Taking Pictures

I'd like to give a big shout-out to EmilyMiller. She beta-read this and helped me improve the story. Any errors are my own.

****

"Simon please?" Kelly asked, almost begging her brother.

"I don't know, Kelly. That's a big ask." Simon sipped his coffee.

"It'd be a huge favor for me, and Amanda really needs someone with your skills."

He sat thinking. "She has to pay. I'm not doing it for free."

"C'mon, this is a favor for me. Can't you do it this one time?"

He hated when she pulled this on him. But he folded like a cheap table every time.

Sighing, he said, "Fine. One time, that's it."

"Awesome, you're the best." Kelly beamed. Her excitement was contagious.

"I don't know how you always get me to do things for you," he said, ruefully.

"Because you love me, Bro. And you are a good guy."

****

"Why are you doing this? Don't you take enough pictures of girls as it is?"

"It's my job, Cindy. It's not like I do anything with them, it's all strictly professional, you know that," Simon told his girlfriend.

"Do I? How do you think it makes me feel when you are around those sluts taking their clothes off in front of my boyfriend? I don't like it."

Frustrated, he paced the floor. This wasn't a new fight, it was the same argument that they kept having, over and over again. He didn't expect any different outcome than their previous arguments about this. "Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

"No, of course not."

This is my job, Cindy. I take it very seriously."

"Anyone would be tempted. How can I compete with them? I'm no model. I mean, look at me."

He looked at his girlfriend of six months. About five feet, seven inches, to his six feet, she had bouncy, curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She could be a model, but her insecurities blinded her to even considering that potential.

"Why does it need to be a competition? I'm not dating you because you look like a model."

"So I'm too ugly to be a model?"

"Cindy, stop twisting my words. You have nothing to worry about."

"We'll see about that."

****

Simon walked up to Amanda's door and rang the bell.

According to Kelly, her photographer had quit because his girlfriend was jealous of Amanda. He knew the feeling, and he hadn't taken any pictures of her yet.

Even after Kelly talked him into this, he was hesitant to do it. They weren't on the best of terms. After some drama in college, he tried to ignore her as much as he could. However because his sister was her best friend, they ran into each other occasionally.

He cleared his head of those thoughts and put on his professional face.

"Hey, Simon. Come in." She stepped aside as he walked in awkwardly carrying his gear. "Wow, that's a lot of stuff. Jimmy never had that much stuff."

"What did he use?" he asked. He had an idea from her reaction but was curious.

"He had his camera and a flash on top. You know, like in the movies. Like what the paparazzi on the red carpet use." She mimed taking a picture with her hands held up away from her face.

He walked to the couch and sat down, his bags on the floor before him. "What did you have in mind for today?" He sorted through his bags, assembling his camera as he asked.

"Uhm, normal stuff, I guess." She wasn't sure how to answer. Jimmy had handled the details before.

"Hmm, okay." He thought for a minute. "Can I see your page? I want to get an idea of what you have."

"Okay. I'll get my phone." She hopped up, her hair bouncing as she did. "Here you go."

He scrolled through them. She was pretty and had a good body, but the pictures were...average at best.

"Amanda, do you like these pictures? Are they what you want?"

She looked confused. "Why, what's wrong with them?"

"Can I be honest with you? These aren't good pictures. The only notable thing about them is that they have a pretty woman taking her clothes off. For most people coming to your site, that's all they want. A half-blind monkey could take the same shots."

She slumped at the news. "Oh."

He continued. "The good news is that I can take better shots for you. This is what I do. I can give you much better than what you have. Want to try?" He smiled encouragingly. He had set aside his personal feelings for her for this and was getting excited for the process. He was in photographer mode, thinking about what he could do to make pictures she'd want to have on her site.

She looked at him, his excitement contagious. "Let's do it. What do you want me to do?"

"Come on, let's look around and see what we can see." As they entered each room, he looked at everything. He was looking for compositions and scenes. What story could they tell with what was in the room?

In the kitchen, he wandered around the island. "I have an idea. Let's do it here."

She grinned at him. "Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you?"

His face and bald head turned bright red. "Pictures. We'll take the pictures here." He was used to models trying to flirt with him. But she was not like the models he normally shot for. He had no history with any of them, so easing them down was routine. He pushed those thoughts away and got back to business.

