In the fortnight since Irisha's revelation, she felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, the fact was Taras hadn't run off, he had been much more understanding than she could have imagined. Almost every spare evening, and a good chunk of the previous weekend she had spent helping him with his reading and writing, and he in turn was proud to be able to help the boys in his gang who for the most part had even poorer skills than he did. She was impressed with his dedication, and that he now carried books about to read on any break times when he was out working.

With the boy round on so many evenings her mum had taken to cooking larger dishes so he could eat with them, it had also lead to a mother daughter talk, although her mum knew that via the studio healthcare plan that the contraception issue was covered. She told her mum that her relationship with Taras had not advanced that far, but it was comforting to know her mum was looking out for her, she then teased her mum about a certain man from the carpentry shop at the studio that had been showing her attention. In such a close knit community as existed in the studio complex, gossip about the blossoming interest had not gone unreported.

Yana actually blushed, she had been unaware that this had reached her daughter via the studio grapevine, and asked how Irisha would feel about her old mum going out with a man from the scenery workshop. Irisha hugged her mum saying it was long overdue that she got out and had some fun, though in truth it had taken Yana some time mentally to get over just how close she had come to loosing everything. At her lowest ebb when her physical illness was at it's worst, the anxiety she had felt for her daughter's future had been her main concern, but those worries were now a thing of the past.

With her own well paid job, and her daughter's burgeoning career, that was amassing ever increasing deposits in the bank, both their lives had changed beyond recognition, and now living in a smart apartment with Irisha going to one of the city's best schools, it was maybe time to think of starting a social life of her own. Having got away from that awful place where they had lived before, Irisha now had a large circle of friends both from inside the studio and in the wider realm beyond, and Yana was also meeting people through work.

Yana thought it was remarkable that Irisha was still a virgin considering the area where they used to live, and she had always feared the building supervisor, hearing rumours that he preyed on young girls, and vulnerable women. Despite all of her concerns at the time she couldn't help remember the fleeting range of emotions the man showed when she had paid off what was owed in rent, it looked more like anger and frustration rather than anything else. She like others in the block had seen him suddenly change, as if the devil himself was stalking him down the corridors, and then shorty after they moved here so it was no longer their problem.

Having spoken to Irisha about Taras, and with him being such a frequent visitor, she felt confident that the lad showed a genuine affection for her daughter, and the other main issue was that Irisha had positively encouraged her to start dating herself. It seemed for so many years she had kept those feelings locked up, since that bastard left them, all of her energy had been spent keeping a roof over their head and food on the table. For the first time in as long as she cared to remember life wasn't a constant struggle to survive, so the next time Pavlo asked her out she was going to say yes.

Irisha knew it was going to be a busy weekend at the studio, and Marta had told her about the interviews that would be going on across town to find some new photographers to join the staff. Her mum would be putting in some long hours this weekend but would have more free time during the week, then shifts would change and her mum would get the following weekend off. Taras would be working on Saturday morning but expected to be free for the rest of the time, so she had asked him to come over again, though she had more in mind than just study.

He had been her rock, and true to his word, although they had been alone together on many occasions he had not taken any liberties, sensitive to how vulnerable she had been feeling. Even though they had been sitting so close as they studied, and she had been aware of the effect she had upon him, he had tried to hide it from her, so she didn't feel pressured. They had kissed some, and he had put his arms around her, but his hands hadn't wandered, and he had always left her to make the first move.

She had to get past her demons, and after her melt down and the talk she had with Taras she now had to face building a relationship and all that entailed, including looking after one another's needs. She often got horny herself, and from listening to other girls knew she was not alone in that, but Marta had been her confidant in that she knew the full story, and she had good advise about boyfriends. She knew it would take time to gain Marta's level of confidence with boys, and giving oral was way down her list, but she intended to make sure she relieved the pressure for Taras, and show him her appreciation for his patience.

