Bobby Running Bear was my brother Jason’s best friend. He was cute, a great dancer, and a really nice guy. Bobby and Jason were both popular in high school and both were headed for college that fall.
By March of that year, they had both turned eighteen. It was a time of innocence and confusion. A time of horniness and inhibition. They were adults—and they were still kids.
I was two years older than Jason and finishing my sophomore year at the university. Unlike my brother, I was pretty shy. I dated guys occasionally, frat boys and townies. I even let them feel me up now and then. But I wouldn’t go all the way. I just couldn’t. Sometimes, I would stand naked at the window of my darkened dorm room, wondering if anyone was looking at me. Sometimes, I’d touch myself. Just a little. Or maybe a lot.
Spring break was the first week in April. Mom and Dad were going to Ireland on business and they asked me to take care of the house and keep an eye on Jason. So, instead of Fort Lauderdale or the Bahamas, I spent the break lazing around at home.
Jason was in school that week. He’d leave in the morning before I got up and return after baseball practice in the afternoon. I’d make some dinner and then read a book or watch TV. Jason spent the evenings doing his homework and talking on the telephone with friends. It was nice, though, being home for a bit.
On Friday, I cleaned up the house, washed my clothes, and did some preliminary packing for my return to campus the next day. Mom and Dad would be home on Saturday and then I’d leave after dinner with them and Jason. I remember it rained on Friday afternoon, that slow, soaking rain that always made me think of Heathcliff on the moor.
I was half asleep on the sofa when Jason walked through the front door. Trailing behind was Bobby, drenched just like my brother. They must have thought I was asleep when I didn’t move or greet them. They tried to keep quiet as they walked upstairs. To this day, I swear that I heard Bobby say, “Boy, Jason, your sister is hot!”
About twenty minutes later, I got up from the sofa. I could hear Jason and Bobby talking and laughing upstairs in Jason’s bedroom. Bobby’s comment still lingered in my mind. I grabbed my books from the coffee table and headed up to my room. As I passed Jason’s room, the door was ajar and I could see them hunched over a magazine. Backing up, I nudged the door open and said, “Hi.” Startled, they turned around toward me. Jason tried to hide the magazine but I could see it was one of those with nude women in it.
“Hey, Sis. Did you have a nice nap?” He tried to act nonchalantly. I smiled and told him it was okay to be looking at the magazine. I put my books down and sat on his bed. I could see that both of them were a little embarrassed so I changed the subject and we talked about baseball and school and a couple other things. I could see Bobby eyeing me when I was speaking to Jason. I liked him looking at me. Jason did the same when I was facing Bobby. I liked that too.
Then, as if some unknown force was guiding me, I brought the discussion back to nude women. “So, why is it that you guys like to look at pictures of naked women in magazines?” I stared at them, shifting my glance from one to the other. “C’mon, I’d really like to know. Jason? Bobby?” I don’t know what had come over me to act so bold.
Bobby looked at Jason who looked at me. “Most guys like to do it,” Jason said. “Must be the hormones or something.” We both looked at Bobby.
“I don’t know. We’re horny, I guess,” he said. Now they were both looking at me. My shyness came back and I lowered my eyes. No one spoke. Then I broke the silence.
“I want to ask you both something and I promise I won’t tell anyone what you have to say.” They were watching me intently and I felt self-conscious but I pressed on. “How many naked girls have you seen live, you know, in the flesh, so to speak.” I was ready for some big-time fibs.
“153,” Bobby said, and we all burst out laughing.
“Is that all?” Jason said. “I saw that many last month.” We laughed again.
“Come on,” I said. “I promise I won’t tell even if it is zero.” I could sense their hesitation in being candid with me and I could sense a little increase in the charged atmosphere in Jason’s bedroom. Again, they were looking at me and, again, I looked away. Bobby cleared his throat.
“Well, don’t tell anybody, but I’ve only seen my mother and that was by accident,” he said. “She was coming out of the shower and didn’t think anyone was home yet.” He seemed relieved by his admission. “Okay, your turn, Jason.”
Bobby and I watched him squirm a little and waited. “Well,” he drawled, “I want to say seven but the answer is one. And it was just her tits. Jenny and I were swimming at the creek and she took her shirt off when I dared her. But she only kept it off for about thirty seconds.”
“You saw Jenny’s boobs!?” Bobby said. “Wow, I wish I’d been there.” It was like he had forgotten I was there for a moment. “Sorry,” he said, red-faced.
“That’s okay,” I said. Our eyes held each other’s for a second.
“So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen,” Jason said. “Two cool guys telling a sister that they’re still virgins in more ways than one.” We chuckled at that remark and I felt the age gap between us was more than two years. I wanted to do something for them. And for me. I wanted to be bolder than I had ever been before.
I stood up from the bed. “Can I see that magazine a minute?” I said. Jason reached behind him and handed it to me. I flipped the pages, searching for the photos. By today’s standards, they were pretty tame. I looked at a lot of them while the guys quietly watched me. Then I held one up.
“See this,” I said, pointing to an airbrushed photo. “She looks nice, but she looks fake. I mean, you never will see a girl or a woman who has perfect skin in real life. And we’re all not built like this,” I said, raking my finger across the model’s breasts. The guys just stared at the photo, raising their eyes only when I spoke. “What do you think of her, Jason?” My brother looked at me.
“She’s pretty cool, I think.”
“Bobby?”
