Naïve, and Oh So Naughty

Naïve, and Oh So Naughty by Stifflittlepoints

“Hi, John, it’s Carrie Ellsworth.”

“Oh, hi, Carrie. Good to hear from you. How’s Jeremy doing?”

“Fine, thanks. Listen, we’d love to have you over for supper. Are you free tonight?”

“For a free meal, I’m always available.”

“Great! See you around six, okay?”

“Sure.”

I had wondered what the family had gotten in to the weeks since I had seen them last. But truth to tell, my curiosity was most taken by the Ellsworth’s older daughter, Tara. She had just entered high school, and was a stunning beauty. I’d only met her briefly the last time I was invited for dinner.

I arrived at the time Carrie had suggested, my typical bottle of wine in hand. Jeremy, her husband answered the door.

“Hi, John,” he said, taking my hand in a firm and friendly handshake. “Good to see you again.”

“Likewise,” I replied, looking him directly in the eye. I could detect no anger, no resentment. Clearly, whatever emotions my last visit had stirred up had been laid to rest peacefully. Suddenly, a large weight slammed into my leg.

“Hi, Mr. Garber,” a young voice piped up. I looked down to see Ruby, fully dressed, giving my leg an innocent bear hug.

“Um, hi,” I replied, feigning a puzzled look. “Do I know you?”

“Hey!” She frowned up at me. “Of course you do!”

“Nope,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

“Yes, you did,” she shrieked, pounding me on the leg with a fist. “You saw me the last time you were here!”

“That’s right, I remember now,” I kidded. Ruby smiled and headed back into the living room.

“She’s behaving a lot better since you came over that night,” Jeremy said, with a rueful look on her face. “Listen, John, I never got the chance to properly thank you. She was out of control before you… um. Before you took her in hand, you know?”

That wasn’t where I took her, I thought, but kept it to myself.

“No problem, Jeremy,” I replied out loud. “It was my pleasure, believe me.”

“Oh, I do,” he said, shaking his head. “We’re lucky to have a guy like you in the neighborhood. Everybody says so.”

Right. Everybody’s happy to have me around. But, whatever you might think, apparently that was actually the case. I followed Jeremy into the kitchen, where Carrie was preparing what looked to be a fantastic meal. She accepted the wine graciously, and gave me a welcoming hug.

“Good to see you again, John,” she said, her luscious body pressed up against mine.

“You’re looking lovely as always, Carrie,” I said.

“Oh, you.” She swatted my chest. “Flatterer.” She broke away to return to the stove. Jeremy poured me a glass of wine. We made some small talk, discussing the neighborhood families.

“Gwen tells me that you helped them out with the difficulties they were having with Mark,” Carrie said.

“It was nothing,” I said. “Just a matter of helping Gwen and Arnie see their kids in a more, um, mature way.”

“I’m sure,” she winked. “In any case, Mel and Mark both seem much happier since then.”

“Tara says they’ve all started doing things together as a family again,” Jeremy said.

“Speaking of which,” Carrie said smoothly. “We have something of a proposition for you, John.”

“An ulterior motive, hmm? I should have known,” I teased.

“No, no,” Jeremy said, earnestly. “We were glad to have you over in any case. It’s… well, a bit delicate, I guess.” He looked over at Carrie, a little helplessly. She smiled at him encouragingly.

“It’s like this, John,” she said. “You have such a way with the kids around here. And as you know, our Tara’s something of a looker.”

“I’ve noticed,” I said frankly.

“So have all the neighborhood boys,” Jeremy said, frowning.

“That’s to be expected, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but she’s not handling it well, so far,” Carrie said. “She’s not nice to the boys. She’s aloof, and sometimes alarmingly mean-spirited.”

“She’s just a kid,” I said. “She can hardly have had time to come to grips with her attractiveness.”

“That’s just it,” Jeremy replied, taking a sip of wine. “She needs practice. She needs to be able to accept the attention without acting like a prima donna.”

“We’d like you to take her out on a date,” Carrie said. My jaw must have dropped to the floor. Me? Take this freshman girl out on a date? What were they expecting?

“A date?”

“I know,” Jeremy said. “It’s a little out of the ordinary. I mean, you’re what, twenty-six?”

“Twenty-eight, actually.”

“And she’s only sixteen, so it’s a bit uneven in age, but she needs to see what it’s like being with a man who’s not just drooling all over her. Someone who can resist her charms.”

“And what makes you think I’m the man you’re looking for?”

