For Art's Sake

For Art's Sake

The sun stared down hard on a long line of people outside of the voting station. Tiny pockets of awkward conversation bubbled and fizzled down the length of the winding queue. Ben, feeling rather bored, took an opportunity to create one of these bubbles with the short girl in front of him. Her brown-and-curly hair drooped low over a Looney Tunes shirt.

"You know, I always thought the coyote was the best." he said, gesturing to her shirt. Confusion swept across her face, but she looked down at herself and quickly caught on.

"Oh! Yeah, the coyote and road runner are good. I like the monster. You know, the big hairy one?"

"You mean the one that's only in, like one episode?" he asked.

"Yeah! He totally got ripped off for screen time." She smiled and they both chuckled awkwardly. "So... coyote, huh??"

Ben shrugged. "He always had some crazy contraption, and I really wanted them to work. I mean, who wouldn't want working rocket-skates?"

She laughed. "Are you sure it's that? Maybe the chase of unfulfilled desires resonates with you." She playfully emphasized the 'desires' part and grinned up at Ben.

"Oh, a psychoanalyst are you? Are cartoons like a Rorshack test now? I'm glad I didn't say Pepe LePew!"

She laughed. "Well, if I was, then I'm not sure about what liking a monster says about me."

"Well let's see. He's huge, hairy, and strong. Maybe you're into the masculine elements of it."

Her smile shrank into a coy grin.

"You seem pretty sharp," Ben said, "What do you do? Some kind of therapist, or writer maybe...?"

She shook her head. "I'm an artist. Mandy, by the way. My name."

"Ah, that makes sense. A good artist would have insights into things like that. I'm Ben." he politely shook her hand. "What kind of art do you make?"

She suddenly flushed red and turned to the side. "Oh, I do various stuff. Some comics, comissions for comic-cons, stuff like that."

"Oh that's cool! Any art in series I might know?"

Mandy seemed suddenly sheepish for a conversation that had been becoming pretty fun. "Well... I do, um, erotic art." Her eyes flicked up to Ben at the last part to gauge his reaction. He resisted reacting too sharply.

"That's cool." he said. "So, is it like, more cartoony, or do you have realistic stuff... like do you have multiple styles?"

She seemed relieved at his response, and suddenly she had her phone out and was showing off her works to him. They were mostly cartoonish, but there were some attempts at realism. Ben's mind was kicking into overdrive. This small conversation, started for the sake of boredom, was taking on a whole new life. An idea formed in his mind, and his heart raced to consider it, and he decided to go for it.

"Your realistic stuff is very impressive. I'm surprised you don't have more of it."

"It's tough. I need to practice more at it."

"Would it help if you had a live model?"

She looked up at Ben and he saw her eyes evaluating what he had said. He could feel his heart trying to escape from his chest in nervousness.

"Are you... offering?" she laughed.

"Well, you're cleary a talented artist. I'd love to help you."

She laughed, then blushed. "I mean, I guess it would be good practice." she conceded.

And with that, they suddenly had made plans for him to come by her apartment that evening. The wait in line was much too long after that.

*****

Mandy opened the door at Ben's knock and welcomed him in. He entered what appeared to be the standard college-aged girl's living room: a couple of cheap chairs, a futon, and TV. A mix of movie-poster and anime series art hung on the walls, as well as some sketches of flowers or characters that he guessed was Mandy's work.

"Would you like a drink or something first? We have beer." Ben nodded, and the 'we' stuck in his mind. Before he could ask, another girl emerged from a hallway.

"Mandy, have you seen by bra-- oh! Hello." She smiled at Ben, bright white teeth beneath a mantle of blonde hair. She was taller than Mandy, and very slim. "You must be the date Mandy needs me out for."

Mandy sighed and rolled her eyes. "This is Beth, my roommate. She wouldn't leave until she saw you. Sorry, she'll be going now. And it's NOT a date!"

Ben took the offered beer and waved assuringly, but the Beth persisted. "I just wanted to make sure he seemed safe. Some guy you just met, coming to the apartment for a not-date?" She glared at Ben suspiciously.

"Don't worry, all good intentions here." Ben said. "I just wanted to help Mandy out."

"'Help out', what does that mean?" Beth looked back-and-forth between him and Mandy for an explanation, and Ben realized he'd said the wrong thing.

"I mean... uh, Mandy needed..." he looked at Mandy, who seemed mortified. Ben felt nervousness rising, but figured he might as well be straightforward. "I offered to model for Mandy."

Mandy blushed and looked away, and Beth's eyes narrowed. "Model? But why... Oh. OH!" Beth grinned savagely at Mandy. "Is THAT what's going on? A nude model?"

"Well, yes." Mandy said. "I didn't want to tell you. I'm just a bit nervous I guess."

"Ha, you're not the only one!" said Ben.

Beth scanned them both, then made a decision. "Well, if that's what it is, then I should stay."

Ben and Mandy both looked shocked. "What? You can't stay. He doesn't want to model for a crowd." Mandy said, then looked at Ben, but Beth pressed on.

"I want to support my friend in her art. She says she's nervous, which makes sense, anyone would be with a strange guy standing around naked in their apartment. I should definitely stay and make sure everything is comfortable and safe."

Silence ruled for a moment and Ben and Mandy exchanged glances. Ben's fluttering stomach was going crazy, but he wanted to do this. He felt himself quickening at the thought of exposing himself to multiple girls.

"It's up to Mandy." he decided, "The artist is in charge." He grinned at Mandy, and she nodded agreement.

"Excellent!" A wicked grin spread on Beth's face, and she plopped onto the futon. "Let's get started."

Mandy asked them to hold on while she got her sketch pad and Ben took a long pull of beer. I need the courage, he thought. Mandy returned.

