Chapter 12 - A Taste of Things To Come

Wednesday 5th July

“♪Luke♪”

What was that?

Was someone singing to me?

“♪Luke. It’s time to get up, Luke♪”

Time to get up?

Oh!

Suddenly my eyes were wide open, I was awake, and I realised that Stef was still in bed with me, we were both naked, she was half-lying on me as I lay on my back, and her right hand was slowly stroking and caressing my already hard cock, exploring it, really, not actually wanking me awake.

“Hey, cariad,” I said as I kissed the tip of her nose, trying not to shake like a leaf at her still being here.

“Hey yourself, Babes,” Stef said as she smiled and kissed me back.

“Don’t get me wrong and I don’t love what you’re doing, but, uhm, what time is it?” I asked cautiously.

“Just five-thirty. So, you really want to come with me?” she teased as she quickened her pace a little, not enough to make me come, but enough to remind me she could. Easily.

I mentally shook my head to focus better. “You mean come with you on a bike? Won’t that mean some really clever balancing?”

Stef giggled. “Oh, it would, but they do make tandems you know.”

“I know, but I didn’t know that you were seated that close together?”

“Well, I could always sit behind and lean forward...”

“Sis, that’s a seriously ... interesting mental image.”

“Isn’t it?”

“But we don’t have a tandem.”

“We don’t.”

“So coming with you on a bike means riding the roads with you.”

Stef sighed sadly. “It does.”

“And I know I said I would, but you’re promising me you won’t kill me or leave me on the top of a hill or something...”

“Oh I’d never do that to you, Babes.”

“You wouldn’t?”

“Noo. I’ve got plans for you for later...”

“Plans?”

“Secret plans.”

“What kind of secret plans?”

“The kind you’ll enjoy, probably, but also the kind I’ll enjoy, certainly.”

“Ah.”

“So, while you think that over, maybe pull on some Lycra?” Stef suggested. I didn’t ride that much, so I didn’t have the selection she did, but she’d made sure I’d started the summer with at least one new pair of shorts.

Had she been planning this that far back?

I nodded. “ETA?”

“Be ready for ten to?”

“You got it, Sis.”

“Good boy,” Stef said as she kissed my nose again, let go of my cock, and tiptoed out into the half-light of the hallway as she slipped into her room.

Fifteen minutes?

First order of the day – I needed a pee.

With it still being so early, and with all the ‘it doesn’t matter anymores’ that was Rowden Family v2.0, I decided it would be okay for me to not bother dressing to go from my room to the bathroom and back again, so I quietly got out of bed, opened my bedroom door, stepped out as softly as I could–

–and literally walked right into Mum!

“Good morning, Honey,” she said as she saw me, saw how close we were to touching, and how we were nearly touching – cock meet Mum’s thigh, thigh meet son’s hard cock – and stepped back. “Up early?” she unhelpfully asked with a straight face but a self-betraying eyebrow.

I gulped and backed away. “Riding. Out. Uhm, with Stef.”

Mum nodded. “You were going to the toilet?”

I nodded.

“Well, then, don’t let me stand in your way,” Mum smiled as she gestured towards the bathroom.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I almost dove inside where I had a quick and awkward pee as I tried not to think about what had just happened.

Thankfully, by the time I’d done my thing and opened the door to head back to my room, Mum was gone. So was my erection. Amazing what fear and an empty bladder can achieve.

Checking my phone and seeing I was running a little behind the clock, I quickly pulled on my shorts, an old T, and some ‘sporty’ socks before I headed down into the garage where Stef was waiting for me, wearing black Lycra shorts with red side panels, and a sleeveless red top with white chevrons that zipped up at the front.

She must have dressed in a hurry, too, because her top wasn’t zipped up.

“Sis!” I hissed.

“Luke?”

“Uhm, Mum’s up!”

“And?” Stef asked, patiently.

“And ... oh. We can do this, now, can’t we?”

Stef smiled and nodded. “So you can see my IBTs anytime I want around the house. Like here and now, like this. So, ready?” she asked as she zipped herself up, well, most of the way.

“Yeah ... but there’s something else I’ve gotta tell you,” I said as I took my helmet off the hook where it lived and tied it on, Stef doing the same with hers.

“Oh?” she asked as she slipped on her cycling trainers, different from her normal trainers, but still trainers; she claimed cleated shoes were called ‘ankle breakers’ for a reason.

