Growing Up
A Mysterious and Gorgeous Woman
It was Allison that transformed the Primdale family. Had their secrets ever gotten out, some might say that she ruined their lives. Others might say she saved them. But not a single member of the family had any regrets.
When Gregory Primdale's wife left him, he took it really hard. There had been no warning signs, no fights or coldness or anything to indicate trouble in their marriage; she just one day announced that she was leaving him for another man.
Apparently the affair had been going on for almost two years behind Greg's back, until she had finally made her decision. Suddenly he found himself a thirty-seven year old divorcee raising three children by himself, and the laughingstock of all of his friends.
It was as much a blow to the family name as to his ego; the Primdales had been a highly respected, wealthy family for five generations without even the hint of a scandal to mar their reputation. Now, suddenly, rumors spread like wildfire, people gossiped behind their backs, and the incident even made the newspaper. The press loved a good scandal, and the fact that it happened to one of the wealthiest families in town made it all the more delicious.
He had at least had his way in divorce court, though that was small consolation. His ex-wife didn't even want custody of the children, which was a great relief, since he would rather die than see them in the hands of "that rotten bitch," as he had called her so often that it became a nickname for her in the Primdale household. The only matter that needed to be settled, then, was how much of the family fortune she would get. Out of spite, he hired a private investigator to dig up all the dirt he could on her, especially her marital indiscretions, and by the time he was through the whole town knew what a slut she was, and her reputation had sunk so low that even the judge was against her. She ended up with nothing; not the mansion, not the car, not even alimony payments. Out of common courtesy he let her keep her clothes, but other than that, she didn't get a dime. No, that was not entirely true; in front of half a dozen television cameras as he was walking out of the courtroom, he had a spontaneous impulse to exact one last bit of revenge on her. And so with a wide grin on his face, as he passed her he tossed a quarter in her direction. "That's for fifteen years of sex," he said. "I figure this is about the going rate for a cheap whore like you."
It wasn't like him to do things like that. He was normally sweet-natured and kind. But she had hurt him deeply, and worse, she had hurt the children. If it were just for his own sake, he could forgive her. But to tear apart the family, causing the kids unknown anguish, was something he could never forget.
He never saw her again after that, and good riddance. She had burned him, but in the end he had triumphed. The truth was that all that really mattered to him were the children, but there was nothing wrong with making sure she didn't get her hands on his nest egg. From the time she announced she was leaving to the time she disappeared for the last time was only two months, but it was two months too long.
The children took it surprisingly well. Melissa was fifteen at the time, old enough to understand the situation, and she helped to ease the burden for the other children, Geoffrey and Britney, who were thirteen and ten, respectively. She explained the situation to them in plain, almost childlike simplicity. In fact, it was due in no small part to Melissa that the others were able to cope with it at all, let alone so well. Still, he caught Britney, his "little angel" as he called her, crying several times, and tried to comfort her the best he could. But for some reason only her big sister could get her to stop crying, maybe because she could act as a surrogate mother to Britney. After that, Greg always had a special place in his heart for his oldest daughter.
Three weeks after the divorce was finalized, things had started to settle down and get back to normal again. The students at school had stopped asking the children questions, which was a relief, because he had been tempted to pull them out and send them to a private school to give them a clean start. His fellow board members at the corporation where he worked also stopped asking about the divorce; over half of them had gone through the same thing once or twice. He was able to get on with his job without distractions, though he continued to nurse a bitterness toward his ex-wife.
That was when Allison walked into his life and changed everything.
His first contact with her came in the form of a phone call. They were sitting down to eat dinner when the phone rang. He answered it, and was greeted by the voice of a young woman on the other end.
"Is this Greg Primdale?" she asked.
"Speaking."
"Mr. Primdale, my name is Allison Craven, and I have... well, you might call it a business proposition."
"We're not interested," he said almost automatically, and turned to hang up the phone.
"Just wait a minute," she hurriedly insisted, and he returned the receiver to his ear.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I'm not a telemarketer. This is a proposition that I believe will benefit both of us. It has to do with your ex-wife."
"I will thank you to refer to her as 'that rotten bitch' when speaking to me," he scowled.
"All right, it has to do with that rotten bitch," she replied. "More importantly, getting your revenge on that rotten bitch."
Greg was intrigued, so he allowed her to continue.
"Just to put your mind at ease, it's nothing illegal," she said. "It's not even really unethical. But I'd really prefer not to go into details over the phone. I'd rather meet to discuss it with you in person. Is there a time when I can come to your house? I want to talk to you in private."
Something seemed very fishy about the whole situation, but the woman on the other end of the line sounded sincere and affable enough. Still a little wary, he said, "Why don't you drop by tomorrow at 7:30 pm?"
"Perfect," she said. "Thank you for your time. I'll be there."
The next day, she arrived just as she said she would, at 7:30 exactly. It was Jeff who answered the door. What he saw astonished him. She was a gorgeous beauty, with long brunette hair and the most beautiful bright blue eyes he had ever seen. She wore a casual blouse and skirt that emphasized her amazing figure wonderfully. But her most striking feature was her smile, the kind of smile that could melt hearts instantly. As the sun had long since set, the light from the interior of the house bathed her in illumination and caused her to almost look like she was glowing against the darkness.
He caught a whiff of her perfume, a sweet floral fragrance carried into the house on the chill evening breeze. The mansion had been built on a hillside, away from the lights and noises and smells of the city, and her perfume seemed to blend nicely with the natural odors of a mid-autumn evening. It was actually quite subtle; he thought that if this had been spring when the flowers were in bloom, he might not have even noticed it.
He stood there gaping at her, unable to pull his eyes away or even to speak. If there was ever such thing as a perfect woman, this was her, standing on his doorstep.
Despite the fact that she looked like some kind of fashion model, she drove a modest car. It was a simple gray sedan that looked almost pathetic next to his dad's Jaguar in the driveway. Of course, the Primdales also had a minivan, which helped at least to soften the contrast.
Jeff felt a little intimidated by her presence, even awed. He himself was a scraggly thirteen-year-old boy with unkempt, brown hair and a little too many freckles for his liking. He was a little on the thin side, despite having a healthy appetite and rarely getting much exercise. While he was far from ugly, standing in this woman's presence made him think of every last imperfection in his appearance.
"You must be Geoffrey," she greeted amiably. "I'm Allison Craven. I'm here to see your father."
"Hey dad!" he yelled into the background. "There's a mysterious and gorgeous woman to see you!" He didn't know why he said it like that; he was usually quiet and reserved. But there was something about this woman that made it seem like he could get away with saying things like that.
Allison laughed. "A mysterious and gorgeous woman. I like that. I can see we're going to get along fine. And I hope to change your impression of me very soon. At least the mysterious part. I'd like to remain gorgeous for as long as I can," she said with a wink.
Greg appeared and approached the door. From the look on his face, he was as taken with her beauty as his son was. He was a tall, handsome man with a quite muscular physique. For a man only a few years from forty, he looked rather young. He had straight, dark brown hair without even the tiniest trace of gray in it. Perhaps one day age would catch up to him, but for now he seemed to be still in the prime of his life.
"You're Allison Craven?" he asked, with a little more astonishment in the tone of his voice than he had hoped.
"I hope so," she replied. "I'm wearing her clothes."
Greg chuckled a little uncertainly, not entirely sure how to take this woman. "So what can I do for you, Allison? May I call you Allison?"
"Only if I can call you Greg," she grinned.
"Fair enough. So what can I do for you?"
"Is there some place where we can talk in private?" she asked.
"Certainly. Jeff, I'm taking Allison to my office. See that we're not disturbed." He turned and led her into the great hall. The house was fairly moderate for a mansion; they could afford better but they had bought it early in Greg's career when they didn't have quite so much money, and the children all loved it because it was the only home they had ever known. Besides, if it were any bigger they would need to hire a maid, a gardener, and probably a butler as well. Greg had always been frugal with his money, especially since he wanted his children to grow up as normal, healthy kids instead of the snobs and brats that too many of his coworkers had raised.
The mansion itself was a combination of classic Fifth Avenue style and modern touches to bring it into the twenty-first century. The ground floor was taken up mainly by the great hall, which opened to a large living room on the left and the kitchen and dining room on the right, with a couple of other rooms further down. A large staircase led up to the second floor, where balconies overlooked the hall below and half a dozen doors led to other rooms. He led her up the stairs to one of these doors, which opened into a large, comfortable study that he had converted into a home office for when he had to bring his work home with him. He closed the door, then sat down in his chair behind a large, oak desk, then indicated a comfortable chair in front of the desk.
Allison nodded toward a couple of couches against the wall in the corner. "If you don't mind, I'd rather be a little more informal. I'm a little nervous, and that desk reminds me of an interview. I'd rather make this a nice, friendly chat."
Greg shrugged. In truth, he preferred the more informal atmosphere as well; he had only chosen his usual seat because she had said that this was a business proposition. He got up and plopped down on one of the couches. She took the other one.
"All right," she began. "Before we get to why I'm here, you need to know a little about me. This is going to sound a little awkward, a little personal even, but please don't interrupt me until I'm finished, okay?"
Greg nodded.
"My name, as I've already mentioned, is Allison Craven. I'm twenty-three years old and an ex high school teacher. I graduated with a degree in Math Education, taught a couple of years, and am currently unemployed. Though I may not look it, I'm a bit of a computer geek and a bookworm, but my favorite hobbies are camping, cooking, and photography.
"You're obviously wondering where this is going. No doubt you're thinking I'm looking for a job and wondering why I'm coming to you instead of putting in an application at one of the schools in the area. Well, first, I'm not looking for a job, and second, there's not a school in this country that would hire me.
"I'm going to be perfectly frank, Greg. I was fired for having sex with one of my students. Needless to say the school board wasn't too happy. I still believe I did nothing wrong; the affair had no bearing on his grades and he was eighteen and therefore a consenting adult. I still could have gone to prison if it was a public school, but since it was private, all they could do was fire me. I'm not in any legal trouble. But I'm not going to be able to go back to work in a school again, ever. Especially since he had a hidden camera and put the video up on the Internet for everyone to see. There's no way I'm going to live this down.
"Now, I'm not ashamed of what I did. I could sue him to have the video taken down because it was posted without my consent, but the fact of the matter is, now that the cat is out of the bag, I don't have any problem with it being out there. Hell, I'll even give you the address to the web site if you want.
"I tell you this because I don't want to have any secrets from you. Judge me as you will. The point I'm trying to make is that my career is over. The end, adios, sayonara, goodbye. I have no prospects left. One stupid mistake, and I'm going to pay for it for the rest of my life.
"Now, I don't want you to feel sorry for me. I refuse to let this get me down. But I have to look at things realistically. I'm a damn good math teacher, but that's it. I work well with children, especially teenagers. Unfortunately, that limits my options. There's no work for someone with my skills outside of school, and of course, there's no school that will take me. I moved out here to California both because I needed to get away from the scandal back home, and because I hoped to find a more liberal attitude that might allow me to go back into teaching somewhere. But none of the schools I applied at are that liberal.
"So I have three choices. Number one. I throw out my degree and my experience, and I get some job waiting tables or bagging groceries, and I spend the rest of my life working as hard as I can just to pay the bills. Not a pleasant thought.
"Number two. My only other asset is my good looks. I put it to work for me. Maybe modeling, maybe something a little less respectable. I've ruled out Hollywood because I can't act and because the movies are filled with girls that look as good or better than me."
Greg could have argued with her; he had never seen an actress that looked as good as Allison. But she had told him to wait until she was finished, so he didn't want to interrupt.
"I could go to modeling school," she continued, "but fashion models have a short life span, and I've got a late start. By the time I finished school, I would work a couple of years and then end up right back where I started. I might make enough to pay off the loans for modeling school, but not much more than that.
"And so we come to option number three. And this is where you come in. I forget all about a career, I marry a nice millionaire, and live in luxury for the rest of my life."
"You what?" Greg asked, astonished.
"You heard me. And yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. When I said this was a proposition, I suppose it would be more appropriate to call it a proposal."
Greg stood up. This was something he had certainly not expected!
"I rushed it a little, didn't I?" she asked. "Just for the record, I'm not in love with you, and I don't expect you to be in love with me. Let's not call this anything but what it is. A marriage of convenience. Look. You've just been burned by a woman you used to love. You're a little vulnerable right now. You're not ready for a serious relationship. On the other hand, you're a man, and that means that you're interested in cars, sports, and sex. Well, I can't help you with the cars and sports part, but I'm more than happy to give you all the sex you want. I'm not even the jealous type; if you want a mistress or two, you go right ahead. And I'd be happy to sign a prenuptial agreement so that you don't think I'm trying to scam you. So that's the deal. I get to live the good life, and you get a purely physical relationship with a beautiful woman. In the mean time, you get to show off your new trophy bride, and hopefully word gets back to that rotten bitch that you're doing just as well, if not better, without her. So what do you say?"
"I... I don't..." Greg stammered.
"Okay, look. You want to take some time to make up your mind. That's only natural; I did kind of spring this on you all of a sudden. Tell you what. You take twenty-four hours to think of all the reasons why you shouldn't do this, and I'll come back tomorrow and help you cross out everything on the list."
"Look, I don't think I can do this to my children. I mean, what would they think? Here it is only three weeks after the divorce, and I suddenly want to get married again?"
"Okay, that's item #1 on your list, and I can help you cross that one off right now. If you want, we can have a reasonable courtship. Say, six months? We can pretend we're just dating, and then announce the engagement at the end. Another three months or so after that, and we're married. No awkward questions, no scandal, and that will give the children time to get to know me. Tell you what. If at the end of the six months any of them object, we'll just call the whole thing off. We're talking no risk here."
"Well... I don't know."
"You drive a hard bargain, Greg," she said, then grinned seductively. "I think what you need is to sample the goods." With that, she stood up in front of him and started unbuckling her blouse.
"What? Stop that!" he exclaimed.
"Why?" she asked, removing her shirt and throwing it to the ground. Greg stared for a moment at her partially revealed body, starting to grow aroused at the sight. His ex-wife hadn't looked that good in ten years. Actually, she hadn't ever looked that good!
As Allison reached behind to unhook her black bra, Greg made one last futile attempt to put an end to it. "Look, there's no need..."
"Until you agree to marry me, there's every need," she smiled, and suddenly her bra came loose and she dropped it on the floor next to her shirt. God, she was beautiful! At least from the waist up, she had the most perfect body he had ever seen, even compared to the ones in the Lecher magazines that his ex-wife didn't like him looking at. Her breasts were large enough to be enticing, but not too large to hold up under their own weight. She had about average-sized nipples, very dark and well-defined. He felt his resistance weakening. With such an offer from such a woman, what man would be able to refuse?
She then went to work on her skirt, tossing it on the floor with the rest of her clothes. That left only her panties, her high-heeled shoes, and her long, black stockings.
He found his breaths coming in gasps now, and chills ran down his spine. What a gorgeous, absolutely perfect woman! He watched her in fascination as she slipped out of her shoes, then sat back down in the chair and lifted one of her legs to slowly, seductively remove one of her stockings.
"Enjoying the show so far?" she asked, and Greg nodded dumbly. He couldn't tear her eyes off of her!
After finishing with the other stocking, she stood up in front of him again. Then she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties and slid them down partway, revealing her beautiful, shaved pussy. A little seductive wiggle sent the garment the rest of the way to the floor, and she stepped out of them, completely naked in front of him.
"And now for the fun part," she grinned, leaning over and pressing her lips up against his. From the first touch, Greg knew he was lost. Her lips were sweet and breathtaking, and she knew how to use them. Her tongue probed his mouth and he allowed himself to reciprocate with his own. Without breaking the kiss, she knelt down between his legs. Her hands went to his, drawing them up to place them on her breasts. It felt wonderful! Without thinking, he found himself massaging and fondling them, enjoying the feeling immensely. As he did so, she unfastened his belt and unzipped his pants. That relieved some of the pressure down there, but his cock was still somewhat restrained by his shorts. She drew her lips away from his and smiled at him as she slipped her fingers in the waistband. "Let's see just what I'm getting out of this," she said with a wink, then slipped his shorts down to let his member spring free. She glanced down at it, licking her lips. "Very nice," she grinned. "I'm going to enjoy this more than I thought." As she lowered her head, he realized what she was about to do.
"Oh my god!" he exclaimed through a haze of lust. His ex-wife had never pleasured him like that; she had always thought it was too disgusting. But he had fantasized about it numerous times. And now it appeared that his fantasy was about to come true!
Her tongue came out, and she flicked it against the head, sending a wave of pleasure through him. Then she ran her tongue all over it, and he thought he was going to die of ecstasy. She gazed up at him with a smile as she continued to tease him with her tongue. This was heaven! He had never felt so good!
But it got even better. "This is your house, and I don't want to make a mess," she commented. "So I guess I'm going to have to swallow it."
The anticipation almost made him reach an orgasm right there. She was going to give him the ultimate pleasure!
When her lips wrapped around his cock and she began to suck, he thought he was going to pass out. She started out slow, taking it deep in her mouth then sliding her lips back up until only the head remained. Then she went deep again and repeated the process, over and over again, sending him to ever greater heights of passion.
"Oh, god, Allison!" he moaned. Hearing how much he enjoyed it made her work all the harder. She attacked his cock with wild abandon, driving him into a frenzy. He realized that all he had to do was agree to marry her, and he would get this same treatment as often as he wanted. She would belong to him. His Allison.
As he reached his peak, he knew he would not be able to refuse. He stuck a hand over his mouth to muffle his cry of pleasure; it wouldn't do to have the children hear what was going on up here.
Somehow, Allison managed to swallow every bit of his semen as his hips bucked and he shot load after load into her hungry mouth. He didn't even try to hold back, giving her everything he had. It was her idea after all, so he was going to enjoy it to the fullest.
Then the pleasure began to wane, and he collapsed in exhaustion back onto the couch. She continued to suck, coaxing every last drop out of his softening member.
A couple of minutes later, she let it slip out of her mouth, and she glanced up at him with a smile. "Looks like that's the last of it," she said as she stood back up and began to get dressed. He continued to stare at her beautiful body. The thought of this woman being willing to do that to him whenever he wanted was almost too much to handle. At that moment he felt that there was not a man alive who would refuse such an offer, himself included.
"All right, I'll see you again tomorrow to help you start crossing things off your list," she said once she finished dressing.
"What list?" he smiled.
