliest poses, Alejandro said very little. From time to time he’d gesture, and occasionally even intervene, to reposition a limb or a portion of the robe, but he mostly just prowled around the set, letting Kathryn move as she wished. The only hiccup was Luke himself.

With a grunt of dissatisfaction, Alejandro stopped. The camera dangled from his hand. “Kathryn, you are directing too much of your energy at Luke. I must have it focused here, on me.”

“I could wait in the office,” Luke offered.

“No! Absolutely not!” Kathryn protested with a measure of heat.

“I did try to warn you,” Alejandro said with a faint smile. “There is no need to go elsewhere. The problem is that you are trying to see what I see, and so you are shadowing my movements, but there is just enough offset that her attention is diverted to you. I propose a compromise: take one of the chairs from the far corner and place it somewhere to the side of the set. Do not position it so that you cannot see anything, but try to make sure you are not in her immediate field of vision. This will allow you to remain present and watch, but it will also help with the element of surprise you wished to experience, for you will be viewing her largely from the side or behind.”

“I can live with that,” he said with a laugh as he retrieved a chair.

“Pervert!” she called out.

“You know me so well,” he volleyed back.

From then on he sat and watched, his only responsibility trying to be surreptitious about repositioning his erection. With her attention finally undivided, the raw eroticism of her poses went straight through the roof, and though she was not yet openly self-pleasuring, it was clear from many not-so-accidental brushes and caresses that she was building to it.

Hundreds and hundreds of photographs later, Alejandro was shooting closeups from behind while she knelt on all fours, and as a result she was, for the first time in a while, looking straight at Luke. “I love you,” she mouthed, and as he returned the silent benediction she reached between her legs and plunged a finger into her sex. The sticky noise of entry echoed around the room, but it was soon drowned out by her moans and breathy sighs.

Though he’d obviously seen their first set of photographs, and though he’d watched her touch and pleasure herself on many occasions, in this setting and context it was arousing to the point of pain; not least because of the physical strain his swollen shaft, trapped inside his jeans, was enduring. Curious, he glanced at Alejandro, wondering if he was equally turned on by what he was witnessing, or if his professional detachment rendered him immune. His eyes widened as he glimpsed the sheer enormity of the answer.

Then again, who wouldn’t be? She’s fingering herself to climax not ten inches from his lens. Any man who wouldn’t be turned on by that is either dead, asexual, or gay. And I’m not all that certain about the last two.

After nearly two hours of unfathomably erotic theater, they were finished. Kathryn was splayed across the settee, her eyes closed, her skin glistening with sweat, her breath slowing as she came down from the last of an uncountable series of orgasms. Luke was very carefully avoiding touching his crotch or moving in any way that might cause his jeans to rub against his throbbing spear, for he knew he was about three seconds away from making an unforgivable mess in his boxers.