S.O.S. Summer of Secrets

I hope so, too.

16. JEN

The next morning Jen stretched out in the empty bed, beginning to enjoy the fact Jon had already left for the day. Perhaps it was because it made her feel less guilty about all the thoughts running through her head. Mentally she convinced herself she should just back out, not do it, make up some silly excuse. He'll understand.

But that thought seemed like an impossibility. But so did following through with actually undressing and posing in front of Erik. She let out a giggle so loud she startled herself. This is nuts.

She wasted little time thinking about how she would look in the outfit and focused on what she could take off smoothly and not look like a clumsy fool. It didn't matter either way, she still put on a T-shirt and comfy shorts.

She scrunched up her hair in the mirror, let it fall trying to create a natural wavy look and audibly sighed realizing it would be sweaty and frizzy by the time she got there. Hopefully he can fix that in his drawing... and a lot of other things.

When she got to the school Erik was setting up the supplies for the kids. "What's on the docket today?"

He smiled warmly, "fine sculpture." He wiggled his eyebrows and chuckled. "It's mostly just playing with clay, but I still try to give some pointers."

"So a bunch of ashtrays and coffee mugs?" She joked.

"If we're lucky." He replied, neither one of them bringing up the elephant in the room. The big, naked elephant who would be stripping completely naked for him in just a few hours. She felt a burst of warmth shoot through her body at the thought.

Their eyes met just for a moment as the first kids started to trickle in. Soon class began and today's session was more hands-on help than any other days. Jen found herself helping with clay, cleaning up messes and even making her own silly sculpture.

By the end of class, her arms and shirt were caked in a muddy clay film. Erik somehow managed to keep his clothes a little cleaner, but his hands and wrists had a similar layer of film. When it was just the two of them, he walked over to her and they both noted their messy state.

"Is this the glamorous model you were expecting?" Jen joked nervously, raising her arms slightly to the side.

"So glamorous." He smiled back. Both of them anxiously avoiding discussing how this would actually go down.

"Are you sure you still want to draw me like this?" She asked, almost leaving it as a way out for both of them.

He gestured her to follow him to his backroom and she followed silently. There was a large sink and he quickly rinsed off his hands, clearing up his small amount of clay and gunk.

"I think I'm a bit dirtier than you are," she said and blushed, wondering if that came out as weird as it sounded in her head.

Again he gestured to her to come closer and began to wet and soap a coarse sponge. He took her hand delicately and started to scrub off the caked film, beginning with her hand and slowly moving up her arm.

Jen was silently watching all of this, enjoying the strange form of pampering. After he finished with one arm, he raised her wrist to him and kissed the back of her hand before beginning on her next arm. Taking his time, he repeated the process on her other side and once again kissed the back of her hand when he finished. This time locking eyes with her while his lips touched her flesh.

That look sent a wave of excitement through her. His dominant eyes seemed to have a way to look deep into her soul.

"Clean as any glamorous model I've ever seen." He said.

That gave her butterflies and she was just standing there with her arms crossed, wondering how this would proceed. "How do you want me?" She blushed, "I mean, where should I...how..."

He smiled and politely gestured her to stop her worrying. "I want you to relax. Remember we don't have to do this."

He was so warm, so friendly. So why am I freaking out so much? She pretty much knew the answer was a mixture of excitement and guilt, but she wasn't ready to think about that. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Sorry, I want to...I mean I think I'm relaxed now."

He nodded and as his genuine smile took over his face. "Whenever you're ready." He gestured over to the area of the room that had a black drape along the wall and a very small platform on the floor.

She walked over and stepped up on the platform. Though only a few inches off the ground it felt like a stage of the grandest magnitude. Arms at her sides, heart beating out of her chest, she called out, "ready!"

He laughed and frowned at the same time looking a little confused. Jen glanced down and immediately turned bright red. "Oh right, I need to be naked." Those words made her heart skip a beat.

"Usually helps for a figure drawing," he joked. "I'm sorry I don't have a luxurious changing room for you to make a grand entrance. I can turn around if it helps."

