Chapter 7

August 29, 2018 (Wednesday)

Author: Brit Whitcomb

Mare did not go to practice, as she was going to Armoire with Katherine for her second modeling effort.

After warmups, laps, and a very long rondo session, Coach had us sit for a discussion about formations.

“Last year, we had some trouble coming up with a formation for the team, which had an ... eclectic set of talents on offense. Since we were so successful with that 3-2-3-2, I have been considering going with that formation this year. However, the increase in roster size from 25 to 28 and, even more importantly, the rules change about first-half substitutions, may provide us the opportunity to do different things this year. In fact ... Wait. For those of you not familiar with the premier team that had 15 of you on it this spring and summer, that team had a roster size of 23. Because of the overall high talent level even beyond what we might have considered the starters, we split the team into two lineups and gave each lineup a half of each game, alternating from game to game as to which had the first half. Because most of the girls had played on that team last year and knew each other well, the quote-unquote starters did not mind all that much playing only half-games. In fact, the friendly rivalry between the two lineups got the second lineup – the one that might have been thought of as backups – to bear down to challenge the other lineup for stats such as most goals scored or fewest goals conceded in a game. By the end of the season, there was a much smaller quality difference between the lineups than at the start.

“I don’t propose to do the same here for two reasons, with the most critical being that there’s probably a bigger difference between 14-year-olds and 18-year-olds than there is between 12-year-olds and 15-year-olds. Think about it. Here, we’re dealing with freshmen versus seniors. Yes, there are, no doubt, exceptions, but, in general, I believe the distinction is real.

“Last year ... and many, many previous years in the school league, first-half substitutions were permanent. That is, the player coming off the pitch was not permitted back on the pitch, even if she was taken off in the very first minute. The rule change this year makes available for the second half any player subbed for in the first.”

There were a lot of whispered or not-so-whispered reactions, to which Coach said, “Ah, so some of you didn’t figure out how that rule change could be used. Regardless, while we’re hashing out our thoughts about a formation ... or formations this year, please keep that rule change in mind, as I expect it to be critical.”

With something of a sparkly mien, Coach allowed much whispering among players and staff as various groups of two to five players discussed the impact of the rule change and how we could take advantage of it. With that same minuscule smile on her face, Coach turned her head this way and that to better hear the various subgroup discussions, listening for at least five minutes.

“Okay, I heard some interesting ideas and some that aren’t particularly doable, however, many of you seemed to be trying to think outside the box, and that’s a good thing. We thought the 3-2-3-2 last year was outside the box, as it’s a formation only rarely used outside of beginner teams. While we kicked butt with that formation last year, I think we might consider ... more options and, something I heard from one group, different options selected for particular opponents and – I thought this a particularly good idea – for throwing a monkey wrench into the opponent’s plan when we change formation mid-game, even mid-half.”

She waited out additional extensive whispering until Jordan raised her hand.

When Coach called on her, Jordan stated, “I want to get this straight in my mind. You’re saying that we might sub, say Addiah for Jules at the 20-minute mark of the first half... and change the formation, either to match Addiah’s different skills and style or to better match up against the opponent. Yes?”

“Exactly. We have more players this year, so will probably have a wider range of skill sets. In combination with the rule change, that should allow us to be more flexible, more fluid. However, and I’ll give you first shot at answering this, Jordan, what problems would more flexibility cause us?”

Jordan thought for a bit, held her hand up to Coach in hopes of getting more time, and when she got it, thought for at least another half-minute.

“More ... and ... umm ... more-difficult practice to learn ... however many options we want to use.”

Coach looked at Jordan with some surprise evident on her face, at least briefly, then said, “Very good, PK. Very good.”

When Jess threw her hand up and Coach called on her, she asked, “How many formations or ... subsets of players were you considering?”

“Fewer than ten, but more than three, possibly quite a few more than three. And I’ll answer your next question. Yes, that might make it difficult on many of us, but I recall how smart this team was last year, and I know how smart the veterans of the premier team are. Getting six or eight formations down and with, probably, a different set of personnel for many or most of them, will be tricky, but I think you girls could handle it.”

