The Muse

A Sanitaria Springs Story

By Ryan Bartlett

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I woke up with the sun in my eyes. The light was streaming in through the open blinds so brightly that it forced me to squint. I rolled over and found Chase snuggled up to his pillow. It was a sight that always brought a smile to my face. I’d had to be up at 4:30 every morning for the last week, and I’d missed our morning cuddle time, so I put my arm around his slender waist and drew him to me.

“Good morning,” Chase exhaled.

“Did I wake you?”

“No, I was just lying here enjoying the quiet.”

“Good.” I yawned, then nuzzled his neck for a moment, kissed the tender flesh and rested my cheek against his.

“Someone’s missed me,” Chase giggled.

“These 5AM practices are killing me,” I groaned.

“Now you know why I turned down Coach Billings’ offer to join the team.”

“Once again thou art as wise as thou art beautiful,” I snickered.

“Uh huh,” Chase giggled. “So other than the early morning swimming practice, what did you think of the first week of college?”

“This place is amazing,” I exclaimed. “I like my classes; I like all the new people I’m meeting. It’s been so much fun!”

“And our living situation?” Chase asked timidly.

“By that do you mean do I wish I’d gone to Columbia instead?”

“I just want to make sure you’re happy,” said Chase.

“Chase, I thought I was the stubborn one?”

“Uh, you are…”

“Then when are you going to get it through that thick skull that I am going to be happy whenever and wherever I can be with you?”

“Kale, I know we’re in love, but you gave up a lot to come here instead of your dream school, and I just want to make sure you don’t have any regrets,” Chase explained.

“Not one, not even for a second,” I assured him and kissed his neck again.

“Good.” Chase sighed contentedly and snuggled back against me. “Because I am so happy we’re together like this.”

“Me too. Alec told me how great living together has been for their relationship, and I want the same thing for us.”

“Sasha said the same thing,” said Chase.

We snuggled quietly after that. I’ve always loved Chase’s lithe and lean body. I love the feeling of it pressed against me, skin on skin. I love the warm sensation I feel in my chest every time I touch him. I even love the smell of his hair, ash and Irish moss, when it tickles my nose. I would have been content to lie there all day, tracing the outline of his abdominal muscles with my fingers, and that’s exactly what I’d have done were it not for the unavoidable call of nature.

“Where are you going?” Chase sighed disappointedly as I extricated myself from him and climbed out of bed.

“Gotta pee.”

“Oh, well hurry back, because I’m not getting out of this bed until at least noon,” he smiled.

“Chase Dudley, I like the way you think,” I grinned as I reached for my pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.

We were living on the sixth floor of Cornell University’s Jameson Hall, an all-male residence hall. Our room was quite comfortable as dorm rooms go, and really the only drawback was sharing a bathroom and shower facilities with our floor mates. It wasn’t unusual to see guys walking around the floor with nothing but towels around their waists or in just their underwear, but after the events of the past summer, particularly my appearance on a website called “Hotboysintheworkplace.com,” I always made sure I was dressed. Chase said I was being silly, that guys at an Ivy League school would be a bit more discreet than teenage girls, but he wasn’t the one who was nearly naked on the internet.

“Hi, Kale,” Caleb Davis greeted me as I walked into the bathroom. He was brushing his teeth.

“Morning, Caleb. Did you sleep in?”

Caleb is also on the swim team and we’d become pretty good friends over the past few days. It’s easy to bond when you have your mutual hatred of being up before the sun to bind you.

“It was luxurious,” Caleb exclaimed.

“I know what you mean,” I agreed as I stepped up to the urinal. “Me and Chase are planning to spend the morning in bed.”

“That’s so unfair,” Caleb pouted.

“What?” I asked as I finished peeing and moved to the sink next to Caleb to wash my hands.

“I can’t even have my girlfriend in my room, but you get to live with your boyfriend. It’s, well, unjust,” Caleb chuckled.

“Shouldn’t you get a girlfriend before you organize the picket line?” I teased.

“Yeah, well, yeah, good point,” Caleb smiled.

I patted my friend on the back but then headed back to my room. Ivy League school or not, a boys’ bathroom still isn’t the kind of place I want to hang out, particularly when there is a beautiful blond waiting in my bed. When I got back to our room I took off my t-shirt and tossed it on a chair, then I got a good look at Chase. In my absence he’d snuggled up with his pillow again and drifted back to sleep. It was early September and the weather was still warm, so we’d only slept under a sheet, which was now draped just over Chase’s hip, exposing the cute blue Calvin Klein briefs he’d worn to bed. The way the light filtered through the blinds made his skin look as if it had been kissed by the sun. He looked so peaceful, so serene. He was, in a word, beautiful.

I postponed my return to bed for a moment and went to the closet instead. I grabbed my camera bag and tripod and quickly set them up across from the bed. I was attaching my 85mm lens when Chase woke.

“What are you doing?” he yawned.

“Don’t move,” I replied as I secured my Nikon to the tripod.

