Allie and Friends at the Beach

The blue swimsuit fit just as well as it had when she'd tried it on in the shop, and Allie felt perfectly elegant as she blossomed forth poolside. She was also perfectly aware that she was the only woman under 50 or so in a one-piece suit and of course she was aware of the readily visible wisps of hair that peeked out onto both of her thighs, not to mention that her thick, dark triangle was visible behind the brightly colored fabric of her suit -- the classic Felicia look, as she had always called it. Also as always, Allie was proud of her natural beauty and refused to show any embarrassment. She had made up her mind to ignore any dirty looks, but she had fully expected to receive some. And so she couldn't be sure that there were any or that there weren't. Once the initial rush of her appearance had passed, she didn't care.

Scott was chatting with Aunt Marina, who was also in a one-piece suit. "Hey you," she said, slipping her arm around him.

"Hi, sweetie," Scott said, kissing her cheek.

"Thank you so much for bringing him home, Alessandra," Aunt Marina gushed. "He's a perfectly delightful young man! You ought to give all your cousins lessons on how to attract one like him!"

Allie couldn't help laughing. If only she knew what had attracted Scott to her! "I'll do what I can, Aunt Marina," she said. "But there's only one of him." Not wanting to go any further down that particular alley, she took Scott by the hand. "Coming in the pool?"

"Of course!"

The water was warm in the afternoon sun, a lively round of water polo was soon underway, and Allie soon lost all qualms about her appearance -- with one exception. More than once over the course of the afternoon, she noticed Paige and Mike looking askance at her. She couldn't guess just what they were thinking, but she had no doubt as to what they were thinking about.

Nevertheless, it was a wonderfully stimulating afternoon for Allie. By the time the party started breaking up, she felt beautiful and invincible. Two things happened afterward that threatened to take the wind out of her sails. While neither quite succeeded, both served as an unsubtle reminder that the statement she made in her swimsuit was a controversial one.

The first happened shortly before dinner. Allie was on her way back from the shower when she passed by Paige's room. The door was ajar, and Mike's voice was loud and clear. "You think she knows?"

"She must," Paige said. "I mean, that must be why she was wearing a one-piece suit. Obviously she can't wear a bikini."

"She could if she got a waxing."

"Too lazy, maybe, or maybe she just doesn't care. I love Allie, but she always was a little weird. I feel sorry for her, though. Imagine going through life with a beaver like that -- yuck!"

Allie hurried on her way to the room she and Scott were sharing, and thanked her lucky stars Scott was downstairs already and couldn't see the ungodly shade of red she knew her face must be. She can't wear a bikini...though Allie had been describing herself quite proudly with that very line for a good four years now, it sounded oddly insulting and confining coming from someone else. Or maybe it was just because that someone else was her beloved Paige. So much for setting a positive example for her younger cousins!

She was still smarting from the overheard conversation when the second incident happened, just after dinner. About a dozen hangers-on had stuck around for the meal, so Allie was able to position herself and Scott at the far end of the table from Paige and Mike. By the time it was over, she had calmed down and was thinking about how -- or if -- she ought to confront Paige on what she had heard. She was carrying dirty dishes out to the kitchen and thinking about what to say when Aunt Marina cornered her by the sink.

"Alessandra." It was a stern tone, one she had rarely heard from Aunt Marina before. And yet Allie had little doubt what the matter was.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind telling me what you were thinking with your appearance at the pool this afternoon?"

Allie's heart leapt, but she had known this might happen and she kept her cool. "Probably the same thing everyone else was, Aunt Marina -- that I need to lose a few pounds here and gain a couple there. But I didn't let it bother me much. After all, everyone else had their own insecurities."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Aunt Marina said. "I was referring to your...your grooming. Down below. Or the complete lack thereof. Allie, you're an adult woman!"

Allie turned around and returned her aunt's glare. "Yes, and most adult women have hair on their bodies. Especially me. And I've got nothing to be ashamed of."

"No one is suggesting you ought to be ashamed; only that you ought to keep it covered!"

"Have you said this to any of the guys? Most of them had hair showing, and a lot more of it than I did!" She managed to keep a straight face as it occurred to her that Scott, for one, had less pubic hair than she did.

"That's different and you know it, Allie!"

"No, it isn't, not really. It's just a double standard and I choose not to comply with it."

