Chapter 1

"God I hate this," I thought. I stood on a small raised stage in one corner of the room. All the shades were drawn, and people were just starting to stream in. Their blazers were all the same blood-red material, and scuffed each time one of the herd would shoulder another out of the way. I did my best not to make eye contact with anyone, while still keeping my chin raised. I fixed on a point in the doorframe, directly above everyone's head, which allowed me to avoid meeting any eyes.

I couldn't believe I was doing this. Aunt Marge had suggested it, and my mother had leapt at the opportunity. Aunt Marge's 'close friend' was an art teacher at the local university, and apparently her male model had left town for a family emergency. They were short one model, and Marge, after a few cocktails, had suggested that I fill in. I protested loudly, but my mom loved the idea of me earning a little money for myself.

"Mom, it's nude modeling! I'm gonna be naked up there in front of total strangers!"

None of it had mattered. With Marge pushing her along, my mom simply wouldn't take no for an answer. Finally I had to accept that this was going to happen, and had rationalized it as best as I could, telling myself that none of these people would ever see me again, and that it was pretty good money for standing around for an hour.

The bell rang, but it made little difference to the majority of the class, who had to be ushered into their seats by Miss Jennings, a fiery little wisp of a woman with a powerful vocal instrument. In short order the class had assumed somewhat of a studious pose and taken out their oversized pads. Almost as one they turned to regard me, as if noticing me for the first time. I resisted the urge to draw my bathrobe a little closer around my body under the weight of their predatory stares.

"Class, this is James, and he will be standing in as our model today. I want you all to remember that this lesson is about texture and shading, so don't get caught up in all the... details. James, if you would?"

With an inner sigh I shrugged my shoulders out of the white cotton robe and let it fall to the floor. I turned my head slightly to one side, squared my shoulders and tried my hardest to relax. I started to count the heartbeats until the end of class. After a few minutes, though, my leg started to quiver from the pose I was holding. I had to shift a little bit, and I heard a noise from one of the students.

I took a quick look, then went back to staring at the ceiling, holding my pose. But in my mind I was trying to figure out what I had seen. The one girl I had been able to get a good look at was red in the face, and seemed to be out of breath. Her jaw was hanging open a bit, but I assumed that was because of the level of concentration she was putting into her drawing. I put it out of my mind as best I could, and went back to willing the time to fly by.

After another few minutes, I heard some whispers. I couldn't tell where they were coming from, or even make out the words themselves, but they were punctuated with light giggles. Miss Jennings noticed, too, and broke the stillness.

"Class! Attention on the subject, and your drawings. That means you, Miss Cooper."

"Sorry, Miss Jennings... I just... seem to be having trouble concentrating on schoolwork right now, is all."

At this comment a ripple of laughter spread across the room, with a few mutters of what sounded like agreement. I figured that Miss Jennings, though she had been incredibly nice to me, must not be very popular with her students. No more was said, but I could still hear small noises from the students throughout the rest of the period. I counted all the way to a thousand heartbeats before finding something else to dull the edge of boredom. I managed to get all the way down to forty-five bottles of beer left before the bell rang.

I relaxed and dropped my pose, reaching down to retrieve my bathrobe and pulling it over my shoulders as quick as possible. Not a moment too soon, for the first of the crowd had hit the door, and the noise from the hallway seemed deafening. Miss Jennings properly dismissed the rest of the class, who shuffled their way towards the door. Once the last straggler had let the door swing shut after her, Miss Jennings turned to me.

"Thank you, James. Very well done. I don't think you moved a muscle the entire hour."

I smiled and blinked, my eyes somewhat dried out from keeping them open for so long.

"Thanks, Miss Jennings. I appreciate you letting me do this."

"Nonsense, James. You're perfect for the role, after all..."

I flushed, unsure of what to say, so I simply held my tongue.

"Now then, I believe Mark will be back next week. I'll make sure the Dean cuts you a check before the end of the week, and I'll call you when it's ready. Not bad for your first job after turning eighteen, is it?"

"No... I guess not. Thanks again, Miss Jennings."

Before much more could be said, I grabbed the paper bag containing my clothes and headed for a small dressing screen that had been set up in the back corner of the classroom. Once there I got dressed as fast as I could. I threw on my ratty T-Shirt and sandals, then stuffed my robe into the bag. My camouflage intact, I snuck a glance around the screen to make sure the coast was clear, then made my way to the door. I dodged a few glances and headed for home.

The next day I headed for the mall. I had some shopping to do, and had put it off long enough.

