Cámara Sensual (Completed)

Part Nine

To the man who has helped me to becoming a better writer and craft my chapters better.  Float on and on, my dear!

Vivian and I stepped into the darkness of my apartment, the light from the television screen the only source of light.   I could hear the droplets falling from  his hair and clothes as he closed the door.  Normally, I can't stand that kind of stuff - it just means there will be big puddles of water to mop up later.  But I could let it go this time.  He was here - he'd come to see me.  The puddles could wait.

"Lexie." There was something about the way he said my name that made me hold my breath.  "I can't come in your house like this."

My eyes narrowed toward him.  "Like what?"

His gestured to his drenched, dripping body before looking back at me.  "I'm drenched, Lexie."

"I can see that."  Realization hits me so hard, I stumble backward.  "Wait, are you saying that you want out of those clothes?"

He nodded.  "Unless you have something here I can dress in."

I shook my head furiously.  "No, I don't have anything here for you to  wear."  I puffed up my cheeks without even realizing.  "You promised you trying anything, Vivian!"

"And I'm keeping that promise," he replied, remaining calm.  "I won't try anything with you, but I can't have myself catching a cold either, since a shoot to edit and my senior exhibition in a week.

"What's the matter?"  I turned my head away so he wouldn't see the shyness on my face.  "Are you afraid of what will happen if I take my clothes off?  Will you be embarrassed?"

"N-No, of course not!" I said in a huff.  "I've seen you naked before."

"Yes, you have.  And when you do, you usually can't keep your hands off me."  I shot him an infuriated look - but I knew how busted I was.  "But you made me promise not to try anything with you, and I promised you I would.  After all, there is more to life than just sex, right?"

"R-Right."  He turned me words against me, that sneak.  I was surprised - but it made me feel happy, too.  "Okay, okay, take them off.  If you want to dry them, I have a dryer in the closet over there." I threw him a serious look.  "And remember - you promised you wouldn't do anything!"

He smiled a knowing smile.  "Somehow, I don't think I'm the one you need to worry about."  Once again - busted.  "Now, eat up.  I know you're still hungry from earlier."

He placed the bag down on a nearby console table.  "I'll be borrowing a towel as well, if you don't mind."

I waved him off.  "Can't talk - going to eat."

I heard him laugh as I disappeared into my room, really hungry for a burger.  Plus, eating would help me calm my nerves, since Vivian was in the other room, stripping off all his clothes.

I blinked.  Maybe Vivian was right - maybe he wasn't the one I needed to worry about.

I pulled out the burger, ready to sink my teeth in it.  It looked like he got it from the "Five Guys" not too far away from my house.  They made burger so good, they should have been against the law.  That's why I didn't eat them very often because they were damn good and you were pretty much guaranteed to gain, like, a thousand calories from one burger.

But since Vivian was the one who bought this for me, I wasn't too interested in counting calories.  And if I gained a few curves from this meaty masterpiece, then Vivian would just have to deal with it.

My body was overcome with euphoric bliss as I took my first bite of that sinful burger.  Jesus - how the hell can they make burgers so good?  They must be working with the devil to have such talent.  The meat was so tender and moist, the bacon perfectly fried, and the cheese oh-so warm and gooey. I had not time to be dainty about eating this burger.  Juices may have been running down chin, but I didn't give a crap.  This was a damn good burger!

"So good," I managed as I devoured the last little bit of burger.

"Better than me?"  I stood upright at the sound of Vivian's voice coming into my bedroom.  "If you say 'yes', you'll break my heart."

I willed myself not to turn around.  I could hear the faint strains of my dryer in the background, so I knew that at best he was in just his skivvies and at worst completely nude.  I tried to remind myself of his promise not to try anything with me, but with every step he took, I could feel the excitement swirling in my stomach gaining more and more momentum.

"I don't think you can compare the two," I sniffed.  "One involves eating food and the other involves...well, definitely not eating food."

