The Collector

"Lots of artists end up laying their models, you know? Degas, Delacroix, and Ingres, for example. Raphael, Rembrandt, Modigliani, and Picasso even ended up marrying their models," Judy said, and her lower lip trembled, a sure sign she was nervous. Martin found that tic to be hopelessly fetching.

"This isn't a ploy to have sex with you, much as I'd love to. I just want you to model nude for me for my chef d'oeuvre in my college portfolio, okay?" Martin said.

All Judy heard was that Martin would "love" to have sex with her. Finally! He had said it. Teasing him with her nude body was going to be fun. The drawings of Alexis nude, from memory he had said, blew Judy's mind. Martin really did have talent!

"Okay," Judy said.

"Really? Okay, as in you'll be my model?" Martin asked, afraid that he might have heard wrong.

"Well, you know I've done a bit of modeling. I've posed for the senior art class several times, and once in a bikini," Judy said.

"I know. Every guy in the room was hard, including me. I was practically bursting with desire! You'll really pose for me nude, then? Really?" Martin had asked. Judy smiled at the memory. She had been thrilled to hear all the guys had an erection just from drawing her in a bikini. Boys are so easy!

"Yeah, I'll do this for you. Stark nude, top and bottom, the whole enchilada. You'll owe me, though. Big time!" Judy said, basking in the thought of all the future sexual teasing of Martin she would be doing, driving him crazy with lust, and not letting him even touch her, until...well, who knows if she'll ever let him touch her naked body? This was going to be such fun, she remembered she thought at the time.

"We'll start on Monday, okay?" They arranged a time, when both of Martin's parents would be at work. His older brother was already away at college, and his younger sister would be in school. They had arranged to leave school early, one of the perks of being seniors.

**

"How are you holding up?" James York asked her, waking her up from her day dreaming, as she wandered down memory lane.

"It was a long time to hold the pose," she said. "I'll have a good soak in a hot bath tonight and I'll be fine tomorrow. When do we resume?"

"Can you be here at 10AM? I should be awake and properly caffeinated by then," York said.

Judy went over to the gallery, before it closed for the day. She had a long talk with Sarah Mandrakian. Apparently, word had already hit the district that James York had a new model. The whole district was abuzz! Sarah asked her who before had painted her nude? She was going to organize a little show of already existing nude portraits of Judy.

"Most of the paintings are not very good, except for the one by Martin Rosenberg, who painted one of me in high school," Judy said. She had also posed nude for the high school seniors after school ended, once the art teacher, Mr. Hemmings, had seen Martin's painting of her. He thought it was remarkable, and asked if she would pose for a summer class he was giving.

When Judy agreed to pose for the class, it filled up overnight, mostly with boys, and they thoroughly enjoyed painting nude portraits of the little sexpot they had spent their high school years daydreaming about fucking silly. Judy had a lot of dates that summer! She never had let Martin deflower her, but the summer before college? She didn't want to enter college still a virgin. Instead, she entered college as a bit of a slut! The paintings from the class were, however, rather pathetic, except for one: Jorge Rodriguez painted a damn good nude portrait of her. She told Sarah about Jorge.

There were seven art students in college who had painted nudes of her, too, and she gave Sarah their names, figuring she'd let Sarah judge the quality of the paintings. Altogether she had slept with one of her high school friends from Mr. Hemmings' art class, and two of the college boys, Mike and Zeke. Mr. Hemmings had asked her to pose privately for him, and he painted a magnificent nude of her, almost as good as Martin's, and he taught her a lot about sex, too. She didn't mention his nude of her to Sarah, though. She was ashamed of some of the things she did with Mr. Hemmings. Mr. Hemmings was into kink, and his nude in the show would bring it all back.

Judy was invited to the opening of the show, and in a fit of bravery she came. All of the guys who had painted nudes of her and whom Sarah had approved of, were there, too, all thrilled to be included in a show at the renowned Mandrakian Gallery! Each guy thought that this was going to be a big boost to his career. Judy was shocked, however, when she saw Mr. Hemmings' nude of her. She turned a lovely shade of red.

Mr. Hemmings' nude was different from all the others. It was the only lewd nude painting. Judy had her legs open, and the viewer's eye was drawn directly to her pussy. His was in the style of Egon Schiele, and it stood out like a sore thumb.