“Oh, don’t be silly, John,” Carrie said. “We know how you’ve been able to help the kids around here, and it’s not been easy, I’m sure. I mean, Ruby was practically throwing her naked body at you the last time you were here, but you managed to keep her in line.”

I shook my head, pretending to think it over. But inside, I was elated. Tara was an astonishingly beautiful young woman. Melanie Johnson, her friend, was quite attractive, but she was a plain spinster compared to Tara. Jeremy mistook my silence for uncertainty.

“Look, John, we won’t stand over your shoulder while you’re out with our daughter. You can do whatever you want with her.” Carrie shot him a look, her face suddenly flushed. Jesus! Carte blanche!

“Anything?”

“Yes,” he replied resolutely. “We’ll give you all night, if you need it. All I ask is that you have her back by midnight.”

“That’s very generous,” I said slowly.

“Then you’ll do it?” Carrie said, bouncing on her toes.

“Only if you let me do it right,” I replied solemnly. Carrie’s nipples were hard as diamonds, poking through her shirt. I had an idea what was getting her so excited. “Next Saturday night, I’ll be here at 7 PM. Have her ready to go. I want her in an evening dress, light makeup. I’m not looking for cute here, or pretty. We want sexy, get it?”

“I’m not sure…” Jeremy started but Carrie cut in.

“Yes, we get it. What else?”

“Flimsy underthings. Stuff that make a woman feel desirable,” I went on inexorably.

“No problem,” Carrie said breathlessly. “We’ll go shopping this week. Grooming?”

“Whatever a young woman would do to make herself irresistible to a man she wants to bed,” I said calmly.

“Now, wait a second,” Jeremy said.

“Whatever I want, you said, Jeremy,” I said, fixing him with a stern glance. “You have to trust me, here. I figure you already do, or you wouldn’t have invited me to take your young daughter on a date. She needs to learn a little humility; it seems to me. You’ve seen The Taming of the Shrew?”

“Oh,” he said, clearly relieved. Not that he had any reason to be, of course. “I get it. You’re going to, um, bring her down a notch, I guess.”

“So. I’ll see you Saturday night, then.”

* * *

The week seemed to drag by, but finally Saturday rolled around. I got myself done up, fresh haircut, close shave, light blazer and tie, good aftershave. I took my time, and arrived at the Ellsworth’s at 7:15. I sauntered up the path and rang the doorbell.

“Hi, John,” Jeremy said. “Um, Tara’s a little upset you’re late.”

“I bet she is,” I smiled. I walked past my date’s father and into their house. Tara was standing in the hallway, her arms crossed, actually tapping her foot. A petulant frown creased her pretty doll-like features. Carrie stood behind her, a pained expression on her face. Jeremy stood next to me.

“Well,” she huffed. “I don’t know that I want to go on a date with somebody who can’t even manage to show up on time.”

I took a moment to calmly look her up and down. She flushed at my frank appraisal. Her light brown hair was loose around her shoulders, framing her face to perfection. She had a loose peasant-type blouse, light blue, semi-sheer, which had a tendency to slip off one shoulder, revealing the strap of a darker blue lacy camisole underneath. The pattern of the lace was barely visible through the sheer cotton of the blouse. Her developing breasts pushed the cami and shirt out, but clearly were small enough not to require any kind of support as of yet.

The blouse went below her waist, and it was cinched tight with a white belt, emphasizing the gentle curves of her blossoming waist. She had a flowery skirt that went about halfway down her thighs, pleated and flirty. Below, she was wearing a pair of white sandals that matched her belt. Her legs were beautifully proportioned, slim and tapering. It was hard, looking at her, to believe she was only sixteen years old, especially as she was wearing very sophisticated make-up on her small face, emphasizing her deep sea-blue eyes and full sensuous lips. She fidgeted before my glare, obviously unused to being treated so casually.

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “So you’ve decided to be judge and jury, have you? A grown woman would wait for an apology before making accusations.”

“I…” She paused, and had the grace to look down. Carrie’s surprised face showed a newfound respect for me.

“As it turns out, I had something that came up that required my immediate attention, so I apologize for being a little late.” She looked up and smiled tentatively. “However,” I went on, “I came here expecting to go on a date with a mature woman, not a child.”

“What?” Her head snapped up, and her eyes flashed fire at me. “How dare you?”

