The Altercation Before Christmas

Mandi giggled. "He's in the bathroom. I think he's planning on some grand entrance for me, actually. Maybe I should tell him you're here..."

"No, don't," Darlene said. "It'll be more fun if he doesn't know." The shock now having passed, she took off her coat. "Let's get comfortable," she told the others. "We're not going anywhere." The others followed her lead and waited for Robbie's appearance.

They didn't have to wait long. Moments later a Tarzan-like yawp emanated from the kitchen, and Robbie bounded into the room, wearing crimson bikini briefs and nothing else. His bombastic yelp turned to a screech of embarrassment when he saw Darlene and her friends, and he grabbed up a blanket off the nearest chair to wrap himself in. "Jesus Christ, Darlene, ever hear of knocking?!"

"Ever hear of wearing clothes in the living room?" Darlene shot back, keeping her cool. "Anybody could have come in here."

"Right, like I was supposed to know you all would show up!" Still wrapped in the blanket and extremely little else, he added, "Do you mind?! The girls at least, can you turn around until I get some clothes on?"

"Oh, the irony!" Darlene laughed, and the others joined in; they all knew the story of Robbie spying on her in the shower.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Robbie asked.

"Yeah, why don't guys have a right to some privacy too?" Mandi asked; she was now perched uncomfortably on the couch.

"Mandi, there are some things my brother obviously hasn't told you about his past," Darlene said.

"Come on, that was an accident!" Robbie whined. "And I could tell her about your friends and their show on Halloween!"

"Go ahead and tell them," Darlene said.

"Yeah, we've got nothing to be ashamed of," Allie added.

Darlene turned to Mandi. "I'm afraid you're going to have to share your romantic getaway with the six of us, Mandi. We don't mind, but I'd watch my back if I were you as far as Robbie is concerned. He never did learn how to treat a lady."

"Bitches," Robbie mumbled under his breath as he retreated at last to the kitchen to put his clothes back on.

"Have you and Robbie staked out either of the bedrooms yet?" Darlene asked.

"No, I think he was planning on sleeping in the living room. Right by the fire. Alone with me," she added bitterly.

"Then you can have the living room." Turning back to her friends, she explained, "There are two bedrooms. A big one with a double bed, and a smaller one with two bunk beds. I had planned on some lucky couple getting the living room and the other two having one each of the bedrooms, but it looks like we've got to share now. I'm sorry. Now how do we decide who gets the master bedroom?"

"You and Neill take it," Allie said. "It is your cabin."

"It's our uncle's cabin," corrected Robbie, as he returned fully clothed into the living room. "And we were here first."

"Yes, but there are six of us and two of you, you little shit," Scott said. To Darlene's surprise -- and her admiration for Scott -- the threat worked. Robbie put his arm possessively around Mandi but did not argue the point any further.

"I agree with Allie," Sam said, looking at Rayma to find she also concurred. "You guys take the master bedroom, we'll take the smaller one. Why don't we go ahead and move the luggage in now?"

"That asshole must have overheard us talking about the cabin in the shower!" Darlene groused as soon as they were all outside again. "He probably took the bus up here this morning."

"I'm sorry, Darlene," Neill said.

"He still spies on you in the shower?" Allie asked, surprised.

Darlene smiled through her irritation. "I guess we haven't told you about that...Neill's frat house has a communal shower, and we often shower together there. Sometimes other guys join us, I don't mind since, you know, most of them have already seen me naked...it's kind of naughty fun, I guess."

"I'll say!" Rayma said. "Sounds really sweet, actually."

"It is," Neill said. "It's a real treat for us."

"You know," Allie said, "We could always treat Robbie in there to some of our intimacy. We know how well it worked on him last time, after all!"

"If we play our cards right, maybe we can have the cabin to ourselves for most of the weekend after all," Scott suggested.

"Oh, that's brilliant!" Rayma said. "If he wants a Christmas wonderland of love, let's give him one!"

All eyes were on Darlene now. She didn't need but a moment to think about it. "I'd rather just kick him out right now, but this sounds like much more fun, doesn't it?"

The hot tub was officially put on hold for the time being. With any luck, they concluded it might not even be necessary to run Robbie and Mandi off. In the event that it was, there was little doubt the delayed gratification would make the big event all the more enjoyable. Instead, after moving their suitcases indoors while Robbie and Mandi tried their best to ignore them, it was deemed the perfect time for sledding. "We have a stash of old lunch trays from the country club," Darlene explained to the others, who were by then gathered around the fire in the living room, making sure to deprive Robbie and Mandi of any privacy. "They're perfect for the kind of snow you get here. Mandi, want to join us?"

