Chapter 6

Over the next few days, Mark experienced a lot of that same feeling from the first night in his parents' room. He was naked, and everything else about the world seemed to go on as if nothing was wrong. It didn't make sense! How could everything be so... normal?

Of course, he didn't really know what disaster he was expecting. His family, even Tori, would never ridicule him, even the frequent times he was erect. No one else but the family would see him. It was just... he couldn't even describe it. Being an analytical sort, he had spent quite a bit of time thinking about clothes, no clothes, his body, his penis in particular, and what it all meant. He had had another discussion with Dr. Waxman about nudity and that helped quite a bit, but there was still a feeling of disorientation and uncertainty.

His mother had been amazing - as amazing as she always was. He could tell she was trying hard to make it easy on him, and it was working. She was especially touchy-feely, even more than before. At first, he had almost recoiled at her touch on his bare skin, but it was already seeming natural. He liked it. He liked the feeling of increased closeness, as if they were tackling some obstacle together. It was obvious how badly she wanted him to have the job, and he had always wanted it, too. His main reason for wanting the job was the money and Addison, he had to admit, but as he spent more time naked, he was getting a glimmer of Dr. Waxman's theory on the nudity.

His mother - his whole family, actually - had been on his mind a lot more since the Lindsey fracas early last spring. When he had replied to the reporter about his family being perfect, he had meant it. Now, he realized even more how blessed he was.

The childhood friendship with Lindsey had been rekindled strongly since the the rumors and the aftermath. Over the summer they had spent a lot of time together as friends. Mark had taken her on a few dates, but he had also arranged for the other guys in the Club to take her out. He had the great honor of taking her on her first date, and he made sure she made up for lost time as quickly as possible.

The two teens spent a lot of time at each others' houses, although Lindsey would much rather be at his. He was the one who insisted they brave the veritable gauntlet of disapproval to watch TV or just chat in her room. She hated the way her parents treated him and it embarrassed her. He was strangely unaffected by it. Over time, he convinced her it was normal to have friends over, and she needed to know if she could have a normal life at home. So far, prospects looked bleak.

It was that old bugaboo still with the Halls. For some idiotic reason, they were sure that if Lindsey was out of their sight, she was sinning. When in her room, she and Mark always left the door ajar, and they could hardly keep from laughing at the frequency of 'housekeeping' trips through the upstairs hallway.

He liked to make sport by exaggerating his politeness and jocularity to Mary Hall, ignoring the looks of anger and fear she always returned. Even while having his fun, he understood the pain Lindsey was going through.

Home was not a good place for her, and he wished for her sake that she would get out. Despite technically adhering to the conditions they had agreed to when she moved back in, Mary, especially, found innumerable ways to make her feelings very clear. No child should have to live under such a constant barrage of obvious disapproval.

While Lindsey greatly enjoyed the congenial atmosphere at the Ventris', McMamaras', and other friends' homes, each such visit was a reminder of how bad things were at her own.

In the first naked week, Mark faced a number of hurdles. One was Tori's attitude toward him. From the first morning, she didn't want him, more particularly his crotch, out of her sight. Unfortunately, she stopped most of the other, quite physical interactions she usually had with her brother. Not once had she leapt on his back since he stripped, something that previously happened at least daily. Her trick of plopping on his lap with her head squarely blocking his sight of the TV had not been tried. No wrestling or tickling had occurred. For all her tomboyishness, she had a habit of coming down in her nightclothes, leaning against Mark on the sofa, and making a big show of sucking her thumb. That had not happened since.

The objective of the whole exercise for Mark was to live normally, just without clothes. When one of the key people in his life could not follow the script, it put normalcy farther out of reach.

Mark always got up before Tori on schooldays, but outslept everyone on weekends. It was one of the joys of Tori's life to pile onto his bed on weekend mornings and roust him out. The first Saturday, she didn't. When he finally got down to the kitchen, Norma asked why he looked so dragged out.

"Oh, I don't know. Guess it's 'cuz I didn't get my Saturday wakeup."

Quickly picking up on an issue, Norma turned to the ten-year-old. "Victoria Louise Ventri! Did you forget to wake your brother properly this morning? Whatever are we going to do with you?" It took a few moments for a grin to wipe away the concerned look, but the message got through.

Sunday morning, earlier than he would have liked, a hurtling body crashed Mark awake. Though still groggy, he was aware enough to be delighted. Throwing back the covers to expose himself, he pulled his little sister down on top and started some serious tickling. Tickling, wrestling, and general roughhousing went on for a few minutes, stopping only when Tori froze with a gasp, her hand resting right on top of his cock, which still had some residual morning tautness.

