When she unbent, my eyes were drawn to the fuzzy heart on her abdomen, and I thought of Bea. When the time was right, I intended to get to the bottom of that mystery.
That would be bathtime: I was having so much fun that I spent longer than I intended to in the "Mother Nature" section. Bea had a tense look on her face the whole time and did not relax back to her usual, neutral expression until the earthquake machines were safely out of sight. But her nipples took much longer to relax. And even when they softened, they could perk back up to full stiffness in a heartbeat.
That cycle of softness and stiffness continued for the rest of our time in the hangar. I was delighted to learn that, despite being smaller in size, her nipples had the same talent as her big sister's. They were so fascinating that I found it difficult not to stare. I yearned to touch them - to know what something so soft one minute and so stiff the next felt like. But since I had a bath time with Mary scheduled for later that evening, I was content to bide my time. I would find out soon enough!
Thanks, Neverdoubted. I'm looking forward to bathtime.
Excellent! Frankie has Mary well trained. She strips naked and hands over her clothes without being told. Perhaps he can get Bea into that same mode. Having two obedient step sisters would be great.
"Report," said my father, simple and direct, "any trouble?"
Mary, Bea and I had arrived at the designated meeting point with only a couple minutes to spare. He was a man of few words. Idle chitchat never suited him. He was not interested in knowing how many hangars we had visited or what we had eaten for lunch. He did not care how I had gone about organizing my day - if I had given my two older stepsisters something to wear after our family split up or had made them attend the fair as they were now.
No, this was his way of seeing how well I had discharged the assignment to manage his typically unruly stepdaughters in his stead – plain and simple. Wanting to impress him, I stood up straight and responded smartly, "No trouble, sir."
If I could prove that I could handle them, even outnumbered, maybe he would continue to entrust me with the responsibility. But any claim that I had the situation under control would be only that without hard proof. Better to show than tell him.
Knowing exactly what would convince him, I squared up on Mary. She and her equally naked sister were standing side-by-side, hugging as much of their bare bodies as they could. No words were exchanged between us. But when Mary saw my fingers poised for a snap, she knew what was coming and took a deep breath.
The last time I had tested her like this, it had failed spectacularly. I hadn't put her through the snapping test once since we left that fossil shop, and I was taking a big risk trying it again in such a public place. My father had a keen eye for insubordination in any form. If Mary refused me, or even hesitated, he would pick up on it and know she didn't truly respect me.
When I snapped my fingers, I was relieved that Mary adjusted her pose and lowered her trembling hands away from her naked body without delay or argument. We had grown to understand each other more in the last few days. It must have meant the world to her that I had been willing to help when no one else did. Our relationship had turned a corner. She trusted me.
In Frank's eyes, absolute obedience was the ultimate form of respect for authority; especially when it's not convenient or particularly comfortable. It made her the opposite of comfortable to willingly reveal her magnificent breasts, her tempting torso, her fuzzy pubic heart and the pretty petals of her womanhood and clasp her hands behind her back where they could provide absolutely no modesty whatsoever.
But though her cheeks turned rosy and the nervous smile she painted on her face was a little strained, it was a smile nonetheless! Mary answered my call not because she was afraid of me or what I could do to her, but because I was the one asking. If that's not respect, I don't know what is.
It took a concerted effort to stand nonchalantly and pretend like I wasn't surprised by Mary's flawless performance. But it was Bea's reaction that really tested my composure. Entirely on her own accord, she lowered her hands from her naked body and clasped them behind her back just like her sister!
My jaw dropped. Bea was under no obligation to do anything when I snapped. How did she even know what to do? She couldn't have learned the details of my deal with Mary. She was just following her sister's lead. Doing something just because she assumed it was what I wanted.
In Frank's eyes, getting those two girls to give their precious modesty a back seat and comport themselves with poise and decorum on cue - even amid the most difficult and personally humiliating episode of their lives was nothing short of a miracle. But I think what impressed him the most was that they were both wearing serene, if slightly strained, smiles when all they had ever given him were scowls.
He offered a sniff then ordered us to fall out. That was all the affirmation I was going to get out of him. But I gladly took it. Her obligation complete, Mary immediately snapped back to her embarrassed nude girl pose.
But I wasn't finished with Bea. For the first time in my life, I knew what it was like to have complete influence over another person. The sensation was unbelievable, and addictive.
Mary and I were allies. Her prompt obedience was payment for a benefit she had already received and a shrewd decision to ensure future, mutual trades. But her actions and motivations were her own. Having fulfilled her duty, she had the right to enjoy what little modesty her hands could provide between here and the parking lot.
Bea, on the other hand, was merely a trophy - my spoils following the long and bitter war for familial supremacy that she had waged upon me and lost. Why should she deserve such a reprieve? As my eyes were opened to a whole new world of possibilities standing before me, my ego wasn't the only thing that started to swell.
Squaring up on Bea as if addressing a naughty, misbehaving child, I gripped her right hand and yanked it off her chest. Her eyes went wide, but she did not resist me. Looking between her legs where she had just placed her other hand, I frowned and shook my head in disapproval. Knowing I would not be denied, she bowed her head and dropped it to her side where it could do no good.
I wanted our trip to the car to resemble what we had been doing most of the day - walking hand in hand like two companions out for a Saturday stroll. If being completely naked and unable to cover herself made her uncomfortable, too bad. It only mattered what I wanted. What else could I do with such a prize? Even better...what else could such a prize do for me!
