Chapter 3

Andrew called Suzanne the following day and she spent the whole time giggling. He loved that she had got her own back on him. But her teasing made him realise that he needed to get re-acquainted with that wonderful firm arse.

Brian had set up the investment meeting for the next Tuesday evening so Andrew decided to skip dinner with the Campbells on the Sunday night. Leslie had mentioned that she might be out that night anyway. He needed to sit down and talk to his friend, find out some of the details of her life that she had hidden away. All three of them were too good at being discreet, although he still filled her in on all his adventures. Ara called on Sunday night and seemed even lower than when he had spoken to her earlier in the summer. It had been a tough three weeks. She could not wait to escape to her grandfather’s place in York. Several times she had gone to her father’s office and found an empty seat where someone was on holiday and just sat and studied. Between her mother and her brother she was being driven bonkers at home. It was good to hear her voice but as she talked away, Leslie’s words echoed in his mind. ‘What turns you on?’ Did Ara turn him on? Andrew had nowhere near enough information but the attraction was there, that was for sure. He started thinking about trying to see Ara while she was in Yorkshire. If he passed his test, he could drive down and she could drive up, meet in the middle. Newcastle? Andrew didn’t mention anything to her, he still had the test to pass.

The meeting with Brian and his friends was interesting, although a little nerve-wracking. Brian got Andrew to explain his idea again to the group. But this was a chance for the group to meet him rather than a sales job. At one time or another most of them had talked about doing something similar. Increasing the pool of money and spreading the risk was something they were all okay with. Andrew spent more time talking about the company and its success in the market than trying to convince them that this was a good idea. As usual the idea in principle was easy, the execution of the idea and setting the structure up was more difficult. There were many letters, phone calls and a couple of meetings that summer before everything was all lined up, and more importantly papered appropriately. The short version was they set up a fund and everyone got 20%, one of the guys was a lawyer so he did the paperwork and they used his office as an address. Another of them was in the investment industry and he was going to be the conduit for any initial investment proposals. Advertising was going to be all word of mouth; these guys were all well connected and wanted to see what happened, whether this was an idea with some legs. Everyone knew that it would take years to allocate all the initial money and had gone in with their eyes open.

And although it took a while there was a sense of achievement when it was up and running. Andrew knew that he, Leslie and Julian had worked hard on their software. But compared to the amount of money that the software had made for the three of them it still seemed too easy somehow. Even before the meeting both Leslie and Creighton had warned Andrew that he was likely to lose some, if not all, of his money. This was about as risky a use for his money that he could have dreamed up. And Brian and Doug, the guy in the investment industry, had been equally blunt with him. None of them were doing this to just throw the money away but there were going to be some losses and everybody made sure that Andrew was going into this with his eyes open.

The final thing that this new investment fund highlighted to Andrew was how superficial his relationship with his parents was. Life was perfectly pleasant in the house, there was less tension between himself and his parents, and between his parents. But Andrew realised that his lies of omission with his parents were gradually turning into lies of commission. He constantly underplayed what he was up to, how much money he was making and this was just the latest example. He brought the paperwork home for his father to sign and blithely lied to him, calling it ‘just moving a little money around into a new fund’. Andrew made it sound routine and prosaic and his dad signed in the indicated places. These moments were always nerve-wracking if only because it was a chance for either of his parents to ask about his money. This time his dad signed without any follow-up questions. It was as if Andrew paid £100 a month to be left alone and to be asked none of these questions. He did talk about his life over the dinner table but often this set Rowan off and the questions were short-circuited. The last five years had hardened Rowan’s attitude and she knew that if she started to make a fuss Andrew would wander off. His parents were never going to win parents of the year but then again he wasn’t in the running for son of the year either. But a comfortable equilibrium existed, with minimal parenting and little outward displays of love and affection.

