Ann: A Love Story Ch. 48

I couldn't get over the difference.

It was amazing how being just five or so miles east of the ocean seemed more like a hundred. The skies were back to being the clear, brilliant blue skies Ann and I had been experiencing the last few days. There were a few wispy clouds scattered here and there, but for the most part, it was perfectly sunny; nothing like what we'd experienced the last few hours along the coastline. And the skies weren't the only thing that was different.

It was around a quarter to four when Ann and I had left the parking lot at the beach. We'd driven from Half Moon Bay, winding through a spectacular forest as we made our way to I-280. From there, Ann headed north, and we were soon flying along the freeway.

We'd started out with the car closed up, trying to warm ourselves from being out on the beach, literally exposed to the elements. But now we were driving down the interstate with the windows down. While it was in the 60's and windy on the coast, the temperature along the corridor we were driving down was in the 80's. It felt more like a thirty degree difference.

I got so hot I had to change...so I took off my sweatshirt and stuffed it behind my seat. Ann must have been feeling the effects of the temperature too, because she had lowered the zipper on her hoodie, and I was staring at the soft curve of her bare left breast. She knew I was looking, and she giggled.

"Something catch your eye, sweetie?" she said playfully.

"I'm just admiring the beautiful views," I said, not bothering to look at the amazing landscapes that we were passing us by outside the car. As gorgeous as they were, they weren't a match for Ann.

Ann took the loose tie that was in her hair, holding it in a ponytail, and pulled at it, making her long locks fall over her shoulders. She shook her head to make them curls bounce and settle. Then she lowered her zipper a little more, and deftly reached for the opening, pulling the cotton material away from her body. She smiled softly as her hard nipple came into my view.

"Mmmm...the view just got better," I said, and I reached down to adjust my hardening cock in my shorts.

"You amaze me baby. You just came like a horse a half hour ago, and now you're getting hard again just because of a nipple," Ann said as she looked over at me.

"No...I'm getting hard because it's YOUR nipple, babe."

~*~*~*~*~*~

As we were sitting at a table at a cute little restaurant, Ann pointed at the view in the distance. "So...was I right?"

I nodded, laughing at Ann as she gloated about her decision to stop to eat along our way to whatever surprise destination she had in store for me. "Yes babe. You were right. You were VERY right. Hell...you're always right."

"Well, like I told you a little while ago, you can't come to Northern California and not experience San Francisco. It would be like going to France and not going to Paris," she said as she raised the camera and focused, taking another picture. Fidgeting with the settings, she said, "This thing is hard to get used to."

As the skyline of San Francisco came into view as we drove, Ann said she wanted me to see at least a little of the city. She had likened it to a sin, to be so close, and simply drive past it. She said she had what she called a secret place where she could park the car, and get in and out of the city pretty quickly. Of course, that meant we had to walk, but Ann said as we would be close to where we were going.

And where we were going was Fisherman's Warf. We were sitting at a table at a restaurant; one of those restaurants that had outside seating, overlooking San Francisco Bay. We were eating dinner, within eyesight of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. Ann was right, not only would it have been wrong to miss seeing the city, it would have been downright criminal.

As we waited for the waitress to bring us our bill, I looked out over the water of the bay. Ann was taking a picture of the bridge with the 35mm, and she Ann turned to me. "So, are we really, really serious about using this camera when we take ALL of our pictures now?"

"I don't know...why?"

"I'm just thinking about having to get them developed, that's all."

"Ann...we'd don't have to. I don't want..."

"How many pictures do we have left on this roll?"

"I don't know...let me see," I said as I took the camera from her, and looked at the counter. I lifted the lens up to Ann, and she smiled as I focused the camera, but she put her hand up. "Just a minute...I'm not ready." Ann backed her chair up a little from the table. Then she looked to her left and her right before quickly reaching for the zipper of her sweatshirt. Lowering it, Ann subtly opened the front, exposing her tits for me.

I smiled behind the camera and re-focused, making sure I did justice to the pose Ann was giving me. As I snapped the picture, the camera began rewinding the film inside. "That was the last one," I said as I waited for the little motor to stop. I quickly pulled out the film, and placed it in the little protective plastic container it came in. Ann zipped up her top as I popped in another roll of film.

