Chapter 6: Birthday Present

MR. GROSSMAN, the photography superintendent at the Hunter County Fair, and a mentor of mine, called Monday evening and said he’d received the State Fair entries and prizes. He congratulated me on my win and asked if he could come to see the progress in my studio Saturday. Of course, I said yes.

It always seemed Christine got hit hard with cramps on the first day of her period and then got better rapidly. By the time Friday’s home football game came along and the dance afterward, she was feeling great and was on my arm at the dance. We had a great time, even though we didn’t always dance together. I still danced with a lot of girls, but most were a little more reserved about wanting to go out with me since Chris was right there. I still got a couple interesting requests from juniors who were friends of Vicki’s. I wasn’t sure what they had in mind.

At the end of the dance, I expected Ronda to join Chris and me, but I glanced over and saw she was dancing with Anna. The two of them left together before Chris and I got to the door. Football dances all ended by ten, since the games were played right after school and people barely grabbed a bite to eat before the dance. So, Chris invited me in to get a bit of food and watch TV before I went home. Her parents and siblings were out at a big card party in the country someplace. Chris led me straight to her bedroom and asked me if I saw anything I’d like to eat.

It was the first time I’d been in her bedroom, but I didn’t even look around. I just said, “You,” and began kissing her. She giggled and flopped back on her bed, lifting her skirt.

“Please, dig in,” she said.

Maybe it was a bit abrupt, but I didn’t even pull her panties down. I just pulled the gusset aside and started licking my favorite pussy in all the world.

“Yes, yes, yes!” she moaned as I drove her up the ramp to ecstasy. “You make me feel so good!”

She hit a peak and unzipped my pants. She grabbed the condom she knew I had in my pocket and rolled it onto my cock. Then she lay back at the edge of the bed again and spread her legs. I stepped between them and thrust into her welcoming pussy. We fucked hard for a few minutes and both hit the climax a few seconds apart. I loved feeling my cock gripped by her pussy when she came. I fell forward and began kissing her with my cock still buried.

After a minute, she pushed me away, stripped me of the condom and wrapped it in a tissue, sucked me once into her mouth and tucked me back in my trousers. She pulled her panties straight and took my hand to lead me to the kitchen. Our clothed fuck had taken less than fifteen minutes. She was happily making me a sandwich in the kitchen when her parents arrived home with her brother and sister. They greeted us, told us to be quiet because they were going to bed and that I should leave by one. Chris and I went into the living room and pretended to watch TV while we made out for two hours. That session yielded a couple more orgasms, though we didn’t actually fuck. She did swallow my cock while I was pumping semen right down her throat.

I had the laundry and ironing done Saturday in plenty of time to be in the studio by two to meet Mr. Grossman. He brought all four photos and I hung them in the gallery while he looked at all the new work. There were close to fifty pictures hanging now. I was pretty proud of the exhibit.

“Some pretty great work here, Nate. I’m not sure what other kind of advice I can give you. This is the new darkroom?” he asked.

“Yes. Um ... you know I have some patrons in Chicago who have provided me with better equipment. This is the setup they sent me early this summer and is the whole reason for having the new darkroom.”

He was very appreciative of the quality of equipment.

“This is certainly going to give you a sharpness and clarity to your photos that you couldn’t get with your old equipment. You haven’t thrown it out, have you?”

“No. I did some experimenting with a few photos like the streetlamp photo and I really didn’t like the image from the new equipment as well as the one from the old. The old equipment had a dreamier effect,” I said.

“Good eye. Your old equipment had a slightly softer focus than this new setup. That was partly a result of both the age of the equipment and the lenses. It’s also the diffusion lamphouse. That suppresses dust spots because the light is coming through the negative in multiple directions. The condenser lamphouse in the new enlarger has a dual lens system that brings the light into parallel beams and you have to be especially careful to keep dust away from it. It projects dust spots in stark contrast. The down trade of the older variable focus is a slight loss of contrast. The biggest benefit in the new condenser enlarger is your ability to print much larger images, as you did with the image that won the Governor’s Award.”

