Chapter 2: Timing is the Key

When we got back to Sally's room, Bev looked at us nervously, wondering if she really had to do this ... strip that is. I tried to take the matter out of her hands.

"Hey, Bev. You don't have to if you don't want to," I offered.

"Just a minute, Hal," Ginny said quickly and authoritatively. "We all agreed. If I did it, we all did it." There was little doubt about who was the leader of this triad.

"I meant, she didn't have to do it for me," I said quickly, trying to placate Ginny and Bev.

"No ... I said I would ... and I will," Bev interjected before Ginny could say anything more.

She began to undo the buttons on her blouse, not looking up. I was sure she was now uncomfortable with her decision to go along with this game. I turned away to fiddle with the camera, trying to lessen the pressure on Bev. Ginny glanced at me then smiled. I wasn't sure what the smile was for but it kept me occupied as I tried to give Bev a chance to disrobe.

When I finished puttering with the camera settings and making sure I was ready for the pictures I turned back and saw Bev reaching behind to remove her bra. She was never going to complete with Ginny for cleavage but she was still a very well-endowed young lady, the shape of her breasts much more conical than her friend's were. As she slipped out of her jeans, I could see her slimmer hips and leaner legs. There was less definition from her hips to her waist but her overall figure was still outstanding. I wondered if time wouldn't add still more to it.

There was one more surprise for me as Bev continued to undress. As she pulled down her bikini panties, I saw immediately that she was bare. No pubic hair at all. I had seen pictures of women who had shaved their privates but never one up close and in person. I had seen bare breasts and naked women before so nothing I saw this evening was new to me.

I started taking my pictures making sure I used similar poses to the ones with Ginny. Bev was still a bit nervous but no one was making any comments and after a while she seemed to relax a bit. I would give her simple instructions about what I wanted her to do for the next pose but otherwise, the room was silent except for the soft click of the electronic shutter.

Ginny had re-dressed and passed the housecoat to Bev as we prepared to go back to the office to download the pictures. As I hoped, they had turned out well and I think even Bev agreed that they flattered her. Just the same, she was bound and determined that no one but us would see them. I could guarantee my end of the bargain but as for the girls ... who could tell?

Sally was less reluctant to follow Ginny and Bev, being quite willing to strip and pose for the camera. While she wasn't the standout beauties that Ginny or Bev were she made up for it with her personality. She smiled a lot and she laughed a lot. She may have been slightly lower on my personal physical scoreboard but I'd consider myself a lucky guy if she was my girlfriend. Sometimes beauty isn't the only thing to consider. Even then, with my inexperience and fascination with the female form, I recognized that Sally was a special girl.

Sally tried some unorthodox poses, giggling as she did so. If even one of them turned out well it would be worth it. I encouraged her and she responded. Her body wasn't yet fully developed (my guess) but it was very nice just the same. She probably wasn't going to have large breasts but they were perfectly shaped and proportioned for her body. She wasn't as tall as Ginny but slimmer and with less hip flare and with slim thighs. Despite her blonde hair, her skin was slightly darker and I wondered if that was her natural tone. Her dark brown eyes had a lively sparkle to them that matched her character.

Finally, after all the pictures had been downloaded and reviewed we returned to Sally's bedroom. Sally dressed without a hint of shyness or coyness talking to us as she did so. It was quite a revealing picture in itself and made her even more attractive to me. She was a very together young lady of just seventeen years.

"You and Bev should get back to the party before you are missed," Ginny said, glancing at Sally.

"Yeah, good idea," Bev said quickly. She was almost anxious to get out of the bedroom and back to the gang in the basement.

"I better check out the house and make sure everything is okay," Sally said. "My folks would kill me if anything got broken."

I smiled at her knowing exactly what she was talking about. Anything out of place or missing if I had friends over at the house when my parents were out would immediately be noticed and commented upon. I don't know how my mother could do that but she could.

I was about to follow Sally out of the bedroom when Ginny grabbed my arm and held me back.

"I want to talk," she said, closing the door behind Sally.

"What about?" I was a little surprised but I don't know why I should have been considering what had happened over the past hour.

"Us. You and me," she said looking directly into my eyes.