“I dare, Tara. And I will make a promise to you right now. I will treat you like a woman tonight, as long as you act like one. I will not tolerate this act of yours, that you are better than everybody else.” I held up my hand as she took a breath to break in. “And in return, you will promise to behave yourself, or else.”

“Or else what?” she asked defiantly, storms crossing her expression.

“Or else this. Every time you act like a snotty child, you will forfeit one piece of clothing to me.” Carrie took a sharp breath, her face suddenly flushed behind her daughter. Jeremy, likewise, gasped. But both parents were silent, even as Tara looked wildly from me to them for support. “And to make it clear that we’re not playing a child’s game, your belt and your sandals, or any other accessories, will not count as pieces of clothing.”

“Oh. My. God,” Tara blinked. “Are you serious? You can’t do that!”

“I have your parents’ go-ahead for this,” I said confidently. “You don’t hear them complaining, do you?”

“No way,” she said furiously. “There’s no way! I was so looking forward to going out on a real grown-up date, and you’re putting these stupid restrictions on me? I won’t have it!”

“Careful, Tara,” I said. “I made a promise to you, and if you accept it and behave yourself, there is no reason that we can’t have a lovely time tonight. I have a great evening planned for you. All you have to do is show how mature you can be.”

“I…” She paused and stared at me. God, she was so lovely, so perfect in her imperious assumption of her own perfection. It seemed a shame to break that, but I knew that with a little humility, she would truly come into her beauty. “All… all right,” she muttered.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” I said firmly.

“I said, all right, already,” she said a little shrilly. “I’ll go along with your little perverted scheme.”

“That’s your last outburst like that, young lady,” I said, unperturbed by her intent to keep control. “The next one will cost you. Shall we go?” I offered my arm to her. She pursed her lips in frustration at her inability to rile me, then sighed theatrically and put her hand on my arm.

“Have a good time, Tara, sweetie,” Carrie said.

“Curfew’s one o’clock, young man,” Jeremy said affably.

“Never you worry, Jeremy,” I said. “I’ll have her back in time.”

*****

I opened the car door for Tara, and she flounced in, spreading her skirt primly across her knees. She glared up at me, but I smiled blandly back at her and closed the door. She had such pretty pink cheeks when she was mad. I strolled around the car and got in next to her, not sparing her a glance.

As I pulled out of the driveway, I could hear her snort. “So, Mr. Garber. I’ve heard all kinds of things about you.”

“Careful, Tara,” I said. I looked straight ahead.

“Careful about what?” she smirked. “You know that Mel’s my best friend, right? Did you think whether what you’d done with her wouldn’t get back to me?”

“And exactly what did I do to her?” I asked calmly.

“You’re nothing but a big pervert, aren’t you, Mr. Garber? The kind of guy who likes to get off with younger girls, right? Your sick, you know.”

“Big words,” I said softly. “Are you sure you want to go there right now?”

“Why not?” she huffed, turning in her seat to face me. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Mel’s your age, isn’t she?”

“Uh, yeah? So what?”

I looked over at her. She flushed. “And did Mel tell you the whole story? Did you even listen to her?”

“I listened…”

“No. You’re going to listen now.” I pulled the car over to the side of the road and shut the engine off. She looked a little flustered. Her nipples looked more prominent. Was she turned on by this?

“Did Mel tell you that she enjoyed herself? Did she tell you that her family is doing much better since I helped them out?” I stared at my date, forcing my confidence in my moral superiority on her. She glanced down, upset at her inability to hold my gaze. “Do you know what, Tara? I think Mel’s more of a grown woman than you are. She not only teased me with her body, she was a true participant in everything that happened.”

“You’re just gross,” she whispered.

“No, I’m not. You are, for failing to see the love that entered Mel’s life. And because you’ve once again failed to show how mature you are, you have forfeited a piece of clothing.”

“Jesus,” she flared. Her angry eyes dared me to slap her across the cheek. I withheld, denying her the satisfaction. “You can’t force me to do anything, pervert,” she spat.

“No, but I can turn right around and drop you off at home, letting everybody see your humiliation that you couldn’t pull off a date with a grown man.”

I let her fume, stewing in her whirling thoughts. She sighed and rolled her eyes theatrically. She was stunningly beautiful.

“Fine, Mr. Pervert. You’re so smart. How am I going to give you a piece of clothing and still go to a respectable restaurant?”

“I thought you were smarter than that, yourself,” I laughed. “You can’t give me your skirt or your blouse, obviously. If you gave me your cami, it would be too obvious.”

“Oh. My.