Chapter 6

Saturday morning could have been a scene from a 'B' movie about high school girls. Of the eight gathered in Teri's rec room, Rebecca and Tessa were as giddy as the rest. Somehow, Cal thought they should have been helping to organize things and bring some order. Didn't happen.

Since Sam had asked him personally, he took her first. She had changed into a tube top, which was apparently the uniform for the portraits. He started with the same approach he had used on Rebecca and Tessa, trying to ask questions and make comments that would produce a variety of expressions.

Of course, the others girls watched quietly, careful not to disturb Cal or their friend. Fat chance! When he turned around in frustration, he saw Teri at the foot of the stairs, almost doubled over with mirth. He pointed at her and said "And you're not helping!"

His original inclination was to scold the raucous group angrily, and maybe shoo them from the room. But he happened to look at Rebecca and saw the dismay on her face. She knew what was coming and was crushed by it. His love for his sister quenched his anger and he took a deep breath.

He barely knew some of the girls, but he did recognize the one voice that had led the taunting of Sam. "Cheryl, did you like the pictures of Rebecca and Tessa?" he asked her.

Startled at being singled out, she stammered "Y... yeah! That's why we wanted our own."

"And why did you like them?"

"Geez! I mean, they were so... so expressive."

"And do you want your pictures to look like that?" Cheryl nodded vigorously. "When you're up here, do you think you can pose well with Sam doing what you just did?"

These girls were all older than him, and they were all 'A' students. Here he was lecturing one of them, and she was close to tears. What was going on? Inspired, he told the girl "Um, Cheryl, I don't think tears will look good in the portraits, OK?" He happened to look at Teri again and saw her shaking her head with wide eyes.

Actually, Teri had been about to step in and calm the girls down, but Cal had done it so much better. No way was he fifteen! No way was he still looking forward to his first date. What was all that crap about girls maturing faster? In that room, right then, Cal could have been a father chaperoning eight ten-year-olds. No wonder she felt that way about him. No wonder she... That line of thinking had to be cut off!

The session with Sam proceeded in respectful silence and Cal thought he got some very good shots. When he was done, he helped her to her feet and said to the group "OK, talk! You must need it by now. You've got five minutes." He did not think to duck as a storm of soft objects came flying at him.

The next girl, by some mysterious selection process, was Debbie, and she was as stiff as a board. Cal tried for a couple of minutes, but she just would not loosen up. Once again, he turned to the watching group.

"OK, Cheryl. Now I need you to do your thing. Think you can get Debbie to loosen up?" Cheryl looked shocked, everyone else laughed, then Cheryl got a gleam in her eye. Unbeknownst to Cal, Cheryl and Debbie were quite close, and Cheryl knew a lot of 'dirt' about her friend. The first couple of expressions from Debbie were embarrassment and irritation, but at least it was a start.

It took all morning and several rolls of film, but Cal was pretty sure he had at least a few 'keepers' of each girl. When the inevitable question of when they would be ready came up, he told them he would develop them that afternoon.

"Hey, girls," Teri piped up, "Why don't you come back for a big slumber party here tonight, and Cal can bring over the pictures? We'll celebrate the start of Christmas vacation." In the face of the enthusiastic cheering, Cal had to stifle his immediate reaction of irritation. Teri saw it, however, and a look of shock and regret flashed over her face. He had been played again and she had done it.

When the girls were gone and Cal was packing up, Teri hugged him from behind and lamented "I'm such a bitch! I do it without even thinking. Poor Rick! It must have been hell for him." Cal didn't even try to respond, except with a hug.

As he worked in the lab that afternoon, Cal did a little attitude adjustment on himself. So what if he had been tricked into it? Was another encounter with eight bright, vivacious teenaged girls really that bad? Rebecca's friends were all good kids, girls he would be happy to have as friends, or even dates. And their reaction to his efforts made it hard to hold any negative feelings. He wondered how they would like the portraits. He thought they were quite good.

The girls thought they were better than just good. He watched as girl after girl went through the same silent perusal that Rebecca had done. Then, they would seem to swell and grow with ill-disguised pride. He had selected only the six to ten best of each girl, but he had the rest for them to look at afterwards.

A couple of the girls, Cheryl in particular, were quite demonstrative in their thanks. He could live with that.

He had been there about an hour and was about to leave when Tessa, Cheryl, and two other girls pulled him aside. He could tell that Tessa was really nervous when she said "Cal, we would like you to take some pictures that are more, um, uh... I think they call them glamour shots."

