by L A Moore
“It’s a photography job, working for a prominent columnist for Nature magazine and, well, working for Nature has always been a dream job of mine. If I do well for this columnist, I could end up working for Nature outright, so you see how important it is for me to take this job. The problem is, he has hired me to work all seven days and I wouldn’t have time to work both here and for him, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to hand in my immediate resignation. I will work out today, of course, but that will be it. However, Willa says she has a replacement for me so you won’t be without a sales person.” Poppy finished in a rush.
“I see. Well, I suppose it can’t be helped then. It was a pleasure having you with us, and you will be missed, I’m sure. Don’t feel shy to stop in from time to time, and should you ever find yourself in need of work again, you know where to find me.” Mr. Tomlin said, smiling and leaned forward to shake Poppy’s hand.
Poppy finished out the work day with a sort of somber smile. She was ecstatic for the new opportunity, but she had loved working with the animals.
At the close of the day, Willa came to her with her final paycheck.
“So this is it I guess.” Willa said, handing her the check her father had written and given to her for Poppy.
“Yeah, I suppose it is.” Poppy said, and reached out to hug the young woman who had befriended her when no one else had. “We will still see each other around, I’m sure.” She added as she hugged her.
“I’m sure we will, it’s a small town, after all. Good luck and keep in touch.” Willa said and the two parted at the door with promises of a girl’s night soon.
Chapter 15
Poppy woke up, ecstatic to start her day. She grabbed her clothes, choosing a more suitable green khaki cargo pants, pink cami, and pink floral long sleeve button up shirt that was light weight and matched the pink of her cami and the green of the cargo pants. Then, grabbed a matching set of pink cotton bra, panties, and socks. Taking them down the loft stairs, she went to the bathroom and quickly showered. She dressed quickly and pulled her hair up high on her head in a high pony tail and applied her makeup, keeping it light. She then took time to make herself a bowl of steaming hot oatmeal with fresh blue berries, cream, and sugar. She ate in silence, reading over FaceIt and checking her email, then grabbed her book bag and left for school. She had just had just enough light left yesterday after the shop had closed to do her assignment for school the next day and, thanks to the various flowers that grew in her back yard, she was able to complete the assignment of the week with ease. She had stayed up going over the photos she had taken and found several worth turning in. This assignment, unlike the last, was not limited to only one shot but was open to up to ten. She had chosen a solid five that she felt was her best work and printed them out, sticking them in her binder and going to bed, falling into an exhausted sleep. She drove to school with her music blaring; she was in a great mood and didn’t care who knew. Nothing could keep the smile off her face as she pulled into the parking lot and parked, walking into the college and taking her seat. That is, until she had gotten her test back for the previous weeks work. She had received a B on the test and was frustrated with herself for being so distracted the previous day. She knew she would have to work harder if she wanted to keep her grades up. She had not changed colleges and moved all this way to get bad grades on her core classes. She still had several weeks to go for the semester, so there was still time to pull them up. Getting the B had definitely taken her good mood down a few notches, however, and when she had left she had turned her music down, her mind on how to pull her grades up with this next assignment, still life photography. She was just about to stop for lunch when her phone rang. “Hello.” Poppy answered her phone, not recognizing the number.
“Poppy, it’s Ari. Have you eaten lunch yet?” Ari asked, calling the number that Poppy had called from yesterday morning.
“I was just about to, why?” Poppy countered.
“Great, don’t. Just come to this address. I’ll text it to you.” Ari said and sent her his home address via text message.
“I just got it. I’ll put it in my GPS and be there as soon as I can.” Poppy replied and hung up. She put the address in her phone and let it lead the way out of town and up a winding road to a gated entrance at the top. She buzzed through and the gate opened for her. She drove up the drive way and couldn’t believe her eyes. Two beautiful log cabin homes sat before her, one to her left that was smaller and one story with big picture windows on either side of the intricately carved door of a wooded scene with animals, and the other was a two story, large cabin with a matching intricately carved door, but where the other was the natural wood color, this one was stained to bring the wooded scene to life. It was a very picturesque setting with planter boxes full of flowers and various plants stuck strategically here and there to make the cabins look homey and inviting. She loved them instantly but, if she were honest, she loved the bigger home more, and had a feeling it was Ari’s. No sooner had that thought passed her mind than he had come out the larger cabin, wearing only a pair of jeans and Poppy thought she would melt in a puddle right there. An all too familiar feeling flooded her nether region, and she couldn’t deny she wanted him. She stumbled out of the Jeep, her camera book bag in tow, too focused on him to pay attention to what she was doing and walked up to him. “Hey, I made it. Your house is incredible, this place is amazing.” Poppy said, trying to look at anything but his well-toned torso that made her mouth drool.
“Thanks, my Mom and I designed it, but I got to admit she had more to do with the decorating and planting that I did. I was basically a laborer to her ideas. Come on in, I’m just getting ready.” Ari said, scenting her arousal and fighting his own in acknowledgement. He longed to lay her beneath him and take her slowly and thoroughly until she cried out her pleasure but now was not the time, even if she wanted it too. He wanted her to fall in love with him, not just lust, not that lust was a bad thing, it was a very good thing, but he was after her heart.