"Hey, Tigger. It's OK. If you happen to touch it, I won't get mad, and nothing bad will happen. You won't hurt me. What I said about touching the other night doesn't mean you have to be afraid to get close to me, OK?" She nodded solemnly. "Besides, I know you've felt it before when we were tussling in the morning, haven't you?" Her eyes just widened at that. "You were afraid to say anything then. Now, you know all about it, so relax. Or are you ready to give up and let me go back to sleep?"

After a few more minutes of merriment and a pee stop, which he let her watch, she rode his bare back down to the kitchen, greeted by broad grins from the others.

Later in the morning, Tori was still in bedclothes, stretched out watching cartoons. Mark came up and used a couple of tickles to start another tussle. He wanted to reinforce her return to more normal interaction. When they stopped for breath, he noticed Becks on the couch, wide eyes fastened on his crotch, mouth agape, general expression indicating no breathing for a long time.

"Earth to Rebecca! Come in!" She shook her head slightly, flicked her gaze to his face, then turned cherry-colored.

"It... it was floppin' all over, and..."

With a hearty laugh, Mark said "Now you know why nudity isn't as poplular with men. I saw a picture of nude volleyball once. Made me hurt to think about it."

This did not make Becks feel any better, so Mark scooted up beside her on the couch and gave her a hug. He tried to think of the right thing to say, but decided nothing fit and just hugged.

The second Saturday of Mark's nudity, Norma went out in the morning for brunch with a friend. Mid-afternoon, Mark was just standing in the kitchen pouring a class of milk, when his mother came in from the garage followed by Lindsey!

The brunch with a friend was actually with Lindsey. They did in fact have breakfast at a restaurant before setting out for a walk through a park in the pleasant early autumn weather. They had been talking small talk and just having a good time until they got to a secluded area.

"Lindsey, Honey," Norma started out, "I want to ask you to help Mark with something important."

"Oh, anything! How could I not? What could he need my help with?"

"I need to warn you up front that it is something that will shock you, and that you may not feel you can do. If I tell you about it and you can't do it, it could change how you feel about him. I would hate to see that happen."

"Oh, Norma, I can't imagine how anything could change how I feel about Mark. He's been my best friend forever. After what he did for me last spring, I can't imagine what could be that shocking."

Norma stood still and just looked hard at the girl for a while, then, with a resolute nod, she began telling Lindsey about Mark's job opportunity. She followed pretty much the same progression as Julia had when revealing it to them. The girl was very excited about her friend's good fortune, and remarked over and over how perfect he would be for the job.

Letting the excitement run out, Norma delivered the first shock. "Lindsey, the women will all be naked the whole time they are in the program." Even though she tried to say it gently, she might as well have slugged the girl. At first, she went catatonic, then she shook her head in obvious disbelief, then Norma had to grab her arm as she gave some signs of fainting.

Sex and nudity were pretty much lumped together at the top of the revised list of Ten Commandments that had been hammered into Lindsey from birth. She was used to her parents going into histrionics at the mere mention of nudity, and here was a woman she liked and respected more than her own mother talking calmly about it. Saying that her great friend was going to work with a bunch of naked women!

Taking the girl's arm, Norma started walking again, deciding it best not to say anything for a while. After a few dozen yards, she asked "Does this change how you feel about Mark?"

"Oh, I, no, but... I don't see how they can... people don't really... ohhhh!"

"So, you don't think we're terrible people, now?"

Lindsey was getting a little control of herself by then. Actually, she had normal sixteen-year-old female hormones and a normal curiosity. She had wandered just far enough into the earthier side of the Internet to understand just how sheltered she had been. What she heard was still shocking, but not like it would have been a few months before. In a rather steady voice, she assured Norma, "That doesn't make me think he's a bad person. Besides, he will be helping those women. I just don't believe the women would ever do that. Why on earth would they?"

"Have you heard Terry's Mom's story?" At Lindsey's shake of the head, Norma continued, "Come on. They're expecting us."

The visit with Shannon was a stunning education for the innocent girl. The fact that Terry and Janie sat right there and joined in the story was even more stunning. Shannon happened to spoil Norma's careful strategy by saying "I think this will be a wonderful way to help Mark." At Lindsey's puzzled look and Norma's flash of irritation, Shannon said "Oops! I, uh, guess I blew it, huh?"

The plan was to follow Julia's exact sequence with just the two of them, but Norma made a snap decision that she might as well dive right in with Lindsey's friends present. As she explained what Mark had to go through, she wondered about just how much astonishment could register on a human face. The poor girl seemed to be having trouble just breathing.

Almost afraid to pile on any more upset, Norma went ahead and told Lindsey she wanted her to come home and see Mark to help him get accustomed to it. She threw in the key statement hurriedly. "This is tough on Mark. You could help him a lot - make it easier to get ready for the job."