“That’s a good point. It explains what I was seeing but couldn’t quite express. The old setup is still upstairs and I find myself running up to print a photo after I’ve printed it here, just to see the difference,” I said.

“Speaking of the governor’s award, I have some checks for you. First, here is the award for Best of Class in black and white portraiture from the Hunter County Fair. $25 for the picture of the little girl on the rocking horse.”

“My little sister. I refinished the horse and gave it to her for her birthday. She spends nearly all her reading and study time on it.”

“You might want to continue to take periodic pictures of her, simply because it is amazing how a child grows at this age,” he said.

I quickly grabbed the picture of her on the giant mushroom to show him, but my head flashed to photos of Sandra’s pussy, breasts, and butt.

“Very good. Now the Best in Class for black and white photography at the State Fair is still worth $300. I told you that picture under the streetlamp is a treasure. A real work of art.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Did you title the big picture? I noticed you signed it.”

“The signature was a requirement from the model. There were a lot of possible titles, but we thought the contrast of meaning with the photo made ‘Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n Roll’ a perfect title. It’s not all just fun and games.”

“Very perceptive. The Governor’s Award, in addition to the certificate and ribbons, is $800. Congratulations, Nate. I’d say this year’s competition was very profitable for you.”

“Wow! That’s amazing. I can’t believe I won that award. I was so worried when I didn’t see the picture in the photography display. I thought they’d decided not to display it. Then Anna spotted it in the special display area. Um ... There were three other items displayed in that exhibit. I’m afraid I was so caught up in my own that I didn’t notice what they were awarded.”

“The quilt, which was a memorial to fallen soldiers, was given the people’s choice award. The first weekend of the fair is the biggest and during that weekend visitors vote for what they consider the best. Then it is given an equal award check. Just think, if you had won both prizes, it would have been $1,600.”

“I don’t think my picture was that popular with the visitors.”

“Perhaps not. The other two—the painting and the pottery—were runners up in the two categories. They received somewhat smaller awards.”

“I’m glad there are more artists recognized than just one,” I said. “This is truly amazing. I need to call Amy to let her know her portrait won.”

“I hope she is very proud of what she accomplished. The picture shows a particularly tortured young woman.”

“Looking back on it, I’d have to say torture was a good word for the process. I had to break her down until she cried. It was painful for both of us, as well as for my assistant,” I said.

“I can imagine. Be careful of that. You get a wonderful photo, but you could damage the model.”

After Mr. Grossman left, I went home to call Amy. I found her particularly chatty.

“Oh, Nate! Can I come model again? I promise not to be a bitch and to do whatever you say. I feel so different. Thank you,” she said.

“That’s wonderful, Amy. I’d love to have you come to model again. Let’s put some ideas together for the kind of shots we’d like in the next series.”

“Yes! I have to get ready for a date tonight. Me! On a date! I started college at Lake Forest College and there was a guy there that I liked because he’s a little quirky and funny and smart, so I just went up to him and asked him to take me out! I don’t care if he’s rich or poor or what high school he went to. I just liked him!” she said.

It was good to hear her so excited. I hoped she was spending some time laughing.

“Say, the reason I called is because I exhibited your photograph both at the Hunter County Fair and at the Illinois State Fair. It got a blue ribbon at the county fair. At the State Fair, it received the Governor’s Award for Best of Show. That’s the best of all the arts and crafts exhibited at the fair. You won $800!”

“Uh ... Nate, it’s wonderful that we won such a prestigious award, but I didn’t win $800. You did. I didn’t go to the fair this year, but I know that prize is awarded to the artist, not the model. I hope you will use the money to further your art. Please continue to show the photo wherever you see an opportunity. I’m very proud of it and it is hanging in my room at Forest Park. Congratulations! I really need to go now. Date, you know? Let’s set a time over Thanksgiving if you’re available. I might not be free for a weekend before then. See you, bye!”

