One Hour Photo

-=-=-=-

Five o'clock came and went and still no sign of Nicholas. By the time five-twenty rolled around, Astrid began to become concerned and tried a few times to get him on his cell phone. She got him on the third try and learned that he'd blown a tire on the way back from the new store and wouldn't be there until at least seven.

Hanging up the phone, Astrid remembered the special order that she had promised to be done by six. All of the rest of the day's prints were done, so she decided that there was no reason why she should let that one sit there. She knew she had promised that she would have Nicholas do it, but it wasn't like they were charging anything extra for it. It seemed pretty silly to leave that roll for him to do after having to deal with the problem of the blown tire.

A few minutes later, the first prints began to come off the machine and Astrid had to say that she doubted that even Nicholas could've done a better job with the equipment at hand. It wasn't until the fifth and sixth prints dropped into the tray that she realized why the customer had been so insistent that only the store owner develop them.

Just about every print featured the man who had brought the roll in, and a woman who, Astrid assumed, was his wife or girlfriend. Unlike most of the prints she'd processed that day, the couple in these had a noticeable lack of clothing.

"Oh my God!" Astrid gasped as the last half dozen prints fell into place, filled with images of the sort she hadn't seen since she'd found the pile of dirty magazines Pete had kept hidden in the garage.

Lifting the pile out of the tray, Astrid went through them again, this time with a more discerning eye. Once the surprise wore off, they didn't shock her as much. After all, there was nothing in them that she hadn't seen, or done, before. In fact, the brunette in the pictures seemed to be definitely enjoying herself. That was something the film developer hadn't been able to say about herself for the longest time.

After having gone through the pile of photographs for the third time, Astrid began to wonder what she should do about them. Was it even legal to print such things? She debated the dilemma for a few minutes, then made a decision. Stuffing the prints and negatives into an envelope, she locked them in the countertop drawer.

Just in time as the owner of the prints walked in the front door a few minutes later. Hoping he didn't ask for the undeveloped film back, Astrid explained that Nicholas had car trouble and that the prints wouldn't be ready until tomorrow. To her relief, he said it wasn't a problem and he'd be back the next day.

Only one customer came in after that, and Astrid was glad to be able to lock up after they left. Even though the workday was over, she decided to wait for Nicholas to show up. She wanted to ask him what she should do with the X-rated pictures.

Which he did ten minutes later, thanking her for staying. Astrid told him about the pictures and how the customer had personally requested that Nicholas develop them. Apologizing for taking it upon herself to do the work, she handed him the envelope. Nicholas didn't bother to open it to see what was inside, instead only taking a moment to glance down at the name on it before the older man apologizing to her in turn.

"I guess I should've told you about special orders," Nicholas said, "and what to do about them."

"I wasn't sure if I was even supposed to print pictures like that," Astrid pointed out.

"Well as long as there aren't minors involved or anything like that, there's really nothing illegal about them," Nicholas explained. Still, different companies handle them different ways. Most mail order places or the big stores will just destroy them on the spot. That's why few people send them to those places. Local shops usually have a more flexible set of rules. It's really up to the owner."

"I see," Astrid nodded.

"And to be honest, I don't see any harm in it," Nicholas went on. "You can see a lot worse on almost any newsstand. Most times it's just simple nude shots, but some people like the Taylors like to take it a little further. With all the digital cameras out there now, it's been a while since we got a roll like this."

"Is that Mrs. Taylor?" Astrid asked out of curiosity.

"Yes it is, nice lady," he added. "They live two blocks away from me. Her husband owns a hardware store over on Maple."

"So I guess I'll just give them to him when he comes in tomorrow."

"If that's a problem for you, I'll take care of it," Nicholas offered.

"No, not at all," Astrid replied. "I wasn't offended by the pictures, just surprised."

"Well if any more special orders ever come in, I'll leave it up to your discretion about what to do with them," Nicholas concluded. "I'd just rather that Alexander not develop any of them."

"I understand."