"But I eat you out all the time."  I was so busy crying out in embarrassment that I didn't feel the bed dip downward when he entered my bed.  When I felt his hot breath fan against my ear, I thought I'd faint.  "And let me tell you, I eat more of you than I do burgers.  You taste much, much better."

Good God, why does he have to be so fucking sexy?  "I thought you said you weren't going to try anything."

"And I won't.  But..."  I froze as he wrapped his arms around my waist.  "...but you didn't ask me not to tease you.  And you know much much I enjoy doing that to you."

I swallowed hard.  "Vivian, what are you doing?"

"Umm, you're so dry and warm.  Just the thing I need right now.  Being out in the rain made me so cold.  But I knew if could warm right up if I curled up next to you."  Jesus, this is not going to end up well, is it?  "You were always so soft and warm."

My eyes fluttered as I was overcome with the euphoric high that came with being so close to Vivian.  If this kept up...  "I don't know if I'm comfortable with you this close to me."

"What?"  I could see him grinning out of the corner of my eye.  "Don't you like it when I'm this close to you?"  Yes.  Yes.  A thousand times yes!  "Don't you trust me?"

No.  "I...I try to."

"You try to?"

"Ah...I...I do."  I knew he wasn't convinced, but he didn't mention that.  How could he be - I wasn't convinced either.  "It's just that...well, you're as handsome as the devil, and beautiful women can't seem to keep their hands off you."

"Oh...that."  He sounded very amused.  "I've never noticed that."

"Are you for real?  Were we at the same photo shoot today?"  I stood up from  my bed, breaking out of his hold on me.  I never realized that he was so firm.  "That one model was all over you today.  She didn't hide her desire at all."  I, on the other hand, could do nothing to contain my bitterness.  "It didn't help that she looked amazing in that get-up of hers."

"If you say so.  I didn't really notice."

"You didn't notice?"  I stopped myself from bursting out laughing.  "You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not." His time was quite serious.  "From a photographer's standpoint, yeah, she was beautiful, and she's going to make that company a lot of money.  She's very easy to photograph, but I wouldn't know beyond that."

"How the hell do you not know -" I turned around without even realizing it.  Blood and heat rushed to my face when Vivian came into view, in his damp, sultry glory. Wavy hair, golden skin, hard abs, and a pair of black boxers - he was the epitome of fuckable sexiness right there in the center of my bed.  I could quickly spun back around, aroused and ashamed of myself.  "Oh my God!  You really are half-naked."

"I told you I needed to dry my clothes," he reminded.  I could feel him watching me, and I bet his lips were cocked up in that smirk. "Why are you so embarrassed?  Don't you like looking at my body?"

I shifted from side-to-side, reminded of the feeling of getting caught with your hands in the cookie jar.  "Well..."

"You're not ashamed to look at it, are you?" he voice got lower.

I really am the one I need to worry about.  "No, I'm not."

"Then why won't you turn around and look at me?"  It was clearly an invitation.  "I know you won't touch me and I don't bite, but you could at least look at me."

"Don't try to change the subject!"  I would do anything to keep myself from turning around.  I couldn't handle his teasing, or the heat building up inside me.  "I just don't understand how you can say that those women have no affect on you."

"I say it very easily, Lexie.  That model did nothing for me...just as the women in the club did nothing for me either.  I'm a photographer, and that very fact makes it very easy to appreciate beauty in all it's forms.  But that's all I do - well, in most cases anyway."

I jumped on his insinuation.  "Most cases?"

"Yes, most.  I'm looking at the exception right now."  Bashful the Dwarf has nothing on me right now.  "I think it's safe to say that when it comes to beauty, I always want to show my appreciation for it."

I sighed.  I wanted so badly to mount him right now. Wait, what am I saying?  "So, it really is always sex with you."

He didn't respond with words and I felt my heart sink once again.  But before the sadness set it, his arms were wrapped around me once again even tighter than before.