I managed a “Goodbye” before the line went dead. Wow! I had considered the money to be Amy’s because I was exhibiting on her behalf, but she made it clear that it was mine. I was now sitting with $1,125 in my hands. I sat in my room that night with the Camera Warehouse catalogue open, looking at all the possibilities. I needed to call Levi Monday.

My models from school all wanted to meet after school on Wednesday for my birthday. I was eighteen years old. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or not. I was supposed to be an adult now, but that also meant I had to register with the Selective Service. I was irrationally angry about that. I thought perhaps that had I been at this age in 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, I might feel differently about entering the army or even registering for the draft. That was a direct response to an attack on our country. I simply couldn’t find any good reason that we should be involved in Vietnam and it made me mad to think that guys were being drafted to go there and die for nothing. It certainly wasn’t in defense of America.

Well, I agreed to meet at the studio after school and was surprised when all of the models and girlfriends filed in and immediately stripped off their clothes. Chris had brought a birthday cake and a couple girls had brought six-packs of Coke. I blew out the candles on the cake and it took two puffs because every time I inhaled, a naked girl would either tickle me or accidentally rub a nipple across my lips. I was rather surprised at one or two of those nipples. They did not belong to a girlfriend.

Before long, we were all laughing so hard that I had an opening and managed to get the candles out in two breaths. That’s when I turned and saw Anna standing beside me in a lacy bra and panties that were both pretty much see-through. I caught my breath and when I finally started breathing again, I could have blown all the candles out twice with the amount I exhaled.

As we hung around and ate cake, someone brought out the portable record player I’d used in Amy’s photo and started playing the stack of 45s. They were all from the ‘50s. I cautioned them not to get too loud. The market downstairs was still open and I didn’t want anyone coming up to investigate.

There was a lot of play as girls danced and pretended to pose for pictures, some of which I actually wanted to take. Pris, especially, was soliciting suggestions for her photo session coming up in a week. I thought it was definitely going to be an interesting session.

Then Chris worked on me until she got my shirt off, then we started dancing. We pretty much ignored the music and just moved around a little, rubbing our bare chests together. But Chris yielded after a song to Ronda, who also made sure I was completely aware of her bare breasts pressed against and sliding across my chest. That wasn’t the end of it. Patricia was next and she was followed by every one of my naked models. I’d had seven pairs of seventeen-year-old breasts sliding across my bare chest.

I was hard as a rock when Anna stepped into my arms. She wasn’t naked, but holding her in my arms in just her underwear was an experience I would remember for a long time ... at least until I got off tonight. I thought she was going to jump back when she felt my erection beneath my slacks. Her breath caught and she started to pull away, then smashed herself up closer to me and I felt a few subtle shifts in her pelvis as she rubbed her pussy against my cock. At the end of the song, she lifted her lips and gave me a searing kiss, unlike any we’d had before.

“It just makes a girl want to do more. I think I’ll go home now and do a little more,” she whispered.

My God! Anna had just told me she was going home to masturbate. At least that’s how I took it. As she stepped back, she reached up and adjusted her boobs in her bra. I sank back in my chair. The girls started getting dressed, but one by one, they stepped up to me and had me kiss a nipple for luck. Even Anna brushed her lace covered nipple against my lips. I couldn’t help myself and bit down on it with my lips. She gasped and ran to get her shirt on. Everyone was dressed and left except Chris. She was still naked and locked the door behind the last girl.

“I know we don’t mix sex and photography, but my boyfriend has just been teased to bursting. As your girlfriend, I feel responsible for your condition. So just sit down and let me do my thing.”

Her thing was to open my pants and suck my cock until I came like a tidal wave in her mouth. She had a little trouble getting it all and had to scoop a little off the corner of her mouth and suck her finger. I couldn’t leave her like that and pulled her into my arms to kiss and diddle until she’d had a nice orgasm, too.

“I love you, Chris,” I said.

“I love you, Nate. That was just a little birthday present from all the girls. And next week, we’re going to have a blast photographing Pris.”

“We?”

“Yes. She’s going to need a little help with costumes and poses. We’re all working on what will be in her set. It will be fun!”