"Oh don't get me wrong," Nicholas explained. "I'm not naive enough to think that my son's never seen pictures like that, or maybe even done some of the things in them. I'd just rather not put him in the situation of having to deal with a customer he'd just developed nude photographs of. That might make him feel a little awkward."

"Of course," Astrid agreed, finding herself wondering how she was going to feel when she handed those pictures to Mr. Taylor tomorrow.

"Well, lets call it a night," Nicholas said as he told Astrid to take off and he'd lock up.

-=-=-=-

To her surprise, Astrid didn't feel even a hint of embarrassment when Mr. Taylor came in the next day to pick up his photos. She was as calm and professional as could be, At least she was until Mrs. Taylor also joined them at the counter.

"We almost done here, Tool Man?" she asked her husband as she checked her watch.

"Just paying for the film, Jill," the man said as he took his change from Astrid.

Watching them leave, the redhead thought it strange that actually meeting the woman in those photos had left her so flustered. If wasn't as if she'd never seen another woman naked before. Then again, none of those naked women had been sucking their husband's cock at the time.

"You okay, Astrid?" Alexander asked as he noticed her flustered look.

"I'm fine," she smiled. "I must be getting old, I just had a hot flash." she joked.

"You're not old," Alexander pointed out.

"You didn't think so the day I walked in here and asked about the job."

"Well, I think you've gotten younger since then," the teenager smiled.

Astrid had to also smile. In her own view, Alexander had become a lot older over the last few months as well.

"Oh by the way, would you be able to close up for me tomorrow night?" she asked. "I know it's Saturday and you and Samantha might have plans, but I..."

"Hot date?"

"Well a date anyway, I don't know if I'd call it hot," Astrid said. "In fact, I haven't even met him yet, my sister-in-law set it up."

"A blind date!" Alexander laughed. "I didn't think anyone still went on those."

"Well they do if they can't think of a graceful way out of it," the older woman said. "So could you?"

"Consider it done," Alexander replied. "You've covered often enough for me."

-=-=-=-

Stepping out of the shower the next morning, Astrid walked naked into her bedroom and took a good look at herself in the mirror. Slowly she turned all the way around, checking out every aspect of her body, from her breasts to the cheeks of her ass.

"I'd give me at least a six," she told herself, "or maybe even a seven."

For women in her age group, that wasn't bad, she added. Mrs. Taylor, star of naughty photos, she decided would merit an eight or nine. The mental image that flashed through her mind reminded Astrid of just how long since she'd enjoyed the games that had been captured in those photographs and how much she missed them.

"You know," she told herself as she looked at the underwear she had previously laid out on the bed and decided to replace them with something more interesting, "if this Doctor Dale Kingston is really all Susan says he is, tonight could be his lucky night. Or maybe I should say mine."

Slipping on a pair of fire engine red, lace bra and panties, the thirty-nine year old wondered what her children would think of her considering fucking a man on a first date. A wicked curl formed at the corner of her mouth as she imagined their replies. Karl of course, being the more conservative of the two, would be shocked. There were times when her younger child couldn't even acknowledge that his parents had sex in the first place. It was as if he and his sister had been conceived through immaculate conception. Karen, on the other hand, would not only tell her to 'go for it' but would give her a few pointers as well.

"I knew there was a reason I always like Karen the best," Astrid laughed as she reached into her bra and adjusted her breasts, making sure it was still a comfortable fit.

The dress she had picked out was one she hadn't worn in years. It didn't quite cry out 'slut', but it certainly wouldn't pass for church wear either. All-purpose black, it was short enough to show off her legs, and low enough on top to give a tantalizing view of her mounds. She completed the outfit with a pair of black high heels, and sheer stockings to go with the garter belt she had previously put on.

"I almost seems a shame to take it all off," she told herself as she admired the final product in the mirror, "at least if there's no one there to admire it as you do."

Still, it would hardly do for her to show up at work dressed like that. Instead, it would all go into a garment bag and she'd change for her date in the back room. There was a small bathroom with a large enough mirror for her to do her makeup, and more importantly, a lock on the office door that closed from the inside.

