Upstairs, Elle sat in front of a mirror and combed the knots out of her hair. It was still ratty from her time in the water. Meanwhile, Nat dug through Elle's messy closet, seeing what she could procure from her friend's wardrobe. Neither of them had yet dressed. Nat pulled out a white T-shirt that was two sizes too big for either of them. It said "Bye hater" across the front.
"OMG," Nat said. "Remember when you wore this all the time?"
Elle rolled her eyes at the oversized garment. "Yesss. I thought I was so hip-hop back then."
"Elle, hip-hop is the last thing you'll ever be," Nat teased. She pulled the shirt on and flipped her hair out of it. She posed cheekily.
Elle gave her a once-over, "You wear it better than I ever did. I bet even Phina would approve."
Nat lit up at the suggestion. She twisted in the mirror, smoothing the shirt down her body as she examined her figure. It came down just over her butt. "You think so?"
"You can have it, if you want."
"Really? You don't want it?"
"Nah, I just use it as a night shirt anyway. Something to sleep in."
A lightbulb went off in Nat's head, "Oh yeah, you know what we should do tonight? We should have a sleepover! I thought of it when I was getting my swimming suit, so I packed an extra outfit in my duffel bag, just in case."
"That sounds fun! I'll ask my parents over dinner."
Just then, Adrian called from downstairs, "Dinner's ready!"
"We're coming!" Elle called back.
Nat giggled and then moaned pornographically, feigning masturbation, "We're cumming." Elle frowned and smacked her friend on the shoulder, which made Nat laugh even harder.
Elle finished getting ready quickly, leaving her bikini top on and slipping back into her gray sweatpants. Nat reached under her oversized shirt and loosened one side of her bottoms.
"Guess I don't need these anymore," she said with a wink as the fabric slipped down and she stepped out of them. Elle inhaled deeply, trying to steady the nervous flutter rising in her chest. Then they headed downstairs for dinner.
Over dinner, Elle put in her request for the sleepover.
"I don't know," said Adrian. "I was kind of hoping for a quiet evening." He flung his head in Nat's general direction.
Nat pleaded, "Pleeease, Adrian." And then in a whisper, "I promise I'll be quiet."
"Don't you girls have school in the morning?"
Elle countered, "No, tomorrow's Sunday. And besides, you and Mom had Isla sleep over on Thursday, and that's a school night."
Adrian shot a glance at his wife, who gave a smirking nod of admission in return. This was the first they knew that Elle had overheard Emily's friend and junior coworker. "True," Adrian conceded, "but we're adults, and we get to break the rules."
Elle turned to Emily, "Please, mommy?"
"Please!" echoed Nat.
"It's up to your father."
Not wanting to be the villain, Adrian finally relented with a sigh, much to the girls' excitement and also to the detriment of his eardrums. After they finished eating, the girls cleared the table and Emily started on the dishes.
Adrian herded them into the family room. "You girls want to watch a movie or play a game?"
"No, let's play the Nintendo," Nat replied.
"Okay, I'll get it set up." Adrian flicked the remote and turned on the television. He pulled out a vintage Nintendo console and popped in the the third Super Mario Bros. game. Because it was an older system, the length of the cables prevented whoever had the controller from sitting on the couch and playing at the same time, so the player had to sit in the middle of the room.
Nat was up first. She sat down, cross-legged on the carpet and started plugging away at the first level. "These graphics are so old!" she giggled.
"This is a classic game," Adrian retorted, finding a seat on the couch. "They did amazing things with the technology for the time."
"Still, doesn't change how old it is, hah!"
Adrian was unable to argue her point.
Meanwhile, Elle sat on the couch next to her father. As they both looked on, watching Nat's progress, Adrian lazily rubbed his daughter's back with one hand. Elle felt both comforted and relaxed by its presence on the bare parts of her back. It kind of tickled, and goosebumps rose up. She shivered and sighed deeply.
Adrian noticed her breathing and felt sudden clarity in his actions, realizing that his absent-minded stroking might be having real implications for his daughter's sensitive nerve endings. He stopped and patted her on the shoulder, resting his hand there.
Elle didn't want the feeling to stop, though, so she turned to him, flashing a smile, and quietly said, "Daddy, that feels good. Keep doing it."
Adrian was unsure whether it would be wise to honor her request, but he was too charmed by her impish smile to fight it and again began to lightly rub her back and shoulders. He figured he could send her up to her room if her new, erotic tendencies began to get out of hand.
But Elle was trying her hardest to stay extra-engaged with the game on the TV. She didn't want to be banished to her room, she just wanted to enjoy herself. She pushed back against the warm feelings she was harboring in her belly.