"I think I can put on a dress, Mom," I told her, grinning to let her know I was teasing.
She laughed, didn't say anything further on it, and led the way to the kitchen.
The kitchen was huge. There was stainless steel everywhere. There was an island in the middle with a cook top and sink embedded in it and a large stainless steel and glass vent hood over the cook top. Attached to the wall on the right was a stainless steel, floor to ceiling set of shelves upon which sat pots and pans of every size and shape. There was a large freezer and a double oven. The wall to the left had a door behind which I learned was a large walk in pantry.
I stopped in the doorway, dumbstruck.
Victoria said, "I know, it can be a little intimidating. Wendy and I both love to cook and entertain, so when we bought this place, we gutted it to the exterior walls and rebuilt everything, including this kitchen. We designed the entire place for entertaining. The bedrooms are actually quite small, although the bathroom is quite nice."
Victoria explained the menu. "We have a couple of roast chickens that are ready to go into the oven. The chicken has a crushed rosemary rub. We'll make pureed parsnips to go with the chicken and seared asparagus as a side. And we need to prepare the salad."
She began pulling vegetables out of the refrigerator. "What are these?" I asked, holding a bunch of round, red vegetables by their stems.
"Beets." She paused. "You've never seen raw beets?"
"Dad doesn't like beets," I explained. "So Mom never prepares them. I guess I've seen them in the store. Are they good?"
"I love them. Some people don't." She grinned. "If you eat a lot of them, you get a colorful surprise when you use the restroom."
"Seriously?"
She nodded. "They're for the salad, but some people don't like them, so we'll leave them to add themselves. We're going to trim them, dice them fairly small, then sauté them slowly."
I looked through the other vegetables, finding some that looked like fat, white carrots. I held one up.
"Parsnip," she said. "It's another root vegetable. They're great with everything. You've never had one?" I shook my head.
She found a vegetable peeler and handed it to me. "Wash your hands," she said. "Then you can peel all of those just like you would a carrot." She paused. "You do know how to peel a carrot, don't you?"
"Yeah," I said. "But anything more complicated and I'm lost."
"Peel it into that sink -- it has a disposal." She indicated the sink in the center island. "Pay attention to the scent. Parsnips have a to-die-for scent."
She was right. The parsnips smelled wonderful. I peeled the batch then asked her what to do with them. She took them from me and trimmed off the ends, then set them aside.
"Can I try one?"
She trimmed a slice off one of them. "I'll caution you, they aren't very good raw." She handed me the slice and I tried eating it, but made a face. She handed me a napkin.
"See? But wait until they're cooked. Oh, they're very lovely then."
She set me to washing all the vegetables. She wouldn't let me handle a knife. "I'm particular about this, but if you keep coming early for dinners, I'll be happy to teach you anything you want to know. Didn't your mother teach you to cook?"
"Yeah," I said. "Sort of. I wasn't really interested before. I can bake cookies and toss in a pizza."
She tsked at me. "Your mother didn't do you any favors letting you make it to 19 and not knowing how to cook."
"That sounds suspiciously sexist," I told her.
She laughed. "If your brother were here, I'd tell him the same thing. Next time you're home, you need to start helping out in the kitchen."
"Yes, Mom," I said grinning at her.
"Damned right," she said. "You'll listen to Momma Victoria if you know what's good for you."
We assembled the salad together. "I like a vibrant table," Victoria said. "I try to bring in all the colors of a garden into my meals. Then you have something interesting to look at, too. Easy, simple and fun."
I swiped some of the vegetables from the salad. Victoria caught me doing it, tsked at me, then assembled a mini vegetable plate for me. She pushed that to me instead.
"Jeremy finds my cooking scandalous," she said as she began on the beats. "The three secrets to French cooking are all butter, butter, butter. Is that a problem, Skinny Girl?"
"I eat dorm food," I told her. "Pizzas. Cookies. I'll slurp a milk shake if one is offered to me. I keep my figure by working out obsessively. And thank you for noticing." I ate another carrot.
After cutting up the beets, she made me sauté them with olive oil and a tiny amount of onion. "Don't let them stick to the pan," she ordered, then was fiddling with the temperature the entire time I was cooking. When they were done, she set them aside to cool, but speared one with a fork, blew on it to cool it, then handed it to me. "If you don't like it, better to find out in front of me than in front of everyone else."
Wendy arrived about 4:30 just as we were finishing in the kitchen. "In here," Victoria called out to her. "We were just wrapping up and were going to change and get dressed."
Wendy came in, crossed the room to Victoria, then pulled her into a kiss. I looked away, embarrassed to intrude upon their privacy.
"Do we shock you?" Wendy asked me.
"No," I said slowly. "I've just never been around a lot of PDA, especially adult PDA. My folks don't even touch each other in front of Matt or I."
"That's sad," Wendy said. "People should feel free to express their love for each other." She let me think about it. "In case you're worried, there will probably be some hello and goodbye kisses between us and most of our guests, but we didn't invite you to an orgy or anything like that."
Victoria added to that. "Jeremy is going to take one look at you and treat you like his long lost sister though. Expect a hug. He's a total sweetie but can be a little surprising when you first meet him."
