VIII: Chez Thomson
Narratorâs note: Sandra didnât want us to post this part of Simonâs account, but she got outvoted. It was too good to waste. To tell the truth, we were a little bit annoyed with her for spoiling the fun. Itâs not what we planned. She says sheâll stick to the script in future, but Iâm not sure. She certainly has a soft spot for our hero. Never mind â Iâll be in charge next weekend at Holly End!
Sunday 19th June. Stella was hardly ever seen in a skirt, so when she came downstairs wearing one I must have looked surprised, even though she had mitigated this nod to her feminine nature by choosing a leather one and wearing a white collared shirt and her Pony Club tie. Her hair had been scraped firmly back into a pony tail and I detected a hint of make-up.
âWell youâre going to get to dress up. I thought Iâd at least make a gesture.â
âNo, Stella, you look nice. Iâve never seen that skirt before.â
âNo. I only bought it this week. I went shopping with Sandra and I noticed how cool she looked. If she can wear black leather all the time, why not me?â
âYes, dear,â my aunt interjected, âyouâd do well to put a bit more thought into your clothes. Youâre the polar opposite of Sandra in that respect.â Stella dismissed this remark with a flick of her pony tail.
âWhat was she shopping for?â I asked, curious to know whether it was connected to me.
âOh, mainly just more stuff for herself,â replied Stella carelessly.
We left the house at half past eight, and arrived in the Thomsonâs driveway before nine. As we got out of the car the front door opened and Mrs Thomson emerged.
âStella! Simon! Lovely to see you both! Come in, come in!â
âHello Mrs Thomson,â I smiled, âlovely to see you again too.â
She led the way into the house. âIâm afraid Alice and Debbie arenât here yet. Alice stayed at Debbieâs last night. But theyâll be over soon. Simon, would you like to go upstairs? Sandraâs in her room. I think she has something for you. Stella, would you like a coffee?â
I bounded up the stairs and knocked at Sandraâs door. âCome in!â In I went â and then stopped dead. Sandra was standing in front of her long mirror. She was wearing her usual thigh boots, fishnets, and short black jumper, but in the place of the little black leather skirt I was used to, were a pair of very short, very tight black leather shorts! I stood there gaping like an idiot.
âWhat do you think of these, Simon? Theyâre a bit tight still because theyâre brand new, but theyâll give a little bit with wear. Do you like them?â She looked at me innocently.
âI â I ⌠yes, Sandra, theyâre very ⌠nice!â I stammered, blinking with disbelief.
âWell I donât see why youâre the only one allowed to have cute pants,â she smiled, pulling on her fingerless gloves. âI got these at Simpsonâs last week. Come and feel how soft the leather is.â
She took my hand and placed it on her flank. âJust feel that!â I touched the taut soft leather awkwardly, colouring up in an instant. âFeel the hem. Go on. See? The leatherâs almost as fine as rubber, isnât it?â I opened my mouth but found no words to speak.
âOh, Simon, Iâm sorry. Hereâs me wittering on about my stupid clothes. Iâm sure youâre not interested. Here, come and see your new outfit!â
I followed her to her chest of drawers, my gaze riveted to her petite leather-encased posterior. She opened a drawer.
âNow, there is more, but Iâm just thinking of today at the moment. Oh, and perhaps next weekend. You know, Stellaâs show. So weâve got you two pairs of purple and pink ones â actually theyâre more like mauve and pink, but theyâre very pretty, donât you think?â She laid two pairs of latex pants on the bed. They looked identical. They were a very nice shade of, yes, mauve, with very tight little pink frills around each leg. They had belt loops and a little pink heart logo on the left hand side of the left leg, just above the frilling. I gulped.
âFeel them. Those on the left are very fine latex. Theyâre for special occasions, indoor things, like today. The others are more heavyweight. Theyâll be perfect for the horse show.â
As soon as I touched the latex I began to feel aroused. It was so long since I had experienced that gorgeous feeling against my skin! There was a label inside the pants: âBubblegumâ.
