Author's note: I've been asked if Josh and Natalie will get it on. Will they ever have sex? Spoiler alert. Yes. But as with any good flirtation, sexual tension needs to be built up. Sam and Diane on Cheers. Rachel and Ross on Friends. It might be satisfying to read a quick sex scene, but afterward the tension is leeched because the question has been answered. But fear not, the sex will happen, with all of its complicated emotional nuance. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the foreplay. The journey's the thing ... until, you know, the destination becomes the thing.
##########
My opportunity came that weekend.
I had an established group of friends. I'd known them since grade school. We hung out regularly and knew one another's lives. When post-High School life didn't fling us to the four winds, we saw it as fate. Friends forever. The five amigos. Myself, Martin, Cal, Ellis, and Kate. Yeah, our fifth was a girl. Kate was about as interested in guys as I am in subtitled French noir films. In other words, not all. Not even a little. Kate talked about other girl's asses and boobs more than we did, and with far less embarrassment. She was also a better athlete than any of us, save Cal.
Natalie on the other hand had been uprooted and dropped here. She was naturally charismatic, but shy around people she didn't know. Over dinner, she'd tell us about friends she made at work, but I saw only one of them—a mousey girl named Lisa who had the personality of a two-day old pancake. Natalie moped sometimes, and would spend hours on her phone with friends from California. I could tell it was a link she needed to keep strong.
My buddies knew about Natalie, had seen her a few times, but never interacted with her.
On Friday, Kate came over to pick me up and drive us both to a movie theater where Martin and Ellis were waiting. I offered her a drink, retrieved a cold can of soda from the fridge, and grabbed my sneakers. Kate snapped open the can's pop top and looked out into our backyard where Doris and Natalie were working in the garden. I stood up and followed her gaze. Natalie was bent at the waist, yanking out a weed, unwilling to kneel in the dirt. Bright afternoon sunshine shone on her pert butt.
"That is one fine ass," Kate said to me, and sipped at her soda.
I flushed. "That's my sister's ass." I didn't want anyone else thinking of her like that. Though it seemed an uncomfortable inevitability, I didn't like the opinion coming from one of my clique.
Kate shrugged. "Step-sister, dufus. Invite her out with us. I'd hang with a girl like that."
"If I do, you can't hit on her, Kate. That's just disgusting."
"Why would that be disgusting?" She raised a thin eyebrow at me. "What are you worried about?"
"You'll just make it weird. She's straight."
Kate smiled and brushed a lock of bright red hair behind a delicate ear. "You have a lot to learn about girls, my friend. We're all a lot closer to being Bi than you realize." A sentiment I've noticed, over the years, only held by those who were Bi.
I forced an amused smile. "You over-estimate your seductive powers. Remember the Hooter's waitress." I said it like 'Remember the Alamo'. Kate had all but stripped naked and writhed on the body of a Hooter's waitress a year ago, only to be brushed off with open disgust. Our check, at the end of the meal, had been brought to us by a different waitress who never once met our eyes.
"Fuck you," Kate said. "Hooter's bitch had no idea what she gave up."
I laughed. "I think she did. She had the same body parts."
Kate punched my shoulder. "Let's get going, Martin and Ellis won't wait if we pull up late."
Before leaving, Kate glanced outside once more and her lips turned up in a little smile. I wondered if I looked that way when casually glancing at Natalie. If I did, I was sending dangerous signals for others to pick up. The thought concerned me as I trailed behind Kate on the way to her old, beaten-up Honda Accord. Being aware of my expressions was most of the battle, however, and I felt confident I'd be able to control them.
Natalie needed friends, I needed to get back at her for movie night.
Wheels turned in my mind and a plan formed.
##########
I sat on Natalie's bed, gazing out of the window, pretending to be bored. Doris liked the central air up and at the beginning of August I was a little chilly in my own home.
Bright sunshine flooded the backyard, illuminating bright green grass while creating pools of olive shadow. Doris's tomato plants scattered droplets of bright red amid the wash of earth tones.
"Wear whatever you want," I said after a yawn, "but you look amazing in the blue skirt."
I had crafted that one carefully so as to make it sound off-hand. Of course she looked great in the blue skirt, everyone knew that. Natalie glanced over her shoulder at me, a satisfied smile playing across her pretty face. She loved compliments like that, ate them up with a spoon.
