Chapter 23: Trying Things On

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, Judy, Janice, and Pete showed up at the studio. Pete signed a model release form and we set about working on what they wanted to try. The girls had made Star Trek uniforms. They set about getting ready and I tried to find anything I could that could represent a starship. There wasn’t much, so I chose the black backdrop, figuring I could make the background just disappear and only highlight the trio as if they were a bunch of action figures. I found a mirror ball, too, and figured I might be able to project dots of light on the black backdrop like a star field. I just needed to hang it high enough that I didn’t get the ball in the picture.

When I turned around, Pete was pulling on a tight gold long-sleeve T-shirt with a black ribbed neck, and the Star Trek logo embroidered on his chest. Judy and Janice were both in stages of pulling on tiny tight dresses made of the same fabric. I saw that their panties matched the dresses. Pete had black slacks on that tucked into black boots. The girls had black go-go boots and black pantyhose under their red panties.

I wasn’t sure real Star Trek dresses were quite as short as the dresses Janice and Judy wore. I could see why they had matching panties: They were visible with any movement. And I was sure their dresses were cut a lot lower than the television series allowed. They were both showing as much cleavage as they could without just going topless.

Pete went into the bathroom to put on a pair of Vulcan ears. While he was there, the girls came up to me and asked me to inspect them closely to see if there was anything showing that shouldn’t be. They both held up their skirts so I could see how the panties molded to them. Then I looked up and saw Janice pinching her nipples.

“Will they show?” she asked innocently—as if pinching them was supposed to make them smaller.

“Mine aren’t big enough,” Judy complained. “Pinch them a little, Nate.”

“With your boyfriend in the bathroom next to us?” I asked. My hands were already moving toward her chest.

“That’s why he’s in there. Hurry. We want them really sticking out when he sees us.”

Well, if that’s what she wanted, I was more than willing to touch Judy’s boobs and pinch her nipples for her. She gasped a little and then looked down her front, pulling the dress out so we could both see down it to her very erect nipples.

“Do you think it’s enough?” she asked. I reached in and pinched it again without the dress in the way.

“I might have to get naked later,” Janice said. “You’ll have to make sure I’m ready for another private picture.”

Their dresses were made out of the same stretchy T-shirt material Pete’s shirt was and the bumps of their nipples were clear. I thought that if I lit them correctly, I’d be able to see them right through the fabric.

Then they pulled out their toys as Pete joined them. They had phasers and communicators. And then they got into their costume play. I had to admit that Pete was a perfect match for the two girls. He’d even penciled in pointy Vulcan eyebrows that he could move together or one at a time. They did several poses as if they were in a battle and Pete was trying to get them out. He adopted an emotionless Vulcan persona, and the girls devoted themselves to getting him to show emotion for them.

That eventually included them getting him into the dining room armchair as if it was the captain’s chair on the bridge and bringing him reports. Delivery included standing on tiptoe as they bent over at the waist to give him a clipboard or any other object they happened to find on the props shelf. He examined the item as if he weren’t really looking down their shirts. I took pictures as if they weren’t bending over specifically to show their matching panty-clad asses. I experimented with a few different lighting options, too. In one, I lit them from below and that came out looking like they were an evil counterpart to the crew.

In another, I set two spotlights focused down on Pete as the girls appeared to grill him through an interrogation session. I had him lock his hands behind him so it looked like he was restrained. Through it all, Pete was supposed to maintain his simple stoic demeanor as a Vulcan. Judy was bent forward asking him a question with Janice out of the picture. When Janice re-entered the frame, she’d removed her dress and approached him topless. Pete’s demeanor began to break. When Judy returned in the same mode, he was looking truly startled. His eyes were wider than Spock’s ever got.

Then they pulled his shirt off as well and I thought he might protest, but they moved the chair away and stood in front of the black backdrop with the stars projected on it, all three topless and embracing each other.

“Do our attic allure photo now, Nate,” Judy said.

I moved in closer so I only had them from waist up. Why waste half the frame on their trousers? I readjusted the lighting to get the strong shadow where I wanted it and suggested several subtle changes to their pose while I shot the pictures.

“All right, last one,” I said. “Girls, tiptoe and kiss him on the cheek. Don’t turn too far toward him. You’re topless and there’s no sense in having your boobs hidden in the photo. Stretch up and make them stick out.”

