LeeAnn, a twenty-two-year-old woman, had a great curvy body, long red curly hair, green eyes, and full lips. She was beautiful and everywhere she went, people turned to look at her, men and women, old and young.
From 10 PM to 2 AM, Wednesday to Sunday, LeeAnn worked as a bartender at a local saloon. That work was bad, but the tips were very good. Male customers wanted to touch her all the time, but the bouncer was always there to protect LeeAnn and the other girls. At the end of the shift, LeeAnn shared her tips with Big Tom, the bouncer, to be escorted to her other workplace or at home.
From Tuesday to Saturday at 3 AM, LeeAnn arrived at the “Bahar Dar Bazar” Corporate Building, greeted by Bernardo, called Bernie, the night guard, who always had a kettle of coffee ready for her, hot and dark, as she liked it. They sipped it together, chatting about the day, the weather, and some gossip, and then LeeAnn put her ear pods on and got to clean the offices.
She usually started with the lunchroom that was always the dirtiest. The last room was generally the project room. It was mostly empty: a few tables and chairs, scratch paper, and the garbage cans to empty.
Once she had completed her cleaning routine, she pushed the cleaning cart to the utility room, drained the bucket, and rinsed the mop. Then she wished her farewell to Bernie and headed home.
That was the part of her life that allowed her to dream. It was when she had to go home that all her dreams shattered. She lived in the south side of town, in an area where all the houses were as battered as her family’s.
Most of the time, she could hear her parents yelling at each other from the street. Once inside she had to wake her siblings up, serve breakfast, make sure her siblings were decent and clean, and send them to the school bus. After that, she had to clean the kitchen, make beds, and finally use the only bathroom in the house.
Her mother worked ten to three, and her father nine to… whenever he wanted to go home. Sometimes it was dinner time, sometimes it was late at night.
He used to be one of the drunk patrons of the saloon where she worked, but once she started working there and refused to serve him anything containing alcohol, he moved to another saloon out of town.
One day, while cleaning the offices of the “Bahar Dar Bazar” Corporate Building, LeeAnn entered the project room and found a big green screen against a wall, a few umbrella lightings used for photoshoots, and tripods – a set for a photoshoot, minus the cameras and the photographer.
She stopped for a few minutes and allowed herself to dream. She closed her eyes and imagined one or two models in front of the camera, the noise of the shutter while she shot photos, the franticness of the people around her, makeup artists, lights assistants. Her dream was to be a photographer, but she didn’t have the money to go to school and even less for the equipment.
A tap on her shoulder made her jump, taking her back to the real world.
She pulled off the ear pods and turned to find herself face to face with a blond, very handsome guy, with a very wide smirk on his face, and dimples on his cheeks, and a camera hanging from his neck.
“Oh my, I’m sorry! I got taken away,” she nervously apologized, going back to clean without looking again at the guy. She thought he was one of the managers of the company. The only manager she ever met was Cindy, the person who hired her. The company didn’t want to hire a cleaning company, they preferred to deal directly with the cleaner in case of special requests.
“That’s ok,” the guy continued, “I’m setting up for a photo shoot.”
“Oh, I see that. I’m just cleaning, I’ll be quick and leave so you can finish,” she nervously explained.
“No need to rush,” he continued, leaning against one of the tables, intrigued by the sway of that beautiful young woman.
“Would you like a coffee?” he asked.
“No thank you,” she answered, “I generally drink it before my shift starts. Don’t worry, I clock in after I finish my coffee.”
He chuckled again, and said, “I don’t care. Like you, I’m just paid to do my job here.”
Relieved, she said, “Oh, ok. Thank you for clarifying,” and continued her cleaning.
When she finished, she put all her cleaning stuff away and, pushing her cart, she said, “I’m done here. Have a good day,” and left the room heading to the utility room.
Leaving the building, she saw Bernie, “Bernie, who’s the guy in the project room?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, sorry,” he apologized, “he’s here for a few days. They’re shooting photos for a website. I know nothing about that stuff. He’ll be here the week.”
“Ok, thank you,” she said and left.
The day after, while drinking her coffee with Bernie, he said, “The guy, the photographer, you remember him?”
How could she not?
“Yes,” she answered, “why?”
“Well,” Bernie continued, “apparently all the chicks in the office are going crazy for him. Even Lauren, Mr. Colin’s assistant is crazy for him, and she could easily be his grandmother.”
“Well Bernie,” she said, “you have to admit, he’s handsome.”
“Yes,” he said, “I get that. And he asked about you,” winking.
“What?” she asked, surprised
“After you left yesterday, he came to me and asked your name and wanted to know more. I just warned him to not hurt you, or I’d kill him. I mean it.”
“Oh, I know you mean it, Bernie,” she replied, “but don’t worry, I doubt he’d be interested in touching the cleaning girl. I better go now, or I’ll be late.” She hugged Bernie and left.
After almost two hours she had the project room left. She quietly opened the door and found the guy with his eye behind the lens of the camera, probably studying the framing or the lights.
Pulling off her ear pods, LeeAnn said, “Excuse me? I need to clean the room, if that’s ok.”
“Oh, good morning LeeAnn,” he answered, “Sure, go ahead. I’m just studying the lights”
Jeez, she wanted so much to help him to find the right light, being his assistant would be great, to start.
“By the way,” he continued, “My name is Mark,” holding out his hand.
“I’m LeeAnn, as you already know,” she introduced herself, showing her gloved hand, “I can’t shake your hand.”
“Oh, right,” he chuckled, “Nice to meet you.”
She looked for a moment at the setup, then asked, “Can I say something?”
“Sure,” he replied.
“If you move that light over there,” she pointed to a corner, “then turn on the light in the other room, the reflection through the window will make it more like daylight.”