She glanced at him, a smile forming on her face. "So you accept?"
"I'd be stupid not to!"
Allison laughed. "Yes you would, but I wasn't going to be the one to say it."
Then he thought of something. "What about the kids? What am I going to tell them?"
"Do you want me to tell them for you?"
"I don't know... maybe I should be the one."
"That is, of course, your decision, but I need to get to know them anyway, and this would be a perfect opportunity to meet them. Besides, if any of them have any objections, I want to hear it straight, so I can call this whole thing off if I need to. I won't do it unless everyone involved agrees."
"All right, go ahead and tell them."
"Good. You just wait right here. I'll be back in a few minutes. Oh, if I recall correctly, their names are Melissa, Geoffrey, and Britney?"
"Yes, but they go by Lissa, Jeff, and Brit."
"Got it. See you in a few minutes."
"So who's this Allison woman?" asked Lissa. She and Jeff sat on the couch, staring at the TV. Lissa took after her mother in looks, with light brown hair and hazel eyes. Her skin was fair and unblemished, which led to the family joke that Jeff had stolen all of her freckles. She had the tiniest trace of an overbite, or at the very least her front teeth were a little larger than average. But surprisingly enough, rather than detracting from her pretty face, it enhanced it. She had a very good figure for a fifteen-year-old, though it was usually hard to tell because of her fondness for baggy clothes. Their little sister, Brit, lay on her stomach on the floor in front of them, lazily kicking her legs in the air above her. If anything, she was skinnier than Jeff, which wasn't surprising considering her age. She was the beauty of the family, with long blond hair that she liked to wear in pigtails, and large, bright blue eyes. She was still a child, but in a few years she was bound to grow up into a gorgeous woman.
"I don't know," Jeff replied truthfully to Lissa's question.
"So what did she want?"
"She wanted to talk to Dad."
"About what?"
Jeff shrugged. "Work stuff, I think. A business proposition, I think Dad said yesterday when he got off the phone with her."
"So why not go to his office downtown?"
"How should I know? I just answered the door."
"Will you two be quiet?" interrupted Brit. "I'm trying to watch the show."
Jeff kicked her lightly on the side of the leg, for no other reason than that she happened to be where he could reach her. While her request had been reasonable this time, she was usually so bratty that he had just gotten into the habit of thinking she was whining every time she asked for something.
"Hey!" she said, and kicked him back. Lissa sighed. It appeared that this was going to degenerate into another fight between the two.
But the fight never happened, because they were interrupted by Allison, who descended the stairs and entered the living room where the three children sat.
"Do you mind if I turn this off for a minute?" she asked, picking up the remote and switching off the TV. Fortunately it had been on a commercial, or Brit probably would have complained about it.
"I have something to tell you three," Allison said. "My name is Allison Craven, and your father and I are getting married."
"What?" asked Lissa and Jeff, but Brit, in her childlike innocence, came up with the direct question that neither of them had thought to ask: "Why?"
"That's a good question," Allison responded, "and it's complicated. Let's call it therapy. I'm going to help your father forget that rotten bitch."
"So you're going to be our new mother?"
"In a way, yes I am. But let's not have any nonsense about calling me Mom. I'm more interested in being your friend than in being your mom. So call me Allison. Think of me as a permanent babysitter. But not the kind of babysitter you hate; I'm sure you know the ones I'm talking about."
"Brenda," said Jeff under his breath, and Lissa elbowed him in the ribs.
"I want to be the best babysitter you've ever had," continued Allison. "I need your help, though. I can't claim to be perfect, so feel free at any time to let me know what I can do better. Of course we'll have rules--" All three children groaned at this, but Allison wasn't finished. "--because if we didn't, where would be the fun in breaking them?" she grinned. "So what do you say? Will you give me a chance?"
Jeff was more than happy to agree, and he nodded enthusiastically. She was absolutely stunning to look at, and for some reason he felt completely comfortable with her. She had that quality of making people want to be around her.
Lissa was a little more hesitant. For her father's sake, she wanted to like this woman, but she was not as persuaded by her charm as her younger brother was. True, the woman seemed friendly enough. But this was happening too fast.
Allison noticed her hesitation. "Melissa, what is it?" she asked.
"It's just that... it's so soon after our mother left. And you only met our father half an hour ago. Don't you think maybe you're rushing things a little?"
"Probably," the woman replied. "And I'm very glad you brought that up. You know, you're pretty wise for a girl your age. I know I was pretty stupid when I was fifteen, but you seem to have a good head on your shoulders. Would you do me a favor? Would you help me learn how everything works around here, you know, give me advice and things? I would be happy to put you in charge of the other two children, but I know little brothers hate having to take orders from big sisters." At this she winked at Jeff.
Melissa was flattered, but that made her all the more cautious. Was Allison just complimenting her to get in her good graces?
Britney tugged on her shirt. "I like her," she said meekly.
Allison noted the way the other children seemed to defer to Melissa. That was only natural; the girl had brains after all, and since their mother had left, Melissa had probably had to take on some of the family responsibilities. No doubt she had been forced to grow up very quickly over these past months.
"So we've got two in favor, and one against," said Allison.
"I'm not against," Lissa replied. "I'm just not in favor. Not yet. You haven't convinced me one way or the other."
"Okay, two in favor, and one maybe. But I'm not going to do this unless it's unanimous, because I want to start out right. If there's anyone opposed to me marrying your father, it's going to cause problems down the line."
"Come on, Lissa," Jeff said. "Just say yes."
"Jeff, would you and Britney do me a favor? Promise me you won't put any pressure on your sister about this. And if she decides against me, you won't get after her about it, or even mention it. I want her to like me for who I am, not because she feels obligated to. Would you do that for me, dear? Thanks."
"Well then, if Lissa's not convinced one way or the other, what do we do?"
"It sounds like we need time to get to know each other. I'll go tell your father to put the plans on hold until Lissa says yes or no." She left the room and headed back up the stairs.
The three kids stared at each other, wondering what to think.
They were still sitting silently when their father and Allison came back downstairs five minutes later. The two of them came in and sat down in two of the empty chairs.
"I know this is kind of sudden," said Greg. "Allison explained the situation to me, and said that she wanted to spend some time with each of you individually. So here's what we're going to do. First, I've invited Allison over for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. I had planned to have it just with our family, but as she's likely to become part of our family soon, I think it's appropriate. Friday, I'm going to take Brit and Jeff with me out of the house. Maybe we'll go on a picnic or something, up in the mountains."
"Do I have to go with Jeff?" Brit whined.
"Yes you do, honey," he told her. "I want to leave Allison and Lissa here alone together all day. That way they'll have a chance to get to know each other better. Besides, that's just the first day. On Saturday, we'll do the same thing again, this time leaving Jeff with Allison."
Jeff liked that idea. He was more than happy to spend a day alone with her.
"And then on Sunday, it will be your turn, Brit. What do you think?"
"Oh, all right," she agreed.
"Good. Then it's all settled. Now I'm going to show Allison around the house, and then she has to get back home, but we can talk about it more after she leaves."
The two of them got up and headed out of the room.
"Can I come too?" asked Jeff, climbing up off of the couch.
"That's fine with me," said Allison. "Maybe Jeff can show me what he likes to do around here so we can make some plans for Sunday."
They first headed up the stairs so that she could see where all the children slept. The staircase led to a large balcony over the great hall, which led to the left and right to other smaller balconies along the wall. That much at least was somewhat traditional. In this house, however, the balconies continued further down, where they disappeared behind a wall and met around in the back. A glass door opened up to a small balcony overlooking the large patio and pool below.
Jeff's and Brit's bedrooms were on one side of the great hall, and Lissa's on the other. Jeff groaned inwardly when his father showed Allison his room; he wasn't the neatest person in the world. In fact, it was downright messy. "Don't worry, Jeff," Allison said. "One thing I'm good at is organization. I'll help you tidy it up some time." Not surprisingly, Jeff found himself motivated for the first time in his life to clean his room.
Brit's room was much neater, though Jeff preferred the chaos of his room to hers, with its pink paint, hope chest full of ceramic figurines, and walls covered in posters of kittens and the latest teen heartthrobs. Lissa's room was at least a little better. It was similar in motif to Brit's but toned down quite a bit.
The other rooms on the second floor were Lissa's bathroom, Greg's den, and another room that had been converted to storage space. One of these years, Greg promised himself, he would clean out the garage and the storage room, getting rid of probably ninety percent of their possessions.
They headed downstairs again, where he showed her the rest of the house. Further down the hall was the library with its impressive collection of books (one of Jeff's favorite rooms). Across from it was the master bedroom, which Allison said with a wink that she was particularly interested in. The bathroom just off to the master bedroom also had a door opening in the hall, and was used as a changing room for the swimming pool in the back yard. Jeff turned on the patio lights to show her the pool. Unfortunately they had already covered it for the winter; nobody but members of the Polar Bear Club would want to swim in it in the middle of November. Allison said that she liked to swim, and Jeff was secretly glad; it meant that he would have plenty of opportunity to see her out here in a swimsuit. Since the house was on a hill, the deck just outside of the sliding glass door in the back of the house was elevated above the pool, and large enough for the occasional barbecue party. Because the Primdales owned pretty much the whole hillside, they also had room for a sandy volleyball court and a basketball half-court, each enclosed by a chain link fence. The rest of the yard was grassy, with some shade trees in one corner surrounding a large guest house.
Then they headed down to the basement. One door led to the laundry room, but most of the basement had been converted into a rec room. There were couches and other chairs in the middle of the floor, including a bean bag chair that Jeff mentioned was his favorite. Off to the side, a pool table stood in one corner, a ping-pong table in another, and a wall-size TV and entertainment center against one wall.
After that, the three of them headed back upstairs. Jeff returned to the living room, and Greg walked Allison to the door. "See you Saturday," he told her. She smiled and disappeared outside.
The children had all kinds of questions after that, but their father was just as cryptic as she had been about why they were getting married. They somehow got him to admit that she was marrying him for his money, but that he didn't have any issues with that at all. The rest of the questions were about her personally. Yes, she liked kids. No, she wasn't like the wicked stepmothers in the fairy tales (that was Brit's question). No, she wasn't going to send them all off to boarding school (also Brit's question). Other than that, he really didn't know much more about her than the children did. But they all agreed that she seemed nice enough. Even Lissa had to concede that.
After they exhausted all of their questions and received surprisingly few answers, Greg scooted them all off to bed. Tomorrow was Monday, and they had school after all. The children reluctantly climbed the stairs and headed down the hall to their respective rooms.
It was no surprise that Jeff dreamed about her all night.
Allison Makes a Friend
In the morning, he woke up still thinking about her. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even yell at Brit for taking the bathroom before him. Their bathroom separated their two bedrooms, and was not otherwise accessible from the hall. Lissa, being the oldest, had one to herself. Brit had never quite gotten it into her bratty head that since she took at least three times as long in there as Jeff did, that he should be allowed to take his shower first. She almost treated it like a contest, to see who could get in it first. And since both doors locked from the inside, he had no choice but to wait for her.
He headed instead downstairs for breakfast, though he wasn't particularly hungry. He ate in silence, still thinking about Allison.
His father watched him, wondering about his thoughts. Jeff had taken the loss of his mother surprisingly well. Lissa had adopted a mature attitude about it, Brit had cried several times, but Jeff seemed to just shrug it off. He rarely spoke about it, but then, he rarely spoke about anything. The boy liked to read, play computer games, and watch TV. He wasn't much of a social person.
Still, there was nothing unusual about that. He just seemed particularly quiet this morning.
Lissa joined them a few minutes later, then Brit, with a cheerful smile on her face. It was the type of smile that was just meant to annoy Jeff, knowing that he was probably mad at her for taking the bathroom first. But he just ignored her and continued to eat in silence. Brit seemed almost taken aback that he wasn't trying to yell at her. One could always tell what Brit was feeling; she rarely tried to hide her emotions. When she had a good day, she beamed from ear to ear, and when she didn't, she scowled or cried. Today she just looked a little confused that Jeff wasn't trying to pick on her.
After breakfast he went back upstairs, took a shower, and got dressed. He finished just in time; the others were waiting for him so that their Dad could drive them to school. That used to be their mother's job, until she had left. Now Dad had taken over. It worked out fine; that left him plenty of time to head downtown to his office.
All through school, Jeff continued his pensive mood. He didn't listen to the lectures, he didn't look embarrassed about being chosen last again for teams in P.E. class and he didn't even try to sneak glasses at Kari Williams when he thought she wasn't looking. People observing him might have thought he was depressed, but in fact it was just the opposite. He was actually happier than he had been since his mother had left.
He boarded the bus after school, so lost in thought that he actually sat down next to Brit, who had gotten on earlier when the bus made its stop at the elementary school. Despite the fact that she was his sister, he never sat by her, mainly because he didn't enjoy her company. "Ew, get away from me!" she complained teasingly, making it clear that she didn't enjoy his company either. But he made no move to change seats.
They had only started riding the bus home this year; their mother had faithfully picked them up from school every single day since they had started going to school. Jeff didn't particularly like riding the bus, but there was nothing to do about it now. Unless Allison...
Once again his thoughts returned to her, not that they had every really left. She was going to take the place of their mother now. That was both exciting and a little strange. He wondered if she would start picking them up from school. Wouldn't that be fun, to see the looks on his friends' faces when he got into the car with that gorgeous woman! He couldn't help smiling a little at that.
The bus then headed to the high school, which was just down the street. Lissa joined them, though she had to sit across the aisle from them this time. Normally she sat with either Jeff or Brit, depending on her mood that day. Since Jeff was not talking and Lissa was too far away from Brit to make any kind of conversation, the girls remained as silent as him.
Tuesday he was a little better, and by Wednesday he was back to his usual self, talking again with Lissa and his dad, picking fights with Brit, and actually advancing the pages in the current book that he was reading. There were only so many things one could think about a particular subject, even when that subject was a beautiful woman. And Jeff had just about exhausted all of the possible thoughts.
When his father came home that night, he had Jeff help him carry in the bags of groceries, which were mostly the food for their picnic and some last-minute things for Thanksgiving. Greg had decided that they would make submarine sandwiches with the works, so he had bought half a dozen different types of deli meats, four different kinds of cheeses, and of course, sourdough French bread, which was Brit's favorite. He then sat down with the three of them and made plans for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Even if it hadn't been Thanksgiving weekend, he still would have spent his days with them. Greg had made a decision since his wife had left that he would never work another weekend, since the kids were now seeing their parents less than before. Saturday and Sunday he reserved for his family.
On all three days, the plan was to leave at 9:00 in the morning and drive up into the mountains. Fortunately, in northern California where they lived, the weather was mild enough even in November to picnic in the mountains, and furthermore, the weather report said that it was going to be unusually warm this weekend, with no chance of snow. There was a nice picnic spot that they used to go to all the time with their mother, but it was at least a three hour drive away. Since the whole point was to give Allison time to be together with one of the kids, it worked out perfectly. Jeff, of course, didn't relish spending that much time in the car with Brit, but then, spending the next day alone with Allison would be more than enough reward for the ordeal.
That night, Greg had the children help him cut up vegetables, chop lettuce, slice the bread, and put it all in plastic bags to be assembled on-site. They also prepared a few things for Thanksgiving dinner in advance. It was actually kind of fun, especially with the anticipation to keep their excitement level high. For about half an hour, Jeff even completely forgot all about Allison.
Then they had dinner, finished their homework, watched TV, and finally went to bed. Allison returned to his dreams again that night, and he slept happily.
When he woke up the next morning, he could hear voices talking downstairs. It sounded like Allison! Trying not to seem too eager, he forced himself to shower and dress like he usually did, fighting back the urge to run down the stairs right away. Only after he finished making himself look as presentable as possible did he slowly and, at least outwardly, calmly make his way downstairs.
Greg, Allison, and Lissa were in the kitchen, about to put the turkey in the oven. As before, Allison looked absolutely stunning, though this time somewhat less formal than before. She wore a plain green tee-shirt and jeans that made her look a lot younger than she was, especially with her hair tied back in a ponytail. Of course, the apron that she had borrowed while working with the food made her look five years older, so in the end it all evened out. When Allison saw him, she came over and gave him a hug, which thrilled him so much that he couldn't help but grin.
"Looks like someone enjoys Thanksgiving," she said upon seeing that grin.
"Oh, Jeff likes anything to do with food," said his Dad, but Lissa flashed Jeff a knowing glance.
"As it turns out," said Allison, "your father doesn't have the faintest idea how to cook a turkey. That happens to be a specialty of mine, so I figured I could help out there. And Lissa's got to learn too, to carry on the tradition some day. It's just too bad you weren't up a little earlier or you could have learned as well."
Right now, Jeff was happy to learn absolutely anything from her, as long as it meant spending time with her.
When Brit joined them a little later, they all set to work on the various dishes that they would eat that afternoon. Thanksgiving in the Primdale household was no small affair, even when it was kept in the family. Candied yams, three different kinds of pickles, squash, salad, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, green beans in cheese sauce, cranberries, and some of the cheeses that they had bought for the picnic all complemented the meal. Instead of the usual packaged stuffing, Allison had prepared a real stuffing inside the turkey using her not-so-secret recipe. Seasoned with rosemary, thyme, sage, and several other herbs, it soon filled the house with a wonderful aroma.
"So do you like to cook then?" Lissa asked her as they were cutting up some more vegetables for a salad.
"I love it. It's nice to go out to a restaurant, of course, but there's always a little worry that I may never taste that particular food again. What if the restaurant shuts down, for instance? Or what if they change their menu? It's not enough to spoil the meal, but the thought just makes me a little sad. If I cook it myself, though, I know that I can have it again any time I want. I don't know if I'm making sense or not--"
"Oh, you're making perfect sense," Lissa agreed. She was liking Allison more and more with every minute she spent with her. The Primdales' mother had been a decent cook, but she never really enjoyed it. Lissa was taking a Home-Ec class in school and learning to cook because her mother had never really had the motivation to teach her. If Allison could teach her, that was a big point in her favor.
