Chapter 21

Bernadette was nervous. Her invitation to Curtis Lee to go fishing had been somewhat impetuous, she now decided, as she followed Nathan and Hilda Mae through the woods toward the fishing hole. She couldn’t make up her mind if she wanted him to be there or not.

The craving in her to actually see the penis which, up to now, was just an imaginary construct in her mind, was strong in her. What she really wanted, at this point in time, was to be able to stare at whatever he had in his pants ... examine it closely. She was intelligent enough to know that what she kept seeing in her mind would not, most likely, match reality. Seeing Luthor’s, Jesse’s and Moses’ penises had proved that they didn’t all look alike. She loved her brother’s penis so much that she hadn’t been able to think of anything else Curtis Lee’s could look like, though, other than being dark, while Nathan’s was light.

Her active imagination had pursued many scenarios, though, and very few of them seemed to end up in a satisfactory way. In one, he was already there when they arrived, and she had to strip naked in front of him. That one left her weak. After sucking Nathan one time, she had stood to find shiny streaks of her fluids running down her thighs. Nathan had licked all those shiny streaks up before sucking more from her pussy itself, but the thought of others seeing her wet like that was mortifying. And she knew, somehow, that she’d get wet when she saw Curtis Lee’s penis.

In another scenario, they were all there, sporting in the water, when Curtis Lee arrived. He took one look at the naked bodies in the water ... and at her ... and then left. That one made her hurt deep inside.

In yet another scenario, he was there, and was magnificent in his nakedness, but paid no attention to her whatsoever. That one made her ill.

In another, he was magnificent in his nakedness, and paid so much attention to her that Nathan fought with him.

Perhaps the worst one was that he didn’t come at all.

She had lagged behind, stumbling along, when she heard voices up ahead, welcoming Nathan and Hilda Mae. The joyful welcome in those voices perked her up immensely. She’d always had friends back in Atlanta, and when she’d first come to Catfish Hollow she had felt lonely and disillusioned. She’d been sure she’d never have a single friend here. Now, she realized that the girls back in Atlanta, whose attention she had craved so much, had been empty-headed and spoiled, with little substance in their lives. They’d had pretty dresses, and servants and all that, but they never talked about anything that actually meant much. They weren’t anything like Johnnie Sue, who was so confident, and bold, and capable. They weren’t anything like Ruth Ann, who was so smart, and calm and ... capable.

She stumbled into the clearing, her fishing pole catching on a branch, and she blinked in the strong sunlight. Hilda Mae was already dropping her bra on top of her shirt. Jesse and Johnnie Sue were already in the water. As she put her things down Luthor came out of the woods, naked, his penis flopping limply between his legs. He grinned and waved, heading for the water. Nathan was spreading out the blanket. She felt a kind of contentment at how normal everything looked, and then a thrill of something exciting as she realized how abnormal everything actually was. Kids her age didn’t play naked back in Atlanta. This was really something from some kind of fairy tale, and it was hugely more exciting than anything she had thought Catfish Hollow would ever be like. She began to get naked, feeling another thrill as she realized she didn’t mind being naked in front of these people at all.

There was no frenzy this time. They got into the water, neck deep and in a circle, and they just talked. Moses arrived, and Johnnie Sue yelled out, asking him if he brought his big worm with him this time. That got laughter. When he shucked his overalls and displayed a thoroughly flaccid penis, she yelled that he wouldn’t win any contest with bait like that, and there was more laughter, but it was all in good spirit.

Bernadette kept peering at the bank, so much so that Luthor finally asked her what she was looking for.

“I sort of invited Curtis Lee to come fishing,” she admitted, blushing.

“You can’t do that!“ said Johnnie Sue. “He’s too old!”

“He’s the same age as Nathan,” said Bernadette in her defense.

“No, he’s a year older,” said Moses.

“Wow ... a whole year!” snorted Bernadette.

“Why are you so interested in having him here?” asked Nathan, suspiciously.

“She wants to see his root, stupid!” said Johnnie Sue.

“I do not!” said Bernadette weakly, blushing furiously.

“Yes you do, and that makes you a hussy,” said Johnnie Sue, grinning.

“He’s just a friend ... like you guys,” pleaded Bernadette.

Nathan looked at her critically. He remembered quite well the sight of his sister, naked, on her knees, in front of Curtis Lee, groveling and pleading for him not to tell others what he had just seen. He knew how grateful they all were that he had kept his promise to keep silent. He also knew, on some level, that if Curtis Lee skinny-dipped with them, that his silence would be even more firmly bound. Not that he doubted Curtis Lee. He was firmly convinced that Curtis Lee would take that secret to his grave, if he promised to. Curtis Lee was a man of his word. That was something Nathan was convinced of on a level he couldn’t even explain. The concept of his sister wanting to see a black man’s penis would have been far more troubling to him, except that the next thing that popped into his mind was that he would give a great deal of money if he could get a peek of what Miss Flossie would look like if she showed up here and decided to join the group in swimming naked.

His train of thought was broken by Johnnie Sue’s voice.

“Well, he probably won’t come anyway. I can’t see him being willing to show you his ... worm.” She pushed Moses, and there were snickers.

“I didn’t exactly ... um ... tell him ... about the swimming part,” admitted Bernadette.

There were hoots and splashes, which suddenly erupted into a full fledged water war. Quick and sometimes transitory alliances were made, as two would team up to take down one. Sometimes someone would come to the single combatant’s aid. It was popular to team up against Nathan, since he was the biggest and strongest of them all. He was draped with wet naked teenagers on several occasions as he staggered along on the uneven muddy bottom, growling like a bear.

