Chapter 76: Exposure

Back home, life in the Primdale household was mostly happy. Greg loved to watch Jeff and Brit getting along. The contrast from their former bickering and arguing delighted him enough to keep him from worrying too much about that conversation he had had with Allison about teenage girls falling in love with their brothers. If Brit was going through a phase where she adored Jeff, well, that was all right. He had earned it after all, by saving her life twice. Eventually the phase would pass, and Greg hoped that the two of them wouldn't fall back into their old ways of fighting all the time. From the way things looked, he didn't think that would ever happen, and that made him glad.

He did feel a little of that jealousy that Allison had mentioned. He loved his little girl, and remembered with fondness all the times when she was just a child, how she sometimes sat on his lap or gave him hugs or kisses. She had always been his little angel. Now she was no longer a child; she was developing into a beautiful young woman, independent and free. With that change came another; no longer was Greg the one she came to when feeling particularly affectionate. Now she went to Jeff.

That was all right; just like Allison had said, she needed a man closer to her own age to cling to, to put her trust in. Yes, she tended to flirt a lot, but that was all right in the end. Let her practice on someone safe, someone who wouldn't hurt her. Let her learn the power and limits of her sexuality before she turned her charms on the boys at school, who might not treat her so nicely.

But Jeff and Brit weren't the only ones happy. Greg also felt more alive than he had since ... forever. He had loved his first wife, perhaps every bit as much as he now loved his second, but he had never had as much fun as with Allison. He wondered now if maybe the reason his first wife had left him was because he was too boring. There had been passion and romance in the early years of their marriage, and then once the children had been born they had ended up sacrificing time alone for the sake of their kids. They had settled into their roles of father and mother, and forgotten to be husband and wife. He had accepted it because he had grown up in that kind of family, but perhaps his wife had never really felt that she fit in with that kind of lifestyle. Maybe she needed the kind of excitement in her life that Greg had been unable to show her.

Strangely enough, Allison was the same way. The difference was that Allison hadn't been willing to just settle down. She had taken control, changing Greg instead of letting him change her, and the two of them were now happy together.

With Jeff, Brit, Greg, and Allison having a wonderful time, he wondered whether it was the same with Lissa. She had seemed cheerful and bubbly at Christmas, so maybe she was enjoying herself just as much.

One afternoon after Allison went out to the mailbox, she returned with a letter from Lissa. Greg was sitting in his office when Allison opened the door and slipped in, the letter in her hand. The two of them sat down on the couch, and Allison sliced open the envelope and pulled out the letter.

"'Dear Allison, '" she quoted. "'Don't let Dad read this yet.'"

Greg looked at his wife in surprise. What was that supposed to mean?

"Just a minute," said Allison, as she scanned down the letter. She laughed as she read.

"What is it?" asked Greg, curious.

"Yes, I can see that that would give you quite a shock," Allison smiled, then folded up the letter and slipped it back into the envelope. "I think I'll keep this with me for a while. Don't want you peeking, after all."

"What is it that she's telling you that she doesn't want to tell me?" asked Greg.

"Now don't get jealous. She does want to tell you. Or at least, she wants me to tell you. I just need to figure out the right way, that's all. Don't worry; she's not hurt or anything like that. This is a good thing, at least in my opinion. I'm just not sure you would agree. That's why she wrote to me first."

"Okay," Greg shrugged. "I suppose I don't mind if you two share a secret. I'm just curious, that's all."

"I'll tell you when the time is right," Allison told him, then leaned over and kissed him.

He wondered about that letter, but didn't let it bother him. If it was important, she would have wanted him to know too, so it probably wasn't a big deal. She had probably decided on a major for her college education that he wouldn't approve of, though he couldn't think of what that might be. Or maybe she decided to change schools. At any rate, he would find out eventually, and until then, he would have to simply suppress his curiosity.

Allison did tell Jeff and Brit, however. The three of them gathered in Jeff's room at bedtime, and Allison read the letter to them. Their eyes widened in surprise when she came to the part about Lissa having a girlfriend. Her name was Alya, and she was one of Lissa's roommates. Jeff thought he remembered her mentioning something about Alya during Christmas break, but only as an offhand comment. She had probably mentioned all of her roommates at one point or another.

The truth was that he wasn't that surprised. She had been a very different person during the break than she had been before. Obviously she had no problem fooling around with other girls; she had proven that at Christmas time.

Brit was actually happy to learn that Lissa had switched over. That meant she wasn't the only Primdale girl to have a girlfriend. Now they could provide moral support for each other, because they were both in the same situation.

The next day at school, Jeff received another surprise, this one much more unwelcome. He had just arrived at school and was looking for Kari when his friend Jesse greeted him.

