Chapter 14: Icebreaker

There was a motor coach waiting for us as we deplaned in Pueblo, Colorado. It was like a Greyhound bus, but the logo was for a tour company I’d never heard of and the interior was a little nicer and the seats were a little bigger.

As we headed away from the small private airfield, I noticed there were two dark cars following us.

After a short ride, we pulled onto a wide driveway and drove about 200 yards up to a circle drive in front of a sprawling, adobe-style ranch home, complete with hitching post next to the wide front porch that spanned the width of the home. After we disembarked, the coach completed the circle and disappeared back down the drive.

I did a double-take as a man stepped out on the porch to greet us. He was an honest-to-goodness cowboy, down to the spurs on his dusty boots. Anna ran to him and hugged him before introducing him to the rest of us as Hector, the ranch foreman.

Hector hugged Anna warmly, and then shook hands with Jeff, John and finally shaking my fingertips, before removing his hat and bowing to “the beautiful senoras and senoritas.” He then led us into the home.

In the wide-open great room, a collection of mounted animal heads and various antlers decorated the walls and the massive stacked stone fireplace. The furniture was mostly leather and the room was decorated with Native American carvings, blankets, rugs, and various art forms, including paintings, and artifacts. There were personal family type items everywhere. Books, pictures, and assorted knickknacks from a lifetime of living here.

There was some confusion as the sleeping arrangements were decided, with the two couples getting the two larger bedrooms, Catherine and Liz sharing a guest bedroom, and the seven girls sharing the other two guest bedrooms. I guessed that Anna had her own room somewhere.

As everyone went to drop off their luggage, and freshen up, I stood alone in the great room, looking around and wondering what to do. Anna came in about then and asked, “Did they not give you a room?”

I shrugged, “I guess there’s no room at the inn,” I answered, paraphrasing the Gospel of Luke.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry. It just means they haven’t decided who gets you tonight,” she told me, teasingly.

“They must be drawing straws to see who loses,” I quipped.

“They’d better not!” she said. “Not without me!” she laughed again. Then she said, “Leave your bag and follow me. I’ll show you where you can wash up. We’ll leave deciding your fate until later.”

Dinner was early, out of respect for our change in time zones. It was served in the huge dining room with a table that was big enough for all of us to be seated. We were served family style, by a young girl named Louisa and her mother, Melena. They had prepared the food themselves and now basked in all the compliments coming from the bunch from Tennessee. I’m not sure how many of the others had ever tasted Tex-Mex before, but it brought back memories of another time for me. Grace and Jenny fed me until I could hardly move.

After dinner, most of us moved to the great room. Except for the two married couples. They seemed to have disappeared. Catherine, Liz, and Anna had wine while they sat with the girls, talking about the ranch, and the difference between here and home. It wasn’t too long before the two couples rejoined us. John and Jeff were notably more relaxed. I grinned as I realized why they had been gone. Nobody else said a word about it though, which caused me to think twice about teasing them.

A little later, Melena rolled out a small serving cart with two magnums of champagne and fifteen crystal flutes. Louisa followed with a tray of cheeses, fruit, and other snacks. Hector brought in an ice chest filled with soft drinks on ice. Then after asking if there was anything else we needed, and listening to another round of compliments and appreciation for their hospitality and the wonderful dinner, they said good night and left.

We continued with the small talk, but I began to detect various feelings of sexual tension in the air. Finally, Anna rose to stand in front of the big fireplace, facing our family.

“I’d like to welcome each of you to my family’s home. Before I turn the evening over to Catherine and Liz, I’d like to take a minute to remind you of a few things. From this point on, do not leave the house. There are both armed guards and watchdogs patrolling the grounds. There are other defenses as well, so please don’t go wandering off. And remember, they’re here for your protection, so try not to make their job any more difficult than it is.”

“I feel bad that your father had to go to all that trouble and expense, just for us,” Sarah told her.

“Don’t be. It comes with the territory,” Anna replied without explaining any more. “Also, while there is a phone here, do not attempt to make any calls. If you need to contact someone, please let me know and I’ll make the arrangements for you to do so safely. And last, if there is an emergency, make your way to this room. In the corner of this wall...” she walked a few paces to her left and pushed on a panel. We all watched as a hidden door swung open. “ ... is a door that leads to a secure room. Any questions?”

