“I’m sorry,” Liu said, taking the beer from my hand cautiously.
We were in a bar downtown, where we’d agreed to meet the day after Jacqui’s revelation.
“I just didn’t think a professional photographer would try something like that with a client,” I said, as we moved away from the bar to talk, taking a seat in a more private booth away from prying ears. “Especially Jacqui. You told him she’s your friend’s fiancee, right?”
Liu shrugged. I’d known my Chinese friend since college and we’d always been close. Liu was bisexual - but we weren’t close in that way, it was purely platonic - and we’d remained good friends since studying together. I’d gone on to do nursing while Liu went into photography and fashion, but our friendship endured beyond college. He was a good guy. He wouldn’t have let this happen if he’d been there, I was certain of that.
“I told him that Jacqui was getting married to my best friend, yes,” he said. “I don’t understand why he’d go as far as letting her give him a blowjob. I’ll be honest, Eddie is a bit of a sex-mad sort of guy. He and his wife, Leanne, have an open relationship. She’s a model in quite a few of his erotic shoots and he lets her have sex with other guys. In return, he gets to do stuff too.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me this before?” I asked, incredulous that Liu was only just dropping this information on me. “You recommended a guy like that to do my wedding photos?”
“Slow down,” Liu said in an urgent tone, looking around the bar to make sure no one could overhear us. “Eddie’s my employer. I can’t go around telling everyone his business. My job would be at stake if I went blabbing my mouth off all the time. Anyway, it’s no secret. If you’d done some research, you’d have seen that he does glamour photography on top of normal stuff.”
“So this is my fault?” I stared at my friend, who fidgeted with his brightly coloured glasses under my gaze.
“No,” he admitted. “I’m not saying that. I’m really disappointed that Eddie went too far with Jacqui. Like you, I trusted him to keep it professional with her and he’s let me down and made me look like a bad friend. I don’t know what else to say, Karl. I feel terrible. If I’d had any inclination that he’d do this, I’d not have suggested it. You know that.”
My oriental friend looked down at the table in front of us with an expression so downcast that I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
“I don’t mean to take it out on you,” I said apologetically. “I’m just so shocked that it happened and don’t know how I feel about it if I’m honest.”
“You’re still getting married, right?” Liu said, his voice sounding anxious. “Don’t cancel the wedding, Karl. Jacqui is the best thing that ever happened to you. You’d be stupid to lose what you’ve got over something as trivial as a blowjob.”
“Trivial?” I snorted, then took another swig of my beer. “Taking a stranger’s cock in your mouth and sucking him until he cums is hardly trivial, Liu. It’s a big deal. Not as big as actually fucking, I guess, but it’s still cheating.”
“It was brave of her to admit to it.” Liu changed tactics slightly, unable to argue with what I’d said. “At least she did that; it shows that she wants to make things right.”
“I know. It’s just a lot to take in and process with only two days until our wedding.”
“I can imagine.” Liu sat back in his seat and regarded me for a moment with his tilted eyes. “…but you’re still getting married, right?”
“Yes,” I said, after a long pause. “She said perhaps it’s a good thing that she got this - whatever it is - out of her system now before we make our vows together.”
“I can see the sense in that,” Liu nodded, then gulped down the rest of his beer. “I’ve got an idea that might make you feel better.”
“What’s that?”
“Why don’t we head to the studio? I can get Eddie to talk to you. Let him explain for himself what happened.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I laughed, shaking my head.
“Why?”
“Really?” I downed the rest of my own beer and signalled for the barman to come over so I could order two more. “Liu, I’d be tempted to knock his head off.”
“He’s a nice guy,” Liu shook his head at the barman as he started to walk over. “Trust me, Karl. Once you meet Eddie, you’ll feel better. I think you’ve probably got the wrong impression of him and that’s going to eat away at you if you let it. Once you meet him and let him put the record straight, I’m sure you’ll feel better.”
“It’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard in my life,” I raised an eyebrow at my friend. “I just want to forget it ever happened and move on. Jacqui fucked up. She made a mistake; got caught up in a moment. It happens. I’ll forgive her and we’ll get on with the rest of our lives once we’re married.”
