A Wandering Muse at Camp

"I see, no worries."

"Actually, I made it for me." She found a darker shade of red. "Haven't you ever wondered what you looked like when you came?"

"Can't say that I had before now," Avery grinned. "It's been so long I've forgotten what it feels like."

"Plenty of other rooms if you ever want to reacquaint yourself."

"Still no vibe. I can't do it by hand without it."

"Too bad." Tess pouted.

"I reformatted the SD card and put your files back onto it. They should be fine, but don't use that card for anything else. I pushed the security tab so it can't be overwritten, so put it someplace safe after your meeting." Avery handed over the card.

"Okay, don't delete anything off your computer until after my meeting, please."

"Fine, I'll use Windows for class tomorrow to keep from accidentally showing anything. I'll purge it once you know the files were sent." Avery smiled. "So, Tess, do you have a web presence for your photography, or do you rely on the publisher?"

"I've just let them handle it. Why?"

"You should market yourself. Maybe you can leave the nudes for your publisher. If your other works have even an iota of the skill you show here, you could sell prints through your own website." Avery patted the woman's hand again, hoping to show her honesty and willingness without pushing too hard.

"Huh. I guess I need to check with my agent, but I don't know how to do any of that stuff."

"Good thing you befriended a kick-ass computer chick."

"You've done so much for me already," Tess said with her infectious and perfect grin.

"What can I say? I have a muse inspiring me. Let me show you my skills, please. You've impressed me. Let me return the favor." Avery explained.

"Sure. Let me clear it with my agent, and we can add another task to the tech building nights."

"I won't be able to put it on the internet until I find some bandwidth, but you give me the images you want to, and I'll make something for you. We should get a few hours of sleep before I have classes." Avery closed her laptop and stood.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Avery, you saved this project. The penalty for late submission to my publisher was going to suck. There will be coffee on your desk in the morning." Tess leaped to her feet and came in for a hug.

It was their second embrace, and Avery loved the feeling of a naked Tess against her. When the hug ended, there was a second instance of staring into each other's eyes, like they were waiting for the other to make a move and kiss. The moment passed without the lip lock. I like a woman! Her internal monologue cheered.

"Thursday, you, me, singing, violin, dancing, and website design. If my agent says yes. I'll call him after I deliver the project in town."

"Sounds like a date." Avery smiled. That was more than a hint, but Tess had to make the leap.

"Wish I brought my vibe. I need to five so bad." Tess didn't bother with the bralette as she put back on her clothes.

"You need to get some sleep before you drive anyway."

"I know, and a nice orgasm would help." She giggled but followed Avery out of the building and locked up behind them.

Tess -- Saturday, two weeks later

"Morning, babe. What do you have planned today?" Tess's mom sat at the kitchen table with fresh doughnuts in an open box and a few left. Carl was obviously home this weekend with the scant few remaining. He had left her a couple of her favorite glazed twists.

"Did Lewis already go into town?"

"This was Carl. For some reason, he needed to pick up Molly super early, like an hour before dawn. I think she's going to be the one."

"She must be if she agreed to hang out with his family at a camp in the middle of nowhere again. I like her, though. She'll be a good almost stepsister-in-law." She teased. Tess had called Carl her almost stepbrother since they first met nearly four years ago. Even if Lewis and her mother were adamant that they weren't the marrying type, Tess knew they were soulmates.

"That's a lot of qualifiers on her name."

"I'll stick with Molly. Lewis rallying the campers?"

"Yeah. He's getting the troops marching out." On Saturdays, one group of campers left. Cleaners would come through the camp, tidy up, and sanitize the cabins. The counselors who taught during the week got the weekend off, while the cabin counselors would be the busiest during the weekend. They came and went with groups, going seven days on and then seven days off during the summer.

"He needs to start taking a couple weeks off a summer. Carl and I can run the place, probably." Tess smiled as she dipped a doughnut in her coffee.

"That would be nice, especially when we finally get married. I'd like a honeymoon sometime other than Spring or Winter Break." Her mother grinned.

Tess stuffed her doughnut in her mouth to keep from revealing that it was closer than her mother thought. "As long as Carl is here too, we can handle a week or two. Just make it sometime during the middle of the summer. We need him to get started and shut down."