Mark did as she suggested, then, pleased with the outcome, asked, “How did you know?”
She explained, “Because I love photography. I studied a few things about lights, well, it’s a long story. It’s my dream to become a photographer. Just a dream.” LeeAnn put back in the ear pods and continued cleaning, humming at the music.
Meanwhile, Mark couldn’t take his eyes off her and took a few pictures of her while working. She intrigued him and her sway gave him naughty ideas.
“I’m done here. Have a good day,” she said, waving.
“Have a good day you too, see you tomorrow,” he answered, happy to know he’d see her again.
“Does she know how beautiful she is?” Mark said to himself later that day, downloading the pictures on his computer.
The day after, on time as usual, LeeAnn entered the project room. Mark was reading some stuff at the table, sipping probably coffee and, in front of him on the table, he had two chocolate muffins. She recognized the containers, they were from her favorite bakery. It was a luxury she allowed herself once a month, on Sundays, to stop at that bakery and indulge in a chocolate muffin.
“Good morning, LeeAnn,” he promptly said when he saw her.
“Good morning, Mark,” she replied, “Can I clean the room?”
“Why don’t you sit a moment, relax, and share a muffin with me?” he suggested.
“I can’t. I have to clean and go home to, ehm, to study,” she hesitated. She didn’t want to bother him with the sad story of her life.
“The room is clean, as you can see,” he said, pointing around with his hand, “you can relax now.”
She looked around and saw that, true, the room was perfect.
“Why did you do that? It’s my job, they pay me for this.”
“Relax,” he said in a calm voice, “I wanted to chat with you and know more about you.”
She knew how this would end, she heard many of her girlfriends saying they found a nice guy, they fell in love, or so they thought, and in no time at all, they got pregnant. She didn’t want this for her life. Yes, she wanted kids one day, in the future, when she had a job, and possibly far away from her family and her battered house. Until then, she didn’t allow herself to fall in love. She wouldn’t mind some steamy sex, though, with all the possible precautions. She knew she was beautiful and that she had an attractive body, but she worked hard to hide her body in wide clothes, and never applied a shade of makeup on her face so as not to attract attention.
She sat and asked, in a sharpy tone, “Why? What do you want from me?”
He could see her reluctance, so he tried to put her at ease and made her trust him. He really wanted to know her.
“Seriously, I just want to know more about you, your photography studies. It’s part of my job to know the story behind the people I meet. I bought this,” he said, pushing one of the muffins toward her, “they told me this is the best bakery within fifty miles.”
“They told you well,” she confirmed, gently unwrapping the muffin. She bit a little piece of it and, closing her eyes, she enjoyed the strong chocolate flavor.
He took the camera and shot a picture.
“Why did you do that?” hearing the shutter’s noise.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, placing a hand on top of hers and promptly removing it to not frighten her, “I couldn’t resist. You were so intense and beautiful eating that muffin.”
“Yeah, beautiful,” she said, with a sarcastic tone.
“You don’t seem pleased by your beauty,” he hinted.
“It’s a curse,” she said, roughly.
He chuckled, then said, “That’s a first! In my line of work, women would give their souls to the devil to look beautiful. And you are trying to not be. Why? If I may ask”
“Because I want to go away. I don’t want to find a guy who gets me pregnant and forces me to live here for the rest of my life,” she answered in one breath, then continued, “I’m working my ass off so I can at least dream of leaving one day. All my friends ended up pregnant and gave up their dreams. I don’t want that life for me.”
Mark saw her eyes filling with tears. He waited a moment to let her recover, then asked, “What keeps you here?”
She thought for a moment, looking down at her muffin, then looked into his eyes, and answered, “I’m saving money. But — then what? Where do I go? And doing what? Cleaning offices for the rest of my life? I have no degree and I can’t afford to go to school.”
Lowering his voice, he admitted, “I have no answer to that, I’m sorry. But I promise I’ll think about it.”
“Yeah,” she said in a hopeless tone, “I’ve got to go now. My shift is finished. Thank you for the muffin, it is the best in town,” and she got up, leaving Mark still sitting, admiring the sway of her backside while she left the room.
As promised, he thought about LeeAnn the whole day, but couldn’t find a solution to her problems. He liked her a lot., not because she was beautiful, but because she was smart and determined; she knew what she wanted. She had a tough life. Not that Mark’s life had been easy, but he was born in a suburb with a better life choice. He could choose, while LeeAnn didn’t have that chance.
He arrived at his motel room and downloaded the work of the day. When he looked at her picture, he could see her soul. She was enjoying that muffin like it was the best thing in her life. Or like that was a luxury she couldn’t afford. How could he help her? Some of the photographers he knew, had one or more assistants, but he was a beginner just out of college, he couldn’t afford one, yet. He couldn’t promise her, but if he ever needed one, he’d call her for sure.
The following days went the same, Mark arrived at work a little sooner, cleaned the room, and waited for LeeAnn every morning with the chocolate muffins. He got to know a little more about her, her family, and her other job at the saloon.
Friday afternoon, Mark finished his work, but he wasn’t ready to go back home yet.
Mark checked where the saloon was and decided to pay a visit that night. He knew it would be crowded. He got there and found a corner where he could observe around, hoping not to be seen.
When he saw LeeAnn, his heart skipped a beat. She had tight jeans, so tight he could see her amazing butt swaying, cowboy boots, and a blue shirt knotted under her breasts, leaving part of her belly uncovered. He wished he could touch that skin with his hands, or lips. She was so beautiful.
He observed her for some time, walking around people, taking orders, bringing a tray with food and beers over her shoulder. But then he saw a man, with the excuse of slipping a tip in her bra, trying to touch her breasts. Clearly, she was used to that and a big guy, seeing that, approached the man and said something to him. The man raised his hands to apologize. Mark wanted to punch the man’s face.
