Lisa's Husband

After forty-five minutes of shooting, Britney was getting frustrated. She taunted Trey into doing the nudes by underscoring him as being a professional. What she hadn't counted on was being correct. Once she stepped in front of the camera she became a subject. The poses, the lighting, the composition, the sets, the props...everything was arranged for artistic value. She teased, she flirted; he didn't even seem to notice, he was too engrossed in capturing each shot. Nothing she did could penetrate his professional demeanor; in fact, she was beginning to wonder if he remembered she was naked.

Well, she thought, subtlety wasn't working, time to go for the gold. Trey had both hands stretched over his head to adjust one of the lights when she walked up from behind him. She wrapped one arm around his chest while reaching around with the other and rubbing the front of his pants. He jumped away from her touch and almost knocked the light over.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She responded with that breath-taking smile of hers. "I never knew posing naked would make me so horny. Come on," she cooed, while slinking up and taking ahold of his belt, "let's work off some of this sexual tension."

"Britney, stop it," he demanded as he pushed her hands away.

"Oh come on, Trey, you have to be as horny as I am. If you're worried about Lisa, don't be. There's nobody here but us. She'll never know."

"Maybe not but I would know. You're one of the most desirable girls on campus, Britney, but I'm not about to cheat on Lisa."

Now she was getting mad. She took a step back and stood in front of him, exhibiting the ultimate in feminine beauty. "What does she have that I don't?" she arrogantly asked.

"Me," he responded. "Come on, get dressed. We've got plenty of shots. The shoot is over."

"No, no, I still want to get some bathing suit shots. Come on, Trey; you promised."

If she wasn't a paying client he'd have ended it but she did have a point. "Okay, but no more screwing around or I'll pull the plug, I mean it, Britney."

"Fine," she said, not trying very hard to disguise her anger, "but you'll never know what you just gave up," she told him before turning her back.

Trey watched the most perfect ass he'd ever seen as it swayed from side to side all the way back to the dressing room.

When she came out again she wasn't wearing much more than she had previously, but at least she didn't try rubbing his cock. She had been right about one thing, though, once the shoot was over he was horny as an old goat. As soon as she left he pulled out his phone. "Hi gorgeous."

"Hi handsome."

"How's the studying going? I got paid in cash; think you'll have time to go out for dinner later and maybe some dessert?" He heard her jiggle.

"I think I can do that," she replied with a bounce in her voice. "Probably not till seven though. Is that too late?"

"I will pick you up at seven." They said their goodbyes and disconnected. He glanced at the time. It wasn't quite four yet. He had time to get back to his room, download the shots to his computer, select the best ones, and maybe even get a little retouching done before getting a shower.

At dinner, Lisa asked how the shoot went but didn't press him beyond that. They were both looking forward to their after dinner entertainment.

Not far from the campus was the Cherry Lane Motel, an L shaped, single story structure of twenty rooms. It was pretty typical of most cheap motels. A few of the rooms had two full size beds but most had one queen size. At seventy-five dollars a night, you couldn't beat the rates but that wasn't why the place was always so busy, it was their student specials. For thirty bucks you could get a room for two hours. Management insisted they did not do it for purposes of hanky-panky but to offer students a couple hours of privacy and relaxation away from the college madness. Whatever the reason, Trey and Lisa took advantage of the two hour specials on many occasions.

Things were pretty mundane over the next couple of weeks. Trey and Lisa were able to take an evening here and there but between their studies and the school newspaper they didn't get to see nearly as much of each other as they would have liked.

Trey had been on an assignment and was looking forward to a good night's sleep when he got back to his dorm room. Just as he walked in his phone rang. He knew who it was by the ring tone but it was after ten o'clock, pretty late for a call from Lisa. He got it on the second ring.

"Hi honey, what's up?"

"We need to talk."

She sounded angry, but that didn't make sense. He had seen her in the newsroom just a few hours earlier and she was in a good mood. What could have happened since then? "You want to meet for breakfast?"

"We need to talk now, Trey. Meet me at Denny's on the corner."

"But, honey, I..." He realized he was talking into a dead phone. "This better be important," he mumbled to himself as he closed his dorm room door and headed down the hall.