It took literally minutes before Lindsey could do more than move her eyes. Norma had about decided to give it up and take her home. With Julia, they had discussed the value of quick, decisive moves when taking young people way out of their comfort zone. She knew if it did not happen that day, it would probably not happen at all. The problem was, what Lindsey now knew had to affect how she felt about Mark. If she carried it through, everything would be all right. Otherwise...

"I... I... I c... couldn't. I've n... never... H... h... he..." Terry exchanged a look and a slight nod with his mother and left the room. Lindsey sat silent and stricken for another period until Terry came back into the room, naked.

"Maybe I can help you get over part of it," Terry said with amazing calm. Impossible as it seemed, poor Lindsey reached yet another plateau of disbelief as she stared at her friend. Her unblinking stare was leveled at his limp penis. It took many seconds before it seeped into her brain where she was looking, and that it was wrong to look at that. She gasped and covered her face with her hands.

Lindsey was too intelligent and too strong-minded to disintegrate, even in the face of something so unprecedented. There was definitely a mental conflict bombarding her. Here was a trusted friend, one of her defenders, doing something so sinful! All the things she had learned over the years did not help her in this dilemma, and she had to try and reason it out.

To start with, Terry was a good person. He had stood by her against the whole school - against his teammates. Was he an evil, sinful person? She would not acknowledge that. What he was was an unbelievably beautiful person she could hardly keep her eyes off of. Was she evil and sinful for wanting to look at him? She made an effort not to look, and Terry noticed.

"Lindsey, I stripped so you could look at me and get a little used to it. Don't try so hard not to look. It's OK." Terry had stood since he entered the room, moving casually around the room, finding things to look busy.

"H... how can you b... be like that?" Lindsey managed to squeak out.

Janie was as relaxed and natural as could be, and she spoke up. "We're used to seeing each other around here. It's not such a big deal any more. 'Course, I could still look at that bod all day. Isn't he yummy?" That enthusiastic comment did nothing to help Lindsey relax.

"We know this is against what you have been taught, Honey," Norma spoke up, "and probably against what you believe. The whole job thing for Mark is a terrible shock to you. I can't ask you to stop believing those things. I can ask if you can put them aside to help your friend."

There followed a long, gentle discussion of nudity, the right and the wrong, with Terry remaining naked the whole time. As time went on, Lindsey was able to enter in to the conversation more, and managed to ask some very good questions.

After almost an hour's chat, Lindsey squared her shoulder and said "Norma, let's go see Mark!" As they got up to leave, she walked over and planted a kiss on Terry's cheek. "Thank you, Terry. Again. That really helped." She turned away, then turned back for one more look. "You are y... yummy!"

Norma hugged the girl as they walked to the car. She could not remember a person, other than her own family, who was so easy to love. She had dropped a heavy blow on Lindsey, who had come up swinging. She found herself hoping there would someday be a love interest between Lindsey and her son.

Once in the car, Norma made a little joke. "Do you want to stop by home to pick up some fresh panties? I sure need to change mine."

"But I didn't wet..." With a jolt, Norma wondered just how little the girl knew. She took the time to explain what she meant, trying to be clinical and matter of fact. It was impossible to remain totally clinical when she talked about the effect Terry's muscular body had on her genitals. From the blush, she was sure the girl was not immune, either.

"Honey, I need to warn you. Mark doesn't look much like Terry."

Giving away the focus of her attention, Lindsey answered "You mean his, uh, is smaller?"

"No, no. That's not what I meant," Norma choked back a laugh for all she was worth. "Matter of fact, that's the one place they look most alike. What I meant was Terry is an athlete, and very muscular. Mark is pretty skinny. He takes after his father a lot, so I expect he will start to fill out one of these days. Probably look a lot like Paul."

"Oh, that'll be great!" Lindsey blurted out, then covered her face.

"Hey, that's all right. I think Paul looks great. I'm proud of him."

"You know, in old pictures, my Dad looked pretty good. It's really sad the way he let himself go."

"Well, Paul doesn't have time for exercise, but he does it anyway. Puts me to shame. 'Fraid I look too much like your mother. Ooops, sorry!"

"S'OK. It's true. She looks worse than Dad."

"Well, I'll be changing for sure." Norma proceeded to tell Lindsey about her naked time coming up, then about her and Paul working at Transformations also. For the girl, it was just shock upon shock upon shock, until they reached the house.

Just before they got out of the car, Norma thought of one more thing the girl should know. "Honey, Terry never got hard the whole time we were there. Probably because he's so used to being naked. That won't happen with Mark, so just be ready."

