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(c) Author's Notes: There are three preceding sections of Thank You Jeannie; Chapters 1~6, Chapters 7~8, and Chapters 9~10. For your maximum enjoyment, I suggest reading all of those stories, in order, before reading these chapters. On 5/6/02, Chapters 1~6 and 7~8 were updated to fix typos and make minor improvements.

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Chapter 11 - Making Up Ain't Hard To Do

Sometimes it's silence that awakens you. Groggily, a few facts trickled into my head. My arm was still draped over Sue, it was pitch black, we weren't moving, it was utterly still... not a sound. When a hint of light brightened the long, right rear window, I finally pieced it together. We'd arrived at Uncle Jake's, Mom and Dad had gone to the house before waking Sue and I.

Nibbling her ear lobes and neck eventually roused my sister. Looking as sleepy as I felt, Sue stretched and yawned until she was with it enough to ask. "We there?"

Through a reflexive yawn I replied. "Yep, guess the folks went in before waking us. We might as well grab some bags and haul 'em in."

Though late Summer, it was cooler than normal, our breathe was just visible. Must have been near 2AM, that's around the time we usually arrived. I noted the cloudless, starry night sky as I walked to the house. Only the screen door was closed, a few hardy moths flapped against it as they sought the light or warmth within. Conversation drifted out of the kitchen as we toted in luggage.

Sue and I had hauled everything in from the SUV before the four parents even realized we were awake. Uncle Jake and Aunt Betty had a cool little part-Beagle named Triscut, she adored Dad. Triscut had ignored Sue and I completely to hang around my Father. Just as we were closing the front door, Triscut came running over to my sister and me for pets, which she got in abundance. Our folks and Uncle Jake were coming out of the kitchen. I knew from experience Aunt Betty was busy setting out a bedtime snack for the weary travelers.

Karen was asleep already. After a quick bite, hugs were exchanged, then off we went to our respective bedrooms.

Looking back, Saturday flew by. No one was in a big hurry to get out of bed that morning. Guess we got up in dribs and drabs; just as well since there were now more than twice the people sharing the only two bathrooms. Aunt Betty and Mom had a huge breakfast ready a little past nine. I suspect they wanted us stuffed so we didn't go totally berserk at our next stop, the supermarket!!

I really hadn't said two words to Karen before we piled into our SUV. She was still sleepy at breakfast, plus I'd kept my mouth stuffed with eggs, sausage, home fries, hot toast, cinnamon buns... the whole nine yards. Sue, Karen, and I piled into the cargo area so we three could talk. The four parents took the passenger seats so they could get a good start on the chatter that would continue non-stop until we'd leave 2 weeks hence.

Offspring and adults mostly tuned each other out, but these car conversations were carefully limited to superficial topics nonetheless. Still, having not spent time together for so long, jaws wagged the entire 45 minutes each way to the nearest real town.

Sitting in a circle in the cargo area, I got my first real look at the latest version of Karen. As she'd grown up, during past visits I'd joked about her becoming Karen Mark II, then Mark III, etc. Only seeing each other every year or two, we'd often observe significant changes in each other between visits. I found myself staring at my cousin. Certainly she'd matured since I'd last seen her, but Karen seemed very different just since breakfast. Make up!! The sleepy, rumpled girl I recently shared a meal with thirty-minutes ago had put on a going-to-town face.

Hanging around the farm, Karen had often been a typical tomboy. I'd seen her wear a touch of basic make-up when we went to church, but day-to-day she'd always shunned it. Karen liked to be outdoors, she enjoyed gardening, long walks in the woods, swimming, fishing, she even liked mowing the pastures. Now, riding to town, I was seeing a very attractive young woman. Karen looked terrific.

All she'd worn were everyday white shorts, and a light denim blouse with the tails out. After all, we were only going for groceries. Still, this was definitely Karen Mark V. Her body was terrific; strong legs, a modest, but most eye pleasing bust line, flat stomach, plus an enviable glow of good health. Karen had a definite feminine aura.

Little time had passed between Karen leaving the breakfast table and our piling into the car. Yet the girl to my right looked like a million damned dollars. Long, dark brown hair with deep highlights certainly added to her good looks, but it was her face that held my attention. A little eye liner, a touch of blush, a light application of eye shadow, a shade of red lipstick that screamed "kiss me". Other girl things may have transpired that I didn't even know the names for, but whatever Karen had done had transformed a cute cousin into a serious fox.