“Uhm, yeah, as in ‘oh no’ as in ‘oh hey, Mum’ as in Mum was up when I went for a pee and almost walked into her,” I said as I pulled on my own trainers and tidied away the rabbit’s ears.

“I don’t get it. So Mum was up early...”

“ ... and I nearly bumped into her,” I said, the garage taking on a red glow as I felt my face working up to self-combustion temperatures.

“You nearly ... oh!” Stef said as she figured out what I’d not yet said. “She okay about it?”

I nodded as I opened the door and we led our bikes out, hers a custom mountain-trailing combo capable of hill climbs and potholes, mine a more general mountain bike.

“And you didn’t actually... ?”

“No!” I squeaked as I closed the door behind us.

“Ok. Erm, you got your phone with you?”

“Huh?”

“Have you got your phone with you, Luke?”

I shook my head.

Stef smiled patiently. “It’s okay this time, but seriously, you have to get into the habit, even when you’re riding with me, okay?”

I nodded.

“And about Mum? You’re okay about that, too?”

Didn’t she get it? “Sis, I nearly poked Mum with my cock, y’know, still hard ... and she was naked as well.”

“Oh-kay, let’s sort this out before we head off,” Stef said. “One, I’m sure Mum’s seen cocks before, she’s seen yours, and she’s seen you hard, so none of that is new and shocking for her, is it?

“Two, erm, you said it was an accident? You know she understands about accidents, right?

“Three, even if you had bumped into her, I don’t see her getting in the least little bit bothered, do you? You don’t think she’s only been ‘bumped’ by Dad, do you?

“Four, Mum didn’t tease you about it, did she?

I shook my head. She’d made fun of the situation, but not of me.

Stef nodded. “And that tells you she knew how you might be feeling, so she knew it would be a bad idea to make fun you, so she didn’t.

“Five, you think Mum’s never encountered ‘morning glory’ or ‘morning wood’ or ‘morning hard cock’ before? Of course she has. Have you thought about what Mum and Dad hinted about their holidays before us? If they were what I think they were like, then I can pretty much guarantee you Mum’s seen plenty of ‘morning salutes’, too.

“Sixthly and lastly, what are you worried about, Babes, I mean what are you really worried about?”

“I, uhm, I don’t want Mum to think I was like that because of her, because I was thinking or looking at her like that...”

“And you weren’t, were you?”

“No!”

“You think Mum knows that... ?”

“Uhm, she does, doesn’t she?”

Stef nodded. “Okay, forget everything else, and try this on. When Mum and Dad changed the rules at home, they would have known someone would see or bump into or accidentally touch someone in new and unexpected ways, yes? So, if Mum and Dad knew that and they still changed some of the rules around here, they’re okay that it might happen, and understand it means nothing more than an accidental oopsie, right?”

I nodded. She was right. There was no way we were where we were now as a family without Mum and Dad having thought this out before we had, and if they had thought it out and still changed things, then like Stef said, this was an expected thing that meant nothing more than a slightly awkward moment that would pass and be forgotten and mean nothing more than accidents happen.

But...

But what if it was Dad some morning and he was the one who bumped into Stef with his erection?

But they’d’ve thought’ve that, too, and though I could see it’d make Dad feel way awkward, they’d been ready to put themselves in an awkward position, too, so that Rowden V2.0 could go ahead.

Never, I reminded myself, play chess with Mum or Dad; they thought way more moves ahead than I ever did.

I should learn to, though.

Of course, all this took no more than a moment for me to realise.

Stef was smiling. “Sooo, now you’ve figured it out, can we get riding now?”

Dam, my face really gives me away. “It’s, it’s all okay, isn’t it?”

“It is, especially between us, but also between all of us, really, just differently for us, but that’s our little thing.

“So.

“Riding 101 with Stef.

“Are you serious and committed about wanting to train up a little?”

I nodded.

“Okay. Before we work on strength, I’m guessing you need to work on stamina, and also skills.”

“Skills?”

Stef sighed. “You do know that descending isn’t just about going as fast as you can, don’t you?” she teased.

“It’s not! Oh no! I’ve been doing it wrong all this time!” I teased back.

Stef shook her head. “For that, we’re going with Plan B this morning instead.”

“Plan B?” I asked.

I shouldn’t’ve.