âThey call themselves âBubblegumâ because most of their main lines have some of this lovely bubblegum pink in them. Thatâs their logo â a little bubblegum pink heart. Do you like them?â I nodded slowly. âGoshâŚyes.â
âNow, Iâve got you a nice pink leather belt to go with them, and a matching pink leather choker. And hereâs your pink baseball caps. Thereâs one with your name on it for next Saturday so the other grooms will know who you are. For today I thought a plain one would do. And hereâ â she produced a box from under the chest â âhere are your new boots!â
Opening the box she took out something I had always wanted â a little pair of purple Doc Martenâs! And a pair of chunky, loose pink socks. I whooped with delight.
âThank you, thank you so much, Sandra! I love them!â
âAnd for your top. Well, youâll have a T-shirt for Saturday, and maybe something else, but for today I bought you this.â She gave me something wrapped in tissue. I unwrapped it eagerly. Inside was a short pink wool jumper with a round neck and little puff sleeves, and a stretchy pink spandex vest to go under it. I loved the feel of it. I could hardly wait to get dressed. At that stage it never even occurred to me that this outfit was a little more feminine than anything I had worn before. It just felt perfect. I thanked Sandra again, and hugged her happily.
âCan I get dressed now?â
âOf course. Call me when youâre done. Thereâs a couple of small accessories.â
Sandra went off downstairs and I started to pull off my old clothes, dumping my T-shirt and jeans on the floor. Once I was naked I began to dress, savouring the moment. I canât express the relief of being able to pull on those lovely cool, smooth pants! They were super glossy, inside and out, and just seemed to fuse to my skin. I threaded the pink leather belt through the loops and fastened it. Then I pulled on my new vest and jumper. They fitted perfectly and felt so comfortable! Finally on with my brand new socks and my boots, which I laced up carefully. There! I admired myself in the mirror. The jumper was short enough that it didnât obscure my belt, but allowed my belly to peep out as I walked. Pacing up and down Sandraâs bedroom on my imaginary catwalk, I noticed that the leg frills of my pants rustled slightly as they brushed together. I perched my cap on my untidy thatch. Great! I opened the door and called Sandra.
âIâm ready!â
âComing!â
She came up straight away and peeped round the door. âLet me see my favourite boyâŚ.oh my goodness! Heâs amazing. Simon! You look beautiful! Come here!â
She held me by the shoulders and looked me up and down. âYouâre a doll! Stand still a moment.â She fussed with my jumper and adjusted the leg bands of my pants. I was too excited even to get aroused, if you know what I mean! Then she went back to the chest and fished out a couple more things. The pink choker matched the belt. It was about three centimetres wide and very soft and flexible. At the front there was a little silver letter âSâ in a circle. She turned me round and closed it round my neck. It fastened with a little click. It fitted perfectly.
âAnd I hope you like these.â She showed me a pair of wrist-length fingerless latex gloves, matching my pants; mauve with little frilled pink wrist bands. âPut those on, and Iâm going to try these earrings on you.â
âEarrings?â
âThe coolest boys all have earrings, Simon. Look at these. Their clip-ons for the moment, but Iâm going to take you to get your ears pierced soon. These will look nice for today, youâll see.â
They were silver with little purple ceramic discs, very simple. As I pulled on my new gloves, Sandra attached them to my ear lobes. They had strong springs, and were a bit painful at first, but also exciting, a constant reminder I was wearing them. In fact the whole costume was a sensual experience with a distinctly more feminine feel than any of the previous ones. I was aware of a physical tension between my maleness and the female character of my clothing which was immediately arousing and which I knew I liked; a sort of permanent reminder of my sexual ambiguity. I breathed deeply, adjusting to this new sensation. Sandra perceived I was unsettled. She placed her hand gently on my arm.
âYou all right, Sim?â
âYeah, thanks. This new stuff is so cool. I really like it.â
âYouâre not upset?â
âNo! Quite the opposite. A bit wired, maybe.â
âShall we go down?â
âYeah. Letâs go.â
I followed Sandra into the dining-room, where Stella and Mrs Thomson were sitting drinking coffee. They both did a double-take when they saw me.
âWow, Sim! You look fantastic!â cried my sister.
âGoodness, Simon! Thatâs such a cute outfit! You look wonderful!â said Sandraâs mum. I simpered and pretended to be rather shy. But Sandra had said how cool I was going to look and it had turned out she was quite right.