Lisa was already sitting in a booth as far away from the counter as she could get for privacy. He noticed the scowl on her face as he scooted in on the other side where his cup of coffee already sat. "Honey, what's the matter?"

"That model portfolio you shot a couple weeks ago, was it with Britney Holcomb?"

He told Britney he wasn't going to lie to Lisa and he wasn't going to. "Yeah, she asked..."

"And you fucked her?" she slowly growled. She watched his expression but couldn't determine if it was surprise or guilt that she witnessed.

"What? No, of course not," he stated with conviction. "What the hell... where did you get that from?"

She studied his face as she answered. "She told Cathy Hendricks that you've been bugging her to model for you. Cathy said she showed her some nude photos and she recognized your logo in the corner. She said Britney told her how horny you both got and wound up fucking before the end of the shoot."

He almost couldn't believe his ears. Why would Britney lie like that? "You don't believe that, do you?"

"Are you saying it didn't happen?"

"No, it didn't happen, not the fucking part anyway—and the rest didn't happen like she said, either." He looked directly into Lisa's eyes. She at least looked like she was waiting for an explanation.

"First of all, I never asked her to model. She came to me. She said she wanted to make some money on her own, without her daddy's help, and people told her she should try modeling. She asked me to shoot her portfolio but didn't want me to tell anybody because she was worried she'd be embarrassed if she didn't get any work.

"She brought four outfits. She never said anything about nudes until we were half way through the shoot. She went into the dressing room and was supposed to change into a swimsuit but came out naked instead. She said she had read where models should have a couple of nudes in their portfolios.

"We took some shots but after a little while she said she was getting horny and wanted to screw. I flat out refused her, honey. I never touched her. In fact, I got angry and was going to end the shoot right there but she convinced me to get the swimsuit shots before quitting. That's the God's honest truth, honey. I never touched her," he emphatically reiterated.

He thought of one other thing. "Remember we went out to dinner and then got a room at the Cherry Lane? I told you I got paid for the shoot. That was the reason I agreed to go ahead with the swimsuit shots, she was paying for the shoot. She paid me three hundred dollars. Would she have done that if I had asked her to model for me? If anything, I would've had to pay her."

He had a point. "Why would she lie like that, Trey—just to hurt me? I've never done anything to her."

"You believe me, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I do. I just can't figure out why she'd lie. What's her motive?"

"My guess would be jealousy, honey."

"Jealousy? What does she have to be jealous about? She's the prettiest girl on campus, she runs around in that little sports car, she can have any guy she wants..."

"She can't have me," he interrupted. "You're right, honey, she can have anything she wants, but what's the fun in that? It's too easy. Now—taking something of importance from other people, that's more challenging and probably a lot more fun for somebody like her."

Lisa took a sip of her coffee while she pondered what Trey had said. "That just seems so mean. I don't like her but...I don't know, that sounds downright evil."

"Had I known what she really had planned, I'd have never agreed to do the shoot."

"Yeah, well," she said, taking another sip and staring him in the eye, "don't ever do another one." She gave him a small smile.

He held up three fingers on his right hand. "Scout's honor," he stated emphatically.

The next day, Trey tracked Britney down and found her with several friends. She looked a little nervous when she looked into his angry face. He called her a liar to her face then walked away before she had time to retaliate in any way.

It didn't take long before the whole dirty little scandal spread throughout the school. Britney convinced some of her followers that the shoot happened just the way she said it did and that Trey was denying it for fear of losing Lisa. Others believed Trey. Sides were taken. Trey and Lisa didn't mind. They knew the truth and figured any friends they lost in the skirmish weren't real friends anyway. Things died down after a couple months and in the end it was Britney who lost friends.

Over the next few months Old Man Winter brought grey skies, cold temperatures, and several inches of snow. Trey and Lisa spent the holidays with their respective parents but since they only lived thirty miles apart they were still able to get together on several occasions.