"What the hell...ah!"  He lifted me off the ground without much effort.  "Let me go!"

"In a minute.  I want to show you something."  I struggled against his tight grip as he carried me with ease.  "Keep your eyes open - I want you to see this."

"Where are taking me?  Vivian!"  I wiggled and wriggled without much success until he finally set me down across the room, right in front of a full-length mirror.  "Why did you bring me in front of a mirror?"

"Because I want you to look at yourself."  And then, he leaned over and whispered, "I want you to see what I see when I look at you."

I couldn't keep my eyes on the mirror for more than a moment.  I don't really look at myself in the mirror - maybe a few glances for touch-ups and lip stain application before I got to work in the morning.  But I never really took the time to just stare myself in the mirror.  I never understood why that was, but as I turned my head away, I began to figure it out.

"Don't turn your head away, Lexie," he commanded.  "Look."  When I didn't listen, he gently cupped my chin, turning my head so that I faced the mirror.  "What's the matter?  Don't you like what you see?"

My eyes might have been on the mirror, but I couldn't - and wouldn't - look at myself.  "What kind of a question is that?"

"A simple one that requires either a 'yes' or a 'no'."  I kept silent.  "You aren't going to tell me?  That's a shame.  I thought you might have given me an enthusiastic 'yes'.  You certainly looking as though you were proud of yourself, wearing that sultry little mini dress to the shoot and all." 

"It was just a dress I had in my closet.  It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"If by bad you mean 'amazing', then yes.  It was very bad," he purred.  "It took quite a bit to keep my concentration with you looking like that. I bet you did that on purpose."

"Don't be ridiculous, Vivian.  I just wanted to look nice, and since Elena is always accusing me of dressing like a grandmother."

"Mission accomplished.  You look looked every bit of the sexy little minx that you are, baby." He slipped off my scrunchie, allowing hair to spill freely onto my shoulders.  "If that dress of yours a photographer too?  Because it caught you at all the right angles."

I couldn't help but laugh at his words.  "Is that some sort of pick-up line all photographers use?"

"Just me - for just you."  He ran his fingers through my hair.  "I love it when your hair is down.  It's feel so nice on my fingers.  Whatever you are doing...keep doing it.  You keep it so silky and smooth that it almost looks like it's sparkling when it's kissed by sunlight.  Definitely worthy of a photo.

"And your hips."  His hands slide down the sides of my body, and it took more of an effort to keep breathing.  "I thought you only hugged curves like these on Lake Shore Drive, but no, you've proven me wrong.  Your breasts and your hips make for a dangerous combination, Lexie.  That dress you wore made that painfully obvious.  Thank goodness my pants weren't too tight."

"What? Are you serious?"

He sighed.  "I am always serious.  You should know this by now.  You're always asking me that question, and it's getting old." 

"Sorry."  His flat tone brought on pangs of guilt.  "It's just that..." 

"That what?" he whispered against my hair.  "Tell me."

Pain radiated in my chest.  There I stood in front of the mirror, facing myself and this moment of truth.  Could I do this - could I tell him of the insecurities that have been eating away at me since the first time we had sex in his apartment?  I would be sharing a big part of myself - I'd be putting myself up on the rejection block.  But as my eyes focused, and I could see him staring at me in the mirror, I could see how soft and serious his eyes were.

Like he really wanted to know.

And after carrying this heaviness in my heart for so long, I didn't feel the need to keep carrying it any more.

"It's just that I don't understand sometimes," I began in a small voice.  "I mean - you're so...you're so...well, look at you!"

He sniffed at his reflection.  "What about me?"

"'What about me?' Are you..." I stopped myself from asking that dreaded question.  "Look at you...you're...for lack of better words, yummy sex on a stick.  I mean, damn it Vivian, it should be illegal."

"If you say so," he said with a laugh.

"I do say so.  You're...you're really beautiful, and I'm..."  I sighed sadly.  "I'm anything but..."

