Chapter 1

 

I have no idea why she popped into my mind again, but she did and it wasn't the first time. The first time I saw Lily was nearly twenty years ago. I remember it as if it were only yesterday. She was only eighteen at the time and married. It was at a Halloween party at a friend's house. She was with some guy, her husband I assumed, and she was dressed like a fairy princess.

Lily was one of those young women you don't forget...you don't want to forget. Tall, maybe five feet eight or nine inches tall, lean and built for speed. Nice rack, too. But it was her face that arrested my attention. Angelic is an overused description, but in her case it fit perfectly. A beautiful face framed by short blonde hair with startling deep blue eyes and beautiful soft lips that smiled a lot. Lily became my dream girl. My fantasy girl.

My name is Taggart Wilson, and back in elementary school my name was shortened to Tag and it stayed with me through the years.

I had just opened my photography studio on Gillis Street at the time. I got out of the Navy and was full of piss and vinegar, ready to set the world on fire with my talent as a world class photographer. Okay, that world-class thing was mostly in my mind, but I was good. I was also lucky.

The luck part came when I entered a photo contest and while I didn't win top prize, I placed in the top five. That got my name out there and I landed some nice assignments. I was lucky to shoot some top models over the years and I made a lot of money.

I stayed a bachelor by some artful dodging and more good luck. It wasn't that I wanted to be single. I was just too picky. Of course I realize that now, but at the time I was being selective. I was looking for the perfect woman and of course there is no such thing...or so I thought.

My town is small, but it's a suburb of a larger city. I chose to live in Greenville, but spent a lot of time in the city. I like the idea of living in a small town. Since the interstate highway opened it's only half an hour's drive to the attractions of a big city. Not that there was all that much to attract me. The theater, some nice restaurants, and a wider selection of commercial female company. Hookers, in case I was too subtle. I am not now nor have I ever been a fan of the club scene. Much too loud and too crowded for me.

I had just finished a layout for a major men's magazine. It had been an exhausting location shoot in Mexico. Exhausting because I had to work with three beautiful professional models. Beautiful, but dumber than a bag of rocks. All three tried to outdo the others in silly demands. What should have taken three days, took six days. What should have been a pleasant trip to a tropical paradise was a journey to hell.

It was on the flight home that I decided to retire and just get out of the rat race. I fondly recalled the days before I had to work with prima donnas and models that thought their shit didn't stink. Back when I worked with mostly amateur models who were excited just to have a professional take their pictures. Ladies who did whatever I asked without complaining.

Over the years I made a lot of money and I was able to save a good portion of it. Some good investment advice helped a lot. If necessary I could live nicely from the interest I had coming in. I lived a simple life for the most part. I drive a five year old domestic SUV and I don't chase after fashion. I lived in a large two story house that I bought with the proceeds from my first big assignments. Over the years I refurbished the house from roof to basement. Several years ago I moved my studio from Gillis Street to the house.

By remodeling what had been, in earlier times a dining room and a living room, I made myself a nice studio. Since a lot of my work was location shooting, I didn't need a huge studio so it was perfect for me. My living space was upstairs. I had a nice place to watch TV and sleep and that was all I needed.

Having made the decision to scale back my work I felt a sense of relief. I wanted to get back to the basics of photographic. I sat down and revised my fees by slashing them. I had charged as much as five thousand dollars for a studio session and as much as fifty thousand dollars for a location shoot. When I say slashed, I really mean I mutilated my fees.

The first thing I did was get rid of all my film equipment. All the large format, medium format, and most of the 35mm cameras. I purchased another top of the line digital camera to go with the one I had and upgraded my computer and software. That meant I could sell all the darkroom equipment also.

The darkroom was in what had been the original kitchen. I removed all the blackout curtains and replaced the glass I had painted black with clear glass. I hired a professional company to come and replace the floor covering and get rid of the chemical stench.

When I was all ready to go, I placed ads in the local paper and listed my new fees. My rates were very much in line with the local studios and chain stores. The fact I had a recognizable name helped bring in the customers. In fact I had to hire a young woman to take care of scheduling and act as a receptionist.

My former patrons, editors, publishers and agents, were highly pissed-off that I was no longer doing location shoots or high dollar studio work.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Emmitt Rawlings bellowed at me over the phone. Emmitt was the editor of a very large fashion magazine. "You are at the top of your game, Tag! Why would you even consider going back to shooting bucktooth, pimple faced kids? Get real!"

I didn't try to explain my reasons to Emmitt or any of the others who fussed at me. For the first time in a long time I enjoyed what I was doing. I leaped out of bed every morning ready to make some magic with my camera. I felt so good I even joined a gym and was working hard to get my soft body back into shape. I jogged almost every day and it was working. I lost fifteen pounds of fat and I felt good about it. I still had a way to go, but I was getting there.

The girl I used as a receptionist had gone for the day and I went to investigate the bell that tinkled when the door was opened. There she was, standing in my reception room. My fantasy girl. The girl I had seen all those years ago at a Halloween party dressed as a fairy princess. I had completely lost contact with her. Someone told me she and her husband moved to the city. But there she was standing in my reception room. Twenty years rolled away like a mist.

Twenty years that had not changed her one tiny bit. She was still the most beautiful woman I ever saw. Twenty years in which she had not aged a minute. She still looked like that eighteen year old girl I saw at a party. I closed my mouth with an effort. I wondered if it was possible that this lovely creature could be the daughter of my fantasy.

