The Test Shoot

Not too much. Make it look natural.

She retracted, just a bit. Drew attention to her heavy brown breasts by brushing her fingers across their tops, where the water fell upon her.

Nice. Nice. Good.

He never made any specific comments about her body. Why would he? It was already a shady situation; he wanted her to be as comfortable as possible, and that meant no catcalling, which was kind of adorable.

Something's missing...

There was a slight flaw in her fantasy; the girls in porn shoots, their nipples were usually stiff. Her nipples weren't, not quite. How would a guy like Levi ask her to bring them to attention, though?

Wasn't there usually a trick to this in shower scenes? That's right, Cassie once got drunk and told her as an aside related to some other story,

This is going to suck, but turn the water down to cold.

The shock of it almost hurt, but Devika got used to it, and her dark nipples soon stood proud and engorged.

There we go! Beautiful! Now, let's lather up.

Devika stepped back from the spray of the water and soaped up the loofah. Once it was nice and sudsy, she ran the loofah up between her breasts; she looked out past the shower door while she did so, giving the imaginary Levi her best sultry look.

She then looked down and watched herself soap up the rest of her chest in slow, luscious circles, watching the white suds slip and settle against her dark cinnamon skin, sighing every time the rough loofah pushed against the stiff black buds atop each tit. She made a second pass, a third pass. Each time, the juncture between her legs got soaked with something warmer than the shower water, pushed along by an itch that compelled her to scrub lower, and lower, and lower.

That's it. Get yourself nice and clean.

She leaned back against the tiled wall, raising her knee, planting her foot against the glass of the shower stall as she exposed her smooth, thick innie pussy to Levi's imaginary camera, rubbing the loofah up and down her lips, letting the mesh drag within her slit, against the tiny pale pearl of her clit, and tangle and mix with her thick pubic landing strip.

More. Give me more.

Above, bright soap bubbles popped and slid down her smooth dark skin.

More.

One of her breasts jiggled from the loofah's ministrations down below.

More!

The other was held down by her free hand, its stiff dark nub at the peak pulled and tweaked between her fingertips. She opened her mouth but tightened the muscles in her voicebox so that a breath went out in place of a moan.

MORE!

She thrust her chest forward, reared her hips back, ground herself against the loofah, looked into the phantom lens and licked her lips, there was a knock at the door

BANG BANG BANG!

In the space of a half-syllable—"Fuh!"—Devika realized she was diddling herself in a friendly stranger's bathroom, officially making her a bigger creep than the guy who pulled her from the street and offered her cash to photograph her in his tiny house. "Hold on one second!" Devika shouted, instinctively covering herself.

"Oh, sorry, I'm not coming in," Levi casually shouted through the door. Devika shut the water to hear him better. "When you're done," he said, "put on the robe and meet me in the studio. I wanna show you something before you get changed."

"Oh! Yeah, sure!" After a deep breath to slow her heart down, Devika turned the water back on and rinsed the soap off her body, giving her a chance to stop her head from spinning.

She kept it cold. What the hell, it was hot out there anyway.

* * * * *

After her shower, after she toweled off and blew her hair dry, Devika checked herself out in the bathroom mirror; the soft, fluffy blue robe covered her well...maybe a little too well. Creepy or not, she was still pulled from the brink of coitus at the last minute, and it left her in a mood. So she loosened the sash of the robe, letting it open all the way down to her navel, revealing much of the inner slopes of her breasts. The idea of walking out to meet Levi like filled her with hormonal glee, but she convinced herself that it wouldn't play out the way it did in her mind. She closed the robe up a little more to raise its plunge and hide more of her chest; still a little south of classy, but now well north of skanky. Leaning forward sent a good amount of titflesh spilling out, but her still-stiff nipples remained concealed under the cotton.

Perfect.

The door to the spare bedroom-cum-studio was open, but Devika knocked before entering anyway, partly out of courtesy. "Ah, good," Levi said. There was a MacBook on the vanity; he was putting a few finishing touches on a picture before turning around. "I just wanted to show you a couple of...uh..."

Levi had made the mistake of turning back to look at Devika as she entered. For just the lesser half of a split second, she could see him turn into the wolf from Tex Avery's cartoons before he quickly pulled his gaze up to her eyes and fought the reaction back.