"Do you have something that looks traditionally domestic or conservative but kind of sexy? You know?"

As he worked out the scene in his mind, she studied him. He was taller than her five feet six inches. His head was completely shaved. Kelly had told her that he'd started doing that because he started going bald at 25. She liked the look. It suited him and made him look older and more mature.

She said, "I have a nice blouse and slacks, would that work? They really show off my ass." She winked at him teasingly. He didn't seem to take notice of her attempt to flirt.

"Great. You change into them, and I'll set up here." He was already retrieving his bags from the living room. She smiled at his enthusiasm and went to change.

By the time she came back, he had set up his gear. A stand with a big umbrella was placed and he had his camera and other stuff spread out on the island.

He saw her and whistled. "Very nice." The slacks did indeed show her ass off. The material hugged the cheeks. She wiggled her butt for him.

"Where do you want me?" she asked.

"Here, put this on." He handed her an apron that read 'Cooks do it in the kitchen.'

"Where did you even find this? I forgot I had this."

"I hope you don't mind. I was looking in the pantry and it was in the back. I thought it'd be good for this," he said.

"I like it. I don't even remember who gave this to me." She looked down at the suggestive message and wiggled. "Ready for me?"

"Yep. I got some ingredients so it looks like you are cooking." He had sprinkled flour and a couple of eggshells over the countertop.

He directed her to a spot in front of the stove. "I'm going to take some test shots first to get everything dialed in. You don't need to do anything, but stay right there facing me."

She nodded. He took a couple of shots and fiddled with the flash. A few more shots, flashing each time. She made goofy faces for the camera. "Okay, got it." He walked over and pointed out where to stand. "We'll have you right here in front of the stove, the light is set up for this spot. If you move somewhere else, I'll need to adjust, so stay here."

"Yessir."

"What I want you to do is hold this tray, and hold it out to the camera. You are making cookies, but not actually baking," he said.

"Got it."

"As we go, you'll get hot and take your clothes off. You are teasing your fans, not just stripping your clothes off."

She mimed the steps of baking cookies. Stirring an empty bowl, holding out the tray, and placing it in the oven.

Bent over, Amanda slid the tray into the oven. "Hold there, look back at me, and wink for the camera," he directed her. "Now fan yourself, the hot oven is blasting your face."

"Now, you have time to relax, and you are hot from the oven."

She removed the apron and slowly unbuttoned the blouse. As she did, her bra came into view, her nipples showing through the lacey material.

"Hold that, spread your shirt open, show your bra. Very nice, you're doing great. Imagine you are teasing your boyfriend. He wants to see more, but you show him just enough to be enticing. Show me how you'd give him a thrill."

"I don't have a boyfriend, so I'll just have to pretend you are him. Is that okay, Simon? Can I pretend you are my boyfriend?"

He gulped and focused on the camera.

She put on a sensuous smile and slowly peeled her shirt off. Simon had his eye to the viewfinder, taking pictures as she revealed more and more skin. Despite his feelings for her, he felt himself getting hard in his pants while taking pictures. She was a beautiful woman and there was nothing about her body that he found objectionable.

"Now, I'd turn and slide my pants down. My ass is really something to see, isn't it?"

"Uhm, yeah. It's really nice." He tried not to stare, even while he concentrated on getting good pictures of her panty-covered ass. "Hold that position." Her pants were at her knees, showing off her firm thighs.

Pants off she turned to him, and dragged her hands through the flour, coating them with the white powder. Handprints appeared over her skin as she touched herself.

"I seem to have made a mess here."

"You should take the rest off now. Start with the bra."

The cups popped off her breasts as she released the band. For the first time, he saw them naked. They sagged just a bit from their size and weight, and her nipples were hard. "Cover your boobs with your hands, make handprints on them."

Once again, she coated her hands and squeezed her breasts. Two perfect hand prints covered her tits, and Simon got a great shot of the ghostly image.

She looked down at them, "Ooh, that's nice. What do you think?"

He whispered, "Perfect."

His reaction made her smile. She felt herself getting aroused. None of the times Jimmy had shot her had made her excited. It was ironic that he had to quit because his girlfriend was jealous of her when she had zero attraction to him.