One of the girls was about to approach him to take his order, but LeeAnn saw him and said something to the girl who turned and winked at LeeAnn.
LeeAnn approached Mark and said, “Hey you!” with a smile that made his heart skip another beat, “What can I bring you? You don’t strike me as a beer guy”
“Who was that guy?” he asked, clearly annoyed.
“Who? Oh, that one! He’s one of the regulars. He always tries that, but Big Tom is ready to punch him if he touches. So, what can I get you?”
“I guess alcohol-free stuff is not popular around here, uh?” he asked.
“No, but a sober guy here is much appreciated. Root beer or coke? Something to eat?” she asked, giggling.
“Coke, cheeseburger, and fries,” he ordered.
“Sure thing, hon,” she said, turning and heading to the kitchen leaving him looking at her sway.
“I guess you can’t sit a moment with me,” he asked when LeeAnn brought him the order.
She laughed and said, “On weekends I’m lucky if I have time to pee. Call me if you need anything.”
He watched people dancing. The music was really good, but he didn’t like to see men touching the girls without permission, not only LeeAnn, especially her, but all the girls.
It was a frustration that reminded him of his father. A man who had everything, a good job, money, a beautiful wife, a family. Still, he felt entitled to touch every woman. Mark discovered that side of his father one day when he broke his bike and went to his father’s office to ask for a ride home. He arrived in time to see his father with his hands cupping his secretary’s boobs. Mark immediately left without being seen.
Mark did the same thing some other times, stopping by his father’s office without being seen, and it was always the same scene, his hands always on her breasts or between her legs. Mark was disgusted. He was twelve but having two older brothers he knew something about sex. His brothers showed him some porn.
When he decided to tell his mother what he saw, she already knew but she couldn’t divorce him. She had nothing and no job. She said she wanted to give her children a good life.
One day his father got home and announced his secretary was pregnant. His mother divorced, kept the house, the car, the alimony, and after a couple of years, she found an amazing man. She deserved it.
Mark decided to leave the saloon leaving a generous tip tapped under his empty glass.
When that morning LeeAnn went to clean the project room, found the room empty. Tears filled her eyes. She was counting on those moments with Mark, he was a good listener.
“Welcome back to reality,” she said aloud to herself and began her cleaning routine.
On Wednesday, the following week, when she arrived, Bernie said, “LeeAnn, this was delivered for you,” giving her a big, thick envelope.
She checked the sender label, Mark Gaimbert – Photographer, and an address of Naperville, IL.
She opened the envelope with Bernie watching. Inside there were some big pictures of her cleaning, and one while she was eating the muffin. She blushed.
“Wow! The guy is good!” Bernie said.
“Too easy when you have a perfect model,” she said, giggling, shouldering Bernie, “Can I leave them here while I’m working?” she asked Bernie.
“Sure!” he grabbed the envelope and put it on his table by the security monitors.
A few days later she sent a thank you card to Mark at the address on the envelope.
The days went by, sometimes slowly, sometimes a little faster, but Mark couldn’t forget LeeAnn, the girl he met during his work in St. Jacob.
And LeeAnn couldn’t forget him as well, the handsome photographer and the listener.
He had a copy of the pictures he took of her, framed on a wall where he could see them.
Mark was photoshopping some pictures he’d shot at the Millennium Park in Chicago when his phone rang. Generally, when he was working, he let the voicemail take the calls, but that day he was expecting a call. He didn’t check the caller, he grabbed the phone with his eyes still on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Mark, good afternoon. It’s Dwayne, Dwayne Colin from Bahar Dar Bazar,” the person at the other end of the line said.
“Oh, yes. Hi Dwayne, how are you?” Mark replied, recalling those days and LeeAnn.
“I’m fine,” Dwayne said, “Listen, Mark, that job was great. Did you see the website?”
“Yes,” Mark answered, “I checked to see which picture you picked and how you set them up. I’m glad you liked them”
“So,” Dwayne continued, “the reason I’m calling is that we are opening a new location and we’d like you to take pictures before the grand opening. The new location is downtown St. Louis”
“That’s great, and when is the opening?” Mark asked.
“About that,” Dwayne said, “I know it’s not much of a notice, but it’s in six weeks and we need to advertise ASAP.”
That wasn’t much of a notice, so Mark said, “I need to check my calendar and see what I can do. Can I call you back tomorrow morning?”
“Sure,” Dwayne said, “You have my cell, call me as soon as you know a date. Thank you, Mark.”
Mark checked his calendar, and he was pretty busy with some weddings and other events. He could stretch some appointments and add this one to his calendar. If only he had an assistant to help him so he could make it faster — actually he knew a person who can be his assistant, and now, with all the new clients, he could afford one.
The following morning Mark called Dwayne.
“I hope you have good news for me,” Dwayne said, answering the phone.
“Kind of, but only if you can help me,” Mark explained.
“How?” Dwayne asked.
Mark then asked, “Do you know LeeAnn? The girl who’s cleaning your offices?”
Dwayne thought for a moment, then said, “Oh yes. It’s Cindy who generally deals with her, but I saw her a few times. Why?”
Leaning on his chair, Mark went explaining, “You probably don’t know this, but she’s studying to become a photographer,” Mark stretched the truth a little, “so, if you can get me in touch with her, I can ask her to help me with the setup, so when I arrive, I just have to shoot and leave. Otherwise, I don’t have the time.”
“I can ask Cindy. I’m gonna text you her info ASAP. Thank you for helping us,” Dwayne said before hanging up.
After about an hour, Mark got a text with LeeAnn’s number. He was excited and called her right away.
“Hello?” LeeAnn answered with a sexy voice.