"I...wanted to show you some pictures from the shoot," said Levi, barely without stammering. With all the signals Devika had been sending...well, maybe it was just that one big signal, but she still wished he'd make some advances, even if they were crude. She wanted some recognition of this little game she couldn't help but play with him.

Instead, Levi pulled himself away from the view and went back to his Macbook, loading up a picture of Devika drinking her water. "So here's how you started," he said, "before our talk."

"God. I look like I learned about fitting in with 'the humans' from Playboy magazine."

"Yes, you do," said Levi. "But it's still pretty decent for a first timer."

"You don't have to coddle me," said Devika, casually.

"I'd like to keep shooting you, so I kind of want to. But I'm serious."

"What, I'm not the first girl you pulled off the street?"

"You're not the first amateur I've shot," said Levi. "Everyone starts somewhere; sometimes they start with me. But I'm not referring to them." Levi went into his photo browser, into a folder labeled "SFAI MEMORIES," and pulled up the goofiest looking black-and-white portrait of himself Devika ever could have imagined.

"Get the fuck out!" she squealed. He was going for an "Eternity by Calvin Klein" thing, giving the camera his best Blue Steel, coming up with something like Teal Aluminum instead. He looked so awkward and out of place, it didn't even seem to matter that he was shirtless and nicely cut with a soft six-pack. (Though now that she noticed...God damn, boy.)

"'Y'know the thing about a bad model,'" Levi said in a faux-Robert Shaw voice as Devika laughed, "'he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes.'" He switched back to his normal voice: "Yeah, compared to me? You did awesome. Especially after you put on the glasses. Check this out."

He wasn't kidding; the aviators hid Devika's nervous eyes while granting her an air of mysterious, venue-appropriate coolness that played into her sexuality. Her poses became twice as confident and ten times hotter when they were on.

"Those glasses bring out a more assertive side of you," said Levi, flipping through the pictures. "Look: Every now and then you can see somebody in the background turning to check you out. This is one of the most popular sightseeing spots in LA, and for a moment, you completely owned it."

Devika was physically drawn to the pictures; she had no idea she could look this hot. Of course, when she leaned in, her bust hung down right next to Levi's face. He had stopped himself from turning his head, but Devika kept feeling his side-eye towards the smooth chocolate pudding-like slope of her breast, barely held in by the robe, and she knew right then that she was getting naked for him before this day was over.

"It still looks a little stiff, I think," said Devika. She was totally talking about her posing in the images. Sure.

"Well...yeah. I mean, that's the thing," said Levi. "These are all shots where I posed you. Meanwhile, when I started taking casual shots..." Levi pulled up some of the pictures he took of her between poses. Shots of her laughing, hanging around, looking less concerned.

"Ooh, I see it."

"Yeah. I think you don't really know how to take specific direction." Levi spun in his chair to face Devika. "Which isn't your fault.You never had, uh..."

Devika realized he was having trouble looking her in the eye; having had her fun, she closed up her robe. "Sorry," she said, giggling.

"No, don't, don't worry about it," Levi insisted, shaking his head. "I'm the one who was staring, so really, I'm sorry."

The Angel on Devika's shoulder felt bad about being such a ruthless tease, causing him to presumably question his ethical standing. Here was a good guy trying to make her feel comfortable after she agreed to an outrageous request, and she was making him uncomfortable in turn. The Devil, of course, couldn't get enough of it. He had seen some of the world's most beautiful women in all their glory, and she's the one he can't handle? If this was a ruse, she had to accept that it was working. If it wasn't a ruse, however, it was fucking amazing.

Levi quickly jumped back into his groove. "I was saying: I think for this next set, I'm going to try not to pose you so much and see what happens when I just guide you emotionally. Sound good?"

"Sure."

"Great. There's a catch."

"Uh oh."

"The concept is a girl waiting to be picked up by a date that'll never come," he said. "So you can imagine I'll be asking about some heavy stuff."

Devika shrugged it off. "Beats running a mile in a million degree heat."

"True," said Levi. "Plus you get to wear an awesome dress."

