Change of Heart

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It involves elements of questionable consent. All characters are at the legal age of 18 or older.

*

"That one is cute," a teenaged girl mused. She was lounging on her deck chair next to her friend, and she was surveying the vast beach in front of her. In particular, she was keeping an eye out for attractive guys. It was just another average day.

The air was hot and salty. Fresh ocean waves continued to crash into the shore just a few feet away from where she was seated. It was a crowded area, and there were plenty of men walking around shirtless and in plain view.

"Oh! That one is a cutie too," she added when her leering gaze spotted another victim.

"Ahh, come on, Sophia! You're not going to approach any of them anyway," her friend answered bluntly. "You are too much of a chicken. Besides, what happened to your last boyfriend?" the curious girl added. "Weren't you together for a few months? That's a record for you."

"H-hey," the flustered teenager replied. "There's no need to call me out like that, have some mercy. Mercy!" Her smile grew wider, and she couldn't help but laugh at her friend's brutal honesty. "But, yeah, I guess so. It didn't become anything serious so we broke up. I'm more concerned about preparing for college. That's in just a few weeks anyway. We are adults now, so we have to do the responsible thing, right? Who knows... maybe then I'll take my time to get into a proper relationship."

"Proper relationship?" her friend asked. "Wait, so you didn't even get to third base with the guys you've been dating? You really never had sex? Christ, I can barely even imagine..." the girl added. She took a quick look around, and once more felt herself dumbfounded at Sophia's decision to try and stay pure. Their coastal city was a paradise for anyone with a progressive and open mind. Parties, festivals, debauchery, there was always something to enjoy. It was a city ripe with opportunities.

"Well, you know. One step at a time," Sophia replied. She leaned back into her beach chair and allowed herself to relax with the warm sun caressing her skin.

"Speaking of guys," her friend interrupted, "whatever happened to the weirdo your mother began dating? You said that he was up to no good, I guess your mother ditched him by now?"

Sophia inhaled sharply and grimaced. It was such an awkward topic for her. It happened a few months ago that her mother came home with an exhilarated and giddy expression. She could barely wait to tell her daughter the news that she had found someone special, after years of being a single parent.

The initial introduction even managed to sound intriguing. His name was Jacob, and she had met him on the internet at first. He lived somewhere in the southern part of the States. It was some old and regressive city somewhere in the Bible Belt.

Of course, Sophia was under the impression that he had to be out of place there. Surely it was only a coincidence he lived there. After all, why else would he be interested in her mother? It was only after he visited for the first time, that she realized how unpleasant he was. His personality clashed with everything Sophia grew up with.

He had showed up with his traveling bags, and immediately asserted himself by commenting on the state of the house, how he would prefer for the living room to be rearranged, and what he wanted for dinner. Sophia hated him immediately. He was strict, religious in the worst ways, and considered women to be property instead of human. It was surreal.

Sophia's mother however grew fond of his strange charms. He was outspoken, always said whatever was on his mind, and there was never any uncertainty. He was a man who knew exactly what he wanted. These days, it was apparently rare to find someone who always spoke the truth instead of sugarcoating everything.

Those two were a match for the strangest reasons.

"That guy? He recently moved in with us," Sophia reluctantly told her friend. "Can you believe it? He just packed his things, drove countless miles, and now lives with us. Worst of all, each and every night when he's alone with my mother in the bedroom, I have to listen to-"she interrupted herself and uttered a disgruntled sigh. "Yeah.... anyway, how about we get outta here? The sun is getting a little too intense for me."

"Uh...sure."

The two of them gathered their things, and Sophia briefly reached up to gather her wavy blonde hair into a tight ponytail. The topic that came up wasn't a pleasant one, but she was honest with her reason for wanting to leave. She had only a light tan, and didn't want to risk losing too much of her complexion. It wasn't because of pride or anything, she simply enjoyed taking things in moderation. It was healthier that way.