Robbie attempted to decline for both of them, but Mandi was having none of that. "I love sledding!" she said, jumping up. "Come on, Robbie, let's join them!"

"But...Mandi, you know, if they're out there, we'll have the living room to ourselves again!"

"That's a class act, Robbie, announcing it in front of us all," Sam teased.

"Like you don't know what we were about to do when you came in!" Robbie protested.

"What we were about to do if I had let you!" Mandi reminded him. "I never told you I was ready for that!"

Darlene couldn't help grinning. It couldn't have worked out better thus far if they had choreographed the whole thing.

"Fine, go out then!" Robbie grumbled. "Maybe I'll fill up the hot tub for when you get back inside."

"Thank you, Robbie, that'd be lovely!" Allie said. "We were thinking about that nice hot water all the way up here."

"Not for you! For us!"

"Robbie, that's rude!" Mandi protested. "They have as much right to it as we do! Besides, the more the merrier." Turning to the others, she added, "I hope you all don't mind, I'm a bit chubby for my bikini since it's winter. But it's the only suit I've got."

"We don't mind at all," Rayma reassured her, managing to keep a straight face. The poor thing obviously had no idea that she would be the only one among them wearing a suit at all.

Robbie, who had seen their show at Halloween, did not need long to figure that out. "Hey, wait a minute!" he said just as they were filing out through the kitchen to the back door. But they got Mandi outside a moment too late for Robbie to spill the beans, and they all shared a silent laugh at his expense as Darlene fished out the lunch trays from under the porch.

The hill just beyond Darlene's uncle's property was untouched as of yet, since the local kids were still in school for another hour or so. And so after a few rough plows through the fluffy virgin snow, they soon had it packed and slick. No one bothered about the time as they enjoyed ride after ride down the hill, and Mandi got to know the others bit by bit on the climbs back up the hill. She proved to be a nice young lady, clearly unaware that Robbie had only invited her to the cabin in order to meddle in their plans for enjoying the Christmas season together, and it seemed a shame to them all that things might get unpleasant later on. But war must have its casualties, and it was just as well that she saw Robbie's true colors sooner rather than later.

The first clue of the time appeared when a few local teenagers joined them on the slopes. Though they welcomed the newcomers to join them, it did put an end to the intimacy that had held sway up to that point. Neill was the first one to say what they were all thinking by then, when he finished his last climb and found Allie, Rayma and Sam sitting in the snow, making no move to join the queue for the next ride. "Ready to go in?"

"And how!" Rayma agreed, standing up to brush the snow off her jeans. "My pants must be soaked, but I can barely even tell!"

"I know!" Allie said. "Guys?"

All the guys were ready as well, but Darlene and Mandi wanted one last run. On finishing it, they joined the others at the top of the hill and bid the local kids good afternoon, before trudging through the still-deep snow back to the cabin. "I could use that dip in the hot tub now!" Mandi said. "What do you all think?"

"I'm all for it, but first things first," Darlene said. "Cocoa!"

"God, yes!" Scott said so enthusiastically that Allie had to wonder for a moment if he even wanted to join them in the hot tub. He was always a bit shyer than the rest of them about these things. But she held her tongue -- hot chocolate did sound good.

They found Robbie sacked out on the couch and the fire dying down. Rayma and Sam set about gathering more wood to rebuild the fire, while Allie fired up the kitchen stove and Darlene went looking for the cocoa in the pantry. Mandi, standing off to the side, looked surprised. "God, you all work so well together," she finally said.

"It's not so unusual when you get older," Allie told her. "And when you realize there are guys out there who will do their share of the work now."

"Robbie isn't one of them," Mandi said sadly.

"We know," Sam deadpanned, and the others all stifled a laugh.

Once the water was set to boil, it was time to fill the hot tub. "This way it'll be full and hot by the time we're ready for it," Darlene explained. "Come on, Neill, I'll show you how to set it up." The hot tub was in a tiny room behind the kitchen, and for all the rustic nature of the rest of the cabin, her uncle had sprung for the most modern of technology when it came to that room. "We set it to heat here," she explained, punching a few buttons, "And the water will start flowing in automatically once it's hot. We just need to keep an eye on it that it doesn't overflow, the computer does the rest."