“That ... was ... taking ... things ... easy?” I gasped as we got back home, one hour later, my legs pretty much pure jelly, and my lungs screaming for mercy.

Stef shook her head. “No. Plan A was mercy, Plan B was for next week. I promoted you, that’s all,” she grinned.

“Can I get a demotion?” I asked as we put our bikes and things away.

Stef chuckled. “No, but you can get a reward...”

“I ... can?”

Stef unzipped her top and opened it. God, she’s beautiful. “Come here, Babes,” she said.

For a moment I panicked, but if she was confident enough to do it, so should I be, and we kissed and it was glorious and I forgot I even had legs.

“Better?” Stef asked as we remembered we couldn’t do that all day.

I nodded and grinned.

Stef chuckled. “Shower?”

I sniffed comically. “Shower...” I echoed, still coming back to Earth after Stef’s tongue had done things to my brain that’d left me not much better than a puddle.

“I meant with me, goofus!”

“Oh...” I said, and started grinning again.

Stef shook her head. “Did I win you in a lottery?”

“I was first prize,” I said.

Stef stopped, turned, and smiled. “Yes you were, weren’t you?” she said as she opened the door into the kitchen and stepped through, me a couple of steps behind her.

“Hey, Mum,” Stef said we saw her sitting at the kitchen table, pulling apart an almond croissant.

“Good morning, Stef, Luke. Was it warm out this morning, Honey?” she asked Stef.

“It was,” she enthused. “I think it’s going to be the hottest day of the summer today.”

“I see. Is that why your top is open, Honey?” Mum asked.

Stef stood stock still, looked down, saw she’d not zipped up, and flushed deeply.

“Erm, oops,” she said.

Mum shrugged. “I don’t see that an ‘oops’ is called for, do you? We are at home, we are alone, there are no guests, and we’ve already established that nudity in the family isn’t an issue, haven’t we, Luke?”

“Yes, Mum.”

Mum smiled. “It was fine, Son. I’m sure you’ll perfect the technique of open door – look through door – and then go through door, won’t you?”

I nodded.

“As you for you, Stef, I trust this happened just, in the garage?”

Stef nodded.

“Then there’s no reason to blush like you did, is there?”

Stef shook her head. “Erm, habit?”

Mum smiled. “Old habits, new habits, and habits one cannot avoid, such as work. So, what are you planning for today? Is Leri coming over again?”

Stef shook her head. “No, she’s spending time at home, family, other friends, that kind of.”

“I see.”

“So it’s just Luke and me.”

“Sunbathing?” Mum teased.

“Later...”

“Uhm, later?” I asked. This was new.

“Uh-hmm,” Stef nodded. “I think I want to go shopping.”

“Oh?” I asked, shopping always a troubling concern, but especially when Mum or Stef are involved. Both? Dad and I run.

“Don’t be like that,” Stef chuckled. “I want you to come with me. It will make things so much easier, if you do.”

“Ah. Baggage?” I asked, guessing what she needed me there for.

“No. Well, yes, as well, but not only. You’re planning on riding with me most mornings?”

I nodded. Cautiously. Really cautiously.

“You’ve how many pairs of cycling shorts?”

“That fit? Two.”

“And you were planning on wearing them, how long?”

“Uhm, the whole journey?” I teased, much to Mum’s and Stef’s amusement.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Mum said.

Stef smiled. “Seriously, Luke. You can’t wash them every day.”

“I can’t?”

Stef shook her head. “Not if you’re thinking of them lasting very long.”

“Oh.”

“Sooo, if you come shopping with me, I might go as far as going to Charlie’s with you, after, but I will take you to my shop and treat you to a couple more pairs.”

“Wow!” I said.

Stef smiled. “Call it a late birthday treat, or a thank you for being such a sweet brother.”

Mum shook her head. “Enough of that, Honey, or he’ll turn Welsh Red.”

“Uhm, Sis? Thanks. I mean, you had me at Charlie’s...” I joked, we all knowing how that line ended.

“And after that, sunbathing I assume,” Mum said as she got up and cleared her things away. Nobody contradicted her.

“Time we grabbed a shower,” Stef said as she got up, ruffled my hair, and headed off upstairs.

A shower.

Not my shower but a shower.

I didn’t dare look at Mum.

There was a moment of silence, one of those moments that stretches out until the end of time...

“Well, I need to be going,” Mum said as she closed the door to the dishwasher. “Have fun, both of you,” she added, and, still smiling, she too was gone.