Aunt Marina sighed and shook her head. "Allie, I didn't want to have to tell you this, but some of the others were quite uncomfortable with your appearance. Linda's two girls were almost in tears, they're afraid they're going to grow up to look like you! Is that what you want?"

Allie recalled her two much younger cousins lounging about the poolside all afternoon, batting their eyes at every boy who walked by and mouthing off at all the other girls and doing very little else, and she couldn't help smiling. "You know, Aunt Marina, I do in a way. It's perfectly possible that one or both of those little brats could grow up to be like me. And maybe -- just maybe -- they'll recall how I embrace my difference and I'm comfortable with my body, and they can be too. What's wrong with that?!"

Aunt Marina, to her credit, clearly stopped to think about what she had said. At last she replied, "Nothing, Alessandra. Absolutely nothing. But please don't call your cousins 'brats' at least."

"Even if they are?"

"Yes. Even if they are."

After dinner, Allie broke with the tradition holding that all the women helped out with clearing the table and washing the dishes. (Scott tried to break with the same tradition by helping, but the older women shooed him away as if he were trying to enter the ladies' room.) She brought her own and Scott's dishes to the kitchen, cast Aunt Marina a meaningful and scornful glance, and left.

Arriving upstairs, Allie shut their bedroom door firmly behind her and leaned against it to let out a sigh of frustration and relief all at once. Scott jumped up from their bed. Misinterpreting her irritation, he said, "I'm sorry, Allie, I did try to help with the dishes --"

"Relax, Scott, I'm not angry about that!" Allie took Scott in her arms. "I know how Aunt Linda and them get about the men trying to help."

"That must drive all the younger women crazy."

"It would if their husbands and boyfriends ever offered to help. But I think you might be the first one who ever did!" That made her laugh in spite of everything, and she squeezed him tighter in her appreciation.

"Then what is wrong?"

"Beauty standards. They're what's wrong. They're why even my family thinks I'm a freak when I go natural."

"Not that jerk Mike!" Scott said. "I had a feeling he'd make some stupid comment. But you don't care what he thinks!"

"It's not just Mike." Allie shook her head and pulled back from Scott. She looked near tears, but she held her composure. "It's Paige. Paige, whom I've always thought admired me like a favorite older sister, and now I know she thinks I'm a freak!" Allie ran her hands through her hair and then clenched her fists in frustration. She opened her mouth to add the news about Aunt Linda's two little brats, but realized she welcomed their scorn. But not Paige's.

"That's...awful, Allie. I'm really sorry." Scott hugged her again.

"Thank you for not trying to make excuses," Allie said. There were no excuses to be made on this one. "I'm used to some people thinking it's repulsive, that's always been an issue. But not anyone I care about."

"What about Casey?"

"Casey?"

"Your friend, the one with the 'pulling a Felicia' thing?"

"Corri," Allie corrected. "Yeah, we were best friends from way back, but I always knew she was a little bitch underneath it all. I didn't want to think that about Paige."

"Maybe Paige isn't," Scott said. "What did she say to you exactly?"

"Nothing! That's what makes me so mad! She didn't even have the courage to confront me about it. I just overheard her and Mike talking about me like I belong in a circus freak show!"

"Maybe she was just agreeing with Mike to shut him up. He does seem like the kind of guy who'd expect that of his girl."

Allie nodded. "Could be. But she didn't just agree with him, Scott, she said she felt sorry for me!"

"Then shouldn't you feel sorry for her, Allie?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I know how you carry yourself, especially with respect to...that. Remember, that's how we got together in the first place, isn't it? You scream confidence, at least about that. Anyone who thinks you deserve pity, well, they really aren't paying attention or they're just not very bright!"

"But Paige isn't stupid, and she's known me all her life!"

"Then maybe she didn't really mean it, don't you think? Like I said, just trying to impress Mike."

Allie thought about it and nodded. "I hope so. I mean, I hope she's not a boy-crazy fool, but..."

"She's young. We all make mistakes. You know, maybe you could even help her see the light on that."

"There's a lot I'd like to make her see right now," Allie grumbled. She realized a moment too late just what it sounded like she might want Paige to see.

Scott, also understanding a moment too late, joined in. "Well, that has worked for you before, after all," he said. Then something else occurred to him. "Remember how you first came to hope you'd grow up to look just like you do now underneath?"

