Dee and Jane are chatting in Dee's kitchen, fresh back from an afternoon session in the gym.
"You're a bloody tease," Jane said. "You know you are, and you know he follows you about."
"It’s not doing him any harm, and it makes me feel good; you're just as bad. You know Dunc has your picture as his home page on his phone," Dee replied.
The two women have been friends since they met in prenatal classes. Their sons were born within a day of each other and have been best friends ever since. Through cruel twists of fate, both women are now single mums. Dee was widowed before her son ‘Dunc’ was five. Jane separated and then divorced just three years ago. They had both'married well’. Dee's husband had private and corporate life insurance, and she now lives comfortably. Jane's husband left her the house and generous maintenance. This was in exchange for letting him go and set up home with the girl who had been their babysitter.
"He waited until she was just past eighteen—the bastard," is how Jane describes him now.
Both women had just one child each, a boy, Paul John for Dee, and John Paul for Jane. They both wanted to call their sons John Paul. They had tossed a coin, and Dee lost and reversed the names. Everyone, including Dee, calls him ''Dunc'—after PJ and Duncan. The boys were a few months away from their 17th birthday. Both boys attend a private school; both are day boys. It is a comparatively small school out of town, which means the school runs to and from daily. The women shared duties gladly; today is Dee's turn, which has sparked the discussion.
"Are you really going to do the school run in just your leotard?" Jane asked, a little sarcastically.
Dee grabbed her car keys and handbag and turned to Jane. “It’s raining; I'm not even going to get out of the car."
"Yes, but that leotard, it’s nigh on obscene. It is so high-legged and low-backed; at least throw on a sweatshirt and some joggers. You might even think about some underwear!” Jane’s sarcasm grew.
Dee grumbled, pulled on a long baggy sweatshirt, and ran to the car. She drove to school, swung into the car park, and saw the two boys. They were standing under the shelter with a small crowd of lads. Dee waved, most waved back, and the two boys ran through the rain to the car. Dunc managed to reach the front passenger door first, and JP settled for the rear seat.
"Hi, Aunty Dee," JP smiled at her.
They clipped their seatbelts and set off to the house.
"Who were the boys who were waving?" Dee asked, "I didn't recognise them."
"Oh, just mates," JP answered.
The boys looked at each other as if silently exchanging a secret. For the rest of the journey, the boys were concentrating on their phones. As the car pulled onto the driveway, the boys jumped out and ran in.
"Hi, Aunty Jane." "Hi, Mum," Dunc and JP, respectively, called out to Jane.
Dropping bags and discarding shoes and wet blazers the two boys made for the fridge. Dee followed on behind, soaking through. She pulled the wet sweatshirt off over her head, and Jane flashed her a disapproving glare. Dee was a very petite woman; her figure gave no signs she had had a child. She had a tiny waist with small pert boobs. Today she also had a very obvious pair of nipples reacting to the cold rain through her leotard. Standing in the kitchen with her red hair in a ponytail, she could pass as having come home from the same school. Except the leotard was definitely not school approved. JP turned from the fridge and did his best not to stare. Dunc glanced at his mum, not again, he thought to himself as he wandered off to the lounge with the fruits of his fridge raid.
Dee broke the silence.
"Jane, do you and JP want to stay for dinner? It’s only going to be a takeaway; Dunc wanted pizza."
JP replied before she had finished speaking. "Yes, please, yes, is it OK, Mum? I can walk home later."
"Yes, thanks," Jane said and added, "Aunty Dee is going to go and shower and change, and then we'll order; now go and drink that in the lounge with Dunc."
JP reluctantly made his way out of the kitchen, and Jane turned to Dee.
"You see, you're teasing him so much. He is obsessed with you, and I can't blame him. Please go and cover up before he explodes."
Dee laughed an easy, comfortable laugh and jogged off up the stairs.
After a few minutes, Dee reappeared. She was barefoot in jeans and a loose, short-bodied pink hoodie, her hair still in a ponytail.
"Let’s order; what do you boys want?" Dee called out.
Within seconds, JP reappeared in the kitchen.
"I’m not sure; can I see the menu?" JP sheepishly asked.
"He'll have the Margareta as usual," Jane answered.
"Let him choose," Dee answered, and smiling handed him the takeaway menu.
JP stood very close to Dee, pretending to read the menu, giddy with her feint scent. JP eventually opted for a Margareta and sloped away to the lounge. The pizzas arrived, and when Dee bent to get out plates in the kitchen, Jane could see all the way down her top. Her firm, naked little boobs were momentarily on show. Jane was glad JP was already in the dining room. They all ate, and then the boys went up to Dunc’s room while the girls cleared away.