Monday seemed to go on forever as both sisters had an extended day, Marta having her traditional dance class, and Anna in her drama group, so both had an early night with none of their usual forays into the backwaters of the internet. They continued to pursue their many links to other rival modelling sites, and were still wading through the massive list of sites that covered many sexual topics, informing one another of any particularly interesting items that came their way.

Anna was still in awe of her older sister, and held a vicarious fascination in her love life, but she felt her own desire to explore these new feelings needed a new outlet. Slowly she had come to realise that she needed a safe friend she could experiment with, but it was fraught with danger if that person broke her trust. There was only one person of her own age who she had considered, and she had been carefully edging towards finding an opportunity so they could have some time together on their own.

It was difficult to know for sure how her approach might be received, it would be awful to be rejected, and worse still if her other friends were to find out, and she were branded as a lesbian or pervert. Taking a leaf from Marta, she had worked on a plan that would move forwards in small stages, rather than dive headlong into uncharted waters, and the first stage of that would start after school the next day. Also from her sister Anna knew that stage two would follow the dictates of 'Sun Tze and The Art of War', in that no plan stays on course after the first engagement with your opponent, so it would just depend on how well or badly things progressed.

As expected Marta dropped hints that it would be nice to have the house to herself for an hour or two after school, as the boys would be round with Nana Olga, and their mum would be in town shopping. Anna winked across the lunch table at Eve, complaining she was being thrown out of her own house, and would it be okay to come round after school to seek refuge. They often spent time at one another's house so it wasn't unusual, and the two younger girls began to tease Marta about why she could possibly want the house to herself, both knowing exactly the reason, and he was called Karl.

When later that day they reached the corner on the road to Eve's house, Anna waved to her sister, with advice not to do anything she wouldn't do. As they watched Marta carry on down the road Eve asked if Anna really would like to do stuff with Karl. This was just the sort of opening Anna had been hoping for.

"Well he is sort of tall and handsome, but a boy like that would laugh at me, I mean I don't even know how to kiss or anything, and that would be just so embarrassing."

"Yes I know what you mean, there's this older cousin who I like that I told you about, and I think he wants to kiss me but I'm sort of worried that I might come across as inexperienced and he might laugh or wont like me any more."

The discussion was put on hold when they reached Eve's house, but the house was empty with a note from Magda, Eve's mum, stating that she had gone out with Victor to buy him some new clothes. They helped themselves to a snack and continued their earlier conversation about what a catch 22 situation it was to have no experience. Anna began to get the feeling that her friend was trying to move the situation forwards but felt the same hesitation and worries that had plagued her about raising this subject.

After a few false starts both girls burst out laughing.

"So do you really want to try it with me? I think we should go up to my room, it would be awkward if my mum and brother were to walk in on us here in the kitchen."

It had been a relief to find Eve had both the same insecurities, and curiosity about kissing, and would be a willing partner in learning about it together. They stood facing one another, and Anna thought it was a good thing they were the same hight, but now as they slowly moved together they sort of bobbed trying not to bump noses, and both started to laugh, they tried several times but got the giggles.

When they got themselves under control Anna suggested Eve stay still and she would kiss her cheeks, then Eve could take a turn and they would move on from there. They loosely held one another as Anna placed a kiss on Eve's cheek like many of the girls did in greeting, but it was a little longer, feeling Eve's soft skin on her lips, she repeated it on the other cheek, then Eve took a turn, and slowly the intensity rose, along with the passion.

Anna loved the way it felt so intimate, being so close in someone else's space, as they hugged tighter, and the kisses moved till they were kissing each other full on the lips, and then there was a fresh burst of giggling as they nearly toppled over. Eve pulled Anna across the room and they sat on the bed.

"Does your sister kiss Karl a lot? It's sort of nice, did you like it?"

"I do like it, my sister must as well cause they're always kissing, stuck together like flypaper, but they do come apart to breathe."

"Do they do well.. you know... French kissing too?"