Allie nodded. "Right here. My older cousins...you know, that's another thing, Scott. I saw one of them change in the poolhouse, and she was nowhere near as bushy as I am! I always wondered if I was overestimating that in my memory, and I guess now I know."

"Then you're even luckier than you thought!" Scott couldn't help grinning.

"You would say that," Allie replied with a sad smile.

"Oh, come on, Allie! You love being hairy as much as I love you that way! We both know that!"

Allie nodded. "True."

"I don't blame you for being hurt over Paige, but if she thinks you've got a problem, it's her problem, not yours! And if I know you, you'll find a way to set her straight."

"I was already thinking about that," Allie said. "I guess I'm just too wound up to do it right now. Besides..." The sparkle returned to her eyes and she tightened her arms around Scott. "...I can think of a better way to cheer me up."

"Are you sure you want to? Now?"

"I was going to say no sex in this house, too weird. That's one reason why I...you know, in the car. But now I feel like we ought to show them just how little there is to be sorry for! Besides, this whole thing has me feeling kind of sweetly vulnerable."

"I don't see you vulnerable too often, Allie."

"You do all the time!" She pulled back and pulled her top off, and Scott followed suit. "You just don't see it that way because I'm so safe with you." Matter-of-factly she pushed her shorts and panties down. "But it's there all the same. And at a time like this..." she ran her own fingers across and through her big bush. "...it's sweet. Bittersweet, kind of, but sweet."

"Bittersweet..." Scott exhaled the word in disbelief as he reached down and began teasing Allie's triangle just the way he knew she loved it; she got her own hands out of the way by unbuttoning his shorts. "It breaks my heart to think you could ever be bitter about this, Allie. The things it's always done to me, from the very first time I saw you in the pool..."

Allie laughed, and the bitterness washed away in the joy of his fingertips frolicking in her bush. "That was so adorable, Scott, the way you kept trying to be such a gentleman and not quite succeeding!"

"Thank heavens I didn't, huh?"

"You said it!"

As she liberated his hard cock and began rubbing it gently, their lips met in an easy familiarity and she enjoyed his gentle tickling. There were no more regrets about Paige now; all Allie wanted was Scott's lovely cock inside her. No need to rush that, though, and she enjoyed every bit of his teasing fingertips as her pussy grew wet with desire and his own response to her loving touches grew more intense. For several minutes, there were only the most fleeting of caresses on her lips and inside, and she welcomed the sweet teasing as they stood locked together.

As usual, Scott's focus down below meant Allie was stuck in her bra -- the only article of clothing left on either of them -- for a lot longer than she'd have liked. When it finally came to be unbearably confining, she gave in and reached back to undo it herself. Scott opened his eyes and let out a guilty chuckle. "I forgot that again," he confessed.

"They do like a bit of attention too, you know," Allie said as she pulled it away and let her breasts fall free, and in the same motion she gave him a gentle push so he fell onto the bed. With a triumphant flair she climbed atop him, took his cock gently in her hands and slipped it into her hungry pussy. "Mmmmm." She resisted the temptation to close her eyes and better savor the lovely fullness -- it was even hotter to look down at Scott and appreciate his own response to being enveloped. As she made her first gentle pushes, she gathered up his hands and placed them on her breasts. "Didn't I tell you not to forget these?"

"How could I?"

His fingers were still damp with her own arousal, and made his expert strokes on her nipples all the more intense as she began rocking harder atop him. "Oh, Allie, love that!" he groaned as the pace increased. As things got more intense, his caresses on her breasts grew to firm rubbing and kneading, almost to the point where it might have hurt if they hadn't had so much practice together. But they had, and Allie thrilled to his expert touch as she rode him into a wonderfully uninhibited orgasm. "Oh, yes!" she yelled out loudly enough to surely be heard up and down the hall, but in that beautiful moment she didn't care.

Neither did Scott, who was just behind her as her intense climactic thrusts brought him off as well. As Allie finally came to a stop, still clutching him lovingly within, Scott sat up and buried his face in her breasts, kissing them appreciatively. Allie threw her head back as she held him tightly. "Beautiful," she murmured.

"Yes, you are," he said.

After a few minutes' afterglow and snuggling, it finally occurred to Allie. "We were loud...do you think the others heard us?"