They giggled a lot, but did what I said. I actually had to move Pete’s hands so he was holding their bare backs. He’d had them just hanging at his side. I think Pete had gotten a surprise when the girls stripped. I didn’t know how far they’d gone, but I was pretty sure they were headed further.

Then Judy and Janice just got into teasing, running around the studio in just their panties and go-go boots. Putting props away, sweeping the floor, and helping roll up the backdrop. I’m sure they were showing off for Pete, but I enjoyed the show as well. Judy certainly seemed a lot more relaxed about showing her boobs than the last time I’d photographed her.

Eventually, they tired of their play and got dressed. Pete got a regular shirt on and, to both our surprise, the girls sat on the bench and stripped off their boots, pantyhose, and colored panties, showing they had just normal high-cut white panties on under them. Then they dressed in skirts and sweaters, skipping the bra. They hooked their arms through Pete’s and thanked me for the good time, then headed out the door. I wondered where they’d be going next. And how far.

The next four days of school were a slog. No one wanted to be there and everyone was excited for spring break—or as they referred to it here, Easter Vacation. Chris and Ronda stayed glued to my side at lunches. I think Vicki was going to come over at one point, but decided on an about face when she saw my two girlfriends close in on me.

“Are you three doing anything fun and exciting over break?” Karen asked.

“Only in the vaguest sort of way,” Ronda said. “I mean, I’m sure my skiing vacation with the family to Colorado will be fun and exciting, but I won’t be with Chris and Nate. So, Nate’s going to take me out Friday night. He can figure out when to take Chris out over the break.”

“I am? We are?” I said. It was the first I’d heard that Ronda wouldn’t be with us all week.

“Yeah. Do something really nice and special with your girlfriend before she has to leave town. Then you can do something really nice and special with me next week,” Chris said. I needed to come up with something quick and clear it with Mom and Dad. I knew they expected me to be at church for Good Friday service in the afternoon, but that didn’t usually last long.

I caught up with Ronda after school and asked to walk her home. She smiled and accepted.

“Honey, it seems like a really big sacrifice for you to go out with me right before you leave instead of Chris. I mean, I know you really prefer her to me and I’m okay with that. You don’t have to spend private time with me.”

She looked around, grabbed my hand, and practically dragged me around behind the Lutheran church. There was nothing back in that direction but a parking lot and an empty field. She pushed me up against a wall and raised my hand. She still hadn’t said anything and I was a little worried.

She held up my hand and folded all my fingers down except the middle finger so it looked like I was giving her the bird. Then she slowly stroked my finger up and down with her other hand.

“This finger. You see this finger? You had this finger up inside me as far as it would go. Inside me! In my vagina. You made me come while fucking in and out of me with this finger. Nate, are you telling me that after that, you don’t love me?”

“Yes, I love you, Ronda! I’m not saying or implying that I don’t. I just thought...”

“Stop thinking! Am I in love with Chris? Yes. But Nate, I can’t help myself. I fell in love with you, too. Please don’t say you don’t want to spend a little alone time with this girlfriend. Do you only want to be with Chris?” she asked. I could see the sparkle of a tear in her eye.

“Ronda, I’m so in love with you I can’t see straight. I’m so in love with you that I do stupid things and just assume you couldn’t possibly love me, too. I’m so in love with you that I want to be with you. I want to be alone with you and just hold you in my arms and whisper in your ear how much I love you. Please don’t imagine that I don’t love you.”

“Then please take me out Friday night. Start as early as possible. I’ll spend all day with you if you want. Take me to Dubuque for a movie and dinner and find a place out in the country where we can park and make out like a boyfriend and girlfriend who are both in love. I don’t mean like going all the way, or maybe not even going as far as we did last weekend. But make out with me like you truly love me and I promise, I will show you how much I love you,” she said.

I didn’t answer. I just pulled her to me and kissed her. I poured out as much love into that kiss as I could. I didn’t try to grope her or pet her. I held her cheek in my hand as I kissed her with all my heart.

When we parted, she looked at me with such a happy smile that it almost broke my heart.

“Better walk me home now before someone comes through the church parking lot and finds us making love in the grass,” she said. She held my hand as we headed out the last block to her house.

“Um ... We have church at 1:00 Friday. You know with Mom in the pulpit, I really can’t miss the service. But I’ll see how quickly I can get free afterward. I’ve got to talk to my folks about using the car and going out.”

“Maybe it would help if you tell them I’ll come to church with you,” she said. “I really don’t mind. I’d kind of like to hear your Reverend Mother Superior preach.”