“Hi LeeAnn, this is Mark,” he said, knowing she wouldn’t know who Mark was.
“Mark? How did you get my number?” she asked. She was happy to hear his voice though.
“Dwayne Colin gave it to me,” Mark explained, “It’s work-related, don’t get mad at him. I need your help.”
“My help?” she asked, with a sharp laugh “You need a cleaning service?” giggling.
Understanding her bewilderment, he explained, “Dwayne asked my help for another photoshoot, but my time is stretched. I can do that if you can help me. I will pay you, of course. I need you to go visit the new location and study the lights. Then I’ll send you the equipment and you set it up. This way when I get there it’s all set up and I don’t waste time.”
LeeAnn thought for a minute.
Mark couldn’t see her face and didn’t know how to read that silence, but he decided to give her time to think. He was scribbling on a piece of paper, he always did that while talking on the phone. Today he was drawing her name in several different handwriting.
Then LeeAnn, playing nervously with a lock of hair, started talking again, “Why spend the money to send the equipment? I’m pretty sure I can find it for rent here. I need to ask Dwayne where’s the new location so I can tell you when I can go to see it. I’ll text you the cost for the equipment and the date. OK?”
Mark wanted to hug her, not only for the help, but because his desire for her was growing by the minute.
“Sounds great. Thanks, LeeAnn, I really appreciate your help,” he said in a kind voice.
“Well,” she said, giggling, “You said you’re going to pay me, and I never refuse honest money.”
LeeAnn contacted Dwayne and they agreed to visit the location the following afternoon together. Then she called a place she knew where to rent the equipment and the guy gave her an estimate of the cost, including the insurance for damage, and a fee for late return.
She texted the information to Mark, and he replied with a thumb’s up emoji, then added, “Text me your bank account info so I can give you an advance for equipment and gas.”
The following day Dwayne drove her to the new location. LeeAnn took several pictures with her phone and a short video. She actually had a nice idea for the setup and planned to draw that down later for Mark’s approval.
When she was done, Dwayne took her out for a quick lunch, and they talked.
“See?” Dwayne said when they were on their way back, “you see people every day, and you think you know them. But the truth is that you never know them until you go out for lunch or dinner.”
LeeAnn giggled, but this statement made her think. He was right, you don’t really know a person until you spend some time together in a comfortable setting.
When she arrived home, after she took care of her siblings, she sent an email to Mark attaching the pictures, the short video, the contract for the equipment rental, and her drawing.
Mark got the email, checked the pictures and he knew she’d aced the lights, even with her cell phone camera. He checked the video and saw that the new location was very nice, and the outside too. Then Mark checked the rental contract and realized it was a good deal. He checked the layout she designed, and he was stunned. Her idea was great, it was probably a female instinct that made her design it that way, but she knew the technicalities and the lights’ plans. He decided to call her.
“Hi Mark,” she answered.
“LeeAnn, you did great and the layout is perfect.”
She was again playing with a lock of hair, as she always did when she was nervous.
“Do you really like it?” she asked, pacing the kitchen.
“I do,” Mark exclaimed, “You have a natural instinct for sure.”
“Thank you,” she said, blushing. Luckily, he couldn’t see her.
“Listen, I can be there Thursday late afternoon. Can you have it all set up for Friday morning?” Mark asked.
“Yes, of course. Dwayne gave me the keys. I’m picking the equipment up Thursday right after work, I’ll be there after my morning chores, before dinner time it’ll be all set up,” she said excitedly.
“Do you have time to have dinner with me Thursday night?” he asked, hopeful.
“I have to work at the saloon,” she said, uneasy about that invitation.
“I understand,” he replied, disappointed, “But you’re helping me Friday, right?”
She hesitated a moment, but said, “Yes, of course. Can you pick me up at my place at nine?”
The idea of spending half an hour driving with LeeAnn beside him was exciting. He wondered if she would wear something that would make her body stand out.
During his four hours driving from Naperville to St. Jacob, Mark thought if he could hire LeeAnn. He wanted, first of all, to take her away from the saloon job. He didn’t like the idea of all those men touching her without permission. He thought about using this photo shooting as an interview, to see how she worked, how confident she was, and possibly hire her. He wasn’t rich, that’s for sure, but with an assistant he could take more jobs, assigning her the easy ones at the beginning, giving her the chance to study and learn. He had to make some accounting to prepare an offer. Yes, he thought, this might work.
Now, with this new goal in mind, his driving was less boring and way more interesting.
Friday morning at 8:45 Mark was outside LeeAnn’s house. Looking around, he could see that she lived in a poor area and the house needed some deep carpenter work. Clearly, she struggled. Five minutes later he saw LeeAnn walking toward his car.
She was wearing sneaker shoes, discolored tight jeans, and a jeans jacket on top. Her long red hair was captured in a thick braid hanging on the side. She got in the car and Mark sensed a whiff of a fruity fragrance that perfectly fitted her.
“You’re early,” LeeAnn said, “I saw you by the window. How are you?” She wanted to tell him how she missed him and their morning talks, but she didn’t have the courage to be so honest.
“Good morning,” Mark greeted her, “Yes, I wasn’t sure about traffic. Better be early than late, that’s my philosophy,” he chuckled, getting onto the main road.
Her scent was elating and in Mark’s mind appeared the image of her sensual body, walking in an orchard, naked. He needed a distraction.
“So,” he said, “Do you like the new location?”
“I love it,” she answered, enthusiastic, “It’s bright but warm and vibrant.”
He turned to look at her for an instant, smiling, and said, “I think only a woman can use the word vibrant talking about a store.”
“Yes,” she confirmed, “Women’s vocabulary contains more adjectives than men. Like colors – you say green, blue, red. We say lime, sage, emerald, apple green, harlequin…”
They both laughed.
