moving away. Christian walked toward him, and David lowered his eyes as he got back to work. He needed to concentrate and keep his mind off the feelings that threatened to overwhelm him. He’d seen Christian act the same way with a number of guys over the past few months. Not all of Christian’s sessions ended with sex, but enough did that David knew the routine. Christian let each of them down very gently. What he said to them David didn’t know, because he was always outside the room for fifteen minutes or so. “Take your time, David,” Christian said softly. “I believe these pictures are some of the best yet.” David nodded but said nothing, trying to keep his eyes from traveling to the naked man still resting on the bed. Christian must have followed David’s gaze, because he walked back toward the bed, pressing the plunger on the remote cameras a few times before joining Stavros once again. After more words and another light kiss, the young model stirred and slowly got up off the bed, walking naked back to where he’d changed his clothes. As soon as he was behind the screen, Christian turned and nodded to David before leaving the room.
David waited until Stavros stepped from behind the curtain before getting up and walking over to him. “You were amazing,” David said. “The photographs will be extremely powerful.”
David saw Stavros look toward the door to the apartment. “Do you really think so?” he asked haltingly. “Yes. I haven’t seen them all yet, but what I have looked at are incredible.” David walked Stavros toward the studio door. “Please take as much time as you need before leaving.”
Stavros looked at the floor, obviously uncomfortable. “Is it always like this?” he asked, and David nodded his head slowly.
“Christian always pulls a great deal of emotion out of his models. They always feel the way you are now once the session is over. Go outside and get some fresh air, take a walk to clear your head and you’ll feel much better, I promise you.” David had said this same thing to many of the other models that had worked with Christian. Whether there was sex involved or not, they all seemed to leave a little disoriented because he pulled so much from them while they were in the studio. “If you need some time before you leave,” David motioned to the sofa by the door. “Please have a seat and I can bring you some water if you like. You don’t have to leave until you feel ready.”
Stavros looked toward the apartment door once again.
“Will he come back?”
David shook his head. “He won’t be back in the studio at all today.” Christian never returned to the studio once he was done with a session. Probably so he wouldn’t have to face the insecurities of his models. He’d told David once that after a photo session, both his and the model’s emotions were too close to the surface and they needed separation. At first, David had thought that was just a copout on Christian’s part to get away, but he’d come to realize that maybe it wasn’t. “Like I said, take your time. Would you like something to drink?”
“Maybe water,” Stavros said, and David got it for him as Stavros settled on the sofa.
“I’ll be at the desk if you need anything,” David said, walking across the studio to the corner to give the young man a chance to collect himself.
David went back to work cataloging and organizing the photos according to Christian’s system, which he was still learning, because it wasn’t based on the type of image, but on the emotion being conveyed. It had been daunting at first, but David had pretty much gotten the hang of it, which was a little scary in itself because it required him to think a bit like Christian, and that could be a strange place to visit. “Thank you,” he heard from the other side of the studio, and he looked up from his work. Stavros was standing near the door, and he sounded much more like the man who’d walked into the studio earlier.
“No problem. Take care, and we’ll be in touch,” David said as he lifted his hand in a wave. Then he heard the studio door open and close. David continued working for a while before saving everything to the server. Then he shut everything down and turned off all the lights before opening the door the