For Judy, she suddenly realized she was in a gallery showroom with six men who had carnal knowledge of her. It was totally freaky to be in a room with all six of them! Plus, the walls were lined with different interpretations of her nude body, with varying degrees of quality to the paintings. She wondered why Sarah had organized this show, but it became clear a little later.

As she was drinking the complimentary champagne customarily served at art show openings, she saw Martin himself silently enter. He didn't even look at the show, he just came directly to her and gave her a hug. Her six former lovers were all watching with barely concealed envy.

A tall, distinguished man walked in, wearing a suit and tie, and Judy could tell by the way Sarah was treating the man that he was special. She belatedly recognized him: He was The Collector. Sarah and The Collector talked for a while, and then Sarah went around the gallery and put red dots on three of the paintings, one of them being Mr. Hemmings' painting, and a second one being Martin's. The third was by one of her collegiate lovers. The Collector nodded greetings to Judy, never spoke a word except whispers to Sarah, and left with a sweeping flourish. Sarah had organized the show just to please The Collector. Judy realized that it had to be because she was now the nude model for James York.

Martin took her to dinner that night, and Judy had a wonderful time. She began to wish she had let him make love to her, but you can't change the past. He told her Alexis and he broke up when she learned of the painting he had done of Judy, but before Judy could speak, he hushed her.

"She called me up three years later, explaining she had been jealous, and a juvenile fool. She asked if I'd still like her to be a nude model for me," Martin said.

"What did you say?" Judy asked.

"I said yes. You know, I offered the painting of Alexis to Ms. Mandrakian for this show, but she said it was only for paintings of you! You must be pretty special, somehow. Of course, I've always known you were special."

"You have a wedding ring on," Judy said.

"Yeah, I hate rings. I think all artists do. But my wife insists. You know, Judy, I love you; I've always loved you, and painting the nude of you was really just a stupid high school ploy to spend time with you, and hopefully take things farther," he said.

"I thought it was for your college portfolio?" Judy said.

Before Martin could even answer, Judy added, "I've always loved you, too. We were young and foolish back then. During the summer after graduation I went overboard in the other direction," Judy said.

"Yes, I heard. Well, you still look ravishing. I wish I weren't married!" Martin said.

"Who's the lucky girl? Do I know her? Why wasn't I invited to the wedding?"

"She's Alexis, of course. Alexis is still jealous of you, Judy. She shouldn't be. I love her with all my heart, and I always have. She doesn't believe a man can love two women. It's a pity," Martin said. "How about you? Any man getting lucky with you these days?"

Judy smiled. "No. Unless you want to apply? I'm modeling nude for James York, you know," Judy said.

"So that's it! That explains everything! The Collector is buying up all the good paintings of you nude. I should paint another one! Oh yeah, never mind; Alexis would kill me," Martin said.

Judy got Martin to show her a photo of his nude of Alexis, which he had on his phone. Judy was twice stunned, first, at how pretty Alexis was naked, and second, at how spectacular Martin's painting of her was.

After the dinner, Martin took Judy home to her apartment. She shared it with a delightful woman, Rebecca, but she decided to make a play for Martin anyway, roommate or not, married or not. They made out ferociously, and little by little, Martin got Judy naked.

Judy then became the aggressor, and she undressed Martin, and the two old friends, artist and his model, were finally both naked and alone in Judy's bedroom. Martin played with Judy's pussy, fingering her gently and lovingly, and relentlessly, until she climaxed. Judy had always found orgasms easy to get, and especially so in the loving hands of Martin. Now she wanted, finally, to have the fuck of her lifetime with Martin! She had dreamed of this moment for so long!

It was not to be. Martin refused to fuck her, citing his wife Alexis.

"You're already cheating with me, Martin. I've been wanting you to fuck me since we were both sixteen. Alexis never has to know!"

To encourage Martin, she slowly stroked his cock, enjoying feeling every little square millimeter. She began to give him a hand job, talking sexy to him, about how her pussy was a vacuum without his cock, and everyone knows that nature hates a vacuum. "Basic physics demands that you fuck me, now, Martin. I'm producing a river of love juice in anticipation of giving your cock the welcome of your lifetime," she said, alas to no avail.