He felt she was nervous and wanted to put her at ease.
“Is it just a store, or are there offices too?” Mark asked to make conversation.
“There are two offices in the back,” she answered, “and a storage room that is bigger than the one they have in St. Jacob. There is also an upper floor but it’s empty now. I don’t know but, in my opinion, they should move the headquarters there. St. Louis is better for the market. Now that they have a name and an extended clientele, they probably can afford it.”
Tapping his finger on the wheel, Mark said, “But you’ll lose the job”
“I don’t plan on cleaning offices for the rest of my life. I have other plans,” she explained, looking out of the side window.
“You wanna be a photographer,” he stated.
They parked in the parking lot in front of the store ‘Bahar Dar Bazar 2’.
LeeAnn helped Mark with the cameras and other equipment, and, pulling the keys out of the backpack, she unlocked the door.
They placed the cameras on a folding table LeeAnn set up the day before for that. LeeAnn went to open the curtains to have the natural light, then Mark looked around to see her set up. He was impressed.
“The setup is perfect,” he said, looking around.
“Well, I followed the layout,” she replied.
“Yes,” Mark confirmed, “But you’ve been able to design the layout studying the place and the lights, and you were absolutely right. You have a good instinct.”
“Thank you,” she said in a low voice, avoiding his gaze.
LeeAnn liked Mark a lot. When she met him the first time during her cleaning, they talked, and he was a good listener. Not many men liked listening and he was also handsome. She was attracted to him, but he lived four hours away. She couldn’t afford that long drive and her used car wasn’t reliable. He sent a few hints to her that made her think he was interested in her, but how could she make it work?
Mark pulled his cameras and the lenses out of the bag and passed a camera to LeeAnn, “This was an old camera I’m not using anymore. It’s not much, but it’s a good one and here,” he gave her a bag, “there are some lenses.”
“I – I don’t understand,” she said, hesitant.
“It’s for you. To practice,” he said smiling.
“I can’t accept,” she said, blushing. Her heart galloped in her chest. She never had a gift so important. Actually, she probably never had a gift. The only things her parents could afford were used clothes from Goodwill. When she started working, she decided to buy her own clothes so her parents could save the money. She also used her money to buy her very used car, pay for the insurance and gas.
“Yes, you can. I was going to donate it to Goodwill, then I thought you might use it,” Mark said. It wasn’t true, he donated stuff to Goodwill but not one of his cameras for sure. He said that to convince her to accept. He knew she would never accept a new camera, that’s why he tried with an old one.
LeeAnn held the camera. It was a Nikon D600. She looked at it, looked in the viewfinder, the display, pressed some interface buttons and shot some photos.
“Do you have a laptop?” Mark said, diverting her thoughts.
“Uh? What?” she asked.
“Do you have a laptop? Because the camera has a memory card so you can upload the pictures to your laptop. Then I can suggest some nice programs for photoshop,” Mark explained.
“I have an old one,” she said. She didn’t want to tell him it was a laptop she got from the school when the school swapped to Macs.
He made a mental note on that. He didn’t know if there was anything he could do about that, but he could think about a solution.
“Let’s get to work,” Mark said.
If anyone had been there, looking at them working together, they would have thought they were partners and had been working together for years.
They had a sandwich for lunch and resumed the shooting immediately after.
They finished at four, pulled down the equipment, and loaded Mark’s car.
“LeeAnn, I’m impressed,” Mark said on the drive back to St. Jacob, “You have a natural talent, and we did great together. You were able to understand what I needed before I had to ask. You were a great partner today.”
“We were in perfect harmony,” she confirmed, relaxing on the passenger seat, “I loved it. I never did it before. I watched thousands of videos on how it works, and I’ve dreamt about it, but this was my first time.”
“You are kidding, right?” he asked dumbfounded.
“Nope,” she said, with a smug smile.
After a few minutes, Mark said, “I might need an assistant.”
He knew he had to first make some research about salaries, but he didn’t want to wait.
She didn’t answer.
Mark turned to look at her and saw she was sleeping. Well, more time for him to think about it. But he wanted to make an offer for sure.
He parked in front of LeeAnn’s house and gently woke her up.
“Oh. I’m sorry. I fell asleep,” LeeAnn apologized when she realized they arrived at her house, “Do you want to load the equipment in my car so I can return it tomorrow morning?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Mark said, “I’ll drop it off first thing tomorrow morning, then I’ll go back home. LeeAnn, it’s been amazing working with you today. I’ll get in touch in case something else comes up. Meanwhile,” Mark pulled an envelope from his backpack, “this is for your help today,” and gave her the envelope.
“Oh, thank you,” she said.
“Of course. And you can put this job in your resume, and I can write a recommendation,” he said.
LeeAnn wanted more than just his recommendation, she wanted him. Unfortunately, that was it. They had to say goodbye and she probably would never see him again.
When she entered her house, her parents’ house, she felt disappointed. For an afternoon she forgot about the scrappy house she lived in with her family, about the job at the saloon and the cleaning service. For that afternoon she allowed herself to dream of possibilities.
She was falling in love with Mark. She wasn’t sure if it was true love or just an infatuation because he represented all she wanted in her life, a handsome man, and a job as a photographer.
Be realistic LeeAnn, she thought, this is your life, your real world. Today, it was just a dream.
Back at the motel, Mark called Dwayne to confirm the job was done and he would get the photos by Monday.