"Yes, Marta says it gets her all hot... Do you want to try?"

Again it was tentative to start with but soon they seemed to find it was the most natural thing in the world, from sitting on the edge of the bed they fell back onto the duvet and held each other as their tongues played tag. Anna was feeling quite hot, and her nubs tingled as their bodies writhed together on the bed, and she could feel her panties were getting damp, but she didn't care as time lost all meaning.

"Eve, I'm home, is that Anna's coat in the hall?"

The shout up the stairs caused the startled girls to spring apart, both noting how red faced the other looked, then they got another fit of the giggles.

"Do you think we could use any of that for a future video? If so we can tell your mum we were practising for one of the sketches."

After tidying up their appearance and brushing their hair the ran downstairs to greet Eve's mum and find out what she had brought. As they sat in the kitchen Magda made mock complaints to Anna about the craze her brothers had started, and how she had to place a weekly order for an American kids comic for Victor, as he too wanted to practice English like his friends. She went on to say it was hard enough to follow what kids were talking about half the time, without introducing another language into the mix.

One of the things she liked best about Eve's mum was her sense of humour, and Eve said the best thing about Anna's mum was her baking, and Anna had to agree. When the girls retreated back upstairs they spoke in whispered tones about their little practice session, and it wasn't long before they came up with the idea that it could be fun to have a sleepover. They could always state it was for a video idea, after all it seemed American girls spent half their time arranging sleepovers when they weren't doing cheerleader practise or going to the mall, which they found was a big group of shops all in one building.

Having temporarily satisfied their curiosity they got on to subjects they would normally talk about, which included what Marta and Karl might be up to just a short distance away, and that caused some more giggles, as Anna waggled her tongue with her head bobbing up and down in a parody of how Karl was said to lick Marta between her legs. Smiling Eve accused Anna of being rude, though she had heard some of these tales directly from Marta, and some second hand via Anna.

From what she had heard most guys didn't want to do that, but from the descriptions of being on the receiving end, it sounded a hundred times better than just touching yourself with your fingers. Talking with Anna and a few other girls of their age it was plain that none of the boys in their year would have a clue as they were so childish, and older boys who might know what to do were only interested in girls with big boobs. Eve wondered if Anna would be interested in doing a bit more 'learning' if they had a sleepover together, for they had talked about how their boobs felt as they were starting to emerge, and they had both complained about how long that was taking.

They moved on to school subjects, then about studio business, and Anna related what had happened at the audition over the weekend, which lead to Eve firing up her laptop so she could look back at the TTMF log from those sessions. Although she had been taking part in the forum for a while, Eve found the language hard, and would be struggling without the extra help she got from all her studio friends. Faced with the rate at which the forum sometimes moved she was beginning to see how the forced immersion was helping her grasp of the subject.

The ring tone of Anna's phone put an end to their musings as it was time for Anna to go home to supper, but the girls sneaked in one last secret kiss in Eve's room before she went down to see her friend off at the front door, with a peck on the cheek and a wave.

Anna had a skip in her step on the way back, she couldn't have planned a better session if she had written the script herself, and better still it looked as if Eve was as keen to learn as she was. It was no surprise to find Karl there, or that he was eating with them that evening, so Anna went over to give him a kiss on the cheek in greeting.

"Hello sister's boyfriend."

Karl was used to Anna's quirky humour so was quick to reply.

"Hi, girlfriend's amusing younger sister."

Anna didn't want Karl to have the last word in the pun stakes, and leaning in to kiss him she had smelt the toothpaste on his breath, but caught a faint lingering smell from his skin that hadn't come from the bathroom shelf. She moved in close to whisper in his ear.

"I know what you've been eating."

She stepped back to see the blush suffuse his face, only to nearly bump into Marta who guessed something had been said to embarrass Karl, and Anna was warned to play nicely or they would be having words later. Marta sat next to Karl as she often did when the family was about, only sitting on his lap when they were alone or if there were a lack of seating. It wasn't long before the meal was ready, and everyone sat round the table other than the boys who were sleeping over at the bungalow with Nana Olga and Gramps.

