The Seduction: Book 01, Jon

I live on the outskirts of Charlotte. It's not suburban or rural, ruban, maybe? Just enough distance between neighbors so you can have all the privacy you want. Not enough distance so you can get to know your neighbors if you want. That's what this story is about, my neighbors. They moved into a large house down the road that had been vacant for more than a year. It was slow selling because the house and property are large, and that means money. There weren't too many buyers in the market for property at that price point then.

My wife and I were in our early sixties at the time and married more than forty years. The kids are grown with children of their own. With the few glimpses I had of my new neighbors I guessed they were in their late thirties, early forties, my kids' ages. It was hard to tell at that distance.

Being retired I spend a lot of time puttering around the house and yard. My wife still works. While I knew she wanted to retire the prospect of dealing with me 24/7 was too daunting so she kept working to get some breathing room. I noticed that my new neighbors were around pretty much all day, every day so my curiosity had me trying to figure out their situation. Either they worked out of the house, had money or both.

My wife and kids have always accused me of over-analyzing things. It certainly was true in this case. What did they do to afford that house and a stay-at-home lifestyle? Who were these people? There just wasn't enough information to be had watching them to put it all together. To get more meant I had to introduce myself. This is not easy for me because I am not a social person. In other words, I am somewhat introverted. But the older I get the less I become.

About a month after they moved in I made it a point to catch the new guy at the mailbox. He introduced himself as Bill, and his wife as Judy. He seemed like a nice guy, so nice that I invited them over for drinks to give us a chance to get to know one another. He accepted.

Predictably, my wife didn't like the idea of company on a weekday night but I told her I would take care of everything. What's not to like? I called Bill and explained her need to go to bed early and that to make it an early evening we had to start before dinner. I found out he drank beer and Judy white wine. My plans now included an outdoor grilled, dry-rub flank steak. It's easy to prepare and delicious to eat.

Bill and Judy arrived at six. I set them up with wine and beer on the patio and we made light conversation for about fifteen minutes until my wife came in from work. After brief introductions she excused herself to change and freshen up. She joined us a few minutes later.

It was a pleasant evening and I accomplished my objective. I found out that they ran an Internet business out of their home, and according to them it was very lucrative. They were married ten years and made their money from their business. They seemed to be normal folks but normal people didn't look as good as they did. He was just over average height and weight, trim and with regular features. So regular that I'd call him handsome. A good looking guy as evidenced by my wife quickly warming to him. She even liked Judy. Normally she is wary of women thinking they all want to lure me into bed. People like attractive people. Even so, my wife didn't embarrass me.

Judy had her hair in a ponytail and wore jeans with a tucked-in, white oxford shirt. She was a redhead with wavy, not frizzy hair. I have always been a sucker for red hair. Even scrubbed clean with no makeup it was clear that she was very pretty and when dolled up God only knew how pretty she could be. With a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose I would err on the side of calling her beautiful. Like her husband, she was above average height. Weight is always a tricky thing with women so I can't say that she was average, whatever that is. Let's just say she was trim, too. Nice and curvy, but it was hard to tell just how much with a blousy oxford shirt that gave nothing away. The jeans weren't hugging her hips but they were tight on her thighs and being straight cut added to the impression of her being trim. They also gave an indication of her having long legs. I didn't embarrass myself, either. We called it a night by nine. This gave my wife a chance to get a good night's sleep for the following day's work. She enjoyed herself, too.

( The Studio (

A couple of days later Bill met me at the mailbox. He thanked me again for the dinner. They apparently enjoyed themselves, too. Enough that he said they would like to reciprocate. In the mean time he suggested I come over for a couple of beers in the afternoon. He was remodeling and needed another pair of hands to get some things done. I showed up after lunch.

The Internet business must be good because the house's furnishings were very expensive. I saw a lot of custom pieces and elegant decorating. I'm not too knowledgeable about these things but sometimes you can sense a major investment and this was one of them. We grabbed beers and headed for the patio. There was a building to the side back of the main house that he was remodeling and that's where he needed the help. It could have been a barn or carriage house. It was hard to tell from the outside. The previous owner had never invited us over so I didn't know what to expect. It was two stories. I thought it might be storage on the ground floor with a mother-in-law apartment on the second.

Judy came out of the building as we crossed to it. She waved and headed toward us. She said she needed a glass of wine and would join us in a few minutes. She looked like she had the other evening but further up the beautiful scale. Different this time were the hair, makeup, jeans and shoes. The hair was piled up in stylized disarray. A look I like. The makeup was more suited for an evening on the town. You know, dramatic eyes, lipstick and coloring. She had another oxford shirt on but it was pulled out of her waistband and tied off showing a little midriff and a smallish waist. The jeans were hip huggers this time. What did me in were the shoes. Rather, the shoes she was carrying. They were the high-heeled, open kind held together with thin straps that just make a woman totally sexy. I could only imagine what she looked like in them, high heels and jeans, a great combination. Conjuring up that image it was all I could do to be nonchalant and not make a fool of myself. We made small talk and headed over to the building after a few minutes. Judy went into the main house. She never did join us. Too bad, she sure was attractive that afternoon.