âThanks. Good shopping by Sandra and my aunt. Iâm so happy!â
Stella jumped up. âSimon â just stand on the chair a minute, please. I want a full length photo. Youâve got such lovely long legs, havenât you? That outfit really shows them off!â
I clambered up with a pretence of reluctance, but the truth was in this new outfit I was really getting a kick out of showing off. I was pleased when Mrs Thomson ran for her camera as well, and I stood there posing like a model while they snapped away. It was fun! But as I wallowed in the attention I felt my little member beginning to swell with appreciation. It grew and lengthened easily under the slippery latex, and before it became too obvious I thought it judicious to jump down and get my legs under the table. I remembered my auntâs reassurances, but I was didnât feel ready to be seen in all my glory just yet!
âCoffee, you two?â asked Mrs Thomson. âAlice and Debbie should be here soon.â
I sat down at the table and Sandra sat next to me and we drank our coffee and talked. Stella quickly got back to her favourite subject â horses â and we discussed the coming show. She explained what was involved. Iâd be leading Bobby around the ring and to and from the showground. If she won a rosette Iâd also have to hold him while it was presented. And she revealed that there was a prize awarded for the best turned-out groom!
âWell I doubt you have any chance of winning, but youâll definitely stand out. I think youâll be the only boy, for one thing, and all the rest will be wearing breeches and boots. I donât know what theyâre going to think of you. But theyâre all nice girls, and very friendly. What plans have we got for his costume, Sandra?â
âThe same colour pants, but in heavyweight latex. And then Boot Boy stuff. I was thinking he should wear the same boots and socks, but heâll have proper gloves, matching his pants, of course. You know, practical stuff.â
âSweet! Canât wait to see the reaction!â
I wasnât so sure about the show, now. All the girls in boots, too. That could be a problem. Suppose they all wore thigh boots like Sandra? The thought was enough to consummate by erection. I slid my chair further under the table and pretended to be listening to the conversation, but my week of total abstinence was coming back to punish me. I slid my hand down and felt myself gingerly. It was very big. These pants seemed to be tailored from a thinner, smoother latex than my previous ones, which provided very little resistance. Thank goodness Iâd be wearing heavyweight rubber next weekend! I squeezed myself experimentally and almost moaned out loud with pleasure. I had to be careful. I quickly removed my hand and tried to think of other things. But by now the conversation had shifted to Sandraâs new shorts, and she was standing up showing off the quality and suppleness of the leather to the others, smoothing her flat tummy with both hands to demonstrate the perfect fit. My eager, frustrated member throbbed faintly against my right thigh. I had to close my eyes to shut out the vision of Sandra squirming her pretty bottom more firmly into her leather pants.
âYou all right, Simon?â asked Stella. Did she have a smile on her face? Probably just my imagination.
âEr, yes, Stella, Iâm fine. Just a little tired. Didnât sleep that well last night.â That was true, at least.
By dint of thinking of school work, Miss Benson, Aliceâs âdefinitive collectionâ, and other unpleasant matters, I succeeded in relieving the pressure in my pants a little bit, though with contraction came the inevitable lubrication. At least I was feeling more comfortable. Then there was a ring at the bell.
âOh, thatâll be Alice and Debbie, I expect,â said Mrs Thomson. I was nearest the front door, so Stella said, âCould you let them in, Simon?â
Well, I was almost respectable now. So I got up, taking care to shield my front from the others, and made my way to the door. On the way I took off my cap and clipped it around my belt, so I hung down over my crotch. I yanked open the door.
To my surprise, instead of Alice and Debbie, there stood two girls from year two, Debbieâs sister Chloe and another. Damn! They stared at me open-mouthed. I turned bright red.
âOh, said Chloe, âhello. I was looking for Debbie. I stayed over at Charlotteâs last nightâ â Charlotte nodded, without shifting her attention from my clothes â âand she was going to give us some pocket money.â
âOh, I see,â I said, flustered. âIâm sorry, sheâs not here at the momentâŚ.â I stood there like a lemon, not quite knowing what to do.
âAre you Simon?â asked Chloe, a smile spreading over her face. âDebbie told me about you. I like your outfit!â
âSo do I!â said Charlotte, enthusiastically.
I was rescued by Sandra, who appeared beside me at that moment.
âHello girls! How are you? Youâve met Simon, then. What do you think of his new outfit?â
âItâs brilliant!â cried Chloe. âDonât you think so, Lottie?â Charlotte nodded vigorously.