Chase yawned again and then rubbed the sleep from his eyes. They narrowed when they focused on the camera.

“Um, what are you doing?” he repeated.

“When I came in and saw you lying there, the way the light was hitting you…God you looked beautiful,” I blushed. “I knew I had to take your picture.”

“No way,” Chase giggled and pulled the sheet around his body.

“Pretty please?” I whined.

“Last time I let you take pictures of me I got a poster of the print from Alec,” Chase exclaimed.

“These will be just for us,” I replied.

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” I smiled.

“You know, if you weren’t so damn cute it would be a lot easier to say no to you,” Chase frowned.

“Is that a yes?” I bubbled with excitement the way Chase did about, well, most everything.

“Ok,” he smiled. “What do you want me to do?”

“Just lie on your side the way you were when I came in.”

“Like this?” Chase asked as he rolled over, pulled the sheet down and snuggled with his pillow.

“Almost; pull the sheet down a little lower.”

“Like this?” Chase asked again as the sheet moved a few inches.

“A little lower, I could see your undies before.”

“Ok, how’s this?” asked Chase.

He’d pulled the sheet a little lower than I’d wanted but now the perfect curve of his tight little butt was on display and it made for an even better picture.

“Close your eyes and just be natural, like you’re trying to go back to sleep,” I instructed, and then disappeared behind the viewfinder.

I set the focus point on his eyes even though they were closed. With the aperture setting I’d selected Chase’s face and upper body would be in focus while his lower body and the gentle curve of his rump would be slightly blurred as I restricted my depth of field.

“Did you get it?” asked Chase.

“Yeah,” I smiled. “It’s easy when you’ve got such a beautiful model to work with.”

“Oh, whatever,” Chase giggled and started to sit up.

“No, no, no, don’t move,” I exclaimed.

“Why not? You said you got it.”

“I want to try a couple of different poses,” I explained.

“You said you wanted to take a picture, not do a whole photo shoot.”

“I know but how often do I get such perfect lighting conditions and such a perfect subject?” I smiled brightly.

“Ok,” Chase smiled back. Most people, even professional models, have a hard time being comfortable in front of the camera, and Chase was no exception. Getting him to sit for pictures was rare, and getting him to pose like this, nearly naked, looking so vulnerable, was even harder. I couldn’t pass up the chance after he’d agreed to that first shot. He was my muse, and I wanted more.

“Lie back down and place your right hand on your stomach, just underneath your belly button,” I instructed.

Chase did as I asked and I snapped another set of shots. The photo shoot started to plan itself in my head. I’d call it Natural Beauty as I was shooting an amateur model, without make up, in natural lighting conditions. No one but me and Chase was ever likely to see it, but I wanted it to be a gift to him. An opportunity for him to see himself the way I saw him.

“Good, good, now roll over facing the window and look back over your shoulder at me,” I instructed. Chase complied again and with several other instructions as I shot him in various poses and from various angles. When I’d gotten everything I thought I could, I decided to try something bold.

“Take off your undies.”

“Kale…” Chase blushed.

“I swear on my life these pictures will be just for us.”

“Ok.” Chase sighed and began to yank his undies down.

“No, no, no, pull them back up,” I stopped him.

“But you said…”

“I know, but I don’t want you to just pull them off,” I grinned wickedly. “I want you to make it, you know, sexy.”

“Ok.” Chase giggled.

“Lie on your back and arch it just a bit,” I instructed.

“Like this?” asked Chase as he rose just enough to provide me with a perfect image from his chest all the way down the center line of his abs, under his belly button and down to where his underpants hugged his balls.

“Perfect! Now hook your thumbs in your waistband and slowly push your underwear off.”

“Ok,” Chase giggled again.

I had the camera set for continuous shooting and captured the entire sequence from when his waistband slipped down revealing the root of his flaccid penis until he kicked his underpants off his feet. It was breathtaking.

“Beautiful,” I sighed.

“What now, Maestro?” Chase smiled.

“Hold that pose.”

Over the next few minutes I shot him all over again. From every angle, in every pose I could think off. I shot him smiling and serious, laughing and frowning, serious and sad, carefree and thoughtful. By the time we finished I had a treasure trove of images stored on my memory card.

“All done?” asked Chase.

“Yep, I think that’s everything,” I replied and turned off the camera.

“Cool, so what do you want to do today?” asked Chase.

I stood up and took off my pajama bottoms and underpants and strode over to the bed. I took a hold of Chase’s hips and stared into his beautiful green eyes letting my gaze translate my desire.

“Oh, ok,” said Chase. He smiled his special perfect smile, nestled back against his pillow and spread his legs wide. I quickly filled the gap and wrapped my arms around his slender body as my erection nestled between his cheeks. Chase reached into the nightstand and extracted a condom. He skillfully rolled it over my erection and we spent the next hour kissing and making love.

“What got into you this morning?” asked Chase. We’d finished making love and were snuggling close.

“What do you mean?”

“You were so passionate,” said Chase.

“Blame it on my muse,” I smiled and stroked his cheek.

The End