“We’ll be having a classroom session on Friday ... in a classroom. We’ll do the usual warmups and laps on Friday morning, but we’ll skip rondo and go straight to whichever classroom we get. After the classroom session, everyone will do the second set of laps and then practice is over for the week. And speaking of the second set of laps...”

There was both grumbling and chuckling at Coach’s words, although most of the former was just pro forma grumbling, grumbling because it was expected.

At lunch, Beth instigated a discussion about soccer formations and which ones we could use.

“We know well virtually all or all of the girls that’ll make the team, Meka. Unless too many of us have something important to do this afternoon that’s surplus to the mid-week grocery run, maybe we could get some of the formations discussion done ... or at least discussed.”

“I like the idea. Does anyone have anything important on their schedule today that would preclude us from following Beth’s suggestion?” When no one indicated such, Meka said, “Formation and personnel strategy is now in session. Liya, could you get the big screen set up for drawing?”

Liya asked, “Do we want to do this in the pavilion? The seating there would be more amenable to the task.”

“I knew there was some reason we had you on staff.”

Many of us grinned or chuckled at Meka’s quip.

At our new venue, Liya announced, “I didn’t know this would come in handy so soon, but I’d only gotten this bit of software to run like I wanted. With it, I can outline formations on a pitch and give personnel names to the individual positions.”

Meka slowly shook her head and said, “Liya, we don’t pay you anywhere near what you’re worth.”

“Hah! Since you don’t pay me anything, you’re certainly right. However, I’m as sold on the LA as anyone, and I may be sold on the teams nearly as much as anyone. While I treasure my membership in the LA more, I do enjoy being part of the various teams and I like my job with them. Besides, this is part of my job with the team.”

“And if we can ever find a way to pay you for that job, we’ll do it, as you make Coach’s job so much less stressful. But let’s get to it. Beth, I’d bet a shiny nickel or even a dull dime that you’ve been thinking hard about Coach’s requirements, so please start us off.”

Beth stayed seated, saying, “I think our first consideration for everything is that we won’t have four State-honored defenders this year. We can try to play all O, all the time, but a sufficiently good D married to a reasonably good O could take us down. I think we need to work from the back forward, and we may want to run a back line of four. Remember, despite the youth of our O last year, we managed quite well, although, without the Brits, we probably would not have.”

Meka responded, “I was thinking about a back line of four, also. Or, at least, a back line of three plus a stopper. I just don’t know if we have a sufficiently skilled girl we can put in as a stopper, although Gracey might be able to manage it.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Gracey responded, “but I’m not sure I have the ... offensive chops for that job.”

“Maybe not, but you must realize that you’d be better in that role than almost anyone else on the team.”

Gracey shrugged, then added, “That may be, but I’ve got two points that we should probably consider before slotting individual players into a system.” When Meka gave her a ‘go-on’ hand movement, she said, “So far as I can figure, we’ve got only six fullbacks ... versus something like ten or so who are primarily offense personnel. Of course, I’m not counting Crewe or Rose, the latter because she’ll probably start in goal and the former because she’s got some midfield chops. Of course, that combo is what a stopper is.”

Beth stuck her oar in, saying, “Nasinka would be perfect. Too bad we can’t kidnap her.”

There was some chuckling, after which Emma responded immediately, saying, “I don’t have quite the defensive skills that position requires, despite having been a fullback for most of my ... career, I guess. I also lack the ... under-pressure ball-control skills the position typically needs.”

“True, although you have come a long way – in both sets of skills – since this time last year.”

“Thanks, Meka.”

“You’re welcome, but you deserve the praise. Okay,” she said as she switched gears slightly. “However, before we drop the subject, I’ll talk to Coach about the need for someone with that mix of skills. What do we think about Addiah? With some better one-on-one D skills, she might be good for that slot should we find ourselves in need of someone filling that role.”

Rhee replied, “I was going to suggest her. She’s big and physical.”