But such thoughts were far from Andrew’s mind the next day. He sat on his front step the following morning thinking about the previous evening and about the utter mismatch of events that was his life. From serious business discussions with grown-ups and investment decisions costing tens of thousands of pounds to waiting to be picked up by his friend who wanted to be a model and may take her clothes off for the camera that day. June looked nervous when she collected him and explained they were going to start at her house. Andrew had guessed they would be there at some point although starting there was interesting. Andrew’s approach to the day was to use his experience learned with Monica and create a shoot for June. They had talked about this, probably endlessly from her point of view, she wanted to be photographed and Andrew was going to help her. No ‘are you sure?’ just quality photographs. At least that was the plan.

June’s back garden was not overlooked and they took most of the shots there. It backed onto a golf course so there were no houses in the background to the shots. June’s hobby was sewing and fashion, and she had talent. Generally she was creative and artistic, so fashion and clothes designing were her medium of displaying that creativity. Andrew was amazed at the range of clothes that she had made. Some were simple, a straight skirt, a scarf, whilst others were complicated looking creations. She never said anything at the start but he quickly picked up that this was a portfolio shoot of all her clothes, the basis for an application to a fashion program or something like it. June herself remained a very neutral presence in the photos, trying to replicate the position and pose each time. There was a stillness to her, trying to act like a mannequin. It was hot work in the summer sun but they worked their way through the large number of outfits. By lunchtime they had finished that part of the shoot.

“Thank you for that Andrew. I was going to shoot in a few favourites but when I was laying them out last night to select which ones I realised that I don’t have a record of all the pieces. After lunch can you reposition the camera and explain to me the focusing basics please. I have made three outfits for you and I want to see if they fit and how they look. Would you mind modelling for me?”

Andrew had never considered it but he thought why not?

“Sure. It is straight forward and you have a good eye. You can take a number of shots and I am sure they will be crisp and in focus.”

The clothes June had made for him were her first attempts at male clothing. She had a pair of shorts that fitted nicely at the front, they looked great, although they were loose in the seat. She took some notes but still took the shot front on. The shirts were a mixed bag. Because June had never asked to measure him, she didn’t want anyone to know that she was trying to design something for someone other than herself, the fit was off. Most of them were too tight across Andrew’s chest. By the time she had finished shooting him he wondered if it was deliberate. Lots of shots of him with the shirts open, all he needed was a bleeding medallion. Still it was fun, they would see how the shots looked when he finished developing the rolls. As Andrew thought about it, nothing they had done so far needed to be developed in private and he was still being careful and trying to limit his time with the chemicals in the darkroom. All of the shots from the morning could go to a commercial developer. The afternoon on the other hand...

“Can we change the focus from the clothes to me now Andrew? I need your feedback as you take the photos. Tell me how you want me to pose, the photographer needs to be in charge. Okay?”

The next hour went by in a flurry of sexy poses, tight tops, loose tops and a surprisingly relaxed attitude. Most of the pictures could be developed commercially but Andrew agreed with June that they would develop these ones privately. But June wanted to be pushed so Andrew started to give her a gentle nudge.

“I liked that little sundress you made. Why don’t you go and change? It is the perfect dress for some flirty summer shots.”

If there was one thing June knew how to do it was flirt. But Andrew only took three or four shots before he changed the dynamic.

“Are you ready to be pushed a little?”

June’s eyes were as eager as her expression.

“Take off your bra and then put the dress back on.”

June hadn’t been expecting that and gawped for just a second. But then she nearly ripped the dress in her rush to get her bra off. Once they restarted shooting the dynamic had changed. Andrew moved June around in her back garden. All of the positions were fine but he wanted her to be conscious of her body, of her breasts moving freely under her dress. Also, although the sundress was nice June still needed to tailor it and it was loose and billowy across her bust. June had to be careful not to pop out of the arm holes as they were cut slightly too low.

“Take your knickers off.”

Again there was a moment of surprise before June pulled her little knickers off. The first poses were stilted and unnatural.

“What is the matter? You look like you are dressed exactly the same as you were this morning. The only people who know differently are you and me. Should we stop and go down to the corner shop to get a Coke? You talk about how you like people looking at you. Do you think everyone will be looking at you? Everyone will know that you are naked under your dress? Or is it all in your mind?”

Andrew let June marinate on these thoughts.

“I don’t think I understand why it seems so different. This was sneakily brilliant of you.”

