Jack and Annie

This is a follow-up story to "Jack goes to a concert".

Everyone in the story is at least 18 years old, and the story is entirely fictional. Any similarities to real people or events are purely coincidental. Constructive comments are welcomed.

*

Finals were over. Jack had finished his first year of graduate school, working for a master's in photography. He was hanging around his apartment drinking a beer, glad to be done. His phone rang, and he picked it up.

"Hello." Jack heard someone sobbing on the phone.

"I thought...I thought Tom...loved me." Annie was sobbing, it took Jack a second to figure out it was Annie on the phone. It had been years since he'd heard her voice.

"Annie, is that you?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Tell me what's wrong. Why are you crying?"

"Never mind, I shouldn't have called you," Annie said, still sobbing.

"But you did, so tell me what's wrong?"

"Tom broke up with me. I didn't know who else to call."

"I'll be right over. Give me your address."

Jack grabbed his keys and drove over to Annie's place.

On the way over, he thought about Annie. The truth is she'd never been far from his mind. He had not seen her for almost three years. He'd known her since freshman year when he'd found her on campus with no place to stay. Since he was involved with someone, he introduced her to his friend, Tom, and they had been dating ever since. They all lived together for a while in his sophomore year, but he moved out because of his crush on Annie. Her constant flirting was driving him crazy. He acted like he had lost touch after he moved out, but the truth was, he had to stay away from her. He thought that she and Tom would probably get married. The last thing he heard was that they had started law school together and that Annie had moved into her own place, so she'd have no distractions from studying.

Jack knocked on her door. When she answered, Jack was shocked by how dreadful she looked. She was dressed in what looked like pajama bottoms and a food-stained, over-sized t-shirt. Her hair had not been brushed in some time and was a mess, with some of it stuck to her face. Her eyes and nose were bright red from crying. She looked like she hadn't been out of her apartment in days.

Annie asked him in, and he was appalled by the condition of her apartment. A grim place to start with, it was now an unbelievable pit. It had a desk, a small dining table with a single chair, an unmade, double bed, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and one small window that let in little light. All the furniture and most of the floor were covered with pizza boxes, fast food wrappers, cereal boxes, empty milk cartons, dirty clothes, and discarded tissues. The sink was overflowing with dirty dishes.

She hugged him and started sobbing again. It was obvious she was in serious need of a shower. He held her a moment, then tried to break the hug, so he could look at her face. She just squeezed him tighter.

"Annie, you have to talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

"I told you! Tom broke up with me."

"I'm going to need more details if I'm going to help you. When did this happen?"

"Three days ago."

"Why didn't you call me then?"

"I didn't think you'd understand. You've been friends with Tom for a long time, and we haven't talked in years."

"You're my friend, and you're special to me. Tell me what happened."

"Tom is transferring to another law school."

"That can be hard on a relationship, but it doesn't mean you couldn't stay together. You could transfer too."

"I knew you wouldn't understand!" she said, turning her back and walking away from me.

I followed her and held her by the shoulders. "You're not telling me the whole story, Annie. That can't be all of it."

"He applied to the other school six months ago and didn't tell me. I would have transferred with him. I loved him."

"That's crappy. Why didn't he tell you?"

"He didn't want me to know. There's this slut in our class, Beth. He's been fucking her since the first month of law school. She's transferring to UCLA, and he's following her. I'm glad I didn't catch anything from that slut. Who knows how many guys she's fucked." At this point, she wasn't crying she was yelling.

"When did Tom tell you about her?"

"He didn't. I suspected something was up, so I went to talk to her," she said, and blew her nose.

"She told me she was fucking my boyfriend and laughed at me. Most of our class knew. I'm a laughingstock." She started sobbing again.

"That's awful. I knew Tom could be a shit, but I didn't think it was in him to treat anyone this badly."

"I confronted Tom, and he told me everything. He said he didn't love me anymore." Annie started sobbing again and hugged me. "I don't know what to do. I thought he loved me."

"If he didn't want to be with you, he should have been a man and told you."