Soon there was nothing left to do but wait for the turkey to finish, so they all retired to the living room to talk. This was really the first time the kids had the chance to learn about her, so she was happy to tell them about herself. She mentioned how she used to teach math in high school, and would be happy to give them private tutoring if necessary (Jeff wondered for a moment whether anyone would catch on if his math grades suddenly began to slip and he needed the tutoring). Her father was an ex-Army officer, a real outdoors type, and would often take them on camping trips while they were growing up. She learned to enjoy the outdoors, and offered to take them all camping the next summer. She also liked photography; in fact, she had considered majoring in it in college and becoming a professional. But she decided she was too much of a nerd (Jeff laughed out loud when she said this) and decided on Math instead. Greg was interested to hear that she liked photography, as it was one of his own hobbies. His children had all posed for him at one time or another, and he had their portraits on some of the walls. Allison had taught high school for a couple of years, then lost her job. When the children asked her why, she merely said that she did something she shouldn't have, but she would not elucidate further. She also had a little sister named Rachael who had just graduated high school and was starting her first year of college. Greg suggested she come to visit some time, and Allison replied that she thought Rachael would love it.
The question came up again as to why she and their father were getting married, but she gave the same answer as before: to help him get over his ex-wife. Greg added that she had been very clear from the beginning that the two of them weren't in love, that it was simply a way for them both to get what they wanted.
"But now that I've met all of you," she smiled, "I'm happy that I'm going to go through with it. I'll admit that I was nervous at first, but now I almost feel like a part of this family already. You've all made me feel so welcome."
"Except me," mumbled Lissa with a frown.
"You too," Allison insisted. "You said yourself that you're just cautious, but actually I'm glad. Because you're willing to state your true feelings, I feel I can trust you. And because you're so smart for your age, you're a person I can talk to."
Lissa couldn't help smiling at the compliment.
She talked to the kids to find out what kinds of activities they enjoyed doing, making a mental list of the ideas for the next few days. Even though she knew she was under the microscope, she figured she might as well make it fun.
Once again, Allison reiterated what she wanted her role in the house to be. "Even though I'm marrying your father, I don't want you to think of me as his wife, or your mother. What I want is just to be a part of the family, like any of you. If it helps to think of me as a big sister, that's fine. I know that sometimes I'm going to have to take on motherly responsibilities, but I don't want you to think of me as some kind of authority figure. You've already got your dad for that. I'd rather just be your friend. And I want you to be open and honest with me. I'm bound to make mistakes, but I hope you'll be willing to help me correct them, okay?"
"Okay!" said Brit and Jeff enthusiastically, and Lissa nodded.
"So, since you're just a friend," said Jeff, "do you want to go downstairs and shoot some pool?"
"I'm afraid I'm not very good at it," she replied.
"That's okay, Jeff isn't either," Brit giggled.
"Shut up!" he told her.
"Kids, let's not act up when Allison's here," Greg said firmly.
"Why not?" asked Brit. "She's part of the family, so she might as well know what we're like."
"That's enough, Brit."
"So do you like playing pool, Brit?" asked Allison.
"Sure."
"What about you, Lissa?"
"I suppose."
"Okay, so why don't we do teams? That way I won't feel so self-conscious."
"Can I be on your team?" asked Brit. Jeff was about to say something, but held his tongue. In truth, he was going to ask the same thing, but unfortunately he couldn't afford to sound as enthusiastic as his little sister. Well, it really didn't matter.
"That's fine, dear," Allison replied. "What do you say, Lissa?"
"Okay."
The five of them headed downstairs to the rec room. Greg sat in one of the couches, just watching. Jeff explained the rules of the game and demonstrated how to shoot. He helped her take a few practice shots, adjusting her hands and posture (and she was very nice to touch) until she got the hang of it. Then they racked up the balls and started the game.
Jeff and Lissa won, of course. With Allison's inexperience and Brit's lack of skill, it wasn't even a contest. Then Allison suggested they switch teams, asking Jeff if he would mind a beginner like her on his team. He agreed immediately.
This game was much closer. Allison was learning well; she even sank a few balls, though she also scratched a couple of times. Lissa and Jeff were about evenly matched, so in the end it came down to whoever sank the 8-ball first. Miraculously, it was Allison. It took everyone by surprise, herself included. She was so excited that she grabbed Jeff and gave him a big hug. He seemed more startled by that than he had been by her winning shot, and spent the next few minutes in an apparent daze.
Then they switched teams again, and this time it was a disaster. With Jeff and Brit on the same team, it was only a matter of time before the whole thing blew up in their faces. They were only five minutes in when Brit missed an easy shot, Jeff called her an idiot, and she burst into tears and ran upstairs crying.
"I'll handle this," said Allison, and followed her.
The three remaining people stood in silence. Jeff was mad; his bratty little sister shouldn't have been so sensitive in the first place. And it really was a dumb shot. But everyone else was probably blaming him for it when it was her fault.
Ten minutes later, Brit and Allison returned. Though Brit's eyes were still a little red and puffy, she wore a smile on her face.
"How did you...?" Greg asked, astounded.
"Simple," Allison replied. "I just asked her to tell me all of the things Jeff does that show that he loves her."
"And she actually had an answer?" asked Lissa.
"You'd be surprised at how long the list was," Allison said. "It brought back a lot of happy memories for her. Believe it or not, Jeff does love Brit, and she loves him. And a little argument like this isn't going to change that. Now Jeff, I want you to do something for me."
"What?"
"I want you to tell Brit why it wasn't her fault for missing that shot."
"But--"
"Don't argue. Just tell her."
"Fine. Brit, it wasn't your fault for missing the shot because you didn't do it on purpose. Sometimes it just happens, even to the best pool players in the world. Okay?"
Brit nodded. Then she came over and threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Jeff," she said.
Jeff just rolled his eyes. "You're welcome," he mumbled.
After that they were all friends again. They decided not to play any more pool, which was just as well, because the two younger kids were likely to get into another fight. Fortunately, the turkey was getting close to being finished by this point, so the family headed back upstairs.
Allison insisted on changing her clothes; since it was a formal meal she wanted to look a little more formal. Greg agreed, and told the children to dress up as well. Grudgingly, they headed upstairs to change.
The dinner was excellent. Allison had done a wonderful job with the turkey; it was moist and flaky, slicing easily and almost melting in the mouth. The rest of the food was delicious as well. Surprisingly, Jeff and Brit didn't fight at all, but were very polite to each other. Maybe it was the formal attire. Perhaps it had a subconscious effect on their manners. Or maybe it was just that they were both embarrassed about fighting in front of Allison and didn't want to do it again.
After dinner they headed back out to the living room, but after such a big meal nobody was in the mood to talk. They just wanted to sit there and rest.
Allison was the first one to fall asleep. As she was sitting next to Greg, she lay her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Five minutes later they could hear her heavy breathing.
It was contagious, almost hypnotic, and one by one the rest of them drifted off to sleep as well.
Later that evening they went over the plans for tomorrow. Allison would go home tonight and come back at 8:30. Greg and the children would leave at 9:00 and return some time before dinner. They would repeat it Saturday and Sunday as well.
It was getting late, so Allison kissed Greg goodnight, gave each of the children a hug, and drove home. Greg insisted that the children go to bed early so as to be able to get up on time, so they all went upstairs to their rooms, excited for the days ahead of them.
Lissa was the first to wake the next morning. She went through her morning ritual of showering, dressing, and doing her hair, all the time thinking about everything that had happened in the last week. Despite her misgivings, she did like Allison. She thought the woman was intelligent and charming, exactly the type of person she would want for a mother. In fact, the reason she hadn't immediately jumped at the chance was that she thought it was too good to be true. Why did this family deserve someone as perfect as that? Was there some higher force at work? Was it luck? Or was she just reading too much into it? Her dad had admitted she was marrying him for his money, which explained her motivation, and one needed only to look at Allison to see his motivation, so maybe that was all there was to it. The only question left was how she would treat the three of them, and today she would have her answer.
She was the first one downstairs for breakfast, so she just poured herself a bowl of cold cereal. Sometimes her Dad liked to make pancakes and eggs on the weekends, but there wouldn't be time today. She knew him too well; even if she offered to do the cleanup, he would insist that today was her day and that she shouldn't have to do any of that kind of work.
The others joined her a little later, and they talked about the upcoming trip. Surprisingly, Jeff and Brit hardly argued. Maybe they were learning to get along after all. Or maybe they were just too excited to fall into their usual roles. Their dad opened the fridge and loaded the goods from last night into a large cooler.
Allison showed up at 8:30. Jeff, of course, rushed to answer the door. Lissa was not surprised; it was obvious he was smitten with her. Last weekend and all Thursday she had caught him staring at Allison, especially from behind. Well, Allison did have a little swing to her step that boys might find sexy. In fact, there really wasn't a single thing about her that boys wouldn't find sexy.
Of course, that was another reason why Lissa was a little wary. If it was a phase that he would get over, fine, but it wasn't the healthiest thing for a boy to have a crush on his stepmother.
That couldn't be helped, however. It wasn't Allison's fault for looking the way she did. Lissa decided that she would ignore that point when making her decision; she would decide solely on the basis of Allison's merits, not on the reactions of people that she couldn't control.
As usual, the woman looked absolutely perfect this morning. She wore a pastel blue button-down blouse, a navy blue jacket, a pair of denim jeans, and white tennis shoes. She wore her hair down like she had before, which suited her well.
"Hi, Jeff," she greeted cheerfully. "Are you guys all ready for your picnic?"
"Sure. It's just too bad you're not coming along."
"Oh, I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities. Maybe I can convince your dad to take us all camping next summer."
"That sounds like fun."
"Well, may I come in?"
"Oh, sorry. Of course."
She stepped into the house. Upon spotting the others in the dining room, she came over and sat down next to them.
"You look lovely, Allison," said Greg with a smile.
"Thanks," she beamed. "You're all ready for your picnic, I see," she said, indicating the open cooler.
"We're going to have a lot of fun, aren't we, kids?"
"Yes we are, even if Brit's coming along," said Jeff. Brit slapped him on the shoulder, a pouty look on her face.
"Okay, let's not start that just yet," Greg told them. "No fighting until we leave the house."
"Fine, but then we get to make up for it," Brit said, and Greg rolled his eyes.
"You see what I have to put up with around here?" Greg asked.
"Well, maybe I can do something about that," Allison replied.
"If you can get Brit and Jeff to stop fighting, it will be a miracle."
Eventually 9:00 came around, and Greg had Jeff help him carry the cooler out to the van, then they came back inside to say their goodbyes. Allison kissed Greg, then hugged Jeff and Brit. Jeff was ecstatic, Lissa noticed, not that that was surprising. Then the three of them climbed into the van.
As soon as her Dad drove off with Jeff and Brit, Lissa turned to Allison. "Okay, so what are we going to do now?"
"That's up to you," said Allison. "What are your favorite things to do?"
"Well, I like to go shopping," she said. "Mom always used to take me shopping."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Allison said. "I didn't mean to bring up any painful memories."
"Never mind that. Those days are over, and it's time to put it behind me and start making new memories."
"Sounds like you're facing this with the right attitude. Good for you. So let's see... Do you think you could accept a rain check on the shopping for a while? At least until you've decided whether to keep me. I like to shop too, sometimes too much. I'd probably end up spending a lot of money on you, and I don't want to seem like I'm buying your vote."
Lissa nodded. "That makes sense," she said. Allison was actually pretty smart. Once again Lissa wondered why she and Greg were getting married.
"So what's your favorite thing to do around the house?" asked Allison.
"Um, the hot tub?"
"You have a hot tub?" Allison exclaimed with delight. "Perfect! Where is it?"
"Downstairs in the rec room."
"Oh, your father showed me the rec room, but I didn't see the hot tub."
"He had it installed a couple of years ago. It's in an alcove to the side."
"Show me."
"Come on, then."
Lissa led Allison down to the rec room and pointed out the accordion-fold plastic screen in the wall opposite the entertainment center, hiding a separate section of the room. Lissa unlatched it and drew it to the side, revealing a room with a hot tub. The tiled floor was lowered about six inches to keep any accidental spills from seeping into the carpet. In one side of the alcove, a door opened up to a small bathroom with a shower. It actually had a second door leading out to the main section of the rec room so that people wouldn't need to open the screen in order to use it. In the other side of the alcove were cupboards full of towels, and a broom closet with a mop. Lissa's Mom had one rule about using the hot tub-- that the people who used it had to mop up any water that got on the floor.
Allison took off her jacket and tossed it on one of the nearby chairs. Then she began to unbutton her blouse.
"Er... what are you doing?" asked Lissa.
"I'm taking my clothes off," Allison explained casually. "You wouldn't want me to get in fully clothed, would you?"
"We... usually use the bathroom to change," she said, pointing to it.
Allison glanced at the door, then back at Lissa. "Oh. Well, it would be kind of pointless since I don't have a swimsuit."
"What?" Lissa asked. Then she remembered that Allison hadn't brought anything with her when she came over.
"Let me guess," said Allison. "You were going to put your swimsuit on, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"Well that won't do at all. My family had a hot tub too. My sister Rachael and I would always go naked in it when it was just us girls, ever since we were kids. It's no big deal, really."
"I don't know..."
"Come on, Lissa. It feels so much better that way. Tell you what. You try it, just this once. If you don't like it, you can go put your swimsuit on, then I'll never bug you about it again."
"Oh, all right," she agreed.
Still a little self-conscious, she began to undress as well. She tried not to look at Allison, but couldn't help stealing at least one glance once the woman was fully nude. Allison's body seemed every bit as perfect as her face. Her boobs were fully developed, but quite firm. She had a slender waist that gave her a graceful curve. It was that curve, perhaps, that added that bit to her walk that Jeff found so sexy, though Lissa didn't really understand her brother's fascination with staring at a woman's rear end. Then she noticed something else that surprised her. Allison had no hair between her legs.
Lissa didn't think it polite to mention it, so she kept silent as she finished undressing herself. She felt all-too exposed in front of this strange woman.
It didn't help that Allison seemed not the least bit bashful. "Come on, then," she said, "let's have a look at you."
"What?" Lissa demanded, throwing her arms around herself.
"Oh, don't be shy," said Allison. "Here. You can look at me first if you want." She faced Lissa directly and put her hands on her hips.
"Why would I want to look at you?" asked Lissa, starting to grow red.
"Because you're way too uncomfortable. Let's just look at each other's bodies, get it over with, and then you can focus on more important things, like enjoying the bath."
Still hesitantly, Lissa turned her head and gazed at Allison's nude body. As she looked, she realized that it really was just silly on her part to feel that embarrassed about it. If Allison was all right about it, Lissa might as well be too. She dropped her hands to her sides and let the woman see her.
"There, now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" asked Allison.
"I suppose not."
"Good. There's no need to be ashamed of your body. Especially when you have a body like yours. I'll bet all the boys at school are dying to see it."
"Allison!" said Lissa, growing red again.
"What? For a girl your age, you've got a great body, and you're really pretty, too. If I know teenage boys, I'm sure they all have their fantasies about you."
"Come on, Allison. You're embarrassing me."
"Oh, all right. If you don't want to talk about boys, we don't have to. So let's get in the tub."
As it turned out, Lissa's apprehensions turned out to be unfounded. It really did feel nice to soak there in the water, completely unrestrained by any kind of clothing.
The two of them sat and talked about nothing in particular. Later Lissa couldn't even recall the topic of conversation; she just remembered that Allison was really easygoing and nice to talk to. She was intelligent, but so was Lissa, so they seemed to get on very well together.
"So what's the story with Jeff and Brit?" Allison asked her at one point.
Lissa shrugged. "They've been teasing each other and fighting since they were kids. Brit can really be a brat sometimes, and Jeff just encourages her. Mom and Dad have been trying to get them to stop for years, and it hasn't worked yet."
"Sounds like they just need to learn to have fun together," Allison commented.
"Good luck on that."
"So what about you, Lissa? You seem to be the peacemaker of this family. Both Jeff and Brit like you."
"I just... I just suppose it's up to me to be the mature one. Especially now that they don't have a mother any more. I can't afford to play those childish games."
"I'm sorry, Lissa. This whole thing must have been particularly hard on you. You've had to grow up too fast. Jeff and Brit could always come to you when they needed someone, but you had no one you could go to with your problems."
"I have Dad."
"I know, but there are some things that parents can't do for you. You need someone like a big brother or sister. I hope that even if you decide you don't want me in this family, you can still think of me as a friend, and come to me whenever you need to talk to someone."
"You would still be willing to do that even if I decided against you?"
"If you decided against me, I wouldn't be mad. A little sad, maybe, but I would respect your decision, and I would still want to be your friend. Whatever your decision, I don't think I could ever let you guys go completely, now that I know what you're like."
"But I do want you in this family," said Lissa. "That's just it. I think you're perfect."
"Me? Perfect? Hardly."
"Well then at least you're very good at hiding your flaws. But that's the problem. We've just gone through a tough time. Why should things suddenly turn around just like this? It sounds too good to be true."
"But it is true, Lissa. I promise you that. I think I'm falling in love with this family. I would never do anything to hurt any of you."
Lissa just stared at her for a moment. "No, I don't think you would," she said. "It's not about that. I just think... things just don't get this good so suddenly."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"I'm not sure I do either. What if... what if in three months you get hit by a car and die? What if Dad decides after all that he doesn't want to marry you? A lot of things can go wrong, and I would hate to get my hopes up just to have it all fall apart."
"And you think that because everything seems to be perfect right now, something has to come along and spoil it. You're just afraid of what that might be. Right?"
"Well, sort of."
"Lissa, first of all, I don't believe in any sort of cosmic justice. Things just happen when they happen. Bad and good. Besides, even if there is some kind of justice, maybe my showing up is to counterbalance your mother leaving. I think you've learned to accept the bad things in life, and that's a sign of maturity. You've had to, for the sake of your siblings. But do you think, just maybe, you haven't learned yet to accept the good?"
Lissa thought about that for a minute. It did make some kind of sense. She had just been through a traumatic experience with her mother leaving, and she had learned to deal with it. But maybe she had dealt with it by becoming a bit of a pessimist, by not recognizing good things when they literally walked up to her front door.
But there was still something nagging her, something she had to know. "Tell me one thing," said Lissa. "You're smart, you're friendly and kind, you've got everything you need to have a good career. So why choose this other path?"
Allison nodded. "I can see there's no fooling you, Lissa. You're right, there's something in my past that I'm not proud of. I'm perfectly willing to tell you, but I never got the chance until now because I didn't want to mention it in front of the other kids. Jeff may be old enough to understand, but certainly not Brit. I believe you're mature enough to hear this, but do you really want to know? Even if it tarnishes your image of me?"
"Yes. I think it's important if I'm going to make the right decision."