"Did you not see Dunc watch you the whole time we were eating?" Dee asked.
Jane shook her head, and Dee pulled a face while rolling her eyes.
"Come with me, but quietly," Dee motioned to Jane to follow her.
The two women crept slowly upstairs. The door to Dunc’s room was pushed too but not closed, house rules. Dee held her finger over her mouth and beckoned Jane towards the door. Dee cupped her ear in an obvious ‘listen’ gesture. They could hear the boys talking excitedly.
"Your mum is so fit, I wish she had stayed in just her gym kit. Wow, did you see her nipples?"
"Yeah, I know, but your mum has way better tits. At dinner tonight, I couldn't take my eyes off them."
"I loved the picture you sent to the group today; the bikini one cropped just showing tits."
"Yeah, but look at this one; I won't send it to the group though. It’s the one from holiday right up her skirt; I'm sure she has no pants on."
"It’s good, but look what I got the other day. Through the gap in the bedroom door. Totally topless, look."
JP held his phone for Dunc to look; the picture showed Jane with her back to the camera with just the smallest imaginary hint of a side boob showing. While the boys went on extolling the pictures they had saved, the girls slipped silently downstairs and began talking.
"Listen, you remember when we took the boys to Centre Parks in the summer holidays, just after they turned sixteen, and we all shared a cabin?" Dee started.
"That’s when I realised Dunc has a crush on you, and yes, I know JP has one on me too. I think that is when it really started. I know since then the boys at school refer to us two as the MILFs. Have you never noticed how many mates they both have when we pick them up? And how many friends call round for them at the weekend?” Dee paused and waited in vain for a reaction from Jane.
"Well, I've heard them talking like that before. They are taking and saving pictures of both of us. I am sure they have a group at school sharing them around too.”
Jane listened in silence. Dee had always been the outspoken one, the risk-taker, the free spirit. Jane had always been just a little jealous of her best friend.
"Well, I've done nothing to encourage Dunc at all, nothing," Jane protested.
"You don't need to Dunc is the same as JP, a horny 16-year-old. It is a crush. Have you never overheard them talking? Do you never go through JP's phone?" Jane was a little taken aback.
"No, I don't snoop on JP!"
"Ha, Oh Jane, you can be so naïve. Dunc has dozens of pictures of you on his phone. They started on that summer holiday break with pictures in your bikini on the veranda. Family and group pictures have been cropped to just you. Some that he sneaked in the evening of you curled on the sofa in your ‘sleep’ t-shirt and panties. Nothing showing anything really rude, no bums or tits, mostly just pictures he has cropped," Dee continued.
Jane noticed how seemingly unconcerned Dee appeared. This was in contrast to how suddenly worried she felt if JP was also hiding, or worse still, sharing pictures.
"They are obviously sharing pictures of us, maybe also of other girls. That might get them in a lot of trouble. Some of the boys obviously know it is us, and that is why they are so friendly. But I think I know how to stop it all without us having to be the bad guys." Dee paused and could see Jane looking worried.
"Look, we have the spring break coming up, then it is all go-go-go for exams. They don't need distractions, and we both want universities and careers for them, so how do we make this stop?" Jane asked.
Jane’s mind was a whirl of worries, picturing glimpses of failed exams. Dee looked at her friend, her face lost in thought. As if she were struggling inside with a question, Dee was quiet for a long time.
"Jane, let me tell you something about my past. About my final two years of school. I've never told this story to anyone, and you must swear to never repeat this. I mean it."
Jane was at the same time hesitant and intrigued. Dee didn't keep much secret; she thought this was either going to be something shocking or dreadful. ‘Do I even want to hear it?’ She thought to herself.
"Jane, you have to promise," Dee prompted her.
Jane nodded and spoke. "OK, let me grab us a glass of wine; I've got a feeling I'm going to need it." Jane opened the fridge and poured out two glasses. "OK, I promise."
They clinked glasses and sipped, and Dee began to tell her story.
"When I was sixteen, I was in love with a family friend, Uncle Al. You met him at my parents’s pearl anniversary. You probably don't remember him though, tall and very distinguished."
"Yes, I do; you danced with him a couple of times," Jane replied.
"Yes. So I thought I was in love with him; looking back, he was my first crush really. He was a family friend, quite wealthy, and I remember he was always around. Birthdays, Christmas, days out—he even came on some holidays. Every week or two he would pop in. I would always want to sit near him on a day out. I always wanted to ride in his car, and he must have known how I felt. I always thought he encouraged me with little presents and the things he said.” Dee paused to take a slow sip of wine and continued.