When he looked at her with a puzzled expression, she whispered in his ear "I accidentally found the ones you took of Mom." He hoped his face had not turned completely white at that. When he could look at Tessa again, her expression was not mischievous but pleading.

"Get your Mom, Tessa," he told her. She looked frightened until he smiled and said "Please." She still looked frightened but hurried off to fetch Teri.

When Teri joined them, he briefly explained what Tessa had asked for, then asked the girls "Were you thinking of any pictures that you would not show to your parents?"

He could tell from the blushes that they were indeed hoping for pictures they would never, ever let their parents see. "OK," he pressed, "Would I be shooting anything I wouldn't see if you came to swim in our pool?"

At least Cheryl and Tessa had definitely hoped to show more. He let out a big breath and told them "I bet you can tell I would love to take some sexy shots of you girls. But I think it's a bad idea for you to ever have pictures like that taken."

"But we saw the one of Rebecca. And the one of Tessa." That was Cheryl, and all of the girls giggled.

Looking at Tessa, he said "Just suppose someone took the picture of Tessa's tit," and he waited for the giggles to subside, "and passed it around. Maybe they were playing a prank, or maybe they were being mean. How would you feel, Tessa?" He was met with giggles and blushes, but no shock or horror."

"OK, what if someone put it on the Internet?"

"Internet?" one girl asked.

"Yes," he explained. "The Internet is growing very fast. More and more people are connecting from homes and offices. There are places you can post pictures where anyone can see them. There is no censorship. How would you feel if someday your son came across that picture of your bare tit, Tessa?" He had hoped by language and example to shock them. Didn't work.

New tactic. "Tessa's Mom could get in trouble for allowing the wrong kind of pictures to be taken in her house, you know."

"We aren't talking about porn or anything," Cheryl objected. "Just pictures that make us look feminine and sexy."

In frustration, he asked the girls to wait and pulled Teri into the next room. "You know how this started, don't you?"

"Yes. Tessa told me she found the pictures. She was so excited she almost peed her pants."

"But aren't you afraid we'll get in trouble?"

"Tell you what," Teri said. "I'll chaperone. I'll decide what's not appropriate, OK?"

"From what I've seen, they'll be pushing you," he warned.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet," she teased.

It turned out to be a very late Saturday night for Cal. Once again, he had been skillfully manipulated. Tessa had apparently called all of the girls and invited them to bring along sexy garments for some glamour shots. Three of them had done so.

It was hard to tell if Teri was a safeguard or an ally for the girls. She spent a lot of time helping them with makeup, hair, and other preparations. She was the one who suggested most of the poses, and he had to admit that they were very appealing.

The chosen garments were mainly frilly, translucent sleepwear. In most cases, the girls' breasts were quite visible and pubes not well hidden. It was interesting to watch them as they first came out to pose. Every one of them, except for Tessa, was initially terrified of exposing themselves to Cal. But every one also seemed to call on some inner determination. They ended up looking him straight in the eye and standing unashamed.

Tessa was obviously nervous, but her face showed excitement rather than fear. Her eyes hardly left his face as she seemed to be hoping for the right reaction from him.

That night he was introduced to an enticing odor that he would quickly learned to recognize as female arousal. When Teri caught him sniffing with a questioning look, she giggled and pulled him into the next room to explain. With sudden recognition, he remembered the odor trail Teri had left when she was done with her sexy photo shoot. She saw the recognition in his eyes. "Yup. Did it to me, too."

Teri was constantly in his ear. "Compliments, compliments," she repeated over and over. She also relayed posing suggestions, wanting him to make them, rather than her.

Cheryl was an athlete with exceptionally nice legs. She was also the most adventuresome of all the girls. Teri took her far beyond what Cal thought was safe, but... Teri seemed to be having the time of her life.

When all four of the girls had done several poses, Teri asked Cal to leave the room. When she called him back, Cheryl was posed standing but bent over. One foot was up on a little stool, and she was pulling a stocking up that leg. She wore only panties, but her arm hid her smallish breasts from the camera. It was a classic glamour shot, and she looked far older than her age. Her well-muscled back and shoulders looked smooth and firm. Her face was in profile and she had somehow managed a serene expression. Cal could not help but recall the times he had watched her practice volleyball.

Cal whistled. He quickly said "Sorry. That wasn't very professional, but I couldn't help it. Teri, are you sure... ?"