So, reluctantly, it all went away, to be replaced by a simple pair of tan slacks, a dark blue blouse and a well-worn pair of sneakers. Hopefully, the next time that dress came off, it would be to an appreciative audience.

-=-=-=-

Five o'clock came soon enough and Astrid excused herself to get ready for her date. After washing up and putting on her makeup, it took almost no time at all to change the rest of her clothing. Everything she'd worn to work went into a gym bag that she'd take home tomorrow since there was no room in her trunk and she didn't feel comfortable leaving the bag on the back seat.

"Whoa, sexy lady," Alexander gushed as Astrid stepped out of the back room.

"Not too much?"

"I hope this doctor is a heart surgeon," Alexander replied, "cause you're going to be causing heart attacks all over town."

Astrid smiled, that was exactly what she needed to hear right now.

"Hold on, let me get a picture of you," Alexander said as he grabbed one of the disposable cameras off the rack and quickly tore it open. "Something for you to remember this night by."

"I really don't think..." she started to say, but then stopped when she saw that he already had the camera ready to go. "Okay, just a quick one."

The quick one turned into four, five and then six, as Alexander snapped away as fast as he could advance the film in the cheap camera. Finally, Astrid said she had to go and said no to one final pose.

"Well have fun," Alexander said as he watched her walk out of the store.

"Hopefully," came Astrid's whispered response as the glass door closed behind her.

-=-=-=-

Dinner turned out to be excellent, the food the best Astrid had tasted in years. The restaurant was superb as well, right down to the dim lighting and roving violin player wandering among the tables. Unfortunately, it didn't take the time for them to even get to the main course for the redhead to realize that neither of those adjectives could be applied to the man sitting across the table from her.

At first, when she had met the good doctor in front of the restaurant, Astrid had thought she'd struck gold. The man was gorgeous. Six one with a muscular build, a thick head of blond hair, and a face that little reflected the age that Sue had told her, Astrid quickly concluded that the man had to have been gay, or at least have a string of ex-wives to need to go on a blind date to meet someone.

It didn't take long, however, for her to discover that neither of those suppositions were true, but a third, equally damaging one certainly was. There seemed to be only one topic of conversation that Doctor Kingston enjoyed discussing - namely himself. By the time the dessert cart rolled around, Astrid knew more than she ever wanted to know about the career of Dale Kingston. The vibrator she kept in the night table by her bed had more of a personality she thought, and that was the only thing that was going to be pleasing her tonight.

"Oh dear," Doctor Kingston said as the beeper on his belt came to life and he lifted it up to read the text message. "I'm afraid that we're going to have to cut the night short. I'm needed at the hospital."

"That's a shame," Astrid lied, thinking instead that if she'd only thought of it, she'd have had him paged herself, "and we were having such a good time too."

"Perhaps I could get someone to cover for me," the Doctor suggested, much to the redhead's consternation.

"No, that wouldn't be right," Astrid quickly recovered. "I'm sure they wouldn't have paged you if they didn't need your particular expertise."

"I suppose you're right," he agreed as he called over the waiter to asked for the check.

"Absolutely," Astrid said, reinforcing his personal sense of importance. "And don't worry about me, I have my car and can drive myself home."

From the look on his face, she realized that how she was going to get home never occurred to him. For all he'd known, she could've come to the restaurant on the bus.

Ten minutes later, safe in her car, Astrid vowed never to let her sister-in-law set her up again. Hopefully, for whatever emergency they had paged him for at the hospital, the good doctor actually was really as good as he thought himself to be.

"Oh shit," Astrid called out as she started the car and realized that the night wasn't getting any better,

The key ring in the ignition was missing the other half of it, the one with her house keys. She had to have left it with her clothes back in the gym bag. Throwing the car into gear, she headed back to Photo World.

-=-=-=-

It was already well after closing and the front door to the store was locked. Luckily, those keys were on the half of the ring that Astrid still had. Letting herself in and then locking up behind her, she noticed that the lights in the back room were on. Also, Alexander's backpack was still sitting on the floor behind the counter.

