Who: Emma and Tatum What: How they met. Where: University, When: Spring 2011. Emma's junior year, Tatum's sophomore year. Rating: So far just BOOBS. If you are offended by naked tits, steer clear. xD
Working at the campus bookstore had it’s perks. Okay one major perk, it worked with her school schedule. Emma hated work study, but at least it gave her the chance to get her schoolwork done in the downtime. It didn’t pay a whole lot though, so she started looking elsewhere for easy income that didn’t conflict with her schedule. That was how she’d gotten into modeling for the art students. Most of the time it was the instructors that requested her, and the school paying her, but she did offer her services to the students directly as well.
That was what brought her to Tatum Donnelly’s building on a Friday afternoon with two cups of coffee in tow. A cappuccino for herself and a vanilla latte for the redhead. She entered the lobby, and smiled at the RA behind the desk. After stating her business, she was told where the dorm she wanted was located, and the brunette (with visitor badge in hand) was on her way.
At the dorm, Emma shifted the bag on her shoulder, propped her cup in the nook of her elbow and knocked on the door. She didn’t look like someone who would model, not in the over-sized sweatshirt and jeans she wore. That was the beauty of it, she liked to do things people didn’t expect. ------
She was nervous; which, of course, went without saying when it came to interacting with the models. It was really the most nerve wracking part of her photography classes so far. She could lose herself in her work, take pictures for days, but it was awkward interacting with the models. She could do it, but it was awkward. They were always so beautiful, it seemed, even if none of the local girls were even close to what one would call famous. She still always felt like she was boring them, or that they were judging her, even though they were the ones on the opposite side of the lens.
It was her third course that semester that had called for one-on-one time spent with a model outside of class, but luckily, the instructor had set the whole thing up for them this time. She hadn’t actually had to call the model herself, like last time. The instructor had hired the models, given them each a photographer, and passed onto his students the pre-designated meet-up time.
Hell, it wouldn’t have even been quite so intimidating if the instructor hadn’t hired nude models. She knew that it was coming, she wasn’t going to do a four year art degree without seeing someone naked. There were even courses where the models were exclusively nude. She just hoped that she was going to get a girl, at least, if there was a God anywhere that had any pity on her.
Her model was supposed to arrive at four o’clock, after her last class was over for the day. She had ended up skipping her last class anyway, spending the extra hour frantically cleaning up her dorm room instead. Her roommate would be out until seven, at least, if she was true to her word. She’d already told the other girl that she would be shooting in the room, though she had failed to elaborate what kind of photographs she’d be shooting exactly. She didn’t want to have that conversation. Living with a roommate was already strange enough.
Annie phoning her was the only thing that was able to break her from her borderline obsessive tidying, distracting her almost long enough to forget that she had a model coming at all.. until she heard Emma’s knock on her door. “S-Shit, I gotta g-go, she’s h-here.. or s-she, I hope,” she told her sister quickly, “Y-Yes, tell m-mom I’ll e-mail it to her. Okay, y-yeah. Love y-you too, bye.”
With her phone quickly locked and stowed away in the back pocket of her jeans, Tatum made her way to the door with her camera hung around her neck, hesitating for just a moment; rubbing her sweaty palms on her front of her jeans before actually pulling the door open. “Hey, s-sorry. I was on the p-phone,” she began to excuse herself automatically, but her eyes widened a little as she recognized Emma, immediately straightening up as she regarded the brunette on the other side of her door. “So, y-you’re like a.. m-model, too?”
Nude model, her brain reminded her, making her palms sweaty all over again. ------
“No prob, Bob,” Emma winked and after shifting her cup back into her hand, she offered Tatum the one containing the vanilla latte. “I hope I got it right, if it’s completely wrong, let me know.” She waited for the redhead to step aside before making her way into the dorm. It was about as roomy as hers was, which wasn’t saying much. Dorms were small. Cozy. But she liked cozy, so it didn’t seem to bother her one bit.
“Yeah, school is expensive. Gotta make money somehow,” she pulled up a chair and sat down, dropping her bag next to her leg. “You know how this works, right? Or do we need to go over the rules?” ------
Even though Emma had been holding two coffees, clearly too many for just herself, Tatum still somehow hadn’t expected one to be for her. There was a look of genuine surprise on her face as the brunette held the latte out to her. “Uhm, t-thanks,” she replied, a slightly goofy smile on her face as she quickly turned her back and headed over toward her desk. She took a sip of the drink, which was just right. Not that she would have said anything if it wasn’t. It tasted like Emma had even added a packet of raw sugar and some skim milk, like Tatum usually did herself.