I picked up what I needed, then just wandered for a while. I checked out the stores, and I checked out the girls. There's no place like a mall to watch the midriffs come out to play. It seemed like everywhere I looked there was a cluster of two or three tight, toned little bellies. My normal routine was to glance out of the corner of my eye if I saw a girl approaching. I normally started with a glance at her midsection, then let my gaze drift upwards. The face was always my last target, and was the deal-breaker. Most of the girls who had tremendous bodies had only average or worse faces, and my system let me enjoy the view for as long as possible. The nicer the body, the longer my gaze lingered before moving upward. And that's what got me in trouble.

I came out of a store, and there, standing not ten feet from me, was a prime target. She stood facing slightly away from me, talking to a group of her friends. I could see her toned muscles in her sides, and a hint of her flat tummy. Her skin was a light tan color, not that fake orange you get from a tanning salon, or the dark brown you get from dedicated beach worship. It was a perfectly natural color, and I drew my eyes up as slowly as I could to the hem of her half-shirt. I've always said that most women who wear half-shirts shouldn't be allowed to. They either have them cut so high that they look slutty, or so low that they just show a roll or two of baby fat underneath. This girl had it just right, though. I could see a hint of a sports bra underneath her arm, but the turquoise half-shirt hung low enough to cover her breasts. Despite that, however, I could see an impressive swell in the front of her shirt, even from my angle. Her arm looked soft but toned, without an ounce of fat, but without being skinny or bony. I dragged my gaze further up, taking in her blonde hair, which fell just to the level of her shoulder blades. She had one of those hairdos that could be tossed or thrown in any direction, and as I watched she ran the fingers of her left hand up in a careless motion and flipped it to the other side of her head, allowing me to see the gentle slope of her neck. Her ear sported a sparkling stone, which I assumed was a diamond. She was laughing at something one of her friends said and turned away from the group towards me.

Her face was absolutely gorgeous, even with her mouth covered as she tried to contain her laugh, and with her eyes shut. Her features were delicate, and she wore just a hint of makeup. The rest of the group wound down from their laughter, and she did the same, drawing a deep breath to get herself under control. She giggled a few times and stood straight, wiping a tear away from one eye with care, trying not to smudge her makeup. Her body was fully revealed as she turned, and it was absolutely out of this world. Her tits, her abs, her navel ring, her low-ride shorts, her neck, her face, her hair... it was all perfect, and I couldn't look away. Even when her eyes slid over to meet mine.

I felt a chill run through my body. Those eyes were almost inhumanly blue. They were bright and clear, and they were staring right at me. I blushed hard and turned away, trying to seem as if I hadn't been staring. I glanced back a moment later, and she had turned back to her friends, but I noticed her look back over her shoulder at me, giving me a long look with a thoughtful expression on her gorgeous face. Blushing, I turned and headed for the exit.

I had turned the corner and was heading down a quiet hallway to the side exit when I heard a voice.

"James?"

I looked back to see who was calling, as the voice didn't sound even remotely familiar.

"I'm sorry... it is James... isn't it?"

I couldn't speak. There walking towards me was the girl I had just been so shamelessly ogling. None of her friends were with her, and she was walking towards me. Her entire body was like nothing I'd seen before, and my eyes were drawn down it, then back up again, to her gorgeous smile. I blinked then, remembering that she had asked me a question.

"Uhhh... yeah. I'm James. Jimmy, actually... Do I know you?"

I already knew the answer to the question, but it bought me some time to gather my thoughts. If I had ever in my life known this goddess, I would have the memory permanently etched into my mind.

"Hi Jimmy. I'm Gail."

Having reached the spot where I stood rooted to the floor, Gail held out a delicate hand for me to shake. I just stood there, dumb, for a second, then reached out and took her hand in mine. Her skin was powder smooth, and warm. Her hand fit perfectly against mine, and I had to blink to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"Jimmy, I was wondering if you'd like to go get a drink?"

"A drink?"

"Sure, I know a cool place not far from here."

"Um... what? You want me to go and have a drink... with you?"

Gail nodded and grinned again, letting go of my hand. Her smile was as dazzling as the rest of her, and I was starting to feel a little light-headed.

"Uhhh... I dunno. I was just..."

Gail placed one finger against my lips, silencing me while at the same time making me break out in a light sweat. Her finger was feather soft against my lips, and a tremor shook my body.

"Tell you what... why don't you and I just hit the food court then? Would you be OK with that?"

Gail and I made our way to the food court, and all I could think about was the fact that she was with me. Anyone who saw us would see her and I walking together. I snuck every glance I could at her, and a few times she caught me, with a slight smile. When we arrived, we looked at each other.

"So, uh... what do you want to eat?"

"I ate with my friends not too long ago. Why don't we just get a drink or something and find a table?"