I had placed the exposed film on the table, and I was busy putting away the camera, when the cute young waitress came back to the table. She was very Californian. Actually, she was very San Franciscan. She was very personable, and you could just tell she was a free spirit by the way she had interacted with us during our dinner.

"There you go, Neil," she said, remembering my name from our earlier introduction as she took our order.

"Thanks Holly," I said to her as I reached for my wallet.

Ann picked up the film canister and looked at it. It was more like she was studying it for a moment, turning it in her hand to see different angles. "Holly?"

"Yes," she said, taking the leather payment wallet from me after I put my credit card in it.

"Are there any camera shops nearby that develop film?" Ann asked.

"Yeah...there are a couple of them."

"I mean ones that develop in an hour or so."

"Sure," Holly said nodding.

Ann gave her a sheepish grin and asked, "Any that develop pictures that are a little more...explicit."

Holly smiled and said, "Ooh. You two have been naughty, have you?"

"I'm not sure..." I started to say, but Ann quickly spoke over me.

"Yes...we have. So, anywhere close by that might fit that description?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. I'll be right back," Holly said with a grin on her face. She was back a couple of minutes later, with a credit card slip for me to sign, and what looked to be another bill. It was blank on the front, but it had directions written on the back. "Here you go, Ann. It's just two blocks away. Here's how to get there."

Ann stood up and thanked Holly with a hug. I took that as a sign that the service we'd just received was better than even I thought it was, so I added another 5 percent to the tip on top of what I was already going to give her.

Ann looked at me and said, "Let's get rolling...it's going to take a while to get this developed, and we have an hour and a half drive to Sacramento ahead of us yet."

~*~*~*~*~*~ The walk to the camera shop didn't take as long as I thought it would. Two blocks in a city are a lot bigger than two blocks in the rural towns of Northern Indiana. And we had even had to go uphill, and uphill in San Francisco can be a bit of a chore. But Ann was motivated, so I kept pace. It helped that she was wearing sneakers, instead of the heels I'd become so accustomed to seeing her wear. She had decided on more practical footwear for the day, and yet the shoes she was wearing still seemed to make her sexy.

We found the camera shop along a dark narrow street. It appeared to be little more than a hole in the wall. There was one storefront window next to the door, jammed full of camera equipment. It was a small, cramped store from outside appearance. And there, in the bottom corner of the window, was a little sign that said 'One hour photo'. Ann smiled and said, "Well, it's not exactly what I expected."

"Me either. But then again, these are the kinds of places that usually end up as a pleasant surprise."

I opened the door, and we walked into the little shop. The chimes against the door frame announced our arrival, and almost at once, we were being greeted by a girl coming out from the back of the store. We couldn't see her at first...she was yelling to tell us she would be right with us. But as she came out from the room she was in, Ann and I both smiled. She was most definitely a child of the city we were in.

She was wearing all black. The top was a leather bustier, and she was wearing a black miniskirt that matched. She also had long, straight, jet black hair, black lipstick, and black nail polish, all of which made her pale white skin seem even brighter. Her breasts were practically spilling out of the top she was wearing, her areolas showing a little at the top. On her left breast, she had a tattoo of a rose, the petals black instead of red. She was as Gothic as I'd ever seen, but her personality was what surprised us.

She was bubbly as she practically bounded over to us at the counter we were standing next to. The way she was acting seemed to contradict the dour appearance she projected. The adage of judging a book by its cover hit me, and I smiled as she came over and welcomed us into the store.

"Hi, I'm Rose. How can I help you?"

Ann stuck out her hand and smiled. "Hi Rose...I'm Ann, and this is my fiancée, Neil. I love your tattoo."

I gave a little wave as Rose said, "Hi Ann...hi Neil. And thanks. I get a lot of people staring at it, but most are too self conscious to say anything. I guess it's because I got it on my boob."

"Well, I think it fits you," Ann said with a grin.

"Thanks again. So, what can I do for you?"

Ann pulled out the film canister and placed it on the counter. "We'd like to get this developed."

"Oh...okay."

"I suppose I should warn you that there are some explicit pictures on there. That's not a problem, is it?" Ann asked.