âCome in girls. Debbieâs not back yet but I think I can find you a few quid.â
So in they trooped, laughing and giggling. I donât understand why girls are always giggling like that. It gets boring, if you know what I mean. Sandra was whispering something to them, and they kept glancing in my direction and grinning. Annoying. They were invited to have some drinks and ended up taking my seat at the table, so I had to stand. I felt a bit awkward, not knowing them, and showing my newest outfit to a couple of second years wasnât an ideal way to start the day.
âSimon, put your cap on and show the girls how nice you look,â said Sandra. I couldnât very well refuse without seeming self-conscious, so I did. Thank goodness my boyhood was almost back to normal. I stood awkwardly on one leg with my hands clasped in front of me.
âCome on, let them see your new pants. Donât be shy. That;s right. What do you think girls?â
âItâs really cute!â screamed Charlotte. âCan we take his photo?â
âOf course! You donât mind, do you Simon?â
âEr, no, Sandra. Course not.â
âSmile then! Come on. Donât look so sulky! Chloe? If you want to get all of him in you need to step back a bit, dear. Youâre going to lose all his legs and his new Doc Martenâs otherwise.â
I had to smile and pose, and pose and smile, all over again. Great. Now all year two were going to know about me. Honestly. Little girls are such a pain. And I wasnât very pleased with Sandra, either. I thought sheâd be more discreet. But it wouldnât be any good saying anything. Sheâd just stroke my cheek and call me a silly boy and Iâd melt, as usual.
Then Stella said, âCharlotte? Will you be at the show next weekend?â
âYes, Stella. Iâm not riding, but Iâm going to be helping out.â
âDid you know Simonâs going to be my groom?â
âReally? Heâll be the only boy groom there I think.â
âYes, I know. And heâs got a new outfit to wear, a bit like this one.â
Charlotteâs eyes widened. âAt the show? Wow! You coming Chloe?â
âYes, I am now! Absolutely. And Iâm going to tell the others!â
âYou might as well. Your lot will all get in free anyway. You can cheer for me and Simon.â
Oh, great, Stella! I thought, why donât you invite the whole bloody school while youâre about it? Just when I hoped they were about to leave, Alice and Debbie burst in, and I had to endure the same performance all over again. At least they were taking photos for the right reasons.
âThatâs a very neat outfit, Simon,â said Alice, âreally grown-up and well-coordinated. Though not many boys could carry it off. Those gloves and earrings are really cool, too.â
âI agree,â said Debbie, âI love the whole thing. A lot of my friends are really into fashion, especially menâs fashion, and theyâd be very interested. Sandraâs got such a good eye for this stuff, donât you think? Maybe you could come to my house one day in the holidays and weâd have a big barbecue. It would be so cool. Would you?â
I was very gratifying to be appreciated at last. The girls were clearly beginning to understand the rationale behind my outfits. I felt pleased, and a lot friendlier towards them. I know I criticised Debbie before, and called her a smart-arse, but I acknowledge that she is very sharp and intelligent. And so am I, of course. Iâve really got my shit together in school lately and me and her are probably top of the class now. Anyway, I agreed.
âYeah, sure, Debbie. Thanks for inviting me.â
âAnd youâll bring all your outfits?â
âOkay. Except the school pants. That was stupid, wasnât it? My silly old aunt!â And I laughed self-consciously.
âOh, absolutely! No, not those. But everything else, please!â
It was nearly lunchtime when Chloe and Charlotte finally left, and then they were outside the front door with Alice and Debbie chattering and giggling again for about twenty minutes. What do these girls have to talk about? Once they were gone I handed out my presents. Everyone was very pleased and there was a lot of kissy kissy. Then I and the girls played computer games until Mrs Thomson suggested we went into the garden. We messed around watering the plants and spraying each other with the hose till we were tired, after which we lay on the grass, waiting for Aliceâs mum to make tea. The sun was shining and the rubber began to warm up, making me start to swell once again. My pants were slippery now, and soon I had a little sausage-shaped mound lying along my right leg band. I rolled over onto my tummy to hide it. I thought I was being clever, but Alice chose this moment to take advantage of my position by jumping astride my back shouting âSimonâs my horsey!â and bouncing up and down.