"So, you never answered my question. What are you up to with your day off?"

"You know, the usual, though I need to get to town to check and see if I have anything from my publisher. They're a week late, but I got an email last week stating that the wait would be worth it."

"I can't wait to see it. The last book was amazing." Her mother had always been so supportive. For most of Tess's life, they only had each other. Her father was in her life but frequently on an aircraft carrier far from home.

"If I have a paycheck in my account, I'll order a new camera. The last book's profit and a summer's worth of paychecks will get me through the school year."

"You earned it, sweetie. You know what I say about things."

"The same thing dad would say." Tess exaggeratedly sighed and rolled her eyes. "If I'm getting a camera, make sure it's a good one." Her parents always told her if she was spending money, Tess needed to spend it on quality items. They only told her they loved her more often than that.

"And make sure it can accept your old lenses. Some of those are older than you." Her mom grinned. She knew that Tess had already decided.

"Just a word of warning about the new book; I'm the subject of several photos this time."

"That was your plan. I'm sure you're beautiful, my dear." Her mother didn't seem to mind that her daughter was doing artistic nudes now. "Maybe one of these days, you can publish something as Theresa Ernst instead of Quintessa Gossamer. It would be nice to have something I can send with your future stepdad to work without the PTA getting out pitchforks and torches. He's proud of you, too."

Quintessa Gossamer was Tess's pseudonym, so Tess wouldn't be directly associated with the nudes. Having part of her first name in the alias was a little concerning, but she needed a part of herself in anything she did.

"The next book, unless the muse strikes again," Tess explained. She was supposed to be doing something with the images of where they went to the mountains when Tess was a kid, but she needed more pictures to make a book.

"So, does the usual involve hanging out with a certain tall, tan, slightly awkward redhead?"

"We usually do laundry together, so hopefully, at least a little," Tess said honestly as she failed to suppress a grin at the thought of spending any time with Avery.

The two women hung out during their free time at camp. Mostly, playing games during the evening with the rest of the similarly-aged counselors.

"You two are good for each other." Her mother sipped her coffee idly.

Does Mom know that this feels like more than a friendship? "How's that, Mom?"

"You're chaos in the best way. And she's order. You both need a touch of the opposite. Avery is introverted and thoughtful, and you're my social butterfly prone to following whims. Other than being tall, beautiful, and undeniably bright, you fill each other's holes." Her mother explained.

Tess desperately tried not to laugh at the fill each other's holes comment as it sounded way too much like an innuendo.

"You make great..." Her mom paused for a second. Tess had no doubt at what she was inferring. "Friends. I'm so glad you two stopped sniping at each other."

"So am I." After a moment's pause, she continued. The conversation wandered into what Tess planned to do during the fall semester.

"You wouldn't think differently about me if I were to bring home a woman, would you?" Tess couldn't help taking the earlier lobbed bait. It was a question that had been at the fore of her mind since the night Avery caught her dancing. Her mother and Tess shared almost everything. Her dad was great in short doses, but most of Tess's life had been her and her mom.

"I've only wanted you to be happy and have grandchildren someday, but not for a few years. It doesn't matter how you get there. If a woman makes you glow, that's what you need. I know your dad's the same way, so don't worry about him. He's a good man even if we never meshed."

"Thanks, Mom. I don't quite know what's going on, but it's nice to know I have support."

"Babe, I will love and support you no matter what." Her mom put down her coffee mug, then came over and kissed her on the top of her head. "You're future stepfather might not have been here the whole time, but he feels the same about both his children." She got a wry smile. "Though no need to test that too often."

The door squeaked open, and Lewis made an appearance. "Babe, do you have the credit card? Avery's going to drive into the city to 'Replace the last of the spinning rust,' she says, whatever that means."

"Spinning rust is old spinning hard drives. She wants to replace them with Solid State Drives that have longer lives and don't break as easily if dropped." Tess replied while her mother looked for the company credit card. Avery never seemed annoyed when she asked her to explain her jargon. "Is she leaving now? And does she have room for one more?"

"Since when do you speak nerd?" Lewis teased in his good-natured way. "Yes, and probably, but ask her yourself. She's out on the porch." Lewis smiled.