"This is San Francisco, Ann. I develop X-rated pictures every day."

"Great...how long will it take," Ann asked.

"Oh...you want them today?"

"Well, your sign does say 'one hour photo'. And the thing is...we're leaving after today. We're moving...first to Indiana, and then on to West Virginia after we're married in December. We start driving in the morning. So we were kind of hoping..."

"No problem, Ann. Actually, I forgot that sign was even there...I've only had it there a week. Most people don't even notice it. I'll have them ready in a half hour. You can both come in the back with me while I do it. There's no place to sit out here."

Rose lifted the gate on the counter, letting us walk through. As we walked back to the back, I laughed out loud when I saw that the 'place to sit' she had in mind was a leather couch.

"What's so funny," Rose asked.

Ann slapped me on the arm and said, "Nothing. Neil just has a dirty mind, that's all."

Rose looked at me, her eyebrow arched. "Really? And what inspired you?"

"The couch. I seem to keep finding leather couches wherever I go," I replied.

"And?"

Ann spoke up and said, "He likes to fuck on them."

Rose went about her work, but stunned me when she said, "Well, be my guest. It hasn't been fucked on since last week."

Ann and I looked at each other, and we burst out laughing. But instead of fucking, we chose to just sit down. We had a marvelous, engaging conversation with Rose while she developed the film. In addition to being bubbly, she was also very smart, and very funny. And, she was pretty damn sexy. Ann kept staring at Rose, looking at her attire, and how she carried herself.

"So...West Virginia, huh? I would imagine that's going to be quite a difference from California," Rose said with a grin.

"Sure...but I'm ready," Ann said with a wink to me.

"Are you going to keep taking pictures like this out there?"

Ann looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, probably. But we'll likely have to go back to using the Polaroid. I can't imagine anyone out there is going to be developing the kind of pictures we like to take." It was a change from how she felt back at the restaurant, but I understood her logic...and her concerns.

"Ooh...Half Moon Bay! I love it there. Wow Ann, you look amazing," Rose said holding up a picture of Ann perched up on the rock. "I think once you see how these turn out...you may want change your mind."

Ann walked over and looked at it closer, seeing the quality of the image on the photo paper, comparing it in her mind to the ones we'd been taking with the Polaroid. Her eyes got wide, and I could see her body shake a little.

Rose pulled another one out of the machine. Staring at it for just a moment, she said, "Now THAT is hot!" She handed it to Ann, whose eyes got even wider than they were a moment before. Ann turned it toward me, so I could see it. It was one of the ones of Ann spreading her pussy for me while showing off her ring.

Rose looked over Ann's shoulder when Ann was looking at it again. "You know, that's more than just an explicit picture, Ann. It's actually more of the erotic variety...even artistic. I love the way your engagement ring is like the centerpiece of the picture. It makes your pussy like the backdrop. That was very well done."

"Wow...you seem to look at that a lot deeper than I did, and I'm the one that took it," I said, a little shocked at how Rose was describing the photo more as art than as...well, two people having a little fantasy fun on a Tuesday afternoon.

"Like I said, I do a few roles of these every day, Neil. I really don't look at that many anymore. I just kind of go on auto pilot and process them. But, every once in a while I see some that are really hot, and they catch my eye. Of course, it helps if the people in the pictures are hot too," she laughed.

"You're sweet, Rose," Ann said as she handed the pictures back to her.

Rose put them back in the pile, and finished up the pictures in another couple of minutes. As we followed her back our front, she put the envelope of pictures in a bag for us. I asked how much, and Rose said, "Fifteen."

"That's it?" I asked, thinking it would be a lot more for a rush job.

"No...just fifteen dollars."

I handed her a twenty and said, "I think twenty sounds more reasonable. After all, you let us use your couch."

"You sat on it...you didn't USE it. But that's okay. Thanks for the tip."

"Thank you," Ann said, taking the bag.

Rose looked at Ann and said, "So...did you change your mind?"

"About what?" Ann asked.

"About sticking to your plan and using the Polaroid. You have to admit, the pictures I just developed have got to be light years better than the ones you've been taking...right?"

"Well, of course they are. But like I said..."