"I think he wanted to be fucking two girls at the same time. I never went out with anyone, much less slept with them, in the five years since I met him. It's not like I didn't have plenty of opportunities. I got hit on all the time."

"I'm sure you did. You're gorgeous and smart, what more could any man want?" Annie blushed a little, although it was hard to tell because she was red-faced from crying. "Tom, never deserved you," He said, under his breath.

Jack said, "First, you need to clean yourself up. Find some clean clothes and go take a long shower and wash your hair. Let the water beat on you until it goes cold. I guarantee it will make you feel better. And no arguing, little lady."

"OK, little man," She said, and pulled some clothes out of a drawer before going into the bathroom.

Jack hurriedly cleaned her apartment, filling several bags with trash. He also washed the disgusting dishes in the sink. Annie came out of the bathroom wearing a long t-shirt, looking like the beautiful, hippy chick he knew and loved.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah, I guess," she said but, was obviously still glum.

He got out a half-full bottle of wine he found in the fridge and poured some for them into plastic glasses. He wanted to control her alcohol intake. The last thing she needed was to get drunk. We sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard. It was the only place to sit comfortably in the tiny apartment. Jack needed them to talk about anything other than Tom and that girl. He knew that she would eventually get past this, but now was not the time to think about it. He needed to keep her mind occupied.

"When you were in the shower, I started thinking about when we first met. I remember when you first got to campus five years ago. I guess that would have been 1969. Was it in the student union building where we met?" Jack asked.

"No, it was on the mall out front. I had hitched in from Dallas, and I was sitting on the grass wondering where I was going to stay, and you tripped over me."

"Oh, yeah. You broke my fall. Did I ever thank you for that?"

"No," she laughed, "But you gave me a place to stay until I found an apartment. That was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"I liked you as soon as I met you. My housemate and I had found that beautiful house with plenty of room."

"You were quite the gentleman. You gave me your bed, and you slept on the couch. You know...I would have let you sleep with me."

"God knows I wanted to, but I had a girlfriend and I wouldn't have done that to her. She was out of town for a while. I was horny all that semester, and watching you roam around the house half-naked didn't help a bit."

"I know. I loved it. When I'd come into the room, I could get you hard by smiling at you," she said, a little smugly.

"You knew that?"

"I couldn't miss the bulge in your jeans. It was a little naughty of me, but I couldn't resist. You were so cute." She said and laughed. "Whatever happened to that girlfriend?"

"She dumped me. But it was OK. We weren't going anywhere. I'm just sorry it didn't happen when you were available." He smiled. "I think she knew I had a crush on you."

"You did?"

"I still do. I have ever since I met you. I'll tell you a secret. I don't get hard when just any girl walks into the room and smiles. Just when you do."

Annie blushed, "I'll tell you a secret. I knew you had a crush on me. I've had a crush on you too ever since I met you. That's why I teased you so much. It was fun for me, but a little mean to you, I guess. Do you remember that concert around Christmas when you picked up that redheaded slut? I was really pissed at you....or her. I couldn't make up my mind. It wasn't rational, but I didn't want you to be with her...I wanted you for myself. I was so mad at you, I was mad at Tom. He had no idea what he'd done wrong." She laughed at herself. "I haven't thought about that in years."

"Did Tom know you had a crush on me?"

"I don't think so. He never said anything to me."

Jack said, "It was torture every time I saw you and Tom snuggling up together. Even worse, I had to listen to you and Tom having sex. Your moaning and screaming in that squeaky bed that banging against the wall, made me wish it were me in there with you. I couldn't sleep until I...let's just say I had special dreams about you."

"Well, I hope so. I screamed extra loud just for you." Annie giggled.

Changing the subject, Jack asked, "Hey, you want to smoke a joint?"

"Sure, have you got some weed on you?"

"No, but I have boatloads at home, along with wine and real food, like from a grocery store," Jack said. "I'll cook for you. I'd like for you to stay with me tonight. The last thing you need is to be alone, and there's no room for me here."

"Jack, I can't have sex with you tonight. My head is just so messed up."