“Yes, she is, but I’m looking at someone who’d do quite well at stopper ... if her front-line skills didn’t make her even more valuable there. Would you consider it if we had a game-specific need?”

“I’ll do whatever for the team.”

“Thanks, Rhee. I’ll mention that to Coach, too. I can easily imagine a game situation in which we want to go more fully onto D, but not quite full-D. I’m going to suggest to Coach that we practice that a few times in the next few weeks.”

Meka looked around, then said, “Given that a four-person back line leaves only six positions, where does that leave Beth? Your one-on-one D skills have certainly improved, but I don’t see you as a center half.”

Char saved Beth from having to respond directly to Meka by saying, “Rhee, I don’t want you to see this as suggesting I don’t want to share the front line with you, but if we don’t use you as a stopper ... on this team, you probably have the most impact at center half. We know the Brits are both excellent at going on O from the midfield and spreading the field, so I see one of our best options being a... 4-3-1-2, with Beth as that one.”

Beth responded, “I can see that. Heather and Civ are both very fast, but if Civ is going to play more centrally, she’ll need some work on her aerial game.”

“And I need that work, Meka” replied Civ.

While the formation discussion went on for more than another hour, we left nearly everything else but Char’s proposed 4-3-1-2 very up in the air. Two firm decisions were getting Addiah practice work as a stopper and using last year’s 3-2-3-2 against poorer teams. After Meka called an end to the session, we jumped into the pool.

Kai had joined us in the pool, and we had gotten in some rough-housing (aka chicken fights). Some of the girls had put in some lap time before they ended their efforts when Sandy brought out Janice, the newest member of the marriage housed in the W, to meet us. Wow! She’s exotically attractive, and I could see why Charlie was so taken with her that he put up zero fight about having a fifth wife. And she’s also fun, with a quick wit and a pleasantly tinkling laugh. She also had no problem with naked hugs, even of Brett (Seamus had left after the formation discussion for his family’s weekly event).

After those two stepped slightly apart from each other, Janice got our guy red-faced by saying, “It’s my understanding that you and your nice cock are available to me. Is that right?”

Although quite red, Brett replied, “Yes. The compound’s rule is female choice, but I need to tell you that ... I’d never have a problem with you choosing me. You’re lovely.”

“What if I were to choose you this evening?”

“Janice, female choice is particularly true on ... family sex nights.”

Janice looked around a bit quickly, then said to the many of us hanging on her conversation with Brett, “You girls should know that Sandy and my other wives have explained much of the ... goings-on in the compound. You need to know that they told me much about the compound in the nearly six weeks they spent convincing me to join their marriage.”

She glanced over both shoulders and in a false aside to Brett spoken at normal volume, stated, “I’ve wanted Charlie for years and I’d have joined the marriage just for him. However, once the wives realized I wouldn’t balk over or tell tales about their marriage, they informed me of... all the perks of joining their marriage, I wanted in even more. I love good sex, and I like it with a ... wide variety of ... people.”

“If that’s the case, Janice,” responded Brett, “you’re certainly in the right place. With your ... explanation, I’d be ... interested in a second hug.” When she stepped back into his body, he added, “Young girls, find a wall.”

Without waiting to see that the young girls found a wall, Brett put his arms around Janice, put his hands on her ass, pulled her fully into him with his hard cock smushed against her belly, and then the two kissed very intensely for over two minutes.

They separated, noticeably panting, and Janice got out, “The ... my wives said you were very good at a lot of things, and they were certainly right about your kissing. If it weren’t Wednesday and if I weren’t a little sore already, I’d have you inside me right now in front of most of your wives.”

“You’re certainly welcome to take me in front of them nearly whenever you want. My wives would love that ... and so would I.”

Meka followed his words with, “Janice, it’s highly obvious that your fit in the compound is virtually perfect, and I hope you’ll be interested in loving more of us than our guys.”

“Meka, you’re sexy as Hell, and I doubt I’d ever turn you down.” She looked around a bit until she found Lana, then said directly to her, “Goddess, I already love it here, but I can see I’m going to love it here even more than I thought I would!”