"Hi, I'm Tag Wilson," I managed to say without sounding like a complete moron. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm sorry I don't have an appointment," she said. "I took a chance you might be opened. Do you take walk-ins?" I didn't, but I'm adaptable. A closer examination proved that this was the original fantasy girl and not her daughter after all. The years had been exceedingly kind to her.

"No, but I can always make exceptions," I said.

"I'm Lily Irwin," she said holding out her hand which I made an effort not to snatch. It dawned on me I had never known her last name. "Frankly, I'm here on an impulse. I just moved back to Greenville a few months ago and I have no current pictures of me. My best friend, Darla, said you were the best photographer in..." she laughed. Her laugh was like the tinkling bell over my door. "She said you were the best photographer in the world."

"I'd be a fool to argue with that," I said.

"I'll admit I've seen some of your work, Mister Wilson," she said smiling at me prettily. "I'm not interested in doing nudes and that seems to be what you are famous for. Isn't that right?"

"I have done some nudes from time to time," I said and informed her I answered to Tag. "What exactly are you interested in?"

"I really don't know," she said with her tinkling laugh. "Darla insisted I come and get some professional pictures. She bet me a hundred dollars I wouldn't and I really wanted to take her money. What do you charge?"

"A hundred dollars," I said with a smile. "That way it won't cost you a dime."

"Well, maybe it will," she said, her smile fading. "The bet is that I pose wearing lingerie and swimwear. I'm not sure I want to do that." I took another closer look at her figure. My initial appraisal was correct. She still had the body of a teenager.

"Why don't you ease into that style of modeling," I suggested. "We can do some shots of you wearing a parka and mukluks to start off with."

"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary," she said, her smile back again. "When would you have time to do me?"

"It's best done quickly," I said, Ignoring the impulse to blurt I'd do her anytime or any place. "Did you bring some changes?"

"No...ah, yes, some," she said looking flustered. "No lingerie or swimwear. Some shorts and a halter top and a couple of dresses."

"Good. Go get them and let us proceed with the proceedings," I said.

Fifteen minutes later she was back in the studio. I was surprised that my hands were actually shaking. I was surprised, because I have taken photos of thousands of women. Maybe even ten thousand. The beautiful Lily, my fantasy girl, was sitting on the modeling stool in my studio.

I fired several shots just to get her, and myself relaxed. When my hands stopped shaking I started to pose her. Lily was a natural model. She didn't need to arrange her face in fake smiles. She was a natural beauty, doing natural things. My professionalism finally kicked in and I got serious.

After a hundred or so shots I sent her to the changing room to put on something else. She returned wearing a bright yellow sundress that buttoned down the front. I changed the backdrop to better suit the yellow dress and we started again.

"Lily, unbutton the top two buttons," I told her after several shots.

"Are you sure, Tag? I'm not wearing a bra," she said.

"I'm sure," I said. "Let's go for a deep cleavage shot. You have it, so flaunt it." With a nervous smile she slowly unbuttoned the top button and looked at me. I took a shot of her doing so. She unbuttoned the second button and looked back at me. Her look was as sensual as any look I had ever seen from any woman. I snapped a few more shots with her hand still grasping the material.

Her hand fell away and the dress gapped open giving me a glimpse of her breasts. Only the sides of her magnificent globes were visible. I got busy taking picture after picture. When I had her leaning back the dress fell open almost to her areoles.

"Undo another button, Lily," I said. It was difficult to talk because my mouth was dry. She hesitated, but only for a moment. After she did it, she leaned back again and I saw the objects of my fantasies. Two perfectly formed breasts and her nipples were large and pink just like I imagined they would be. I finally stopped staring at her long enough to take some photos.

"Why don't you go change?" I said my voice hoarse. "There is a closet in the changing room and there are some clean pieces of lingerie. See if you can find something you feel comfortable wearing." She left without a word while modestly holding the dress closed.

It took her longer to change that time, but when she returned it had been worth the wait. She had selected a cobalt blue assemble. It was one of the outfits left over from a lingerie catalog shoot. It was an expensive line and looked it. Panty and bra set complete with garter and a negligee.

While she was changing, I changed the card in the camera and had the first one uploading to the computer. I needed to change, and it was a good thing I had. I took well over two hundred shots of Lily in the blue outfit before sending her to find something else.

"Tag," she called from the changing room. "Some of this stuff doesn't fit and some is just too risqué."

"Let me be the judge of what's too risqué," I laughingly called back. When she finally emerged she was wearing a red panty and bra set. I recognized it from a less expensive catalog shoot. The bra had Velcro panels that were removal to expose the nipples. The panties had a removal panel that made them crotch-less.

She started posing so naturally, so professionally, I forgot she was a rank amateur for a moment. I nearly burned the camera up. Then came the moment of truth. I told her to remove the panels from the bra. I was a little surprised she did so without any hesitation. Her proud nipples poked out and it was obvious they were hard.

I used up the space on the new memory card and changed again to a fresh one. Lily did hesitate a moment when I suggested she remove the bra completely. Then with a beautiful smile she removed it and tossed it to me. I must have took a hundred shots if her topless. Then I told her to remove the panel from the panties.

"No," she said with a merry laugh. "I don't think so, Tag. I've already went farther than I ever thought I would. I think I've won my hundred dollars and that's enough for now. Maybe later."