Poppy stepped in past him and tried her best to calm her raging body. Her nipples were rock hard beneath her clothes and she knew her panties would be wet but there was no helping it; she wasn’t going to jump her new boss day one even if he was half naked and looked like a model. She instead admired the décor of his home and, although it wasn’t to her taste, it was very nice, and neat which surprised her as this was his bachelor pad. If it were her home, she would have decorated using more color, but for a bachelor pad it was nice. She was imagining how some of her things would look setting about here and there when her attention was broken by his voice.
“Please make yourself at home. I’ll just finish getting ready and then we will go. The bathrooms just down the hall to your right and the kitchens to your left if you are thirsty. My Mom packed us a lunch, and I thought it would be nice to have a picnic.” Ari said, interrupting her thoughts.
“Oh, ok thanks.” Poppy replied and walked into the living room to sit down and wait while Ari went to his bedroom to finish dressing.
Poppy looked about the room; seeing pictures, she stood up and walked over to examine them. They were mostly of a young boy at various ages and a young woman, but a few held images of the same little boy with a man who bore a striking resemblance to the man. It must be his parents. Poppy thought to herself.
“Ready?” Ari asked, startling Poppy.
“What, oh, yes I’m ready, lead the way.” Poppy said and turned to see him holding a picnic basket and wearing a white tank top that fitted his body perfectly, accentuating his torso and a long sleeved, button up, blue jean shirt unbuttoned over that. It was really a pity that they weren’t dating because she would be sorely tempted to pull that shirt off his body and kiss and lick her way down to his… well there was no good entertaining those thoughts, they were just getting to know each other.
Ari stepped to the door and held it open for Poppy and followed her through, not bothering to lock the door and, instead of heading to his truck o
r her Jeep as she had expected, he led her around his house past his expansive vegetable garden and through a beautiful field of wild flowers into the woods. It wasn’t long before Poppy was glad she had worn her hiking boots. She was about to beg for a break when they stopped climbing. She had been so focused on not falling behind that she had not noticed her surroundings. They were in a clearing of the woods with plush grass and a small stream flowing down the mountain. It was picturesque and stunning. All that was missing was Bambi and his little friends, Poppy thought to herself. Ari spread a blanket from the top of the basket out for them to sit on and then took Poppy’s bag from her and set it aside to help her down onto the blanket.
“If we’re really quiet while we eat, we might get lucky enough to see a few deer come to drink.” Ari whispered.
“Ok” Poppy whispered back and took out her camera and made the necessary adjustments so that she was ready should one come along. Ari had set them up in a perfect spot so that the light cut across the stream. It was the perfect setting for a picture, now if a deer or two would just come along.
Ari silently set out the fat sandwiches, cut up vegetable sticks, and ranch dressing to dip them in, and chocolate chip cookies his Mother had made up for them. Then took out the hard ciders and popped the top on each one, handing her one of them.
They ate in silence, taking in the view and waited. They didn’t have long to wait after eating before a beautiful ten point buck majestically waltzed up to the stream and began to drink, never taking his eyes off Poppy and Ari. It was one of those rare magical moments that only seem to happen in movies.
Poppy carefully and slowly raised her camera and began rapidly shooting away, stopping only to change a setting before firing away again. Poppy was amazed and moved by the simple beauty of the animal in his natural habitat. She couldn’t believe her luck and didn’t risk losing the opportunity. She just knew she had gotten at least one good shot between all the pictures she had taken, but she couldn’t be sure until she got home where she could scrutinize them on her computer screen.
Ari watched Poppy firing away with her camera and smiled. She had no clue how beautiful she was. There was no contest; she was the most beautiful creature in all the forest. Nothing she could capture on camera could compare to her, he knew, because he had seen the creatures of the forest and she was clearly the winner. He sat watching her as she sat watching the deer and wished he had a camera of his own to capture her just like this. He was glad he could make her happy and was glad he had put the corn out for the deer this morning, as he had been for a week along his trail cameras route, guaranteeing they would see at least one deer if they were patient.
Once Poppy was certain she had enough images of the deer, she set her camera down and picked up her cider and took a long drink. It was hot, and she was sweating. Not wanting to scare the deer away, who was contentedly eating away at something in the grass and drinking from the stream, she began slowly unbuttoning her shirt and removed it, tying it about her waist.
Ari watched as she unbuttoned her shirt and felt his pulse pick up and his manhood grew hard. It was like watching a silent strip tease and he couldn’t help himself, he reached over and cupped her face in his hand and pulled her closer to him and kissed her, softly at first and then deepening the kiss as she opened to receive him.
Poppy has just finished tying her shirt when Ari took her face and pulled her close. He had kissed her so softly at first she thought she was dreaming, then he deepened the kiss and she had opened up for him. Her heart was doing flip flops and her body was becoming more and more aroused by the second. Just as she had become fully aroused, he ended the kiss, placing his forehead against hers.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that this soon, but I couldn’t help myself.” Ari admitted.
“Don’t be sorry, I’m not. We’re adults, not children. I want you just as badly as you want me.” Poppy stated blatantly.