While I beamed the whole way to the car, Frank bristled at the sideways glances and shocked expressions coming from the other families and visitors we encountered. As if he were ashamed to have them in his company, he totally ignored his naked stepdaughters. Patricia's face showed more relief than her husband's. She seemed happy that her eldest daughters had survived the day despite their vulnerable, nude state. But out of respect for Frank's disciplinary methods, she did not go out of her way to comfort them.
Along the way, Cindy tried to catch up with her sisters. With an extra bounce in her step, she pranced up to Mary and proudly showed off the new, blue ribbon pinned to her front. Because I hadn't seen her all day, I assumed she and my parents had spent most of their time at the Kitchen of Tomorrow exhibits in hangar eight.
I later learned that she had earned the ribbon by winning a junior cooking competition. That didn't surprise me. Back home, Mary and Bea would only begrudgingly help with cooking when their mother made them. But Cindy, who was easily the most nurturing member of the family, would do it for pleasure. As a growing teenager, I loved being her taste tester. Whenever she brought me something to try, she would beam up at me while I devoured it.
Unfortunately, Mary had bigger things on her mind - like reaching the safety of the car without flashing too much of her naked body along the way. When she barely acknowledged her sister's prize, Cindy hung her head and moved on.
To her disappointment, she had no better luck with Bea. But she quickly rallied when she found me in an especially good mood and more than willing to engage. Rocking her chest left and right to show how the gold foil glinted in the light, she told me all about the contest. Her dimpled grin grew and grew as I fawned over her ribbon and commended her culinary success.
But Cindy's beaming smile faded when she looked down and got distracted by Bea's arrow. The look on her face, like she was struggling to process what she was seeing, reminded me of her reaction back at the scenic overlook when she first got a good look at Mary's heart.
It had been a strange and perplexing picnic. Cindy had studied Mary's unusual abdominal adornment while Bea had gone out of her way to pretend like it didn't exist. It all made much more sense now that I knew about Bea's arrow. Mary's shaved secret was no secret to Bea. All along, she was hiding one just as embarrassing and perhaps even more inappropriate.
I didn't have all the answers yet. But because Mary said she had gotten the idea from a magazine, I guessed that she and Bea had done their shape trimming together.
But what about Cindy? As the youngest, she loved to tag along with whatever her big sisters were doing. But this rebellious conspiracy involved body modifications with obvious sexual overtones as well as worldly contraband. Would they really loop their relatively innocent baby sister into such a dangerous plot?
It was clear, from the look of betrayal on Cindy's face, that she was seeing Bea's arrow for the first time and that she herself was not similarly adorned. If there was one thing Cindy hated, it was being left out. It didn't matter if her sisters had excluded her from their intimate shaving activity for her own protection. It only mattered that the two people she looked up to and admired most in the world had gone off and done something without her.
It upset her even more when we got to the car and I announced a change to the seating chart.
"You're sitting up here from now on," I instructed my nude companion as I escorted her toward the middle seat.
"What? No!" exclaimed Cindy, "I don't want to ride alone."
"You're not alone," I reassured her, "we're all in the same car."
But when I opened the door to enter the station wagon, Cindy rushed to block my path.
"It's not fair," she cried, "...fine, I'll sit up here too."
"No, Cindy, there's not enough room," I insisted.
But though I towered over her, she held her ground.
"I don't care, I'll sit on your lap if I have to," she blurted out.
In truth, the middle bench seat would have been big enough to fit all four of us. It didn't matter that there weren't enough seat belts. Nobody wore them in the back seat anyway. But I was just being selfish. I had built up an image in my mind of being flanked on each side by a naked girl. That way, I could have a spectacular view no matter which way I looked. Cindy worming her way into the picture would ruin that arrangement.
When it became clear that neither of us was backing down, Patricia stepped in to keep the peace. Predictably, she sided with her baby.
"I don't see any reason to make a change," she opined.
But I did not budge. As Bea's self-appointed guardian, it was my call where she should sit. How could I keep an eye on her if she wasn't beside me? Unable to break the stalemate, but knowing I would always heed my father's words, Patricia brought out the big guns.
"Frank, don't you think everyone should sit where they have been," she asked.
He ended the standoff with two words.
"Junior decides."
I couldn't hide my grin. Though she pouted the whole way and dragged her feet, Cindy had to back down. She rounded the back of the car to sulk alone in the back-back seat. Entering the middle seat and scooting over to make room for my trophy, I settled in for a nice, relaxing ride to the motel with a gorgeous, naked teen seated on each side of me.
Cindy is going to have questions. Will Cindy ask Bea or Mary about their rugs in front of Frankie? I'm waiting for Mary to ask Frankie to bathe her, and being bathed is an opportunity for Mary to get a bit of sister status. Feet get dirty and are hard to reach.
I'm wondering if Cindy is going to want to strip too so as to fit in with her sisters. Perhaps Frankie will get the honor of shaving in a unique shape for her.
WingDing, why Frankie and not the two who have proven themselves skilled enough to shape their pubes without bleeding?
It does bring up the question of when Mary and Bea will need to remove stubble. Was that the reason those two girls were late? They took time to shave? Did they get in trouble because it took them too much time to be secretly fashionable? Shaving it all off is faster than carefully shaping the hair--and the length had to be clipped short as well.
When she unbent, my eyes were drawn to the fuzzy heart on her abdomen, and I thought of Bea. When the time was right, I intended to get to the bottom of that mystery. 
I was having so much fun that I spent longer than I intended to in the "Mother Nature" section. Bea had a tense look on her face the whole time and did not relax back to her usual, neutral expression until the earthquake machines were safely out of sight. But her nipples took much longer to relax. And even when they softened, they could perk back up to full stiffness in a heartbeat.
Having two obedient step sisters would be great.