"It's a Rebecca Taylor Tech Flounce Skirt and it's periwinkle, you heathen. Did you grow up in a barn?" she teased as she laid the skirt out on the bed beside me.
"None of that made any sense to me. What's 'tech' about a skirt? Does it have a microchip in it that takes up-skirt videos?"
She rolled her eyes. "You wish."
"I do, but what's 'tech' about it?"
"You wouldn't understand."
True that. I shifted on the bed, liking the spring in her mattress and the soft caress of her down comforter. The comforter was a calming off-white, like the walls, and her pink bed sheets and pillow covers gave it all a very feminine feel.
"Mini golf, dinner, and then ... whatever. Sometimes we go out to Charlie's, but since you aren't twenty-one—"
"Josh, I've got a fake ID." She held up a blouse and examined it as if seeing it for the first time. "Are you trying to set me up with Cal? He's cute and all, but he's not my type."
I was relieved to hear her say so. Among all of us Cal was the best with girls, though that wasn't saying much. "No, I just thought you'd like to hang with us."
She smiled at me. "That's sweet of you. Does Kate wear skirts?"
It took me a moment to compose myself. If someone held a hand gun to Kate's head and threatened to kill her, maybe, but she'd consider trying to disarm him first. I shrugged. "Sometimes. I don't know." Natalie's competitive nature would get the better of her. She wanted to be the prettiest girl in our group.
Natalie nodded to herself as if the subject was decided. "All right, get out. I need to try these on."
"I can't stay and watch?"
She blushed. "Out."
"Fine, be like that." I stood up. "We're going at three. I'll be downstairs. If you feel the need to model—"
"I can take it from here, thanks."
I started to leave, but she stopped me with a hand on my arm. She leaned in, and I got a faint whiff of flowery perfume. She gave me a feathery kiss. The feel of her soft, warm lips brushing mine sent a thrill all the way down to my crotch. "Thank you for inviting me," she whispered.
I felt bad then. Not a lot bad, just a little. If I knew her, and I thought I did, she'd enjoy herself.
"Anything for my little sister," I said and left her room.
##########
We were at fifth hole of the second course when I got my opportunity. Cal and Ellis were back at the fourth hole arguing, as usual, about the rules while Kate and Martin were trying to fish Kate's orange ball out of a pond. Natalie had moved on to the next hole, which was behind a fake plastic farmhouse.
I came up behind Natalie, a man with a plan, and wrapped my arms about her waist. With my body pressed up against hers, I said, "I never got to thank you for movie night."
She squirmed in my embrace, rubbing her backside against my crotch. "You don't have to," she whispered back. Her voice was a bit throaty. I noted and was pleased I had made an immediate impact.
"Yes, I do." I let one of my hands drift down to the juncture between her legs and pressed lightly against her skirt. "I really do." I glanced around us, trees and the other artificial obstacles on the course gave us some semblance of privacy, but you never could tell. I'd need to hurry.
"Bad boy." She smacked at my hand. "People can see."
Not 'don't touch me there' or 'this isn't right', but 'someone might see.' A bold giddiness overwhelmed me. She liked it, and why wouldn't she, considering what she'd done to me on movie night.
I reached down, below the level of her skirt, and placed my hands on her bare thighs. They were silky smooth and warm. I felt her muscles tense beneath my palms. "I know just how to get you back."
She swiveled her head toward me grinning. "Josh, the others will—"
I moved my hands up, pushing her skirt up with them. All the way up to her hips. Her panties were smooth, thin cotton. I grasped the waistband and pulled down in one swift motion.
Natalie gasped, her mouth transforming into an 'o' of surprise, like the one I'd seen on her face the night I caught her masturbating in the living room. Her thighs clamped shut, panties caught just above her knees.
I knelt behind her. "Come on, Nat, before my friends see." A gust of wind fluttered her skirt exposing, for a brief time, the soft swell of her naked butt cheeks.
Her cute little whimper made my cock jump. Smooth knees parted and I slid the lavender panties to her ankles. She didn't need me to tell her to step out of them. I snatched the underwear, gave the cloth a quick sniff, and stuffed them in my pocket.
Face flushed, hands clenched, Natalie muttered, "I can't believe you just did that." There was no outrage in her tone. I heard wonder, excitement, maybe a little fear, but no outrage. Her breath had quickened.