“M-Money is m-money,” she agreed, sitting down gingerly on the edge of her bed as Emma took the chair before she really had a chance. She tried not to think about the photography session to come, even though that was the whole reason they were here. She hadn’t been expecting Emma, of all people. She looked up from her drink and at the brunette, her eyebrows raising. “R-Rules?” she asked, clearing her throat slightly. “Uhm, I.. I know the rules.”
She totally didn’t know the rules. But how important could they be? “Like, n-no touching or something? B-Because I’m not-- l-like, I mean.. I’m all a-about r-respect and.. stuff. I w-wouldn’t do that.” ------
Emma giggled. “The no touching rule is generally for classrooms, and up to us models. I don’t particularly care if you touch me to, like, move an arm into position, or anything like that. Biggest thing is nothing too,” she paused. “Provocative? I guess that’s a good way to put it.” She sipped on her cappuccino, her trademark smirk lingering on her lips as she pulled the cup away. “I kind of figured you’re the respectful type, but you know...formalities. And if you need me to sign a model release, that’s not a problem.”
She set the cup down long enough to pull her sweatshirt off. Underneath was a faded Muse t-shirt. “Next question, how nude do you want me? Mr. Brown didn’t say a whole lot, just that you needed a model for an assignment. So, this is all up to you.” ------
“N-Nothing provocative, s-sure. That’s l-legit,” she agreed quickly, nodding her head in agreement with her own words. It was for an assignment, after all, even if there were more than a few unsavory positions that she could think of to put Emma in. But rules were rules, and it wasn’t as if she had the guts to actually act on something as gutsy as requesting a provocative pose anyway. It was all irrelevant. It would be hard enough to deal with the fact that the brunette was going to be naked in her presence at all.
“No n-need for a release, it’s all g-good.. Mr. Brown usually h-has that sort of s-stuff covered, y-you’ll have to sue him if I’m t-too provocative,” Tatum answered half-jokingly, watching Emma remove her sweatshirt, and cracking a little smile at the shirt beneath. She put down her drink and unbuttoned the front of her own sweater, shrugging it off and standing from the bed, camera in her hands although the strap still hung around her neck.
Emma’s question caught her off guard, and there was no hiding the deer in the highlights look upon Tatum’s face, before she quickly tried to gather her composure. “Up to m-me? Uhm, well.. h-honestly, he w-wasn’t that specific w-with us either. H-He’s kind of a d-dick. He never t-tells us what he w-wants half the time,” she explained nervously, before trailing off. Her teeth worrying her lower lip slightly before she managed another little smile. “Up t-to you, really. I mean, l-like.. just y-your shirt c-could work, like your.. breasts.”
Why was saying that so embarrassing? What was she, twelve? She could already feel her cheeks warming up though, and she quickly looked down at her sneakers, focusing on them instead. ------
“Yeah, he seems like he could be a dick. I’ve never had him for any sort of class though, he just tells the models he hires where to be, when to be there, and anything he knows for us to expect,” she shrugged and stood up.
It was interesting seeing Tatum slightly flustered. Though, from Emma’s perspective, Tatum seemed perpetually flustered. It was the stutter, and the often downcast gaze. It was interesting to watch, as Emma herself never liked to show her own self-consciousness to the outside world. It was there, but she tended to bury it with her nose in her books. Books were great in that regard.
All it took was the mention of removing her shirt, and Emma was on it. The tease in her was enjoying it, yes. But there was a professional side to it as well. She was on the clock, it was her job to help Tatum get this assignment done in an allotted amount of time. What happened after that was still to be determined, but it’d have to wait. Crossing her arms, she pulled the shirt over her head and cast it onto her bag with her sweatshirt. Her hands made their way to start unclasping her bra when she spoke again.
“So, do you have any sort of composition in mind? Any particular poses I’m to expect? I can hold quite a bit of different ones, whatever you want, I’m willing to try.” ------
Oh Jesus, why hadn’t she thought ahead about poses or anything like that? She had been so focused on just cleaning up her room and making sure that it looked presentable for the model, she hadn’t even thought about the actual composition of her assignment. Now that Emma was the girl who had shown up, Tatum wished that she had cleaned up more. That maybe she had actually made an effort to hide some of her.. nerdier aspects.
She could have at least tried to hide how many consoles and other bits of video game junk she had throughout her side of the dorm. She could have done something to try to disguise what a geek she was.