“That summer my parents, a family of cousins, and Uncle Al rented a villa for a month in Spain somewhere. I remember that as the best summer ever. My dad came for the first week, and the other dad came for the last week. Uncle Al was there for the middle weeks. Otherwise, it was just the two mums, my younger sister and me, and the three cousins. The cousins were all boys, one my age, one a little older, and one the same age as my younger sister.
There was a pool, so we mostly stayed around the villa. The younger kids would be playing together. I was more interested in getting a tan and posing. There was a local village with a few local shops and a bar that served food. Sometimes we would all walk there, and sit outside the bar for lunch. I remember in the middle of the holiday I really wanted to get a bikini. I was already sixteen and wanted to stop dressing the same as my little sister. My sister and I had matching one-piece costumes. They were sort of baggy, and I hated wearing it. Mum said ‘No’, and that ‘I had no need,’ and ‘I was fine playing in the pool as I was.’ I could not understand why mum did not let me dress my age.
I can clearly remember walking to the shop with Uncle Al, and he let me choose a bikini. He bought it for me. We did some food shopping and walked back. I was so excited that as soon as we arrived, I changed and came out in it. I thought I looked the ‘bee’s knees’. I was a slow developer and had small boobs. I've hardly got any more now. I laid on a lounger and posed; Mum went mad, and I was crushed."
Jane refilled the glasses.
"Is this a story or a confession? Do I want to hear this?" she asked.
"OK, this is where I'm trying to explain." Dee continued.
"That night, or possibly the next, I can't honestly remember. I woke up and wanted a drink and could see a light on outside by the pool. I crept to the kitchen and could hear my mum and Uncle Al talking through the window. They had been going off a lot together and talking a fair bit secretly, and I was getting jealous. I remember that. I stood inside by the window and heard my name. They were talking about me. I heard them agree I had a crush, and Mum made Uncle Al swear and promise something. Then I heard a door open behind me, so I grabbed a glass, poured water, and retreated."
"What did he promise?" Jane asked.
"That took me a week to find out, and only years later did I really understand. Anyway, about a week after the bikini incident, I was out by the pool. Everyone had walked to the shops; only Uncle Al and I were there. I figured this was my big chance. I was sure he liked me, so I went back inside and changed into my bikini. I asked Uncle Al to come out and sunscreen me. I went and laid on my front on a lounger, and he followed on after a minute or so. He started on my legs. I reached around and undid my top. I definitely had some clumsy seduction plan in my head. He did my back and arms, re-fastened my top, and stepped away.
I turned over and said something like, ‘I might go topless’, and he stopped and sort of laughed. He made some comments like, ‘A family holiday might not be the best place for that.' I asked if he liked me. I asked if he would kiss me. He came and sat on the edge of my lounger and leaned close to me. I thought any moment we would be kissing and he would carry me indoors to bed. I remember so clearly what he said. ‘I think we ought to wait until a better time. You're beautiful, and I promise one day when it’s right.’ He kissed me on the forehead and wandered back indoors.
"That’s not so bad," Jane said and went to collect the bottle to refill her glass.
"For the rest of the holiday, I was convinced he would arrange a day out or to be alone, but nothing happened. We came home, and a week or so later Uncle Al said he was going to Paris for a day for some work reason. He said, as it was just before the end of the summer holiday, would my parents let him take me? I was amazed; mum agreed. A few days later, he picked me up really early, and we caught the train through the new channel tunnel. We chatted on the train; I almost felt like we were a couple.
In Paris, he met two people in a really posh hotel lobby. He spent a couple of hours talking and drinking coffee. I sat nearby; I couldn't really hear, but it was all money and business. I just sat smiling, daydreaming, and watching him. When he finished the meeting, he took me into the dining room, and we had a really posh lunch. I had a glass of champagne, a glass and a half actually, all the while thinking, ‘He wants me.’ We left, walked through a set of shops, and he bought me an orange floppy hat, which I still have.
We made our way back to the station and the train home. I remember on the way home asking when we could be together. He went very serious and spent quite some time explaining that I was a bit young at only sixteen years old. I remember feeling so grown up and indignant. ‘I'm seventeen in just a few weeks,’ I argued. Yes, he continued, and you've already grown since we got back from holiday. He went on. I'll promise to you now, I will sleep with you. I’ll teach you everything and turn you into a woman. I’ll show you a whole grown-up world, but not until you are seventeen.