"Hmm...I see.  Well then to take a page from you, I must ask - are you serious?"

My eyesight focused on the mirror even more.  "What?"

He shook his head.  "You really are serious, aren't you?  That's a damn shame.  We clearly aren't on the same page."

Now, I was really confused.  "What are you talking about?"

"I was just thinking about how nice it would have been if you were the one I photographed at the shoot, and not the model that you seem to be obsessed with."  His rest his head onto the curve of my neck, his lips mere inches from my ear.  "You would have been much more fun to shoot.  Also, you've got the better body for lingerie.  That model you seem to be obsessed with barely made hers look good.  But you - you know what you wear best and you wear it well.  And those curves, those dangerous curves -I'd have so much fun taking pictures of those.  And when you wear something very well, the camera makes you look even better."

I couldn't stop myself from smiling.  "I don't look that good in lingerie, do I?"

"If you didn't, I don't think I'd tear it off you so quickly."  My eyes focused on my reflection even more. Maybe...Maybe I'm not so bad.  "I'd still tear it off, though - make no mistake about that."

Vivian kissed the back of my shoulder, sending millions of shooting sparks within me.  As my eyes came into full focus, it was like I was seeing myself for the first time.  I really didn't look so bad.  I actually looked pretty good, especially with this beautiful man standing behind me.  But even if he wasn't...I had nothing to be ashamed of.  I might not have been a supermodel, but I was still a pretty woman, and maybe that was enough.

"I've never done anything like this with anyone before," I confessed.  "I don't usually look in the mirror like this - well, not anymore.  I think I might have before..." Sigh.  "...before I met my ex-husband.  He could take a compliment, but he could never give one."

"He'd probably make a horrible photographer then."

"He wouldn't be, if the bitch he left me for is any indication."  Even after two years, venom never failed to drip from my mouth.  "And while I've wished him to have all the happiness he deserves, I still feel like he took a lot from me.

"I guess...I just never wanted to see what exactly it was that made him leave, you know?"  The tears burned at my eyes.  "And I guess after that, I thought something must be wrong because why else would he leave?"

"Did it ever occur to you that not every man carries the same keen eye that I do?"  He held me even tighter.  "Something can be said about finding beauty in everything.  Yes, it helps you to appreciate everything, but it also helps you appreciate the most important things."  He turned me around, so that we were facing one another.  I'd never seen his eyes so soft and open before. "I've just proven to you that I cannot be nor will I ever be your ex-husband.  I know how to appreciate everything, but I know that there are more...important things that deserve much more appreciation than others."

I couldn't help it.  I couldn't keep myself from crying.  There was something so comforting and soothing about his words, and they were words that I really needed to hear.  Who knew that sexiness on legs could be so poetic?  I practically heard my heart melt into crimson loveliness, warming the insides of my stomach and my legs and spilling out onto a puddle on the floor.

"Thank you for saying that, Vivian."  Even as I wiped away my tears, I found the strength to smile and smile proudly.   "I...I needed that.  I really needed that."

His voice is quiet.  "I know you did, Lexie."  I nodded in agreement.  "I wish I had my camera with me right now."

I blinked, taken aback.  "Why?"

"Because..."  Now it was his turn to smile.  "I like your smile the most.  It's the first thing I ever noticed about you."

The tears just kept on rolling.  "Really?"

"Yes, really.  Photographer, remember?"  He reached over and took my hand.  "Of course, you don't do as much as I'd like you to, so when you do, it's a treat.  If I could take a picture, then I'd have something to remind me of what a sight it is to behold."

The wave of desire washed crashed against me, sweeping me up in all the love and lust I carried for this beautiful photographer.  I couldn't hold back - I wouldn't.  My hands reached up and cupped his face.

"Lexie..."  It was all he could say before I kissed him as passionately as I knew how.