Lana strode to Janice, put her left arm around Janice’s waist and her right around Brett’s, then pulled the three of them into a hug, and responded, “Don’t worry about using my tagline. It’s in the ... our public domain, now.” She shook her head rapidly, then added, “Goddess, I’m looking forward to enjoying you and your body.”

“I doubt you’re looking forward to that ... togetherness more than I am! You’re incredibly lovely.”

And that was our introduction to Janice. I wonder if she’ll change her last name.

Author: Katherine Couture

Mare was getting antsy before 10:30, so I asked her if she wanted to go to Armoire early; she nodded aggressively. I texted Delia about the change in plans, and we were out the door less than 15 minutes later and at Armoire’s back door a bit after 11:00, having picked up takeout Mexican on the way in. She had said she was too nervous to eat, but I told her I was getting something for her, anyway, so she might as well tell me what she wanted. The aromas wafting out of the takeout bag on her lap as I drove us to the store changed her mind, so our first task was eating our lunch in the breakroom.

Delia came in and said, “It’s been slow, as usual, and I’ve gotten all the restocking done.” She fidgeted, then said, “Thanks for trusting me with opening. I think I got everything set up right, but I’d appreciate it if you checked me. Hi, Mare.”

I smiled and said, “I can do that.”

When I raised my eyebrows at Mare, she said, “Go on. I’ll be fine. I just had a ... bit of jitters, and hunger didn’t help. I skipped breakfast because I was so nervous, and I don’t really know why I was.”

Delia had done all the opening setup correctly, so I returned to my lunch; Mare had finished hers. When my plate was also clean, she and I stepped over to the rack in the breakroom holding the outfits I’d pulled last night for her.

I told her, “The outfits beyond the divider are for this evening. I’ll let you pick which of this afternoon’s outfits you want to wear first.”

She sorted through the four options, then pulled the third one off the rack, and said, “This one’s cool. Oh. Oh, I bet this should be a no-undies dress, too.”

“Not a bra, no, but you could use one of these sheer mini-sheaths.”

I was sure I remembered the LA girls looking at those, and when I handed a white one to her, she said, “Oh, yeah. That’ll work.”

She stripped to her skin, after which I said, “The door’s not locked. I’ll get it.”

“Not a problem,” she replied. “I’ll be clothed shortly.”

I watched her as she pulled the mini-sheath up her legs, then, when her eyes found mine, said, “You truly love nudity. So much so, that you were willing to take a chance that no one would come in the door.”

She grinned, then said, “But the chances of that are slim and even slimmer that it wouldn’t be Delia, and it wouldn’t have mattered had it been Delia.”

“True,” I responded as she began donning the white, ribbed knit, high-collar, full-sleeve minidress with a heart-shaped cutout above the cleavage. When it was fully on her and she had done a twirl, I shook my head in wonder and said, “Mare, you were meant to be a model. Everything looks freaking good on you.”

She softly stepped into me, put her right hand on the back of my head, and pulled me in for a not-too-long kiss.

I told her, “I hope I can resist you until late April.”

She smiled at me, replying, “I hope I can resist, also.” Her cheeks went a little pink as she asked, “Is it okay that I get ... turned on by the thought of wearing no panty and a very short dress on the floor?”

“So long as you don’t get turned on so much that customers can smell you.”

“I’ll ... I’ll keep that in mind. Can I go ahead and start? You don’t need to pay me for the extra time.”

“How ‘bout if I pull you off the floor sufficiently early to make up the difference? We’re usually not that busy on Wednesday nights ... most Wednesdays, anyway.”

“But school is starting soon. Doesn’t that make a difference?”

“Occasionally. It seems we don’t get all that many high-school students buying school clothes, and the university has already started. Most high-school students won’t buy the ... sexy stuff and we’re pricier than Walmart or Target.”

I walked with her out to the floor, had her spend time learning the floor, then joined Delia behind the registers, who asked, “Will ... the girls be coming in again sometime?”