She was wearing a bikini when going to the beach for the very same reason. She didn't mind others seeing that she had freckles. It was just another natural part of her. Anyone who would take a second look at her, would also notice that she was slim and athletic -- a result of years spent in the cheerleading squad of her school. As far as she was concerned, all of this was a badge of honor. It was a sign that life was whatever you made of it. Hard work and effort could lead to any desired outcome.

Even if it meant that she had no time for relationships.

The two girls eventually left the beach as planned, and walked back towards the city. Their little journey always took them past multiple food stalls that were scattered along the busy road, so it was a particular delight. There was always a distinct smell of freshly cooked sea food all around. It was something that Sophia never grew tired of. Shrimps, fish, squids... there were as many local delicacies as there were stars in the sky.

She could feel her mouth watering and belly grumbling.

It only took a little longer before they reached the residential area of the city, and Sophia bid her friend goodbye. She could barely wait to get back home and grab a snack.

When she finally unlocked the front door and stepped inside, though, she was met by her mother's disgruntled boyfriend who was passing through the hallway.

"You?" he mumbled grumpily. "What have you been up to, where did you go? It's the weekend. There's no school," he pointed out. "You should've been home to help your mom around the house before she left." He stopped walking towards the living room and instead paused, turned to face Sophia properly, and then took an unpleasantly long moment to eye her up and down.

"And what's with that get-up, were you seriously going around in public like that, dressed in your underwear? How am I supposed to protect you, if you go walking around like that?"

"It's a bikini, and it's...you know what, it's none of your business, that's what it is," she hissed back at him. He was such a controlling, compulsive asshole sometimes.

It was especially offending to her because he was slouching around in a wife beater shirt and sweat pants. That wasn't stylish or impressive, either. He didn't care about what he was wearing, or what he looked like, but still dared to set unrealistic expectations for her. She could feel her cheeks flushing red in frustration and anger, and her heartrate peaked. His only excuse was that wherever he grew up, it wasn't near the coast, so he must have never seen ladies walk around in their beachwear.

Sophia had never been great at dealing with confrontations. When she was younger, it was a huge problem for her. She simply wasn't the type to actively seek out or engage in unnecessary discussions. Which made it all the more difficult for her to deal with someone so bluntly arrogant and overbearing.

"You say that it's a bikini," he repeated after her. "And that makes it better that I can almost see your bare tits?" He took a few steps towards her and slowly reached up to her chest with one hand. "I could snatch that string and pull it to the side, and your breasts would be out in the open just like that. Maybe the outfit isn't so bad after all," he mused with a wicked smile. It was hard to tell if he was joking, or seriously contemplating it.

Sophia took a step back regardless. Jacob was leering at her like a hungry animal, despite the fact that he was calling her outfit too revealing. It was so hypocritical, really. Not only did he scold her for wearing something revealing, but then he still took full advantage and got a good long look at her. He made no attempt to hide that he was attracted to her, or at least obsessed with her body.

He always did that. Even when she told her mother about how he was constantly teasing her or being uncomfortably flirty, her mother would just dismiss it. She would always just say that any healthy male would do the same, and how those perverted gazes should be taken as a compliment. In other words, it wasn't Jacob's fault that he was staring at the teenager, it was Sophia's fault for being attractive.

"I'll never understand what my mother likes about you. Really, what the hell," she said while crossing her arms under her chest. She had met plenty of guys who weren't beacons of chivalry by any means, but Jacob didn't even attempt to be gentle or caring. The brute continued to stare at her before he eventually spoke up again.

"You'll figure it out some day. Maybe when you stop being immature."

"Immature!?"

"Yeah."

She could feel her blood practically boiling, while he continued to have the same smug expression as before. It took her a moment to gather her composure. This was such a silly exchange. It wasn't worth her time, she reminded herself.

"Fine, whatever." Sophia turned away and walked off towards the kitchen. Fortunately he made no attempt to chase after her. Over the course of the next few minutes, she angrily prepared a sandwich with as many ingredients as she could get her hands on. Her eyes were narrowed, her blood pumping, and if the sandwich had any feelings then it would've been intimidated by the teenager's anger. She had no doubt about that.

