A Wandering Muse at Camp

"Yeah, actually, I had one idea." Avery swiped back to the photo of Tess mid-dance. "See the lattice on your calves here?"

"Of course."

"It's a stunning detail. What if you added the same type of wrap on your arms?" Avery smiled.

"Oh! That could be gorgeous. I'll go with cotton candy or bubble gum pink next time."

"That would be a great contrast with your eyes. It's too bad no one else gets to see your best feature."

"I gotta save something special for you." Tess grinned sheepishly.

It was an adorable expression, and Avery wanted to lean over the console and kiss her. Tess makes the first move. Avery repeated to herself, but her resolve was crumbling. Someone had to make a move before the end of the summer, or they may miss out on something special.

They spent a half hour as Avery listened to Tess explain how she got all the shots and permission to do a nude study of the professionals. Like her, none of the models displayed their whole face to hide some of their identity. Tess got so adorably excited to go into a description of each of the shoots.

When other people started to crowd into the park, they took it as a signal to move on to their goal. Tess was bouncing with joy when they pulled up to the electronics store. The advance was already in her account, and she was getting a new camera.

"Happy Tess is fun." Avery mused as they made a beeline to the camera department. An associate was only too happy to show off the high-end models. "Make sure you get a new memory card." She whispered as the associate went to see if they had the model in the back.

"I learned my lesson. I'm going to use a new one for each shoot. Cards were expensive when I was younger but are cheap now. And don't let me forget an adapter when he comes back. This one's mirrorless and won't work with my old lenses without it."

"You getting any new lenses?"

"Just the kit lens that comes with the camera. I'll have to sell more volumes to afford any others. They're almost as expensive as the body. Dad had a lot of good glass, even if it's not as fast as the new stuff."

Tess explained how speed was not the focal speed of the lens but how much light the lens could let in. The smaller the number, the wider the aperture. She may call Avery a nerd, but she was every bit as geeky when she was into something. She bet Tess could nerd out as mightily about her violin or dancing.

It took two additional stops to find all the solid-state hard drives Avery needed. Still, she had no desire to overspend for something she only required a small size for and had no need for anything gaming branded as it came with unwarranted extra cost.

"Let me buy you lunch, and I want to make one more stop before we head home. If I drive, you can order the thumb drives. Both stops are my treat for you saving my ass last week."

"Sounds like a plan. I trust you with Maxine." That was no small thing; no one other than herself or her parents could drive Maxine. Avery was protective of her car.

"Maxine?" Tess grinned.

"You don't have a name for your car?"

"No, I can't say I do, but it's a he." Tess chuckled as she unlocked the car.

"Keep me around for long, and I may christen him something."

"Why Maxine?"

"The paint is the same color as a blue-haired old lady's locks, so I needed something that sounded like an old lady's name. Maxine fit."

Lunch was a delicious and funky taco joint adjacent to Tess's campus. Avery was a little too bold with the heat level for her taco, but a milkshake quenched the burn. She pointed out her apartment as they drove by and offered to show it off if the keys weren't an hour and a half away back at camp.

"Where else are we going?"

"You'll see soon enough." Tess grinned mischievously. They were pulled up to an adult toy store in a few minutes. "I can't let my new best friend go the whole summer without being able to 'Five.'" Tess used their inside joke. "This is on me too."

"Thanks, but you don't have to. I was the one that didn't bring her vibe." Avery fidgeted in her seat.

"Yes, I do. You saved my ass." Tess explained, then smirked. "And my tits and my pussy." The smirk became a toothy grin. "I promised to make it worth your while. Now get in there." Tess wasn't going to move without Avery going in.

After a few minutes, Avery had a new battery-powered pink rabbit-style vibrator. She knew she couldn't do the rechargeable type in the shared cabin even if Tess said she could charge it.

"So, the rabbit style, huh?" Tess kept the driver's seat as the vehicle stopped at the gas station and pointed back toward camp.

"You tried one?"

"No, I always go with portability for the vibe."

"Well, I need something in my vag and caressing the clit to get off."

"That's why I have a dildo to go with the vibe. Aren't you just a delicate flower." Tess teased.

"Uh-huh. I told you I'm a sophisticated lady."

