it turns out.
“Sure, you need photos for your passport?” I
asked.
“Naked photos, for me,” she said.
I sucked in a breath and smiled. “Sure,” I
said. I am learning to say yes more often.
She pulled the towel off her head and dropped
it in the basket. Then she took some tiny shorts out of her
dresser. She stepped into them, as usual not wearing underwear.
“I’ve seen you watching me when I masturbate and I know it turns
you on. So you’re the perfect photographer to take some sexy naked
photos of me.” She was always direct which scared off even more
people.
I felt my face flush as her eyes looked into
mine, a smile creasing her lips. “You do it so much,” I finally
said. “I admire your stamina.”
“I have a new crush and I think about her all
the time,” she said.
My heart jumped into my throat as I wondered
who she might be talking about. Crystal was very open about her
sexuality. She frequently brought a classmate to the room to make
out. She was a sexual animal and very open about it. After losing
my virginity in St. Martin I had been more outgoing about pursuing
boys, so it was interesting and confusing to be around someone who
was in full pursuit of sex with women just as I was learning to
fuck boys. Crystal had arrived at college wanting to explore her
sexuality and one date with the right senior had focused her sexual
radar on women more than men.
“I’m, I’m sorry, I didn’t think you would
mind,” I said.
She laughed and smiled. “I love it,” she
said, “since it’s you.” I felt my face flush again.
Crystal pulled a lacy bra out of her drawer
and started to put it on, then thought about it and put it back
into the drawer. Her breasts were small and she liked to go braless
to drive the crazed men on campus even crazier. She walked to the
closet, her nipples firm and pointing the way forward, and pulled a
thin white cotton t-shirt off a hanger and slipped it on. I
pretended to be reading my textbook but my eyes were glued to her
movements as she stepped into her sneakers. She was a sexy woman
who doesn’t try to be sexy, she just allows it to happen.
She picked up a brush and organized her hair,
then flipped it back over her shoulder. Then she spent three
minutes working on her eyes, darkening them so they stood out
against her light skin. She reminded me of a sexier Taylor
Swift.
“How about tonight after class?” she
asked.
“Sure, yes,” I said.
My video editing class was my favorite class
but that day I couldn’t pay attention. The professor was talking
about all of the special effects we could use and how we should
pick some and not overdo it. All I could think about was
photographing Crystal later that day, and started to write down
some notes of the shots I thought we should take.
“Producers and directors will have very
specific notes about what effects to use, how they envision the
project playing out,” he said. “And your job isn’t to insert your
ideas into their vision unless they ask for it. But for our next
project I want you to use your own imaginations. You will be
producer, director and editor,” he said from somewhere behind
me.
“This is good, Daria,” said the professor as
his hand took my note paper off my desk. Why the hell was I
using paper? My brain screamed.
“I, thanks,” I stammered.
“What she has is three simple shots and her
approach to them,” he said as he walked forward with the sheet of
paper.
I am an idiot was all my brain could
think.
I was completely embarrassed even though he
didn’t know what the real purpose of the notes was. Still, it felt
like he had invaded my private thoughts. The class bell rang
shortly after and I was instantly relieved, so much so that I ran
out of the room without the notes he had taken from me. It was only
a set of ideas anyway.
Crystal was sitting on her bed when I walked
back in the room. The lights were off, she had lit some candles,
and I hear the pop of a cork as she