"All right. In short, I was fired from my teaching job for having sex with one of my students."
"What?"
"I know. It's not the sort of thing you want to hear. But you wanted the truth. So because of that one little indiscretion, I'll never be able to teach again, at least formally. So I decided to do something a little different, and marry a rich man. I looked for a recently divorced man and happened to hear about your father. When I did a little research, I found out that he had two teenagers and one preteen, and I decided this was perfect. After all, I like to be with kids your age. That's one of the reasons I started teaching in the first place, and that was the hardest thing for me to get over when I realized I wouldn't be able to teach again. Anyway, I was prepared to go through with my plan even if I hated the family, but it's turned out just the opposite of all my fears. You've all been so kind to me, I decided that this is what I really wanted. This is like a dream come true for me. So what do you think? Do you think I'm a terrible person?"
"Oh, Allison, of course I don't think you're terrible! I'm glad you were willing to share that with me, as painful as it is. Now I understand everything, and I know I can trust you."
"Thank you, Lissa. It means so much to me to hear you say that."
Lissa smiled. So there it was. She realized she had been looking for some kind of flaw, some imperfection in Allison. People were just not that perfect, and Lissa was afraid of discovering Allison's weaknesses later on down the road when it was too late. Ironic as it seemed, a lack of weakness was the only weakness Allison had. In Lissa's eyes it was all that the woman was missing. She needed to be human, to make mistakes. Without that, she wasn't real; she was just a fantasy. And that fantasy could end at any time. Now that she knew of Allison's past, Lissa could finally accept her.
Later, after they had gotten out of the hot tub and sat together on the couch continuing their conversation, Lissa knew there was something she had to tell her.
"Allison, I'm changing my vote from maybe to yes."
The woman's eyes lit up, and began to grow misty with tears. She threw her arms around Lissa and hugged her. "Oh, thank you!" she said, choking back the tears. "That means so much to me. I'll try my hardest to live up to your expectations."
"No, don't do that," said Lissa. "I just want you to be yourself. You're going to be with us for the rest of your life, after all, and I don't want you to have a nervous breakdown from trying to be perfect all the time. It's okay if you're not everything you seem. Nobody is."
"That's why I like you so much, Lissa. I'm the one marrying your father, and yet you've got more motherly wisdom than I do. Do you mind if I come to you for advice sometimes?"
"Only if I can come to you for advice too."
"It's a deal," Allison grinned. "And now, I have a great idea. Now that I already have your vote, you won't be able to accuse me of trying to buy it if we go shopping. What do you say?"
"Let's go," said Lissa enthusiastically.
They spent the rest of the day at the mall, visiting a multitude of stores. They had lunch at the new salad bar that had just opened up, and then got down to the serious task of shopping. Allison seemed to enjoy spending money on Lissa, but to keep it under control, she said she would match whatever Lissa spent on herself, which worked out well because when Lissa couldn't decide between two different blouses that she wanted to buy, she just bought one and Allison bought the other for her. In the end, Allison paid slightly more than Lissa did, but she said, "I won't tell anyone if you don't."
When they returned home, Greg and the other kids were already there. They had had plenty of fun themselves, although admittedly Jeff and Brit had fought a good portion of the time.
"I have an announcement to make," said Lissa. "I've decided I want Allison to join our family. So unless any of you have changed your minds, it looks like it's unanimous."
"Yay!" shouted Brit, running over and hugging her big sister.
"Remember, Lissa wasn't the only one who voted for me," said Allison. "I think your dad and brother deserve hugs too."
Brit immediately hugged Greg, then turned and looked at Jeff.
"Do I have to?" she asked.
"No," said Jeff. "You can settle for this instead." He immediately grabbed her and began to tickle her. She laughed and slapped him, then managed to get free and bolted out of the room.
The atmosphere was jovial as they all ate dinner together. They talked about their day, Lissa mentioning that they spent the morning in the hot tub but conveniently leaving out that they had been naked. Jeff and Brit talked about the picnic, and how nice the weather was, even in the middle of November. The weather was expected to stay that way all weekend, so they made no change to their plans. They would do exactly the same thing again the next day.
After dinner, Allison said she had to go home, to their disappointment. She gave them all hugs again and headed out the door. Jeff went to bed early, deciding that the sooner he fell asleep, the sooner his day with Allison would come.
Christmas with the Primdales
He woke up before anyone else, of course, and hurried to take a shower then head downstairs for breakfast. It felt like waking up on Christmas morning.
The others joined him not long after. Brit, of course, teased him incessantly, but he was so excited that he forgot to fight with her, so the morning went relatively peacefully.
At 8:30, just as before, Allison arrived. He was thrilled to see her again, especially knowing that he would get to spend the day alone with her. She seemed to be in good spirits, just like before, and talked and joked with the family until it was time for them to leave.
As soon as they drove away, Allison turned to Jeff. "I was looking forward to spending this time with you," she said.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yes. I used to play multi-player computer games with my students in the computer lab all the time before I lost my teaching job, but since then I haven't had a chance," she explained. That was when he noticed that she had brought over her laptop computer.
They went up to his room and she set to work networking it with his. He was amazed at how technically minded she was; in his experience, most women were at best uninterested in computers, and at worst, afraid of them.
"You don't graduate college with a math-related degree without knowing your way around computers," she explained. "Our knowledge of math has progressed to the point that it's impossible to prove, and in most cases even research, new mathematical theorems without computers these days; they're that complex."
He had no idea what she was talking about; math had never been his strong subject, but computers were perfectly understandable to him. He could write papers for school, look up stuff on-line, and play games on them. There was probably math involved in programming them, but he wasn't interested in programming. Mainly just games.
Surprisingly, she had a dozen games installed, most with some form of multi-player capability. They spent the rest of that day brutally punishing each other, figuratively speaking. He was surprised at her skill; he could hold his own with some of the other boys in the school, but he didn't think anyone over twenty was interested enough to spend the time needed to get good at it, especially a girl. Allison, however, managed to keep right up with him, and even won a few games.
After that, any misgivings he might have had about her simply vanished. All it took was a simple common interest in computer games, and suddenly he felt comfortable with her.
They shot a little pool that afternoon, and Jeff gave her a few more pointers, helping her with her aim, how to hold the cue, and how to pick the best shots. She was a quick learner, soon getting into the hang of things although certainly not competing at professional skill level by any means. She didn't win a single game against him, but she didn't seem to mind a bit. In fact, she looked like she was just happy to be spending the time with him. Of course, he felt exactly the same way.
When they decided to play a game of ping-pong, though, she beat him almost without effort. She explained that her parents had a table just like this one at home, and she would sometimes spend hours practicing with her friends or her sister. Jeff wasn't exactly thrilled with losing every single game, but with Allison laughing every time she made a mistake, or deliberately and sometimes comically missing shots just to give him a running chance, she actually made losing fun. Until that point, Jeff hadn't really understood the concept of "it's just a game," but now he realized that the score really didn't matter in the end; it was more important to enjoy himself than to win.
It was a shame when Greg and the girls returned that night; Jeff could have gone another day with her. But he had to be fair and let Brit take a turn.
The next day Allison arrived again at the appointed time, and soon Brit found herself alone with the woman. As soon as the van was out of sight, Allison immediately turned to her.
"Your father told me you like to draw," Allison commented.
"Yeah," said Brit.
"What kinds of things do you draw?"
"Fantasy stuff, mostly."
"Fantasy? I assume you're not talking about big-breasted barbarian princesses in chain mail bikinis," Allison smiled.
Brit gave an embarrassed laugh. "No, of course not," she said. "I mostly draw fairies and unicorns."
"Really? Would you mind if I saw some of your drawings?"
"I don't know..." Brit mumbled. "I'm not very good."
"I've never been a big fan of false modesty. Besides, nobody starts out good, so what does it matter if you're still learning?"
"Okay fine, but you have to promise not to laugh."
"I only laugh at things that are intentionally funny."
Brit headed to her room, where she pulled her sketchbook from her desk. Then she headed downstairs, where Allison was sitting on the couch. Brit plopped herself down beside her and opened it up.
They flipped through the drawings slowly, and Allison made comments about each of them. As she had said, Brit drew mostly fairies and unicorns, with the occasional dragon, castle, princess, or knight. There were pages of figure studies, of fantastical creatures in various poses, and one or two full drawings. Actually, now that she had the chance to look at them with a critical eye, she realized that they weren't all that bad after all. She had her weaknesses, but they were nothing that couldn't be overcome.
"May I give you a word of constructive criticism?" asked Allison.
"What?"
"You do marvelous work on the subjects of the drawings themselves. I don't see much effort put into the backgrounds, though."
"I know. I'm really not that good with landscapes."
"Any particular reason?"
"Part of it is the perspective. I can never get things the right sizes. And then, just visualizing things. Horizons, especially, like with mountains and things. It always ends up looking flat, like those mountains are just a cardboard cutout behind the subjects."
"Then it seems to me that you just need to develop an eye for landscapes."
"I suppose so. But how would I go about doing that?"
"I noticed there's a park down at the bottom of the hill, about a mile away."
"Yeah, we like to go there to play sometimes during the summer."
"Do you have a camera?"
"No."
"Then you can borrow mine. Let's go down to the park and have you take some reference pictures. Start building up a photography portfolio. When you get stuck on visualizing things, you can refer to those pictures."
Brit smiled. "That sounds like a great idea!" she said.
Allison gave Brit a five-minute lesson on how to use her camera, then the two of them climbed into her car and headed down to the park. The weather was cool but not cold, and the most of the trees had lost their leaves. There were still enough bright autumn colors, however, that Brit was able to take a lot of good pictures. There were places where Brit could take shots of the mountains in the distance, but mostly she just photographed the scenery around the park.
"There are a lot of flowering bushes," Allison commented. "It's too bad none of them are in season. I would love to come here during the spring; it must be beautiful."
"Oh, it is!" Brit smiled. "It's absolutely wonderful. There's something magical about this place when the flowers are all in bloom."
"Then we'll have to come back next year so you can take some more pictures. I can imagine a bunch of fairies flying around here, or sitting on the petals of some of those flowers. And right over there would be a great spot for a unicorn to pose."
Brit made sure to snap off a picture in the direction that Allison pointed. It was great to have someone with her who could visualize things the way she could. A lot of people said that Brit had an overactive imagination, and maybe it was true. She often saw magical beings or fantastic settings in the world around her, all in her mind of course. But they were there nonetheless. When she closed her eyes her mind was always whisked away to worlds of fantasy.
Apparently Allison could see some of the same things. The two girls talked about the images in their minds, sometimes joking but sometimes serious, and bit by bit their two imaginative worlds drew together and became one. While Brit had plenty of friends, this was the first time she had met someone she could talk to about all these wonderful visions.
Allison explained that most people lost the ability to see such things as they got older, but she herself had always refused to grow up. Although her perception of the fantastic had dimmed with time, she had never lost it entirely.
"Sometimes I need a little help, though," she said. "It takes someone like you to awaken it within me."
Brit blushed at the compliment, but she was certainly pleased. Now more than ever she was glad that Allison was going to become part of their family.
They continued to take pictures all morning, then went and picked up some hamburgers at the nearest fast food place and brought them back to the park to eat. Allison said that her favorite time to take pictures was in the late afternoon as the setting sun brought out the warm colors, so they continued for several more hours. The time passed surprisingly quickly, and before they knew it, the sun was slipping below the mountains in the west.
"Time to head home," Allison told Brit, and the two of them climbed back into her car and drove back up the hill to the house.
Greg and the others hadn't quite arrived home yet, so Allison asked Brit if she had a computer to download the pictures to. Unfortunately Brit didn't because she had never really been interested in computers before, but now she wished she had one. Instead, Allison brought out her laptop and downloaded the pictures there.
They didn't have time to go through the pictures together, because the others arrived a few minutes later. Greg insisted on hearing about what they had done all day, so they talked about their excursion.
After dinner, Lissa went to her room and Greg and Allison went to theirs. That left Jeff and Brit alone in the front room together, which meant it was only a matter of time before they got in a fight.
"What's this?" asked Jeff, picking up the sketch book that Brit had dropped there that morning. Brit tried to take it away from him, but he pushed her away, then dashed up the stairs. Brit chased him to his room, where he wasn't quite fast enough to close and lock the door before she entered. So he simply sat down on his bed and opened up the sketch book.
"Give that back, Jeff. It's mine!" she complained.
"Yeah, I can tell," he said, flipping through the pages.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean it obviously doesn't belong to a professional artist," he teased.
"You're just jealous because you can't draw!" she snapped.
That was true, but he wasn't going to let her win the argument that way.
"Apparently, neither can you, but at least I don't pretend I can."
To his distress, Brit suddenly burst into tears. "I hate you!" she shouted, then dashed into her bedroom.
Once more he had crossed over the line and made her cry. He always felt guilty when he did that, even though he knew she shouldn't be that sensitive. Feeling quite ashamed of what he had done to her, he followed her into her room, carrying the sketch book with him. He set it down on her desk and came over to sit on the bed by his sister, who had tears running down her cheeks.
"Brit..." he began, more softly this time.
"Get out of my room!" she shouted at him.
"Okay, what's going on here?" Lissa suddenly demanded, bursting through the door. Spying the two of them sitting there with Brit sobbing, she closed the door behind her and strode over to them. "Jeff, did you make your sister cry again?"
He had been just about to apologize, but now with Lissa butting in where she wasn't wanted, he had his honor to protect.
"No," he denied. "It's up to her whether she wants to cry or not."
"Jeff's being mean to me!" Brit blurted out.
"I thought you were supposed to be nice to her," Lissa said.
"It's her fault!" complained Jeff. "Why do you always have to take her side?"
"Because it's so much fun to punish you," Lissa replied, then pounced on him. Caught off his guard, he fell off the bed, with his big sister on top.
"Get his hands!" Lissa shouted at Brit, laughing and forcing Jeff's hands against the floor above his head. Brit's sad look instantly changed to a grin, and she knelt down on top of his wrists to pin them to the floor.
"No fair!" exclaimed Jeff. "Two against one!"
"Exactly," said Lissa. "Maybe this will teach you not to pick on your little sister." She suddenly puckered her lips and leaned in.
"No!" he shouted in playful horror, then turned his head away. This was something Lissa used to do to torture him when they were younger, but only when he was being a brat. Since their mother had left and she had suddenly gotten more mature, she had stopped doing it, until now.
She pressed her lips up against his cheek and made a loud smacking sound.
"Ew, gross!" he said.
"Just for that, I'm going to do it again," Lissa said.
"Don't you dare!"
But she ignored his pleas and kissed him again.
"Tell Brit you're sorry," she commanded.
"No way! It was her fault!"
"Okay, then we'll have to do this the hard way," she grinned, then grabbed his head and turned it face up. Once more she puckered up and very slowly leaned down. Jeff tried to turn his head away, but she held him tightly. This time she planted a big, loud kiss right on his lips.
"Blech!" he shouted, turning his head and pretending to spit. "I'm going to get rabies!"
Brit, meanwhile, was giggling hysterically. She seemed to be enjoying this every bit as much as Lissa. Perhaps that had been Lissa's plan all along, to put her in a better mood. Of course, it was at Jeff's expense, so he couldn't approve too much of what she was doing.
"Tell her you're sorry," Lissa demanded again.
"Brit, I'm not sorry," he said stubbornly.
Lissa forced his head up again and pressed her lips against his for the second time. This time she kept them there. Jeff felt humiliated and degraded, but another feeling had begun to grow inside of him. If he were anyone else, he would probably enjoy being kissed by Lissa. She was, after all, a beautiful girl. This game of Lissa's had worked well when he was younger and not interested in girls, but in the last year or so, most of his revulsion had disappeared. Now it was only the fact that she was his sister that turned him off, and even that was starting to lose its horror as his hormones reacted to being kissed by someone as pretty as her.
He had his eyes shut tight, but he stopped struggling and even relaxed his lips a little instead of keeping his mouth closed tight. The kiss suddenly became much less innocent.
Apparently Lissa noticed the change too, because she pulled away. For a moment she stared at him in surprise.
"I think he likes it," Brit teased.
"Shut up," Jeff snapped, although in fact, she was absolutely right.
"Widdle Jeffy's in wuv with big Lissa," Brit laughed.
Jeff pushed both girls off of him, something he admittedly could have done at any time. He sat up and wrapped one of his arms around Brit's neck and pulled her in to a headlock.
"Ow!" she complained.
"Take it back!" he told her.
Then he felt Lissa's hand on his arm. "Jeff, let her go," she said softly. He glanced at her. She didn't have an angry or haughty look on her face, and her tone of voice was anything but commanding. But somehow, it worked. He released Brit, who punched him in the ribs, although she wasn't strong enough to cause him anything more than the lightest discomfort.
"Brit, that's enough," said Lissa. "This game's over." She glanced once more at Jeff, then suddenly shuddered, though she had the tiniest trace of a smile on her lips. She looked a little flushed as she stood up and hurried out of the room. Jeff wondered what that was all about.
Jeff picked himself up off the floor, then headed for his own room. At the doorway he stopped and turned around.
"Brit," he said. She glanced up at him.
"I'm sorry," he said. "You really are a good artist."
Her only response was a frown. He sighed, then turned back around and headed through the bathroom into his own room, closing the door behind him.
After that weekend, Allison's presence around the house just became natural. She seemed to come and go as she pleased, sometimes coming for dinner, sometimes for special purposes, and sometimes just stopping by to say hi to everyone. She even came by a couple of times just to help the kids with their homework, especially math. She spent the next few weekends with everyone as November faded into December. Then one day, their father gathered the children together into the living room.
"I've invited Allison to live here," he announced. "The plan is to have her move in during Christmas break. That way we can all help her. It's not going to be pleasant trying to move everything during the middle of winter, but I think with us all working together, we can make it fun. But I want to know if there are any objections first?"
"Is she going to sleep in the guest house?" Brit asked.
"No, dear. She's going to sleep in my room."
"Why?"
Lissa and Jeff both couldn't control their laughter. It was a simple question, but it had a difficult answer, especially for a ten-year-old.
Greg handled it beautifully. "Because husbands and wives always sleep in the same room, and I want her to get used to it before we get married."
"Okay," said Brit, accepting the answer.
"So are we all agreed?"
The kids all nodded their acceptance enthusiastically.