The drive home left Avery to control the radio as they drove. She had a selection of nerdy hip-hop and anime theme songs on her phone to torture Tess. She didn't seem to mind. It probably helped that they didn't stop talking about anything and everything. When school started in two months, Tess's apartment was only twenty minutes away from Avery. It would be even closer to the internship Belinda had helped set up.

It hadn't taken long, but Avery was now convinced that Tess would be a part of her life as a friend or something more. She was going to be one of Avery's roots.

Tess extolled the features of her new camera and what she could do with the technology. Her previous camera was a decade old from when her mom gave it to her and had already been manufactured for five years. Both were full-frame cameras, meaning the sensor was the same size as 35 mm film. That meant that all her lenses were designed for the same sensor size.

Avery tried asking questions like Tess had when watching Av work on computers. She wouldn't become a shutterbug, but it let Tess expound upon her passion. It was apparent that the woman hadn't bought the new camera on a whim but had been thinking about it since she signed the contract for her second book. Avery knew that the woman would put it to work for some incredible images.

"Are you bringing the new camera to the tech building soon?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Good. Are you going to start on a third volume?"

"Maybe. I need to make something as me before Quintessa gets another turn. Although, I would love to find an outdoor spot for my next shoot. Something with the sky and clouds as I dance." Tess smiled.

Avery imagined what Tess would look like playing her violin out in the wilds. It would have to be far from humanity, as her music would grab anyone's attention.

"Is the first image going to be of you dancing?" Avery's hand patted Tess's that was perched atop the shift lever. Touches like that had become surprisingly natural in the last few weeks.

"No. That's not the tradition."

"Tradition?"

"The first image is always a landscape of someplace special. Daddy started it when it was his camera, and Mom gave me the second up in the mountains."

"Neat, you have somewhere in mind?"

"Inspiration Point. You haven't been up there for a while. Would you like to escort me?"

"Sure, sounds like fun. I need to do some laundry when we return, but after that."

"Not today. Road trips drain me, and I want to be lazy the rest of the day. I should also spend time with the family since Carl and Molly are in town."

"Can the second image be of you playing?"

"Not this week."

"Why not?"

"There are certain times of the month when I can't be dancing naked, and that should start soon."

"Being a lady sometimes sucks. I just finished with that myself."

"I suppose we have to sacrifice something for the curves and beauty." Tess sighed. "It used to knock me on my ass with the worst cramps before I started my BC. It's manageable now. Just because I won't be nude, do you still wanna hang out at the tech building this week?"

"Of course. I'll bring some chocolate if I can swing it from the General Store. I'm not hanging out with you just to peep at you. Though that's a plus. You seem so confident and happy when you're nude."

"We do have more website work to do."

Tess -- A week later

The Fourth of July was quickly approaching, signifying the halfway point for her summer. Tess had been trying to get out to Inspiration Point all week, but the one time there were good clouds, Avery was teaching code to middle schoolers. She had taken the lesson to be more flexible and fun to heart. Tess pretended to be cleaning photography equipment while she watched proudly.

Tess grabbed a cup of coffee and walked out on the front porch to look at the sky. It was the perfect, multilayered explosion of clouds. Today would make the ideal time to run out to Inspiration Point. She quickly dressed, grabbed her camera, and went to find Avery. Tess still needed to capture a landscape but couldn't imagine it without Av.

"Where you headed, missy?" Lewis asked as Tess nearly barreled into him.

"I'm going to go find Avery and enjoy the weather. The clouds are perfect today. You don't need me for anything, right?"

"I've got to say goodbye to our campers, and then your mom and I are headed into town for some lunch. We were going to see if you wanted to come along, but if you have plans, have fun."

"Thanks, future stepdad." Tess looked around to ensure that her mother wasn't around. "When are you going to make that closer to a reality?"

"I'm going let Carl's big proposal time to breathe, but I'm not putting it on the back burner."

"Mom's going to say yes, Lewis."

"I know. I'm not scared about that. I just want to make the proposal perfect for her." Lewis reached into a pocket and pulled out a small box. The silver and gold intertwined band and single brilliant diamond were perfectly her mother's style. "It stays on me now in case the right moment hits me."

"Nice ring." Tess grinned. "Someone took my suggestions to heart."