In the shower, he couldn’t help but think about the day that just went, how good it was working with LeeAnn. He wondered if making love to her would be so perfect, and immediately his cock reacted. Stroking his cock, he thought about her jeans, how perfect they wrapped her thighs and her butt. He recalled the sway of her butt while walking. When she pulled off the jacket, she had a green shirt one size bigger, probably to hide the curve of her breasts, but Mark could imagine her big breasts in his hands. Closing his eyes, he also recalled her fruity scent. He would never forget her scent. He had never been so sensitive to perfumes. He reached his release in the shower, thinking about her sinuous body.
On his drive back home the day after, he tried to mentally find how to afford an assistant.
It wasn’t until Monday morning, when his accountant called him, that he had his answer. The accountant fully explained how he could deduct an assistant from taxes by hiring her as an apprentice.
While he was preparing all the documents to send to LeeAnn with a job offer, he got an email from her containing some pictures she took during their work together and some others she took during a walk on Saturday morning.
This gave him the opportunity to call her.
“Hi Mark. You got my pictures?” LeeAnn asked, answering the phone.
“Yes,” Mark said, “I knew you were good. Are you enjoying the camera?”
“It’s amazing. I loved to walk around taking pictures,” she said.
“LeeAnn, I have an offer,” he began, “a job offer for you”
“What do you mean?” she asked, astonished.
“I need an assistant. I couldn’t ask you Friday because I wasn’t sure I could afford it, but now I know I can. We worked so well together that I’m sure it’ll be easy,” he said, agog.
“But I don’t have the experience and a degree,” she explained, hoping he’d say that it didn’t matter to him, that he wanted to work with her, that he wanted her.
“You don’t have experience in the field, but you did very well the other day. About the degree, we can think about it later,” he said, “What do you think? If you need time to think, I can understand.”
“No, I don’t need to think. I just need…,” she hesitated a moment, then asked, “Can you help me to find a place to stay that won’t cost me a kidney and doesn’t need a deposit? I don’t have savings.”
He hadn’t thought about that. He thought for a minute, then said, “I might already have a solution. My sister has a small apartment over her garage. It’s just a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchenette, but I’m sure she could cut a good deal. When can you start?” Mark was impatient, like a teenager at the prom dance. What Mark also knew was that he had to put some distance between him and LeeAnn because he was about to become her boss, and he didn’t want to push her in a moment when she was vulnerable at most. She was going to miss her family, her friends, her town. He needed to be sure she got comfortable in this new life before asking her out for a date, but he would ask her out for sure, sooner or later.
LeeAnn had to give the two weeks’ notice to both her jobs and had to give her parents time to accept the idea of their firstborn leaving the nest.
It wasn’t going to be easy for LeeAnn to change her life. She knew she would miss her parents and her siblings. On the other hand, she really needed to fly with her wings, even if her flight would have scared her.
When LeeAnn arrived at Mark’s sister’s house, she was nervous, but when Brenda appeared at the doorstep, she immediately felt at ease.
“I was making lunch,” Brenda said, “Then I’ll show you the apartment.”
In a few minutes LeeAnn got to know that Brenda was five years older than Mark, she had a husband who was a surgeon, and she was very much pregnant with their first child.
“The baby is due in 6 weeks,” Brenda said while making lunch, “But don’t worry, the walls are well insulated, and our bedrooms are on the other side of the house. Not that it’s that big, but believe me, you’ll be fine.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about it. I’m the oldest of five and I shared the bedroom with two of the siblings,” LeeAnn said to reassure her.
The apartment over the garage was little, but enough for her, and she didn’t plan to live there forever, just the time to get on her feet and have the money for a real apartment.
She started working with Mark, or better, for Mark, the next day.
For the first few weeks she followed him everywhere and they worked together like that very first time, in perfect harmony. She always knew how to set up the equipment, she knew what camera he wanted to use and what lens he needed before he even asked.
What left her uneasy was his distance and his coldness. When she met him and when they worked together, she thought there was a mutual attraction, but once she moved to Naperville he got more distant. At that point, she thought she misread the hints.
She liked living in the apartment over Brenda’s garage. It was close to the studio, close to downtown, and to the grocery store. This way she didn’t need to use her car. Brenda and her husband, Steven, lent her a bicycle and she loved it. They made an amazing couple, and sometimes they invited her over for dinner.
On a Saturday, free from any work duty, LeeAnn decided to go shopping because she really needed new clothes, and she wanted something for the apartment. Brenda suggested a few stores where she could find nice clothes, and she did. She bought a few dresses, some pants, and shirts, and also some sexy underwear.
When she got home she found a sticky note on the door, “Dinner at 6:30. Xxx B..” LeeAnn smiled. She really loved this family.
Even if it was just the three of them, LeeAnn decided to wear one of the new dresses she bought that day. After a shower, she put on her new blue lace panties and the matching bra, and the blue dress. It was perfect with her red hair and gray-green eyes.
“Wow!” Brenda said, opening the door, “You look gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” LeeAnn said, a little embarrassed, “I went to that store you told me about and I spent most of my last paycheck,” LeeAnn said giggling.
“Oh, wow!” Steven said too, “Nice outfit.”
Brenda lightly punched his arm, “Hey! I’m right here!”
“I know hon,” Steven said, kissing her on the mouth, “I love you but I’m not blind. I wonder if Mark is blind though.”
“Speak of the devil,” Brenda said when they heard a knock on the door.
“Oh,” LeeAnn said, surprised, “He’s coming too?”
“Yes, he wanted to see me,” Brenda explained.
For the past few weeks, Mark tried to keep his distance, to be professional with LeeAnn, they had a work relationship, and he didn’t want to ruin it for sex. But now he had the feeling that it wasn’t just a carnal need. The more time he spent with her, working with her, knowing more about her, the more he liked her. Was that love?
He never loved anyone. He had a few relationships “with benefits,” but he never had such strong feelings. Lately, when he was home alone, he felt emptiness, but when he was at work, with her around, he just wanted to be there and to never be alone again.