Had she heard right?

If she had, what did ‘have fun both of you’ mean?

I needed to run this past Stef.

I also needed a shower.

Sometimes coincidences are good things.

I headed upstairs, peeling off my sweaty Lycra and dropping it into the laundry basket in my room, and stepped into the bathroom.

Stef had started without me, had just the rainfall on, though quite strongly, and was pushing the water over her, I guess as she waited for me. When she turned and saw me, she smiled and waved me in.

“Hey, Babes,” she said, not even waiting as she held me to her, pretending it was so we could help get each other’s backs wet. It seemed our bums took a lot of work, too.

“Hey, cariad,” I smiled as I held her in my arms, my cock nudging her thigh, her nipples poking my chest, and neither of us could’ve been happier about any of that.

“Quick shower this morning, if we’re going shopping before sunbathing?”

“Sure, but, uhm, Sis, I think we might be in a bit of trouble...”

“Oh?” Stef asked, right eyebrow of inquiry cocked at ‘tell me more’.

I nodded gently. “When you came up here, you said for ‘a’ shower, not ‘yours’ or ‘mine’ or anything like that.”

“I did?”

Another nod.

“What did Mum say... ?” Stef asked. I knew she was smart enough to have figured it wasn’t anything bad, because I wasn’t depressed or worried or dead or anything like that, but she knew Mum must’ve said something. She was Mum.

“That’s just it, Sis. She said ‘have fun both of you’ and that was it.”

“What? Mum said both of us have fun?”

I nodded.

“So she heard, then?”

I nodded.

“And she was okay with it?”

Another nod. “Seems...”

Stef tilted her head to the left. “You know what this means, don’t you?” she teased.

“No... ?”

Stef smiled. “Well, I think it means we don’t need to worry about Mum, and by extension we don’t need to worry about Dad, and that means we don’t need to worry about showering together, too, at least as long as we’re not obvious about it.”

“You’re sure? I mean it’s not that I don’t trust you, but if we’re wrong about this...”

“Sure? No. Confident? Yes. Sooo, you want to get naughty with me?”

I laughed. “I thought we needed to get clean and hurry... ?”

“We do. So. Be creative!”

“Well ... I did have an idea...”

“Ooh! What is it, what is it?”

“Trust me?”

“You know I do, Babes.”

“Oh-kay then. First, quick wash, soap and shampoo, okay?”

Stef nodded, and we were quick, though there was some lingering, too, especially when it came to those bits that made us go ‘oh’ or ‘ooh’ or ‘stop it, look at the time!’

Soon we were back to only the rainfall.

“Uhm, Stef?”

“Luke?”

“If you’re not ... happy, just tell me, okay?”

She nodded.

“You know you’re beautiful, right?”

Stef smiled.

“You know what’s so good, about your beauty?”

Stef shook her head.

“I can touch it,” I said as I reached out, held her to me at the waist, and lovingly caressed her boobs, rubbing her hard nipples with my thumbs until she started to purr.

“You know what else is so good, about your beauty?”

Stef shook her head dreamily.

I knelt down in front of her.

Stef looked down at me, her eyes wide as she bit her bottom lip, guessing what I was about to do.

I paused a moment, to give her time to say ‘no’, but she didn’t say anything.

“I can taste it...” I said as I leant forward, held her legs steady, and slowly licked the front of her slit.

“Oh God!” Stef sighed.

“You’re ... okay?” I asked, concerned at her reaction, rather than actually worried that she wasn’t okay.

Stef nodded. “Okay is not enough to describe how that felt, but yes, I’m okay.”

“Cool. Uhm, Stef?”

“Luke?”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Will you do that again afterwards?” Stef asked, her left eyebrow telling me the only answer was ‘yes’.

Of course, I nodded.

“Ask, and hurry up!”

I chuckled. “Uhm, this might be just me being fifteen and stuff and not knowing, uhm, stuff, but, Sis, you know it’s so smooth down here, right? Don’t laugh, but... how?”

“It’s okay, Babes, and yes, I know it’s smooth. It should be! You know that takes work, right?”

I nodded.

“Quick version. Lazy showers with sensitive soap, fresh razors, plus lots of care and attention, The yoga helps, too.”

“It does?”

“Which is a supplementary question, and you were not allowed any of those. Now, you know how I love you so much, Babes.”

“Like how much I love you?”

