Picture Man

"Wonderful." As Lee made his way home he replayed them holding each other. Maybe Vickie wasn't so far off after all. Every time he'd ever had his arms around her it felt good. He put the day out of his mind then and thought about the coming evening with Meg. He finally gets to meet a woman like her that he could get to really like and now he finds he might care for Teri a lot more than he thought.

Lee had already ordered dinner and had it warm in the oven when she arrived about half past seven. When he saw her she said, "I hope you don't mind I came casual. I figured Italian dinner called for a peasant blouse and shorts."

"The perfect wardrobe for a beautiful Italian woman."

"But I'm not Italian."

"Tonight we both are Italian."

She slipped her arms around him and said, "I believe Italian women are known for their passion." With that she kissed him and his arms went around her. When she finally looked up at him she said, "Now that's the way to start off an evening."

"The only way." He kissed her again and then asked, "Wine and then dinner or dinner now?"

"It better be dinner now. For me wine on an empty tummy gets me drunk too quickly."

"Gee now we wouldn't want that to happen."

After dinner Lee refilled their glasses and they went to the living room where she saw a pile of albums. "I take it those are samples of your work."

"Mostly from my earlier days when I was freelancing."

"News work or what?" "Not news, mostly contract work so there is a little bit of everything in those albums."

"You're pretty young to have amassed that much work."

"I was doing it while I was still in college to help pay my way."

"So you're an old veteran then."

"I prefer to think of myself as a young veteran." They set their glasses on the coffee table and Lee picked up an album. "You have to promise you'll tell me when you've had enough or I'll just keep going."

"I promise."

Chapter Fifteen

After going through a number of photos Lee refilled their glasses and they continued. He picked another album and said, "These are from my very early days. You can tell I was pretty green but at the time I thought I was very good. I had a contract with a local guy that made calendars and postcards for different markets so I went around taking everything from the local architecture to the local college girls in bikinis." The bikinis were near the end and when she'd looked at them he said, "I'd better warn you the last dozen or so pages show the same thing except the bikinis are missing." "Thanks for the warning but I've seen a lot more than that. Let's see your work."

As they went from page to page she asked, "Where did you find the models?"

"Money deprived students mostly."

"So these are all amateurs?"

"So they claimed."

"I'll bet you were in heaven for a while."

"I was the envy of my class that year." Meg leaned over and after giving him another kiss said, "Your reward for such a good job with the girls."

"In that case I have a lot more to show you."

"I'll get the wine this time." Meg disappeared into the bathroom and then went to the kitchen to fill their glasses again. When she came back she said, "This better be my last glass or I'll get drunk."

"Golly I'd hate to have that happen."

Before Lee picked up another album they kissed and that led to another kiss. Lee pulled her close to him and said, "Maybe we should take a break from the albums for a minute."

They kissed again and she said, "You know you really are very good...and your photography is too" and she kissed him again. When at last they stopped, Meg reached for her glass and finished off her wine and stood up.

As she stood in front of him she pulled her peasant blouse down until the elastic top was just above her breasts. "How would I look on a calendar?"

"Lee smiled at her and said, "You would be my favorite month except your bra kind of spoils the effect." Meg disappeared and a minute later was back with the bra missing and the blouse pulled down again. Lee sat up straight and said, "Now that's Italian." She gave him a smile and then sat back down next to him. Lee held her close and kissed her and said, "You make a very nice calendar girl."

"Thank you." "I could do a whole calendar of you, each month would show you with one less garment on. You know, in February you could be missing two garments but wearing a pink heart someplace, in June a brides veil and so forth."

"That would take until about June and then I'd run out of things to take off."

"Oh darn I didn't think of that."

"I'm sure. What would I do for July through December?"

"I'd think of something. January you wouldn't have anything missing for example."

"Of course with this being June now..."

"We could do them all now and save them for next year's calendar."

"I could wear a snowsuit for January."

"See, that's what I'm talking about."

"That still leaves a lot of months though."