"No, no, no. I wouldn't let you." Jack held up his hand, "I swear I won't try to seduce you." He put his hand down. "It least not until you're over this breakup. You're very vulnerable right now, and I would never take advantage of you. You can sleep in the bed, and I'll sleep on the couch, like in the old days. My place is pretty nice. I guess you've never seen it."

"Are you sure I won't be putting you out?" she asked, "And you don't have a girlfriend that will get jealous?"

"Nope. I haven't had a girlfriend for a while."

"OK, let's go get stoned. Let me grab some stuff."

Annie changed into a long, floral, spaghetti strap dress that he recognized, and put her toothbrush and stuff into a small bag. Jack thought, she had to wear that dress. I bet she's naked under it. This is not going to be easy. They drove to Jack's place and went inside.

"Hey, this is great," Annie said, "and two stories."

"Yeah, it's got two bedrooms upstairs. That's the reason I got it. I use one of them as a small photography studio when I can't use the big ones at school. Have a seat. What do you want to do first - smoke, drink, or eat?"

"I'm hungry. Let's get the food ready to cook and then smoke. We can drink with dinner. What can I do?" Annie said.

"You want to help in the kitchen? You don't know how to cook, do you?" They both started laughing. She was sounding much better than when she first called him.

"If you don't want my help, just say so."

"I'd love your help. I'll show you how to boil water." She punched him in the arm and laughed.

After looking through the cabinets, Jack said, "How about some pasta? I make the sauce from scratch. I've got Italian bread and salad too."

"Sounds wonderful. I'm starving."

Jack started the meat searing in the pan and collected all the ingredients for the sauce. The sauce was made from all fresh food, nothing canned.

"Do you want to smoke a joint before I start cooking? It's extremely strong weed."

"Why not."

Jack put some music on. They sat down on the couch next to each other and smoked and drank a little wine. The weed, wine and music, worked to lighten Annie's mood. She stood up and danced to the music. She was built for movement. When she swayed her hips with the music, it was mesmerizing. Jack was getting hard watching her. He pulled himself out of his trance and went to cook.

While Jack was in the kitchen, Annie poked around in his apartment. She ran across some shelves under the stairs with 11" x 14" inch portfolios of Jack's work. She'd never seen any of his work, so she pulled the first one out. It was labeled "Landscapes" on the spine. The first page inside was labeled "Arizona Desert". She flipped through the pages and was astonished at how compelling they were. Most were in black and white, but there were some in color. There was a whole series of the sun rising in the desert that was breathtaking. She wasn't sure why she was surprised. Jack did everything well.

She picked out another that was simply labeled "One" on the spine. Inside, it was labeled "Nudes". She gasped when she turned the page. It was an image of an elegant brunette woman, reclining on a couch with one arm on the back and one arm on the couch arm, completely nude. She was stunning, with large breasts and an hourglass figure. The picture was exquisite and Annie had a hard time taking her eyes off it.

She turned the page and saw a picture of another woman in a quarter-cup corset, panties, stockings, a garter belt, and heels. Her outfit was all black. She was a full-figured woman, and the corset pushed her large boobs up to create outrageous cleavage. Her hard nipples peeked above the cups of the corset. She sat up very straight in a high-backed chair, sitting very properly with her hands in her lap. The background, the style of the corset as well as the sepia tone made it look like a vintage photo.

The next picture looked modern. A striking blonde with long straight hair was standing facing square to the camera, her legs spread and her hands in fists on her hips, staring straight at the camera with a penetrating look in her eyes. What surprised Annie in this picture, was not the nudity, but that the woman was completely shaved. She had never seen that, but it made her look sleek. Annie put her hand under her dress and felt her hair, wondering if she should shave it off.

Returning that book to the shelf, Annie picked up another one, labeled "C1" on the spine. The label inside said "Couples" which seemed pretty tame. She turned the page and froze. The picture was a high contrast, black and white of an elegant, naked woman with alabaster skin and long blonde hair, pulled up into a bun. That didn't surprise Annie at this point. What shocked her was the tall, tan, muscular, naked man standing next to the woman, turned a little towards her. His massive erection was cradled in the woman's hand as she looked longingly at it. They were both entirely shaved. She couldn't imagine a man shaving down there.