“Good enough for me,” she said as she changed her position, her legs now more open. “Now we’ve established that, love me, lover,” she said.

So I did.

I kissed her outer lips, top to bottom and side to side. I ran my tongue up and down the crease between her lips and her thighs. I reached down a little, dug the tip of my tongue between her inner lips, and slowly licked from her vagina up to her clit in one firm stroke.

“Oh good God!” Stef gasped as my tongue passed over her clit.

“That good?” I asked as I sat back a little and looked up.

“You have no idea...”

“Uhm, yesterday, here, me, you... ?”

Stef giggled softly. “Oh-kay, so maybe you do know a little bit what it’s like, then.”

“Tell me later?” I suggested before, without waiting for a response, I licked the inside of her slit again.

“Oh God, Luke! Erm, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but can you stop?”

“Sure, why? Something wrong?”

“God no! It’s just ... Luke, if you keep doing that ... we can’t ... I can’t ... not unless we’re in bed ... it’s not safe...”

Ah. The anti-slip matting in the shower was good, but even it had its limits.

“Uhm, sorry about that. I, uhm, I didn’t think it’d be that intense...”

“Come here, goofus,” Stef said as she knelt down in front of me and held me to her. “You did nothing wrong and you did everything right and we have to do this a lot more and very soon and I love you and I love you thought of it and I love you planned it but if we don’t stop I won’t know left from Mary.”

“Sis? Who’s Mary?”

“I’ve no idea. You’re melting my brain already!” Stef teased.

“So ... not now, but later soon?” I asked as I imagined English tutors spinning in their graves, and those who were still alive throwing themselves under buses for that crime against grammar.

“Yes!” Stef screamed in mock orgasm as she kissed me, I kissed her, and time passed...

“Better?” I asked, later.

“Much.”

“Uhm, dress and go?”

“We should.”

“You, uhm, any tips for me, outfits I should wear, that kinda thing?”

“Luke, we’re going shopping for cycling shorts, so maybe something you can get in and out of easily in changing rooms?”

“Good point.”

“No, Sir, it is you who has the ‘good point’. I know this because it’s trying to poke me in places it really shouldn’t be.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Luke?”

“Stef?”

“Do I sound unhappy about it?”

“Uhm, the opposite... ?”

“Smart boy. It’ll give you something to think about as you go dress!” she said as she reached round and loudly slapped my bum.

“Hey!”

“Hmm?” Stef said as she got up, gave me her hand, and I got up after her.

“What’s that for?”

“Oh, the fun of it,” Stef giggled as she switched off the water, stepped out of the shower, and started drying herself with one of the towels.

“Fun?” I moaned as I rubbed my affronted bum in mock agony.

“Well, it made me laugh,” Stef explained.

I sighed forlornly. “So, uhm, yesterday a bikini took you almost an hour. How long will today take... ?”

Stef shook her head. “We’re going shopping? For that I can hurry!”

Of course.

“I’ll see you downstairs?”

Stef smiled. “Don’t be long,” she giggled as she tossed her towel at me, and was gone.

I dumped our towels in the laundry for later, and headed into my room.

With Stef having told me I didn’t need to ‘dress to impress’ this morning, I was able to get ready much quicker, adding stone coloured chinos to my boxers and a button-down collar, dark green shirt. If today was going to get that hot, I didn’t want to be wearing a tee; I always thought tanned arms coupled with a less-tanned body was not the best way to look, and I did have to think about how I looked; Leri was coming back.

My sartorial efficiency meant that I was downstairs in the kitchen and munching on a quick bowl of cereal in plenty of time.

Still no sign of Stef.

“Sis?” I called up.

“Luke?”

“Are you planning on eating anything before we go out?”

I heard Stef’s chuckle. “Well we know you have already ‘eaten’ so I guess I should too...”

“Uhm, how do you know I was eating?”

“You goofus!” Stef chuckled. “You were eating me! In the shower? Remember?”

Oh.

“But I didn’t finish my meal...” I teased.

Stef laughed. “Don’t worry, Babes, you will later. I hope you’ve a good appetite!”

“I shall fast until then!”

More laughter. “Oh-kay. Can’t be thinking about that right now. So, make me a coffee, please? I’ll be down in a couple of...”

“‘Kay!” I called as I activated Mum’s Marvellous Machine, heating it up and grinding a fresh serving’s worth of beans before I sat back down to see if healthy flakes of bran had been transformed into something tasty.

