Chapter 6: Warming Me Up

I didn't say much to Tad during the week about the upcoming Friday night, but I could tell it was on his mind. It was on my mind, too. Let's face it, we were young and green and new to the world of sexuality. We'd had a nice run together as newly married kids, discovering all the wonders, but we'd also been extremely occupied with work, and school, and just getting by.

We hadn't had much of a social life since our marriage, and just being invited over to Don and Louise's house the week before had been something of a highlight for us. We hadn't had that many recent highlights -- outside of our families. My parents and my three younger brothers were living many miles away, and we saw them infrequently. Tad was an only child, and although he had indulgent parents, he had long since declared his independence from them, and deliberately kept them at arm's length. They had a friendly relationship with him, but they weren't really that close.

So we had only been with each other. Maybe we'd gotten into a bit of a rut. Don and Louise were older, more established, a little better off economically. Tad and I were both kind of grateful, I think, that they were paying some attention to us.

And now, the photography thing. Well, it was definitely exciting. Tad didn't say much, but I knew he was really turned on by the whole thing with Don -- not just his pictures, although that was the main part of it -- but the whole idea of it: the way that Don was able to pursue his "unusual" hobby, his outsized love of erotica, with his spouse's complete approval and support.

Tad was more accustomed to his own household, where, I gathered, his mother had kept his father pretty much in line, on the straight-and-narrow path of conservative "family values." Don and Louise were an exciting novelty to Tad. They were adults, and sensible, and well-established. But they were also a little bit exotic: Rebels.

It was very early on Friday evening and Tad and I were in the car, on our way to Don and Louise's place. We had our little overnight bag packed, having accepted their offer to spend the night, and needing the bag anyway for my little collection of flimsies. Tad had even bought me a new "outfit" for purposes of the preliminary photographic session. It was an impossibly abbreviated shorty nightgown, all white, and so sheer that it might as well have been made out of cellophane.

The truth was, I really didn't much like it, but I wasn't going to say anything like that to Tad. What the hell? If I was going to go completely naked later, what did it matter what I wore first?

Louise met us at the door, and I was a little surprised to find that her portrait over the couch had been removed. "What happened?" I asked.

"Nothing, Sweetie," Louise said. "Don just didn't want my naked picture competing with the shots we will be taking in here during the evening. It's not exactly the last word in appropriate backgrounds for nude photography!"

"So we'll be doing the shooting in here?"

"Most of it," Louise said. "Setting up the lights isn't that difficult, and Don knows pretty much where he will want to place them, in here and elsewhere in the house. Maybe we'll do some bedroom shots, too. That picture has been taken down, too."

"OK," I said. "I'm a little nervous."

"Try to relax, Cathy," Louise said. "We've literally got all night. I've fixed us a nice dinner -- nothing fancy, but nourishing -- and we'll have some wine and get unwound from the week. I'll bet we could all use that!"

"I have been looking forward to this all week," Tad said. "I keep telling myself that I shouldn't make it into more than it is, but, hey, I'm really excited!"

"I don't blame you, Honey," Louise told him. "How often do you get to see something as sexy as this?"

"And he's gonna see you in your birthday suit, too," I reminded Louise. "That's not exactly going to make him get all upset, either!"

"It's gonna be fun for all of us," Don said. "I'd never pretend that I'm just a disinterested photographer. I dearly love buck-naked female-type people! Louise knows I'm looking forward to this!"

We all tried to relax as we enjoyed Louise's dinner and cleaned up the kitchen before heading back to the living room. "Did you leave off the underwear, as we advised?" Louise asked me when we had a moment alone.

"Yep. Can't you tell?"

"Well, you wore a pretty loose-fitting outfit, so I couldn't really be sure."

"I see you've left yours off, too," I said.

"Yep. We're both going to feel a draft when the air conditioner comes back on!"

"I'm nervous! Jeez, I'm so nervous!"

"That's natural, Sweetie. You'll feel better after we get a little booze in you."

"I'm not much for the hard stuff," I told her. "Two drinks and I'm ready to take Tad to bed."

"Three drinks, and you'll be ready to take anybody to bed," Louise said.

That shocked me a little. "Uh, Louise. We're not going to -- do anything like that, are we?"

"Like what, Sweetie?"

"You know. Like swapping, or something."

"Oh, Honey, no! We're just going to do what we said. We're going to take some sexy pictures of you! Of both of us! Nobody's going to get you drunk and take advantage of you!"