Photographs of Unforgotten Pasts

“Mikey… come on… it’s 8.30… get up,” Frank said, shaking me awake.
“8.30 as in 8pm?” I asked, yawning. He shook his head and ripped the covers off my body, knowing I was planning to go back to sleep.

“We’ve got to be at the studio in an hour and a half. And I know what you’re like for getting ready. I’m going to go and choose some outfits, and when you’re done you can come and approve them.”

I yawned again and pulled myself unwillingly out of bed. After showering and putting some jeans and a shirt on, I walked into my closet to find a very bewildered Frank, looking at a few completely miss matching outfits on the floor.

“Jesus Frank. You really have no idea, do you?” I laughed as I began to choose my own outfits. “Go get a box for me to put them in.” I commanded.

He came back with a large box held it out while I folded various items of clothing into it, then put in a few pairs of shoes, a selection of my wigs and my make up kit.

“Let’s go then,” I said, grabbing my keys and wallet of the side and leaving Frank to carry the box down to my car. “I need my camera Mikey… can’t you take your own clothes?” he whined as I walked out of the front door.

I sighed and walked back into the apartment, grabbing his camera bag from the old dining room and walking back past him.

***

“Do you even know how photogenic you are Mikey?” he asked, two outfits in.

The whole photo shoot experience was really weird. I mean, sure I’d had photo shoots before, but not with my boyfriend behind the camera. And that was another thing; Frank was so focused and we were barely talking.

“Alright,” he said. “It’s lunchtime. We’ll finish this one after lunch and then move onto the next one.”

“Do you want me to get changed or?” I asked

“Stay in that,” he grinned. “You look gorgeous.” He said, stepping out from behind his camera to reveal his erection. I giggled and took his hand as he led me down to the cafeteria.

“Yo, Frank! Over here,” Someone said as we’d finished getting food. It was like being back at school, except, the room was nicer and cleaner. And the people were all adults and mostly gay. I followed Frank over to the table where the voice had come from, and sat down, shyly next to him.

“You don’t usually bring your models to lunch Frank…” one of the guys at the table asked.

“Where have you been?” the guy next to him said, smacking him on the back of the head. “This is Michaela Way… stripper… Frank’s boyfriend?” And yet again I felt like a piece of meat. I laughed nervously and picked at the food Frank had bought me, knowing I wouldn’t eat it all.

I usually loved having all eyes on me, but in this context, it was unnerving. I stood up and kissed Frank on the cheek, whispering an excuse in his ear and left to go out to the car. I sat in the driver’s seat, with my legs out of the door, texting and a few minutes later, Frank came out and joined me.

“Your workmates suck. So far, the whole time I’ve been here, people have been talking about me like I’m not there. And they keep calling me Michaela!”

He pulled me into a hug and laughed. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. But you are wearing a dress right now so…”

He smelt so good. I didn’t want to let go at all.

“Shall we go and finish this shoot then?” he asked as he pulled away from me.

***

I slipped on a dress and soon I felt hands slipping onto my waist. I ignored the fact that Frank obviously wanted me to kiss him or something and carried on getting ready for the next lot of photos. Frank eventually gave up and sat down on the chair in front of the mirror and began to talk about the advert we were due to film the next day.

A week had gone by, and this was the second from shoot that we had to do – because Josh wanted a sort of, prom queen look for one of the pages. Then we’d have to do another normal clothes shoot, because he felt we didn’t have enough of those. I’d done all the interviews I’d needed to do and all the banners and billboards had been made. Everything about the event was due to be revealed in 3 days. Schedules were tight, but apparently we’d be able to do it easily.

I walked onto the white screen and Frank walked over to me, adjusting what I was wearing so it would ‘suit the camera better’. Basically an excuse for him to touch me.

“That wig really suits you Mikey… Maybe you should think about growing your hair like that” I smiled, knowing what he was after. I placed my left hand on his ass, and my right on the back of his neck. He smiled as I pulled him into a forceful, yet tender kiss lasting a few minutes. As we pulled away, I heard clapping.
“That’s perfect!” Frank’s boss said excitedly. “Who said the prom queen had to be female? It fits the whole thing even better.”

Then he rambled threw ideas and ran out of the room.

The whole campaign then changed direction completely. Although it was still mostly the pictures Frank took for me, Josh bought another photographer into the studio and gave Frank a few suits to wear, so they could take pictures of us together. I totally discovered why Frank was the photographer, and not the model. He was so camera shy it was unbelievable.

We finally left at 11pm, after a long days shooting, and we were due to be there early the next morning for the advert, which Frank now also had to star in.