Our conversation had stopped, both girls wore smirks directed my way. "Coming back anytime soon, Lewis?" Karen teased.

Caught daydreaming, an embarrassed grin crept over my face. "Sorry for staring, but you are definitely Karen Mark V. I want to say this right... You always look nice, but you seem so... Your face is extra pretty somehow."

Karen gave my leg a warm squeeze, her smile assuring me she enjoyed my bumbling compliment. Sue apparently had noticed as well. "Yeah, when did you get so good at face painting, Little Cousin?"

A pretty face got prettier as Karen beamed. "Late last year a girlfriend came for a sleepover. She'd talked about finding a new look for months, but hadn't done anything about. Somewhere, during a bout of the giggles, I agreed to experiment on her. Lindsay's old man is loaded, their family has been in timber for generations. She'd brought a make-up case with her that a Broadway actress would envy."

"Long story short, on my third try Lindsay went nuts for her makeover. The first one didn't count, I turned her into a Goth ghoul. Then I really tried my best. Lindsay looked good when I finished, still I thought I could do better. She was totally thrilled with her new face after my next try. Lindsay told some girls we both know about it, then they wanted me to do the same for them." Karen rolled her eyes back before continuing.

"Before I knew it, folks decided I was a whiz. The Drama Club begged me to help with make up for the Senior Class play. Turned out to be fun, and I was good at it. After reading a few books they had about stage make up and cosmetology, I got better. The fools put me in charge of make up a couple months ago."

"New career?" Sue asked.

"Lord, no. Well, I say that now, but in places like this where there are no decent jobs, I guess it would be good to have a fallback skill. Sue, are you brave enough let me give you a makeover.?"

"When?"

"Tomorr... no, Monday morning, after breakfast. Lewis, would you mind fishing with our Dads or something while we do girl stuff?"

"No, of course not. I haven't been fishing since our last visit. I brought a couple books, so I'm covered if it's raining."

I'm afraid the above is about as exciting as our conversation got. Don't get me wrong, it was interesting to us, but would have little appeal to anyone outside our family. We jabbered non-stop the whole time we rode to town, hit assorted stores for routine odds and ends, bought our groceries, rode back, ate a huge meal, cleaned up, then lounged in front of the TV. Still, having been apart for so long, there were a zillion questions and stories to share.

Karen also asked Sue questions that would never have occurred to me. I gained a few insights into my sister, so I even enjoyed some of the girl talk. Loooooved watching Sue squirm when Karen asked her predictable questions about her love life. It was much less funny when my turn came.

Initially I hemmed and hawed, my shyness came to the forefront. Then a new me asserted himself. "OK, I have been seeing a lot of someone. We've gotten pretty close I'd say."

Karen pressed me for every detail, of course. "Yes, she lives pretty close to me." "Yeah, she's really nice, I like her a lot." "About 5 months." "Of course I think she's attractive." "Yeah, I'm sure you'd like her." When pressed for a name, I said, "Liz" which wasn't a lie because Sue's middle name was Elizabeth. Before Karen was able to zero in with the how far have 'things' gone questions, I was able to turn the tables on her.

It seems little had changed since the last time we'd spoken. The local jocks thought they owned her because she was one of the cutest girls around, they'd actually bully the few decent guys she knew if they'd dared to look at Karen. Therefore the only guys that would ask her out, thought a hot date was a clean pickup truck, a place to park, and a cold six-pack from an older brother. My heart went out to Karen. Since our last real get together, she was older, wiser, had roughly the same friends, but was very depressed about the locally available talent.

Sunday was fairly predictable. Church was followed by our folks engaging in interminable conversations. In such a rural area, it seemed like the entire congregation lined up to speak with our parents. Folks remembered them as being Jake's kin; they wouldn't miss a chance to talk to someone they didn't see every blessed Sunday. Karen, Sue and I did our best to slip away, we waited out of sight in the car.

By the time we finally got back to the house, changed, helped prepare a huge Sunday dinner, ate, then cleaned up, the day was largely gone. The balance of my evening was spent looking at stuff Karen had acquired since our last visit that she wanted us to see, then watching a few more tapes.

