Twenty-one

THE MORNING WAS CASUAL and no one other than Kate seemed eager to get dressed. The party wasn’t over. I was a little worried because I’d thought of a few things I still wanted to pull together for my portfolio and I was counting on some time today to do it. Lissa put three frozen quiches in the oven and tasked me with frying up a couple dozen chicken breakfast sausages. She pulled a big tray of fruit out of the refrigerator and put it on the counter. No one made a move toward the dining room and we ended up all standing around the kitchen eating and joking. I endured several jabs about real men and quiche.

Thankfully, the girls cleaned up the breakfast mess in about five minutes and all retreated to the basement, leaving me alone with my project, which I spread out on the dining room table. I could hear various giggles waft up the stairs occasionally, but inside a little more than an hour, I was feeling good about the improvement over what Professor McIntyre had seen on Wednesday. My final project for Concepts was even looking good and I added it to my portfolio thinking that I’d review it one more time before I turned it in. I was looking it over when Lissa called to me from the basement.

“Tony. Do you have time to do another sketch for us? Just one, please?”

What the hell. I was caught up and pleased with my portfolio. There were eight gorgeous girls downstairs and with luck one of them would get naked while I sketched her. Why not?

“I’ll be right there,” I called down.

I used the bathroom and picked up my music player and headset from the bedroom. If I was going to do a serious sketch, I was going to have to block out all the giggling and laughing that the other girls would be doing while I was working. I couldn’t count on them to be quiet through another whole sketch like last night.

I bounced down the stairs, scanning through my playlists and was all the way into the room before I realized all the girls were in the corner where Melody usually worked, complete with her lights turned on. I turned around and was faced by nine gloriously naked or nearly naked girls posed as if in the midst of a bacchanalia. Plates full of fruit were strategically placed. The daybed and my drapes had been moved into the corner, huge pillows were scattered on the floor and each girl was posed to create a delicious tableau.

Wait. Nine? My mind had jumped to the number before my brain had caught up. Kneeling behind the bed—apparently up on a chair to get the right height—Wendy, our waitress from Carmine’s was offering a bunch of grapes to Kate, who was stretched out luxuriously on the bed. On either side, Lissa and Allison were poised, ready to serve, one with a ewer and one with a tray of bread and cheese.

Melody and Bree were positioned on pillows in front of the bed with their legs curled under them, looking at Kate’s face. Just behind Wendy’s left shoulder, Amy and Sonia were pressed closely enough together that their breasts were just touching and they were looking into each other’s eyes. Sandra knelt at the head of the bed brushing Kate’s hair.

I was speechless.

“Will this work, Tony?” Melody asked sweetly.

“Oh god, yes!” I practically shouted. “Let me grab my things.”

“If you go grabbing your things, we all want to watch,” Allison snarked.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, too engrossed in composing the scene in my mind to respond. “Are you all comfortable enough to hold those positions for a while? It could take me a bit to get all the ... um ... details in.”

“We marked everyone’s positions and took a reference photo on a timer. We should be able to take a break in half an hour and still get back into position,” Lissa explained. “We’ve been working on this scene for an hour.”

“Great. This is great. Sandra, I need you to shift to your left just a little. Can you do that?”

“Sure.”

“Amy and Sonia, you are just a little too close to the other action. I want you lost in your own world. You have room to move farther back, don’t you? Almost to the wall.”

“Sure, Tony,” Amy said. “And don’t worry about us getting lost in our own world. We will be.” There was a giggle from all the girls and heads turned slightly to watch Amy and Sonia scoot back and Amy reach over to peck Sonia on the lips.

“When I get to you, I’m going to want that little move, Amy. Remember it. Uh ... the action pieces. Wendy ... um ... it’s good to ... uh ... see you.”

“It’s probably the last time I’ll ever flirt with a customer,” she laughed. “Oh god, I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Could you straighten up just a little? From here it looks like you are about to fall over onto Kate.”

“Yes, sir.” The move had the added benefit of bringing her breasts fully into view. Oh, what that red bra had hidden!

“Allison and Lissa, I’m most worried about you two. The position of the tray and ewer are nice, but it’s hard to hold an action pose like that, even for gorgeous athletes. I think it should be a little more relaxed. Allison, lower the pitcher to rest it against your hip. Get it comfortable so it doesn’t strain your arm. You are attentive and ready to serve, but not swinging the racquet yet.”