Eventually, the grey skies turned blue again and with the first quarter of the new year already in the rear view mirror, the senior class was looking forward to graduation. Lisa had already sent her resume's out to nearly every newspaper within a fifty mile radius of Chicago. Trey also had some feelers out there but he had his sights set a little higher. Even though he knew he'd see her in the evening he was too excited to wait that long. He surprised her during a study period.

"Lisa, guess what? Gerry Newman is coming here for a lecture next month."

"Newman, oh—that's the photographer you admire so much; the guy with all the books." She knew Trey loved the guy's work. She saw how excited he was and was happy for him. "Honey, that's great. Do you think you'll get a chance to meet him?"

"Better than that," he crowed. "Mr. Watts, my photography professor says he can arrange an interview for me. He wants me to re-do my resume' and put together six pieces of my best work in different genres. He's going to give me his recommendation too. Honey, can you imagine...me working with Gerry Newman?"

She didn't take the news with nearly the same enthusiasm. "Honey, doesn't he live in New York?"

"Yep, the Big Apple, honey; and with all the magazines he shoots for, I'll bet he'd put in a good word for you. Who knows, honey, you might be writing for Time or Newsweek."

What he saw in Lisa's face was not what he expected. "Honey, what's the matter? I thought you'd be excited."

"Trey, both of your parents and my mother live here in Chicago. I...I don't want to move to New York."

With all the times they'd discussed their careers, they never talked about where they might have to live. Her lack of enthusiasm was disappointing.

"Honey, every major publishing company in the country is based in New York. I love Chicago, but for the kind of opportunities we're both looking for, it doesn't offer a whole lot."

"Trey, my dad lived and worked in Chicago his whole life and he was a hell of a journalist," she said dismissively. "What about kids? You really want to bring up our children in New York? I want our parents to be a part of their lives. I want them to grow up knowing their grandparents."

Her tone and attitude was disheartening. Suddenly he realized that if he couldn't talk her into moving to New York he may have to decide between the girl he loved and the future he wanted.

Over the next couple of weeks he worked on his resume' and selecting what shots to show Newman, but his heart wasn't in it as much as it was originally. Professor Watts noticed and asked. After Trey explained his dilemma, the professor could only sympathize with his young student. His only words of wisdom were for Trey to follow his heart. Lot of good that did; his heart was split right down the middle.

He and Lisa had talked a couple more times about moving but she was intractable.

As his meeting with Newman approached, the weight on his shoulders became heavier. He was losing sleep and finding it hard to concentrate on anything else. If Newman liked his work and offered him a job it would be the launching pad for his life's goals and dreams, but would they be worth fulfilling if he didn't have Lisa to share them? If he decided to go ahead, would she love him enough to follow him...did he love her enough to give them up if she didn't?

The pouring rain took all the warmth from the air. Trey flicked the back of his jacket collar up as he stood just inside the open doorway of the dorm, mapping out the best route between mud puddles. A rolling clap of thunder shook the ground as Trey made a mad dash for his car. With his keys in one hand and his portfolio case in the other, he was soaking wet by the time he slid in behind the wheel. He sighed with ambivalence before turning the ignition.

Maybe all this is for nothing, he thought. He might take one look at my work and tell me it's crap. Hell, all this worry about moving for a job I don't even have yet. He found himself almost hoping he didn't get the job, then chastised himself for having such a thought. No, he told himself, first get the job, then worry about moving.

Gerry Newman was world renowned. He'd shot industry tycoons, presidents, movie stars, and world leaders. He had his pictures on the cover of every major magazine there was. He'd published twelve books of his photos from around the world, and there he stood shaking the hand of Trey Van Heusen while being introduced by professor Watts.

"Okay, I'll leave you two alone now," the professor said before closing the door of his office behind him.

"Have a seat," Newman told the nervous young man. "Let's see what you got."

Trey unzipped his case, opened it to the first shot, and slid it across the desk. He watched for Newman's facial expressions as the famous photographer leafed his way through the different shots.

"Nice—very nice," he mumbled as he reached the last one. He looked back up at Trey. "Did you know I've known Gordon for twenty years?"

"Gordon?"

"Gordon Watts, your professor."

"No, I didn't. He just said he could get me an interview. I'm surprised he didn't say anything. He knows how much I admire your work. I've got all your books and I can't tell you what an honor it is to meet you."