* * * * *

Devika applied the makeup herself this time, with no shortage of guidance from Levi, who took pictures of the process. "Talk about something that excited you," said Levi.

"Moving here," said Devika. "Getting a chance to build something that was mine."

"What was going through your head when you were getting on the plane to first fly out here?" He added, "Try to bring yourself back into that moment."

"Well, I kept feeling like there was this invisible hand trying to pull me back," said Devika. "Back to my home, back to my family. Back to everyone I ever knew. Back to where I knew I'd be comfortable and taken care of." She barely noticed the snapping of Levi's shutter; too busy picturing herself at the security gate in Wayne County Airport, hugging Mom and Dad goodbye, vision blurred all around by tears while quiet, encouraging sobs echoed in her mind.

"And what kept you going?"

"Honestly? It was the obligation. It was like, 'you bought the plane ticket, you're registered at USC, you can't back out just because you suddenly think that this is no longer everything you ever wanted."

"When did you realize it was going to be okay? When did you get that excitement back?"

"Well...it's funny, my flight was actually delayed; I was hoping to land in the afternoon, but the way everything shook out, I ended up making the final approach into LAX just as the sun was going down. I'd been there before for campus visits, orientation, all that stuff, but I never had a chance to actually just stop and watch a California sunset. And now that I was seeing one from the air, I just felt like, 'Yeah. This is where I'm supposed to be.'"

When Devika finished her makeup, Levi showed her some of the pictures he took while she was beaming about seeing her first sunset. "Exactly what I was hoping for," he said, which left Devika with no shortage of pride. "Go put your dress on."

The dress was awesome; it was a sleeveless red satin slip gown with a surplice front and a column silhouette. Simple, elegant, classically sexy. After she put it on, she called in Levi and asked if he somehow happened to have a matching set of panties.

"Even if you won't see them," she explained, "it helps sell the attitude. If I'm going out in a dress like this, I don't want to be wearing my usual whites underneath."

"Uh, yeah, I get that," he conceded. "Hang on one second—all of this is washed, by the way."

"And I sure do appreciate it."

Levi came up with lacy red hipsters that matched the dress perfectly. After leaving for a moment so Devika could put them on, he completed the ensemble with a pearl necklace, gold bracelet, and matching clutch, and directed her to check herself out in the mirror.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I'm half-tempted to fantasize about buying it from you," said Devika. "How much did this cost?"

"Enough," said Levi, shooting while Devika twisted herself in front of the mirror, taking particular interest when she stuck her leg out of the high, dramatic slit of the dress. "I shoot fashion shows for people in exchange for a wardrobe, so I don't really know how much this cost. You really do wear that dress, though."

"I'm assuming you want me to feel really happy and excited now to contrast with how dejected I'm supposed to feel later?" Devika said this without losing any of her perkiness.

"That's the plan." Levi snapped away as Devika treated herself to one more twirl in front of the mirror. "Let's move to the couch and put it into motion."

Devika took one last look at herself in the mirror; probably the 20th "last" look she'd had. She tried to remember the last time she looked this pretty and couldn't come up with anything; she had simply never worn a dress this nice before, not even to her prom. Oh God, this dress must be a pain in the ass to maintain somehow. Is there a wrong way to sit on it? What if I—

She had an idea. "Hey, Levi, maybe you should give me direction at first, make me self-conscious about how I look."

"Really? What are you thinking?" Levi motioned Devika to follow him.

"I'm thinking that if I'm going out, I don't want to ruin the lines of my dress, so I'm going to sit really carefully and awkwardly, right? But as the night goes on and the date doesn't show up—"

"You care less and less. I like that! Let's give it a shot!"

* * * * *

The TV area by the front door was now set up like the photo studios she saw in movies, with umbrellas attached to lamps that shone on the couch after the light bounced off them. The bay window was covered from the outside with a blue screen, blocking any light from seeping in. All across Devika's body, her nerves pressed against the underside of her skin and her stomach churned, suddenly reminded that she was a total amateur walking into a quasi-professional situation.

You're anxious, she reminded herself, and that's exactly where he wants you. Her eyes darted back to Levi, smiling, gentle, beautiful, and she realized that she had this.