"Sure thing. Uh... if you want to find a table, I can get us some drinks? What kind do you want?"

Gail smiled at me for a minute, but the look on her face was hard to read. I wondered if I had stepped in it somehow, but before I could get to full bore panic she replied.

"Just something Diet, whatever they have. Thanks, Jimmy."

With that, she turned her back and started to walk toward the tables. I saw her hand dip into her tiny shoulder purse and pull out a cell phone, which she dialed with a touch and immediately started chatting into. I could hear her tinkling laugh moments after the conversation began, but couldn't make out any of the words.

I made my way to the nearest restaurant that had no line and bought us each a drink. In an effort to show off my maturity, I got a Diet Coke as well. Holding the drinks, I turned and looked for Gail. My eye was drawn to her in no time, and I started picking my way through the tables to where she was seated, still on the phone. As I drew close she wrapped up her conversation.

"OK, sweetie. Yeah, around seven sounds great to me too. Love you too. I gotta go. Bye."

With a click she snapped her phone shut and tucked it back into her purse without even looking down. Instead she fastened her gaze on me, and watched as my mind raced.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh. Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

Gail actually giggled at my discomfort, and I wanted nothing more than to just get the hell out of there. I felt like such a moron for thinking someone like this could actually be interested in me. She must have read my expression because she spoke before I could make up my mind to leave.

"Jimmy... sit down, okay? I really do want to talk to you about something."

The look on her face turned my knees to butter, and I was pretty sure that they wouldn't carry me all the way to the door in their condition. I put her drink down in front of her, set mine across the table and took a seat.

"Look... Gail. What's going on here? Do I know you from somewhere or something?"

Gail grinned at me, then gave a very slow wink, her long lashes covering one eye and then opening it again. She leaned forward, ignoring her drink, and whispered.

"I know you from somewhere, Jimmy... Somewhere like Miss Jennings' classroom..."

The words sank into my gut, leaving a cold ball of ice sitting there. My mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. I even forgot to breathe, and was vaguely aware of the hot wash of blood that was turning my face an interesting shade of maroon. Throughout my ordeal, Gail just sat back and popped her straw into her soda and took a long sip, her full lips pursing into quite a vision.

"I... I mean... Uh..."

"Take your time, Jimmy." There was a slight tease in her tone as she just watched me.

"Christ... I didn't think I'd ever... you know... meet someone outside of that room."

I took a deep breath and tried to steady my shaking hands and pounding heart.

"Really? And how did you figure you'd pull that off?"

I gave her a rueful smile.

"Uh... Well, I figured that since I'm a senior in high school, and don't have any plans to go to the University, much less take any art courses, I'd never run across any of those people. Plus, when Miss Jennings asked me if I'd do it, she said most people never remember the... well... the faces of the models."

Gail giggled a little at this, and I smiled along.

"Jimmy... for the most part, Miss Jennings was dead right. But this last class? Let's just say several of us took careful notice of your face."

"Why?" I asked, becoming a little more bold as she opened up. I even managed to take a drink of my soda without spilling it on myself.

Gail sat quietly for a moment, looking down at her soda and stirring it with her straw for a few moments before answering.

"Jimmy... can I trust you? I mean really trust you?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, can I tell you something and not have to worry about you blabbing it to everyone you know?"

"Sure!" I answered, maybe a little too quickly.

Gail looked me in the eye for a solid minute before nodding once. Having come to her decision, she leaned back in her chair and took on a much more relaxed pose.

"Jimmy, I saw you checking me out earlier. That was when I recognized you. Lemme ask you this: How'd you like to see more? A lot more?"

It seemed to be a theme of the day that I was struck speechless, as it happened once more.

"I... I dunno what you mean. What's a lot more?"

"I mean all of it, dummy. How'd you like to see all of me? Without all the clothes and stuff?"

"Is this some kinda trick? I heard you hang up with your boyfriend just as I got to the table!"

"Jimmy, nobody's asking if you want to be my boyfriend. I've already got one of those. What I'm asking..." She leaned way forward, motioning to me to come closer. When I leaned forward she put her mouth inches from my ear and whispered.

"... is if you'd like to fuck me."

I stared at the phone later that afternoon, daring myself to make the call. Her number was still scrawled on my palm in distinctly feminine style. Finally, taking a deep breath, I called.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Is... Gail there?"

Her adorable giggle sounded over the phone.

"Is this Jimmy?"

"Yeah... Gail?"

"Who else? This is my cell phone."

"Oh... Gail, I... I mean... are you sure? About all of this?"

"Yes, I'm sure already. Look, I'm at 5169 Antelope. That's off of Watt, OK? Just come on over, Jimmy. I'll be waiting..."