Newman smiled and said thank you while glancing at his resume'. "You know I get hundreds of resume's every year? I try to go through them but honestly most of them are so mediocre that it becomes boring, so when my old friend, professor Watts says he has a student he'd like me to take a look at, it piques my interest. He wasn't wrong. You have talent."

At that moment Trey wasn't thinking about Lisa. To hear one of the giants in the industry say he had talent made his chest swell with pride. His spirit went into the stratosphere and he almost didn't hear Newman's question.

"Are you married, Trey?"

"Ah...ah no, not yet. I have a fiancée. We're planning of getting married after graduation."

"What does she think about you working for me?"

"Ah," he wasn't sure he wanted to answer that but he couldn't lie, "well, to tell you the truth, she's not real enthused."

"Ah-huh, I don't blame her. Not many wives will put up with the schedule I keep. I'm presently on my third wife. Did you know that?"

"No, I knew you had been divorced but I didn't know it was more than once."

"Yeah, it's kind of funny. Women fall in love with your passion—at least in my case. They love my passion for life and for my work; the problem is, after a while it becomes too intense for them. They want me to settle down. I just can't do it."

He stopped for a minute to let his words sink in.

"I'm going to Europe in September. I'll be in Paris for about three weeks then to Brussels, Germany, and Spain. It's almost a four month trip. You think your misses would be able to handle being separated that long? Could you handle it?"

Now he really had Trey thinking.

"Even when I'm not traveling, I sometimes spend two or three days and nights in the studio without going home. I'm not saying you'd have to stay with me but this job can consume you. I assume you want to work for me because someday you want to do what I do. All those books, all those shots from around the world, all the fame, glory, and money—it all comes at a cost.

"I'm not belittling Gordon by any means; he's a great teacher, one of the best, but you'll learn more in six months with me than you have in your four years here. There's just no way a classroom can compete with the real world, but if I'm going to be the destruction of another marriage I'd rather it be my own, not someone else's."

"So are you saying you won't hire me then?" Trey wasn't sure if he was happy or disappointed, but the paradox only lasted a second.

"No—no, I'm not saying that at all. I have no doubt you have the talent to be a great photographer. I'd probably have you shooting as my second camera inside of a year, but you need to discuss this with your fiancée and come to terms with what the job entails. The two of you have some decisions to make. Are you going to be at the lecture?"

"Oh yeah, I wouldn't miss it."

"Good. You'll get a better understanding of the travel and some of the pitfalls I run into. I won't have a chance to see you afterward. I have a redeye out of O'Hare tonight but I want you to think it over. Give me a call in a week and let me know what you decide. Should you want to work for me, I'd need you in New York no later than July fifteenth.

"Well," he said, standing up. "I have to get things set up in the lecture hall so I've got to get going." He stuck out his hand. "It was nice meeting you Trey. I know I've given you a lot to think about but don't wait too long to call."

"I won't," Trey responded with a wide grin as he shook his idol's hand. A lot to think about was an understatement. He went out to his car, threw his portfolio in the back seat and went back inside to wait for them to open the doors to the lecture hall. He wanted a front row seat.

By that evening Trey was more confused than ever. Newman talked about the extensive traveling he did and a few of the situations that confronted him in some faraway places. Trying to get some sleep that night was even more difficult than the night before, just too many things swirling around in his brain. He didn't get a chance to talk to Lisa until the weekend when she called.

"Hello."

"Hi, honey." Her voice sounded a little apprehensive. "Whatcha doing?"

He wasn't sure he even wanted to talk to her yet. It was a two hour drive home but he really wanted to talk to his dad first. He couldn't very well just brush her off though. "Just doing a little studying; what's up?"

"I'm heading over to Denny's for coffee. Want to join me?"

Not really, he thought to himself, but Trey never was one to run away from a problem. "Yeah, give me fifteen minutes."

She was already waiting for him when he got there. They started with some small talk but it was easy to see she was dying to ask him about his meeting with Newman. She finally marshaled her courage. "Did you have your interview with Newman? You haven't said anything."