"Those would be my favorite months." "What about me, don't I get my own calendar?"

Lee reached over and pulled an album out of the stack and said, "I could use what's in this one."

"Oh?" He opened it and flipped a few pages until he came to a photo of a guy

in a tight bathing suit. "That could be about...June maybe." He turned the page and now the suit was missing and a naked butt and legs were showing. "That could be about...August," and he turned the page again. It was the guy with his face hidden but not much else. He turned the page again but held the book so she couldn't see it and said, "Now this could be about...September or October"

"Let me see."

"Are you sure you want to see this one?" She smiled at him and said, "Oh yes I'm sure now quit teasing." He let her see it and the guy's torso was turned toward the camera but his face was hidden.

She smiled and said, "Well he looks good but...it looks a little like Roman art if you know what I mean."

"Oh you mean because of his small..."

"Right."

"But all I've seen of you is January. I think I should see at least...April."

"You can see...March."

"I get to see March but you get to see August."

She smiled and said, "But my March is real and you're August is a picture."

"You're not in advertising, you're in negotiating I don't have a chance."

He turned the page again and quietly handed it to her. She smiled at him and said, "Very nice. There's only one problem."

"What's that?"

"That isn't you."

"How do you know?"

"I'm right aren't I?"

"How..."

"You're proportioned differently."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Just different...well maybe you're a little better."

"I've lost my bargaining position haven't I."

"I'm afraid so love."

"I've never done a series of myself. I don't think that would work very well actually."

Meg laughed and said, "No I don't think it would either." Lee pulled her close again and said, "I'd still like you to be my calendar girl."

"I'll give that some thought."

"So I don't get to even see March then?"

"I'm without a bra isn't that March?"

"No that's late January or maybe mid February."

"So now we're splitting months?"

"If that will improve my chances any."

"Since this is our first official date and since I'm not drunk enough I guess you're out of luck."

"I admit defeat then and will settle for more of your kisses." The two of them settled down after that and just talked over one last glass of wine.

Meg gave Lee a light kiss and said, "It was a very long and hard day at the office and as much as I'm enjoying being with you I better take myself home while I can still drive."

"I hate to see you go but I understand. But be prepared I'm challenging you to more negotiations to be my calendar girl."

"I'll be ready.

Who knows maybe my position will change."

"Maybe I'll have something to barter with."

"I'll look forward to that." They walked to the door and with one last gentle kiss she walked out.

"Good night calendar girl, be safe."

"I will love." Lee went in and picked things up before getting ready for bed.

Lee slept in Saturday morning and then lay around until the after effects of the wine slowly wore off. By lunch he was feeling human again and went about his chores and checked and answered his emails. He sat there and thought about Meg and smiled as he remembered his attempts at negotiating her out of her clothes. He shut down the computer and went for his last cup of coffee and as he stood there pouring he could see Teri standing next to him as they had done hundreds of times at the office. Now she was the one he was seeing in his mind as he stared out the kitchen window. He wasn't taken to talking to himself but he said, "Lee you have yourself in a bit of a situation." He was

almost started by the sound of his own voice and mentally shook his head as he topped off his cup and shut the coffee maker off.

Chapter Sixteen

Lee finally took his shower and put on shorts in preparation for his afternoon with Teri in the park. It wouldn't take them all that long to do a dozen or so shots and then go back to the office and review them. Actually the thought of going to the state park appealed to him. He loved the outdoors and he had spent too much time indoors lately. Then he decided to stop and pick up his Canon, the laptop and cords so they could look at what she took right then. With that decided he left and headed for the office.

At the office he took his time gathering what he wanted and he was struck by the silence of the place. It had been a very long time since he'd been in the office without Teri around to see to his needs and to needle him once in a while. The place felt empty and kind of sad to him. He reset the alarm, locked the door and headed for Teri's apartment. Fifteen minutes later he was ringing her doorbell and smiled when he saw her. She looked at him and asked, "What?"

"Nothing, you look great. I'm just not used to seeing you all fixed up with makeup and I don't know if I've ever seen you wearing shorts."