Andrew finished the roll of film and loaded his final one into the camera. But the last roll of shots of June were different to the previous one. You could see her relax and for the last 10 or 12 shots she was lying in the grass on her stomach, her heels kicked up and the dress inches below her arse cheeks. 24 shots and she was a different woman. When the final shot was taken June pulled the camera from Andrew’s hands and dragged him to her bedroom.

If Andrew had any doubts about whether this turned June on or not, when he went down on her and nearly drowned, these doubts were laid to rest. June Wyatt was a seriously turned on young lady. After the initial blow job to clear his pipes June kept sucking until he was hard again, pushed him back onto the bed and just went crazy. The condom was barely on before she dropped straight down onto him and her hidden Brazilian heritage came out. There was some serious samba-ing going on with her hips. Andrew knew this was not about him and let her ride through the first two orgasms. Once her immediate itch was scratched Andrew flipped June onto her back and drove them home for the big finish. Barely 15 minutes after leaving the garden they were lying on their backs sweating in the afternoon summer heat.

“I think we can safely say that modelling turns you on.”

June nodded and rolled onto her side.

“I knew that I liked modelling. But it was more than that today. You spent the time and effort on all the shots this morning but then you used one of my own dresses as a prop for the afternoon. I had no idea what the afternoon was going to be like. I have sexy underwear, stockings and suspenders all in a drawer over there. But instead you used one of my own dresses. And then when you asked me to take my bra off, you then used the too big arm holes as a way to highlight my braless state. I have gone out without a bra a few times, but wearing a top where I didn’t have to concentrate in case I popped out. It was amazing the difference. And the same with the knickers. It took me a while to get my head back into the game, you saw that. What you did was so simple yet completely different to what I had pictured in my own head.”

June paused and channelled her inner Suzanne, biting her bottom lip.

“We will do more shoots, yes?”

“Yes, of course we will. I will drop off the clothes rolls from this morning and get them developed but will keep the afternoon shots and develop them next week with the ‘wedding’ pictures. Then we can look through them and see what worked, what didn’t and if either of us have ideas for the next time. Okay?”

June leaned over and kissed him.

“Perfect.”

They quickly showered and while June tidied her room and put her clothes away Andrew carefully repacked all his camera gear before getting a lift back home. He so needed to hurry up and pass his driving test.

The commitment ceremony of Nicolette Papadakos and Francesca Conte, Andrew’s friends Nikki and Fran, was a day full of love and emotion. He blocked out as much of that as he could at the time and concentrated on the pictures. He could and would think about the day later. He wanted to make sure that he took great photographs. The weather cooperated and the ceremony was outside with the views down the hill to the loch. Andrew captured the looks of love as they walked to centre stage through all their friends. Their vows were sweet and heart felt. He quietly scooted round the audience of friends and caught both their faces as they made their commitment. Then, as at a wedding, there was food, drink and dancing. Andrew didn’t go too overboard on the pictures as he was doing all the developing. He ended up with six rolls of film, about one hundred and fifty shots and was hopeful that most of them would turn out well. Still as he packed the camera up and safely stowed it in June’s car he was aware of the pressure to have captured all the key moments.

The guest list was just around 60 people, with roughly two thirds gay and lesbian friends and the remainder straight couples or people. The people watching was amazing, with some funny moments, some great awkward moments but everyone had a good time. It was not a sit down meal, it was lots of finger food so that people could move around and mingle. Sadly only one family member came to the ceremony, although Andrew was not sure many were invited, but Nikki’s niece, Diane, was there, the oldest of the next generation. He was pleased that Nikki had someone there but it was also stark that two women from large families had just one family member witness this most important of days.

Diane spent a lot of the time chatting to June during the reception while Andrew took the last of the pictures. Once he had finished the photography the three of them chatted away. They were the youngest people there by quite a margin, Andrew was 15 years younger than Nikki and 16 younger than Fran. They really were nearly old enough to be his mothers. When the speeches started there was no format or structure anyone who wanted to say something jumped in and it was wonderful to hear about the life they had constructed together in Glasgow. Then the happy couple said a few words, lots of thanks and lots of sharing memories. But guess who was not getting off scot free?