I almost expected Ginny to have green eyes. I don't know why. Perhaps that was just an Irish cliché, but instead she had the bluest of blue eyes. Almost cobalt blue. I was fascinated by them while she stared at me.

"Let's sit over here," she said, indicating the bed once more.

I sat where I had before and Ginny sat beside me taking my hand as she did so.

"Have you ever had a steady girlfriend?" she asked.

"No. I've had a few dates, but ... no ... no steady girl."

"I guess I'm not surprised. Now that you've added a few inches, it's going to be easier for you," she smiled.

"Yeah ... well ... I hope so." I wasn't quite as sure about that as she was.

"What kind of a girl would you want to have?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Beggars can't be choosers."

She laughed lightly. "You aren't very confident in yourself, are you?"

I shrugged again.

"How would you like to be my boyfriend?" she asked out of the blue.

I had no idea how to answer that question. I was shaking my head, never having considered it as an option.

"Yeah ... sure," I finally blurted out. Is she crazy? What guy wouldn't want to be her boyfriend?

She was smiling and I could tell she was enjoying my discomfort. I wasn't experienced at all around girls of my age so I guess my confusion at her question was expected.

"Let me explain," she resumed. "I have told Rick Baker that he and I are done. I don't think he really believes it but sooner or later he will. Do you want to know why?"

I nodded. I desperately wanted to know why she would dump the most sought-after guy in school. Super athlete, reasonable student, handsome, tall, well built, the whole package.

"He's a self-centred jerk. When he gets up in the morning he looks in the mirror and tells himself how wonderful he is. He treats me like I was someone just waiting for his next command. He doesn't ask, he tells. I finally figured out that I was just around for decoration and to provide him with sex on demand."

That last comment caused me to blush mightily and look away.

"I've embarrassed you, Hal. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to rub your nose in my personal life. I just wanted you to know some things about me. That's what this talk is about."

I nodded again, indicating I understood, but still said nothing.

"That's something else about you that is different. You listen. Rick couldn't hear anything but the usual praise about how great he was. It was like he fed on it. He needed it. After a while, I got sick of hearing it."

"I've been sexually active since I was fifteen," she admitted. "Quite something for a girl named Virginia, eh?"

Again, I was shocked and embarrassed.

"I think it was expected of me. I matured early. I had boobs when I was thirteen. All the guys kept telling me how sexy I was. After a while, I started

to believe it. My mother put me on the pill almost as soon as she figured out what was happening. I think she knew what kind of pressure would be on me. She just told me to be careful. There were other things to worry about, like disease or rape. She was pretty cool about it. That helped a lot but just the same, for a while I wasn't very choosy about what kind of guy I went out with."

I was stunned into silence as Ginny related her teenage years in such blunt terms.

"I've shocked you, haven't I," Ginny said without a hint of a smile.

"Yeah. I guess I didn't expect you to tell me this kind of stuff. You know, personal stuff."

"I guess I didn't expect to either, but ... actually Hal ... for some reason ... I trust you. I know you don't have any experience with girls but you don't act like a clown or run away and hide when I ... or my friends ... do something crazy."

"Crazy?"

"Yeah ... you know ... like getting you to take pictures of us naked. Crazy like that," she smiled.

I nodded. I hadn't thought of it that way but, considering, it was a bit crazy. Or ... maybe a whole bunch crazy.

"I told you I've dumped Rick, so I'm looking for a new boyfriend. Would you like to apply?" she grinned.

"Yeah ... sure!" I said without a moment's thought or hesitation.

"Good. How about we go out on a date next weekend?"

"Okay. You have a preference?"

"Surprise me," she grinned. "Show me some imagination."

So there it was. I had a date with the best looking girl in school and it was up to me what we did. This was going to require some serious thought.

"Mom, I need some help," I said as my mother came into the kitchen the next morning.

"Oh. What kind of help?"

"I have a date ... with a girl ... and ... I need some ideas for where to take her. It needs to be something special."

"Oh ... I see. Well, this shouldn't be too difficult. How about dinner and a movie?"

"You don't understand. This girl is really cool. I need something different. Something she wouldn't expect," I explained.