"Okay, take a seat like it's your first day of class and you want to get on the teacher's good side." Devika sat down carefully, back straight, hands on her knees, her toes doing a little tap-dance while her heels remained grounded.

Levi snapped his pictures—POP POP POP, lights flashed in startling succession, throwing Devika off balance. "Oh, yeah, you wouldn't have expected that," said Levi, mentally kicking himself. "Sorry. The lighting rig here works a little differently."

"No, it's fine," said Devika, pulling herself together, "I can get used to it. Let's try that again." When she first said it, she was just trying to keep things rolling. Shortly afterward, she realized it was true; she got used to being on camera over the course of the outdoor shoot, after all.

Pop-pop-pop! In fact, she was already mostly used to it. The flashes and bangs made it feel more real, more glamorous. Like she was actually a fashion model and not just moonlighting for a day to impress some guy.

Pop-pop-pop! "Good, good. Smile for me," he said, and she did. "A little wider," he said, and she complied. "Okay, ignore the camera. Put yourself in your own little world. Think about a guy you really like."

Unfortunately, the guy she really liked was the guy holding the damn camera she was supposed to ignore. Who else? Well, there was Sandip. Cute, reliable, kind, cute, smart, funny, cute...did she remember that he was cute twice?

Pop-pop-pop! "Perfect!" Devika suddenly giggled, and Levi snapped pictures of that, too. He pushed some buttons on the back of the camera, then approached her, bringing her attention to the camera's display. "Here's what you looked like before," he said; it looked like Devika was posing for an awkward school picture. "Now, here's what you looked like when I asked you to think about a guy." She looked like she was daydreaming; excited, nervous, exactly like she'd look if she was waiting for a dream date.

"Nice," Devika observed. With a friendly grin, she cheerfully instructed Levi to "Never listen to my ideas again."

"Your ideas got me this pose," Levi assured her. "I just needed the face." He went back into position. "Who was the guy you were thinking of?" he asked. "Do you mind me asking?"

"Not at all!" Levi continued snapping away as Devika talked. "His name's Sandip, he was the son of my mother's friend, and we used to play together all the time when I was growing up. And then as we got older, I started to notice that he always seemed to be the most handsome guy in any room."

"And he must've noticed you were the most beautiful girl in any room."

"Yeah," Devika said, drawing the word out, raising her eyebrows, causing Levi to shrug as if there was nothing else he could reasonably say to that, "but not in the way I would've liked."

"Really?" Pop-pop-pop! "Well, what did you like about him?"

"He was strong; stronger than he realized, I think. And he loved to love things. When everybody was growing up and trying to look cool by talking shit about whatever was popular, he just jumped into his passions with his whole heart and ignored the things that bothered him. He didn't care how it looked. I mean, that's so rare. And he always listened to anything I had to say. He didn't always know exactly how to respond—actually, he's a real smartass, it drives me crazy sometimes, even now—but he always made me feel better just by being there."

"So what happened?" Levi had been taking pictures the entire time; Devika barely noticed the flashbulbs. "Why didn't he go out with you? Did you ever ask him?"

"Well, the thing is, we were too alike. We both loved computers, we both hated growing up in Taylor, we both thought David Archuleta was cute..."

"Okay, so...?"

Devika motioned for Levi to put two and two together.

"Oh," he said. "OH," he added.

Devika laughed. "We did end up going to prom together, though. We had a great time, too," she said. "And he knew how I felt about him. I think he even felt a little guilty that he couldn't reciprocate, but I was all right. I've been rejected in worse ways...but I should probably save that for the depressing part of the shoot."

Levi nodded. "Speaking of which: I'm gonna shoot you for a while with no guidance. Feel free to riff, do whatever, but once you start feeling the boredom and frustration kick in, embrace that. Let me see it in your face and poise."

"Got it."

Levi snapped away for a good five minutes while Devika tried different poses, some basic, some silly. A precious few of them were flirtatious, like the one where she laid on her back, her right leg up in the air, the skirt of her dress falling away to reveal a long, luscious leg darkened by her pantyhose and the beginning of its curve into her rump.

"You're okay with that?" Levi asked.

"I think so. Why, am I showing anything?"

"Not really. Some women...don't like showing that much thigh, is all."