Model Citizen, Part 2

Model Citizen
by kalithanatos

CHAPTER TWO

The next day, Jenny was lazing around checking her emails when the phone
rang. She answered it and was surprised to hear Linda on the other end, since
she must have known Amanda was at work.

"Hi Jenny. I know your mother isn't home - it's actually you I wanted to
speak to," Linda said.

"Me? Why?" Jenny asked, puzzled.

"I've just had a cancellation and was wondering if you would do me a favour -
would you mind coming along and doing a shoot with me?" Linda asked.

Jenny was taken aback - she had considered Linda's approach yesterday as
simply a compliment to make Jenny feel good about herself. She had never
considered it to be a genuine offer.

Linda was still talking as Jenny thought about this, "...and you would really
be doing ME a big favour as I have already paid for the studio and to not
shoot anything really would be a waste..."

Linda was talking a mile-a-minute trying to convince Jenny until Jenny
interrupted her, saying, "Okay, okay, I'll do it! If it's going to help you
out, I'll come along. It'll be an experience if nothing else, and I've
nothing better to do today anyway."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Linda proclaimed. "This is going to be SO
good - you're much prettier than the model who let me down anyway!"

Not knowing how to take this, Jenny opted to simply ask Linda where she was
and what she should wear, and arranged to arrive there in an hour.

And so it was that Jenny arrived at the studio Linda had rented for the day.
All the usual paraphernalia was there that you would expect - cameras,
lights, screens, etc. - and Jenny felt slightly intimidated.

"Relax," said Linda, greeting Jenny at the door and taking her jacket. "It's
a lot simpler than it looks. All you have to do is stand and pose, and we'll
see what we get. I'm not expecting miracles; at least not the first time!"
Linda laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

To be honest, Linda's attitude helped Jenny settle down. From yesterday's
conversation, Jenny understood that Linda did fashion photography which she
then sold to magazines and catalogues, and increasingly internet sites. The
photos were all about dressing up and showing off various products with
striking images which could then be sold to different companies around the
globe. Linda was well respected in the fashion community and made a very good
living from selling her images. She was also the type of person who would be
invited to art galleries and fashion shows as a guest as well as a
photographer.

Linda began by explaining to Jenny that she had a very specific list of shots
she wanted to achieve in the next few hours, promoting (among other things)
face cream and sunglasses. The two women went to work, and surprisingly for
Jenny (but not for Linda), Jenny turned out to be a natural. She hit all the
correct poses that Linda required of her the first time. After a short time,
Jenny became more confident and threw in a few poses that Linda didn't ask
for but she knew she would use, as they were so spontaneous and perfect that
it was just what she was looking for.

After about 1½ hours, well ahead of schedule, Linda checked her list of
to-do's and was surprised to see they were all but finished.

"That's it, kid, we're all done!" Linda announced.

Jenny actually felt disappointed. "Oh," she said, "I was really getting into
this. I could go on for hours! Is that really all the shots complete?"

"Well, there is actually another set of shots to do, but it's not for you."

"Why not?" Jenny asked, "Is it nude shots or something?" As much as she had
enjoyed herself, Jenny wasn't prepared to take her clothes off for all to see
- in this respect, she was still a little too shy.

"No, no, nothing like that," Linda said. "One of my friends, Jim, asked if I
wouldn't mind doing a smoking fetish shoot for his website. I was going to do
it with the other model before she pulled out, but I guess I'll have to wait
until next week now."

Jenny was disappointed. She would like to have continued the shoot, but not
if it meant she had to smoke.

"Unless..." Linda started, "how would you feel about simply holding a
cigarette? It doesn't have to be lit or anything, but I think if you just
held it, Jim could maybe Photoshop some smoke in and make it APPEAR like
you're actually smoking. How does that sound?"

Jenny considered this. She had never even TOUCHED a cigarette before, but
holding one is not the same as smoking it and there did not appear to be any
downside to this suggestion.

"Okay, if I don't have to actually smoke, that sounds reasonable," she said,
getting back in the mood for some more photos

Linda retrieved her cigarettes from her purse, at the same time advising
Jenny which clothes to pick out for the upcoming shots. It was decided that
Jenny should tie her hair back to show off her face and wear some nice,
summery clothes. Linda then asked if Jenny was ready, and Jenny tentatively
reached for the proffered cigarette. Not knowing how to hold it, she held the
filter between her thumb and first finger. It was surprisingly light, almost
like holding nothing at all. She gently squeezed the tip and found it seemed
to spring back into place. Linda watched Jenny's experiments with amusement,
and then showed her how to hold the cigarette properly between her first and
second fingers. Jenny said, "Like this?" and Linda advised her to move the
cigarette filter slightly toward the tips of her fingers.

Still feeling uncomfortable, Jenny did as she was told and attempted to relax
into the shoot. She struck a number of poses with the cigarette down near her
lap and progressed to holding her elbow with one hand while the other held
the cigarette about 6-12 inches from her face, but never actually near her
lips. After about fifteen minutes and a costume change, Jenny decided this
was actually quite easy and started getting more confident with the
cigarette. She tried switching hands and holding it between different
fingers, eventually decided it was silly to be afraid of the unlit cigarette
and it would be okay for it to be nearer her face.

Linda noticed immediately that Jenny looked great with the cigarette and
decided to risk asking if the younger woman would be comfortable putting it
in her mouth. Jenny pondered the request for a couple of seconds before
deciding that that was a step too far. However, she did have a thought for a
potential photo opportunity.

"Linda, when we had lunch yesterday, I couldn't help but notice how glamorous
you looked with all your gear on. Do you have any similar clothes here and
maybe I could dress like you?"