“W-Well, I.. I know it’s k-kind of dumb, but I w-was thinking about j-just winging it. I’m g-going to be doing t-them in black and w-white, he requested that much, and the uhm.. nudity. B-But the rest is up t-to us,” Tatum explained slowly, trying to keep her words straight and her thoughts pure, as she watched Emma’s hands moving up to unclasp her bra while Tatum spoke. The redhead unconsciously held her breath.
“Whatever y-you want,” she reaffirmed breathlessly, once the bra fell away, Tatum swallowing thickly and tightened the grip on her camera. “I’m n-not picky.” ------
“Dude, it’s not my grade. It shouldn't matter to me. But, I’m cool with winging it.” And with that, Emma motioned to the bed. “Alright if I lay there?”
------
“R-Right, sorry,” Tatum answered quickly, nervous smile gracing her face, as she looked up at Emma again. She couldn’t go this whole session without eye contact, especially if she was going to have to be directing her through a series of poses soon enough. She moved aside quickly as Emma motioned to the bed. “Sure, m-make yourself l-like.. at home, or w-whatever. No worries,” she told her, stepping back and taking a moment to fiddle with the camera settings as Emma settled in.
Anything was better than staring right at her, which was exactly what she wanted to go. At least once she was doing it from behind a lens, it became art. ------
Tatum wouldn’t have to tell her twice. She hopped onto the bed, and maneuvered herself into a comfortable position. Legs partially crossed and her arms draped on them. If Tatum wanted her to shift, all she had to do was say something. She took a breath, and let her gaze wander the dorm. There was a distinct difference in the sides of the room. An obvious difference between the girls that lived there. That was alright. Emma had a bit of a nerdy side to herself. She didn’t own any consoles or anything, opting for a Kindle and a bookshelf overloaded with books.
Tatum had a bookshelf too, with a lot of the same books Emma had on her’s. She couldn’t fight the grin that crossed her face when she noticed the Hogwarts flag on the wall and she nodded toward it. “Someone’s a little bit nerdy. Who’s your favorite character?” It was an attempt to help ease the tension that was rising between them. Emma’d felt it, and she really didn’t want poor Tatum to pass out in the middle of an assignment or anything. ------
Her eyes had wandered away from the camera slowly, and back to Emma, watching her get acquainted on the bed with rapt attention. Once they seemed ready, Tatum sat backwards in chair that the brunette had vacated, wheeling it a little bit closer before lifting the camera up and peering through the viewfinder.
She had been hoping that, maybe just maybe, Emma wouldn’t notice any of the nerdy things that she was feeling nervous about not even trying to disguise. She was eighteen years old, after all, and maybe getting a little old to be getting lost in fantastical fictional worlds all of the time.. but those just happened to be the words in which she felt most comfortable. Most people didn’t get that. Emma’s question didn’t seem sarcastic though, she didn’t seem to be poking fun.
“L-Little bit of a g-geek, can’t l-lie,” Tatum admitted weakly, though she knew that it was a sort of rhetorical question. Clearly Emma could see that she was, just by looking at the walls. She snapped one picture of Emma, trying to ignore the way that her heart was pounding in her chest as she snapped another. “Move your arms up a b-bit.. like, uhm. Over y-your head,” she instructed gently, before answering. “I l-liked Ginny W-Weasley, I g-guess. She was t-tough. And us ginger g-girls gotta s-stick together,” she smiled. “Or H-Hermione.. everyone k-knows Harry and R-Ron would be d-dead in like, book one w-without Hermione.”
Tatum hesitated for a moment, before furrowing her eyebrows at Emma from behind the camera. “W-Why?” she asked slowly, as if she were now wondering if the question was a trap. Maybe bait to get her to gush about something embarrassing, so Emma could laugh at her. She waited for the other shoe to fall, even as she kept her lens trained on the brunette in front of her. “Who’s y-your favorite?” ------
As instructed, she pulled her arms up, and placed her hands behind her head. She let her expression fall neutral as she thought about it. There were so many wonderfully elaborate characters in those seven books, she’d always had a hard time picking a favorite.
“Luna Lovegood,” she smirked. “She’s brilliant and she’s different. And that’s one thing I like about her. She’s not afraid to be herself, doesn’t mind if people don’t like it.” Among her favorites were Ron and Hermione, for their own reasons. Though she’d never bring herself to call Harry a favorite. And she usually sided with the main protagonists. “I like Neville too. Longbottom’s such a badass.”