Judy cried in frustration, but Martin would not budge. Judy had always liked Alexis, but now, she began to hate her. She finally realized her powers of seduction were simply not up to the task of breaking Martin's will of steel. Seeking some sort of conclusion, she began to lick Martin's cock, as if it were a lollipop. She licked it up and down, swirling her tongue on the purple head, and kissing it.

Judy began to French kiss Martin's cock, and her French kisses morphed into a full-fledged blowjob. Judy asked if he wanted to paint her boobs with his cum, and he said yes, very much. It was the first time she had ever even seen Martin's cock. She could tell Martin was sorely tempted to fuck her, but ultimately, it didn't work out. Judy hated it, but she had to respect that.

By the end of the week, all of the paintings in what was informally called "The Judy Show," were sold, and they were all sold at their asking prices. Judy was stunned and even Sarah Mandrakian was surprised. Judy had fun at the gallery; when she was there, people would enter, look at the paintings, and then look at Judy, and then do double takes of both Judy and the paintings. Judy enjoyed it all, immensely.

About a week later, she got an envelope in the mail. Inside it were a dozen sketches Martin had made of Judy from his memory of their time together that night. The one of her naked body with his cum decorating her boobs was once again magnificent. She decided to ask Sarah if she could use the Gallery's framer to have it framed. Sarah's eyebrows rose when she saw the sketch. She said only one word: "Martin?" Judy nodded, impressed about how Sarah never missed a trick. Sarah added, in her laconic way, "It's a good sketch."

Judy was a bit anxious about the show of nudes of her being up for so long. Lots of people visited the Mandrakian Gallery; it was a 'must see' on the gallery circuit. The Mandrakian Gallery was famous for being at the cutting edge, and it was Sarah Mandrakian herself who first discovered James York. Sarah had organized 'The Judy Show' on a lark, and she was tickled pink at how well it had worked out.

Judy confessed she was a bit freaked out about how many people were seeing her nude, and Sarah looked at her. It was that look people give when someone acts as if they come from Mars. It was as if Judy had said some incomprehensible cosmic transmission. Finally, in a moment of pity, Sarah said, always laconic, "Talk to Melissa."

**

It took a long time for James York to finish the first piece of his trilogy. He wouldn't show it to Judy, but he did say he was happy with it. Judy was exhausted, but exhilarated in the realization that there was now a James York masterpiece, and she had been the model! As a reward, she received a one-month rest and reprieve, and she returned to the Mandrakian Gallery, and her internship.

At the Gallery, Sarah Mandrakian told Judy she was organizing a performing art piece for Tuesday, July 14, 2020, which was National Nude Day. She would have the best nudes from still living artists decorating the gallery's walls, and there would also be a performance art piece. She wanted Judy to help organize the art on the walls, and to participate in the performance art feature of the event.

Judy was a bit taken aback by the performance art aspect, once Sarah had fully described it to her. "Do you really think you'll get the models to do that?" Judy asked.

"You've heard the phrase starving artists?" Sarah asked.

"Of course," Judy replied.

"Don't you think the phrase, . Even more starving models might apply equally as well?"

"So, you think we models will do it for the money?" Judy asked, a bit miffed; insulted on behalf of her peer group.

"No, I think you'll all do it to be part of a performing art piece that will make the news, and probably become legendary," Sarah replied. "The thousand dollars will help you to rationalize why you're doing it."

"We'll each get a thousand dollars?" Judy asked, a bit incredulous, and now quite enthusiastic.

"Yes, and the Gallery will get hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of free publicity," Sarah said, obviously quite pleased with her own idea.

Judy turned out to be stellar at organizing the event, and in the end, there were nine models, one of whom was Judy, who reluctantly agreed to be part of the performance art. She agreed to do it mostly to help Sarah, whom she both liked and admired, to promote herself as a model, and, most of all, for the $1,000. A grand was a large chunk of change. True, it didn't go far in New York, but if you think about working at $15/hour, then you can appreciate its magnitude!