So that was that. In just a couple of weeks, Allison became just like one of the family. She accompanied them when they went out to a Christmas tree farm that happened to be only a few miles away and picked out a nice, tall tree to set up in the great hall. Then she spent the rest of the day helping them decorate it (and Jeff had never been so enthusiastic about decorating a Christmas tree since he had been a child).
The semester came to a close and Christmas vacation started. On the last day of school, Allison came to pick them up. It was just the way Jeff had imagined. He left his friends standing around gawking as he climbed into the car with the most gorgeous woman that any of them had ever seen. Unfortunately he had to sit in the back seat, as Brit had claimed the front, but that was fine. They made a stop at the high school to pick up Lissa, then they all drove home.
Over the next few days they made a dozen trips into town with the van to help haul Allison's things from her apartment. She had a surprising amount of stuff for such a small apartment, and most of it ended up in the garage. Then they all helped clean her apartment, which was surprisingly pain-free considering Jeff usually made it a habit not to clean anything if he could avoid it. Of course, Jeff could enjoy standing in a pit full of rattlesnakes if Allison were there with him.
For the first few days, she made it a point to be fully (and immaculately) dressed every morning before the children got up. Then on the fifth day, as if her self-consciousness had suddenly switched itself off, she started wearing a bathrobe in the morning as she fixed breakfast for everyone. With her hair uncombed and her face free of makeup, she still looked stunning, but then, she would probably look stunning wearing a burlap sack. In fact, Jeff liked her most like this, strange as it was. For one thing, she was the type of woman who looked extremely sexy in a bathrobe. For another, there was something about her not being all dressed up that made her seem less like a goddess and more like a real person. That made her more approachable, and he found he was most comfortable talking with her like that, not that she had ever been really uncomfortable to talk with in the first place. In fact, she was beginning to take on the role of a member of the family now, and his impression of her had changed from a mysterious and gorgeous woman to a familiar and gorgeous woman.
As soon as she moved in, she insisted on doing the cooking, since none of the others except for Lissa had shown the slightest interest in it. She had Lissa help her in the kitchen as much as possible, partly to give the girl some experience cooking, and partly just to talk with her. Whatever had happened that weekend when they had spent the day together, the two oldest women of the Primdale household were quickly becoming good friends. To Brit and Lissa, she seemed more like a big sister than a mother. To Jeff, though, she was still an object of fantasy, and it looked like it would remain that way for a long time. Greg, of course, looked happier than he had in months, if not years.
A couple of days before Christmas, Jeff woke up before everyone except Allison. He showered and headed downstairs, where he found her in the kitchen scrambling eggs. She greeted him with a cheerful "Good morning" and turned back to her task. He sat down at the table and just watched her. That had become one of his favorite pastimes lately.
A few minutes later, he remembered something she had mentioned the day they had spent alone together. She had said that she liked to play computer games with her students. That brought up an interesting question, which he decided to ask her. "Allison, when you taught high school, were you like you are now?"
"What do you mean?" she asked without turning around.
"I mean, you're not like a mom at all."
"Thank you, dear. I'm hoping not to be."
"So when you taught high school, did you act... well, did you act more like a student than a teacher?"
She remained quiet for a moment, and Jeff wondered if he had said something to upset her. He hoped she wasn't mad; he hadn't ever seen her lose her temper and he didn't want to be the one who caused it.
"I suppose that's one way of looking at it," she finally replied, still facing away from him. "I guess I never learned to grow up. I've never really thought of myself as an adult. So when I taught, yes, I really was more like a student than a teacher. At least I felt that way, and maybe my students did too. I suppose you could say I've never been comfortable being an authority figure because I don't like to get in the way of people's fun."
"So is that why you lost your job? Because you couldn't handle being an authority figure?"
"In a way. Some day I'll explain it to you, but not today. I'm just not ready to tell you."
"Why not?"
She sighed. "Because I'm afraid of what you'll think of me."
"I think you're perfect!"
"Exactly. I wouldn't want to spoil that, because even though I know I'm far from perfect, I'd like you to keep thinking of me that way for a while. It does wonders for the self-esteem."
"I can't believe you have any self-esteem problems."
"You'd be surprised. So do you mind if I hold off on telling you why I lost my job?"
"Not really. But you have to promise to tell me some day."
"Okay, I promise."
"And just for the record, you would have been my favorite teacher."
She turned around, a broad smile on her face. "Thank you, Jeff. That's just what I needed to hear right now." She came over and hugged him, and Jeff's grin was, if it were possible, twice as broad as Allison's.
On the morning of Christmas Eve, Greg and Allison decided to set a date for the wedding. Allison wanted a spring wedding, when all the flowers were in bloom, which would give them about five months to plan. Upon consulting the calendar, they realized that May 19th was the six-month anniversary of when they had first met, and furthermore, since it was a Saturday, the kids would be out of school that day. It seemed like the perfect day for the wedding.
They announced the plans to the children, with mixed results. Lissa and Brit were ecstatic; just the thought of the wedding filled them with glee. Jeff just smiled and shrugged. It sounded boring, but it was necessary after all, just something to get over with.
Allison called her parents to tell them the good news. She had made no secret to them of her plans, and though they weren't exactly happy with the idea of her marrying someone for money, they gave her a cautious congratulations. Greg spent an hour talking with them on the phone, assuring them that he would take good care of their daughter, and that everyone in the family was happy with the arrangement. He even joked that he was nervous about eventually meeting them because it had been over fifteen years since had last gone through the ordeal of meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time. By the time he was finished, they seemed to be much more at ease with the situation. Allison then talked with her sister Rachael, who was home from college for the break, and that conversation was a lot more cheerful. Jeff couldn't help but overhear half of it, and from the sound of it, Rachael was just as much a tease as Brit, despite being eight years older. The interesting thing, though, was that Allison didn't seem to mind. Until that point, Jeff had thought that teasing was something mean, but listening in on Allison, he realized that it didn't have to be that way.
Dinner on Christmas Eve was always a feast at the Primdale house, and this was no exception. It consisted of honey-glazed ham, fresh-baked rolls, fruit salad, and gingerbread cookies for dessert. Greg and Allison opened a bottle of champagne, while the kids had sparkling cider. Afterward, they all sat around talking and laughing and joking and teasing and generally having fun until bed time.
On most nights Jeff and Brit at least tried to stall before bed, but this time they wanted to get to sleep as soon as possible so that they could wake up early the next day.
Brit was, of course, the first one awake on Christmas morning. Though she was old enough that she didn't really believe in Santa any more, she liked to jokingly pretend that she did. The rest of the family enjoyed her jokes because it really helped to put them in the Christmas spirit.
The first thing she did was scamper through the bathroom into Jeff's bedroom and jump on him, waking him up instantly. While he would have normally gotten mad at her for that, he was in too much of a good mood. He merely reached up and tickled her, causing her to squeal and dash out of the room.
By the time he got out of bed, stretched, and used the bathroom, Brit had also similarly roused Lissa, so the three of them made their way to the top of the stairs, where they gazed on the multitude of presents under the tree. They scurried down the stairs to go knock on their father's and Allison's bedroom door.
Ten minutes later, they all sat around the tree, eagerly anticipating the opening of the presents.
"So how do you normally do the presents around here?" asked Allison.
Greg laughed. "It's really a sight to behold. Lissa, what's the record so far?"
"Twelve minutes," she replied, "Set three years ago."
"You're not serious?" asked Allison with a grin.
"All right, kids. The target is twelve minutes," Greg announced, staring down at his watch. The children crowded around the tree, hands ready and itching to start tearing into the presents. "Ready..." said Greg, "Set... Go!"
Suddenly the air was filled with torn wrapping paper as the kids dived in. They at least read the names on the tags and passed them around to the right people, but in some cases the wrapping paper was still literally falling to the ground from one present as the next was being stripped. The occasional present for Greg or Allison of course went to the adults and were opened slowly and carefully, but by agreement those presents didn't count in the race. Also, any presents with a tag that showed they were from relatives or friends went into a pile to be opened separately, so that they could remember who sent what. All of the gifts marked "From Santa" or without a giver's name, of course, didn't last three seconds once they got into the right hands.
They missed their target by about two minutes. The clock showed fourteen minutes before the last of the presents had been opened. Allison applauded for their valiant effort anyway.
At that point they had three different piles of opened presents and another stack of gifts from real people that Greg insisted that they write down so that they could send off thank-you notes. That was one thing that the former Mrs. Primdale had done every year, and Allison was happy to take up the duty. She got out a pad of paper and wrote down which present came from whom.
The gifts from Allison were, not surprisingly, perfect. To Lissa she gave a large cookbook, with notes on every ingredient in every recipe explaining why it was included, as well as cooking tips and discussions on why certain flavors complimented each other. To Jeff she gave a computer game that had just come out and that he had mentioned in passing that he wanted. To Brit she gave an instruction book on drawing landscapes, complete with examples and step-by-step illustrated directions on how to draw them.
"But didn't you get a present for Dad?" asked Lissa.
"I'll give it to him later," Allison answered with a sly grin.
Jeff and Lissa flashed each other knowing glances, but Brit just shrugged, not understanding but too distracted by all of her gifts.
The kids played with their new toys the rest of the day while Greg and Allison relaxed in the front room. Jeff, of course, spent most of his time in his bedroom playing his new game on the computer, except when he had to come down to eat. It was that, more than anything else, that kept him from fighting with Brit, and somehow they made it through the entire day without even the slightest argument between them, a new record for the two of them.
Later, Allison insisted that they write thank-you notes to everyone who had sent them presents. Jeff wasn't particularly enthused about that, but he managed to survive, especially when she said that when it came time for her turn, instead of a note she would accept a hug from each of them instead. He was more than happy to comply.
All good things must come to an end, and Christmas day was no exception. Eventually bedtime came around, and despite their grumbling and complaining, the children headed upstairs.
For Greg and Allison, however, Christmas wasn't over. Allison suggested that they too go to bed, but the look on her face implied that it wasn't to sleep. He was happy to take her up on that offer, so he kissed her, took her hand, and led her into their bedroom.
While he undressed, Allison disappeared into the bathroom. Greg climbed into bed, eager to see what she had in mind.
He wasn't disappointed. When the bathroom door opened, his eyes grew wide with delight. She stood there in a red, see-through baby-doll nightie with white fur strategically placed to cover her breasts and thigh, and a cute little Santa Claus hat.
"I hope you don't mind," she said. "This is actually your present, but it seems to fit me better than you," she giggled.
"I don't mind you wearing it for a few minutes," he grinned, "but you'd better take it off pretty soon."
"Oh, I plan to," she replied. "Merry Christmas."
She strode over, climbed up onto the bed, and attacked him.
The outfit didn't last long. Between the kissing, rubbing, fondling, and groping, their clothes didn't stand a chance. Quickly the garments lay in a pile on the floor. Somehow Allison managed to keep the Santa hat on, to his amusement, as she straddled his waist and rode him. She looked so cute like that, with the white tassel spilling down over one of her ears and her mussed hair peeking out from under the brim. He groped her gorgeous tits as she fucked him passionately, deeply, almost violently. Fortunately the walls in the house were thick and nearly soundproof, because otherwise the children would have surely heard the raw, animalistic sounds that they both were making.
He hit his orgasm first, but she wouldn't let him stop until she also climaxed. Only then did she lie down on top of him and let the hat fall off her head. Exhausted and happy, they both fell asleep.
Mrs. Allison Primdale
After the holidays, plans for the wedding seemed to dominate their activities. Greg let Allison take the lead; he had never been big on weddings, so he simply did what she told him and gave input whenever she asked. It was just as well, because she seemed to enjoy planning everything.
The first day of school after the break, all of Jeff's friends asked about the beautiful woman who had picked him up at school. At first he joked that she was his girlfriend, which of course they didn't believe, then after having his fun he admitted that she was going to marry his dad. Then they teased him about having a hot stepmom, their comments ranging from playful jabbing from Rick to obscene suggestions from Jesse. Jeff wasn't embarrassed; he was too happy about the situation to let it bother him, and he had long ago grown used to hearing Jesse's perverted fantasies. Instead, Jeff told them, "You should see her in a bathrobe. It's too bad you'll never get the chance." That shut them up fast. Jesse and Mike grinned stupidly, and Rick looked like he was about to pass out from the mental image.
Brit's friends were too young to understand all of the implications of the change in the family, so for the most part it was just one more item to bring up during their unending prattering. Lissa's friends, however, were all excited that she was going to have a new mother. They had been very supportive during the divorce, and now once they realized that Lissa liked Allison, they were all happy for her.
Things began to settle down into a routine at the Primdale house. While the novelty of Allison's presence wore off after a few weeks, the cheerful atmosphere that she seemed to emit remained. Greg just grew happier and happier as time went on and the pain and anguish of his divorce to his first wife faded, to be replaced by Allison's fun and energetic spirit.
Jeff also seemed much happier than he had been in years, possibly forever. Part of it was simply that Allison was easy to talk to, so he found himself spending more time being social than ever before. It was quite obvious that he really liked her.
In March, Mr. and Mrs. Craven flew in to meet their future son-in-law and his family. They turned out not to be much older than Greg, which was a little awkward, but after joking about it for a bit, they seemed to accept the idea. It turned out that they were very nice and although still a little cautious about the whole situation, they were surprisingly tolerant. Greg had been nervous about meeting Mr. Craven ever since Allison had mentioned he had been an officer in the Army, but the man turned out to be nowhere near as intimidating as the mental image Greg had in his head.
"I want you to know," said Mr. Craven as they sat together in the dining room the day after they arrived, "that we're both opposed to what Allison's doing. Not because of anything to do with you personally, just that we don't agree with her decision. But we've also decided to support her in it. I hope I'm wrong in my apprehensions and everything turns out well."
"I can give you my assurance that Allison's going to be all right," Greg told them. "I'll let her tell you how she feels, but as for me, I feel twenty years younger. She's really the best thing that's happened to me in a long time."
Allison beamed at the compliment.
"Thank you, dear," she smiled. "And I'm so happy about this whole thing. I was scared at first about what I was doing, but Greg's been great. He's made me feel so welcome here that I can't imagine what I was so nervous about in the first place."
"So... are you two in love?" asked Mrs. Craven, a little hesitantly.
"No," Allison replied immediately. "We've talked it over, and we're both fine with that. There's no telling what the future may bring, but for now, we're satisfied just to like each other. It's not like we're mortal enemies or anything; we're friends. With benefits," she added with a grin.
"And what about the kids?" asked Mr. Craven. "I like the idea of being a grandpa, but suddenly having three grandkids, especially since the oldest is already fifteen, is a little disconcerting."
"I absolutely adore the children," Allison said. "Lissa was hesitant at first, but ever since she decided to like me, she's been wonderful. Jeff's been very nice to me right from the beginning, and Brit's the cutest little girl you've ever seen. Sometimes I just want to grab them all and hug them."
"And the kids all love her too," Greg added. "So don't worry about this relationship not working out. Allison's felt like a part of this family ever since we met her."
The Cravens stayed for Brit's eleventh birthday party on the twenty-second. Jeff had never been a fan of other people's birthdays, especially since Brit invited over several of her bratty little friends. But he promised himself he would be nice to her because it was her big day after all. He even bought her a present, which he and Allison had picked out for her (he even found shopping tolerable with Allison). It was a shirt with the words "I wear my emotions on my sleeves" on the front, and all over the long sleeves were words like "happy," "angry," "competitive," "moody," and "flirtatious." It described Brit perfectly, and it was even more appropriate coming from Jeff, being a subtle joke about her personality. Despite the teasing nature of the gift, she seemed to really like it, and gave him a hug. He didn't particularly like hugs from her, but then, he really didn't like hugs from anyone except Allison. Of course, there were a couple of girls at school that he wouldn't mind hugging, Kari Williams for instance, not that he would ever have the chance with a popular girl like her.
A week or two later, they began sending out invitations for the wedding. Allison and Greg went through their lists, and the kids all helped stuff, seal, address, and stamp envelopes.
It was during that time that Greg made his last bitter comment about his ex-wife.
"Do you mind if we send an invitation to that rotten bitch?" he asked Allison. "I'm sure she won't come. I just want to taunt her."
Allison laughed. "Your ex-wife is your concern. You do whatever you want."
Greg grabbed an envelope, stuck an invitation in, then sealed and stamped it. The others watched in amusement as he proved that it was possible for a person to address an envelope in a malicious fashion.
Later that month Greg had his lawyer draw up the prenuptial agreement. It was pretty simple, since Allison only had her car and a few belongings, and she didn't care to take anything away from Greg if later on down the line they decided it wasn't working out. They did, however, add the unusual clause stating that an affair on Greg's part did not constitute grounds for divorce, since Allison had already told him he could have a mistress on the side if he wanted.
April came and went in a flurry of wedding preparations, and before they knew it, May had arrived with only a couple of weeks before the big event. Greg and Allison met often with the wedding planner that they had hired, with increasing frequency as the days counted down. There were very few snags; the biggest one was that the professional photographer that they had hired had to cancel, but she gave them the name of one of her colleagues, who agreed to fill in for her at the last minute. Other than that, things seemed to go smoothly.
The weather turned out to be perfect for the wedding. Just as Brit had told Allison, the park was extremely beautiful in the spring with the flowers in bloom. The family went down a couple of days early to look it over. Brit of course wanted to go so that she could take some more pictures of the park, this time in the spring. Lissa always enjoyed Allison's company so that she didn't want to be left behind. Greg felt it more a duty than anything else, although he admittedly was getting excited with the wedding only a couple of days away. And of course, Jeff liked to do anything when Allison was around.
There was a covered shelter that they could use in case of rain, but it didn't look like it would be needed, since the weatherman predicted blue skies all weekend. So they picked a large open area in the park where they could hold the ceremony. Allison took Greg's arm and led him all over, jabbering away about where everything would go and how they would set things up. The two of them looked very happy together.
Jeff's feelings were surprisingly simple. Considering that the most gorgeous woman he had ever met was about to marry another man, it would probably have been natural for him to feel jealous. But there were two reasons why he felt only joy. First, he had never really expected for a moment that a romantic relationship between Allison and himself was remotely possible, so he was content to let it remain in his fantasies, where it could do no harm. Second, the very act of her marriage to his father meant that she would become a part of the family, to be with them for the rest of their lives. So he was more than willing to let things continue on their course.
