Chapter 9: Caught

The past few days had been a combination of thrilling and disappointing. The boys had indeed followed through, and other than when she did the dishes every other night, Tia was left alone. There was zero risk of any funny business whilst she was naked in her room, and while she agreed with their plan, her arousal and desires were decidedly unquenched. As she headed up to her room as soon as she got home after school she mused ’At least tonight was another date night and she could count on the boys making her feel good more than once. Much more than once’, she thought happily, if their last playtime had been any indication of what might happen in the future.

As she sat down at her desk a minute later, she felt that familiar thrill wash over her, even after three days of this. Three days of stripping down to nothing in her room. Three days of doing her homework, sans clothing, with her bedroom door open. Three days of praying for, and fearing, the confrontation that was sure to happen once her mother caught her. She was so keyed up, she could not wait for this evening, for their parents to go out, to get herself tied up and helpless yet again. She had forgotten to get a drink before rushing upstairs, so when Terrence stopped by, just to take a quick look, she asked him to fill her covered tumbler with ice water for her.

“Sure ... but it would be funnier if you did it!” Terrence’s face was all innocent and playful, though his eyes darted around as if he knew he was being a bit over the top.

“I ... I can’t you know that!”

“I know, it would be funny though. Mom would freak out!”

“I, er, yeah. Can you please just get me my drink?” Tia tried to ignore her brother’s teasing, though the thought of just going down and shocking everyone was rather intriguing.

“Ok ok, I was just teasing!” Terrence said, leaving as quickly as he had popped his head in.

Tia had barely gotten into her social studies research when she heard the long-dreaded, although somewhat hoped for, explosion.

“Tia, I brought you your drink, I wanted to ... What the hell! Tia!”

Her mother had brought her drink upstairs, not her brother. Tia turned, looking at her mother like a scared animal, and tried to keep confident and not quail away in fear. She watched as her mother turned and shut the door and moved inside of her room, standing between Tia’s desk and her bed.

“What is going on! Your door was wide open!” Her mother stood glaring at her in alarm, her face turning red as her surprise overwhelmed her.

“I know, I know. Um. I was just...” Tia said, faltering as the reality of being caught became clear in her mind.

“Just what?”. Her mother’s voice sounded exasperated. Impatient. But surprisingly not angry.

“I wanted to try being like those naturist people. I was reading a lot about it online and it sounded” ... Tia was cut off as her mother broke in.

“Oh my god, you ... you have no idea, do you?” Her mother shook her head, looking at Tia as she continued to sit passively in her chair.

“No, I mean yes I know, I mean I think you don’t. I mean. It’s supposed to be freeing, and natural. And I’ve been so obsessed with how I look all the time. You know, um, up here.” she said, waving her hand in front of her small bust. “They said it helps people to just accept themselves. And I think it’s true!” Tia was getting rather worked up as she played her role, almost convincing herself that this truly was all about being natural. Nudism they called it.

“Oh, I know about that, but it’s much more than that. I mean, your brothers!”

“It’s not about anything like that, it’s about being natural, being me, no hang-ups. I can show you the links if you want.” Tia continued to explain herself, glad that her mother was still talking, glad that her mother had not thrown a fit and made her get dressed before talking with her. Glad that, so far at least, she appeared to be listening.

“You don’t have to give me any links. I know quite well what you are talking about. Nudists, Nudism, Naturists. It’s just, Tia, it’s not something people do on a whim like this!”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot. These places all say it’s family-oriented. Not sex and swingers. And kids go. So what’s the problem?”

“It’s just.” Her mother continued to protest, though she seemed at a loss for words.

“I swear I love how this feels. Look. I am just not ashamed or hiding or anything anymore. It’s just me.” Tia turned to face her mother more directly, holding her arms out to the side briefly before turning back under her desk.

“But your brothers may not be so mature. And your dad may have a heart attack”

“I think you’d be surprised. They’ve seen me before and never said anything. Not a word!” Tia said, inwardly rejoicing as the conversation moved from disapproval to worries about the impact if she was naked.

“Of course not, they want you to stay like that”

“So. I told you. I. Don’t. Mind.” Tia repeated, again turning and facing her mother. She was not flaunting herself, not at all. But she was making a point that she was not ashamed. The fact that she was privately aroused and could not wait to do this all the time was not something her mother needed to know.

“I know, I know. It’s just, well, you know things could happen.” Her mother continued to protest, looking at Tia openly, not pulling her gaze away, making it a point to ensure that Tia knew she had seen her. All of her

Again Tia protested, this time coming to the defense of her brothers. “You think they’d do something to me without my approval? You think that little of them?”

“No no no no, It’s just ... boys are sometimes not very bright.”

Her mom’s arguments were starting to make less and less sense, unless she did not trust boys to ever behave, which was kind of sad, Tia thought, though if she knew what games they were already playing, she was sure her mother would not only have kittens, but it would somehow prove her point. “I guess. But I don’t see why that means I can’t do what I want. Their problems make it so I can’t be myself?”

“You’re right, that’s not very fair. I ... I will talk to them, and make sure they understand how proper gentlemen behave around a woman, no matter how she is dressed. Or not”

“I told you, they never said anything, and I’ve been doing this almost a week now.” Tia continued to make it seem that this was just her new normal.

Her mom shook her head, looking her over. “I am not sure this is very wise, and I don’t have time to discuss this any further. I came up to tell you that we were leaving early. Your father is taking me to dinner and a play, but the play is down the coast about an hour. I wanted to make sure you knew what I had left you guys for dinner. The boys will help, but you know you will have to make sure it gets done on time.”

“Oh. Well, sure, I mean no problem. I’m sorry if I surprised you it’s just, I dunno, I was tired of pretending. I, I’ve been waiting for you to find me so we could have this discussion.”

“You are awful mature for your age in some ways, it’s clear we are both going to have to change how we look at things. For now, I told you I’d talk to the boys and if you could just keep it upstairs, I won’t stop your, um, experimentation.” Her mother moved to the door, still appearing unconvinced, but at least she was willing to let her continue. For now.

“I told you, it’s not an experiment! But, I understand. I’ll keep it up here as you said.” Tia felt an odd mix of relief and excitement as her mother left, leaving her door open a fraction. She moved over to the door and opened it wide, proving her willingness to be as open as she claimed. She heard her mother stopping in Terence and Tim’s room, calling out for Thomas to join them. Returning to her studies, she wondered if the three would be able to reassure their mom. It was clear to her that they had been trying hard to behave and not do anything untoward for the last few days, surely they would not blow it now.

A bit later her mom stopped in her doorway, looking at Tia as she turned away from her homework.

“I’ve got to go get ready now, but I talked to your brothers, and made sure that I would not allow any improper behavior. They swore up and down that they would never say or do anything that would make you uncomfortable, so I told them I’d hold them to that. Now, you have to tell me if they ever do or say anything that makes you feel, you know, bad or embarrassed. You have to trust me. I promise I am only looking out for you.”