“Who are you trying to convince? Me? Or yourself?” Liu folded his arms across his chest. “Trust me. Come to the studio. We’ve got beers there, we can have a drink. I can show you around the studio. It’ll be fun for you to see what I do. Then you can talk to Eddie, let him explain and put your mind at rest - OR you can shout and bawl at him and get it all off your chest. Whatever. I just don’t want you to have this thing hanging over your head like a rain cloud the whole time moving forward.”
“Jesus Christ,” I sighed. “You don’t give up, do you?”
“This is it,” Liu said, waving his arm with a flourish as we got out of the taxi outside a normal-looking but pleasant enough suburban home. “The studio is in there.”
He pointed at the large extension that protruded from the side of the building.
“Where the magic happens, huh?” I commented, unimpressed so far.
“It’s nicer than it looks from the outside,” he replied, leading me through the doorway signposted ‘studio entrance’.
“Hi, Liu,” said a cute blonde woman from behind a small reception desk.
“Leanne,” my friend nodded. “This is my best friend, Karl.”
I smiled at the attractive receptionist who smiled back, her pretty, bright blue eyes seeming to examine me for a moment, perhaps sensing my anxiety. I was nervous about meeting Eddie but I wasn’t scared of him - I was scared of how I might react.
“Isn’t today your day off?” the blonde asked, turning from me to Liu.
“I wanted a quick word with your husband,” he replied, emphasizing the last two words for my benefit while giving me a sideways glance.
So this was Eddie’s wife, who Liu told me worked as an erotic model and who Eddie even let sleep with other men. If he hadn’t told me that part, I’d have been even more jealous of Eddie than I already was. Not only had he got my wife to suck his dick, but he also had a beautiful wife. However, the fact that their relationship was of the open variety made me less envious. I was proud to be marrying Jacqui because she’d given up her youthful wild ways to settle down with me. She might have been somewhat promiscuous when she was younger, but the fact - despite her recent mistake - that she was willing to dedicate herself to me was something beautiful.
“Eddie’s just finishing up a shoot,” Leanne said, looking at me doubtfully. “I don’t know if-”
“It’s important,” Liu added. “I’m sure he won’t mind us dropping in.”
Without giving Leanne a chance to stop us, he nudged me forward, towards a door at the far end of the room and ushered me through it.
“Are you sure this is okay?” I asked as we walked down a corridor with walls bearing several framed photos, some of which featured models in various erotic poses. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“It’ll be fine,” Liu assured me, urging me forward when I paused briefly to look at one of the photographs. The nude girl on display looked like Leanne that I’d just met.
We stepped through a door into a large, square room where a striking red-haired woman was wrapping a white dressing gown around herself, but not before I caught a glimpse of her slim, naked body.
“Hello,” said the man standing at her side, a tanned, handsome guy with short, greying hair. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today, Liu.”
“A knock might have been nice,” the tall, red-haired model said, giving me an appraising look.
“That’s my fault, Erica,” Liu said. “Leanne gave me the impression that the shoot was finished.”
“What are you doing here?” Eddie asked as Erica gave me one last look before leaving through the door we’d just emerged from. “Is everything okay?”
“This is my friend, Karl,” Liu introduced me by way of answering the question. “You did a wedding boudoir shoot with his fiancee yesterday.”
“I did,” Eddie nodded with a quick smile. “Jacqueline. She was fantastic. I can’t wait to show you the results. They’re not ready yet though, so…”
“Karl wanted to talk to you,” Liu nudged me again. “Didn’t you?”
“I did,” I said but when I tried to speak further, no words would come out. My throat was tight and I couldn’t think. All that was on my mind was an image; a mental vision of this man standing like he was now, but with his cock hanging out of his trousers and my wife kneeling in front of him, sucking it.
Eddie’s eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze flickering between me and Liu until eventually, the oriental stylist helped me out.
“When Karl got home last night, Jacqui was upset,” he explained, looking at me for the go-ahead to continue. When I nodded, he went on. “She told him that at some point during the shoot, things went a little further than she’d intended.”
“Ah,” Eddie nodded, looking down at the floor. “Did she tell you what-”
“She told me you took advantage of her and made her suck your penis,” I said, finally finding my voice.