"I've never seen you in shorts either and I'm not so fixed up I just put on a little makeup is all."

"You look great. Ready to go?" She reached around the corner and retrieved a basket saying, "I made us a little picnic. You haven't eaten have you?"

"As a matter of fact I haven't."

"Good I haven't either."

"Thank you that's a good idea."

"I'm glad you approve."

When they got in the car she saw his camera and laptop in the back so she said, "You planning to do some shots too?"

"I didn't know so I just put everything in just in case. Maybe later we can look at your work on the laptop. Do you have an idea what you want to do?"

"Sort of, not precisely though." After they'd gone a little ways she said, "I talked to Vickie this morning." Lee held his breath. Did she tell Teri about their conversation?"

"Oh, what did she have to say?"

"She and Moon had a date last night and I guess they really had a good time together."

"Great, they sure hit it off didn't they."

"They were something to watch. I'm happy for her. They're going out again tonight."

"What ever happened to you and what's his name?"

"Daryl?"

"Yeah."

"We split three...no four months ago."

"Oh I didn't know."

"He's looking for some anemic apron wearing submissive to do his bidding."

"That definitely isn't you."

"No it isn't."

As they drove into the park Lee said, "Let's find a picnic area near some hiking trails."

"Are you familiar with this park?"

"Not very."

"Then how will we know where to find the trails?"

"We'll just drive until we do."

"Or we could just ask the ranger when we pay our fee."

"Or we could ask the ranger, that was going to be my next idea."

She gave him a smile and said, "Yeah right." With directions from the volunteer when they paid the entry fee they headed toward the back of the driving loop.

"She said to watch because the picnic area isn't large."

"Got it."

When they found the picnic area Teri threw a small table cloth over the table and asked, "Eat now or later?"

"Now, I'm suddenly starved." Teri spread the food out and set a bottle of wine down. "You thought of everything didn't you?"

"I hope so because it's too far to go for supplies. It's nothing fancy by any means but we won't starve." They sat across from each other and dove into their sandwiches and wine. "It's too hot for coffee but I brought a couple of cold drinks too. If we drink this bottle of wine right now we'll never pick up a camera."

As they finished eating Teri asked, "How was your date with Meg?"

"It was fine, we ate Italian and had a nice evening."

"That's nice."

After putting the remains of their picnic away they locked the car and with cameras and a tripod in hand they headed into the woods. They hadn't gone fifty feet when she said, "God it must be ten degrees cooler in here, this feels great."

"I've missed doing this."

"Lee what would you normally be doing today?"

"It depends, golf maybe."

"You gave up a golf day to be with me?"

"Yeah I guess."

"Wow that's big. Thank you."

"No thanks necessary I'm having a great time."

She looked up at him and said, "Me too. Let's just walk a while before we play with the cameras, this feels good."

"I'm good with that."

As they moved along they came to a small pond at the edge of the woods and a thin path that led down to the waters edge. "Wait Lee I want to look." She took the dozen steps down the path and stood there looking around. When she turned and started back she looked up and Lee took her picture.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because you look very nice, because you look very happy and the view in the background is very pretty." When she reached him she turned around and said, "It is pretty isn't it."

She turned to him and said, "You just gave me a very nice compliment, thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Now I wish we could have started the day sooner. I could just keep walking and exploring."

When the trail took them past another view of the pond there was a log at the edge of the path and it caught Teri's eye. "Lee let me take your picture sitting on that log." He sat down and she said, "No not like that." She moved him until she was satisfied and took a couple of shots. "Not the best lighting in the world. Let me get a couple more."

She adjusted his position a little and he said, "I like your perfume, you smell very nice."

"Lee do you have a hip flask full of booze? You're just full of compliments today."

"I can't help it if you smell nice."

"Thank you again." After a couple more exposures they moved on. It was Lee's turn with the camera when he said, "See that old gnarled tree tipped crooked? Go lean back against that and look up like you're admiring the tree tops." She smiled and after setting her camera down and did as he asked. "Now..." before he could finish she struck a pose and he took his shot.