The day before the wedding, Allison's family flew in to town, and Greg and Allison went to pick them up at the airport while the kids were in school. When Jeff arrived home that day, he was in for a delightful shock. Allison's parents had brought their other daughter Rachael with them. She was nearly as lovely as Allison herself. She had the same long, brown hair and big, bright eyes as her sister. Even her smile was the same. It was unfortunate that they would only be staying until after the wedding, when they would fly back home again. Jeff certainly wouldn't have minded spending extra time with Rachael. But she was a freshman in college, and had to get back to school to take her exams. It was only by luck that she was able to take Friday off to fly in with her parents.
Being Allison's sister, that technically made her his aunt, but she was way too young for him to think of her like that. Maybe a cousin, perhaps. Yes, that would do. He would think of her as a cousin.
His grandparents arrived later that afternoon; they had flown in from Nebraska. He liked his grandparents, even though his grandma insisted on hugging him. She was one of the people he didn't like to hug.
The grandparents got the spare room, and Allison's family got the guesthouse out back. After eating dinner and spending a couple of hours talking, they all decided to go to bed to get a good night's sleep in preparation for the big day.
The children went upstairs to their respective rooms. Jeff had stripped down to his boxer shorts and was just climbing into bed when he heard a knock at the door. Allison stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Jeff suddenly felt a little self-conscious; he was, after all, almost naked in front of her.
If it bothered her, she didn't show it. She merely pulled up a chair and sat down by his bed.
"Jeff," she said, "I wanted to talk to each of you one last time before I marry your father."
"Sure," he said. He always enjoyed talking with her.
"You've been great these last couple of months," she continued. "Always helpful and kind and full of compliments."
"It's easy to give you compliments," he smiled, "because you're so deserving of them."
"Thank you, Jeff. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate how well you've treated me, making me feel right at home. I've never had a son or brother before. And although I've spent a lot of time with teenagers, it's a new experience for me to have a teenage boy as part of my family. I have no problem with Lissa and Brit, because I grew up with a little sister so I just think of them like I think of Rachael. But with you, it's different."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Just that it's not something I have much experience with. Oh, I could take on the role of a teacher and feel right at home, but I don't want that kind of relationship with you. I'd rather be a lot less formal and a lot more friendly."
"So far I think you're doing a wonderful job."
"Thanks. I just want you to know that although you might think I'm perfect, I'm far from it. So in the future I might make mistakes. Not big ones, hopefully. I mean, I'm not going to turn into a wicked stepmother like in the fairy tales, or try to bump off your dad and claim his fortune. On the other hand, I can't offer any proof of that, so you'll just have to take my word for it."
Jeff laughed at that.
"And I can't guarantee that I'll do everything right," she continued. "The only promise I can give you is that I'll try. Knowing that, I want to ask you one more time, is it okay with you if I marry your father?"
"Absolutely!" he exclaimed without hesitation. "I really want you to be part of this family."
"Me too," she smiled, then drew him in and hugged him tightly. It felt a little awkward; he was wearing only his shorts, after all. But it felt very nice. Her hands on his back and the feel of her body next to his with only a single layer of clothing between them, and especially her cheek against his own gave him a wonderful thrill.
Then she turned her head and kissed him on the cheek.
"It's all right if I do that, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, tomorrow I'll officially be your mother, and it's perfectly natural for mothers to kiss their sons."
"Of course it's all right," he replied with a smile. "Why shouldn't it be?"
She drew back and looked into his eyes, as if searching for any clue to his feelings.
"I suppose if you have to ask that question, then there's no need for me to worry about it."
"What?"
"Never mind, dear. Thank you for accepting me."
She released him, then stood up. "Can I ask you a favor, Jeff?" she said.
"Anything."
"I don't want anything to spoil my big day tomorrow. Promise me you'll try not to fight with Brit. I'll get the same promise from her so it shouldn't be a problem."
"Okay, I promise not to fight with Brit," he smiled. "I'll fight with Lissa instead."
Allison laughed.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he told her. "How about I just promise to be on my best behavior? That should take care of everything."
"Good enough," she replied, then disappeared out the door.
The next morning, they were all up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the event. They all piled into the van and drove down to the park one last time for a rehearsal. Everyone involved was there, the chairs and tables were all set up, and the wedding planner had them go over everything twice to make sure they knew what they were doing. Then they returned home to get dressed and groomed for the big event.
An hour before the wedding, Greg took Jeff and his sisters in the car down to the park again, leaving Allison in her mother's and sister's hands.
"I'm not supposed to see the bride in her wedding dress beforehand, after all," he explained. That meant that Jeff had to stand there as his father greeted the arriving guests.
Jeff wasn't particularly thrilled about the ceremony; he wasn't big on formal events like this. At least he had a part; his dad had asked him to be best man. So he didn't have to just sit there bored the whole time.
In contrast, Lissa and Brit were ecstatic the whole day. Allison had asked them to be her bridesmaids, with Rachael as the maid of honor.
Over all, the experience was relatively painless. Jeff had to wear a penguin suit (or "tuxedo," as his father called it) and he had to stand up front with his dad, but soon enough the music started and he realized it would all be over soon. Allison began to walk down the aisle accompanied by her father and followed by his sisters. She looked absolutely stunning in her white dress, but that was nothing unusual for her. Jeff just smiled with everyone else as she approached. Surprisingly, she gave him a wink as she neared. He didn't know what she meant by that, but it was probably just innocent fun. Then she turned her full attention to Greg.
Jeff just watched her as the priest said a few words, then one by one Greg and Allison said "I do," then they kissed. Rachael, Lissa, and Brit were almost in tears by this time, which Jeff just figured was a girl thing. Then the audience got up out of their seats and Greg and Allison began to hug everyone.
That was it. He was surprised by how short the wedding was, and how pain-free. Granted, he had to stand in line and shake the hands of a number of people equal to the population of a small country after that, and then he had to sit by while his dad and new stepmom opened a bunch of presents, all of which seemed pretty boring. He had to pose for a bunch of pointless pictures with the rest of his family, but he found that he really didn't mind so much.
Some time during the event they had cake and other refreshments. Jeff sat at a table between his sisters. They talked and joked, and because of their promise, Jeff and Brit somehow managed to keep from fighting.
Rachael asked if she could join them, so they made it a foursome. Normally Jeff would have hated having to spend time with three girls, but Rachael seemed pretty fun to be around.
"So Lissa," she asked, "how does it feel to have an aunt who's only three years older than you?"
"About the same as it does to have a stepmother who's only eight years older than me," she laughed.
"Good point. I have to hand it to Allison, she sure knows how to pick a husband."
"You mean my dad?" asked Brit. "What's so special about him?"
"He's rich," replied Rachael.
They all broke out laughing at that. "So that's the most important qualification?" asked Jeff.
"No, the most important qualification is the size of his... um..."
"Rachael!" Lissa exclaimed, growing red.
"House!" Rachael grinned. "That's the word I'm looking for. But seriously, they seem really happy, and that's all that matters in the end, isn't it?"
"I suppose so."
"So Jeff, what do you think of my sister?" asked Rachael.
"She's amazing," he replied. "I can't think of a better person I'd like to have as a stepmother."
"Yeah, sometimes I'm jealous of her."
"Why, because she's so perfect?" asked Lissa.
"No, because she gets to spend a lot of time with Jeff," she said with a wink. Jeff felt himself growing red.
"Ew!" Brit giggled. "Auntie Rachael has the hots for her little nephew Geoffrey!" she teased.
"I'm just kidding," Rachael laughed. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Jeff. But seriously, it looks like my sister has found the perfect family to settle down with. I've talked to her a lot on the phone and this weekend, and I can tell she adores all of you. I'm just jealous that she's found someone who can make her truly happy, that's all."
"You will too someday," Lissa insisted.
"I know," Rachael smiled. "Don't get the wrong impression; it's not putting me in a bad mood at all. I'm happy for her, really. And I'm having a great time."
"Me too," said Lissa. "What about you, Jeff?"
"What?" he asked. "Oh, sure."
Rachael laughed. "Typical boy," she said with a smile. "About as emotional as a rock."
"It's not that," he said. "It's just that weddings aren't my thing."
"And how many weddings have you been to?"
"Including this one? One," he replied.
Just then the live band started playing a romantic tune, and Greg and Allison stepped out into the middle of the field and began to dance. Jeff looked on with awe; he had never seen his dad dance before, even with his mom. But together with his new bride they looked surprisingly confident and graceful.
A few minutes later, Allison leaned in and whispered something in Greg's ear, and he smiled and nodded. They left the floor and approached the table where the kids sat.
"May I have the honor of this dance, young lady?" Greg asked Lissa, who giggled.
"Sure, Daddy," she said, taking his hand and walking with him back out to the floor.
To Jeff's delight and horror, Allison came over to him and asked him to dance with her.
"Uh..." he said. "I don't know how to dance."
"Don't worry, it's easy. I'll show you." She took his hand and led him over to the dance floor. She showed him where to put his hands, and then they began to dance.
It really wasn't all that difficult, although admittedly his technique left much to be desired. But really they just turned in slow circles, which was easy enough.
A few other couples joined in then so he didn't feel so self-conscious. In fact, it was rather pleasant to hold Allison like this, even with about a billion people watching.
"So how does it feel to be Mrs. Allison Primdale?" he asked her.
"Wonderful," she smiled. "You can't imagine how happy I am."
"Well if you're happy, I'm happy," he said.
"Thanks, Jeff. You're so sweet."
When the music stopped, Allison thanked him and let him go sit back down as her father took his place. Greg escorted Lissa back to the table where he exchanged her for Brit, and then the music and dancing started up again.
Before he had a chance to catch his breath, Rachael grabbed his hand.
"But I--" he started to protest.
"Don't you know it's rude to refuse to dance with a girl if she asks you?" Rachael told him with a grin.
"Sorry."
"That's okay. Just dance with me and we'll call it even."
So once more he had to go through with it. Actually, he didn't really mind. Holding Allison like that had actually been fun, and it was the same with her little sister Rachael, especially since Rachael was closer to his own age and therefore it didn't feel quite so awkward. Granted, she was still five years older than him, but they were both teenagers, so it was all right.
That seemed to set off a chain reaction among his sisters. He had to dance with Lissa next, and then even little Brit, to his annoyance. No doubt the three girls had schemed this between them to maximize his discomfort. Allison had probably even been part of the conspiracy. But he had promised to be on his best behavior, and to his credit, he kept his word, even when he had to dance with his bratty little sister.
Actually, seeing the smile on her face as she danced with him touched his heart, although he hated to admit it. She had a nice smile, though he rarely got to see it. It felt surprisingly good to know that he was helping her to enjoy herself.
Finally, after a couple of hours of surprisingly little torment, it was over. The family drove back up the hill to the mansion, where Greg and Allison changed into clothes more appropriate for traveling. They had a plane to catch to take them on their honeymoon to Hawaii. Allison insisted on kissing everyone goodbye, then she and her new husband climbed into the car and drove off to the airport.
Jeff went up to his room and collapsed on his bed, exhausted from the events of the day. So it was official now. Allison was here to stay. He couldn't remember ever being so happy.
Photogenic
That night, Greg and Allison stayed in the bridal suite of a luxury hotel in the city before their flight to Hawaii in the morning. They could have booked a later flight that same day, but with the hassle of the airport and the length of the flight, they would arrive late at night and exhausted from the trip. Most times he wouldn't have minded, but he wanted to be able to relax and enjoy his wedding night. There would be plenty of time to lie out on the beach or go swimming or have fun in a tropical paradise later.
After checking in, they took a cab downtown to a five star restaurant for dinner. Normally Greg didn't like to eat in places this fancy. Despite being quite wealthy, he was also a practical man, and would often be just as happy running down to the nearest fast food joint to pick up some hamburgers. But today he had an excuse to go all out, and he planned to enjoy himself.
It was hard not to with Allison there with him. Especially now that they had tied the knot and they belonged to each other. It hardly seemed fair that he should get to live the rest of his life with the most perfect woman in the world. The sting of his recent divorce had immediately dulled upon his first meeting with Allison, and now it had just about disappeared completely.
As he thought about it, he realized he hadn't even been this happy the first time he had gotten married. Admittedly some of that was due to the fact that he was older and wiser, and some of it was because he had already gone through it once and didn't feel so nervous this time around. But most of it, he concluded, was because Allison made him feel so comfortable. Ironically, that was partly because he didn't love her, so he didn't feel such a need to impress her, so he could just relax and be himself. Still, he enjoyed her company more than almost anyone else's, and now he was going to have all the opportunities he ever wanted to spend time with her.
She looked very beautiful sitting there in front of him, in a silk dress that really emphasized her charms. It looked almost oriental, perhaps a bit like a kimono. Greg had always thought silk dresses looked especially sexy. He hadn't recalled mentioning that to Allison, but maybe he had, and she was doing this to please him. Either way, he couldn't believe how gorgeous she appeared in it.
"You look happy," she commented over dinner.
"I am happy," he replied. "Tell me something. Why would a gorgeous, confident, graceful and charming woman like you ever want to marry a crotchety old geezer like me?"
"You're no geezer," she laughed. "Minimum age for that is fifty, and that's only in rare circumstances. You're not even forty yet."
"Good point."
"And I already told you why I married you," she joked. "For your money, of course."
"Yes, there is that," he admitted. "So is that the only reason? I mean, I was kind of hoping that... well..."
"I really like you, Greg, if that's what you're getting at. We have fun together."
"You can't be talking about me," he grinned. "I'm a boring old fuddy-duddy, a strict and boring man who's too wrapped up in maintaining an illusion of dignity to really enjoy myself. I think the only reason we have so much fun is because of you."
"You're solid, Greg. I mean, you're well-grounded. And sometimes I'm not strict or dignified enough, so you help to keep me from going too wild. And I don't care if I'm the only reason we have fun; the point is that we do. We're good for each other."
"Well, you're certainly good for me, and I hope I'm good for you too."
"You are."
"I just sometimes can't believe how lucky I am to be married to a woman like you. Is there anything wrong with you at all? Because if there is, I can't find it."
"Oh, believe me, I have my share of secrets," Allison admitted. "Maybe some day I'll share them with you. But let's not go into those right now. I want to keep living this fantasy for as long as I can."
"Me too," he smiled.
"Look, if you want, I'd love to help you learn to relax and enjoy yourself. Maybe you just need a taste of the wild side."
"Maybe I do. Do you have anything in mind?"
"Nothing in particular, but I'm sure I can come up with some ideas. Do you want me to start doing some research? I'll bet I could find some pretty interesting activities for a couple like us."
"I don't know. It sounds a little scary."
Allison laughed. "Well, maybe I'll take it slow. We can gradually work our way up."
Greg nodded. She was probably right. Maybe he needed to try something new, maybe even something a little wild and crazy. Allison seemed to have no problem with that sort of thing, so he would let her come up with the ideas.
After dinner, they returned to their suite, where Allison immediately threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed her back passionately. As soon as she broke away, she began to slip out of that slinky little silk dress. Greg liked a lot of things about Allison, but her enthusiasm for sex was at the top of the list. Pretty soon they were both naked and kissing again.
"I know this isn't the first time we've done this," Allison told him, "but since this is our wedding night, I'd like it to be special."
"What did you have in mind?" he grinned.
Allison opened her suitcase and pulled out four sets of handcuffs.
"Oh my god!" he breathed. "You're serious?" This was certainly something he hadn't ever done with his first wife. She would have never gone for anything the least bit kinky. The fact that it was so new to him excited him tremendously. He had a little reservation about it, but he realized that because Allison was his wife, there was nothing wrong with a little bondage play with her.
"Four sets of handcuffs, four limbs, four bedposts," she told him. "Get the picture?" She grabbed a scarf, then unzipped a pouch in the inner lining of the suitcase and brought out a feather.
"So what are those for?" he asked.
"The scarf is to use as a blindfold. And the feather is for a little extra fun. Tonight I want to be the one chained to the bed. Maybe we'll let you try it out later. Put the blindfold on so that I don't know where you're going to touch me with the feather. It's all the better that way because I can't anticipate it so it comes as a shock each time."
"You know this from experience?" he asked.
"Remember those secrets I told you about earlier?"
"Say no more," he grinned.
Allison lay down on the bed and spread her arms and legs out toward the bedposts. It was such a vulnerable yet inviting position that Greg couldn't help but grin with excitement. He first made sure that Allison had brought the key for the handcuffs (wouldn't it be awkward to have to call a locksmith!), then locked her in to the bedposts. He slipped the blindfold over her eyes and fastened it in back.
"Now all you have to do," Allison told him, "is run that feather over my body. Use short strokes, and touch me in different places. Don't follow any pattern or I'll be able to anticipate it, which will spoil the fun."
"Are you ticklish?" he asked.
"A little, but that's all a part of what makes it feel so good."
Greg lifted the feather, then experimentally ran it lightly over Allison's ribs. She gasped at the contact, her mouth opening into a wide grin.
"Perfect!" she exclaimed. "Just like that."
With those words of encouragement, Greg continued. He touched the tip of the feather to her hip, with a similar reaction. There was something exciting and erotic about the whole thing, and not just because she was naked and bound in front of him. It was a little playful; in one sense little more than a children's game. More than once when the kids were growing up, he had caught Jeff tormenting Brit in a similar way by tying her up and tickling her, though always with their clothes on of course.
On the other hand, seeing Allison's body squirm under his ministrations and watching her gasp every breath had a powerfully arousing effect on him. He had never been into sexual games like this, especially bondage play. Maybe that was because his ex-wife was just as boring as he was, so neither of them were creative enough to come up with ideas like this. Allison, though, made it fun. He had a suspicion that sex would never get dull with her.
When he touched the tip of the feather against one of her nipples, she squealed in delight. He loved the sight and sound of her lying there crying out with excitement, made all the more intense by the fact that she couldn't see what was coming up so each stroke with the feather came as a surprise to her. He enjoyed seeing her breasts jiggle as she laughed from the ticklish sensation, and the nipples swelling in her arousal.
If he got this much of a reaction out of her just from touching her nipples, he was interested in seeing what would happen if he touched a certain other place. He took the feather and ran it lightly over her exposed pussy lips.
She shrieked this time, and her hips raised right up off of the bed. Afterward, she laughed at her own reaction.
"Oh god, Greg!" she breathed. "That was intense! Do it again."