He was so kind. "No that's not necessary. You're going to see me anyway." She said nervously fidgeting with her shirt, wondering how not to look awkward as she pulled it over her head.

"How about this? I'll focus on getting my supplies ready, you just let me know when you're ready?"

She nodded and was relieved when he turned away, grabbing various sticks of charcoal and arranged his easel.

Quickly she took off her shirt and tossed it to the sides. Next to her shoes, socks, and shorts. She was standing there in her panties and bra and took another deep breath. She took off her panties first, then unhooked her bra and neatly folded those under her shirt. It was one thing to be naked, another to have him see her dirty underwear.

She stepped back onto the platform. Here goes nothing. "Ready." Her heart leapt, and felt more exposed than she ever had in her entire life.

He turned and smiled. "Wow," He said genuinely, as if he truly was caught off guard in a good way.

"I bet you say that to all your models," she blushed and kept her legs close together, subtly turning sideways to hide her slit. Her arms were crossed, mostly concealing her breasts.

"Only when I mean it," he replied, which both complimented her and didn't deny it. "Now, let's have a look." He adjusted the lights in the room so it was darker in the back and a soft light illuminated her curves.

He stepped closer and without touching her, gestured for her to let her sit down and face him. Quietly she obeyed, now completely uncovered and naked for his eyes to take in.

He looked at her with an inquisitive grin, glancing up and down, not hiding where he was looking or his reactions. He stepped up on the platform and walked around her like an animal circling his prey.

"What are you doing?" She asked nervously

"Taking in your beauty, finding what I like."

She blushed.

"I just mean finding the right angles that will show off your beauty and incredible curves."

"You think my curves are incredible?"

Now it was his turn to blush. "Yes, but not for the reasons you think. Curves give wonderful opportunities for light and shadow in a drawing. They capture your attention right away and draw your eyes in. That's why they make such excellent subjects for drawing." He said and added, "not just because they're sexy...but I suppose that doesn't hurt the drawing either."

She blushed now fully imagining him looking at her curves, which she already knew he was. But hearing him say it gave her a new tingle of excitement. "So...what parts of me pull your eyes in?" She let out a little squeal of a laugh, hardly believing those words came out of her mouth.

He breathed in deeply, looking her up and down as if seriously contemplating the question. "A few things come to mind."

His tone led her to believe that was a professional statement, but it still made her giddy. The amount of time he spent looking at her was unnerving. She couldn't even remember the last time her husband looked at her that long. Or had he ever looked at her this long? Truly looked? The thought led to nowhere good and she did not want to think about Jon. Not now while she was naked in front of Erik. She snapped out of it. "So how do you want me?" She asked again, this time enjoying the innuendo.

He lightly picked at his chin, "slightly turn to your right, place your left foot back, and your right a few inches forward."

She did her best to follow but was not sure. "Like this?"

He stepped up on the platform, "Almost." Gently he placed his hand on her elbow and subtle twisted her torso so she was more at an angle. His hand casually moved down and ever so lightly touched her knee to adjust her leg.

She gulped audibly. This was intense. "How do I look?"

He stepped back and smiled. "Perfect." Soon he was tucked behind the easel, hand moving in large fluid motions across the page. His eyes darted from her to the page and back to her. Over and over again. It was as if he was staring right through her.

He had her turn a few more times, not being quite as precise with his direction, drawing faster and faster, looking at her more than the easel. "There," he called out. "I think we're ready for a little break."

"So soon? You couldn't possibly have done anything in that time."

"We're just warming up. Here take a look." He said, wiping off the charcoal from his hands with a rag.

She walked over, now painfully aware of how naked she was and stepped behind the easel. "Wow, these are amazing." They weren't much more than outlines and exaggerated gesture drawings, but they captured the natural flow of her curves. With almost zero details, she recognized her figure. Her curves, her posture, it was her.

He smiled and looked at her. "You can put on a robe or something during breaks. You don't have to walk around naked."

She blushed slightly. That actually gave her some comfort that he wasn't just trying to see her naked for the sake of seeing her naked. "I am afraid I didn't bring a robe."