"Jeff, can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Jesse. He had a sly look in his eye that Jeff didn't like. Usually that look meant some perverted fantasy of his that Jeff would have to listen to. That was just Jesse's way.

"Sure," said Jeff. He might as well get it over with.

Jesse led him down the hall to an empty classroom. That surprised Jeff; usually his friend was more than happy to reveal his fantasies to everyone within listening range.

After closing and locking the door, Jesse opened his backpack and withdrew a stack of papers. With a wicked grin, he showed them to Jeff.

They were photos of Allison, naked. Jeff knew those pictures; Allison had introduced him to the website where those photos were prominently displayed. Apparently his parents had spent a weekend with one of their friends who ran that website, taking pictures and helping to launch it.

He should have known that those photos would end up in the hands of Jesse, who spent more time browsing for porn than anyone Jeff had ever met. It was only a matter of time. The question then, was what Jesse planned to do with those picture.

Jeff decided to pretend that it didn't bother him. If his friend was trying to shock him, he wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Nice," he shrugged.

The look of surprise on Jesse's face was very satisfying. It lasted only a second though, before the smug grin returned. "Your stepmom's hot!" he said.

"I can't argue with you there," smiled Jeff. "I don't need your dirty pictures to tell me that. Anyway, get to the point. I have to go to class."

Jesse stared at him for a second. "The point," he said, "is that there are a lot of kids who would pay good money for these pictures."

So that was it. Blackmail. Jeff should have expected that. But he wasn't about to let Jesse get away with it.

"I'm sure they would," he replied, trying to keep his voice casual instead of giving away his anger. "I'd be one of them, if I didn't have copies already."

"You what?" asked Jesse, even more shocked than before.

Now for the coup de grace. "I made sure to save them all when Allison showed me the website," he said.

Jesse's mouth hung open.

"Of course, these photos really don't do her justice," Jeff continued, driving the point home. "Flat pictures can't take the place of seeing her in the flesh."

"You ... you've seen her naked?" asked Jesse.

"Only a couple of times," he shrugged. He stopped short of saying that he had actually had sex with her. Let Jesse think that Jeff had only caught glimpses of her coming out of the shower or something.

"So was that all you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked. "Look, we're both going to be late for class if we don't hurry."

"Five dollars per picture," Jesse blurted out.

"What?"

"Five dollars per picture. That's all I'm asking."

"Why would I pay you for pictures that I already have?" asked Jeff.

"Because five dollars keeps them out of the hands of everyone else."

So that was the game. Jesse would no doubt be happy to spread those pictures around; it might give him a little more street cred with the guys. Jeff nearly told him to go fuck himself; Allison probably wouldn't be bothered by those pictures out in the open. But he also had to think of his father. Greg had a certain reputation that he needed to protect from any scandal. The divorce a few years ago had been pretty hard on him; if word got out that his wife had posed nude, the consequences for him could be devastating.

"I'll think about it," Jeff said noncommittally. He had to have time to discuss it with Allison before he did anything. She would know just what to do.

"Okay, but don't take too long. "If you haven't made up your mind by tomorrow, I'll start lining up bidders for a little auction. I just wanted you to have a first crack at them."

"Tomorrow then," Jeff agreed.

He worried about it the rest of the day. He needed to find a way to get Jesse to agree not to show those pictures to anyone else. Although he knew that Allison and his dad knew what they were getting into when she posed for that website, Jeff still felt bad about the images getting spread around the school.

He considered talking to his dad about it. Greg was an influential man, and a brief discussion with Jesse's father might end it right there. But that might bring up questions, and the last thing Jeff wanted was for his father to discover that Allison had been viewing internet porn with him.

In the end, he had only one choice. He would have to talk to Allison about it. He wasn't sure what she could do about it, but he had never seen her fail at anything when she put her mind to it.

When he arrived home from school, he found Allison in the kitchen preparing supper. He approached her nervously, wondering how he should begin.

"Allison, I need your help," said Jeff, figuring the direct approach to be the best. "My friend Jesse stumbled across that website you showed me. You know, the one with nude pictures of you."

"I hope he liked what he saw," she simply smiled. Just as Jeff suspected, it didn't bother her in the least.

"He tried to sell me the pictures."

"You didn't accept, did you? You already have copies."

"That's just what I told him. But you don't understand. He said if I didn't pay, he would auction them off to the highest bidder."

Allison shrugged. "Let me know what he earns. I'm kind of curious to know what my body is worth to teenage boys these days."

"Allison, you're not listening. Jesse is going to spread those pictures around, among the boys at school. I know that doesn't bother you, but think of Dad. Think of his reputation."