"Who else knows Belinda as well as her daughter? Have a good time with Avery. Try to stay out of too much trouble."

"A little is okay, right?" Tess pouted.

"Just try not to burn anything down!" Lewis gave her a faux exasperated sigh.

"No promises!" Tess sped out of the house before she gave the clouds time to change too much. It was almost a forty-minute hike each way.

Avery was sorting laundry in her cabin when Tess walked in. "Hey, T. What's the rush?" Avery's face seemed to light up with a smile whenever Tess rounded a corner. Avery wore a white T-shirt brandishing the camp's logo and beautiful coral-colored shorts. Her auburn hair was in a bun instead of her usual ponytail, but that highlighted her slender, elegant neck. The mango-colored pair of pins holding the bun were matched to the shorts. Even when casually attired, Avery was purposeful.

"Have you been outside this morning?"

"It's about ten to fifteen degrees cooler than it has been for weeks." A heat dome had been set up for almost a month, keeping clouds out of the sky and making it oppressively hot.

"Even better, there are clouds! Fantastic clouds! Come on, I'm taking you out to Inspiration Point!"

"I'm in the middle of laundry." Avery protested.

"I've had a new camera and haven't been able to use it for a week. It's driving me crazy! Hiking boots and sunscreen on, and let's go!" Tess spurred Avery to action.

"Yes, Miss Bossy." Avery grinned as she pulled her dark-colored hiking boots from under her bunk.

"You know it'll be a good time."

"It always is with you, Tess." Her smile gleamed.

"Your glasses look so cute every time you wear them." Tess plopped down on the bed beside the woman. She wanted her more than oxygen. She didn't want to do anything to endanger their friendship, but it was getting harder and harder not to make a move. Soon, you're halfway through the summer. Tess's resolve to wait for Avery to make a move was getting tested.

"Why do you think I keep wearing them when I hang out with you?" Avery's nose crinkled most adorably.

That sounds like the world's biggest hint. Tess started to turn toward Avery and finally plant a kiss on those luscious lips when one of the other counselors walked in and eradicated the moment. Avery had even looked like she was leaning in and waiting.

"I'm going to go quickly tinkle and brush my teeth. You want to grab a couple of water bottles?"

"Yes, ma'am." Tess tried not to laugh at the childish term she had used in the tech building a few weeks ago, which was now in Avery's standard vocabulary.

We just didn't kiss because she hadn't brushed her teeth. Tess packed a pair of sizeable reusable water bottles stuffed with plenty of ice into the side pockets of her backpack-turned-camera bag. Kiss her, or at least tell her. It was becoming hard not to turn the friendship into something more or destroy what they had. She stood outside the cabin, waiting for her crush to return from the bathhouse, staring at the clouds and contemplating how things could go. Let her make a move. Tess tried to reiterate.

"Ready? I need to get back and do laundry. This is all I have left to wear."

"At least it's cute." Tessa shrugged as they started down the path.

"It's just my grubby casual wear." Avery didn't look convinced.

"I said what I said." Tess dismissed the comment playfully.

The path to the overlook had many tempting reasons to bust out the new camera, but she had to settle for her older model until they reached their goal. Avery was her helpful model at every spot but swore Tess to keep the images off socials. The girl was private but shared herself with Tess. She wondered if Tess was the only one who saw this side of her.

"Thanks for dragging me out of the cabin. It's so nice out here today." Avery twirled in a bit of clearing.

"Don't get used to it. I think we have today and tomorrow, and then we're going to hit the 100s for the first time this summer." Tess pulled up her old camera and collected another joyful image of an angel.

"That makes it even more important to enjoy what we have, even if it's only for a little bit." Avery grinned as she fell into step with Tess again.

"I don't think I've ever had as much fun during the summer as I've been having with you, Av," Tess said softly. Avery was looking at her with an incredulous expression. "I'm serious. Don't get me wrong, I like teaching campers photography, but it doesn't let me be me like you."

"Am I finally higher ranked than Dwayne?" Avery questioned playfully.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, it sucks what happened to him, but I've benefited greatly from his absence."

"How's he doing? Have you heard?" Avery deflected the implied compliment deftly.