"Yay!" Tess jumped up and took the doughnut box to offer Avery. She tried to hide the smile she had from the thought of being with Av at all.

"Surprised you're awake." Avery had a similar gleaming grin when Tess stepped onto the wrap-around front porch.

Last night, the pair had once again spent a few hours at the tech building. It had started innocently enough. Every Friday night, Avery made a copy of all the code and photos different groups of students had made. Each student got their own thumb drive sent home with their files. Since their internet access was the equivalent of dial-up speeds, they relied on a sneakernet to get the files home to their parents.

Tess kept her company, talking about the week and the camp until work was done and the computers were shut down and wiped for the next group. Then, there was an hour of watching Avery working on a pair of websites. Both Quintessa Gossamer and Theresa Hope Ernst needed their own independent sites.

Soon enough, there was singing as Tess stripped into her comfy outfit and got out her violin. Avery could sing as well as she could work with computers. She had a beautiful voice, but Tess was so smitten at the moment that she couldn't see any faults in the woman. Her choice of the song "Brave Enough" had a chorus that included "I wish I was Brave Enough to love you." It had to mean something.

Tess wasn't sure if it was Avery's subtle rejection of what was brewing between the pair or what. However, her second choice of "Shatter Me" had Tess thinking she was just going with the songs with album names. Maybe she wants me to make a move, to shatter her life now. Crossed Tess's thoughts. She makes the first move. Tess knew that wasn't the intended meaning of either song, but art also took new meaning from its audience.

"Speak of the devil. Can I bribe you with a doughnut?"

"I'm the devil, now?" Avery looked offended. "I'll take a twist, please." The expression faded as she grabbed a sugar-glazed delight.

"How am I not surprised that you have great taste in doughnuts. You're not a devil, probably." Tess chuckled softly. "We were just talking about you. Want a coffee, too?"

"Of course, someone kept me up too late. Although I didn't stay to 'five' afterward." Avery smirked.

"Neither did I. I forgot to charge my tool, so I left right after you," Tess admitted truthfully. She couldn't lie to Avery.

"You were talking about me? Good things, I hope."

"Mom was just asking what my plans were for the day, and I told her we would at least do laundry. Then Lewis showed up and said you were headed to the city. You want a hitchhiker?" Tess explained as she held the door open to let Avery inside.

"We still need to do laundry when we get back, and You're a little shifty. But what the hell, it would be preferable not to drive three hours by myself." Avery decided between bites of doughnut.

At the camp, there were two somewhat nearby locales of concern. Town was a little town of a few thousand people where one could go to the store or use the internet. The city was a much larger city of nearly four hundred thousand, where one had to go for specialty items. It was also the same city that housed both girls' universities. Tess went to a rival across town, and Avery went to the opposite. Had Tess not gone to the same place as Avery for her undergrad, there might have been more friendly friction there.

"Here's the card and paperwork." Tess's mom handed over a packet. "If Tess got paid for her project, make her get a camera for herself. Don't let her waffle at the electronics store."

"Yes, ma'am. You can count on me." Avery gave her a crisp scout salute.

"Do we have enough thumb drives, or should we order those online?" Lewis asked his IT professional.

"They're cheaper in a group order online. We should have enough, but another couple dozen would give us a buffer, and it's not like they rot over a year."

"Well, order some when you get internet. At least some that's worth a damn. I still can't believe those bastards at the phone company want $100,000 to run fiber a couple of miles." Lewis didn't curse often. Damn, and Bastard were big ones for him.

"It would make things easier. One standard of the IT world is all Telecos suck." Avery explained.

The backdoor squeaked open while they talked, admitting Carl and his girlfriend, Molly. Molly was a gorgeous, short girl with Chinese heritage and long, jet-black straight hair tied into a ponytail with a pink bow. Carl met her at college, and they had been dating for the last couple of years.

"You know if you feed her, she'll keep coming back," Carl said with a smile. He and Avery's week together getting the lab setup had been jovial.

"I think that's your stepsister's goal." Tess's mom said in a loud whisper with a playful smile.

"In that case, Avery, this is Molly. My fiancée!" He held up Molly's hand to show off a new diamond ring.