It turns out the building was the main reason Bill and Judy bought the place. It was ideally suited to their business. Plus, we lived in an unincorporated part of the county. There weren't any property use restrictions out here in the ruban. I was to find out later that both factors greatly influenced their decision to buy. I guess you can figure out where this is going. You're probably a lot smarter than me or, at the least, quicker on the uptake. Their business was making tapes and taking pictures of themselves in various stages of undress and acting out pornographic scenes for sale on the Internet. I hadn't figured this out when we entered the building. Inside it was completely open. With skylights and no interior second floor it was ideally suited for conversion to a photographic studio and small movie set. The previous owner had been an artist and apparently used it as a studio. Converting it into a photography studio and set for video shoots was the remodeling Bill had undertaken. He needed me to help hoist and attach lighting fixtures, spotlights and light boxes to an overhead gantry structure that he had had installed.

We worked for a few hours and drank a few beers. When we were done I offered to come over and help with the rest of the remodel. He could have done it all himself at that point but my offer would allow him to finish sooner. He accepted. Over the next several weeks I was there a couple of days a week. During that time Judy would occasionally come and help, and get dirty and sweaty alongside us. At other times she would show up all dolled up and Bill would call it a day sending me home.

You can't spend that much time with people without getting to know them a little so it was no surprise that the nature of their business slowly came out. I can't say I was surprised. I may not be quick but I'm not stupid. By the time Bill and Judy finally told me about their business I had already figured it out. This kept me from being bowled over by their revelation. I tried not to be embarrassed. I was cool.

Still, Judy was always prim and proper around me. She was a lot of fun and I enjoyed her company as much as Bill's. Over time a friendship developed that allowed the three of us to be familiar and easy with one another. He was a regular guy with a good sense of humor. Like me, he always looked for the unusual and fun in things. Judy had a good sense of humor as well but hers was more on the sly side. She was funny by the things she didn't say. It's hard to explain but, for example, she would find humor through inference about things left unsaid. I took it to be a sign of a quick and sophisticated mind. I enjoyed going over to their place to see them as much as I did the opportunity to putter around on a project at home. The warmth of their friendship told me they enjoyed my company as much as my help. Dinners, outdoor cooked meals, beers and wine and good company led the four of us to become friends. We would occasionally go to town to take in a movie, go bar hopping and dancing.

While I'm not much of a dancer, my wife likes to dance with Bill. Actually, she'll dance with anyone, and I won't if I can avoid it. Bill kindly obliges. To tell you the truth, I enjoy watching him dance. He is good at it and I can see why my wife enjoys it very much. He didn't dance slow dances with her often but when he did you couldn't slip a piece of paper between them. Afterwards they would return to the table and Betty, my wife would look radiant. She's not a touchy-feely type person but she does enjoy dances where she has an opportunity to caress her partner. When I dance with her I get the full treatment.

I dance with both women once or twice an evening just so I wouldn't be accused of being an old stick in the mud (which I am). I only dance to slow music. When on the dance floor with Judy I always enjoy her scent and perfumes. I wouldn't call her style as sexy. It was more along comfortable and familiar lines. Occasionally I would find myself holding her close or turning into her causing her breasts to press my chest. When this happened it was never the result of lecherous intent on my part but always an artifact of the dance and our movement about the floor. Nevertheless, I noticed that when we were in contact she never pulled away. It was as if she was content to let our movements dictate the intimacy of our contact. That, of course, was fine with me.

By mutual agreement, none of us told Betty what the two of them did for a living. It was simpler that way. My wife is set in her ways and I'm guessing she would feel very uncomfortable if she knew. Bill, Judy and I didn't want to put our budding friendship in jeopardy by telling her so we left it alone. This allowed us to enjoy many evenings bar hopping and dancing.

One thing about our relationship that allowed it to flourish was my not expressing too much interest in the pornography details of their life. Bill and Judy understood I was curious, as any red-blooded American boy would be, and it's my sense that they appreciated me not pumping them for information. Of course, I was dying to know all about it but I didn't push. I knew most of it would come out over time.

( The Business (

One afternoon Judy and I were on their patio drinking while Bill ran to town for supplies for the remodel when she brought up their business. One thing led to another and she asked my opinion of their web site. I had no opinion. I'd never seen it. I didn't know its address. Before going on I admit to being a pornography junky. Betty says I'm addicted. I don't spend any money on it. I don't go to Internet chat rooms. I just surf, enough so that I recognize some of the men and women and have my favorites. Even so, I never recalled seeing Bill or Judy. Now, I know that makeup and lighting can really alter one's appearance such that you wouldn't recognize them on the street. Even so, they did not look familiar. Maybe it's because I only went to free sites?

Judy gave me their web site address and asked me to check it out and give Bill and her feedback. Apparently, they were concerned that their site was getting stale and wanted to keep it entertaining and fresh for their subscribers and attract new ones. She gave me a userid and password to get into the site's members area. That was a Friday afternoon. I wouldn't see them again until the following week. I couldn't wait to get home, log onto their web site and check them out.