He did. Allison gritted her teeth and tried to suppress the groan that built up inside her, but it escaped anyway. As he worked all over her body, she moaned and squealed and panted and wriggled and squirmed. More than once he suspected she had an orgasm, though she was laughing and moaning and wiggling around so much the rest of the time that he couldn't be sure. He nearly climaxed a couple of times himself just from watching her. More than once he was tempted just to climb right on top of her and make love to her. She would probably have been willing, but he wanted to draw this out as long as possible. He was just having too much fun.
After about twenty minutes of their little game, he set the feather down. Instead, he reached out with his own hands and slipped them onto her breasts. She moaned with pleasure as he massaged them firmly but gently. It wasn't the first time he had touched her there, but he never grew tired of the feeling of her gorgeous, soft breasts in his hands. He had never seen a more perfect pair, even on the rare occasions when he snuck peeks at dirty magazines when he was growing up.
He let one of his hands slide down her body, coming to rest between her legs. His middle finger pressed into the groove, lubricated by her dampness. She seemed to like that feeling even more than she had liked it on her chest.
This much, at least, was familiar territory. He knew his way around a woman's pussy, and unless Allison was completely different from his ex-wife, he knew a few tricks to really make her feel good.
He needed to stop thinking about that rotten bitch, he decided. Allison was his wife now, and there was no point comparing the two women; Allison would come out on top every time.
"Greg," she breathed. "Take me. Take me now."
He wasn't about to pass up an invitation like that. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips, then, still holding that kiss, he mounted her. He felt the wonderful warmth and softness of her body as he lay down on top of her. He pressed his thighs against hers and enjoyed the slick dampness as he slid inside. Allison cried out again, and this time he felt like joining her. It was such a wonderful feeling to make love to her like this, to see her face so close to his, to kiss her luscious lips, to press his body against her own. She belonged to him tonight, and he to her. She had once told him that she wouldn't mind him having a mistress on the side, but why would he ever want that when he had such a woman as her to take care of his needs?
He let himself go, thrusting into her hard and deep. She seemed to enjoy it, so he didn't hold back. He heard his own grunting mixed with her moans, loving the chorus that they made. No doubt people in the nearby rooms could hear them, but right now he didn't care. Allison was his wife, and he was going to take advantage of that privilege, damn it!
She struggled at her bonds as he pounded into her, but from the smile on her face he could tell that she didn't really want to get free. He wondered if those very restraints added something to the pleasure. Could the straining at the handcuffs actually enhance the sensation? Perhaps it was like stretching when tired or sore; there was a kind of euphoria that came from working those muscles. Plus there was the excitement of being completely at the mercy of someone else. Maybe there was something to this whole bondage idea after all. He ought to give it a try himself some time.
He felt the end approaching, so he thrust even harder and deeper, faster and faster in a violent frenzy. Then suddenly his cock jerked inside of Allison's body, emptying its satisfying load deep within her. He continued to thrust as he shot over and over again as his orgasm overtook him. He loved the intense pleasure, especially with a woman as beautiful as Allison. It was almost unfair just how lucky he was to have her.
As the pleasure dropped off, he collapsed on top of her body. He lay there exhausted for a minute or two, then rolled over off of her. The two of them rested in post-orgasmic bliss for a while, both with broad grins on their faces.
Eventually he managed to work up the willpower to sit up. He grabbed the key to the handcuffs from the nightstand where he had placed it, then unfastened Allison. She immediately took off the blindfold and gazed at him affectionately.
"Wow, Greg!" she breathed. "That was the best sex I've had with you yet! We should do this more often."
He laughed. "Yes we should. Just don't think this gets you off the hook though. You're still going to have to come up with some more wild and crazy ideas to help me get over my inhibitions."
"Don't worry," she said. "This is nothing compared to some of the ideas I have."
"I can't wait."
They got up early the next morning and drove to the airport to catch their plane. Greg normally didn't enjoy aiports or long flights, though he had seen his fair share of both with frequent business trips. He didn't like the hassle of security and checking baggage, the long wait before the flight, or sitting in a too-small seat inside a tin can packed full of other sardines like him. True, he usually flew first class when the company paid for it and on special occasions like this, but he tended to be grouchy and irritable all the same.
With Allison it was different. She made him feel relaxed and comfortable. Her friendly and cheerful manner had a contagious effect on him; he found it impossible to be ill-tempered while talking with her. The wait in the airport seemed like the blink of an eye, and even the flight was just another chance for them to talk and joke and generally enjoy themselves. Before he knew it, the plane was landing in Maui, and the usually annoying flight was just a happy memory.
They collected their luggage, then headed to the rental car counter to retrieve the vehicle they would be using during the vacation. They climbed in and headed toward their lodgings. Greg had rented a quaint yet elegant villa outside of town, a little off the beaten track in fact. The back side had a balcony looking out to the west down to the shore and across the sea. Being a relatively unknown haven, there were few people around, which suited him fine. He understandably wanted a little privacy with his new bride during this vacation. There might be the occasional person or two wandering down the beach, but for the most part, it was like their own private little world.
Allison looked delighted when she saw it. She spoke aloud the words he had been thinking, commenting about how they wouldn't have anything to distract him from the "essential task of making love," as she put it. They unpacked their clothes, then changed into shorts and tee shirts and made their way down to the beach.
It was relatively unoccupied. Across the bay they could see the more crowded beach downtown, and in the opposite direction they noticed some kids playing frisbee about a mile away, but this stretch was theirs alone. They clasped hands and stood there for a while, letting the waves wash over their feet and relaxing in the afternoon sun. It was a very romantic setting, soothing and peaceful and especially pleasant with Allison there by his side. For now he could just forget all of his cares and be at peace.
Of course, they couldn't stay like that forever, and eventually Allison suggested they go for a walk. So they walked along the surf line toward the playing kids. He enjoyed a good walk along the beach, though he usually didn't like crowds. Most of the beaches in northern California where he lived were too cold, and in southern California they were too full of people. This was a good chance for him to have fun his own way.
When they reached the kids, Allison asked them if they could join the game. Since they were all boys between about nine and fourteen, they were all to happy to let such a gorgeous woman play with them. Greg could see the same look in their eyes that he had had in his own the first time he had met her. Allison didn't seem to mind, and he wondered if she really was aware of the effect she had on men. Or boys for that matter.
They played frisbee for a while, having lots of fun. He hadn't realized just how athletic she was, but she ran for the frisbee and made diving catches, one time even ending up in the water. Fortunately the heat of the sun dried her off quickly. Allison certainly knew how to have fun.
Greg found himself spurred on by her example, trying to impress her just like the boys were. Somehow she brought out the inner child in him, a part of him that hadn't shown itself since he was, well, a child. It brought back fond memories of hanging out with his friends, tossing a football around, and showing off for any girls who passed their way.
All too soon it had to end. The mother of one of the boys called them home, so Allison and Greg made their way back up the beach to their villa. They drove into town and found a nice restaurant to eat dinner at, then returned home to relax and enjoy themselves.
After the airport, the flight, and the playing, Allison wanted to soak in a nice, hot bath. She asked Greg if he would join her there, so the two of them stripped off their clothes and climbed into the tub. They took turns washing each other's backs, then they changed positions so that they faced each other. Allison slipped her legs over his so that she was basically straddling his lap, and they made out like teenagers in the back seat of a car. Eventually they got so excited that they made love right there in the bath.
They didn't bother putting on their clothes; there was really no point after all. Instead, they slipped into bed and snuggled with each other until they drifted off to sleep.
When Greg awoke the next morning, he saw Allison standing out on the balcony, resting against the marble railing. Dressed in just her robe with her head turned to the side and her body outlined against a backdrop of palm trees, sea, and early morning sky, he thought she looked more beautiful right then than he had ever seen her. He had a sudden idea. Despite his sleepiness, he couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. He hopped out of bed and reached for his camera.
Allison saw that he was awake and started to come in. "Wait just a minute," he told her, so she returned to the balcony. He pulled the camera out of his case, removed the lens cap, and turned it on.
"Now lean up against the balcony again, just like you were just a minute ago," he told her, and she was happy to comply. "Now turn your head to the side again. Yes. Just like that. Perfect!" He tested the lighting and realized he needed a flash, so he took a few steps back to diffuse the lighting so it wouldn't result in a washed-out image. Then he snapped the picture.
Allison turned and grinned at him. "You know," she said, "If we're going to do this, we might as well go all out. Get your tripod."
Greg was thrilled by her enthusiasm. Any thought of returning to the warm bed immediately fled from his mind. He slipped on his robe and slippers, then fetched the tripod from his suitcase. Having once been quite interested in photography, he was still always on the lookout for photographic opportunities. He had invested in a compact tripod that he took with him on every vacation, just in case he needed it. He set it up in the bedroom and mounted the camera on it, taking a couple of minutes to move it and adjust the zoom for the perfect composition. Then he had Allison resume the same position as before so that he could get another shot just in case the spontaneous nature of the first one caused it not to turn out. He hit the shutter button and took the picture.
"Now face the camera and flash me that gorgeous smile of yours," he told her. She cheerfully obeyed, and he took another picture.
Allison turned out to be an excellent model. He had never doubted that she was photogenic, but her cheerful and enthusiastic attitude, along with her natural grace and comfort in front of the camera gave him plenty of material to work with. As she tried out various poses, he occasionally gave her suggestions, but for the most part she took over. All he had to do was press the button on the camera. She posed standing, sitting in one of the chairs on the balcony, leaning against the railing, and even sitting on it. Sometimes she smiled, sometimes she wore a sultry expression on her face, and sometimes she flashed him looks that were downright sexy.
Then he caught a wicked gleam in her eye, and he realized she had just come up with a naughty idea. A moment later he discovered its nature as she took hold of the drawstring of her robe and began to pull on it.
His heart raced as he realized what she was doing. Would she actually go through with it? Would she let him take nude photographs of her?
In one sense it seemed so wrong; his parents had always been strict about pornography, and he had adopted something of the same attitude. Sure he had looked at a few magazines when he was a teenager; what boy hadn't? But he had never told his parents, and as he matured he had tended to avoid it, especially since his first wife was even more strict than he was. If either of them had ever caught Jeff looking at dirty magazines, for instance, they would have grounded him until he turned eighteen. His wife would have tried for thirty if she could legally get away with it.
On the other hand, these pictures were for his eyes only. Allison was his wife, after all. What seemed sinful and dirty was actually perfectly acceptable under the circumstances. As long as she was willing (which was pretty obvious by the expression on her face), he could enjoy himself without guilt.
He took a couple of pictures as she pulled on the string of her robe, then suddenly the knot came undone. She adjusted the robe so that it didn't show anything but a thin line of her body running from her neck down between her cleavage until it disappeared as the folds of the robe met just below her navel. It was clear that she wore nothing underneath it.
She tried out a few demure poses like that, almost but not quite revealing her naughty bits. In some she faced directly forward, while in others she turned to the side. In these cases, the curvature of one of her breasts became quite obvious and pronounced; only the nipple remained covered. She put one of her feet on the chair, displaying her long and shapely leg with only the hem of the robe strategically covering her between the legs. For the next pose she slipped the top of the robe off her shoulders, unfortunately keeping it closed with one hand clutching the inner edges together just above her breasts.
Then she got a little more daring and sat down on the chair facing the camera, her legs up and her feet on the edge of the chair with her knees spread and the robe completely open below her breasts. It showed a great deal of her cleavage but again no nipples, and only her hands folded in her lap hid her most intimate spot from view.
Greg felt himself growing a little warm (and a bit tight in the pants) as the pictures progressed, but he wasn't going to let the discomfort stop him. As long as Allison was willing, he wanted to continue this photoshoot.
"Okay, enough of this teasing," she said finally. She stood up and took her original position at the railing, but this time she opened her robe completely to his view. She turned her head to the side just like in the original pose, and Greg snapped the picture.
Damn, she had a gorgeous body! He was certainly going to get quite a collection of pictures here. He had once envied the life of a fashion photographer, and occasionally fantasized about being a photographer of a less reputable sort, but right now he didn't care for those professions in the least. He had his own absolutely gorgeous nude model right here!
Allison seemed to be just as excited as he was about these pictures. She enthusiastically posed in various positions ranging from innocent (or as innocent as possible without her clothes on) to extremely sexy. She used the robe to her advantage, sometimes holding it open, sometimes letting one or both of the sleeves fall off the shoulder, and eventually discarding it completely. She also used the chair and railing. In one picture she stood leaning up against the railing with her arms spread to the side on top of it as she lowered her head and stared into the camera with just a hint of a smile on her face. It gave her a somewhat hungry look, as if she knew what she wanted and she planned to take it. In another picture she lay with her back on the chair, her feet up on the railing, and her head upside down looking into the camera with her hair dangling on the floor. She clutched her breasts with her hand, making sure not to cover the nipples. In a couple of pictures she climbed right up on top of the marble railing and lay down on it, either on her back or on her side facing into the bedroom, her hand either resting on her hip or her elbow raised and a hand behind her head. This position was a little precarious, so he only took a few pictures like this.
She even did some more hardcore poses sitting in the chair with her knees spread and her hand between her legs, a look of pleasure on her face as if she were making herself feel really good. These ones really got Greg excited, and it took all of his effort not to just grab her right there, carry her inside to the bed and ravish her body.
He was having so much fun taking the pictures that he didn't even realize that several people had gathered on the beach and were watching the goings-on. When he finally noticed them, he turned beet red, especially seeing that one of the men employed a pair of binoculars. Allison noticed his mortification and glanced out to the beach and saw the people standing there. She laughed, obviously nowhere near as embarrassed as he was. Instead, she waved and blew a kiss to the voyeurs, then stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
The photoshoot had had its effect on both of them, so before showering and dressing they hopped back into bed for another lovemaking session.
They spent most of the day on the crowded beach in town, and frolicking in the ocean. Yes, Greg actually frolicked. Being with Allison sometimes felt a lot like being a kid again. She splashed him and jumped on his back and tried to dunk him. He soon got into the spirit of things, and the two of them played childish and immature games. He soon realized that he hadn't had this much fun swimming since he was a kid.
Of course, it was even better with a gorgeous woman in a tiny little bikini that she had bought that morning specifically for this vacation. It was bright pink, a vibrant color that stood out and tended to catch people's attention, not that she needed it much. Every man on the beach turned his head when she strolled out onto the sand, and Greg had a feeling that the color of the swimsuit had very little to do with their reactions. She ignored the unsuccessfully hidden lecherous looks (probably used to it, Greg figured) and held his hand. It was the strangest feeling in the world, to have men look at him with jealousy like that. Sure, people had been envious of his wealth or position before, but this was more of a raw, primal, and even spontaneous jealousy.
It didn't bother him; So far Allison had seemed completely uninterested in other men ever since he met her. She didn't give the young surfers and bodybuilders so much as a glance. True to her word, she was completely devoted to him and him alone. Once again he wondered what a young and beautiful woman like her could possibly see in an older man like himself. Still, it really felt nice.
For his part, he didn't look at any other women, but he couldn't claim any moral strength of character there. It had more to do with the fact that Allison provided him all the visual treat he needed. He loved seeing her body, especially damp and glistening in the sunlight. Her hair looked just as good wet as dry, perhaps even more so. And of course her playful smile as they wrestled around in the water multiplied her beauty by a factor of ten.
That night they dined on roasted pork and poi at a luau. That was Allison's idea. He would have been just fine finding a nearby restaurant, but she claimed that it was a crime to visit Hawaii without going to a luau at least once. He joked that he wasn't aware of any such statute, but since he was a law-abiding citizen, he felt it was his duty to go, on the off chance that it was true.
Afterward, they returned home to their villa. The sun was just beginning to set, throwing bright reds, oranges, and purples across the sky. It was absolutely gorgeous, a breathtaking sight from their balcony.
Allison and Greg glanced at each other. At the same time they both broke out in grins, and Greg reached for his camera.
Secret Paradise
Allison had an idea for an activity the next day. She had been to Maui before; the summer after her graduation from high school her family had taken a vacation there, and Allison and Rachael had borrowed the car one day to find a certain swimming hole that they had read about. It had a spectacular waterfall, and although the water was cold, the beach surrounding it was sunlit and warm. The two girls had liked it so much that they had gone three more times during their vacation. Only once had they encountered someone else there.
She wanted to share the secret with Greg now. Because it was relatively unknown, there was a good chance that they would have it all to themselves, which would give them an opportunity to take some more of "that kind" of photo in a beautiful setting. It was about an hour's drive plus a hike of about a mile in to the waterfall, but she promised it would be worth it.
Greg was all for trying something new, especially something involving Allison without her clothes on. So they ate a good breakfast and then immediately hopped in the car to head for the secret paradise.
The last few miles of the trip, the road was just gravel, and there was just a small parking lot. They found three cars already there, but Allison mentioned that there was an even more beautiful waterfall at the end of a different trail nearby, and almost everyone went to see that one. There was still a good chance that the two of them would be alone.
Greg retrieved his camera and tripod, and Allison carried the sack lunches that they had made up that morning. They headed out along a small dirt trail through the lush, tropical jungle. In any other situation, Greg would have insisted they stop periodically so that he could take some photographs along the way. But considering what lay in store for them, he wanted to reach their destination as quickly as possible. If he wnted pictures of the trail, he could always take them on the way back.
Half an hour later, the forest opened up to reveal the wonderland that Allison had been so eager to show him. The swimming hole was just the way she had described. It was essentially a small pool fed by a waterfall, surrounded on all sides by tropical forest and only the dirt trail connecting it with civilization. A sandy beach surrounded it on one side, and a moss-covered hill sloped down into the water on the other. In the heat of the afternoon, the cold water looked nice and inviting.
Despite Allison's claim that it was a secret, the two of them were not the only ones there, to his disappointment. A couple of women swam in the pool near the waterfall. Upon spying the newcomers, they waved. Allison waved back.
"Do you know them?" asked Greg.
"Nope," Allison smiled. "But people are really friendly here."
One of the women swam closer. When she neared the shore, she stood up, lifting her torso out of the water. Greg gasped. She was naked.
Allison noticed his reaction and laughed. "I forgot to tell you," she said. "This swimming hole is popular with nudists. You don't mind, do you dear?"
"Uh... no..." he said, unable to take his eyes off of the woman. She was young, maybe slightly older than Allison, with a nice body and a pretty face under her dark brown hair that hung limply and wetly about her shoulders. As he watched, she reached back and pulled her hair together at the back of her neck to gather all the strands away from her shoulders and face.
She approached Greg and Allison with a friendly smile on her face. "Hi," she greeted. "I'm Roberta Corrigan."