Her panties slid down, as if by themselves. Her landing strip was revealed over her shaved pussy lips. Fully naked now, she leaned back against the counter while Simon kept taking pictures.

He put the camera down. "I think we have enough. That was great," he said with a smile. His eyes wandered over her.

****

"Whatcha doing?" Cindy asked as they went to the kitchen.

"Working on the pictures I took of Kelly's friend."

"Can I see?" she asked.

He cringed to himself though he kept his face neutral, and said, "Sure." He knew she wasn't going to like them, but he didn't want to give the appearance of hiding anything.

In his office, a grid of pictures was on the screen. Pictures of Amanda were displayed there. He hit a key and she popped on the screen.

"She's naked." Her voice was tight and he could feel another fight coming.

He sighed. "Yeah. We talked about this."

"Don't you fucking sigh at me! You know I don't like this and you act like I'm the bad one here."

"What, exactly, would you like me to do?" He felt the volume of his voice creeping up. "Every job you have a problem with the model, or me."

"I can't believe you. Why would you take pictures like this? What about me?" she said.

Simon looked at her, confusion on his face. "What about you? I don't understand."

"Why would you take naked pictures of her when you have a girlfriend?" she asked.

"This is my job, Cindy."

"So, she paid you?"

He stopped short. "Uhm, no."

"I can't believe this. You say you are a professional, this is your job, and you took naked pictures of her for free? What the fuck, Simon?"

"Shit. It's not like that. It was a one-time thing. Kelly asked me to do her friend a favor."

"Oh, god forbid you say no to your sister. Tell her no. You don't owe her anything. Would she be mad if you said no?"

"I don't think so, but she asked me and I couldn't say no to her."

"I don't like it," she said, shaking her head. "It's like she knows just how to push your buttons to get what she wants."

"Yeah, I guess, but what am I going to do? She's my sister." He said it as if that explained everything.

"Anyway, nothing happened. It was very professional. It was just a job. It's not like I even like her." He moved to pull her to him. She resisted for a moment and relented, permitting him to hold her.

"You don't like her? Then why take naked pictures of her?"

"Because Kelly asked me to do her a favor. She's my sister's friend," he explained.

She wasn't convinced, but let it go. "Why don't you like her?"

"We were all in college together: Me, Kelly, and Amanda. We had our own friends, but they overlapped enough that everyone knew each other."

"Okay."

"One night, we were hanging out, drinking. I had a few too many drinks and while we were joking around, I made a joke about her. I implied that she was a whore for dating so many guys and that she should see if the football team was looking for a team slut."

"Simon, that's awful." She slapped his shoulder. "How could you say something like that?"

"I was drunk and I just blurted it out. She dated so many guys that it seemed like a good setup, and I said it."

"Was she a slut?"

"I don't think so. I never had any reason to think she was." He stared at the wall, eyes unfocused. "The thing is, I didn't believe it, and I just said it because I knew that I'd get some laughs from my friends."

"She didn't say anything, but even drunk, I could tell she was embarrassed and angry. No one really said much about it, and I kept drinking."

"The next morning, I woke up with a hangover. Kelly had sent me a text telling me that Amanda was fucking pissed at me. The more I thought about it, the more embarrassed I felt. Later that day, I wanted to apologize to her. So, I'm walking over to her dorm, I kept hearing sniggers as I walked by."

"When I got there, she wasn't there, and I asked her roommate where she was, she said, "I don't know, Mr. Syphilis."

"Amanda had started a rumor that I had syphilis, and it had spread around the campus like crazy in just a few hours."

"Oh wow, Simon, that's awful. What did you do?"

"What could I do? I hated her for that. I didn't think it was at all appropriate for her to say that. I mean, I know she was embarrassed by my joke, but I tried to at least apologize for it. Instead, I became a pariah. Do you know that I wasn't able to get a date for the rest of the time I was in college? No one would go out with me just on the off chance that it was true."

Cindy hugged Simon. "I'm sorry that happened to you. That must have been awful. I see why you wouldn't like her for that. But you have to know that what you did was pretty awful for her."

"I do. And I regret saying it. Anyway, I stopped having anything to do with her after that. She and Kelly still hung out together, but never with me around. It was awkward for a long time, and I eventually got over it, and I just ignore her now. If Kelly hadn't asked me to do it, I'd never have volunteered to."