"I see you found my portfolios," Jack said, looking over her shoulder.

Annie jumped and scrambled to get the portfolio closed, but dropped it. It fell open to a picture of the same couple, this time they were sideways to the camera. The man, had his erection in his hand, and was standing behind her. She was bent over, with her hands on the arms of a straight-backed chair with her head down. It appeared as if he was about to slide into her from behind.

Annie turned around, beet red, unable to speak.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Jack said, picking up the portfolio. "What did you think of them? The ones in this portfolio were strange to shoot, as you might imagine," he said, "but it was an assignment for school."

"They're good...wonderful," she managed to say.

"You're welcome to go through them any time you want. I'd love to get your opinion of them. Having someone, other than my professors, give me feedback is helpful. Professors have their own opinion on what they 'should' look like. I don't always agree."

"Dinner's almost ready if you'd like to set the table."

Annie was still shaken as she put the plates and silverware on the table. That last image haunted her. She got the wine and wanted to gulp down a glass, but Jack arrived with the food. It looked and smelled delicious.

Jack served dinner and poured the wine. She quickly drank the first glass to help her relax.

"This pasta is amazing," Annie said. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"I learned from my grandmother. She didn't try to teach me, I picked it up by watching her. I'm not that good. I only know how to make a few things. But with a cookbook, I can make anything. Once you know the language and the measurement system. It's easy."

"Well, you've certainly impressed me with your skills."

After dinner, they decide to get comfortable in the living area to smoke some more. He was hoping the weed would get her happy and talkative, not sad and depressed.

"So how's law school?" Jack asked. "I heard from a friend that you and Tom both got in."

"Have you been stalking me?"

"No. I just...wanted..."

"I'm only kidding," Annie said.

"I was upset about school before Tom blindsided me. Law school is hard. I know, everyone told me that, but it's harder than I imagined. You know, I was an English major." Jack nodded. "We had a lot of reading to do and papers to write. I thought that would prepare me for the work in law school. But it didn't. I spent a third of my day in class, a third in the library, and a third reading law books and taking notes. That left no time for frivolous things like sleep. I was like a zombie most of the time. My favorite recreational activity was sleeping. It's supposed to get easier in the second year, but I have my doubts. I need to work on my typing speed over the summer. If it keeps being this hard, I'm not going to get through it."

"Sure you will. You're smart and tough. You can do anything you set your mind to."

"How's grad school in art?" Annie asked.

"It's not too bad. I still have a lot of work to do, and I have to teach some undergraduate classes. I also have to kiss the ass of my graduate adviser. But we get along well. I still need to decide what I'm going to do for my thesis. It will be a show of my work based on a central theme. The best thing about grad school is that I get to stay in Austin."

Annie looked pensive for a moment, then said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"When I looked at your portfolios, there were a lot of beautiful, naked people in there. Where do you get your models?"

"Sometimes the school hires professional models. Those are for high fashion shoots. They're emaciated women that act as clothes hangers for the fashions we're shooting."

"Sometimes they hire students to be models. The students are my favorites. They don't have preconceptions of how to model, so you need to give them directions. It's good practice for photographing regular people, people who are not models. Occasionally, a new student model will be so nervous that you can't get the picture you want. Calming them down and getting them to relax and feel comfortable is a skill a photographer needs to learn."

"For shoots with no nudity, students are easy to find, especially women and couples. They get paid a little and get some pictures for themselves. And despite what you might think from that portfolio, most of our models have their clothes on. Sometimes, they hire people with flaws, like overweight people, people with scars, or not very attractive people. We try to make everyone look their best. It's really easy to take a good picture of a twenty-something model that knows how to pose. Making an older, fat, woman with a big double chin look good in a picture takes skill.

"Student models that are willing to pose nude can be hard to find. I'm surprised. I think a lot of people would like nude or boudoir-type pictures of themselves when they're young. They would enjoy looking back at them when they're older. I guarantee their future husbands would like them. But I guess they're too shy to try. It pays well, too, and it beats working in a burger hut. Finding student men willing to pose nude is like finding a unicorn."