Monday started off routinely enough, but it ended up a red-letter day. Following breakfast, I did tag along with Dad and Uncle Jake when they headed down to the pond to fish. Uncle Jake had caught a couple nice bass Sunday afternoon. This morning was Dad's turn, he only got one, but it was huge. I reeled in the only other large mouth worth keeping.

When we got back, I traded cleaning our catch for being excused from all lunch duties. Dad and Jake were still jawing non-stop. I'd felt like a fifth wheel all morning, so I was happy to go inside once the fish were turned into filets. I headed up to Karen's room. Giggling and gossip from within ceased abruptly when I knocked on her closed door. There was considerable mirth in their voices when they firmly told me to go away. Karen sweetly added "We'll see you at lunch Lewis. We'll have a surprise." After cleaning fish, I realized I needed to shower and change anyway.

We planned on tromping through the woods after lunch. It was late enough in the year that few annoying insects remained, even though mid-afternoon temperatures were comfortably warm. I changed into fresh jeans and a pullover sweat top before stretching out with a book until the dinner bell sounded. They actually had an old fashioned iron triangle by the back door, you could hear it a thousand feet away when Aunt Betty would bang it's antique iron bar around inside it.

I was carrying a platter piled high with thick burgers and hot dogs up to the deck when the girls stepped out of the back door. Sue was stunning!! Her hair was up, swirls and whorls were stacked into a hairdo that was just perfect for Sue. Her face looked so different, if she hadn't been wearing the same blouse and shorts I'd seen at breakfast, I could've been tricked into thinking a visitor had stopped by.

Early on I told you Sue wasn't especially pretty. Some girls can still look fantastic after falling face first into a mud puddle. Sue wasn't that lucky. Her nose was a tad too large, her facial bones were a bit heavy, her eyes weren't especially feminine. Since we'd become lovers, I hadn't given much thought to her face. She was Sue, I adored her. Yet the girl I saw looked one slinky, black dress away from being ready for a night in Manhattan. HOT DAMN!!

The girls didn't have to ask for my opinion of Karen's handiwork, my stupefied expression spoke volumes. While Sue spun, twirled, and generally did a runway routine, Karen tried to explain things I'd never understand. "Her eyes just needed..." "If you work the blush over the cheekbones like this..." "When her hair is off her face, it helps..."

I heard her words, yet comprehended nothing. I was like a caveman watching a Shuttle launch; I was in awe of the results, but the best NASA scientist could never explain it to a Stone Age mind.

"All this for a walk in the woods?" I croaked. Sue was plainly thrilled. Even though she had a fabulous body, I knew she'd had a bad self-image. Despite telling her a hundred times how desirable she was, this was the first time I'd ever seen a look in her eyes that told me she felt attractive. Sue might never be a cover girl, but the young woman I was looking at would turn heads and draw stares for sure. Sue, and Karen's obvious talent, were understandably THE topic over lunch.

We were still on for our hike, but I was informed there'd be a slight delay.

It was worth the short wait. Apparently Karen had created several 'looks' for Sue. This time Sue came down wearing a comfortable off-center pony tail instead of the earlier complicated do. It took a moment to realize Sue still wore make up, yet she looked different enough that I knew female chicanery was afoot.

Sure enough, if I really, really looked for it, I could see traces of Karen's handiwork. Karen's miracle was how natural Sue looked despite the wizardry with shades and tones. During a moment when Karen wasn't looking, I mouthed the word "WOW!" to Sue. I hadn't touched her for three days. I think she saw the lust in my eyes, and liked it.

Chapter 12 - Monday, Fun Day, Everybody Happy? Well I Should Say

Once the rest of the family had seen Sue's 'other' look, we set out for our walk. Of their 130 plus acres, only 25 were open fields. The rest was woods and streams. The land had been timbered years ago, but allowed to re-grow in mostly hardwoods. Uncle Jake had kept the old logging roads open by mowing and chain-sawing them semi-annually. While called logging roads, they were actually dirt lanes, just wide enough for a small flatbed truck to squeeze thru in most places. For us, it meant miles of criss-crossing hiking paths, our own private nature trails.

We'd explored these woods since we were old enough to walk. Being private land, we'd spot every kind of animal, find an amazing variety of wildflowers, mushrooms, and insects. Because small streams were abundant, frogs, fish, birds, and water fowl were plentiful as well. Being away from any flight paths, when we'd sit still on a log, nothing except nature's sounds could be heard. Their farm was a genuine bit of Eden.