"Of course," he nodded and looked around the room. "Here. You can wear a smock I use for painting."

She took the stained smock and placed it over her head. It was basically an apron covered in years of paint and history. Jen tied the strings behind her back and spun around, knowing her behind was completely uncovered. "How do I look?"

He couldn't help but laugh, "Better than I've ever looked in that smock, that's for sure." Erik glanced at the time and added, "Looks like the break is over. You ready?"

She nodded and realized putting on the smock meant she had to undress all over again. It wasn't quite the same shock this time around, but it still gave her a wave of excitement as she untied the smock and slipped it over her head revealing herself once more. She paid special attention to Erik's expression as he saw her naked once again. It felt incredible to experience someone wanting to see her body.

She walked back up to the platform confidently, enjoying the feeling of her breasts and butt jiggling with each step. "How do you want me?" She asked for the third time. She couldn't tell if the joke was wearing thin or if it was bordering on inappropriate at this point.

"Hmmm," he pondered aloud. "This will be the longer timed drawing, so I want to make sure we pick the right pose."

She bit lit her lip and said the silly line she was holding back since got naked, "well are you a tit man or an ass man?"

"Yes." He said with a sly smile.

She blushed, but really had nothing left to hide.

"Why settle for just one?" He motioned for her to turn slightly sideways and had her twist her torso, looking back over her shoulder.

Jen realized he could see both her butt and one of her breasts at the same time. Clever man.

The next session flew by surprisingly quick, and she found herself putting on the smock before she knew it. "Mind if I take a peek?" There was a new playfulness in her voice she wasn't expecting.

"Be my guest, but it's not very far along." Erik stepped out of the way and stood behind her while she looked at the easel.

Jen was well aware that her butt was awkwardly sticking out at him in this silly smock, but it wasn't like he hadn't been staring at it for an hour. "That's it? You've been drawing for a while now and there's almost nothing on the page."

"I told you, it's not very far along."

"Seriously, I can barely see anything. Did you get lost in the view and forget what you're doing?" She joked but thought that would be amazing if it was true.

"In a way. I've made several measurements and placed dots along key parts of your landmarks. I've made a map of your body if you will, so I can travel it with ease. There was a coolness to his voice she wasn't used to.

"And just where are you going to travel...?" She asked suggestively.

"Wherever the drawing takes me." His eyes narrowed and his tone remained cool, but his smile returned breaking the tension. "Here I'll show you."

She felt him step up closer behind her, now painfully aware her bare ass was just sticking out.

"The length from here to here is your head to your chin. This dot is your elbow, I've made some notes on foot positions. This dot is your, uh, behind."

They both let out a nervous laugh before he continued. "This is the point on your hip that starts to turn away where I'll need careful shading, and this dot is...your breast. Well not really your whole breast, just the point, I mean part, just the part of your breast I can see."

She realized he was obviously talking about her nipple, but neither of them let out a nervous laugh this time. The silence was much worse., and now she was focused on him seeing her nipple. "Guess you do have me all figured out."

"Not quite. The journey has barely begun, but it only gets more interesting from here." Their eyes locked and their breathing slowed.

"You mean it's not just connect the nips? DOTS! I mean dots. Connect the dots." She turned bright red.

"No," he laughed a genuine laugh from his lower belly, "it's not just connect the nips or connect the dots. It's expressing your contours in a way that captures your beauty." His voice trailed off into a deep whisper that made her melt.

"Fair enough." She had no idea how to follow that up.

"Alright, back to work." He gestured over to the platform. "Getting the pose exactly the same as before is one of the most crucial parts for the model. It's also one of the most difficult."

She tried her best to resume the position she held from before. "How's this?"

He looked her up and down and back at his collection of dots on the page. "Pretty close." Erik walked over and lightly put his forefinger under her chin and guided it ever so slightly to the right so she was looking at him. His hand hovered about an inch off her shoulder as it moved down and traced the curve of her arm as if he was feeling her with his memory.

"You had your back slightly arched before."