They hadn’t.

They still hadn’t when Stef walked in, at which point, who cares about cardboard cereal, anyway?

“Is that new?” I asked.

Stef shrugged. “Ish, I’ve just not worn it before. Do you like it?”

“If I say ‘yes’, please promise me to wear it more often?”

“Goofus!” Stef chuckled as she busied herself with coffee, a small bowl of muesli, and a handful of chilled blueberries from the fridge.

Me?

I busied myself not staring.

Well, I tried.

I failed.

For taking me shopping, Stef had decided that a nice dress was what she wanted to be wearing. It was a rich deep red colour with a large sized roses print design on it, sleeveless, a shallow vee-neck at the front, and with two really thin straps on the shoulder. Stef did a quick twirl for me and I saw how two of the straps criss-crossed over her back, confusing me how on Earth she got it on on her own. Over her head? As Stef twirled again, I also saw how the skirt, not very far down her thighs to begin with, rose up really easily as she moved.

All in all, it looked truly lovely.

And lightweight, which was understandable given the forecast was for localised combustion of fair-skinned persons.

In fact, that dress looked so lightweight...

“Stef?”

“Luke?”

“Your dress?”

“Hmm?”

“Just, y’know, so I can plan these things and go all protective and stuff on you, but, uhm, you’re not wearing a bra under it, are you?” I asked.

Stef shook her head as she continued eating. To be fair, it would have been a marvel of concealed lingeric engineering if she had been able to wear a bra under her dress; it really didn’t look like there was space for a deep breath let alone anything else.

“And you don’t need one... ?” I hinted.

Another shake of the head. “Thanks for thinking about it, but it’s quite snug, and I’m not in that mood ... today ... so no today isn’t one of the days of Leant,” she punned or homonymed or whatevered.

“Ah. And, Stef?”

“Hmm?”

“The skirt?”

“Hmm?” she asked, smiling, knowing what I was going to ask but letting me ask it anyway.

“Quite ... light? The material, all of it, I mean?”

“Oh I hope so in this heat. Why?” she asked with added left eyebrow.

“Planning on taking an upstairs seat on the bus... ?”

“Of course. We both love the view from up there,” she added with almost convincing innocence.

“We do, but I’m thinking more of the view from downstairs...”

“Oh?” Stef asked, her breakfastette concluded as she fed the dishwasher and finished her espresso.

“Especially, y’know, if someone I know, y’know, were to go upstairs and there was someone else, someone, y’know, who was downstairs, and they watched someone, y’know, in a short dress as she went, oh, y’know, up those stairs, well ... y’know... ?” I asked, sure as anything that she was playing me, like a fiddle. Again.

Stef stood in front of me and smiled. “Luke? You know I said I wasn’t in that kind of a mood for wearing a dress where I could flash my tits?”

I nodded.

Stef grinned and picked up the hem of her skirt. “You think if that’s true, I’m not wearing any panties?”

Ah.

“I guess you are, then?”

Stef raised her hem dangerously but not conclusively high. “Life is full of puzzles and the unknown,” she said as she dropped her hem, leaving me uncertain.

I sighed. I love my sister more than anything, but when she’s playful?

Even more.

“So, wallet, phone, keys?” she asked.

“I’m all packed,” I said as I patted my pockets. “You?”

“Minime,” she said, her pet name for her small backpack. “Already done and waiting.”

“So, where are we going?” I asked as I got up, held the door, and watched her (bum) as she skipped through to the hallway and the waiting trainers.

“Oh, I’m taking you to one of my shops,” Stef said.

“One of ‘your’ shops?”

“Uh-huh. Where the chamois shorts come from,” she explained as she leant down to tie her laces.

““Okay ... but, uhm, you know when you do that to tie your laces, your top kinda doesn’t do the job it should...”

“Oh, I know that,” Stef said carelessly as she looked up to me, leant forward a bit more – just to be certain about it – and grinned. “But it is doing the job I want it to. I thought you might have forgotten what they looked like...” she said, as if that memory was not permanently burned into my eyeballs already.

“Since the shower?” I asked, shaking my head as I did my own things with laces.

Stef shrugged. “No harm, though?”

“In me looking or you leaning over like that?”

“Both! Now, come on!” Stef said as she bounced up and opened the door for me, her minime clutched in her left hand.