Family Ties

She lowered her hand and walked forward hesitantly, and I had to hide a grin as she looked at my parents through her lashes. She stiffened in surprise when my dad turned toward us. I’d seen him hundreds, maybe thousands of times over the years, but I looked at him from Christy’s perspective.

He was taller than me and had more hair on his chest. We shared the same general build, although he was less muscular, since he didn’t work out like I did. He was thicker through the middle than when we’d first started coming to camp, but still a good-looking guy. Most people noticed his dick first, since it was six inches long when it was soft. Christy didn’t gawk, per se, but I could almost feel the intensity of her gaze as she studied him.

My mom raised her arms to brush her hair back. Her breasts were full and round and soft, and the sight of them in the mirror drew my eyes immediately. Christy’s too, if I had to guess. They swung gently as Mom leaned forward for a closer look at her face in the mirror.

“Morning,” Dad said as we approached. He looked at his watch. “Cutting it a bit close, aren’t you?”

“Something came up,” I deadpanned. “We had to take care of it.”

Christy reacted as if I’d goosed her.

“I’ll bet,” Dad chuckled. “Still, get a move on.”

“Roger that.”

He turned back to the mirror and used the ends of his towel to wipe his freshly shaved face.

“Ready to do this?” I asked Christy quietly.

She took a deep breath and nodded. She set her towel and toiletry bag on

an empty sink. She’d insisted on wearing my button-down, and her fingers fumbled with it.

“There’s a trick to a man’s shirt,” Mom said. She smiled reassuringly.

“You’ll learn.”

“I can do this,” Christy told herself, and she wasn’t talking about the buttons.

I watched her in the mirror and then saw the clubhouse door swing open behind us.

Erin blew in, and I immediately grew suspicious at her timing. Mom must have thought the same thing, because she glanced at Erin and then her watch.

“I know,” Erin said. “Sorry I’m late. I’ll get a move on.” She flung her things on the sink next to us and pulled off her T-shirt.

Christy watched out of the corner of her eye and seemed surprised by Erin’s complete lack of modesty, although it wasn’t really “modesty” at all.

Erin was simply unselfconscious and comfortable with her own body. Christy silently balked at the idea of joining her.

“You can do this,” I told her.

She didn’t answer with words. Instead, she squared her shoulders and gazed at herself in the mirror. Then she took off the shirt and deliberately let it fall to the floor. My parents and Erin turned to look, but none of them stared. I could feel Christy’s tension and anxiety, but they slowly dissipated when no one made a big deal about her nudity.

“See?” I told her quietly. “I’m proud of you. You are fearless.”

“And don’t you forget it,” she whispered back.

My parents finished and said they were heading back to their room to get dressed.

“Don’t dawdle,” Mom told us.

Dad tapped his watch and glanced at me. “Wheels up in thirty minutes.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

They waved and left without a backward glance.

“You all wanna use the same shower?” Erin said to Christy and me.

“We’ll get more hot water that way. You remember how pathetic it is when several people shower at once.”

I started to mention that Susan had upgraded the system during the previous off-season. I’d seen the plans. The old residential electric water heaters were gone, replaced by a pair of commercial gas-fueled units that could supply more than enough hot water for three of us, even if we used a

shower each on full hot. I kept it to myself, though.

“Fine with me,” I said instead.

Christy nodded mutely but then thought of something. “Uh-oh.”

Erin and I looked at her.

“I didn’t bring shampoo or conditioner or anything,” she explained. “I thought we’d be staying in a motel. You know, like, a real one.”

“You really are the worst boyfriend in the world,” Erin said to me. To Christy, “That’s okay. You can use mine.” She turned on the water. “How hot do you like it?”

“Pretty hot,” Christy said with a guilty glance at me.

Erin saw, so I explained, “She usually showers in the bathroom on the second floor. She gets all the hot water, while I get nothing on the third floor.”

“Why don’t you just shower together?” Erin said. Then she took a good look at Christy and saw her pubic hair. “Ah, never mind. I get it.” To Christy she said, “You two haven’t been dating very long, have you?”

Christy shot me a confused look. “Not officially, no. Why?”

Erin turned to me. “You haven’t changed your preferences, have you?”

“No.”

“So,” she continued with a smirk, “when’re you going to tell her?”

“When I’m ready.”

“Tell me what?” Christy asked.

“Nothing.”

“Paul has a certain—”

“Erin,” I warned.

“— hairstyle he likes.”

“You want me to change my hair?” Christy said to me, more confused than ever.

“Not up there,” Erin said and pointed. “Down there.”

Christy’s eyes went wide. She looked at me and then back at Erin. She finally looked at me again. “Is she serious?”