When they returned, Mandi was gone. "She went in the bathroom to change her clothes," Allie explained. "Speaking of which, I'm dying to get out of these wet jeans myself."

"Think it'll be too big of a shock for her if we all just take our pants off now?" Scott asked, surprising all the others.

"Probably, but isn't that kind of the point?" Rayma asked. Without further ado, she unbuttoned her jeans and peeled them down her cold legs. "Ah, that dry air feels wonderful already," she said as she struggled to kick the wet denim off her bare feet. On that promising recommendation, the others all followed suit; soon they were all pantless and trying not to laugh about the situation. "It's probably best that we ease her into this," Rayma said. "I volunteer."

She stepped out to the living room, where the fire was now roaring again, and stood a few feet before it, facing away. As her panties were damp from sitting in the snow outside, she rolled up her sweater to expose them completely to the fire, also putting herself on display for anyone who came through the living room. As usual, her huge, thick bush -- bigger even than Allie's and Darlene's -- was making its presence known through the thin fabric of her floral-print panties, as well as peeking out on both sides; her treasure trail snaked upwards from the waistband to her navel, and she made no attempt to hide anything.

Mandi emerged shortly after, in sweats and a t-shirt. She jumped a bit and averted her eyes when she saw Rayma. "Sorry!" she said.

"It's okay, Mandi," Rayma said with a smile that wasn't forced at all; she had learned to love putting herself on display as Allie was so good at doing. "Nothing like a fire for warming up after all, and my jeans were too wet to let that happen."

Now that she understood it was okay, Mandi's eyes were drawn to Rayma's barely-concealed pussy like a moth to a flame. "Wow, you're...very secure in yourself," she said. "I like that."

"We're all friends here," Rayma reassured her. "And we're all fairly free spirited, too. Nothing to be ashamed of."

At some point, the chitchat had awoken Robbie, and now he sat up and focused. Upon seeing Rayma and her state of undress, he jumped up and averted his eyes. "Christ, not again with that! Darlene, is this what you wanted?!"

"Is what what I wanted?" Darlene asked innocently, emerging from the kitchen also in her panties, which naturally drove Robbie into further fits of disgust.

"Well, who are we kidding, Darlene, of course it is!" Rayma said. "Nothing about a nice safe romantic weekend with our loved ones just before Christmas -- it's all about him!"

"It always is, isn't it?" Darlene asked.

"Sick!" Robbie grunted, turning away to look at the wall.

"Robbie!" Mandi, of course, was no longer shocked to see Darlene and the others were "dressed" like Rayma. "That's horrible! So they're comfortable in their underwear, why should you care?"

"Why indeed?" asked Scott, bringing a cup of the now-ready cocoa to Rayma. He had a second one in his hand which he offered to Mandi, who accepted. "Wow, you're right, Rayma, this does feel great!"

"Just what we were all imagining on the trip up here," Allie agreed, carrying in a tray with the remaining mugs. Soon they were all settled around the fire, except for Robbie, who stood seething at the front window. With a triumphant glance at him, Allie continued. "Well, I propose a toast. Before we all take off for spending Christmas with our families and pretending to enjoy it, here's to peace and goodwill with the company we really do enjoy!"

A chorus of "Hear hear!" followed, and they enjoyed their cocoa in easy silence -- until Mandi tried again to coax Robbie back to the fire. "Robbie, stop being such a baby! Come join us already!"

"No thanks," he mumbled.

"Let him be, Mandi," Darlene said. "When my brother's having a good sulk, it's no use trying to talk him out of it."

"Fuck you, Darlene!" Robbie snapped. "Who asked you?"

"I'm sorry," Mandi said to all the others. "I think he's just frustrated because he was expecting us to have the cabin to ourselves. Of course, he invited me up here back on Tuesday, so I guess there was plenty of time to check and see if you had plans here too, Darlene."

The others all exchanged silent looks. So Robbie had arranged this just to spoil their getaway! But no one responded to Mandi; it wasn't her fault, after all.

"The hot tub ought to be ready by now," Darlene said a few awkwardly quiet minutes later. Standing up, she gulped down the last of her cocoa and was off to check.

"Shall we all change into our bathing attire, then?" Sam asked, unable to hide his smirk as he said it.

"Oh, I've got mine on underneath," Mandi said. She pulled her t-shirt and sweats off to reveal a cute red bikini.