No one had any.

“Okay then, let the festivities begin! Ladies...”

Catherine and Liz stood, and began removing their clothes. When they were completely naked, they walked to the front of the fireplace.

I couldn’t help staring. They both looked so poised and comfortable. I’m sure the others were staring too!

“People elect to participate in a natural or nudist lifestyle for many reasons,” Catherine began. “Some like the feeling of freedom from the restriction of clothing, of getting back to nature as they were born into it, without clothing. Others want to express themselves without the restrictions society imposes on their day-to-day lives. Still others have something inside them that makes them yearn to be seen by others.”

Liz then took over smoothly.

“But what they all have in common is respect. Respect for their fellow nudists, allowing them to remove as little or as much of their clothing as they choose. They also show respect in not staring, making lewd or unkind comments, refraining from immature jokes and wise cracks, and especially not touching other nudists. These are all major taboos where we are going tomorrow.”

Back to Catherine again. They were so smooth; I’d almost swear they had been giving this talk every day for years.

“In our parent’s day,” Catherine said, looking at her sister. “Society considered it risqué for women to show our ankles. If you look around the room, you’ll see that today, everyone’s ankles are on display. And society says ‘so what!’ Now, today, society considers it risqué to show your breasts or genitals, but if everyone’s breasts or genitals were constantly on display, soon it would become commonplace and unnoticed unless your attention is called to it. This is one of the benefits to nudity. What you will discover in a minute is that if everyone is nude, sooner or later, no one notices or cares.”

Then taking a breath, she said, “So everyone STRIP...”

There was a pause, then Candy and Mandy jumped up and began removing their clothes. Figuring it’s better to be part of the crowd than wait until I’m the only one, I kicked off my athletic shoes and socks, then standing, I turned to Grace and Nicky who were sitting on either side of me and said, “Would one of you be so kind as to assist me?”

Nicky jumped up and began to strip off the top to my scrubs. I turned to face Anna who had changed out of her scrubs for dinner, and while Grace, with help from Jenny, was removing the bottoms, I said over the din, “I really like the scrubs.”

I didn’t have any underwear on. I didn’t have any before, at the hospital, and I didn’t bother to put any on when I packed. So everyone else was just beginning, except for Candy and Mandy, who had finished. But as Grace and Jenny pulled down my pants, everyone, well ... all the girls anyway, stopped and stared at my newly exposed member. Evidently, he seemed to like the attention, rising to the occasion.

It was Catherine that came to my rescue, or so I thought. Grabbing my arm and leading me away, she led me back to where she and Liz had been standing in front of the big fireplace. Liz studied me for a moment.

“Well, I’ll say this for you, Michael,” she told me. “At least you’re honest. You didn’t embellish it at all!”

In the background, clothes were now flying off the girls. And despite what Catherine and Liz had said, Candy and Mandy and Randi were teasing their dads, who may have been egging it on by going so slowly.

With my back to the room, Catherine motioned for me to lean over so she could whisper in my ear.

“I hope you meant what you said yesterday,” she said, “about helping them.”

“Oh, oh! What have I gotten myself into?” I wondered.

When everyone had removed their clothes, Catherine asked them to be seated. She kept a hold of my cast, keeping me facing her, with my back to most of the girls.

“Now, if I could have your attention...” she said, continuing her presentation.

“Oh, she has it all right. And it’s all focused on my naked butt!” I thought.

“It was brought to my attention yesterday, that we, as your parents and grandparents have made a mistake. When I heard that, I didn’t like it, but I recognized the truth in it and my respect for the person who had the guts to tell me, grew immeasurably,” Catherine said as she smiled at me.

“What they pointed out,” she told them, “was that we have come to expect you to grow up and be happy, healthy, and productive adults, without teaching you about one of the most basic and fun parts of being grown up. And that is ... your sexuality.”

At the mention of the word ‘sexuality’, she had all seven girls’ immediate attention.

