Chapter 4: The Camera Shutters

Another two days passed by before Kira and I spoke again. She still came to the pool in the morning, waving and giving Chunk his attention, but she took her breaks on the other side of the pool. I worried that I had scared her a bit, but on the third day instead of heading directly into the pool house she walked up to the deck where I was working on yet another script idea for my old colleague.

Her gym bag was slung over one shoulder and she was dressed for the cooler fall weather in tight grey leggings and a red long sleeve workout top. The top just accentuated all her curves, bringing more attention to each subtle shift of her body beneath it. I was glad to be sitting down in loose fitting pants. I honestly don’t think she realized the full affect she had on men yet.

“Good morning Mr. T...” Pausing, she shook her head and deliberately started over, “Good morning, Dan.” She compulsively looked down, then up to see how I would respond. The words sounded mechanical and rehearsed, like she had been practicing on her walk over. I realized that she was trying to put us on equal level, to be regarded as an adult.

Indulgently, I gravely replied, “Good morning Kira. How are this morning?” A smile broke across her face, beaming at not being corrected.

“I am very well, thank you. It is a beautiful morning, much like it would be at home.” Wistfully, she watched as some early fall leaves swept off the roof and floated to the deck. It was obvious the poor girl was homesick.

“Yes, it is my favorite time of year here. It is why I bought this house, all the seasons are beautiful here.” I sipped at the coffee enjoying the heavy aroma escaping as steam, smelling sweet even as the taste was bitter.

The silence built slowly as she stood, staring up at me from the lawn. The seconds seem to stretch as her lips parted to say something, then snapped shut again as her mind pulled the words back. Dark brown eyes flickered up to mine, then away repeatedly and a blush mounted high in her cheeks. The only sound was the light scraping of leaves in caught between the wind and my deck and my occasional sips of coffee.

Finally, after the 4th attempt to start her shoulders fell. “I think I will go swim now. Good morning Mr. Dan.” She slumped and trudged towards the pool, flip flops making a sad, wup wup wup sound. Chunk, who had been waiting hopefully by Kira for a second helping of attention wuffed out a breath of annoyance and came up to sit on my feet.

“She’s gotta make the decision herself bud, no helping from me.” Pulling my hand off the warm mug, I reached down and scratched side of his neck. “I can offer her choices, but for them to stick she’s gotta make the decision.”

Leaning back into my patio chair I watched the winds sweep through the trees around my property. The water in the pool house switched on and I imagined Kira in the shower, wrapped in my arms as the hot water fell on us. Eagerly, I would explore her body, trying to elicit small moans of pleasure. I wanted to feel her body against mine, young supple flesh eager to please her older mentor.

Once again, I appreciated the cold air and the fact I was sitting as the water switched off and she emerged in that awful one piece suit. This time I made no attempt to hide my interest, she knew what I thought of her. Feeling my eyes follow her, she glanced up at me and looked down quickly, arms wrapping, then determinedly unwrapping her torso. She forced herself to walk, exposed, in her mind at least, in front of me.

With a little flourish and a look to make sure I was watching, she dove into the pool and began to exercise. I watched for a while then turned back to my consulting work. The time slipped away and when I looked up again, hours had passed and Kira had already showered and returned home. Looking down at my snoring security system, I snorted, shrugged and returned to my work.

The week continued and the conversation slowly drifted back to normal each morning. Hoping for some progress, I brought out some portfolios and left them on my patio table and after the third day Kira finally wandered over after her swim and sat down next to me, pulling a folder towards her and flipping through it silently. Flashing a small grin at her, I returned to my coffee. She sat quietly as I worked until she stopped flipping and just stared at the page in front of her, yet another young model in an alluring pose.

“I ... I want to be...” I barely heard the whispers. Kira had gone extremely still, face towards the folder in her lap. “I want ... I want to be like...” She was fractionally louder this time. Chunk raised his head at the quiet whispers, tail thumping on the deck. She looked down at the grinning dog and seemed to gain courage.

“I want to be sexy like your models. I do not want my mother to decide for me.” The words were quiet, yet firm in there resolve. Head turning, her eyes met mine almost defiantly. Her lips pressed in a firm line, resolved with her statement.

“Are you sure that is your choice? It is not always easy or fun as people imagine. Many girls try to quit very early.” I meet her eyes, gently offering her a way. She recognized the offer and shook her head firmly.

“I am sure, I will be successful and proud of my body.” Voice strong, she finally smiled at me, eyes starting to shine with the allure of her own life ahead of her.

I relieved the folio from her hands and gently wrapped them in between mine. They felt small in mine and I grinned at her, “You’ll be one of my models. You won’t even recognize your life a year from now. That was a very big decision you just made.”

She smiled at me until she became aware of how intimate our position was, hands clasped gazing happily at each other. Chunk’s tail had stopped and he was giving me his jealous look, upset that he was being left out of the moment. I released her hands and she smiled shyly, pulling them into her lap.

“Well then,” clapping my hands together. “No time like the present to start, you’ve got 30 minutes or so before school. Why don’t you try some suits on and I’ll walk you through some basic shoot poses?”

She looked like a deer in the headlights, caught in a battle between wanting to feel mature and sexy and listening to her mother telling her to be modest and careful with her body. I knew this would be the decision point so I sipped on my coffee, trying to hide my excitement and easy going on what she decided.

“Okay” She whispered after a moment, “I will try.”

“Give me a moment,” I asked, getting to my feet and walking towards the house. Kira nodded and I left her on the porch, her hand absently patting the big white dog beside her.

I had been prepared for a week for this decision and had already packed a box of suits I wanted her to try. I couldn’t go too daring to begin with, but I had put in a variety. They were carefully selected, as this wasn’t the first time I had dealt with a new model. She wouldn’t feel comfortable enough for the fun items until a little later on.

Box in hand, I returned to the porch and deposited it in front of her. Big brown eyes looked at the plain brown cardboard, then up to my eyes. Kira let out a long, focused breath of air, gathering resolve and stood up, hand shakily gripping the flaps. She opened the box and her shoulders relaxed, obviously relieved that the selection didn’t live up to her imagination. The model in the portfolio had been wearing next to nothing and by comparison these suits were much more modest for the most part. Modest as they seemed compared to the portfolio, they were wearing plastic wrap compared to the suit she had on right now.