"I know what you said. Look, I'm a struggling business owner Ann, and when I get a chance to make a connection with new customers like you and Neil, I act."

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

"Point blank...would you rather take pictures like these with a Polaroid, or with a 35 millimeter?"

I started to speak, but Ann spoke for both of us when she said, "The thirty-five."

"Good," Rose said, sliding a dozen of her business cards across the counter. "Take the pictures, and mail the film to me. I'll develop them the same day I get them, and have them back in the mail by the next business day. The same day if I get them in time to send back out."

"Really?" Ann said excitedly.

"Yep. Truthfully, it's the fastest growing area of my business. I charge fifteen bucks for every roll of 36 you send me. But, if you send me four rolls of film, I'll do a fifth one for free. For sixty bucks, you'll get a hundred and eighty 4 by 6 prints. And that saves on the postage too."

Ann looked at me, and I winked at her. Ann smiled at Rose and said, "You know Rose, I've never liked the idea of this before today, because I didn't like to think of some strange guy looking at me. But I feel totally different about it now...now that I've met you, and I know you'd be the one developing them. You ARE going to be the one doing the developing, right?"

"I promise Ann...I'm the only one that will see them. You have my word."

"Good, because I have a feeling you're going to be getting a package from us next week. We have a long trip ahead of us, and we have to find something to do to entertain ourselves along the way."

Rose laughed and said, "I'll keep an eye out." Ann picked up one of the cards Rose had scooted across the counter, and Rose said, "Take them all."

"Why would we need all of them," Ann asked.

"Because the analysis I've done on the growth of my business has told me that I get most of my new customers by word of mouth. That's how you got here, didn't you?"

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Just a feeling...but I was right. So, if I do a good job for you, I hope you'll tell your friends."

Ann picked up the rest of the cards and stuffed them in the back pocket of her shorts. "We'd be happy too," she said with a grin.

"Thanks. You two have a safe trip."

"We will, Rose...thanks again," I said as I opened the door for Ann.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I was having another déjà vu moment, but reversed. As I flipped through the photos that Rose had processed, I thought of Ann, doing the same thing with the Polaroid pictures we'd just taken after we visited the Botanical Gardens in Fort Wayne. Most of the pictures I was looking at were ordinary ones, taken before we'd made the spur of the moment decision on the beach to use the better camera for taking the hotter pictures. But the hotter ones were...fucking HOT!

We were out of the city, having taken I-80 across the Bay Bridge, and we were following it northeast towards Sacramento. Ann glanced over at me as I was looking at a picture that had made me want to use the better camera in the first place. I was mesmerized by Ann's pussy, and the ring on her finger as she deftly spread her pink slit for me.

"What are you thinking about, baby?" Ann said with a smirk.

"I'm thinking this is the hottest picture I've ever seen."

"You sure you weren't thinking about something else?"

"Like what?"

"Well, you keep staring at that picture, and I keep thinking that you haven't asked me about Missy...and her ring. In fact, you haven't asked me about Missy at all."

I was surprised that Ann brought it up. I was more amazed that I hadn't. But then again, there really hadn't been an opportune moment before. When Ann and I had gotten home the night before, we were too charged up from all we'd been through at the going away party. And Ann really wasn't in a receptive mood earlier in the day because she'd said goodbye to Dana's daughters, which had been a lot more difficult than she'd thought it would be. And once she'd gotten past that, we'd been pre-occupied with our sightseeing tour. And I had seen some of the most amazing sights, the most memorable of those being Ann, in various stages of undress.

That Ann brought the subject up first, or even at all, kind of floored me. My grin must have given away my thoughts, because Ann started giggling and said, "I don't think I've ever seen you at a loss for words before, baby."

"I'm just trying to think of where would be the best place to start this conversation. There are so many things jumping into my head it's hard to decide."

"How about you let me start it then?"

"Sure...go ahead. What's on YOUR mind?"

"The pussy ring...same thing that's on your mind. I suppose you think I should go out and get my labia pierced like Missy, don't you?"

My eyes snapped open, and I rocked back in my seat at the way she'd stated her thought. I stammered a little, my reaction coming out way too fast, backpedalling from the conversation altogether. "Whoa...Ann. I never said that. I..."