"I wonder what he's still doing here?" Astrid asked herself as she reached out for the doorknob, hesitating for a second as she considered the idea that he might not be alone. Having a private place to play was always a concern to a young couple on a Saturday night. "Better cover up, Alexander and Samantha, if that's who's in there," she thought, "cause I need those keys."

"Excuse me," she called out in warning as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the brighter light, but when they did, it took all her self-control not to laugh.

Alexander was in the back room all right, and almost to her disappointment, quite alone. Sitting at the desk, his pants were down around his ankles and his right hand was wrapped around his cock. He was so wrapped up in the pumping motion he'd been making, it took a few seconds for him to register Astrid's presence.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed as he dropped his cock and tried to quickly pull up his pants.

Astrid tried to avert her eyes, looking at anything but his bulging manhood. She did get enough of a look at it, however, to have been suitably impressed. Samantha was indeed a lucky girl.

"I'm sorry Alexander," she apologized as he finished closing his belt, "I didn't mean to..."

It was then Astrid noticed the half dozen photographs spread out across the desk. They were only a few hours old, and quite familiar. The pictures of her he'd taken with the disposable camera.

"Oh my God!" she gasped as the Alexander turned the brightest shade of red possible.

Alexander stood there silently, not saying a work. Astrid took a few long, deep breaths, looking again at the collection of her photographs. This just didn't make sense to her.

"I think we need to have a little talk," she said as she looked back at an embarrassed Alexander.

Giving in to the inevitable, Alexander nodded his head yes.

Pulling up one of the chairs, Astrid set it next to the one Alexander had been sitting in and motioned for him to sit back down. Then she did the same.

"I can't say that I'm not a little flattered," she began, making reference to his choice of jerk off material, "but I'm also a little stunned. Why would you want pictures of me, or anyone for that matter, when you have a such a beautiful and sexy girlfriend as Samantha?"

Alexander hesitated a few moments before answering. When he did, the answer came as quite a surprise to Astrid.

"Samantha and I really don't do anything like that," he confessed. "All we've ever have done is kiss."

"The two of you have never done anything?" Astrid asked, thinking how unusual that sounded in this day and age. Sure, maybe the two of them weren't fucking, but this was a generation, she reminded herself, that viewed oral sex as part of petting.

"No," was his one word conformation.

"I'm sorry," Astrid said, still somewhat surprised. "I just always assumed that the two of you were..."

"Samantha's gay."

"What?"

"Samantha's gay," Alexander repeated, "she's a lesbian."

"Did she tell you that?" the redhead asked, not believing what she was hearing, but knowing that sometimes teenagers went through some confusion about their sexuality. Her own daughter had once spent the night with a girlfriend and wondered if she might be gay for months after that.

"Yes, back in the summer before our junior year," Alexander responded.

"Your junior year?" Astrid repeated, feeling even more confused. "Then why were the two of you going out all this time?

The answer suddenly came to her in a flash. You just had to look at the situation from a different angle.

"All this time," the redhead said as it became clear to her, "it wasn't Doris tagging along when the two of you went out, it was you going along with them. But why?"

"Samantha's parents are really religious and would've disowned her if they knew she was gay," Alexander explained, nodding his head in acknowledgment of Astrid's conclusion. "If she could keep it a secret until she went away to college, then the money put away for school would be hers and no one else could touch it."

"Alexander," Astrid asked, "why would you do such a thing? I know you wanted to help a friend, but at what cost? As long as people thought you were with Samantha, you couldn't see any other girls without seeming like you were cheating on her."

"That's okay," he said, not wanting to look right at her as if he wanted to hide something. "There never were any other girls that I was interested in."

"Alexander, are you interested in boys?" Astrid asked, thinking that was what he was trying to say.

"No, I'm not gay," he said, looking up at her. "It's just that girls my age really don't excite me."

"Oh," Astrid said as she glanced down at the pictures on the desk and the last pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Now it was Astrid who hesitated before saying anything more. Alexander's revelation had put so many little things between them over the last few months in a new perspective.

"Alexander, have you ever actually been with a woman?" Astrid asked, wondering as soon as the words had come out of her mouth why she had even asked such a question.