The Taming of Natalie

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.

I stood up and wrapped my arms around her waist again, pulling her against me, pressing my erection against her butt. "How does that feel?" I asked.

"Like I don't have enough on. Exposed. It's sexy, but ... Josh, my skirt's light and it's a windy day. I might ... might flash someone."

"Hopefully me."

She blushed and wiggled against me again. "I have to bend to get my golf ball ... it's mini-golf, Josh. There's lots of bending involved."

I squeezed her butt through her skirt. "Yeah, I know. I'll be watching."

"So mean to me," she said with a smile in her voice.

Mini-golf, which I had always found rather dull, became far more interesting. Natalie's game deteriorated to comic levels. She kept her hands on her skirt whenever possible, and if the wind kicked up her eyes grew in proportion. Pouty glances my way satisfied and aroused me. She'd retrieve her ball by bending at the knees, not her waist, but it was impossible to do without spreading her legs ... something she refused to do. By the fifteenth hole, she knelt each time like a fatigued football player. Her predicament fogged my mind with lust. On the last whole she dropped her club when a particularly large gust of wind caught her skirt. She bit her lip and gave me a pleading look.

My friends were oblivious. Laughing, joking, trash-talking. All except Kate who had her eyes on the two of us a little too often for my comfort.

##########

I managed to pull Natalie off to the side, near the parking lot, while we waited for our table at Abudanza Ristorante. Cal and Kate argued football, while Martin and Ellis debated SciFi shows. Pretty normal, all things considered.

Pale orange sunlight, the type you can only get in mid-August around six, shone in Natalie's pretty face. The air was heavy with heat and humidity, and held a whiff of gasoline from a nearby station. Traffic rumbled to our left, as constant as an ocean tide.

"We're going to get a booth. Slide in first and I'll sit next to you," I said.

"Give my panties back." She held up a hand close to her chest, so the others couldn't see. "Please?"

"When we're all seated and no one can see, I want you to pull your skirt out from under your butt." The thought of her naked butt cheeks on the cold plastic booth cushion titillated me and I wasn't sure why. Mostly I wanted her to feel vulnerable as well as exposed.

"Please, Josh?" she whined. "I can't. It's too embarrassing."

"That's the point."

"But I'm ... I'm ..." Natalie bit her lip. "I just need them back."

Her discomfort sent electricity through me. A light bulb went on in my mind. "Are you wet?" I whispered.

She looked up at me from beneath long lashes, her expression pouty and submissive, then back down at her feet. "Maybe. Please, Josh? I don't want anyone to know."

I had her, and we both knew it. "Do what I tell you, and I'll give them back."

"All right," Natalie said in a soft voice. A skirl of wind tugged at her skirt, and her hands flew down to it immediately. I wondered if she'd ever wear a skirt again after today.

##########

It was a close call. We almost didn't get a booth, but I insisted on it. The servers made us wait an extra five minutes for it. No one challenged me on it, thankfully, because I couldn't think of a single innocent reason why I didn't want a table. Cal and Kate's debate over Hall of Fame quarterbacks drew Martin and Ellis away from Star Wars talk. Only Natalie noticed my request for a booth instead of a table. She offered me a thin lipped smile, but said nothing.

We'd been to Abundanza many times before and I knew the tables. The booths were long, but space was at a premium and everything was a little cramped. Natalie maneuvered her way into the booth first and I had to shoulder past Kate to sit next to her.

Natalie's thigh brushed mine as she adjusted herself. Our heads were in our menus, and I was sure I was the only one to take note of it. The padded seat burped a little as she moved on it. I listened, only pretending to read the menu. I knew what I wanted ... and it wasn't food.

Under the table, my hand brushed her knee, then slid up her thigh to her skirt. I explored a little and found she had done exactly as I asked. I couldn't see it, but I felt her skirt pooled around her hips. A quick glance at her face, revealed wide deer-in-the-headlights eyes and daintily-parted lips. She was so beautiful, so vulnerable, so mine, that it took all my will power not to groan. Instead, I slipped my hand between her upper thighs, and found it immediately trapped by soft, warm skin. I wiggled my fingers a little trying to force my hand further up, but she had clamped her thighs together tight. She licked her lips, and surreptitiously, but gently, removed my hand.

We ordered our food and drinks, and gabbed with one another, as old friends will do, about nothing. Martin with his thin-rimmed glasses and Cal with his high school quarterback good looks were peering at Ellis's phone. An exploration of NFL statistics at a restaurant that can only be accomplished in the digital age. Kate didn't need no stinking statistics to back up her claims, and the debate raged on. Natalie interjected now and then, but she knew very little about football.