“Still, we should take this slowly. I don’t want to rush it and make you feel like I’m taking advantage of you.” Ari replied and pulled away from her.
“Taken advantage of is not what I call this feeling.” was Poppy’s only reply.
Chapter 16
The rest of the week passed in similar fashion. Ari would take her out into his woods for several hours and she would shoot various deer in their natural habitats and then he would kiss her and they would walk back hand in hand and kiss again, goodbye. It was enough to drive Poppy mad. She couldn’t take feeling constantly turned on with no release. Sure, she had tried her vibrator, but it just wasn’t the same at all and she found she was less satisfied by the quick release by the day, she need more much more. Today we’re going to second base at least or, so help me, I’ll explode! She thought, driving up to his house with a whole folder of pictures for his approval. Today, they were not going out into the woods. Today, they were staying in to go over the photos and she had taken advantage of the opportunity and worn a flowy, white, v necked, wide strapped sundress and wedged sandals. She had taken special care to leave her hair down, curling about her, and done her make up a little darker, but kept it natural. She parked and took the folder with her to the door and knocked. Ari answered the door wearing jeans and a t shirt. She couldn’t get over how damned sexy he could look, put together or not shaved and rough as he did now. Her body burned to have his rough beard touch her in all her secret places. “I brought the pictures.” She said, coming in as Ari shut the door behind her.
“Good, I was just working on the article.” He replied and grabbed her, giving her another of his mind melting kisses. “You look incredible.” He added.
“Oh, don’t do this to me today, I can’t take it.” She nearly whined.
“Don’t do what, kiss you?” Ari asked, planting kisses all down her throat and back to her mouth.
“Mmm yes. You get me all worked up and then don’t do anything about it and I can’t take it anymore.” Poppy said, breathing hard and kissing him back, arching her body into him wantonly.
“I see. So the issue is, you want me to take care of your needs.” Ari asked and ran his tongue down her neck to between her breasts, making her moan out in pleasure.
“Ohhhh. Yes!” Poppy breathed, her body on fire and trembling with need. She could feel his arousal through his jeans and she pressed her body into him, wanting to be as close as possible to him.
A knock interrupted their make out session, startling them both apart as if they had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
Ari opened the door and greeted his Mother.
“I just brought over some lunch; I thought you two might get hungry going over all those photos you have been taking all week.” Avianna said, knowing she had interrupted something, but pretending to not notice. “Hi, my name is Avianna and you must be Poppy! It’s so nice to finally meet you; I’ve heard such good things about you.” Avianna said, shaking Poppy’s hand then turning with the basket. “I’ll just set this basket over here and go, I don’t want to interrupt you or keep you from working. “
Avianna was a short, slim woman with long brown hair that hung in a braid down her back with a single purple streak. She had the same slightly tanned skin tone that Ari had. Her eyes were a startling honey brown and she had high cheek bones and fine features and Poppy liked her instantly. “It was a pleasure to meet you too, Avianna. I’ve heard great things about you too and thank you for the lunches! They are wonderful, and much appreciated.” Poppy responded as Avianna walked back to the door and kissed her son on the cheek and smiled at Poppy and left.
Ari closed the door behind his mother and took a step towards Poppy who held up her hands to stop him.
“No, just stay over there and I’ll stay over here, because if you come any closer I won’t be able to stop myself.” Poppy stated honestly and sat down on the couch and fanned herself with her folder of photos.
Ari stopped in his tracks, confused. He had had no intention of stopping this time, but he would have
to convince her of that. “You’re right, we should slow down and just keep things as they have been.” he said, knowing it would frustrate her.
Poppy picked up a throw pillow and threw it his head, missing. “Oh, you make me so mad!” she stated.
Ari laughed out loud and caught the pillow. “Alright, let’s see those pictures before you ruin them.” He said.
Poppy glared at him and roughly opened the folder and set it down on the coffee table for him to inspect, while she sat back and tried to calm down.
Ari picked up the folder and carefully inspected each and every one that she had brought. They were really good shots, but one caught his attention above the rest. It was of a big buck at the spring he had taken her to the first day. The light had been perfect and it was a really good shot. He picked that one up out of the rest and didn’t bother looking at the other half.
“I want this one.” Ari said decisively.
“How do you know, you haven’t even looked at the other half?” Poppy retorted.
Ari relented and thumbed through the other photos, finding what he suspected… none that were as good as this one single photo. There was a close runner of a doe and her fawn that was cute, but it wasn’t spectacular, and he knew Nature would never accept anything other than spectacular. “Satisfied?” he asked and sat the rest down on the table.
“Yes!” Poppy replied stiffly.
“I still want to buy this one, how much?” Ari asked, all business now.
“Two hundred and its yours.” Poppy replied, not expecting what came next.
“Fine.” Ari replied and took out his wallet and handed her two crisp one hundred dollar bills.
Poppy had only said that number because she was angry, she had planned to only charge him a hundred per photo but he had her ire up and she was still quite ‘unsatisfied’. She took the money and slid it into the folder with the other photos that he hadn’t wanted to buy. “Well that concludes our business for the day, I’ll see you…” she began to say, but he interrupted her, kissing her silly again.