“I have no doubt that it will be,” I said.

“Now, walk me home and then go home for your birthday dinner with your family.”

We dressed first.

Ronda was the only one of our group who went to the Huntertown football game Friday. Saturday, after I’d done laundry and ironing, I went to the studio and worked in the darkroom while Chris, Pris, Debbie, and Patricia worked in the studio to get the needed props and backdrops in place. This time I was just going to adjust lights and trigger the shutter. The girls had decided an entire theme for Pris’s birthday album. It was nice that they were working so well together and I was especially happy that Patricia was involved in getting things together. She needed to stay active.

Anna came to the studio, as well, but I had specific work for her. I’d brought a package home from the post office and restrained myself from opening it until we got here.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“I told you I won a lot of money with the photos at the State Fair. I decided to reinvest it in the business. Since I got the new enlarger, I’ve noticed some anomalies in my pictures from school. I decided I needed a better 35mm camera. My Hasselblad is a superior camera for studio work, but it’s a little awkward to haul around on my shoulder all the time. So, I asked Levi what the best camera was that I could get for the money and this is what he sent me.”

I opened the box and pulled out a compact case in which I could carry a camera, two lenses, and several rolls of film, as well as a strobe flash. Nice case. Next was the box with a new Nikon F 35mm SLR. As soon as I had it out of the box, I fell in love with it. It weighed a ton. The kit lens was a 50mm f/1.4 lens that was going to get a big workout around school. I’d also ordered a 105mm f/2.5 lens. Levi suggested this lens was what professionals were using for sporting events and I couldn’t wait to try it out at the homecoming game in two weeks.

I included an F-36 motor drive that could shoot three and a half frames a second when I was doing sports photography. The whole thing had set me back nearly $500, and that was with a steep discount that Levi gave me when he found out what I needed. Anna went to work taking down the serial numbers of every piece of equipment with the pricing and invoice Levi had sent.

Then she wanted to know how soon we’d start using the new kit at school. The answer was ‘Tuesday.’

On Monday, the time I dreaded came. I cut school and drove Mom to her hair appointment. Then I found the Selective Service office at the courthouse and went in to register.

“I just turned eighteen and I need to register. I’d like to register as a conscientious objector,” I told the woman at the front desk.

“I see,” she said. “You don’t have full information. Your first step is to register for selective service. That is the simple process you will complete today. Simply fill out this form and let me see your ID. A birth certificate is preferred, but we can use your driver’s license.”

“What about my status?”

“You need to apply for the status you wish to have. The automatic status that will be supplied is 1-S-H, indicating you are a student in high school. If you are college bound, you need to inform the board of your new address and request deferment. You will be assigned 1-S-C at that time, the classification for a college student. You may keep that classification for up to four years or until you graduate, whichever comes first. Now, should you apply for your classification as a conscientious objector, and the board agrees, you would be reclassified as 1-A-O, meaning that you could be drafted for non-combat service. There are other classifications of conscientious objectors that require non-military service. Please note that this classification trumps your role as a student and you could be drafted for alternate service while still in school.”

“Wow! You seem to have that all memorized. Is it a common request?”

“We have enough draft dodgers who come in that we need to rattle off the most concise statement possible or we would be here all day. Everyone thinks he’s a conscientious objector, but very few actually follow through with an application and fewer yet are approved. Being opposed to the war in Vietnam is not an adequate excuse,” she said.

I didn’t like what I was hearing, but there was another person in line behind me and like all government crap, standing and arguing with a receptionist would get me nowhere. I filled out the form and returned it, then was shooed out of the office. There were various brochures for all branches of the military and one on how to maintain a student deferment. Another was labeled simply, ‘Avoiding the Draft’ and another that showed prison bars and was titled ‘Draft Resisters Will Be Prosecuted.’ I took it and left the office. Apparently, I had to write to the Board and explain my situation and request. Then I had to appear before them with references verifying my position and justifying my stand. The Board would then determine if a change of status would be granted.