"How did you know what I wanted?"

"I didn't. I just moved without thinking I guess."

"Very nice."

On they went until they came across a small old resting bench at a bend in the trail. Teri sat down and said, "I could use a little rest." Lee sat next to her and they just sat there looking through the woods as they caught their breath.

"We sure have the place to ourselves."

"Yeah I guess people don't like to walk this far."

"Still enjoying it Teri?"

"I love it. This is something I'll want to do a lot more of." Lee leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips and then straightened up. Teri just sat there looking at him until she said, "I can't believe you just did that."

"Does that mean you don't want me to do it again?"

"Lee Waltham it's you that always talks about keeping our relationship platonic."

"I guess it's the magic of the forest or something."

"How am I supposed to keep my mind on photography now? You have me confused."

"Good, so am I." Teri looked away and didn't say anything.

Lee asked, "Want to walk some more?"

"Yeah maybe so." They resumed their walk in silence for a while. When she spoke again she asked, "Was it the shawl accident?"

"What?"

"Why you kissed me."

"I haven't even thought about that."

"You mean seeing my breast didn't even impress you?"

"No that's not what I meant, I was very impressed by that. I mean I kissed you just because I wanted to because, well because you're you."

"Because I'm me?"

"Look if you don't want to kiss me just say so." She stopped, turned around and kissed him long and hard wrapping her arms around him.

She held him close but pulled her head back to look at his eyes and asked softly, "Does that answer your question?"

"Most definitely."

"Can we still work together?"

"I think we can do you?"

"I don't see a problem with it at all."

"Should we turn around and head back?"

Teri shook her head and said, "Not unless you want to."

"I'm fine. It will be a long walk back though."

"I think walking is good for us right now or at least it is for me."

Chapter Seventeen

They walked farther stopping to take each other's picture and gathering a couple more light kisses along the way. The next time they stopped to rest they just sat on the ground and leaned back against a stump. Teri looked at him and asked, "Would you like to do this with me again?"

"Kissing?"

"No you shit, hiking."

"I'd love too."

"I would too. I know, you want me to pose for you in the nude."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's why you started kissing me."

"Why can't you accept the fact that I just want to kiss you?"

"Because you're always so anal about us getting too close, too...emotionally involved."

"Can't I have a change of heart?"

"Well yeah I guess so."

"That doesn't mean I don't want to do a nude study of you."

"So you admit it."

"Someday."

"You're driving me crazy." "You want to do a nude study of me too."

"Now where did that come from?"

"I can just tell." She remembered those words from that day in the car when she was needling him and had to smile.

"For your information you're right I do...someday."

"Ready to head back?"

"We better or we'll be hiking in the dark."

Whenever the trail widened enough as they went back one of them would take the other's hand and they'd walk along like teenaged lovers. When they reached the bench where Lee had kissed her the first time he said, "I want to take a picture of us. Sit on the bench and I'll set up." With the camera on the tripod he made the settings and quickly joined her.

After the exposure was made she said, "I want to do just one more." Lee reset the camera and when he rejoined her again she kissed and held him until they heard the click of the camera. "Now I have proof that we've kissed. I still can't believe it."

They resumed hiking until they finally reached the car and it was getting dusk. Teri said, "Let's go back to my place and I'll make us some coffee."

When they got back to Teri's they went in and once the coffee was started she joined him on the couch. She turned to him and said, "Lee this has been a wonderful afternoon and I can't wait for us to do it again."

"I enjoyed it too. You're a great hiking partner."

"Lee are you concerned about us...about us working together or anything?"

"It's strange, considering all the time I've worried about that, now I'm not at all."

"Will you still work with me on portraits?"

"Of course, nothing's going to change with that." Teri stood up and after giving him a quick kiss went for the coffee. She got about six feet when she grabbed for her right leg and said, "Oh damn...a Charlie horse oh shit." Lee quickly jumped up and started rubbing her leg.