"We all do, too," Allie quipped, and on that note the five of them all began removing their remaining clothes. "I hope you don't mind, Mandi, but the three of us won't be wearing bikinis," she continued.

"That's right, we're the I-can't-wear-a-bikini club," said Rayma added, tossing her sweater aside and presenting her back to Sam for him to undo her bra.

"And the men who love them!" added Scott, who had all his clothes off by then. He put an arm affectionately around Allie, who was also nude.

Mandi stood, bewildered, at the center of the circle of bare flesh, her discomfort turning slowly to pleasure as she admired the taboo beauty before her. Between Rayma's comment and the view of her and Allie's big bushes, she suddenly put two and two together. "Oh my God, you're the gals who put on that show at Halloween, aren't you? At Robbie's frat house?"

"That would be us, all right," Allie confirmed. With a last glance at Robbie, who was staring ragefully out at the front yard, she and Scott turned and headed into the kitchen; all the others followed. "Do I even want to know what he had to say about the show?"

"Well, no," Mandi admitted. "But I thought it sounded awesome! All of you putting on a show of the natural look -- that takes guts! And I thought maybe it would make some guys open their eyes to natural beauty."

"It did, with me," Neill said.

Darlene greeted them in the tub's little room, having also undressed. "I see we haven't scared you off, Mandi," she said with a smile. "Welcome."

"Thanks," Mandi said. "Listen, do you all want me to get naked too? I could, if you want..."

"Up to you," Scott said.

"We're fine if you do and fine if you don't," Rayma agreed.

"Okay, thanks," Mandi said, and she kept her bikini on. As they all settled comfortably into the hot water, Mandi was overcome with curiosity. "So...if you don't mind my asking, how did you all find each other? I mean, it's not something you learn easily about even your closest friends, after all."

After they all shared a good-natured laugh, Allie explained. "It began with a friend of mine from high school who used to give me a hard time about being hairier than she was. She hassled me about it one time too many and I decided to embrace it rather than fight it. And, I came to really love it, and to find there were plenty of men out there who did as well." At this, she gave Scott's leg an affectionate squeeze.

"And Allie and I 'discovered' one another playing water polo at the pool," Darlene continued. "That's the one place where people like us can spot one another, I suppose."

Then it was Rayma's turn. "I happened to be out for coffee with them one afternoon when we overheard a guy from Robbie's fraternity mouthing off about a woman he'd been out with who wasn't shaved, and he wasn't too happy about it. All three of us were pretty offended -- and Scott and Sam, too -- and one thing led to another."

"And that's how the Halloween show happened?" Mandi asked. "You planned it all to get back at Robbie's frat brother?"

"Not just him," Darlene said. "You see, Mandi, Robbie has a pretty ugly history with me too."

"Shut up!" came a voice from the door, and they all turned to see Robbie standing in the doorway, still fully clothed. "Don't listen to her, Mandi! I love my sister. She just can't take a joke, is all."

"A joke, Robbie?!" Darlene was livid, but knowing she was among her dearest friends and Robbie was on his own helped her keep her cool. "Mandi, your boyfriend here spied on me in the shower and then teased me about what a hairy, ugly freak of nature I was."

"It was a joke!" Robbie insisted. "Brotherly affection, that's all! Besides, Mandi, she didn't tell you what she did to me afterward!"

"That's right, I didn't," Darlene confirmed. "I asked him repeatedly to knock it off, but that only encouraged him. So I gave him a black eye."

"Would've been my move, too, Robbie," Mandi said. "That's no way to treat your sister!"

"And putting on a strip show for my fraternity is the way to treat your brother?"

"We were just doing what they hired us to do, dear," Allie reminded him.

"And some of us liked it," Neill added. "A lot!" On that note he turned and kissed Darlene passionately.

"Wonderful," Robbie muttered. "But look, it's Christmas. Can't we forgive and forget?"

"You're the one who's acting like such a baby," Rayma pointed out. "You're welcome to join us if you can get over yourself. But you've been acting totally revolted ever since we came in from sledding."

"Right, just because I don't like hairy freak shows, I'm the problem here." Robbie was so frustrated he punched the door.

"Don't be silly, dear," Darlene said. "You only came here in the first place to muck up our plans. You overheard me inviting Neill up that day in the shower. Just what is it with you never leaving me alone in the shower anyway?!"