"Who is she? Do I know her?"

"No. Her name is Ginny Fontaine. She's the hottest girl in school ... by far. I need to impress her. I'm auditioning for her boyfriend."

"What? You're auditioning?" She was quite taken aback with that.

"Yeah ... like ... she's just dumped a boyfriend and I'm getting a chance to replace him."

"And this is the hottest girl in school? You, who has never had a regular girlfriend?"

"Well ... yeah."

"What makes you think you can be the lucky boy?"

I shrugged. "She asked me if I wanted to try. You know ... take her out on a date and see how it goes I guess."

"She asked you ... and she's the hottest girl in school?" Mother's voice definitely held a note of disbelief.

"Yeah. I was pretty surprised too."

"I'm sure you were. Well, this is quite a challenge then, isn't it?"

I nodded. I was hoping my mother, who was a very imaginative person, could come up with an idea that would be different.

"So, Hal, what does this Ginny like to do? Does she have a hobby or any special interests?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I only just met her last week. She came up to me and wanted to know about my vacation in Italy. She'd heard about it from someone else," I fibbed. I was pretty sure my mother didn't know about the pictures.

"Was she interested?"

"Yeah. In fact, she was talking about getting her parents to let her go there next summer. I was telling her about the kids we met who were backpacking in groups and she was really interested in that."

"Did you show her the essay you wrote about it?"

"Uhhm, no, I didn't. I guess I didn't think she would be interested."

"Sounds like you were wrong. Did you show her some of your pictures?"

My head snapped up. "Huh? Pictures?"

She was smiling a knowing smile as she looked at me.

"Did you think you could fool me so easily?" she smirked.

Damn! She knew. She might not have known everything but she knew I had taken pictures and it would be a simple deduction to assume I had taken them of some of the girls.

"I only took a few," I tried, hoping this wasn't going to turn into an inquisition.

"Hmmm. Just a few, you say. I suppose you had to show them to some of your friends too?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"And this Ginny ... she heard about it and wanted to see them too?"

Damn she was a good guesser. "Yeah."

"And what did she say when you showed them to her?"

"Uhhm ... well ... she wanted to know how she and her friends compared."

"Oh? And how do they compare?" I was getting the impression my mother was enjoying this interrogation.

"Fine. I mean ... the good looking girls here wouldn't be embarrassed over there."

"No, I'm sure they wouldn't. Is this Ginny as 'hot' as you say?"

I nodded. "Yeah ... she's the best looking girl in school."

"And she is interested in you?"

I nodded again. "She said I didn't act like a jerk and, since I'd grown in the last year, she said I might be a hunk or something."

"Oh well ... Haldor the Hunk," she chuckled. "That will be a nice change for you, won't it?"

"Oh yeah," I agreed wholeheartedly. "I'm not there yet, but maybe in the next year I'll get a little bigger."

"I'm sure you will. And this girl is correct. You are going to become a 'hunk.'"

I looked up in surprise. My own mother was telling me that?

"Do you have a picture of her?" she asked.

"Uhhm, no, not yet," I lied.

She looked at me suspiciously but didn't pursue it.

"Well, I think you get together with her on Monday and see what she is interested in. Find out more about her and maybe that will help you know what you can do on a date."

"Yeah. That makes sense. I'll do that. I'd like to do something different with her. Maybe something she wouldn't expect."

"That's a very good idea. We should discuss this after you talk to her and see what will come to our minds," she said with a nice, motherly smile.

"Thanks, Mom. I'm sure you'll be a big help."

"Haldor, you are later than most young boys to have dates with girls so I will try and help you always."

"Yeah. Thanks. But, I have a question. How old were you when you first started dating?"

"Oh, I was fifteen only. My mother too was very helpful. I remembered that and it was the reason I hope you would benefit being in Italy this summer. I will give you the advice of a woman. After that, it is in your hands if you follow it or not."

"Yeah, well like you said, I'm a little late getting started so I can use all the help I can get. Most of the guys at school have been dating since they were fourteen or fifteen, like you. I never really felt like I had a chance with a girl until this past summer. I really glad I'm not some midget nerd any more."