“Any idea what to do then?” I asked. “Before the part about finding a deserted country road and parking so we can make out?”

“I don’t know what kind of food is available and I really don’t care. How about if we go to Dubuque and maybe do a little window shopping, then have dinner and go see a movie. I looked up what was playing in Sunday’s newspaper and there’s a movie starring James Coburn called In Like Flint. It looked like fun and maybe even a little sexy.”

“Yeah. I saw Our Man Flint with a bunch of kids from my school last winter. It was fun. That sounds like it would be a good time. I’ll tell Mom what we have planned and let you know tomorrow if it’s all okay.”

I kissed her at her door and she whispered, “Don’t you ever act like you don’t want to go out with me again. And you’d better not act like that with Chris. She’s even more in love with you than I am. But it’s close.”

“I guess I’ve pretty much admitted it. I love you, Ronda. See you tomorrow.”

Mom wasn’t real enthused about me going out, but figured if I didn’t, I’d just be playing in my studio or darkroom. She was happy that Ronda said she’d come to church with me and suggested we stop at the house after church to have a light lunch before we headed off for Dubuque.

I told Ronda and she kind of gulped.

“I guess Chris had a meal with your family. They didn’t eat her, so they probably won’t eat me. Just expect that sometime soon, you’ll be on the menu at my house, too. I guess you and Chris came over before we went to the play. That didn’t suck too bad,” Ronda said.

Pretty much the whole town of Tenbrook closed on Good Friday afternoon. The attendance at church didn’t really reflect that. There were forty-two for Mom’s carefully prepared service on the seven last words of Christ. I guess there were more at the Catholic church, but Ronda said she didn’t think the attendance would be any better at either of the Lutheran churches. I was in my suit, of course, and Ronda was dressed in a very pretty, but slightly understated, spring dress and light jacket. The temperature finally made it into the fifties and it actually felt like spring out.

Dad had prepared a kettle of chili for after-service lunch. We were all used to eating before noon, so by two o’clock we were really hungry.

“Maybe you’ll want to put off dinner until after the movie,” Dad said. “You don’t need to worry about being back early.”

“I have a one o’clock curfew,” Ronda said. “But that would give us plenty of time after the movie for dinner.”

“Just be careful and watch for slick spots on the road,” Mom said. “With the rapid melt-off today, we could face some ice if the temperature drops tonight.”

“Ronda, do you feel safe with my parents and sister if I leave you here to go upstairs and change clothes? I really don’t want to go to a movie in a suit,” I said.

“I think your sister wants to tell me all about the last girl you brought home for dinner,” Ronda laughed. “And I’m dying to hear about her.”

“Oh boy. Just remember it was kind of a spur of the moment thing because we’d been working and neither of us had anything planned,” I explained. Ronda made a shooing motion at me. I left.

“What I want to know is why really pretty girls like you and Chris want to go out with my dorky brother!” Kat said as I left. I wondered how Ronda would answer that.

It was about a quarter till four before we actually hit the road. I asked Ronda if she wanted to change into something more casual but she said she thought she looked okay for a date with her boyfriend. There was sure nothing wrong with the way she looked. I’d put on a pair of navy blue slacks, a light blue oxford shirt, and my tan corduroy jacket. It was nice to not need any other coats than that.

Ronda sat beside me, but we were only a mile out of town when she hiked her skirt up and took off her pantyhose. She stuffed them in her purse, put on a pair of bobby socks, and put her shoes back on.

“Panty hose are really convenient because you don’t have to wear a garter or a girdle and worry about seams and snags and all. But after you’ve had them on for a while, they just make your legs and your crotch sweat and smell. I think I became a cheerleader because they never wear pantyhose—just bobby socks or knee socks.”

“Well, you’ll never catch me complaining about looking at your bare legs,” I laughed.

“I’ll bet. I shaved this morning. Feel?”

She lifted my hand from the steering wheel and guided it up her leg from the knee all the way to her pussy, then put my hand back on the wheel.

“That’s, like, really distracting,” I said. “It makes it hard to keep my eye and my mind on the road.”

“Okay. I’ll wait until we’re parked to distract you any further. But you should know I’m not wearing a bra, either.”

“Oh, geez! I thought we were going to be a little less ... um ... exploratory when it was only any two of us out together,” I choked.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything, does it?”

“I suppose not. I just don’t want to set expectations too high. I don’t want to become one of the guys you can’t stand because I always want to get my hands all over you.”