"What!?" Lewis looked surprised. He was likely slightly miffed that his son was stealing his thunder, but that was eradicated by his proud smile.

"When!?" Tess's mom was already out of her seat, moving to hug Carl and Molly.

"It's why I got up early and got doughnuts. I took Molly to Inspiration Point at dawn, and she said yes!"

"Congratulations!"

The house descended into questions and cheers for the next few minutes before Tess and Avery snuck out to let the other four plan and scheme. She was very happy for Carl and Molly but knew if they didn't leave quickly, they would be wrapped up in a day of conversation.

"Inspiration Point sounds romantic." Avery smiled as she swept stray Auburn hair over her ears. She wore her glasses instead of contacts and looked extra cute this morning.

"You been out there?"

"Of course, it's a rite of passage, but I haven't been up there since I was in braces. Do you want to drive or take my car? Your dad is paying for gas either way." Avery had a seven-year-old Civic with plenty of life left, while Tess had a beat-up Cherokee older than her.

"You get better gas mileage, and it's much quieter."

"That's my vote as well. Does Inspiration Point mean something to Molly, too?"

"This camp has been part of Carl's life since he was a baby, and Molly came out here when she was a kid. She came out with a Scout Troop during the falls when Carl was with his mother, so they doubt they crossed paths, but who knows for sure."

"That's a fun romantic story for them."

"Yeah, I thought so."

Avery -- An hour later

"Want to see the proofs from the book?" Tess asked excitedly. She had gotten a ding on her phone once they got into cell phone range.

"Hell yes, but let me get someplace safe first." Avery barely kept her eyes on the road as Tess held up her phone. They were still an hour away from the city but finally on a four-lane divided highway. "Temptress!" Avery added with a grin.

As they drove, Avery listened to Lindsey Sterling, Yellowcard, and some new stuff from Caitlyn Quay. Tess didn't know the violinist for the Quay stuff, but that was because it was always someone different. The composer was the only through line. Even though she wanted to sing along, it wouldn't be right if Tess wasn't stealing the show with her violin. She was threatening to play Tess her music on the way back. The threat didn't appear to challenge the goddess.

"Holy crap! They're doubling my advance." Tess did her best approximation of a dance in the car's passenger seat. "They want more from Ms. Gossamer."

"That's awesome, T."

"T?"

"You call me Av. I'm looking for something equivalent."

"Tess is already diminutive," Tess argued. "But you can call me whatever you like."

When they finally got into the city proper, Avery found a spot in a park where she played disc golf with friends during the semester. Someone walking by and looking in the window as she checked out the proofs wasn't likely, but Av wasn't taking chances. Tess made fun of her lightly but understood her caution. Could I date a famous artist who does nudes? She thought momentarily, but that concern seemed trivial compared to the goddess in her front seat. Her parents might not like it, but it could be like Avery's IUD, something they were happier not knowing about.

Tess's artistic prowess was evident in each image. Avery hadn't only been swayed by the subject of the first group of photos she had seen. Tess was still her favorite of all the models. There was strength and vulnerability evident in all the images. The women and men were in their kitchens or studios for the sessions. The look of fire coming from a flambeau the chef made caused Avery to feel anxious about his anatomy. It did provide a dynamic element that the other photos lacked.

The goddess's own images were in the back of the book. She noted the backgrounds when Tess's eyes weren't the distracting focus. "Wait, is this background the stage at your school?"

"Yup, how'd you know?"

"I auditioned for a musical there. I didn't get it, but I remember the auditorium well. Were all the others taken at their places?"

"Uh-huh. I tried to get permission to shoot at the school, but they said no since it wasn't course-related. I could use images of the auditorium, but I couldn't do my dance to get them there." Tess's pride was evident as she explained.

"I'm glad they didn't." Avery grinned roguishly.

"Why's that?"

"A. These turned out awesome, and more importantly, B. If you had, I wouldn't have walked in on your performance."

"You might have, but probably without the camera."

"I wouldn't have seen the whole tree without some roots." Avery beamed.

"The purple nipples really helped sell this whole image. Any suggestions for next time?" Tess seemed to cherish Avery's opinion.