"I'm ready." she said.

Ben's stomach fluttered madly even as he felt his arousal rise. Both girls stared expectantly from their seats. He sat down his beer, trying not to rattle it on the coffee table, and then peeled off his shirt quickly. Better fast than slow, he thought, I'm not trying to do a striptease. But then his nerves felt like gelatin. "Is this where you want me?"

"No, come over in front of the TV." Beth instructed. Mandy said nothing, so he obeyed. "Go ahead" Beth said, arms crossed. "Let's get moving already."

Ben heard blood rushing in his ears. He was happy to feel a slight erection despite his anxiety. It wouldn't look flaccid and sad, and also not over-eager. He unbuckled, unbuttoned, and unzipped. I guess it's best just to get it over with. He grabbed the waistbands of jeans and underwear and shoved them down, pulled them from around his feet, and stood up fully. He tossed the clothes to a chair and rolled his shoulders back, trying to make a good form with his chest without looking like he was posing.

Both girls were mercifully silent. He felt like a wrong reaction could send him running for the hills. They studied his body without moving. "Well, do you want any sort of pose, or something?" He looked squarely at Mandy, who seemed to suddenly come back into the moment.

"Oh! Uh, yes. I have some pose ideas I want to try. Mainly I want to capture some detail on the... uh, your... thing." Beth snickered at this but Mandy continued. "Can you come closer? Yes, and turn to the side... actually, turn all the way around and let me see the back too."

Ben dutifully followed her instructions. When he turned back to the front Mandy had a different, more serious expression. She leaned close, very close, to his crotch area and studied it from different sides. She kept pausing to make marks on her sketch pad, and Ben's body responded favorably to her attentions. Beth sat quietly watching, and the silence started to feel strange.

"If you need a different pose or anything, just say so." Ben could almost feel their eyes on them. Mandy finally responded.

"Yes, can you pose with one foot up on the table? Like the pirate guy?"

Ben wasn't sure what 'pirate guy' she meant, but he put a foot up and puffed his chest out with his fists on his hips, the way he imagined a pirate doing with a treasure chest. Mandy muttered approval, got up and moved a lamp, and sketched some more. He was now well-illuminated, and with his legs open he felt more exposed than ever. His excitement started to wane.

Mandy frowned. "Can you, um, wake it back up?"

"I guess." Ben said, and it took all the courage he had to reach down and give it a couple of strokes in front of these girls. It rose quickly to full attention, and he blushed furiously.

"That's perfect." Mandy said, and then she blushed too. Ben glanced at Beth, then away quickly. She must have felt compelled to help at that point, and joined in the praise.

"That's a nice cock. Big, but not circus-big. Good, uh, veins." She had tried to sound confident, but her voice wavered at the end. That made Ben feel a bit better. "Maybe you can... stroke it again."

Ben smiled and gave it a couple slow strokes. Mandy was scribbling furiously but seemed frustrated.

"This is hard." she said, and Beth and Ben couldn't help but laugh. "I mean trying to capture it all so fast. I can't speed-draw."

Ben thought for a moment, and finally bulldozed ahead into an offer that scared him to the core, but was too enticing for him to resist. He might not have another chance like this again. "Don't artists sometimes take reference photos?" Then he hastily added, "As long as they don't end up online or anything."

Mandy and Beth looked shocked at the suggestion, but then Beth smiled and pulled out her phone. "I'll help. And I promise no one but us two will see them."

Mandy did likewise, and now both girls were snapping pictures, asking him to move, pose differently, stroke it again to keep it up, move it so they could see his balls, and Ben's head was swimming with the attention. He felt great being exposed and vulnerable, and being admired. After some time of posing Mandy cleared her throat and asked a question that seemed difficult for her to choke out.

"So, you can say no to this of course, but it would really help if... like if I had the 'money shot', you know what I mean?" At this both the girls' faces were bright red.

"You mean, you want to see me... finish?" Ben asked. Mandy nodded, and Beth's smile returned in force.

"Ye- yes." Mandy stammered.

Ben didn't even have to consider a moment, he was rock-hard now at the thought. "Sure, I can do that. Where do you... want it?"

"Oh, I got it." Beth jumped up and retrieved a towel and spread it on the coffee table. "Right here you go."

"Also," Mandy started, "I don't want to miss it. Do you mind if I switch to... video?" Ben nodded yes, and both girls' fingers jumped on their phones.

They told him to go ahead, but Ben frowned. "Do you have anything, uh, like lotion or something?"

"Oh! Ha, yes." Mandy ran to her room and came back with a bottle of lube.

"From your private collection?" Ben joked, and she blushed madly.

They told him to go ahead, and Ben, with heart pounding, squirted lube on his hand and started stroking himself. He was truly on display now, doing his most private, secret act, with an audience, with video cameras rolling. He was exposed in every sense of the word, and he was loving it.

He felt the familiar pressure building just below the pit of his stomach, but shyness was repressing it. He had to focus, and closed his eyes, not thinking about being watched, simply focusing on the feeling. His hand moved faster, more, more, until he felt the boiling point hit, and suddenly he was spilling over. He enjoyed the waves pulsing through him and stroked out every bit he could. When the final wave ebbed he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

Beth and Mandy's phones were out, Mandy quite close again, but Beth reclined. She must have recorded his whole body, face and everything, and the thought pleased him. Mandy asked how he felt.

"I feel... good." he said.

"That was quite a show." said Beth, "I think Mandy will have lots of material."

"Well, I love to support a good artist."

"You know," Mandy said, "If you can come again soon, I have some other poses I need help with. They may need some more 'audience participation' though."

Ben smiled. "Anytime."