Elle was fascinated, and plumbed for advice. "What happened after that? Was it awkward?"
"A little bit right afterwards, like the next day. We didn't talk about it, but we both know what each other had done. But we had crossed that line, and eventually, when nobody made fun of the other about it, we started doing it again. And we've actually done it a lot since then."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's always after the lights go out, and except for that first time, I usually always stay under the covers, since Rory always has." At this point Nat remembered the boys again. Even though she was still conversing with her friend, she almost seemed to be talking to them, instead, though they were too far to hear what she was saying. "Whenever she starts, I usually join in. Sometimes I've been the one to start, just because I feel so horny and she always joins in. It's fun, and it's just better with someone else, and at this point I trust my sister not to be embarrassing about it, like tease me for it and stuff."
"I can't believe you've never told me this before. I can't believe you still have secrets I don't know about."
Nat leaned in close again and whispered (albeit loudly), "I kinda wanna see what she looks like naked. She has boobs now!"
Elle teased, "And you think it's weird that my mom wants to help me when you're such a slut for your sister."
"First off, I'm not a slut for my sister. I've never touched her. And second off, fuck you, don't slut shame."
Elle acted faux-offended at the swear and giggled.
Nat continued, "Anyway, with that out of the way, I would never have my mom help me with anything sexual, but clearly I can't judge your situation. But I mean, think your mom is way cooler than mine, anyway, and I suspect you agree."
Elle frowned and conceded, "Yeah, guess so. She can be pretty fun. Your parents are pretty strict" She used the end of Nat's story to change the subject, "I just wish mine would give me some money once in a while."
"We gotta get these boys to take us out." Nat nodded in their direction.
Elle turned around again and one of them winked at her. She did find them quite attractive. She turned back around and smiled at her friend.
Nat returned with an impish grin. "I've got an idea to get them to notice us."
"Um, Nat, I think they already have."
"No, I mean to really get their attention."
"What is it?"
"Shh, just act normal."
At that point, Elle's mind could only fixate on how nobody can ever act normal when they're told to act normal. She fished for something to say: "Um, soo, how are things?"
Nat checked her surroundings to see whose attention they might have. The mall food court was bustling all around them, but, beyond the two boys, nobody seemed particularly concerned with them. When she felt she had a reasonable amount of privacy, she reached under her new skirt, lifted her butt off the seat ever so slightly, and slid her panties down over it. Then she plopped bare- assed back down onto the plastic stool. As she did, she almost slid off the edge, which startled her. "Oop! Guess I'm still a little slippery down there!"
Elle was shocked, "Nat, what are you doing?"
"Woo, this seat is a little chilly," she winked.
Elle looked under the small diner table they sat at. She could only see Nat's legs. Her skirt, while short, draped over them and down over the stool slightly. She watched as Nat once again reached under her skirt and peeled her underwear down her thighs to her knees. Elle's heartbeat began to rise and she looked over the table again at her friend, who was smiling dreamily at the boys. "What are you up to?"
Parrying the question, she asked, "You think they can tell what I'm doing from over there?"
Elle turned, red-faced, and looked at them. "Um, I-I don't think so. I think I'm blocking their view."
"Oh well, it'll be more of a surprise once they figure it out."
Elle looked around the food court again to see if anyone else was on to what was going on, but everybody appeared to be oblivious. Again her eyes returned under the table. Nat pushed her panties over her knees and they slid freely down her legs to the floor. She stepped one foot out of them, then lifted the other to cross it. The undergarment dangled off her raised ankle and as she moved it over her knee, she slipped it off altogether, then crumpled it into her fist. Then she moved both her hands above the table to sit more or less normally.
"Holy shit, Nat!" was all Elle could think to say. She could see swatches of the teal and yellow panties peeking out of her friend's balled fist. At least now her friend's boyshorts weren't hanging off her ankle, on display for the mall to see, so her heartbeat began to slow a bit.
"Like I said earlier, I like not wearing panties sometimes." Nat winked again at the boys, "Now we match."
Elle breathed deeply. Her chest flushed hotly. "Girl, you're no good for my nerves these days. You're being so rebellious all of a sudden." Nat just laughed. Elle asked, "So what are you gonna do with those things now?"
"C'mon." Nat got up and dumped her trash, then she headed for the boys. Elle could only follow behind. One of them had dark, wavy hair styled up, and a black Nirvana tee-shirt and gray zip hoodie. The other had light brown hair that was flopped down over his eyebrows. He wore a white tee-shirt with red text that said "it's lit". Both of them were about a head taller than Elle and Nat. As the girls approached their target, Nat stalked with the confidence of a tigress, while Elle lowered her head bashfully.
"Hey boys," Nat said, "What's going on?"
"Just admiring the view," the dark-haired boy replied.
"I don't recognize you. You must go to a different school than us."
"Totally. We're from out of state. We're home from college visiting our parents for the weekend"
"Really?" Nat shot a look at her friend, "Brothers, then?"
"Yeah, I'm Marcus. I'm the older one," he said proudly.
"And I'm Rafael," the boy in the white tee spoke up, then asked somewhat awkwardly, "So what about you two? Are you sisters?"
Nat winked at Elle, "We have a few things in common-under the hood-but we're not related. We're besties. We do, like, everything together."
"Nice," Rafael replied with a dopy, too-big smile, as if the innuendo he had heard wasn't intentional.
"So, did you find what you were looking for at the mall?" Nat asked.
Marcus chimed in, staring intently at the two girls, "I think maybe we have."
"Well, we're not done shopping yet. Wanna come along? We were thinking about looking around Hush-Hush"
Elle gasped quietly at her friend's provocative suggestion about the popular underwear store. Both boys gaped, as well. Marcus recovered quickly and spoke up, "Bummer, our parents are on their way to pick us up. We've got a family photo to take. It's dumb." Не rolled his eyes, but he quickly brightened up and dug into his pocket, producing a Sharpie and a scrap of paper, "But we're both pretty much free after that. Maybe we can get together this weekend sometime. Maybe you could give us your numbers?"
Elle was fairly impressed with the efficiency of it all.
"That sounds great," said Nat, grabbing the marker, "But I've already got something to write on." With that, she opened her fist and the brightly-covered panty within unfolded over her palm. Again the boys' jaws went slack as she uncapped the marker with her teeth and proceeded to scrawl her number onto the fabric. She had to go over some areas a few times where the ink didn't take and remarked, "I guess it's a little wet here."
Elle couldn't believe how graphic her friend was. Again, she glanced around to see if anybody was watching. She caught the eye of an older man the same one with the wife that earlier saw Nat wandering Cole's Place in just her underwear and tee-shirt, Elle quickly broke eye-contact and stared at the floor. She wondered if he recognized the underwear pattern from not much earlier in the day.
Nat signed the panties "Kaia" and handed them over to Marcus. "Text me." Marcus smiled roguishly.
Rafael interjected awkwardly toward Elle, "Uh, uh, what about you?"