“Thank you. I respect that and I suppose I sound like the female equivalent of one of those guys. I’m not really. I just feel so free when I’m with you. Do you have any idea how much I’ve had to defend myself against boys? Not just the jerks that Chris and I dated a couple times this month. I mean, like every boy I ever met. I know the kind of jokes boys tell and the way they talk. I’ve been around the sports teams too much for them to keep quiet about whether a girl is wearing falsies or if she’s really that stacked,” Ronda said. She leaned lightly against my shoulder.

“I’ve heard it. I’ve probably even speculated on it myself, though I wouldn’t talk about it. With anyone. I’ve heard too many rumors about what a girl will or won’t do, who’s easy, who is strictly for marriage and not for fun,” I said.

“It’s disgusting and gross. You know why girls wear padded bras? It’s another layer of defense against grabby guys. The advertisers want us to cross our heart, lift and separate, underwire, and support our boobs. Boys want to take them off of us. The school insists that we wear them, even girls who haven’t started developing yet. If you’re thirteen, you have to wear a bra. Most of us would prefer to wear an armored breastplate.”

“I don’t blame you for hating boys,” I said. “And I confess that I sometimes have the same kinds of thoughts. I just try to keep them under control.”

“I don’t hate all boys. I have a few good friends among the guys. A couple of players on the basketball team have stepped in to defend the cheerleaders when the team bus got a little too wild. And when I go to movies and see Fabian or Frankie Avalon, I think some pretty explicit thoughts about them.”

“About like boys with Annette. I got my whole introduction to female anatomy from watching her grow.”

“I got a lot of my education that way, too. It’s when I first realized I might be attracted to girls. Then I started to notice Christine and realized she and I were developing in a very similar way. Late at night, I’d feel my breasts and imagine what it would feel like to touch hers.”

“And now you know.”

“Nate, you know I really thought you were just going to latch onto her and that would be the end of any hope I ever had of finding out. And then in the darkroom you said we should share. I almost came while I was kissing you. And instead of being my competition, you guided my hand and showed my fingers where her clit was,” Ronda said.

“I’m sure you could have found it.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure I’d have been brave enough to search.”

“Um ... Where should I park? Is there any place in particular you want to shop?”

“Why don’t we just walk around Main Street from the old clock tower? We can check out the movie times. You know, I just want to feel like I’m really on a date with a guy I like and can walk around holding hands with,” she said.

“I’m your guy, Ronda,” I said. “Can’t think of anything better to do right now.”

I found a parking space and we just walked around town checking out store windows and holding hands. It was cloudy, but in the mid-fifties, so it was really comfortable to just be outside wandering.

When we came to a drugstore, Ronda pulled at me and ducked into a little boutique next door.

“This is your chance,” she whispered.

“Chance for what?”

“Go to the drugstore and buy condoms,” she said. I opened my mouth and stared at her. “Not for tonight, silly. But you’re going to need them soon and you haven’t had them handy. Better get, like, a dozen or something.”

“Okay,” I squeaked.

“I’ll just shop around this store until you get back.”

I was embarrassed to just walk into a drugstore and tell them I wanted a dozen condoms. I looked around the whole store until a pharmacist came out of the back room and approached me.

“Can I help you find something, son?”

I took a deep breath and just told him.

“Yeah. I’m looking for prophylactics.”

“Oh. Yes, it is springtime, isn’t it? We have them at the pharmacy counter. Come with me. Know what kind you want?”

“Trojans,” I answered automatically. It was our school mascot after all.

“Good choice. How many.”

“Better start with a dozen.”

“You’re either a god or an optimist. But a dozen it is. Either way, it’s good to be protected.” He gave me the package and I paid him. All told, it wasn’t as horrid an experience as I’d been afraid it would be. I shoved the package into my jacket pocket and rejoined Ronda. We giggled all the way to the theater.

We discovered there was a 5:30 showing of In Like Flint and decided to catch it and have dinner afterward.

Funny movie and a little bit sexy. A group of beautiful women had decided to take over the world and were manipulating an actor to pretend to be the president. Of course, Flint had to subvert their plans by making love to one of the women and getting aboard the rocket ship with them. We did laugh a lot, and I had my arm around Ronda through the whole movie. She grabbed my other hand and let me put it on her bare leg. Occasionally, we’d sneak a little kiss and my hand would slide up under her skirt a little, then back down. She held my hand that was around her shoulders and kept it pressed against her chest, but it was just a little above her breast. It was more like a promise.