I was busy tormenting Natalie under the table. My hand returned to her thighs, and slid under her tech skirt. I felt the first signs of moisture on her legs. Natalie's cheeks became stained with a pink, rosy glow. She brushed absently at a strand of wispy hair and fixed her eyes out the window at the parking lot.

I caressed her upper thighs, and then something amazing happened. She quietly, and smoothly parted them for me.

Curly damp hair lay over top a soft, hot mound. I found her slit, and moved my fingers up and down, ever so slowly. Natalie clenched and relaxed her thighs again and again. Her right hand rested on my thigh, and tightened each time my middle finger dragged up the center of her pussy. She felt so good, so perfect. Intermingled with my lust was the fear of being noticed—by my friends, who weren't stupid, or by a passing waitress or customer. It only stoked my desire. I wondered if I could make Natalie cum for me without anyone noticing. Probably not, but putting her in that predicament seemed to me the most erotic thing in the world.

Our food came and I had to pull my hand away. Natalie sighed and leaned her head against my shoulder.

"Tired, Nat?" Cal asked her. They had taken to calling her Nat too.

"Yeah, a little," she replied in a dreamy voice. "Didn't get much sleep last night."

My fingers were wet with her juices, but instead of wiping them on my napkin, I slid them in my mouth one after another, casually as if I had gotten some tomato sauce on them. It's difficult to describe the taste of her. Like a weak but musky sweet-and-sour sauce. I loved it, knowing the source, and wanted more.

Natalie's dainty cough sounded fake, and a little like a whimper.

Dinner was rich and flavorful, as it always is at Abundanza. Not great Italian food but good, and in large portions. Chicken marsala over rigatoni kept my focus for a time. I behaved while I ate, allowing Natalie and I to participate in the good natured banter going back and forth across the table. It was all camouflage, of course. Natalie's bare thigh, unnecessarily pressed against mine, had my mind buzzing.

Near the end of the meal, I wiped my hands on my napkin. It had been draped over my lap, doing double duty by concealing my erection. My left hand strayed to her smooth thigh again, warm and inviting as before, and slid under her skirt. Natalie left herself open for me and, again, I stroked her. A glance at my step-sister showed a glazed expression, her eyes seeming to look through her half-eaten veal parmesan and dinner plate. This time, unlike last, when I moved my hand away she clamped her thighs together, trying to keep it there. I smiled happily and pulled my fingers from her silky, tempting trap.

"I need to use the ladies room," Natalie said to me, nodding for me to get up and let her out of the booth.

"Are you all right, Nat?" Kate asked as she stood first to let me out.

"Yeah, I'm just headachey, that's all." Her face was flushed, eyes darting between Kate and I. She fumbled a bit as she slid out of the booth, no doubt trying to scoop her skirt into a semblance of normalcy before anyone noticed.

"I'll go with you," Kate said, and the two of them left.

"Doesn't matter if one is a lesbian, girls always go the bathroom in groups," Martin said. "I wonder if anyone has studied the phenomena." From anyone else I'd have thought it was a joke, but Martin wasn't kidding.

"To the internet!" Ellis exclaimed, and produced his iPhone again.

"Don't ask Siri. That's just weird," I said.

"Oh, I'm asking Siri. That's what my digital girlfriend is for."

"You've asked her for a blow job, haven't you?" Cal asked with an arched eyebrow

"She was vaguely negative on that subject," Ellis replied deadpan.

"Get used to that," I said, and got a round of laughs.

Kate returned alone at the same time as the check. We divvied it up and I kicked in Natalie's portion.

"Is she OK?" I asked Kate.

"Nat's fine. She'll be back soon. It's cute that you worry about her, though."

I shrugged. "I could've done a lot worse for a step-sister. I'm going to use the men's room, any of you gents want to come too?"

"I could pee," Cal said, "but after that, I'll wait."

Ellis looked up from his iPhone. "The internet is abuzz over this, but no credible research has been done on it."

"On what?" Kate scowled at him.

I left for the men's room before I got drawn back into the fun.

A small darkened hallway at the rear of the restaurant led to the bathrooms. Natalie stood at the far end. When I approached her, she held out her hand and whispered, "my panties, please."

I shook my head, grinning. "I don't know—"

She punched my arm and moved very close to me. The tips of her breasts brushed my chest. "One minute. That's all I needed. One more minute. You don't leave a girl hanging like that, Josh. I had to finish the job myself."