âNo, heâs mine!â screamed Debbie, âHeâs my Bobby!â And then they were both on top of me, squashing me against the turf.
I was rescued by Mrs Thomson calling from the kitchen that lunch was ready. The girls jumped off and ran to the house. Using my cap to hide the bulge, I followed them into the dining-room and manged to get seated without anyone noticing. I unfolded my napkin and spread it over my lap. Sandra came and sat beside me. She patted my leg.
"Having a good time, Sim?"
"Yeah! Sure!"
"Sanwiches and pancakes for lunch!"
Mrs Thomson makes the best pancakes. After the sandwiches she came in with two huge piles on two plates. There was lemon juice, sugar, maple syrup, honey and jam, too. We dug in. As I ate, my erection slowly subsided. At one point I dropped my napkin, but it no longer mattered. We sat there munching our way through the pile for the best part of twenty minutes. We all made pigs of ourselves. But in terms of greediness I am ashamed to admit I outdid the others. Finally we were all full, but there was one pancake left, and when Mrs Thomson offered it to me, I simply couldn't resist! I filled it with syrup â perhaps I went a bit overboard with it â and rolled it up. Yummy! As I bit into one end a huge glob of syrup oozed out of the other end and dropped right into my lap. Crap! I dumped the pancake back onto my plate and slid my chair back, closing my legs to prevent the syrup dripping onto the carpet. I tried to contain it with my hand, but only succeeded in smearing the sticky mess over the front of my pants. Mrs Thomson had seen what had happened.
"Simon, donât worry. There's a cloth in the kitchen next to the sink. Sandra, could you help, darling?â
Sandra jumped up at once and, taking me by the hand like I was a little kid of about eight, she led me off into the kitchen. The maple syrup had landed right in my lap, and by the time we got into the kitchen it was trickling over the frills of my pants and down my legs.
Sandra led me over to the sink. She didn't hesitate. She pulled a fresh J-cloth out of the packet, wetted it under the tap, squeezed it out, and addressed herself to the syrup. First she wiped it off my hand. Then,
"Stand still, Simon, and we'll soon get you cleaned up. Open your legs a bit."
She held me by the arm, bent over, and began to wipe the syrup off my thighs and then off the frills of my pants. It had got between the pleats and eventually she had to kneel down and clean each one separately, tugging and wiping, a mere few centimetres from my slippery member. As she worked, I could feel an irresistible resurgence taking place. I held my breath, praying for her to finish. But Sandra was determined to be thorough.
At last she was satisfied she had got all the syrup out of the frills. âThere. Thatâs that done.â I sighed with relief, and closed my legs, but my reprieve was short-lived. She stood up, went to the sink, and rinsed out the cloth in warm water.
âAm I done?â
âNot quite. Itâs still all over your front.â
It was true. And my poor boyhood was now visibly swollen. It lay proudly across my thigh, resting on my right leg band, exquisitely delineated under the thin, taut latex. Worse, it was spattered and smeared with sticky syrup. Without further ado, Sandra took a position on my right and put her arm round my waist. I pressed my thighs together in consternation.
âSorry about this, Sim, but it has to be done.â
Working from left to right, in a series of long, firm strokes, she slowly wiped the sticky mess off the front of my pants!
" There! Nice and clean!â
I was. But her assiduous ministrations had also brought me to the highest pitch of arousal. She rinsed the cloth, hung it on the tap, and, taking my hand, she pulled me back into the dining room. She introduced me like a ring-mistress ushering in the final act.
"Taraa!! Presentable again! Have I done a good job?"
I wasn't surprised at their reactions. Alice and Debbie whooped and whistled with delight. Mrs Thomson gasped, stared, and covered her mouth with her hand. Stella clapped and laughed:
"You've done an amazing job, Sandra!"
"Well, yes, Sandra," said Mrs Thomson, "Dear me. Quite astonishing!"
"Wow, awesome!!" Alice laughed, "Yes, Simon, that's much better! My sister's so clever!â
They all sat there gawping at me. There was a mirror on the far wall, and mercifully I could only see my upper half in it. What struck me forcibly at that moment was how easily I could be taken for a girl. It was a revelation. I was effectively two genders in one body. My upper half was delightfully feminine whilst the rest of me was definitely male. Momentarily I felt pulled in two opposite directions. Or were they opposite? No, perhaps not. Of course, I thought, everyone had these two elements within them. In some they were competing. In others fused together. In me? In me they had not yet arrived at a resolution. That was all.