When he called his sister that afternoon to know how she was doing, she told him she just invited LeeAnn for dinner, so he pushed her to invite him too. He couldn’t wait until Monday morning to see LeeAnn again.
Seeing her there, leaning against the counter cross-legged, her arms crossed under her boobs, her hair, her beautiful red hair, on one side, he just wanted to hug and kiss her. She was beautiful and Mark’s heart skipped a beat while his cock twitched.
“Ladies,” Steven said with a warm smile and kissed his wife, “Mark and I are in charge of dinner while you relax and chit-chat. LeeAnn, please make sure that my beautiful wife pulls her legs up.”
Once they were alone, Steven turned to look at Mark and asked, “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, why?” Mark asked, chopping vegetables.
“Listen,” Steven began, “I’m not generally prying, but this time I really don’t understand. When you were back from St. Jacob you could only talk about LeeAnn. Now she’s here and you are somewhere else. Did you see her tonight?”
Mark stopped chopping, “It’s just…,” he rubbed his face trying to collect his thoughts.
“You’re in love,” Steven whispered. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.
Mark looked at him, eyes wide open, “What? I don’t….“
“It’s clear to me,” Steven interrupted him again, “and to your sister. If you haven’t realized that yourself, LeeAnn is hooked.”
“What are you talking about?” Mark was confused, and his heart galloped in his chest. Was that true? Was LeeAnn in love with him? “Did she say something to you?”
“No need,” Steven said grinning. Seeing his friend and brother-in-law in love, made him happy, “it’s pretty obvious to me. I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”
“She’s beautiful,” Mark said more to himself than to his friend.
“No doubt. Not my type though. I like your sister more,” Steven mocked his friend.
“You better,” Mark replied.
Together they chuckled but they got interrupted.
“Guys?” Brenda yelled from the other room, “I think we need to postpone the dinner!”
“Why?” both men asked.
LeeAnn ran into the kitchen, blushing and panting, “Water. Broke.”
It took a few moments to register what she was talking about, then, “Oh Jesus!” Steven yelled.
Despite Steven’s excitement, in less than ten minutes, he was ready to take his wife to the hospital, leaving Mark and LeeAnn to take care of the cleaning.
“So,” Mark started talking once Brenda and Steven were gone, a little uneasy, “Do you regret moving here, or are you fine? Feeling homesick?”
“I have no regret at all,” LeeAnn declared, “In fact, I can say I’ve never been happier. I talk with my mom once a week, and I already sent her some money even if she says I don’t have to. It’s just that….” she didn’t finish her sentence, then she stopped doing what she was doing, she leaned against the counter, holding on with her hands, and said, “I don’t understand you, Mark.”
He looked at her, puzzled, “What is it?”
“Before moving here,” she began, “I had the feeling that you liked me, that you were… interested. It’s not that I moved here for that reason, no. I moved for the job, but—,” she hesitated a moment, crossed her arms under her boobs, then, “I like you Mark, a lot, and if this is a one-way feeling, it’s ok for me, I’ll make up my mind. I just need to know and move on.”
He looked at her, cleared his throat, and said, “First of all, if you don’t mind, I need you to uncross your arms.”
“What? Why?” she asked, not understanding.
“You’re distracting me,” he explained.
“Oh, ok. Sorry,” she said, blushing.
“LeeAnn, I like you,” he began, “It’s more than that. I don’t know if it’s love or what, but I’m willing to try.”
LeeAnn’s mouth made an ‘O’, not expecting this kind of confession.
“The thing is,” he continued, “that I wanted to be professional. I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. You, working with me, far from your family, it didn’t feel right to ask you out. I wanted to give you time and space. I guess I did it all wrong. Now, knowing your feelings, and as we still need to eat dinner, can I invite you out to dinner?”
“As a date?” LeeAnn asked.
He covered the four feet separating them and got closer to her, kissed her plump lips, and whispered, “Yes, a date,” and kissed her again.
“Yes,” she said, sighing and smiling.
They went to a nice and cozy authentic Italian restaurant.
During dinner Steven texted Mark saying, “Bun still in the oven.”
After dinner they went for a walk by the river, holding hands, and talking, talking, talking.
Once they were in front of her door, she asked, “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
They got inside and she made the coffee.
He looked around, and said, “I actually never saw this place finished. It’s nice.”
“It’s small but for me, it’s enough, for now. And it’s cozy. And your sister is amazing,” she said.
He went closer to her until his nose was in her hair. He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of her soft red hair.
In a low, husky voice he said, “I imagined doing this since the day I first met you.”
She closed her eyes and stiffened.
Smoothing her hair on the side, he bent to kiss her neck, and then he moved his hands to her stomach.
She leaned against his chest, her lips parted, she breathed deeply, and her heart tried to punch its way out of her chest.
“You’re beautiful and your scent is fantastic,” he said, in between kisses.
Sighing, she flattened her hands on his thighs, and arched her back, pulling out her breasts.
His hands traveled on her breasts, his thumbs rubbed her nipples through the material of her dress; meanwhile, he left a wet trail of open mouth love bites on the hollow between her neck and shoulder.
She turned her face to touch her lips with his.
Close to her ear, he whispered, “I want you so much I can’t think straight. You’re a mix of sweet and sexy, all wrapped up in a gorgeous package.”
Breathing became more difficult for LeeAnn, least of all talking, especially when one of Mark’s hands moved from her breasts to her waist, down to her thigh. He reached the hem of her dress and pulled it up, slowly, very slowly, to give her time to react in case he was going too forward.
Her only reaction was a moan. She then rubbed her behind against Mark’s hard cock, creating a friction that was killing him.
“Stop, please,” he groaned, “or I’m going to lose it.”