Jen looked confused and attempted to shift her weight. She felt the warmth of his hand pressing on the small of her back and his other hand slightly pressed on her rib cage just below her breasts until her shoulders naturally pulled back, slightly pushing out her chest.

"Perfect." He smiled and resumed his position behind the easel. Taking his time, carefully looking up at her and back at the drawing.

She stood there as best she could, trying to remain motionless. She could almost feel his touch from a moment ago. It gave her goosebumps and wondered if that impacted the drawing at all. She thought it was a silly concern, but she realized her nipples were harder than before. That might actually be noticeable enough to make a difference, but she certainly wasn't going to ask the question. 'Connect the nips' was bad enough as it is, they didn't need any additional silly comments behind that.

This posing session no longer seemed quite as quick. It was either a longer amount of time, or the strain of remaining perfectly still for so long was starting to make her ache. Most likely a combination of the two.

"Okay, you can relax," Erik called out as if he was reading her mind.

Jen walked over to his drawing, this time not bothering to cover up. She stood next to him with arms crossed, which did little to cover her chest as her breasts still spilled out. Perhaps purposely she didn't try to cover them too much.

But she soon forgot about that as she looked on with awe at the work in progress. It was starting to come to life. Her full outline was there, the shape of her breast defined with the nipple sticking out, slight shading on her lower back, the line of her butt and crack were marked, but clearly not finished.

"Oh my god! It looks beautiful."

"That's how you look." He said in a deep tone.

"You could almost stop now and have it be a cool abstract piece with the unfinished areas."

"You want me to stop?" He said more as a statement than a question.

"No, not at all. Just impressed with how much progress...how much of my body you've traveled in such a short time." Now it was her turn to whisper, and she knew exactly how that remark sounded.

"I've barely begun to explore your body." He whispered in her ear as he stood right behind her.

Jen could feel his hands on her hips and it gave her butterflies. She turned around and his hands didn't move, now holding her hips from the front as they almost looked as if they were slow dancing. In a way, that's what this whole thing felt like...a wonderful slow dance.

His arms moved around her, and now they were nearly hugging while staring at each other. "No smock this time?"

"Not this time." She said softly and finally broke the tension. "It's kind of crusty and smells like turpentine."

He let out a genuine laugh. "Yes, I suppose it does." Erik took a step back and slowly eyed her naked body that was right in front of him, not hiding the fact he looked at her breasts, her hardened nipples, turned his head slightly sideways clearly positioning himself for a better view of her slit and dark patch of hair. His eyes narrowed, tinted with desire he showed his restraint and kissed her forehead. "I think I have some clean ones in that top drawer over there."

Her heart was beating furiously. Another second or two staring into his mesmerizing eyes and she thought they would have been making out. But perhaps his suggestion was best; this was starting to go too far. And we've only just begun.

She nodded and walked over to the old, wooden cabinet. Not really paying any attention to what she was doing, she opened one drawer and found some brushes and tubes of oil paints. She opened another and saw various black sketchbooks. A glint of red was sticking out from the bottom of the stack. Her curiosity got the better of her and she pulled it out.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw Erik was adjusting a few supplies and not paying attention to what she was doing. Jen ran her fingers over the blood-red leather-bound book and traced the gold filigree outlining the cover. It let out a gentle cracking noise as she lifted the cover, the sound a book makes when it hasn't been opened in years.

It took everything she had not to gasp at what she saw. On the first page, there was a lifelike drawing of a delicate pair of hands, palm to palm in a steepled position, as if asking for something. Begging for something. There were ropes bound around her wrists tightly, straining the skin. All of this was captured in his sketch.

She looked back over her shoulder and saw he was turned the other way sorting through various items, lost in his work.

Jen turned the page and this time was unsuccessful at holding back her gasp. It looked as if it was a zoomed-out version of the first drawing. The woman's hands were bound and tied over her head. Blindfolded and naked, the woman looked frightened.

A terrible feeling crept in her stomach as she flipped through the rest of the book and saw glimpses of several drawings of other women bound and other times gagged. They were in multiple positions, but always naked. Always afraid.