I smiled internally and answered, “Almost certainly, but I never know when their latest enthusiasm will hit them.” I glanced out the front door and, seeing no one heading our way, added, “Do you remember the tops last year or early this year that had a huge gap from the breasts to the belly? They were quite the rage for a few weeks.”

“Yeah.”

“Those girls set that trend.”

“They did?”

“It was one of their first times here and was also when I first met them. I thought that item should have been a much larger seller than it was, so when one of them tried one on, I offered a large discount if each of them bought one and they paraded through the mall wearing them. They got a good deal, had fun showing off their bellies, and the store sold more than 150 of ‘em.”

“Wow.”

“Nothing else since has seemed like the perfect fit for them to start another flash trend. And, now, I’ve got Mare here to model items that really need to be seen on a girl to have a chance at selling well.”

“Oh, I didn’t really understand why you had her modeling. I need to think more about stuff like that.”

“Delia, you could elevate your position here if that’s something you’d want. You were very good with the girls last Saturday, with many of them complimenting you to me. I’m not trying to push you, but if you wanted to rise here, you could do that. As I told you when I hired you, discretion is critical here, and you’ve shown you have that ability. I wonder if you understand how much those girls’ comfort with you has done for you, personally, yes, but also professionally. What they get up to here is something that couldn’t happen anywhere else, so they’re something of a captive audience, although I don’t think of them like that.

“Delia, we sell a lot of outré clothing, both on the main floor and in the fetish section, although more the former than the latter, and those customers are something like the girls. They require a bit more personal attention, but if they get it, they’re very loyal. The store could not survive without those customers, although not strictly due to the volume of sales specifically to them. They sell the store when they wear those clothes on the street. Most women ... or girls ... who come in looking specifically for some outré item they’d just seen somewhere don’t wind up buying that item ... for whatever reason: they think they couldn’t pull it off on the street, they didn’t like the way they looked in it, whatever. But they come in looking for something different and even if they don’t walk out the door with the item they came in here to see, most walk out the door with something.”

Delia looked into my eyes briefly, looked back down, then said, “I can see that.” She looked back into my eyes as she said, “I don’t have a good idea of what I want to do with my life. I’m ... a bit lost. But I liked ... no, greatly enjoyed Saturday ... She looked out the door, then added, “And not because I got to w-watch s-sex, but because those girls were ... so friendly to me. Rhee was really nice, even soothing me when I almost cried.”

She looked into my eyes and finished, “I don’t know what I want to do for a career, but I have been enjoying my time here more and more, although not like, I don’t know, something that one likes to do on her own time. I mean, it’s still work, but it’s ... not bad.”

Mare is fucking amazing. She went out there, her nametag on a lanyard around her neck and ... lit up the place. Granted, there weren’t many customers out there, but since Delia had already done restocking, Mare had little else to do, so talked to all five customers, asked if they had questions or needed any help. I was a bit concerned by a middle-aged guy whose eyes followed her everywhere after she had talked to him. I put my right hand in my pants pocket and went over to him.

“Good afternoon, Sir. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Umm, not really. I’m just ... killing time waiting for my wife to get here.”

“That’s fine. Please feel free to wave me down if you find you need assistance with anything.”

I pulled my hand out of my pocket as I walked off, then went to my office.

I had had a few problems with customers in the old edifice, so when I moved the store here, I paid for high-end security cameras, ones I could trigger remotely to take photos of higher resolution than the typical video feed of most such cameras. In the office, I found the photos of the guy – not great, but not bad – and saved them to disk in my “Suspicious Characters” folder, appending a note providing the details. While I did that, I kept one eye on the camera feeds, so noted the time when he left the store, only a few minutes after I left him. Waiting for my wife, my ass.

I called the PI I have on retainer, explained the new problem, and sent her the photos. While it’s highly unlikely his image will trigger something, if he’s a registered sex offender, there’s a reasonable chance the photos will hit.

[Mare, this was probably nothing, but I care too much for you to take a chance. Beth, please delay putting this entry in the journal.]