She squeezed him. "I'm sorry for getting upset. I just saw the pictures and the first thing I thought was that you were trying to get her in bed."

"Nope, not a chance," he said with a smile. "Besides, I wouldn't show you someone I was trying to cheat on you with."

"Hmm, I don't know if that's good or not. I still don't really like the idea of you taking those kinds of pictures, but it's your job. Just don't go and get any ideas, mister!" She poked his chest for emphasis.

"Ooof, yes ma'am." He chuckled.

****

"So, Amanda loved the pictures. She can't stop talking about how much better they are than the last guy she had."

Simon put his sandwich down. The grilled cheese and tomato soup at The Melted Crust was killer. "I'm glad she likes them. It was a low bar though. That other guy wasn't very good."

"She wants to know when you can do some more for her."

"Hmph. Nope. One-time deal."

"Come on, Simon. Please? For me?"

"Cindy was pissed when she saw the pictures. She freaked out about how I was cheating on her with Amanda. I was able to talk her down, but she didn't like it. But it's not like it's the first time she's had a problem with me and models." He sighed.

"I don't like her. She's not good for you."

"Kelly, stop. She's my girlfriend."

"I know, sorry. I won't say anything about it again." She pulled an imaginary zipper across her lips. "You guys are good though now, right? So, you could take more pictures?"

"It's not like I did anything wrong. It's just so tiring to keep having the same fight over and over." He thought about it while he finished his grilled cheese. She watched him, waiting patiently. Sometimes it was better to let him work it out for himself.

"She has to pay though. It can't be a freebie."

"Great, I'll let her know. You're the best."

"Mmm hmm."

She looked at the big clock on the wall. "Ooh, I have to go. Can you get this? I'll get it next time."

He smiled and waved her off. Somehow, he ended up paying for most of their lunches together. Not that he minded that much, she barely ate anything anyway.

She pecked him on the cheek and was gone in a blur.

****

The living room was dark, with only the light of the TV. Simon and Cindy sat together on the couch. She had picked out a chick flick. Simon didn't mind, he liked them too.

He felt his phone buzz with a number he didn't recognize. "Hello?" he answered.

"Simon? This is Amanda. Kelly gave me your number."

"Who is it, Simon?" Cindy asked.

"Is this a bad time?" Amanda asked.

Simon glanced at his girlfriend and whispered, "It's Amanda."

"The skank? Why is she calling you?"

Simon held his hand over the mic, "Stop that."

Speaking into the phone, he said, "Sorry, what's up, Amanda?"

"I wanted to know if you'd do more pictures for me. I really liked the first ones, and want to do more with you. Kelly said you would. Please?"

He could feel Cindy glaring at him. She looked pissed.

"Kelly told me you liked them. I guess we could do another set. Did you have anything in mind?" he asked.

"No, not really. Anything you want to do, really."

He thought for a moment. "Okay, let's do it this Saturday. We'll do some shots in the city. Meet me at Cafe Flyer, on Boynton Street. 9 am."

"Outside?"

"Yep. It'll be great, I promise."

"Okay, then. I'll trust you."

"Great, see you then." Simon quit the call and looked at Cindy.

"What the fuck? She's calling you now?"

"What is your problem?"

"My problem? I don't want you taking naked pictures of her."

"Come on, Cindy, nothing is going on. I'm taking pictures of her, that's it. She's paying for the job."

He shook his head. "You know what, it doesn't really matter what you think, this is my job. I don't need your permission."

"Do you want to sleep with her? Is that why you are more than happy to take naked pictures of her?"

"What the fuck? What makes you think I want to cheat on you?"

"All of a sudden, you are her personal photographer. Who takes their clothes off for some guy unless she wants to fuck him?"

"You're crazy. I've never thought of cheating on you, and I'm not about to start with someone I don't like. I've told you, I did the first time as a favor to Kelly. Now it's a paying job."

"She's trying to drive us apart. She's never liked me."

"Oh my god! First, you accuse me of cheating, now my sister is plotting against you!" Simon stood. "I'm out of here. Call me when you aren't being crazy." He stormed out before she could respond.

****

"So, what did you do?" Kelly asked.

"I left. I turned off my phone and didn't talk to her for the rest of the night. She left a bunch of messages, and I finally called her the next day."