Sarah had asked The Collector if he could allow the Gallery to show some of his nudes for the event, and of course he graciously agreed to lend some of his best nude paintings, several of which had Judy's new friend Melissa featured in them. The work of James York was always creative, imaginative, beautiful, surprising, and, basically, spectacular. Having a beauty like Melissa featured in the paintings of nudes, just made them that much better!

Judy had tried to get Martin to submit one of his nudes of Alexis, but Alexis adamantly refused to let him. Alexis was not a professional model. She had a job in IT for a large company, and she felt that the last thing she needed was to have images of her naked floating around all over the place. She had a point, Judy reluctantly agreed.

To keep the crowds down, Sarah decided to charge an entrance fee. The fee was $25, which in New York is a tiny amount, but enough to keep out the casual onlooker. The event began with all of us models in a small room at the back, which was the break room for people who worked at the gallery. It had a microwave, a small fridge, and a table with chairs. We were all given beautifully colored purple satin robes, with a snap at the waist, and also a belt. Under them, we were naked.

Sarah came out first and greeted the crowd. The event began at 8PM, and the press wasn't invited until 10PM.This gave us two hours of sanity. It was quite a crowd! The mayor was there, with his wife, as were members of the City Council, some high-ups from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and from MOMA, and -- of course -- from the Museum of Sex. Some of the crowd were artists, while others were models, boyfriends and husbands, and most of the rest were lecherous young men. It was a packed house! Masks were required attire.

Sarah gave a little speech. She sketched out a history of nude modeling in painting, focusing on Edouard Manet's Olympia, and then continuing up to the present day. The part that stuck with Judy was when she spoke of a recent French poll, which said that 3% of French women went without a bra before Covid-19, but after the confinement period now 8% of French women routinely went without a bra, and for the 18-24 years old age group, it was 20%! It was a tectonic change. Judy could feel the excitement of the lecherous men listening to Sarah.

Sarah then went on to discuss bras in general. They were invented in 1889 by a woman, Herminie Cadolle, who worked in a corset factory. The bras of Cadolle liberated French women from the tyranny of corsets. Now, a century and half later, even the bra has become a symbol of oppression. She then went on to say how pleased she was to present a collection of star models who model nude for artists interested in the beauty of the female body. She then called upon us, one by one, and we were each expected to walk down the Catwalk, the installation of which Judy herself had overseen.

Judy was terrified. Sure, she had posed nude for a number of artists, and sure, quite a few people of all kinds had seen those same artists' renderings of her naked body, but being naked in the flesh in front of such a large crowd of (mostly) men, some of them quite distinguished politicians and patrons of the arts, she found to be terrifying. Judy's fears were widely shared, none more so than by Melissa, who was, ironically, quite a shy woman. Luckily, one of the nude models, Lucy, had worked her way through college as a stripper, so she had no fears whatsoever, and all the models leaned on her knowledge and temerity.

Lucy had earned a Master of Arts degree, and when she got the degree, the strip joint advertised her in lights, calling her "Luscious Lucy, Master of Fine Arts." Lucy was quite a character. Judy was dying to ask her if she had turned tricks, too, but it was just not possible to ask such an indiscreet question. Judy just assumed that she had. She had that kind of attitude, that kind of aura about her.

Sarah, being no fool, called on Lucy first. As Lucy emerged, in her purple, satin robe, Sarah gave a running commentary on who she was, for which artists she had modeled, and indicated the paintings of her that were displayed on the walls. She kept the banter going as Lucy strutted her way down the catwalk. At the end of the catwalk, she unsnapped the satin robe, opened it to expose her delightful naked body, turned around and strutted back, amid vigorous applause. At the end of the catwalk, Lucy flamboyantly dropped the robe to the floor, giving a radiant smile to the audience, and took her place on the horizontal stage at the back of the room. It was a class act, and would be a hard one to emulate.

Sarah took over as emcee again, and one by one she introduced the women, each and every one of whom tried to do exactly what Lucy had done, with varying degrees of success. The closest any of them came to emulating Lucy's perfection, was Judy. Melissa stumbled, and was less graceful with her robe, but she was Melissa, so it didn't matter.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Let's give a round of applause to all the models. They will now circulate amongst you, and when the press is allowed in, at 10PM, they will lose their robes for the rest of the evening," Sarah said. The response was deafening.