"Just take the pictures and don't worry about it." He did, trying to ignore the pressure in his pants.

Once again he was ordered out of the room, and when he came back, he almost stumbled at what he saw. Cheryl was seated sideways on the bench in the same pose Teri had used. Her feet were on the bench and her knees were up. Her arms were around her knees and her face rested on her knees, looking at the camera. She wore nothing. It was incredibly beautiful.

"Let's see how much of pro you are, Cal," Teri teased.

When he was ready to shoot, Cal said "Even pros can fall in love, can't they?" He had intended it only as a response to Teri's teasing, but the dreamy expression that took over Cheryl's face was perfect, and he got the shot.

When Teri asked him to leave once more, he quipped "God, Teri, I don't think I can take anything sexier than that." He heard Cheryl's delighted giggle as he left the room.

When he returned, Cheryl was in the same pose, but her skin had been oiled. He was not sure it would produce the right effect in black and white, and he would have to adjust the lighting angles to get good reflection off of the oil.

As he was telling Teri what had to be moved, Cheryl piped up. "Just move them yourself, Cal. I don't mind."

"But I might see..."

"If you can be a pro, I can too," she assured him. He decided it would take longer than he had to figure that one out. He adjusted the lights, took a shot, then did another adjustment for the final of the night.

When he stood to leave the room, Cheryl said "Just turn around for a second, Cal." When he turned back, she had on an opaque robe. She walked up to him, face glowing enough to light the room, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I wonder if pros still get that reaction," she said with a deadpan expression. Then she looked down at his crotch and giggled.

Still uncomfortable with the safety and propriety of the photo shoot, Cal stayed up and processed all of the film. He made a small print of each shot and an additional large print of the ones he thought were good. He packaged the prints and negatives in a sealed envelope with each girl's name. Even after a short night, he got up early to do his exercises, then took over the four envelopes when he knew Teri was probably up and about.

Late that Sunday morning, after all of the girls had left, Cal said 'Hi' to Rebecca as she came into the house, but she hardly looked at him. That really floored him. Just when he thought he had capitulated and done everything the girls had wanted, his sister was angry again. He didn't even think he had been grumpy about it.

Rebecca hurried up to her room, and after a brief pause, Cal stormed angrily after her. She had just barely gotten there when he pushed open her door and stepped in to see her sitting on the bed, head in her hands and looking miserable.

"Please don't be mad at me, Cal," she pled with him.

"Huh?" And he thought he was confused before! "Me? Mad at you? I thought you were mad."

"You mean... you mean... you're not mad 'cause I wouldn't take those pictures?"

"But you took pictures before," he replied before it hit him. "Oh, you mean the 'glamour' pictures."

"Yeah, those," she was almost crying as she said it. "Tessa did it, but... but I just couldn't!"

He should have excused himself because there was no way he could have seen this one coming. But seeing her anguish made him feel just as bad as if he had caused it. He quickly sat next to her and hugged her close.

"Why would I be angry that you didn't take those pictures?" he asked.

"Well, we... we did all this stuff to g... get you to go along. Then I ch... chickened out on the best part for you." She still had not managed to look at him.

Part of him wanted to keep hugging her and telling her that he didn't care whether she took the glamour pictures or not. That part of him should have won out. But another part of him was fighting like crazy to keep from shaking with the laughter that was trying to take him over. His brilliant, talented, level-headed older sister was as twisted up in her own emotions as any empty-headed teeny bopper. And for a reason he would never have thought of in a lifetime.

He did keep hugging but he didn't say anything - he couldn't, or the laughter would have escaped. For several minutes he just sat holding her until an idea started to take hold. He would be taking a chance, but he was so tired of the emotional merry-go-round of the last few weeks that he dropped his usual caution.

"OK, Rebecca. Here's what you're going to have to do to make it up to me."

"Cal! I... I can't do it. You'd see... I'm afraid..."

"Let me finish," he cut her off. "Here's what you have to do. First, you have to throw away all of the clothes you've been wearing to school. And..." He walked over to her dresser and after two tries found her underwear drawer. He grabbed handfuls of her plain panties and bras and threw them on the bed "... and all of these."

"WHAT?"

"Then, you have to ask Mom to take you shopping for a new wardrobe before school starts again. That includes sexy new lingerie. No more plain underwear, got it?" With that, she was getting the idea that he was making a point and she started to relax a little.