A few times as we'd wander over hill and dale, I was able to cop a feel of Sue's butt when I was sure Karen was looking away. The first time, my groping earned me a playful elbow in the ribs. Obviously Sue wasn't very upset since my buns received a few furtive squeezes that afternoon. Sue goosed me once, I had to tell Karen my high pitched "oooh" was due to stepping on a sharp stone!

One long border of the farm was the Stone Church Creek. Most of the time it was a clear, shallow brook. It could run fast, muddy, and overflow it's steep banks following prolonged rainfall. That day it was swollen slightly, the water was a bit muddy, showing the final effects of a series of downpours a week earlier.

We'd come to a bend in the stream where the land sloped down to the water. There was no bank to speak of on our side, you could walk into the twenty-foot wide stream. Karen had worn a touch of make up, Sue wasn't the only one who looked yummy. The girls had worn short shorts and fairly snug tops since loose fitting clothes could catch too easily on brambles. The girls looked good, and I was feeling horny.

Before getting intimate with Sue, I never would've had the nerve to say what was on my mind. Fortunately Lewis Mark II was able to find the courage to speak. "Hey, remember this spot? Remember what we used to do here?" Glancing from face to face, the sheepish expressions I saw told me they did.

When I was almost eleven, we three had gone skinny wading at this very spot. There were patches of sand here, deposited each time the stream overflowed. The rest of this low area had short grass and was otherwise clear. You couldn't swim in the creek, it was only two to three foot deep in the middle when it ran gently enough to be entered safely.

Emboldened by knowing Sue wouldn't mind if I saw her body, I let my hormones convince me to try talking my cousin out of her clothes. She'd turned into such a beautiful young woman. As I lay just a wall away from her the last three lonely nights, more than once my teenaged brain had thought about seeing her naked. I hadn't planned anything, but when a perfect opportunity to introduce a sexual element into this visit occurred to me, I wasn't going to pass it up.

Three times, during a July visit years ago, we'd shed our clothes, then waded into the cool, cool water. The very first time, after we'd undressed, we stood in a circle, just looking at each other's bodies for a few minutes. No one spoke, no one moved, we literally were babes in the woods. Finally Sue grabbed Karen's hand. Turning, they'd marched into the water. I ran right in behind them, at that age I was nearly oblivious to their bare little butts.

We splashed each other, threw big submerged rocks from one place to another, enjoying the splush sounds and water spouts when they landed. Back then, their chests looked a lot like mine. Obviously I was curious to see their immature little pussies, but I was still pre-pubescent, the only thing my teeny weenie was good for was drawing in the snow.

The next two times, we'd just asked "Want to go wading?" We never touched, or even spoke a word about it afterwards. We simply were young nudists enjoying natural impulses.

Our next visit to their farm had been four years later; we were older, far more modest, overly shy about our post-pubescent bodies. Nothing remotely sexual occurred during that visit. Four years from now, we might all have gone our separate ways. Today, this instant, was a now or maybe never moment.

"Want to go wading?" Not giving Karen time to think, I pulled my top off. Flashing my best attempt at a disarming smile Karen's way, I sought her eyes as I lowered my zipper, then undid my jeans. I was scared witless, but did my best to look self-assured.

I bent from the waist to untie my walking shoes. When I stood, my inner voice shouted "YES!". Sue was pulling her top over her head. Karen looked nervous, but was smiling like a fat lady at a bakery's door. Karen was fighting her urges, but she was going allow herself to give in to temptation. Her hands were slowly reaching for the hem of her top.

I intentionally avoided making further eye contact with Karen. Matter-of-factly as possible, I removed my pants and underwear. Staring straight ahead, I walked into the stream, slowly I waded towards mid-stream. The water was quite brisk, but the air was warm enough that I was comfortable.

There was plenty of room behind me, I didn't want Karen to feel crowded. Bending forward, I pulled scooped water thigh high, then allowed it to run down my legs to help my body get acclimated. Someone walked into the water behind me. All my faculties seemed redirected to my sense of hearing. A hundred racing heartbeats later, a new round of splashes caused my system to experience a near overload. In all likelihood, there were TWO sexy, naked girls behind me.