Calendar Shoot - Driven to Drift and Morlock

[Morlock]

Michael had just finished High School and was on his holiday break, College next year he thought to himself and he was just happy he was accepted even if he still didn't really know what to do with his life. He had coasted through High School quite easily but without any real direction, some of his friends had told him he should take up modeling as he was quite handsome and tall with a well built physique and smile.

He hadn't thought of doing that before although he was kind of shy even though he worked out hard and was a confident person otherwise, but posing in front of a camera? That seemed odd and kind of well kind of gay. He wasn't sure if he could manage it, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to work at burger joints to pay his way though College either so he sat down in front of the internet and started looking at ads that photographers had placed who were looking for male models.

He wanted to start small that was for sure, even a hobbyist would do, preferably female, it would feel odd enough already without having to strut around like a peacock in front of a guy!

Scrolling through the ads he came across one that was written in a way that was more amateurish than the others, it was kind of clumsy to be honest but that appealed to him, obviously this woman didn't have much experience herself, it made it all seem less intimidating. He re-read the ad, so she wanted a male model for a calendar shoot, there wasn't any mention of nudity or anything and well, it was more the nature of how it was written, very down to Earth and without a lot of the photographic jargon the other ads contained.

He decided to email her,

"Hi there,

I'm interested in trying this, I am not experienced at all, I mean nothing, not trying to be modest here! So I would love to get a start in modeling and have included a photo of myself so you can see who you are talking to, if you are interested please let me know and maybe we can arrange something?

regards,

Michael"

He hit send without thinking about it anymore, if he had of thought about it he probably would have lost what little courage he had! He sat back without expecting any response.

 

[driven to drift]

Ana stretched her arms lazily above her head, fresh out of a shower after another long day in the garage and ready to sit in front of her computer and unwind a bit. Her workflow had slowed a bit, seeing as most of the racing seasons had started and the builds she had assisted on were out traveling. She still had the usual, regular maintenance clientele - oil changes, tire rotations, patches, occasional fluid flush, tune up, etc - but that aspect of her job did not do much to keep her mind occupied. In fact, she was far-more occupied by another aspect of her life.

Some of the ladies in motorsports that she worked with had decided to shoot a promotional calendar that was a little...different than the norm. And, being that they had seen much of her previous portfolio works, had enlisted her as the photographer. Their funds were limited so a professional had certainly been out of the question, however they knew she produced quality shots, if only they could get her to agree. She was intrigued, but admittedly uncomfortable...but how could she pass up an opportunity to make a little extra cash and even branch out on a hobby?

So she had fumbled through the posted ad and awaited any interest. She absently twirled a curl of brown hair around her finger, hazel eyes scanning the screen as she sifted through her emails. Junk, spam, her mother, her mother, her mother...Michael?

She blinked and clicked on the subject line, her brows rising as she realized that this was her first hit. Finger tapping somewhat anxiously on the desk, she hesitantly clicked open the attached photo and...was pleased with what she saw. He should do nicely, assuming he would be comfortable with what would follow...

...perhaps it would be better to approach those details in person.

Opening up a reply draft, she typed away.

"Hello, there, Michael!

No experience necessary for this shoot, I can assure you! It's a promotional shoot on a small-ish budget, but you will be compensated for your time. I believe you have a look we could definitely be interested in...so when are you available?

Hope to work with you soon.

- Anastasia."

After re-reading the message, she clicked send and gnawed on her lower lip silently. No reason to hesitate - it was the first reasonable bite that she had received.

 

[Morlock]

He sat back watching TV, he wasn't even sure if he applied the right way, there didn't seem many ways of doing it he thought to himself, she would either like his look or not, no two ways about it. He wondered what it might be like and what type of calendar it would be, he laughed as he thought of himself as Mr December or something equally silly, he shook his head, she would have received heaps of responses by now and he would probably be lost in the mass of much more professional and better looking models.