"Mom would never take time for all of that," she declared.

"Wanna bet?" he demanded. "I think she would jump at the chance."

"OK," she said, feeling much less concerned. "Then you won't be mad at me about the pictures?"

"Not quite," he corrected, watching her face fall.

"You mean you're still gonna make me..." He was absolutely amazed that she thought he could make her do anything. Teri's comment about him no longer being the little brother came back to him.

"When you get back to school," he interrupted her, "you have to eat lunch with the three nicest guys from your AP classes every day for the first two weeks."

"You turd!" she spat out, now realizing the truth. "You really don't care about the pictures at all, do you?"

"What ever gave you the idea I did?" he demanded. She opened her mouth to answer before she realized she did have one. Then, to avoid being caught without an answer, she lamely claimed, "Well, you got pissed at everything else I did lately."

"You still have to get a new wardrobe," he insisted. "If Mom can't spend all the time, Laura will."

"Oh, just the threat of that of would make Mom take vacation days." That made them both laugh.

He was ready to leave but held back because he saw a question on her face. He waited a moment and she spoke so softly he hardly heard. "If I asked you to take, um, nude pictures of me, would you?" And he thought he had lived through all of the surprises!

Quickly running through his possible answers and the probable reactions, he saw no answer that he considered safe. "Would you ask me?" he finally asked her back. She just looked at him, obviously as unsure as he had just been.

"Maybe," he said, holding his arms wide in welcome, "that's something we'd better not talk about." She almost jumped up from her seat on the bed and accepted his hug invitation.

Cal was not comfortable with notoriety of any kind. He knew that success in sports would bring lots of attention, but that had nothing to do with why he played. The competing and the winning were their own reward. So far, he had not been noticed much. A kickoff specialist and freshman guard on the JV team could be pretty anonymous.

Likewise with his martial arts, the various degrees were of no interest to him. His competitive spirit did not even transfer to that part of his life. He had gotten into it to be able to protect those he cared about. The confidence that he was able to do that was enough reward. The improvement in his golf and basketball and kicking was a pleasant bonus.

Actually, he viewed his martial arts in a totally different light than he did his sports. It was no game. Khalid had died, and he was dedicated to preventing anything like that from happening again. It was too deadly to be a sport, and he chose not to keep score.

When school reconvened after the holidays, it took a few days for Cal to realize that he was an object of great interest to a significant percentage of the female students. When he first figured it out, his initial reaction was anger and irritation. Then he remembered Rule One: women tell each other everything. It was genetic. He should not be angry with them.

Just ignoring the attention was not going to be enough, though. One day, three different girls that Cal had never met stopped him in the halls and asked him to take their pictures. He should have expected that, but it caught him by surprise. Partly from irritation that things had gotten out of hand, he told the girls that they had to take it up with Tessa.

Tessa and Rebecca once again waylaid him on the way into the house. "What's the big idea of sending those girls to me?" Tessa demanded.

"You're the one with the studio," he replied with an unmistakable edge to his voice.

"But I can't take pictures," she countered, her anger about to erupt.

"Then hire a photographer," was his retort. It looked like the friends were about to have a real fight.

Tessa's mouth worked wordlessly for a moment - a rarity for her. Then, the usual twinkle returned. "OK. What's your rate?" she asked with a smirk.

Cal just sat down on the cold front steps, staring at the ground. They'd done it to him again. One night in bed he had cynically thought of Rule Two: 'If you have a penis, you can't win'. As he sat there with his butt freezing, it no longer seemed funny.

Whether she was reading his thoughts or had just realized what had happened, Tessa blurted out "Oh, Shit! Bad idea!" Then she turned and ran home, leaving Rebecca to pick up the pieces. Rebecca, in turn, bailed out and went in the house.

Once again it was left to Teri to try to smooth things over. "You and Tessa might as well be married, the way you battle each other," she joked to Cal later that evening.

"Didn't know that's what marriage was supposed to be like," he blurted out. Mouth open as if to counter his remark, Teri suddenly turned and hurried from the room. He was in her house, and he didn't know if he should leave or stay. He had just risen to leave when she came back into the room.

"Sorry, Teri. I didn't mean..." Her clinging hug interrupted his apology.

After a silent minute or two of hugging, she spoke. "Between you and Tessa, you're doing a great job of showing me how I fucked up my marriage." The coarse language was very rare for her. He would learn that it was a sign of deep emotion.