"God, I hope so," Scott said.

Allie laughed, but then grew serious. "Scott, this is my family. They knew me as a little girl!"

"And they all know you're not that anymore, don't they?" That lightened Allie's spirits, but Scott wasn't done. "After the way you were feeling before, Allie, don't you think they deserve a hint of what we've got? How happy you are just the way you are?"

"Yeah," Allie said, and she gave him a triumphant squeeze. But she wasn't sure it was enough.

There was no further confrontation with Aunt Marina about just who else had been "quite uncomfortable" with her at the pool, but of course it was an open secret that Paige and Mike were among them. So Allie was quite taken aback at breakfast the next morning when Paige invited her and Scott to join them for another swim before they left. "Please, Allie, we didn't really get any close-cousins time together yesterday, did we? It could be the last time for a while that we'll get the chance!"

Allie had managed to keep her hurt over Paige's overheard comments to herself, and she kept up the charade. "Yeah, it would be nice," she admitted. "But Scott and I do need to beat the traffic..."

"All the more reason you should come swim with us!" Mike piped up. "It'll have you nice and relaxed if traffic is bad."

"And you'll beat the rush hour as long as you leave before one o'clock or so!" Paige insisted. "Come on, guys, there's plenty of time."

Allie looked back and forth between the two of them, and was surprised at first to see Mike looking just as hopeful as Paige. All at once she figured it out -- they wanted another look, whether it was morbid curiosity or because one or the other of them secretly liked it, or both. Very well, then, she would give them all they wanted and probably a lot more. "Okay," she said, "You've talked me into it."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked.

"Completely," Allie said. "Let's just wash these dishes and go get changed."

"You can change in the poolhouse, silly," Paige said.

"That's what I meant," Allie said over her shoulder as she disappeared into the kitchen. But it wasn't. She knew, as Paige no doubt did, of the gap behind the mirror in the poolhouse where the girls could see into the guys' side, and undoubtedly the other way around. How very convenient if Paige could coax her over to the mirror while she was naked and give Mike a nice long look...but Allie had a better idea. Since neither Paige nor Mike offered to help with the dishes, Allie had all the time she needed to explain her plan to Scott while they were in the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, Allie and Scott strode down the hall to Paige's room, he with his pool garb and towel clutched in one hand, she dressed only in her bathrobe. "Hey, Paige! Mike!" she called out as she knocked on the door. "Let us in, I've got something to show you!"

Scott had to struggle hard to stifle his laughter at just what she had to show them, but he had himself under control when the door opened and Paige and Mike stood holding their swimsuits and towels. "What's up, Allie?" Paige asked.

"Guys, I'm sorry," Allie said. "It's this old house, I suppose."

"Sorry about what?" Paige asked. "What about the house?"

"The walls are pretty thin," Allie said. "And it's way too easy to overhear each other."

"We haven't overheard you say anything," Mike said.

"That's right, and what's that got to do with what you wanted to show us?" Paige asked.

"It's I who overheard you," Allie said. "Last night, when you were talking about my appearance in the pool."

Paige at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Oh, Allie!"

"And that's what I've got to show you," Allie continued. Smiling through her mild embarrassment, she pulled the sash on her robe and pulled it away in one fell swoop.

"Allie! What the...Whoa! Geez!" Their shocked commentary rang together in an inarticulate harmony, and sure enough, both their eyes were drawn like magnets to Allie's bush. "Allie, what are you doing?!" Paige sputtered.

"Giving you exactly what you want," Allie said, hands on her hips as she glared back and forth at them both. "And in a much more comfortable setting than sneaking a peek in the poolhouse, wouldn't you say?"

"What are you talking about?" Paige demanded. "What do you mean sneaking a peek?!"

"Give it up, Paige, she figured us out," Mike said. "I'm..." he looked up into Allie's unforgiving eyes. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, buddy," Scott said. He clamped a hand on Mike's shoulder. "Let's get lost and let them have a woman to woman talk, shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled Mike out into the hallway. Mike took one long last gander at Allie's body but didn't resist.

Allie heard the door shut behind her, but her gaze was locked on Paige, who was sitting on her bed and looking ashamed. "Paige," she said somewhat more gently than her earlier tone. "We've always been so close. You're my favorite cousin. Or were anyway."