"Great idea!" Linda exclaimed, going over to the cloakroom. "It just so
happens I do."

Linda and Jenny were of similar build, so it was no problem for Jenny to fit
into Linda's clothes. "One thing missing, though," said Jenny, "do you have
your cigarette holder with you? I thought that looked great."

"Oh yes, it's in my other bag," said Linda, retrieving it. The holder was
about 8 inches long without a cigarette in it, and appeared to be
hand-crafted. "This cost me about $1,000. I bought it in Singapore on a
recent trip," said Linda. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

Jenny had to admit that it did look very stylish, especially a couple of
seconds later when Linda put a cigarette in the end.

"Ready to go again?" she asked, settling in behind her camera.

"Absolutely," Jenny agreed, taking her position at the screen. Again, Jenny
posed in a mixture of suggestions from Linda and some of her own, natural,
compositions before Linda asked if Jenny would have a problem putting the
cigarette holder in her mouth.

Jenny was by now adept at holding the cigarette near her face and pondered
the question with a little more thought. This wouldn't be the same as putting
an ACTUAL cigarette in her mouth, as it would still be eight inches away from
her lips!

"Okay, that sounds fair enough. What do I do?"

"Whatever comes naturally," Linda responded. "Try holding it between your
teeth and letting it dangle first."

Jenny tried this and found it to be quite easy. "How about it you pretend you
are actually smoking?" Linda asked.

"How do I do that?" Jenny enquired.

"Try breathing in and letting your cheeks collapse a little."

Jenny tried this too, and the shoot continued with Jenny trying out a few
techniques of making it look like she was actually smoking. She was also
wondering at this point how the photos would eventually turn out.

"Linda," she said, "do you think this would look better if the cigarette was
lit?"

Linda was taken aback - she did not expect this from Jenny. "I suppose it
would, dear. Would that be a problem for you?"

"Well, as long as I don't have to put anything in my mouth, it should be
okay," Jenny responded. "After all, the smoke would still be miles away from
my face."

"Well, okay, if you're sure, let's give it a try. Pass me the holder over and
I'll light it up for you." Jenny did so and within a few seconds she was
holding a lit cigarette for the first time. She had to admit, it felt
surreal, even though she had been the one to suggest it. The smoke was only
mildly irritating as it was a good distance from her face, but it didn't
bother her too much. It simply felt strange to be holding a lit cigarette,
even if it was in the holder, and at first she wasn't sure she could
continue. A few soothing words from Linda, though, soon had Jenny back in the
routine and it wasn't long before she was posing again.

As the cigarette wasn't actually being smoked, it burned down at a slower
rate. However, after a few minutes, Jenny noticed the ash was getting long
and starting to lean. She pointed this out to Linda, who proceeded to show
Jenny how to de-ash the cigarette by tapping the end and letting the ash fall
into the ashtray Linda had found in a nearby storeroom. When the cigarette
was about a ¾ done and the photo shoot coming to an end, Linda decided to
once more try her luck with Jenny and ask if she would mind putting the tip
of the holder into her mouth. It wasn't that she wanted Jenny to actually
smoke; she was just looking for that perfect shot.

Once more, Jenny added up the pros and cons of the situation; she wouldn't
actually have to do much more than she had already done, simply put the
cigarette holder in her mouth for a second and take it out. That seemed a
reasonable enough request, right?

"As long as that's all I have to do, I suppose I could do that," she offered.

"Excellent! Go for it!" Linda said excitedly, once more setting up the shot.

Jenny nervously raised the tip of the cigarette holder to her mouth, placed
the holder inside and clasped her lips over it. Linda was shooting like
crazy, trying to get the perfect photo as Jenny removed the holder and once
more pretended to blow the smoke out. She did this several more times,
feeling more comfortable with each, until the cigarette was nearly finished.
Jenny had raised the cigarette holder to her lips for the final time when
Linda, who had been moving slowly around Jenny, stumbled and nearly dropped
her camera. At that moment, two things happened very quickly - Linda became
momentarily distracted and Jenny, for reasons she didn't quite understand,
impulsively sucked on the long holder and breathed a little cigarette smoke
into her mouth.

There was no thought or planning to this action - it simply just happened.
One moment Jenny was pretending to smoke, the next she actually had cigarette
smoke in her mouth. Of course, not being versed in these things she didn't
know what to do next, so after a second she discreetly blew the smoke out and
pretended nothing had happened. Linda had just about sorted herself out by
now and never noticed this indiscretion, and after a few seconds refocused on
Jenny.

"Here, let me take this off you now," she said, taking the cigarette holder
from Jenny's hands, removing the cigarette, and stubbing it out. "Sorry about
that at the end there; minor accident," she explained. "Nearly took a
tumble." Jenny just smiled and tried to act casual, although inside her heart
was racing. Did I really just do that? she thought to herself, I DID! I
really smoked! What was I THINKING?  Despite feeling that she should chide
herself, she actually felt elated. Her, Jenny Davis, smoking! What would her
friends say? What would her parents say? Ouch, better not think like that!

"Thanks Jenny, you were a real star today. You saved my bacon...this could have
been a waste of a day, but instead it's worked out really well. You're a
natural at this, you know? You really could have a career as a model."

Jenny didn't know what to say. She had never considered that her life would
be anything but school, university, job, retire, but here was a professional
photographer at the top of her game telling her she had what it took to be a
full-time model. This day was getting weirder and weirder...

"Anyway, I'm going to pack up here and get these photos to their people. It
has been an absolute pleasure. Perhaps we can do this again sometime, and
seriously, think about modelling."

"Okay," said Jenny, "I will." After that there was nothing to do but say
their goodbyes and go their separate ways.

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