“The word ‘sexuality’ is usually defined as your personal capacity for sexual feelings. So that means the definition is actually different for each person,” she said, speaking now to the seven teenaged girls, “because each of you has different sexual feelings and needs. However, before we discuss that, we need to talk about rights.”

“Jeff?” she said, looking at the parents.

Jeff blushed slightly as he stood to address his daughters and nieces.

“I have spoken in front of small committees and large groups, often with millions of dollars riding on the outcome of what I say. But I’ve never been as frightened, as I am right now,” he said, glancing at his wife with a silent plea for support.

“Each of you are growing into beautiful young ladies. And as much as a daddy would like you to stay forever his little girls, we can’t stop it. However, I have just learned that, instead of helping you grow up, we may have made your growing up more difficult by denying you something you need. I am ashamed to admit that it seems we have been letting others do our thinking for us, telling us what is proper to teach you, show you, or talk about with you. Some of it was because we were uncomfortable facing it or talking about it. Some of it was because we chose to look the other way and hoped you would gain the knowledge and experience on your own...” Jeff told them. “And because of that, Mandy got hurt...”

The tears that formed suddenly in his eyes caused him to pause for a moment. And before he could continue, Mandy rushed to her father, crying with him and telling him how much she loved him. His wife and other daughter joined them.

Everyone else remained quiet, realizing that this was a special moment for them. Finally, with Candy and Debbie on one side and Mandy on the other, Jeff cleared his throat and picked up where he had left off.

“Mandy got hurt because I was too busy to be her father. I was too busy to help her understand the joys and the pitfalls of her own sexuality. But now, that’s all going to change,” he announced.

“Girls, we...” he indicated Sarah, John, and Debbie, “ ... have talked it over, and starting now, we will answer any question you want to ask us, and do so as honestly as we can. We ask only that you respect our privacy, by keeping what we discuss with you in the family and not talking about it with your friends or classmates.”

Turning to John, Jeff asked, “Did I say it right?”

“Right on, brother!” John replied.

As Jeff and Debbie regained their seats and the twins went back to theirs, Julie asked Sarah, “Mom ... does this mean you’ll tell us what a blowjob is?”

Liz snorted! Debbie giggled. Catherine put her hand over her mouth, but you could tell she was smiling. Everyone one knew that Julie was the impetuous one in the bunch. And her mom was used to it.

Sarah just smiled as she said, “If you’re good, we might even show you!” Then turning to John she added, “Right dear?”

The adults laughed out loud, the girls all said something like “OO-oo-oo” or “I can’t believe she said that,” but Julie just looked at her folks as she asked, “Really?”

To which Sarah replied, “Yes. Really.”

“Now, now. That doesn’t come until later in the program!” Liz cried as everybody laughed. “But seriously, there are a few things we need to discuss before tomorrow. And from here on, we’re expecting each of you girls to act like the young adults we are treating you as.

“In a house full of girls, one of the things we have not had much opportunity to interact with, I hope, is the male anatomy. Since we are fortunate to have a few very good specimens with us tonight, we’re going to take advantage of them. Now, before tonight, how many of you had ever seen the male genitalia?”

No one raised their hand or said a word.

“Okay then, here’s a real male penis,” she said as she turned me around to face them. “Most of the time, it is small. However, under the right conditions, like now, it can become much bigger. Who can tell me why Michael’s penis is getting hard?”

“... ‘cause he’s naked?” Jenny offered.

“Well, that may be a little of it, but my guess would be that it’s more because YOU are naked,” Liz told her. “You see, most young males are stimulated by sight, sounds, taste, touch, and smell. In other words, by almost any sense concerning the female of the species. So that means almost anything about you will make them erect, especially when they are young. As they get older, they learn more control...”

“Why didn’t my dad get hard when we all hugged him a while ago?” interrupted Mandy.

“Very good question, Mandy. And one of the important lessons tonight,” Catherine told her. “Your dad didn’t get hard because he wasn’t sexually stimulated,” she stated. Then, turning to Jeff, she told him, “Come up here, Jeff, and sit right there.” Catherine pointed to a chair on the other side of her.