She nodded. "Okay, you have a good point. Greg and I discussed it when we took those pictures, and although we hoped they would never be seen by anyone we know, we knew it was a risk. Still, that doesn't mean I just have to accept it. You're right; it's probably better if we nip it in the bud right now."

Jeff sighed. She finally understood.

"So Jesse's got nude photos of me," she said calmly. "Jesse's which of your friends? Not the one with the little sister."

"No, that's Rick. Jesse's the one with the perverted grin on his face all the time."

"Oh yes. Him. I'm not surprised he's the one who found those pictures. So how much did he want for them?"

"Five bucks each."

"And how many pictures did he have?"

"I don't know. Twenty or thirty, I would guess."

"Pocket change. It would be easy enough to pay him off, but that's not the point. We can't let a blackmailer profit, can we?" she said with a grin.

"I'm glad you see things my way," said Jeff.

"And I'm glad you feel protective enough toward me that that is your way," she replied. Jeff felt much better; she always knew just the right things to say. That was one thing he loved about her, that she was always quick to give compliments like that.

"So let's think this through," she continued. "He has power over us because we want to keep those pictures private more than we want the money he's asking for them. He'll keep those pictures private as long as we offer him something worth more to him than exposing them. This is just basic economics."

"But whether it's money or something else that we offer, he still comes out ahead."

"With the current status quo, yes. So we just have to change the status quo."

"How?"

Allison sat and pondered for a moment. Then a grin spread across her features. Suddenly, Jeff had a feeling that this would all turn out all right after all.

"I'd like to have a talk with this friend of yours," she said. "Let me get him alone for ten minutes and I'm sure I can convince him not to sell those pictures."

Jeff stared at her. He wasn't sure what she meant, but it sounded kind of suspicious. "You're not going to... ?"

"Kill him?" asked Allison jokingly.

Jeff couldn't help but laugh at the absurd suggestion. "No, I meant--"

"I know what you meant. I was just kidding. If you thought I was talking about sex, don't worry. Our goal here is to keep him from profiting from blackmailing us, after all. If I had sex with him, I'd call that profiting."

"So what did you have in mind?"

She smiled. "I'm glad you asked," she said.

The next day at school, Jeff immediately sought out his friend. He felt much better about the whole situation now that Allison had it under control. When she had explained her plan yesterday, he realized that it was the perfect solution to the problem.

When he found Jesse, the two of them ducked into a deserted corner of the hallway.

"So do you have the money?" asked Jesse.

"No," Jeff replied.

"Well then, what are we standing here talking about? I've got some deals to make."

"Just wait a minute," Jeff insisted. "You haven't heard what I'm offering instead."

"What are you offering?"

"You give me the pictures and promise to never pull this kind of stunt again, and I'll arrange a one-on-one photoshoot with you and Allison."

Jesse's eyes grew wide. "Are you serious?" he asked with delight.

"Do you have a camera?"

"Well yes, but..."

"Come home with me after school tomorrow. Bring your camera. Allison's dying to meet you. The truth is, when I told her that you had seen those pictures, she was flattered that you enjoyed them so much."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Brit and I will stay out of the way so that Allison and you can be alone together to take the photos. In exchange, you never try to sell pictures of Allison again. What do you say?"

"You're not kidding me, right? I mean, when you say it's a one-on-one photoshoot..."

"Allison will be nude. There. I've said it. Now are you satisfied?"

"It's a deal!" Jesse said with excitement in his eyes. Jeff took his hand and they shook on it.

That afternoon, Jeff told Allison that Jesse had taken the bait. Now it was just a matter of putting the plan into action. He also said that he had had to promise Jesse that she would be nude, but she didn't have a problem with that.

Now they just had to find a location for the so-called "photoshoot." After discussing various rooms in the house, they decided that Brit's art studio would afford the most privacy. That meant they had to explain the plan to Brit, who was more than happy to lend the studio to them for their nefarious purpose.

Before Greg arrived home, the three of them disassembled the bed in the spare room and hauled it out back to the studio, reassembling it in place. That put the finishing touches on the plan, so now all they had to do was put it into action.

All through the next day at school, Jesse could hardly concentrate. He had brought his camera like Jeff had told him, and now it was just a matter of getting through the day so that he could go home with Jeff and take some nude pictures of his stepmom. Allison was even more gorgeous than his science teacher, Miss Walker, and that was saying something.

When the last bell rang, he literally hopped up out of his seat and hurried out the door to find Jeff. As soon as they met, they headed out to the bus and boarded it, taking a seat next to Jeff's little sister. Brit was kind of a cutie, just starting to fill out. She would probably have a nice set of tits one day. Already she had pretty little lips that he would just love to feel wrapped around his cock.