He stroked the smooth skin of her thigh, moving up.
Her legs turned into noodles, and she had to hold on to him to not fall down.
Gently he pulled up her dress and removed it, dropping it on the floor.
“Turn,” he whispered gently.
When she turned to face him, he looked at her, head to toe. Her clear complexion, dotted with freckles here and there, her big firm breasts, wrapped in a blue lace bra, her flat stomach, her wide hips, and her mound in the middle, covered with blue lace panties matching the bra. Her legs weren’t too thin, but shapely, and Mark imagined being wrapped between those legs.
“Jeez, you’re so beautiful,” he said.
“You’re not so bad either,” she managed to say, giggling.
He hugged and kissed her. Stroking her back, his hands encountered the clasp of her bra. He unhooked it and slowly made the bra slid down her shoulders.
When her breasts were finally free, he admired the slightly darker pink nipples and bent to kiss one, then the other.
He fondled those beautiful full breasts, blowing against her and noticing her nipples tighten more, forming those little bumps.
Her hips began a rhythmic rocking, making him crazy.
Realizing she was holding her breath, he carefully caught her nipple with his teeth and tugged.
He was teasing her and pushing her over the edge.
While he suckled on her nipple, he also stroked her butt, squeezing each cheek over the panties first, then sliding one big hand into her panties, stroking her smooth skin.
He tugged her other nipple, and her rocking rhythm became frantic.
“Mark, please—,” she sighed.
He ignored her and continued teasing her.
Then suddenly, surprising him, she started panting and shaking. He placed a palm between her open thighs. Against his fingers, he felt wet heat, and the more he stroked her mound the more her panties got wet.
Then she cried out and came holding onto Mark’s shoulders.
When she calmed a little, he pulled her panties off, down her legs.
He brushed his fingers over her hot mound, going lower until he found her slick wetness, and teased her pussy with two fingers.
LeeAnn’s shaking hands reached out to stroke his hard cock against his pants, and, still panting, whispered, “One of us is wearing way too many clothes,” pulling his shirt up, over his head, uncovering his broad chest.
Mark’s breathing became deeper.
She opened the snap and slowly slid down the zipper of his pants. She reached into his boxers and closed her hand around his pulsing, warm shaft.
With his forehead against her, he watched her hand stroking his cock. He felt big in her hand.
Her thumb stroked over the head of his cock, feeling the warm slippery droplets.
Coughing, he covered her hand with his, saying in a husky voice, “Stop or I won’t last.”
Fishing in his pocket, he pulled out two condoms, then toed off his shoes and pulled off his pants and boxers, freeing a gorgeous erection.
Looking at him she felt her nipples tightening more and hot wetness dampened the hair of her mound. She wanted that gorgeous man on top of her, and that big cock inside her pussy. She was going crazy.
He lifted her and carried her to the bed. He bent down to kiss her and helped her down in the middle of the full bed.
He joined her on the bed, bracing his weight on one arm, with the other hand he fondled her breast and bent down to kiss and tug her nipple. While teasing her nipple with his mouth, he moved his hand down her side to her hips. The skin on her thigh was smooth and cool. Then he moved his fingers around the triangle of hair, teasing her.
She wanted to tell him that this foreplay wasn’t necessary anymore, she was close to the edge. What she really wanted was to feel him inside, deep inside her.
He growled and said, “I can’t wait any longer. Tell me you’re ready”
Her eyes heavy, she whispered, “I’ve been ready for weeks,” opening her legs wide.
Mark unwrapped the condom, rolled it on his cock, and went between her legs, He opened her pussy’s lips with his fingers and guided his cock to her entrance. He slowly rubbed his cock against her pussy then, with a long firm thrust, his cock was inside her.
She cried out, digging her fingers into his butt cheeks.
He groaned and for a minute stayed like that, relishing the newness and the rightness of it.
She bent her legs, pulling her knees to her chest. He was so deep inside that LeeAnn couldn’t catch a breath, but she didn’t care.
He kissed her and began to thrust slowly.
She tightened around him, squeezing his cock inside her, and he groaned. She felt immediately a rush of heat and dampness, and the skin of her whole body heated and tingled, straining for release.
Mark wasn’t in so much of a hurry. He kissed, stroked, and touched her, and slowly pumped inside her.
Against him, she hasted her movements to encourage him to go deeper, faster, harder.
“Easy,” he whispered against her mouth, pressing in all the way, then withdrawing until his cock was almost completely out, and slowly sank in again.
She was going insane. “Mark—“
“Shh, let it last,” he whispered.
She gasped, “I can’t,” an instant before her body went taut, her back arched, and she cried out when the intense sensation clenched inside her. That was the best orgasm she ever had.
Just as her climax had started to fade, LeeAnn heard a deep guttural groan. Mark drove into her hard and fast, and brought her right back there with him again.
She locked her ankles around the small of his back, her fingers behind his neck.
Their bodies became one.
In that specific moment, both Mark and LeeAnn realized that that was love.
And they both let go.
They woke up one hour later when Mark got a call from Steven, “You’re an uncle!” he announced excitedly, “Sarah Jane was born at 11:25 PM. Mother and daughter are both fine and asleep. Dad almost passed out.”
To celebrate the newborn, LeeAnn straddled Mark and impaled herself.
A few months later, LeeAnn moved into Mark’s house.
Two years later, LeeAnn graduated, and her graduation essay was published in a famous photo magazine.
Now they both work for that same magazine, traveling around the world taking pictures, and writing the story behind each photo. At the end of each trip, they send the material to the editor to be published in the following month’s issue.
No day had passed without sex, sometimes more than once, sometimes it was quick, sometimes it was slow, sometimes it was something new and kinky, and sometimes it was classic vanilla lovemaking.
But always with love.