As the boys weren't there it was open house on conversation, with no issues about talk of the studio. Karl confirmed that the auditions the sisters had been involved in that weekend had been very successful as two new photographer's had been signed on, and that a third one was being seen tomorrow at one of the other studios. The news was that Ivan had also been ecstatic about the breadth of useful data that had been thrown up from the talk on the forum from the subjects covered. Several girls from one of the affiliate sites were to be interviewed about changing studios as their names had cropped up in the forum.

Alina was still researching links that information they had gleaned from the various discussions had brought to light, and was consulting some of the staff as to how this new data could affect future content. Of course much of this was due to the sisters latching on to the idea of making the weekend into more of an event, and bringing it onto the forum.

Though Marta had heard it once from Karl, and in phone conversations with people at the studio, she was surprised at the fruit it had born, and was a little embarrassed at how Karl was singing her praises at the table. Anna was less reticent about being in the limelight, and saw this as an opportunity to introduce a new but related topic.

She spoke of how she had been working on video script ideas with Eve, and how often in the foreign magazines there was talk of sleepovers, so they wanted to stay over at each other's house a few times to see if they could get some practical ideas they could put to use in their sketches.

Igor took less part in that evening's chat, in the past he had often felt uncomfortable with the whole businesses of his two daughters involvement in producing naked pictures of young girls for a web site, but over time he had mellowed. Anna and all of the models he had met had no reservations about taking part, in fact from what he could see they all enjoyed the experience.

He had slowly come to realise this was a power of good in their lives in so many ways, other than just the obvious financial benefits that accrued from joining the studio. He was pleased with the general ethos that the girls do well in their studies, and the boost in self confidence it gave many of them, though that was hardly necessary in Anna's case. In a way both girls had given him the courage to stretch his own abilities beyond what he had thought he was capable of, and that had lead to their old friends being able to join them.

For Igor the final piece that had slotted into place, had been meeting Yuri, Eve's father, and at last he had found a kindred spirit in the same situation as himself, and they could talk of their common experience. Normally it was unheard of for men to talk about their feelings, and maybe in their society it was more so than in others, but they had often had frank talks when they got together. They tried to meet in Yuri's office, and talk over lunch at least once a week, but sometimes for a change they would eat out, but that limited talk to matters relating to the building trades or current news items.

Marta feeling enough had been said about her this evening, brought up the girls private chat zone, where the models got together to talk among themselves, and how that once again the subject of an investment club had come to the fore. With Spring hopefully just around the corner, they wanted to look into some sort of property renovation deals to help grow their own little nest eggs.

The IMC building company that had been started by Igor, for their own project was now effectively run by Melenki from the Squat. They had all the men with core skills that were needed, and additional reliable labour was never a problem, through calls to men's various relatives, so the team could be expanded accordingly. Igor said he had tentatively raised the idea with the legal guy who had been involved in their own project, and the paperwork to divide the shares, and sort out payments had not been as difficult as he had imagined. The main issue was finding the right scheme, and getting all the partners taking part to agree to the terms and conditions for the envisaged undertaking.

Igor said it would be best if all those who took part had an equal share by making the same level of investment, and they would need to employ an independent accountant to prove that no one was being cheated. Marta was happy to see her dad taking part, and that he was no longer so wary of such a large responsibility, as he had been the first time round. He also made the point that they should buy in for one share so as to show good faith, as it meant their own fortunes were tied into the success of the outcome.

Due to how well they had done with their own house sale, they now had a much improved nest egg. Also with the continual rise in the earnings of both girls, and the bonuses for their part in the writing and production of videos for other models, and other work they had been connected with, this would for them be a much smaller comparative outlay.