It was at one such point that Curtis Lee emerged into the clearing, a fishing pole in one hand, and a gunny sack in the other. He stood staring at the battle in front of him. He saw Luthor leap out of the water, his white, naked skin flashing in the sunlight, as he landed heavily on Hilda Mae from one side, driving them both down under the water. Moses reached into the swirling water and pulled Luthor up, flipping him to one side. Hilda Mae surfaced, spluttering and dove on top of Moses, driving him down onto Luthor. Bernadette was clinging to Nathan’s back, and Jesse was trying to trip him by sweeping his leg behind. Nathan just leaned sideways and tipped over, landing on Jesse. Johnnie Sue jumped on top of that whole pile and all four of them pushed up into the air, like leaping fish as they separated. Bernadette stood, waist deep in water, her breasts gleaming in the sun as she wiped water from her eyes.

Hilda Mae saw him first, and stopped. When Moses surfaced in front of her she turned him around so he could see Curtis Lee. No one called out his name, but as they saw him the fight subsided.

“What in the hell are you doing?” asked Curtis Lee, astounded by what he was seeing.

“Swimming!” said Hilda Mae, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Naked?” asked Curtis Lee, incredulous. Had it just been Nathan and his sisters, he might not have been all that startled.

“You’ve skinny-dipped before,” said Moses.

“Not with...” Curtis Lee didn’t finish. “Not for a long time,” he amended.

“Well, you can remedy that now,” said Johnnie Sue, looking at him interestedly.

“No way!” said Curtis Lee.

“Oh, come on, Curtis Lee,” said Johnnie Sue. “We’ve already scared the fish away. We just wanted to cool off and have some fun. You may as well come on in for a while. We’ll fish later.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said.

“We’re all just friends here,” said Jesse. “You’re our friend, ain’t you?”

“That’s not the point,” said Curtis Lee, shifting uncomfortably. “There’s ... girls here.”

“You ain’t got anything we haven’t seen before,” joked Johnnie Sue. She changed her voice, raising it, and inserting an overly heavy southern drawl. “Us ladies have learned to ignore it when a boy gets ... indelicate.” She grinned.

Nathan, rather than being happy that Curtis Lee was being so modest, felt a twinge of fear that, if he left, he would have one more secret to keep ... a secret that he wasn’t involved in. Like many people, Nathan wanted his behavior to be validated by that of others. If Curtis Lee joined them, the circle would be unbroken, and Curtis Lee would be firmly in it.

“I think I know what his problem is,” he said. While the water war had gone on, Nathan had gotten erect. You can’t wrestle with naked people in the water, and not notice other erections, and he knew the other boys were erect too. What he had done last time had convinced Moses. Maybe it would convince Curtis Lee too.

“Guys?” he called out. “Come over here to where we can stand up.”

They didn’t come eagerly, to be sure, but when the girls got together and started chanting “Stand up ... stand up ... stand up” emotions of ... something ... drove them that were stronger than the urge not to display those erections in front of another male.

Curtis Lee didn’t understand at first. Then, when four dripping ... and very stiff penises ... emerged from the water, he did. His eyes darted to the girls, who were looking on in an obviously excited and approving manner. They had stopped chanting and were now clapping, as if some great performer was taking his bows.

“They tell me this is quite normal,” said Nathan, his guts twisting. “The ... ladies ... have been very nice about ignoring how normal us guys are.”

“It don’t look like they’re ignoring it to me,” said Curtis Lee.

“Doesn’t!” yelled Hilda Mae, giggling. It was a breaking point, where events were loaded on an invisible scales. Whatever happened next would tip those scales, one way or the other. Curtis Lee was quite aware that Bernadette had been flirting with him. He had puzzled about that for long moments. Her interest in him seemed entirely unreasonable, based on his experience. Yet, it seemed to be genuine. He didn’t delude himself that anything could come from that interest. While he lay in the dark, stroking his prick, he thought about Bernadette, as he had seen her. He hadn’t actually seen her do anything with Nathan. Nathan had been busy feasting between his other sister’s thighs. Bernadette had been like some Greek statue, slim and pale and smooth looking, like marble. He could still vividly see her almost blindingly white breasts, with their tiny nipples the same color as his own skin. And, when she had said she didn’t mind him seeing her like that, the permission that gave him to think of her while he masturbated came as a tremendous release.

He remembered how she had invited him here. This couldn’t have happened spontaneously ... this skinny-dipping. She would have known they would do this ... when she invited him.

“You’ve done this before,” he stated to the group.

“Done what?” asked Johnnie Sue.

“Gone skinny-dipping together ... all of you, I mean.”

“Yes,” said Johnnie Sue, not understanding what he was driving at.

Heat exploded in Curtis Lee’s chest. She had invited him here, knowing he would see her, and inviting him to be naked ... here ... in her sight.

“Bernadette invited me,” he said.

“We know that,” said Johnnie Sue, looking at him oddly.

“And you don’t mind?” It was clearly directed at Nathan.

“Well...” Nathan hedged. How was he supposed to answer that question. Letting something happen was a lot easier than saying publicly that it ... should ... happen. “We’re just swimming.”

Everyone there knew that wasn’t entirely true. In all of their minds, they knew they weren’t “just” swimming. This all had something do to do with sex, and they all knew that, Curtis Lee included. But, as stated before, it’s much easier to just let something happen, than it is to approve it, in a public forum. For that reason, no one said anything.

The balance was lost, as Curtis Lee put his fishing pole down on the ground. The balance tipped, but not much.