Vivian didn't resist at all.  It was a full-on meeting of mouths, bruised lips and twirling tongues caught up in the dance of sensuality.  I moaned against his mouth, unafraid to voice my pleasure.  And when his mouth moved against the length of my neck, I felt like I would burst into flames.

"You sexy beast..."  Jesus, I never had to worry about him, apparently.  I was the one he needed to worry about - and he probably didn't.  "But as tempting as this is, we can't do this."

"What?" I was shocked to the spot.  "Are you kidding me?"

"That's just another way to saying, 'are you serious'?"  He went for another kiss, but he gently pushed me back.  "And I mean it.  We can't do this.  We can't."

I couldn't believe I was hearing this.  "Why not?"

"Because I promised you that I wouldn't do anything." My lips rounded into an "O".  Oh...that.  I had said that...hadn't I?  "And I intend to keep that promise."

"You don't have to!"  I was being a total horndog, and Vivian resisted me.  What a role reversal.  "You don't have to keep your promise.  I won't hold it against you if you don't."

"Yes..."  I leaned over and kissed me on the forehead.  Just like that, the fires of lust were fanned away with one sweet kiss.  "I do.  After all...it's not all about sex, now, is it?"

You sly dog...but I forgive you.  "No, it's not.  But now that I think of it, it is a pretty good part..."

"Quick, let's go watch some corny movie on TV before I change my mind."  He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the bedroom door.  "If we're lucky, we'll catch Svengoolie.  Rich Koz is a riot."

I giggled as he pulled me into the dark of the living room.  As we went fishing for the remote, I thought of how funny it was for one evening can go from a depressed to divine in a matter of hours and how one person seems to make all the difference.

Vivian, in all his sexy glory, made a difference not only for this night of my life, but my life as well.

And I loved him.  I couldn't deny that anymore.

And as we curled up on the couch and the slumber overtook us, I knew the time had come for me to tell him how I felt.

------

Vivian had to leave early in the morning - literally at the crack of dawn.  He tried not to wake me, but when such a warm body moves away from yours, it's quite noticeable - even disappointing.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered, patting my head.  "I have to get going - I need to start my editing work."

"I know you do," I replied, sleepily.  "Just go on, I'll get back to sleep."

"Will you come visit me later?" He cupped my cheek.  "If you still have some of that energy you had last night, I'll be more than happy to help you expend it."

"Deal."

"Oh hell yes."  He kissed my forehead once again  - I really love those kisses.  "Come by around six, okay?  Put on your best lingerie."

"Ooh, a private photo shoot - kinky.  Should I bring my smile, too?"

"Especially that smile.  But get lots of rest, okay?  You know how I am when I haven't seen in a while."

One last kiss, and he headed off, leaving me lonely and excited.  Oh yes...I definitely was going to tell him how I felt, how special he made me feel.

But first, I needed the rest - and some time to pick out the right bra and panties.

------

The excitement turned into uneasiness the minute I stepped into Vivian's building.  The feeling confused me - I didn't understand it. I was so looking forward to seeing him, to being with him.  But now, I felt so...afraid.  The close I got to his apartment, the more intense the feeling became.  By the time I arrived on his floor, I was really shaking.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I'd called him earlier to check on his progress, but I hadn't been able to contact him sense then.  It didn't bother me too much - I figured he was busy.  Elena becomes a hermit when she edits because it's such a time consuming process.  But this was different - this was an omen.

I'd finally decided to be honest with my self and the universe seemed to decide that it was a bad idea.

I wanted this - I really wanted to see him, to be with me, to tell him how I felt.  But with every step, the shadows of foreboding grew thicker, whispering their insidious intent.  The fact that his door was already wide open didn't help matters.  I might have assumed that he opened it for me if my mind were screaming for me to make a hasty retreat.

The world slowed down more and more the close I got to the door.  The pain in chest grew more and more acute the louder that flirtatious female laugh became.  And when I finally reached the doorway, everything went silent, before the entire world crashed all around me.

That blonde model is all over him like the proverbial bitch in heat.