"Good, he's out of the casts and might make it up for Reunion Day." Tess got updates from her mom and Lewis regularly. Reunion Day happened the first weekend in August when the camp was in the swing of day camps instead of week-long excursions. This meant that weekends were open. It let alumni visit the base and served as a good fundraiser for camp scholarships.

"I want to see what he thinks about my setup. I hope I made him proud." A brief instance of insecurity flashed over Avery. "Me too, by the way." A smile came back.

"You two, what?"

"I really thought this summer was going to suck. I broke up with my boyfriend and lost my cherry internship. I was worried I would spend a month in the middle of nowhere without the internet. I still don't have internet faster than 28k, but that's alright if I get to keep having fun with you." Avery nervously pushed a couple of strands that had escaped her bun over her ear.

"Better than any other camp experience?"

"Hell yes!"

They spent the rest of the trip out, talking about the quirks of the last group that had come through the camp. They were middle schoolers this week, which was its own interesting thing. Tess had to break up her first fight between a couple of boys. They were almost sent home but profusely apologized, and by the end of the week, they were best friends.

Much sooner than it seemed it had taken any march out her before, Tess and Avery walked out on the large, flat rock that was Inspiration Point. Tess let Avery walk out further before she lifted her new camera and captured the view into the river valley before them and the woman Tess wanted to become one of her other roots in life.

"I thought you wanted a picture of the landscape." Avery looked back at her with a slightly miffed expression.

"And I got one. I needed you in the picture for scale." Tess stepped forward and turned the camera around to show the perfect snapshot. "See?"

"It's a nice picture, but you could've let me put on something better."

"Nah, it's you, Avery. Every image with you in it is perfect."

"Flatterer."

"Learning to work with your models is another important skill."

Tess spent fifteen minutes wandering the plateau, taking pictures of everything with her new camera. Immense, sweeping panoramas, macro shots of wildflowers poking through the rocks, and portraits of an angel quickly filled a significant fraction of her memory card. They would have stayed further if it weren't for a sudden crack of thunder.

"We should probably not be the tallest things in the area," Avery insisted with a worried look.

"For once, I'm glad you're taller than me." Tess laughed and started a light jog back to the tree line.

"I'm going to stay close to you, so if I have to go, I'm taking you with me. Besides, you have way more metal on you." Avery giggled as she followed.

Avery -- A few minutes later

The sudden thunder peal seemed like a one-off once they returned to the trees' relative shelter. The sky was darkening, but the clouds had plenty of gaps. Still, they made a much brisker walk down the trail. It was all going well until they reached a wide clearing, and the sky opened halfway through. Enormous raindrops pelted them as they sprinted for a covered picnic table fifty yards away.

Av and Tess barely made it under the shelter before a barrage of hail started to pelt the grounds.

"Oh no, I hope Maxine's okay." Tess worried as balls of ice the size of golf balls started to shell the enclosure.

"She's a tough old bird. She'll be fine. What about Rex?" Avery looked back at Tess. She'd christened Tess's Cherokee a few days earlier when they went into town to pick up the thumb drives from the PO Box. She told Tess that the Jeep needed a tough name.

"He's already got hail damage, so what's a little more?"

"What about your cameras?" Avery really hoped the costly new gear hadn't been damaged.

"The bag's waterproof, and the new one's weather sealed. Damn, those look like they'd leave a bruise." Tess pointed to a large hailstone that rolled under the canopy. Tess tested the new camera with a quick snap of the ice ball. "Camera's fine!"

"Yeah, those would hurt." Avery pointed to one hailstone almost as large as a racquetball, though it was far lumpier than round.

"It might look like I went paintballing again." Tess sucked air between her teeth. "It wasn't pretty, and I only went once." She shook her head. "I think we're going to be here a while."

"No one I'd rather be stuck with." Avery shrugged.

Tess looked at her and then got a mischievous smile. "I see Avery boobies, I see Avery boobies!" she pointed and intoned in the same sing-song manner as one of their campers a few weeks ago. The boy had been an odd mix of annoying and endearing. Tess had accomplished the same.

"Oops, looks like I got in a wet T-shirt contest." Avery looked down to see the white cotton turned nearly transparent by the rain. "I didn't have a bra because those are all going into the washer. I'm lucky the shorts didn't go see-through, too. My panties are also all dirty. So, I went commando."