“That’s what she told you?” Eddie replied, not taking his eyes from me.
“You didn’t say that to me,” Liu said, his expression confused. “You told me that she got horny and carried away.”
“Well- it’s-” I stuttered, realising what I was feeling right now; feelings of shame, embarrassment and now regret at having come here to face the man himself.
“I apologize,” Eddie said, saving me from blurting out whatever I was going to say next; probably something defensive and ultimately embarrassing. “I’m really sorry, Karl, if I stepped over the line. Without wanting to make anything any worse, I promise you that I would not have let Jacqui do what she did if I hadn’t thought it was okay.”
“When is it ever okay to let a woman suck your penis two days before she’s due to be married?” I asked in disbelief at how cool he was acting.
“She said it was okay,” the photographer said, now shifting his feet uncomfortably. “I don’t want to say anything improper about your fiancee, but I promise you that Jacqui gave me the impression that it was fine.”
“She gave me her side of the story,” I hesitated, not knowing if I really wanted to hear this or not. “Maybe you should tell me yours.”
Eddie glanced at Liu, who nodded that it was probably the best idea.
“Jacqui’s got a great body,” Eddie began, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “She’s really fit, toned, a bit like my wife, Leanne. She’s a very attractive woman, Karl and you’re a lucky guy to be tying her down tomorrow.”
“Thanks, but why don’t you tell me what happened?” I replied impatiently.
“We went through what she wanted from the shoot,” Eddie continued, “And she said she was happy to go fully nude after we’d done the usual bridal lingerie stuff. I suggested it - I admit that - but only because I thought she’d got the body to do something really hot and special for you.”
“And…” I prompted him to carry on.
“And she went fully nude,” Eddie nodded, keeping eye contact the whole time, totally unintimidated by me. “I got turned on, as often happens during shoots, I’m a red-blooded human guy, as I’m sure you are. Jacqui noticed my erection and while I was closing down the shoot and putting my camera away, she kind of reached out and stroked my dick through my sweatpants. I’m sorry if that’s not what you want to hear. I don’t mean to cause any trouble, Karl. I think she just got carried away. She’d had some Champagne and was a little high from the whole experience.”
So, what she’d told me was true. I had to take a deep breath to quell the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Then what happened?” I asked.
“You really want to know?” Eddie asked, his eyebrows raised. “Okay. She asked if I was excited from looking at her body and when I said ‘yes’ she reached into my pants and got my dick out. I should have stopped her, I guess. Somehow, I should have made sure that this was okay with you, but she literally told me it was fine, so I let her put it in her mouth. She seemed to really enjoy it. I had no reason to think that it wasn’t something you guys did all the time.”
“Liu told me about you and your wife,” I said, resentment in my voice at how calm he still was. “That you have an open relationship but guess what? Not everyone is like you, Eddie.”
“I know and I’ve apologized,” Eddie replied, ignoring the venom in my voice. “I am sorry, Karl. Please don’t let this get between you and your wife. It was a mistake and if it makes you feel better, I’ll not charge you for the shoot, okay? It’s free. I’ll just charge for the wedding itself, if you still want me to do it for you, that is.”
Bizarrely, I hadn’t even thought about the wedding and the fact that Eddie was doing the wedding photos. What had happened had consumed my thoughts entirely to the point where I hadn’t even thought about the repercussions beyond yesterday’s events.
“Well, it’s completely inappropriate,” I found myself saying, “But I’m not going to find another photographer at such short notice, so I guess I have to let you do the job tomorrow. I’m not happy about it, but it is what it is. Oh, and I’m happy to pay the full fee as agreed. I don’t need your pity, Eddie. You’ve done enough damage as it is.”
“Okay, cool,” was all he said and when he offered me his hand, I found myself shaking it for some weird reason.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, almost as disgusted at myself as I was the entire situation and with that, I strode out of the studio past a bewildered Leanne until Liu finally caught up with me in the car park.
“Well, I thought that went well,” he said in such a deadpan voice that I actually found myself laughing, despite feeling terrible for handling everything so badly.
“Please remind me to never listen to your good ideas ever again,” I replied, just as our taxi turned up. “You’re a terrible friend.”
“I know,” Liu answered. “But I’m the only one you’ve got.”