It was agreed between them, that both Igor and Karl would keep their eyes open, Igor when out and about on his work in the city, and the leads on property web sites being under Karl's watchful eye. Marta squeezed Karl's hand under the table, proud that he and her father would be working together on something so important, and pleased that her father showed such faith in her boyfriend.

On Wednesday Anna had some extra items in her backpack, a pair of jeans wrapped around some stout boots, and when the last bell rang, she got changed, then put her skirt and smart shoes into her pack. As Marta and Eve headed for the station, Anna got into the cab waiting by the school gates, sitting in the front to talk with the driver on their journey. Along their route Anna had him stop so she could buy a large bag of apples, and they each ate one on their way to the outskirts of the city, and as it was only to be a brief visit, Max would wait there in the car to drive her home.

Anna greeted the familiar faces as she walked across the yard, meeting the manager on the way to her goal. As they talked Anna was told one of her father's friends had visited one day last week, and when they reached the stall in question it became obvious why the man had dropped by. A beautifully carved nameplate adorned the door to Silver's stall, and her horse who had been watching them approach nuzzled her hand as she reached out to stoke him. Anna liked to think he recognised her as his primary human, but it could have been the lingering smell of apple juice on her hand.

They talked about which of the stable girls would be responsible for his care, and points with regard to his exercise each day. The manager was pleased to see this young girl was taking such an active interest in the welfare of the horse she had purchased, and she suspected from the level of knowledge the girl now showed, that this wasn't a five minute wonder, as it was with so many rich kids. She had seen Anna wasn't averse to helping the stable girls with the grooming, or even wielding a fork for mucking out after her lesson while she was waiting for her ride home.

Anna only allowed Silver one sliced up apple, knowing it would be unwise to give him too much fruit in one go, and left the bag with the head stable girl to share with Sliver over the rest of the week, and promised her horse some carrots for Sunday. The new saddle that Silver had been measured for and the other items of tack she had ordered via the specialised shop that was part of the stables had all arrived, and he even had a quilted 'coat' to wear during the day out in one of the paddocks, though now the worst of the cold weather had passed, but it was there ready for any stormy weather, and for next winter.

On the way back home, the driver who was one of their regulars was asking Anna for ideas as to what to get his granddaughter for her birthday, as she would be nine the following week and he was clueless as what to get for a girl of that age. Anna mentioned that she and her sister planned to spend the morning riding this coming Sunday, and if he would drive them there and back she would arrange for the girl to join one of the little pony trek outings that were a big favourite with the younger kids.

Driving the girls who worked at the fashion studio was considered a coveted perk among the senior staff who worked at the cab company, as the number of contract customers had diminished in recent years. None of the girls came with an attitude, and Anna and her older sister were among the best, bright and vivacious, never any problem, and they were always generous when it came to tips. Bored with just sitting in the car he had got out to stretch his legs, and had seen a poster at the stables promoting special offers, but seeing the prices had himself nixed the idea as a gift.

He asked if she were sure, as he knew he was getting the best of the bargain, but Anna insisted, stating the memory of the trip for his granddaughter would last longer than any toy she was likely to get this birthday, and he was inclined to agree. Anna told him the type of clothing she she should wear for the outing, and told him the time they would be ready to set off from her house. It was also agreed they would keep it a surprise and see what she said when they all got out at the stables.

It was a joy to see the broad smile on Max's face as he drove off, it wouldn't cost her that much to pay for the girl's treat, but she knew for the driver it was more than he could comfortably afford. Anna disliked those wealthy girls at school who were always so horrid and demeaning to others who were less well off, they didn't have that many true friends, only flunkies, Anna thought it was far more fun to make people around you happy.

It had been a great week so far and she had several interesting items on the calender over the next few days, including the invite earlier that day from Eve, for a sleepover at her house on Friday night.

To be continued in Chapter 58

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Anna's starting to spread her wings... what will get spread next? Another obvious plot line bubbling up, is the possibility of a new model.