"We're the Primdales," Allison replied, seeing that Greg had a hard time speaking right now. "I'm Allison, and this is my husband Greg."
"Nice to meet you."
Allison glanced at Greg, then turned her attention back to Roberta. "You'll have to excuse him," she said.
"First time at a nudist swimming hole, no doubt," Roberta said affably.
Greg nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Sorry. I didn't know until you stepped out of the water. Kind of caught me off my guard, I'm afraid."
"That's okay. It's not the first time it's happened, and probably not the last."
The other woman had swum over, and was now wading toward the shore. She was every bit as lovely as her friend. Her hair was much lighter, almost but not quite blond. Her body was just a little more developed around the chest and hips, quite attractive in fact.
As soon as she reached them, Roberta made the introductions. "Kristen, this is Greg and Allison Primdale. Greg and Allison, this is my partner Kristen Millwood."
"Oh, so you two are lesbians," Allison smiled.
"That's right," Kristen grinned, then leaned in and gave Roberta a kiss on the cheek. The two women clasped hands, smiling.
Greg tried not to stare. He had a difficult time dealing with women who loved other women. He had been brought up in a very conservative household, so he was taught that only traditional relationships were acceptable. On the other hand, something fascinated him about such forbidden love. He had browsed a few websites with images of women engaged in sex with other women, and despite everything he had been taught, he had found himself getting aroused by the pictures. He was no fool; he understood that it was quite common for men to be turned on by lesbians. He just had a hard time reconciling his feelings with what he thought he knew.
That didn't mean he had to be rude or mean to these women. It really was none of his business after all. He could be friendly and sociable with them, regardless of their sexual orientation.
"Allison and I are here on our honeymoon," he said.
"Congratulations," Kristen smiled.
"Thanks. Anyway, she's been to this swimming hole before, and wanted to show me. She didn't mention it was a popular destination for nudists." He said the last part in a playful, self-deprecating way so as to put the joke squarely on himself. The three women laughed.
"I hope you don't mind," said Roberta. "But if it does, Kristen and I brought a couple of bikinis that we can put on."
"Oh, you don't mind, do you, Greg?" asked Allison.
He shrugged. Part of him did mind, but most of him was more than happy to have the girls leave their clothes off. He felt kind of strange and just a little guilty staring at naked women while on his honeymoon with his gorgeous new wife, but then, Allison claimed she wasn't the jealous type, and so far her actions seemed to support that claim.
"It's all right," Greg told them. "I'm still getting over my initial shock, but I'll be fine in just a minute."
"Well then, everything's settled," said Allison. "Greg, you can leave your swimming trunks on if you want, but I'm going to take everything off."
He grinned. This much, at least, gave him absolutely no moral qualms. "Okay!" he exclaimed delightedly.
As Allison stripped down, Kristen and Roberta headed over to a couple of beach blankets that they had spread on the ground near the shore. As it was just outside the radius of the spray of the waterfall, it was a warm and sunny spot, perfect for sunbathing. They lay down on the blankets to soak up the rays.
Greg figured he could at least take off most of his clothes; he had come here to swim after all, and despite the presence of three gorgeous and naked women, he wasn't going to change his plans. He shed his shirt and pants, leaving only his swimming suit on.
Once Allison had taken all of her clothes off, she led him over to the beach, where she spread her blanket down near those of Roberta and Kristen. Greg thought it was perhaps a little too close for his liking, but the other women didn't seem to mind. In fact, he caught them sneaking admiring peeks at Allison's body. He wasn't surprised; she had the most perfect figure he had ever seen, and it was bound to be appealing to men and lesbians alike. If it bothered her, she didn't show it. She simply sat down on the blanket and pulled out the bottle of sunscreen.
"Greg dear, would you mind?" she asked.
He didn't mind at all, so he took the bottle from her and began to apply it to her back.
"I have a favor to ask you," Allison asked the women. "Greg's brought his camera and his tripod, and he's planning to take some pictures."
"Of you or the waterfall?" asked Roberta.
"Both," Allison smiled. "Anyway, if you wouldn't mind staying out of the shots, we would appreciate it. We don't want to be too obtrusive; we'll work around you as much as possible."
"Oh, that's fine," Roberta told her. "Kristen here is a model herself."
"Really?" asked Allison delightedly. "Nude?"
"Sometimes," Kristen smiled. "You won't find me in many gentlemen's magazines though. Mostly I do fashion, with the occasional artistic nude photoshoot."
"I considered going into modeling," said Allison. "I've been told I have the face and body for it."
"You certainly do!" Roberta replied, perhaps just a little too enthusiastically.
"In fact, I did a little bit in college," Allison continued.
"I didn't know that," Greg commented.
"It was when I was in my photography phase," she explained. "I had my roommates pose for me. At first we kept it professional, then we started having too much fun with it, so we took a lot of silly pictures. They insisted that I do my share of the modeling, which I did. One of them commented that I had the looks for it, and I could probably do it professionally. I gave it a shot, and had some fun with it for a few months. Made a decent amount of money too."
"So did you do any nude modeling yourself?" asked Kristen.
Allison grinned. "Actually, you will find me in gentlemen's magazines."
"Are you serious?" asked Greg. "You mean you..."
"I didn't do anything hardcore, if that's what you're wondering," Allison replied. "Although I did do some posing with other girls. A couple of softcore lesbian shoots. It was actually pretty fun."
Greg nearly gasped. Allison had done lesbian photoshoots? That was something she hadn't mentioned to him before. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. It didn't really surprise him; she was the most uninhibited woman he had ever met. The revelation had caught him off his guard, however.
"Oh my god," Roberta breathed, a grin on her face and excitement in her eyes.
"But those days are behind me now. I was never really serious about it anyway."
"So Greg," asked Kristen, "does that mean you're professional photographer?"
"I wish," he smiled. "No, I'm afraid my job isn't so glamorous. I'm on the board of a real estate company. Photography's a hobby of mine though. I even won some awards back in the day, although I haven't really done much in the past five years."
"Well, now that you've got someone like Allison to model for you, I'll bet you pick it up again."
"I already have," he grinned.
"He took a bunch of nude photos of me yesterday," Allison commented.
Greg did gasp this time, surprised at how casually she talked about it.
"What?" she asked. "No, I'm not going to go blabbing about it to everyone we meet, but I don't think we need to worry too much in this company what they think of us. Besides, you were planning on taking more pictures of me today, weren't you?"
"Okay, good point," he chuckled. "Sorry. Just my old fuddy-duddy ways popping up."
"I hope you don't mind an audience for this photoshoot," said Kristen.
"It doesn't bother me," Allison shrugged. "What about you, Greg?"
"No, I guess not."
"Well, shall we get to it?" she asked eagerly.
Greg laughed. "As long as you're willing, I'm all for it."
The two of them rose to their feet, and Greg set the camera on the tripod. As he did so, Allison went exploring, looking for some good spots for posing. Being an amateur photographer herself, she had an eye for scenic views, so together they found a few good places.
First they set up on the beach, with her standing on the shore with the waterfall in the background. She looked stunning there, framed against the cascading torrent, especially nude. She first stood facing him with her hands on her hips and that smile he loved so much on her face. After he snapped the picture, she turned one leg to the side, lifted the knee so that only her toes touched the ground, and put most of her weight on the other leg. Her hand rested on her thigh just above the knee. He found that pose to be even sexier for some reason.
She tried out various poses, some with her hands behind her head, some with her arms demurely covering her breasts and thing with a playfully surprised look on her face as if she had been caught unexpectedly. He took a few pictures as a closeup of her head and torso, with her face turned to the side and the waterfall blurred behind her, giving it a romantic look.
Then she got down and posed on her knees for a few shots, and even once with her hands on the ground and her head up facing the camera like an animal on the prowl.
As she continued to pose, sometimes sitting and sometimes reclining, he noticed Kristen and Roberta watching with interest. It didn't surprise him any more than it would have if they had been a couple of men instead of women. Nor did it bother him; Allison had already confessed that she had taken some naughty pictures with other women before, so at the very least she wasn't particularly homophobic. And as long as she was comfortable with it, he refused to let it worry him.
When she lay down on the ground, he moved the tripod to a different spot so that he could catch the glow of the sun on her skin just the way he wanted. She closed her eyes and let one of her hands slip between her legs. He watched with fascination as she slowly rubbed herself there, obviously not shy at all about doing this in front of an audience.
However, she didn't step over the line into pornography, keeping it tasteful. After a few minutes she sat back up. Greg didn't know how he felt about that. He wasn't into raunchy stuff, but he wouldn't have minded a little more of her self-stimulation.
"Do you want to do some in the water now?" he asked.
"Sounds fun," said Allison. She rose to her feet and brushed off the sand, then waded out into the pool. Greg took a few snaps of her back as she did so.
"That's good," he told her when the water was up to just above her knees. Allison turned around and smiled again. She put her hands behind her head and stood there as he took some more pictures. As on the beach, she took over, moving herself around in various poses as he snapped away. He loved the sight of her in the water like that, with the waterfall in the background and the waves lapping at her thighs. She let her face run the range of expressions, from demure and shy, to playful, to happy, to sultry, to aroused. She was certainly not shy in front of the camera.
Allison flaunted her body, posing in the most provocative ways. Sometimes she dangled her fingers in the water, sometimes she placed her hands on her hips, and sometimes she fondled her breasts. She lowered her head and stared straight forward with a lusty expression and her tongue sticking out to touch her upper lip. Then for the next shot she chewed on the tip of her finger with a shy look in her eyes.
She waded out further until the water rose to her hips. For some reason, Greg found the sight of her half hidden like that even sexier. It was the lure of the unseen, the center of her femininity lurking beneath the water where he could almost, but not quite see it. Of course, the part of her out of the water was plenty. Her body almost glowed in the sunlight, especially with the shady area under the waterfall behind her. He spent plenty of time taking photos and just admiring her gorgeous figure. He couldn't decide what her best feature was; her hair, her eyes, her smile, or her breasts. She was simply perfect.
"I'm going under," she announced, and he nodded. Allison turned and dove under the water, swimming gracefully out to the deeper part of the pond. She rose to the surface halfway to the waterfall, then waved to him, covered up to her shoulders. From her movements he could tell that she couldn't touch the bottom there.
He zoomed in and took a few pictures like that, but there was only so much the lure of the unseen could do, so these shots weren't anywhere near as interesting. He did manage to get a great one of her face with the sunlight shining on it, her hair over her shoulder, the brightness of her deep blue eyes as she gazed right into the camera, and a radiant smile on her lips. It just seemed to catch the essence of her face perfectly and beautifully.
She yelled something to him, but he couldn't hear her over the roar of the waterfall in the background. He cupped his hand over his ears to signal his deafness, so she pointed to the mossy rocks on the opposite bank. He nodded, and she swam over to them.
He followed her in the viewfinder of the camera, zooming out to better keep track of her, then back in when she reached the rocks. Fortunately, they were covered only in moss, not algae, or she might not have been so willing to climb up on them. The water was shallower there so she could stand up to scramble up onto the moss-covered rocky hillside. Greg had to wade out into the stream this time to keep the waterfall in the frame, but fortunately the tripod was waterproof. He set it down and adjusted it to get her in the shot, then gave her the thumbs up signal to start posing. She reclined against the hillside, lifting one of her arms to rest it on the slope above her head. She breathed in deeply to push her chest forward and emphasize her curves, and Greg snapped off one of the sexiest photographs he had taken yet today.
There were only a limited number of poses she could do on her perch, but she managed to get in several. She first lay on her back with her eyes closed, then turned to the side and smiled into the camera with her hand resting on her hip. She even blew him a kiss.
After a few more pictures, she stood up and dove into the water. Greg snapped a couple of rapid shots as she did so, photographing her in the air. There was something incredibly graceful about his wife, and the shot of her at the top of her arc managed to capture that grace perfectly. She came up near the center of the swimming hole, then glanced around. She pointed to the waterfall, and he nodded.
Allison swam over to it and found herself a nice spot where the water wasn't too deep and she could stand there up to her waist with the cascading torrent splashing all around her. As she bathed under the stream, she ignored the camera completely and simply ran her hands through her hair and over her body. Greg preferred it that way anyway; he liked the more spontaneous shots. He was happy to just stand back here and take the pictures, letting her do whatever she wanted.
After a while, she glanced up again and waved at him. Then she once more dove into the water and swam toward him. Greg waited as she swam the length of the pool, standing up and wading the last twenty feet.
"How was that?" she asked as she came out of the water.
"Sexy," he grinned. "You know, I'm glad Rachael and you found this spot. It's perfect for taking pictures."
"Yes, well, unfortunately we didn't have a camera when we were here before. On the other hand, considering that Rachael was only thirteen at the time, we could get arrested for taking that kind of picture."
Greg laughed. He had a sudden image of a thirteen-year-old Rachael running through those same poses, and for some reason that excited him even more than seeing Allison like that. He had never been the type of man that liked young girls, but on the other hand, Rachael was absolutely gorgeous. He wouldn't mind seeing her naked, no matter her age.
What was he thinking? This was no time to be fantasizing about his wife's sister, especially when his wife looked as good as Allison did.
"You know, you're a natural," commented Kristen, approaching Allison. "You should have stuck with modeling."
Allison smiled. "If I had done that, I never would have met Greg," she replied.
"Well, it's not too late to go back to it. I've got some connections, and I'd be happy to make a few calls..."
"You're just trying to get your hands on copies of these pictures," laughed Allison.
"No, I'm serious. If you're interested, I could set something up."
"I appreciate the offer, but right now the only person I'm interested in showing my body to is Greg. But I'll tell you what. Let's exchange email addresses. Maybe we can get together some time."
"I'd like that."
Now Roberta approached them. "You know," she said, "I have an interesting idea. Go ahead and say no if it bothers you."
"I like it already," Allison grinned.
Roberta laughed. "Okay. Why don't we take some pictures together? You, me, and Kristen."
"You mean... all three of you? Naked?" asked Greg.
"Why not?" said Kristen. "I'm not shy in front of the camera, and apparently neither is Allison."
Allison glanced at Greg. "It's up to you, dear," she told him.
The thought of seeing these three beauties posing together, and recording it so he could see those pictures again any time he wanted, was almost more than he could bear. He was so excited he thought he might have a heart attack.
"Okay!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. The girls all laughed at his reaction.
He spent a moment finding a good spot to set up the camera so that the waterfall would be in the background. He planted the tripod as firmly as he could in the sand, adjusted the camera, then told them to begin. Since he had never done any photography of this sort, he suggested that they come up with the poses themselves, to which they happily agreed.
They started by standing together facing the camera, their arms around each other's waists, and smiling cheerfully. Allison stood in the middle, which emphasized her role in the shoot. It was for her husband after all. It wasn't a particularly provocative pose, but with the three women all nude, he found it quite arousing. He thought of Allison's words earlier that day talking about her modeling sessions with other girls. She had even done a few softcore lesbian scenes. He didn't know how he felt about that; on the one hand, he had grown up thinking that that was wrong. On the other hand, the very forbidden nature of it gave it a certain mysterious, tempting quality. The thought of seeing her with another woman excited him.
He wondered if he would get to see something similar today. After all, the other girls were openly lesbian. Probably not; just because they preferred the company of women over men didn't mean they would jump into bed with any beautiful woman they came across any more than he would.
He did notice, however, that with them like that, the sides of Allison's breasts touched those of the other girls. That gave him a bit of a shock, but not an unwelcome one. Did she even notice it the same way he did? Probably not, but he found that to be exciting in itself. It meant she wasn't opposed to touching another woman's body like that.
The second pose was even steamier than the first. This time, the two girls on the outside turned in to face Allison, pressing their bodies up against her side. They reached up and put their hands on her shoulders, and she let her own hands slip around their waists to hold them to her. It seemed that he was going to get a nice show after all.
When the two women leaned in and kissed Allison on the cheeks for the third shot, Greg thought he had died and gone to heaven. Allison flashed him that gorgeous smile of hers, and he felt his heart pounding in his chest and his breathing growing heavier. He even started to shiver, something he hadn't done since he was Jeff's age and snuck peeks at naughty pictures in magazines. That had been partly due to the fear of getting caught, but this time he trembled out of pure excitement. He shook so hard he almost couldn't even press the shutter button on the camera.
Then Allison turned to face Roberta and put her arms around the woman's waist. Roberta leaned in, her breasts mashing up against Allison's. Kristen pressed her body against Allison's back, and the three woman turned their heads toward the camera. Now the final barrier had been breached; if they were willing to touch each other like that, then there was no limit to what he might see today.
After he took the picture, Roberta whispered something in Allison's ear. It wasn't supposed to be a pose, but when Allison's face brightened at whatever the woman told her, Greg found it too alluring not to snap a photo.
Then the girls broke apart, but this time they got down on the ground. Allison knelt facing him, then Kristen lay down on her back, her head resting in Allison's lap and her body spread out to the side. Roberta knelt down on the opposite side, then leaned down, held Kristin's head in her hands, and kissed her fully on the lips. Greg hurried and took the picture, just in case he fainted from excitement. That didn't quite happen, though he was certainly feeling light-headed. He had to force himself to calm his breathing so that he wouldn't hyperventilate.
Roberta then scooted forward, kissing down her girlfriend's body as Greg watched in fascination and snapped the pictures. When Roberta reached Kristen's breasts and sucked her nipple into her mouth, Greg suddenly left the camera and dashed over to the water, where he splashed in up to his waist. The girls laughed in amusement as he stood there letting the cold water calm him down. It worked, and a minute later he returned to the shore, dripping wet but more composed.
"Sorry," he grinned sheepishly. "I was about to faint, so I had to do something to wake myself up."
"By 'faint' he means 'climax' of course," Allison explained, and the others giggled.
They continued the photoshoot, this time more spontaneously. The three women put their hands all over each other, sometimes kneeling, sometimes sitting up, and sometimes reclining. Allison didn't seem to mind when Roberta and Kristen ran their hands over her breasts, and Greg was surprised to discover that rather than being jealous or angry, he enjoyed seeing it. He probably would have had an entirely different reaction if it had been a man fondling his wife, but he didn't mind so much when it was a couple of gorgeous women.
As before, they kept the shots tasteful. Though they seemed completely uninhibited, the most they did was kissing each other's boobs, and that was limited to Roberta and Kristen. Allison didn't seem to mind putting her hands on the w