“Most of the Fotomats are kids these days,” Carter added. “I don’t want some pizza-face loser to steam open the envelope and see Kim in all her glory.”
“No,” I agreed.
“I don’t mind showing her off in public, but that isn’t the same. For the things we do in private? No, definitely Polaroids.” He glanced at her and then said to me, “We might show you some of them, especially if things go like we discussed—”
Kim’s cheeks and neck flushed with sudden arousal, and I realized that she liked the threat of Carter exposing her.
“—but we don’t want negatives or anything else that might come back to haunt us. It probably wouldn’t hurt me—my face isn’t in many of them—but it could ruin Kim’s life.” He shot her another glance. “Especially since some of them are… extreme.”
My imagination kicked into overdrive as I tried to picture “extreme.” Facials? Anal? Toys? Fruits and vegetables? Bondage? Humiliation? The list was endless, and I probably would’ve gone off the deep end of fetishes if Carter hadn’t pulled me back from the brink.
“While we’re on the subject…” He reached into his camera bag and pulled out the canisters of exposed film from earlier. “Let’s discuss these.”
His idea of a gentleman’s agreement was a lot more detailed than mine would’ve been, but he was an attorney. The basics were fairly simple: he’d send us copies, he wouldn’t show anyone without our permission, and he wouldn’t let the negatives out of his control after he received them from the lab.
“Subject to a fine of… oh, five hundred dollars per negative?”
I lifted my jaw off the table. “What?”
“I want to make it painful, for real,” he explained. “So you’ll know I’m serious.” He nodded at the canisters. “That’s sixty grand in fines right there. If I ever lose control of the negatives. Does that convince you?”
“Yeah, sure, absolutely.” I forced a laugh. “I was thinking ‘bad karma for life.’”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I’m pretty serious about privacy. Ours first, obviously, but yours as well.”
“I can tell.”
He repeated the details, and we formally shook hands to seal our “meeting of the minds.” I didn’t understand the jargon, but it made him happy.
We chatted about everyday things for the rest of the meal, mostly about their life in Charlotte compared to ours in Knoxville. They had far more leisure time than we did, but we liked similar things.
“If you don’t mind,” Carter said afterward, “I’d like to discuss something else.” He glanced at Kim and received a slight nod. It was a formality, his way to include her in the decision-making, but he still went to the trouble to do it. I couldn’t imagine her disagreeing with him, though. She wasn’t a doormat, but she clearly liked Carter to make all the decisions.
“What would you think if we moved over here for our last couple of nights?” He nodded at one of the empty bungalows. “We don’t mind sleeping on an air mattress and living out of apple crates.”
“They also have air conditioning,” Kim added.
“Right,” he agreed. “We haven’t been sleeping well. Too hot at night, and we aren’t used to it. I didn’t think it’d be a problem when we first made the reservations, but…” He shrugged. “We also like the company better here, not to mention the pool and clubhouse.”
“Thanks,” I said. “And we like you.”
“So… what do you think?”
“I wouldn’t mind at all. What about you, Bunny?”
Christy rolled her eyes but finished chewing her celery stick. “I think it’s a great idea.”
“Well, we wanted to ask you first,” Carter said, “before we talk to Susan.”
Something Trip had said nagged at me until I remembered what it was.
“Oh, I know! I’m not sure about the insurance.”
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Carter said. He thought I was making excuses. “No hard feelings.”
“No, I’m serious. Susan has liability insurance for the camp. In case someone gets injured or burns themselves on the stove.”
Christy cleared her throat softly, and I realized I was explaining liability to an attorney.
“Sorry,” I said. “Forgot who I was talking to. Anyway, she has insurance. I don’t know if she has it for the Retreat, though, since it’s only us at the moment.”
“Ah, right. You’re contractors. And since you’re here for business purposes, you should carry your own insurance.”
“Sure,” I said, a bit uncertainly. “That’s Trip’s department.”
“I can write up a quick hold harmless agreement if she wants me to,” Carter said. “That should cover it.”
“If you say so.”
“That still brings us back to you. Are you okay if we move here for a couple of days?”
“Yeah, absolutely,” I said. “It’ll be nice to have the company.”
“It will,” Christy agreed.
“Cool, thanks,” he said.
“When do you want to move?” I asked. “We’ll give you a hand.”
“We’d appreciate it. I also want to shoot a few more rolls down at the main camp,” he added. “Two, maybe three. If that’s okay with you. We can’t do the risqué shots, but I’m sure we can find a few private locations for some cookie shots.” He glanced at Kim, and I realized that he wanted to show off her shaved pussy where others might see.
“Sounds good,” I said. I looked at Christy just to be sure, but I already knew how she felt about the threat of humiliation.
“Oh my gosh, yes.”
Carter grinned at her enthusiasm. “Right. Another thing we have in common.”
“I’m telling you,” I said, “she’s the luckiest girl in the world. She wanted to meet someone like you, and voilà, here you are!”
* * *
We spent a couple of hours with Carter and Kim in the main camp. We started by the lake, and people gave us space when they saw the camera. They were polite about it, for the most part, since Carter wasn’t taking pictures of people without their permission. One old guy didn’t like it, though. He didn’t say anything to us, but he glared and huffed and visibly grumbled.
“He’s one of those types,” Carter said. “Not in my back yard.”
“You kids get off my lawn!” I agreed with a chuckle.
“He’s the same one who didn’t like that we’re shaved,” Christy said.
My attitude changed abruptly. “Too damn bad. Now there are more of us. Carter, are you sure you don’t wanna shave too? Then he can be four times as annoyed.”
“Pretty sure,” Carter laughed easily. “Do we need to go somewhere else?”
“No.” I glared at the man and seriously thought about confronting him.
“Paul, calm down,” Christy said in a soothing voice. “He doesn’t matter. He’s just a mean old man.”
“He’s an asshole. And a prude.”
“Maybe. Only, you can’t change him. Not by hitting him.” She laughed. “No wonder Rich likes you.”
That grabbed my attention. “What’re you talking about? He doesn’t like me.”
“Of course he does. He’s just too stubborn to admit it.”
It was so absurd that I felt my anger drain away, only to be replaced by embarrassment. I relaxed and focused on my breathing.
“Better?” Christy said.
“Yeah, I’m cool.”
“Thank you for wanting to protect us,” she said softly.
“You’re welcome. Sorry I overreacted.”
“That’s okay. I’m used to it. I grew up with Rich.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. Then I very deliberately turned my back on the old man.
“Ready to get back to the fun stuff?” Carter asked. He gestured with the camera. “I see a good spot over there, out of sight. What do you say, hon? Ready to flash your cookie?” He leaned toward me and added under his breath, “Yeah, it sounds stupid, but it gets her hot, so…”
We trooped away from the lake, toward one of the empty houses. A magnolia tree gave us plenty of shade, and part of the house blocked the view from the lake.