Lindsey looked confused a moment, then her eyes flew wide. "You mean, he'll have an erection!?" Lindsey's parents had excused her from sex ed class, but Trish had done her best to fill in the gaps for her friend.

"Yup. A hardon. It still happens to him a lot."

"But how can he stand... ?"

"It's a normal part of life, Honey. You know, when Dr. Waxman first suggested this, I didn't know how he could do it. Then he didn't know how he could do it. Now, I don't know how he can stand to be naked around you. But you know what? He'll get through it, 'cause you're a sweet friend, and you'll help. And he'll be much more ready for that job. Ready to go for it?"

In the almost two weeks since he listened in disbelief as Dr. Waxman told him what he needed to do to prepare for the job, Mark thought he had things pretty well in hand. There had been whole days, admittedly school days, when no one saw him with a hardon. He surprised himself with the level of control he had - sometimes, that is. Other times, the slightest little thing caused him to spring up.

This Saturday, he had done some yard work in the morning, dressed, of course. Having just come out of the shower, he was pouring himself a glass of milk when his mother came in from the garage. He could not say it was yet easy and natural when his mother or sisters walked in when he was naked, but it was no longer cause for panic.

However, when he saw Lindsey behind his mother, that was definitely cause for panic. He dropped both the glass and the carton, milk splashing all over the place. He turned away from them, jammed his hands over his crotch, and tore from the room.

Norma had her hand jammed in her mouth so Mark would not hear her laughing, but she still shook and doubled over before she got control. Lindsey stood transfixed, eyes still staring toward the door where Mark had left the kitchen. Deciding there was no appropriate comment just then, Norma began cleaning up the mess.

"M... maybe this wasn't a good idea," Lindsey told Norma.

"I think it's just that we surprised him, is all. I'll go talk to him." When the milk was all wiped up, Norma went up to Mark's room and walked in. He had shorts and a Tee on, and appeared to be screwing up his courage to face his friend.

"Mom, you should have checked where I was before you came in!"

"Sorry. Hey, what's with the clothes?"

"Well, Lindsey's here. You don't expect me to..." He caught a look at his mother's face and knew exactly what she expected. "Oh, no! No way! This was supposed to be just family! I could never..."

"Mark, Honey, the idea is for you to be comfortable naked. If you can be OK around your friend, just think how comfortable that will make you."

"But not Lindsey!"

"I know, you'd like to have her be your girlfriend." At his look of surprise, she chuckled. "Yes, it's obvious. Shouldn't matter, Honey. You should be able to strip in front of anyone to be really ready for this job. It took me a long time to talk her into helping you."

"Yes, helping you. She's going to help you get even more comfortable with this naked business. Now, off with the clothes. Do you want to come down to see her, or should I send her up here?"

"Mom! I don't want her to see me."

"Look, Mark, is this any worse than the first time with Becks?"

"It... it's about that bad."

"Well, believe it or not, this is very, very hard for her, too. You know how she was brought up. I'm hoping this will help bring her out of that emotional straight-jacket her folks have her in."

Norma had said the magic words - it would help his friend. Dropping his shoulders, he took off his shirt. As he dropped the shorts, he said with resignation "Send her up here."

He did a good job of composing himself. The two weeks really had changed him. He stood in the middle of the room, facing the door, and when she timidly walked in, he spread his arms and said "This is me. Not too much to look at, huh?" He was limp when she walked in, but her eyes locked on it and he started to swell.

"Oh, no, it's... it's..." At that point she realized where she had been looking and what she had been saying. She raised her eyes to his with such a stricken look he could not help feel sorry for her.

"Lindsey, it's OK, really. I can't help it getting like this. You might as well see it right away."

The rest of that Saturday was totally weird. The situation between Mark and Lindsey was very strained, considering how close they normally were. Mark was definitely nervous being on total display to his love interest. She, on the other hand, blushed almost non-stop. Everything in her upbringing told her it was wrong, wrong, wrong to be around a naked person. Her hormones, however, kept dragging her eyes back to his penis - rather his cock, as it was most of the day.

As she sat with Mark's family watching TV after supper, Lindsey had the same feeling of disorientation Mark experienced his first few minutes naked. Everyone was acting so normal, but how could they? Mark was sitting there with his penis exposed. Something awful was supposed to happen. Why hadn't it?

After too few hours at home for some restless sleep, Lindsey was back at the Ventris' for breakfast. Her parents had started going to the church she had found, and she did not even want to be in the same congregation with them, so she skipped. Visions of Mark's organ hanging, flopping around, and standing erect would have made worship impossible, anyway. She was angry at herself for being so absorbed with his body, but could do nothing to stop it.