Holy smokes! Judy was hot (she still is)! I couldn't believe that wholesome, sweet unassuming Judy could be so uninhibited. I'm glad she was because when I got to their web site I was blown away. She is gorgeous in and out of clothes. Yes, she is curvy. Suspicions confirmed. Their style was studio shots of them separately, and POV (point of view) gonzo shots and movies of them pleasuring themselves and each another. I guess giving Bill almost as much space as Judy was one of the things that separated their site from others and attracted an audience the others were passing up. It's not exactly what I thought a gay site might be. It was more along the lines of Judy's esthetic sense of what women might enjoy in Bill. The site was well constructed and tastefully rendered, at least to my tastes. The more Puritanical among you would think it raunchy. There are more slick sites out there but theirs didn't give up much.

Like everyone else that enjoys pornography, I have preferences. Thankfully, their site addressed many of them. What I didn't care for was the POV approach. I think it greatly limited the capabilities and shots that they could offer subscribers. Of course, to get away from that they would have to use more than one camera and a separate photographer. The viewer/voyeur knows when someone else is on the set when these shots are taken and that adds to the eroticism they were trying to tap into.

That's what I told them the following week. They paid close attention to my observations and opinions. I was flattered. The conversation was conducted at a professional level, thank God, because it was hard separating Judy from the gorgeous, sexually charged creature I now knew her to be from the friend sitting across the table. I think Bill sensed this and smiled at my awkwardness. He was kind enough not to call me on it.

I asked them if they had ever considered using a cameraman or two (or three?), lighting and sound technicians, and models/actors in their shots and movies. Well, of course they had but their response surprised me. They said being naked and engaging in sex in front of others not similarly engaged would make them uneasy, awkward and embarrassed. Watching each other having sex with someone else would be more difficult. When I pushed them they told me how embarrassed they were just dealing with their webmaster designing pages and links. They knew enough to post new images and videos, which they continuously did to update their library and archives but not enough to keep their site fresh and movement within it convenient. They said it was painfully difficult for them to talk to the billing people, as well. Finally, they attended industry conventions and trade shows to keep abreast of industry trends and make contacts. Finding that others in the industry knew of them and complimented them on their work was embarrassing for them.

I couldn't believe this. Here were people that enjoyed sharing their sexual passions with anyone that put up the money to view it. I told them that a lot of people (their subscribers) already knew more about them than a cameraman or technician would. And, as far as including models in their shoots, as long as they were professional and conducted themselves that way there shouldn't be a problem. They were offering their services for hire just as assuredly as a handyman does when he fixes an appliance. Sure there's a physical familiarity component with one and not the other but the pictures and movies they offered on the Web left nothing to the imagination with people that weren't professional so why should it matter?

To help get over their apprehensions I suggested they use the industry contacts they were making at the conventions and trade shows to get into another site's studio and observe a still shot session or video shoot to draw their own conclusions about the level of professionalism in the industry. Sure there are those out there that would argue against my point but if they picked carefully they could see what was possible. I also suggested that if they ever got to the point of using another cameramen and models that they rotate them so that the sameness that they were trying to avoid wouldn't set in.

I let it go at that and we got back to the remodel. A couple of days later over beers and wine Bill and Judy said the pressure to retain subscribers and attract new ones was forcing them to consider other ways of entertaining them. They liked an idea I had to post outtakes and planned to incorporate them into their site. After all, there were only so many ways to pleasure themselves and each other before it all became variations on the same theme. By adding humor and lighter moments with the outtakes they could breakup the staged and clinical aspects of their site's presentation.

They felt that of all the options available to them the smallest step outside their comfort zone and into a new direction would be to use a photographer. With no idea if they could get past their inhibitions or what one cost but before they made that kind of commitment they wanted to try it to understand if the results were worth going in that direction. I'm sure you can figure out what happened next. I was already in their comfort zone and that made me the obvious candidate for their trial photographer. Their argument went something like this, "Jon, you're our friend and have our trust. We would feel more comfortable with you in the studio and on the set than a complete stranger. Think of yourself as a bridge for us to cross to a different level. Quite honestly, if we don't make this transition we worry about our site's viability and our financial future. Will you be our photographer on a trial basis?"

It sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime. Except that they were transferring responsibility for their livelihood and future onto my shoulders. Not good. I was retired and didn't want the burden of added responsibility, especially for someone else. I pointed out that I might not have the technical skills or the talent to direct, compose and light a shot. Sure, I'm an amateur photographer and understand the basics, but was I skilled or talented enough for such an undertaking?

They gave me all kinds of assurances the trial could be as little a commitment as just giving them the opportunity to find out what it was like to work with another person on the set. Even if that was all I did then it would make it easier for them to transition to a professional photographer.

Without refusing the offer out-of-hand I pointed out my concerns. Namely that I would feel awkward and embarrassed, too. I wasn't sure if I could ever get beyond that stage and told them so. If I agreed to do this I initially wanted to work alongside each of them as they took shots of the other to see why they were doing what they were doing, and test their choices against my own.