I let my heart rate subside, then went back onto the floor ... to quite the surprise. I could see Mare wearing something of a happy face talking to a customer who must have come in while I was dealing with the photos. When I got to Mare, my eyebrows went walking up my forehead.

Mare said, “Katherine. You remember Wren?”

“Of course. Welcome back, Wren. How did your event go on Saturday?”

“It was fine. I had to smack the guy’s hands only twice.” Mare’s smile ran away, and Wren noticed immediately, and told her, “Believe me, I’ve experienced worse, but it really would be nice if I could have a date who fully respected my boundaries. Just as a change of pace if for no other reason.”

I could see the idea run across Mare’s face, so I lightly touched her hand and when her eyes got to mine, I shook my head in minuscule fashion. She gave me a brief frown but returned her attention to Wren. I mentally rolled my eyes, because it was obvious that Wren noticed the whole ... non-verbal discussion. She might be a cut or three above the typical rich-girl crowd.

Hoping to get the conversation back to whatever it had been, I asked Wren, “What did you think of ... Sarina’s dress?”

“Lovely, and she looked stunning in it.” Through very, very minor changes in various facial muscles, Wren’s expression changed, and she said, “I wanted to thank you, both of you, for how you treated me and how quickly you found exactly what I wanted and found it quickly. Katherine, the main reason I came today is to thank you for the excellent service I received Saturday. I apologize for being a bit of a pain, but I was getting desperate to find something suitable. My experience here on Saturday was a completely different world than what I received the other time I visited Armoire d’Amour, and I greatly appreciated it, even enjoyed it. In the future, I’ll be starting here.”

“I greatly appreciate your kind words, Wren, and we hope to serve you as well and as efficiently as we managed on Saturday. Just so you know, because your visit caused this to happen, on Saturday, Mare was supposed to be modeling outfits, and only modeling. Between Sarina and you, Mare and I have both become aware that she has some skill at waiting on customers. Maren will be modeling two days per week. Given her revealed skills, she’ll also be waiting on customers when the other staff are occupied. She still knows little about our stock, although she knows generalities reasonably well. While I’m considering moving her weekday shifts around, she’ll always be here on Saturdays from noon to eight.

“You and Mare worked very well together on Saturday, and you seemed happy with her assistance. Wren, if it’s acceptable to you, I’d like to make you Mare’s second priority when she’s on the floor if you arrive on a day she’s working; her first would be modeling.”

Wren ... didn’t stare at me, but came close to doing so, a behavior strongly frowned on by the old-money upper crust, particularly relative to inferiors.

“I apologize. You surprised me greatly.” Wren turned to Mare and asked, “How do you feel about that?”

“I’d like that. I like you, and I enjoyed helping both you and Sarina the other day.”

“Okay, then.” She turned back to me, stating, “I accept your offer gratefully. I understand that Mare’s very new here. Additionally, she was so helpful and in such a fun way that I will not at all mind if we run into a hole in her knowledge of the stock. Thank you, Katherine, for ... everything.”

I turned to Mare, saying, “I have some paperwork to do in my office. If you need me, feel free to interrupt. I’ll probably appreciate it.” Wren chuckled softly at my last sentence, so I told her, “Paperwork is the bane of businesses, but ignoring the paperwork is a sure way to lose your business.”

When Wren nodded, I headed to my office.

Mare found me in the office around 2:00 and asked about the next outfit.

A thought suddenly hit me, so I said, “I apologize, Mare. I should have given you a key to the breakroom. I’ll rustle one up once we get you into the next outfit.”

“But where would I put it?”

I gazed at her for a few seconds, shook my head slightly, and then said, “That’s a good question, but one easily answered. There’s a pegboard on the back of the office door. Once we’ve gotten you back on the floor, I’ll tag one for you and put it there.”

Alyssa had arrived just before noon and was at a register, so I whispered that we would be in the breakroom; she nodded.

Once in the breakroom with the door locked, I said, “First, I didn’t say this in front of Wren purposefully, but you’re also to help Sarina and Phoebe if you see them on the floor unattended.”