When she was done, she put it on a plate and took it upstairs. Her feet were stomping on the ground with every step, until she finally arrived by her bedroom.

It was a pleasant sight. She had never bothered to redecorate it. Everything within it was a culmination of her entire life, and all the things she cared about or cherished at some point. There were even some stuffed animals here and there, which she didn't have the heart to part ways with.

The walls were painted purple, and she had multiple lamps in the room, so the room's shade was mostly a soft violet. Her bed was centered on the other side of the entrance, with multiple days' worth of old laundry scattered around it. Two large windows were behind it, with fancy yellow drapes. Similar yellow drapes were attached to the walls of the room, all around, making her bedroom feel so much more warm and welcoming.

There wasn't particularly much space to freely walk around. On one side of the room she had her old makeup table with a bunch of drawers. It was made of plain wood, painted white, and looked vintage. On the other side of the room, she had her little computer setup, with a small table for her flat screen and it was also where she did most of her studying.

She entered her room, and nudged an old shirt out of the way that was lying in her path.

When she finally closed and locked the door behind herself, she was immediately at ease. It was a little crazy, she thought, but she could feel her muscles relax as soon as the lock clicked. This was her personal space, her private area, a place where she could simply be herself.

Sophia approached her desk, put the plate with her food down, and powered up her computer. She took a couple bites of her sandwich while it was booting up, and then continued snacking away while checking her emails and favorite websites.

Her friends were online, too. "Hmmm," she purred thoughtfully. It would be fun to play games with them. It would be a great way to pass the next few hours. It would easily keep her busy until her mother came home and it was time for dinner, she figured.

"Yeah," she mumbled to herself. She took another bite out of her snack, before putting the half-eaten sandwich back on the plate.

Her fingers danced across the keyboard as she typed a message to one of her friends. However, just before she was about to press enter, there was a knock on her door.

"Mom?"

That was a surprise for sure. Sophia didn't expect her mother to return home for a couple more hours. She rushed to unlock the door and open it.

It wasn't who she hoped for, though.

"Far from it, but you can start calling me dad, if you want," a deep voice answered her. It was Jacob once again, her mother's annoying boyfriend. She had really hoped that she had gotten rid of him, at least for a little while. The only saving grace to his comment was that her mother didn't announce any plans for them to get married yet. He was still a long time away from becoming her stepfather. As such, she wasn't going to call him dad anytime soon.

His gaze had immediately gone past her to have a look at her bedroom. It was a rare opportunity for him to check it out, since she was always so quick to lock the door behind herself.

"Hell no," she replied feistily. Her fingers reached for the edge of the door and she began trying to close it again, but he simply kept his hand on the doorknob and stepped inside.

He silently continued to look around, and inspected every corner of her bedroom.

"It's a mess in here. You're never going to grow up if you live like this -- like a girl -- instead of like a woman," he commented.

"Like a woman?" Sophia could barely even figure out what he was talking about. His way of thinking was so backwards. Did he believe these were medieval times, and that she was a fragile princess? If that were the case, he would probably lock her up in a tower, just like another piece of property. Even Rapunzel didn't have to deal with this kind of garbage. "I am a woman, so stop treating me like a child."

"Sure... I will play along with that for a minute." He turned towards the door again, and reached for the doorknob. Instead of stepping out and leaving the room however -- as Sophia assumed -- he simply grabbed the key that was lodged in the knob. It slid right out, and he snatched it up and put it in his pocket. "There. If you're so convinced about yourself, then you don't need to lock your door all the time. If you're a grown-up, stop being shy about whatever you're doing in here."

"But! Hey, give that back!" she insisted as she leaned in to try and reach into his pockets. He simply grabbed her wrist and held it firm. It was hard to believe how much stronger he was. Sophia had been physically active for years, nearly every hobby she had involved some sort of exercise. The cheerleading and swimming alone should have helped her to be decently strong. However, for some reason, Jacob was still in complete control of her wrist. She had never noticed how strong an average guy could be.