My thoughts were interrupted by a shout from Alice.
âMummy?â
"Yes, dear?"
"Could we do photos now? You said we would be able to, remember?"
Mrs Thomson nodded. "I donât see why not. We can do them in the garden."
âOne here first!â And before I could protest she had snapped me with her phone, right there in all my glory.
Sandra came to my rescue. âGirls! Hold on. How about some make-up first? Simon would look so much nicer.â
âYay!â cried the girls, as one. âLetâs do it!â
âOkay. Letâs go to my bedroom. All the stuff is there.â I looked at Sandra gratefully. It would give me the chance to cool off a bit.
We trooped upstairs. Sandra assembled her extensive collection of make-up on the bedside cabinet. Then she got me sitting on the edge of her bed, which was quite low. She piled up pillows behind me and gently pushed me onto them so I was leaning back at an angle of about forty-five degrees. Alice and Debbie took up spectator positions cross-legged on the floor. Sandra pushed my legs apart and knelt between them. She leant forward, cleaning my face with little soft damp pads. It felt nice, though in leaning forward her left hip pressed gently against my erection.
When she was satisfied, she started to smooth something onto the skin.
âThis is foundation, Simon. Iâm only going to use a tiny bit on you, because your skin is already very smooth.â
âOkay.â
âNow a tiny bit of eyeliner, and a touch of mascara.â
âYouâre going to be beautiful, Simon,â grinned Debbie.
As she worked on me, she kept on kneeling up to refresh the make-up, then leaning in again. Every time she leant forward she squashed me a little, generating a thrill of pleasure. Was it deliberate? Surely not. But now the girls were now standing either side of her to get a better view of my face, and she was pressed against me, and all the time almost imperceptibly undulating her hips in a steady rhythm, compressing and releasing, compressing and releasing. It was like being gently milked. I was breathing heavily. She needed to stop, and soon! Then all at once she turned to Alice.
âDarling? Could you and Debbie go and ask Stella for her rouge? I seem to have run out.â
âOkay!â they shouted, and darted off. âClose the door, girls!â I looked at Sandra.
âItâs code. Stella doesnât use rouge. Sheâll know what to do.â
She smiled at me and, supporting herself on her hands, resumed her movements, slightly faster now. I groaned. Sandra smiled.
âCome on Simon,â she whispered softly in my ear, âLet go. Just let go.â
She pressed her lips to my ear and I toppled helplessly over the edge. I literally saw stars, and I think I blacked out for a moment. I was overwhelmed with pleasure. Eventually I lay there under her, twitching slightly and totally exhausted.
âIs that better?â
âSandraâŚwhy did youâŚdo that?â
âCos you needed it, you poor thing.â
We lay there together for some minutes, not speaking. Eventually I said,
âWell, youâll have to go out with me now. Will you be my girlfriend?â
âNo.â
âNo?â
âNo. But you can be my girlfriend, if you like.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âI think youâd be happier like that. Wouldnât you?â
âIâm still not sure.â
âWell, thereâs plenty of time.â
âDo you love me?â
âIâve always loved you, silly.â
âBut like that.â
âLooks like it, doesnât it? But we have to be for ever wary about love.â
âWary? What do you mean?â
She stood up and went to her bookshelf. She pulled down an old volume, and opened it at a marker. She read to me.
âLove seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hellâs despair.â
âThatâs beautiful.â
âHold on. I havenât finished yet.â
âLove seeketh only self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in anotherâs loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heavenâs despite.â
We looked at each other. She replaced the volume, came over, and held me in her arms. After a while she said, âYouâd better get cleaned up. My bathroomâs there.â I went and showered. I didnât know â I still donât know â all that I felt. But deeply, eternally, happy.
We came downstairs a bit later. Everyone was strangely subdued. Everything had changed, somehow. We spent a quiet afternoon and my aunt picked me up after dinner. She looked at me oddly. She too was affected by the atmosphere. When we left, Sandra and I didnât kiss as usual â we just touched hands for a few moments. Aliceâs parting shot was:
âBye Simon. Letâs do the make-up next time. At least I have one really hot photo!â