So maybe it was obvious that she had a type? So what if Emma Carter liked weird nerdy people. Deep down, she thought of herself as weird and nerdy as well. The possibility was there that she liked those characters because of mirroring traits she so desperately tried to hide, rather than traits she found herself attracted to? Or it could have been a bit of both.
“What other books do you like to read?” She could have perused the bookshelf, but it was a million times more fun to talk about it. It was insightful, and Emma was genuinely curious. ------
Tatum immediately felt the corners of her lips twitch. “Luna,” she said slowly, cracking a smile and snapping another couple of pictures, “would p-probably come in t-third for me, she’s awesome. Neville, too.” She almost went off on a small tangent about how hard she ‘shipped’ Neville and Luna, but she was pretty sure that she needed to draw the line in the nerdy sand before it got to that point. She took more pictures instead, scooting her chair closer to Emma and the bed.
Once she was in the zone of taking shots, it was easier to get lost, to forget that she had a girl laying topless on her bed, of all places. That she had to carry on a normal conversation with her while that was going on. But it was easier behind the lens, just a little. “I r-read a lot of Stephen K-King.. I’m f-from Maine, so.”
Why was she telling Emma that? Why did she think she cared? And really, what did that have to do with being a King fan? She was terrible at small talk. “I l-like scary stories.. m-mostly. Books, but l-like, g-games and stuff, too. I l-like John Saul, his books are kind of.. w-weird though. A lot of d-dead kids in his b-books,” she paused momentarily, swallowing thickly. Word vomit was killing her. “Uhm, do you w-want to like, sit up a little, m-maybe lean back on y-your hands? C-Chest forward, head b-back?”
Talking became harder when she had to give actual direction, but Emma had been right, it was her project, she had to take initiative and call the shots. But that was easier said than actually done. “Sorry, t-this is.. I m-mean, you c-can pose however y-you want. L-Like I s-said earlier.” ------
“He’s one of my favorites too. I’m actually reading Needful Things for the first time. Six hundred something pages. Have you read it?” She shifted again, resting on her elbows and smiling at Tatum.
She let loose a scoff, not in disgust, but rather amusement. “Again, sweetheart, your project. The only time I’m going to pose different is if I get uncomfortable.” She wiggled her eyebrows and giggled. “I’ve had plenty of practice, so I don’t expect that to be the case. Live a little, be bossy.” There was an unvocalized implication that Emma liked bossy gals. But she was trying to keep this as professional as she could. Even if there might possibly be not so professional thoughts rolling around inside her head. That could wait for another day. When she and Tatum weren’t working. Well. And granted she could talk the photographer into a date or a few with her. ------
“Y-Yeah, I r-read Needful Things in h-high school. I really liked it, a-actually.. but uhm, I w-wouldn’t want to l-live in Castle Rock, period. Cujo is s-set there, too.. and s-some of Dead Zone. Crazy t-town. But Maine isn’t n-nearly as cool as King m-makes us think,” Tatum answered slowly, lowering her camera for a moment and fiddling with her settings as she spoke. Glad to have her eyes averted, and her focus on something that she was familiar with. She could talk books and play cameras. It put her at ease, a little anyway.
She looked up from her camera just in time to catch Emma wiggling her eyebrows, the redhead’s eyes going wide for a moment before she smiled crookedly, her cheeks flushing a little despite her best effort. The giggle would have made her knees week if she had dared to be standing. “Uhm, w-well. I’ll d-do my best to m-make sure y-you’re not.. uncomfortable, t-then,” she replied, trying to swallow her heart back down her throat before she went on.
“I’m n-not really.. all t-that bossy. Honestly,” she informed the other girl, as if that wasn’t entirely obvious just from the small amount of time they had spent together already. Being bossy was for leaders, people with direction, with purpose. Tatum followed, went by what other people wanted, what was better for the general good. She hated to rock the boat. But she couldn’t deny the request of a beautiful lady either.
“Well, if y-you really w-want me to boss y-you around.. you kind of are s-slouching a little. You c-could put your chest out a l-little more,” she suggested gently, clearing her throat quickly afterward. It was all supposed to be for art, but it was hard to justify her requests entirely in the name of creativity. Nervous as she was, her hands sweaty even as she lifted her camera up and started taking shots again, she was enjoying herself. When else was she going to have an opportunity to have a girl like Emma on her bed, asking her how she wanted her to pose, with her top off? She didn’t see it happening again anytime in the near future.