Then he heard the email alarm on his smartphone, he got up and had a look, expecting a friend's message or even spam he was surprised to see it was from Anastasia, the female photographer who wanted to do the shoot, it was probably just a rejection email he thought but opened it anyway expecting to read the usual rejection stuff "Thanks for applying, not what we are looking for etc etc" he never had a great deal of luck with jobs so why would modeling be any different!

Reading the message he was surprised that she seemed to just want to do the shoot and ASAP as well, he figured there might be a meeting or something before hand but maybe they don't do it that way after all. He re-read it looking for any rejections he may have missed and when he was satisfied that there wasn't any he started to respond.

"Hi Anastasia,

I wasn't expecting to get anywhere with this and now I am quite nervous! So it seems you just want to do the shoot then? I guess I am available whenever you are, let me know and we can get it all rolling.

regards,

Michael."

There, he sent it and then reality started to hit him hard, was he really going to do this? He had no idea what to expect, no experience to fall back on, he felt a lump grow in his stomach, he felt that maybe it was better to do this sooner than wait as he wasn't sure how long he could live with these feelings of nervousness.

 

[driven to drift]

Ana had some house-keeping issues to take care of both online and throughout her modest apartment. She left her computer on, awaiting a few different responses and contacts...primarily from her mother, or so she told herself. Although her nerves were a-tingle with the possible potential for an answer to her ad, she tried to ignore it. Chances were he would back out - that was another issue she had encountered. They found a better offer or realized the more amateur nature of the shoot and lost interest.

She busied herself by vacuuming and cleaning her apartment, missing the initial blip of a sound that signified the reception of another email. What did catch her attention just as she turned off the whirring machine was the ringing of her cell phone, which she answered without looking. "Yes, Mom?" She only listened vaguely, hand perched on her hip as she listened to her mother go on about the usual: Ana apparently needed a new job, a husband and children. As she neatly wrapped the cord of the vacuum cleaner and wheeled it back to a closet, she caught sight of the little red indicator of an unread email. Strolling over to the screen, her brows raised as she noted who it was from and quickly dismissed her mother before hanging up.

She flew into the desk chair, opening the email and grinning a little to herself, the anxious flutter in her chest in part due to the excitement. She bit her bottom lip and smirked to herself. This might come together, after all!

"Hello, Michael!

If you are comfortable with taking on the shoot, then absolutely! Are you available next Tuesday around 9 AM? It would be best to get started early.

And please, call me Ana.

All the Best,

- Ana."

No point in being formal if they were to take part in this shoot together. They were likely to become more-than familiar with each other by the end of it. In all honesty, there was a little twinge of guilt in her gut, but how could she tell him nude posing was a requirement via email? She was much more convincing in person, anyway...

 

[Morlock]

He had just managed to forget all about this modeling caper, sitting back and watching tv, some old black and white movie when his phone buzzed again, it was Ana as she called herself, as she wanted him to call her, she was asking if he was available for a photo shoot next Tuesday and 9 am, that wasn't too far off, hell that was just a few days away!

He took a breath and thought about what he was getting himself into, he had never done this before but Ana seemed really down to Earth and laid back and that was helping, there was nothing about nudity or even partial nudity, a lot of the other ads that wanted nudity stated it very upfront, he had avoided those as he really didn't feel up for that at all! Possibly never in fact!

Looking at the email again he decided that he would give this a go and see what would transpire from it, it could be a new career for all he knew and given he had no idea if he even wanted to go to college and what he wanted to do in life this seemed like something that might work out or at the very least give him some extra money to help him pay his way through study.

He hadn't told anyone he was going to do this, he wasn't either until he worked out that he wanted to do it long term, it would be his little secret until then and besides he had always been a bit of a loner, working things out himself.

He started to write back, "Hi Ana, Ok, 9am next Tuesday, where do we meet for this and should I bring any type of clothes with me in particular? - Michael"

And Send, so that was it he thought, his fate was sealed, he knew he wouldn't back out now.