He loosened his grip, and she pulled her hand free. It was a weird realization that the only reason she could move freely again, was because he decided for it to be that way.

"You lost the key for less than a minute, and you're already so eager to get it back? What's with your obsession with privacy? You know, there's plenty of women who grow up without even a second of privacy," he pointed out.

His words didn't have any effect on Sophia. This wasn't about other women, it was about her.

"You would be a lot more fun if you were more like your mother. Why are you so upset all the time? Does that really make you feel better? You could just do what you're told. Leave the worrying up to the man of the house, me."

"What? That's so..." Sophia struggled to find the right words for it. "That's so backwards, were you born a hundred years ago?"

"You're quick to judge, but did you actually try it? Just surrender the control to someone else for a moment and see how it feels."

"I'm not surrendering anything."

The two of them stared at each other for a few long moments, and neither of them seemed interested in the other's opinion. Of course, neither of them had much of a reason to rethink their views. Jacob grew up with his outdated mindset, while Sophia grew up to be independent.

As far as their experiences and opinions were concerned, these two pretty much grew up in two completely different worlds.

"Fine, if you want to be a stubborn girl..." he said as he reached into his pocket and retrieved the little silver key. "Show me that you're not as shy and immature as I think you are, prove to me that you can be a woman, and I'll give you the key back."

She contemplated his words and gave him a suspicious glare. It was her key. It was stupid that she had to work to get it back.

"How?"

"You can have it back. However, first I want you to take off those clothes," he said. "Underwear, bikini, whatever you want to call it. Show me that you're fine with being naked in front of a man."

"What? No! That's gross," she hissed back at him.

"Nudity is gross?" He simply looked back at her with an increasingly confident expression, as if he was certain he had just proved his point. She had played right into his hands. He didn't even hesitate to put the key back into his pocket.

"You know what I mean!" Sophia's eyes opened wide as she watched him so casually react to her response. "You know exactly what I mean." She had hoped that he would feel guilty for even suggesting it, or that he would finally realize he was acting like a pervert. But, of course, now she remembered that this was normal to him.

She felt completely fed up with the situation, and actually began to consider his request. If he tried anything weird or funny, she knew that she could just tell her mother. It would be the perfect excuse to get him kicked out of the house for good. It would cost her some dignity, but it would save her sanity in the long run, she figured.

She reached around to her back, to unclasp her bikini top, but hesitated. This was such an embarrassing idea. She grimaced and nervously fidgeted around while trying to decide if this was really a good idea.

Considering how condescending he acted, though, the decision suddenly became much easier. He seemed absolutely sure of himself. Sophia was eager to see his face after she proved him wrong.

There was a brief click, and just like that, she undid the clasp of her bikini top and allowed it to fall to the ground. Her perky breasts came into view, a good handful, and they were noticeably paler than the rest of her body. It was easy to tell she didn't remove it while tanning. Her nipples were a youthful shade of pink, and blending sexily with the milky white of her skin.

"Those are fantastic tits," Jacob said. He didn't even try to make it sound like a flattering or subtle statement. "Go on, one more piece to go."

Sophia hesitated once again. It would be a huge deal to take off her panties in front of him. Even her previous boyfriends never got to see her private parts -- they were called private parts for a reason after all.

On the other hand, it wasn't unlikely that Jacob would see her nude sooner or later anyway. Whenever she took a shower, or a bath, there was always the risk that she may accidentally run into him. It was one of the many downsides of him living in the same house as her. It was also all the more reason for her to do whatever it took to try and get rid of him. "Yeah," she thought to herself. "As soon as he oversteps these boundaries, even my mother will understand he's a bad person."

The nervous teenager began to reach down, and slid her thumbs underneath the waistband of her bikini panties. She then started to pull them down, while still contemplating if this was the right idea. The thin fabric continued to cling to her crotch until the very last moment, but finally yielded to gravity once she dragged the waistband down to her thighs.