Victoria looked at the clock. "You can freshen up in the bathroom. Then we have a surprise for you."
I looked at her suspiciously, but she and Wendy started kissing again, so I retreated to the bathroom, fetching my cosmetics bag on the way. I cleaned up then did my face and arranged my hair.
When I exited the bathroom, the two of them were waiting to pounce.
"Present time!" Victoria announced, thrusting a box into my arms. It was wrapped in glittery white paper with a matching bow. "This is a coming out present," she said.
"But it comes with a condition," Wendy added. "You have to wear it tonight."
I tried shaking the box to figure out what it was then looked at them for a clue. They both just smiled at me while holding hands.
I delicately began to peel the paper off the box, but Victoria made a disgusted sound. "If you don't open that properly," she threatened, "I'm going to encourage Wendy to tease you terribly all evening long."
I tore the paper from the box and opened it. Nestled inside was the green brocade corset I'd tried on yesterday. There were stockings, undies, and underneath all that, the skirt that matched the corset.
I looked at the present in shock then at the two of them beaming at me.
"There are matching shoes waiting for you in the guest bedroom. We know you liked it," Wendy told me. "There's no way you're that good an actress."
"But it's too much," I protested.
"Pshaw," she replied. "You forget. We know the guy who makes them. We got a deal."
I laughed. "You want me to wear this tonight? You're making me the center of attention. I'm going to die of embarrassment."
"Even in this," Wendy said. "You won't be the most provocatively dressed. I know for a fact there will be at least two more corsets tonight. You're our youngest guest, and you have a great figure, but there are at least two women with more alluring figures than yours. Wearing this," she waved to the corset, "you'll fit in."
"Why did you have me bring the LBD?" I asked Victoria.
"Mostly for misdirection, partially in case yo
u chickened out."
I still wasn't convinced, which must have been apparent to Victoria and Wendy.
"Shane, honey," began Wendy. "Vic and I talked last night about you. We have the impression you intend to grab life by the horns, hop on, and not let go."
"You can approach life cautiously, and there's nothing wrong with that," Victoria said. "You can dip your toe in carefully and make sure the water feels good before slipping quietly into the water. That's the safe approach."
"It's also boring," Wendy said with a smirk. "So right now, you're standing next to the water, and you have a couple of lifeguards here. What are you going to do?"
I slowly put everything back in the box, caressing each piece as I did so. Then I picked up the box and said, "Thank you. I love it! Who is going to help me with it?"
"My turn!" Wendy said immediately. "Vic needs to go get dressed, anyway. Wendy took the box from my arms then grabbed my hand and led me to the room that turned out to be a guest room. I heard the other bedroom door open and close, so I knew Victoria was in the other room, presumably to get ready.
The room had a queen-sized bed with what appeared to be a homemade quilt on it. There was an old wooden dresser and a chair. There were pictures on the walls. Some were travel pictures, and I saw what I decided was a younger Victoria standing in some ruins that looked like they may have been in Rome or Athens.
Wendy set the box on the bed then pulled everything out and arranged it. She turned around and looked at me. "Well? We don't have all day." She tried to give me a stern look, but there was a twinkle in her eye. She sat down on the bed, watching me.
I decided it was time to get even for Wendy teasing me yesterday when we met. In for a penny and all that. I reached up and slowly began unbuttoning my blouse. I didn't have a clue how to make it look sexy, but I decided that as long as she knew I was doing my best to tease her, it would work.
I lowered my head like I were shy, then watched her through my lashes as I unbuttoned the blouse. I unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans equally slowly, then carefully pulled the blouse out from the inside of my jeans. I didn't take it off yet, but let it hang open in front.
Wendy looked like she was trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing, but she didn't take her eyes off of me.
I sat down in the chair, lifted a leg, and then slowly worked a sock off, taking my time. Once my foot was free, I pointed my toe for a moment then set that foot down and repeated the performance with the other foot.
I stood up and turned my back to Wendy, then shrugged my shoulders and let the blouse fall off and tumble to the floor. I took two steps back towards Wendy then looked over my shoulder at her. "Would you undo me?" I asked softly.
She reached up and unlatched my bra for me. I let the straps fall from my shoulders, and the bra fell to the floor, landing beside my blouse. I bent down, picked it up, folded it, and set it on the dresser. I then did the same with the blouse, arranging it neatly, but making sure Wendy saw me in profile. I turned away from her and slowly slithered out of my jeans. I stepped out of them, then bent down, picked them up, and folded them before they joined my bra and blouse on the dresser.
I turned to Wendy slowly, attempting to portray an innocent face, then hooked my fingers into the waistband of my panties and slid them down my legs. I let my hair fall over my eyes. I stood up, dangling my panties in one hand, then reached out a straight arm and let them fall into Wendy's lap. Her eyes followed them down as they fluttered into her lap, and she stared at them for a long moment before looking back at me. I watched her the entire time.
"You bitch," she told me, but she was smiling.
I pretended to ignore her, but simply reached my hands up and started to arrange my hair. The end result was that I stood straighter than ever with my chest thrust out right at Wendy's eye level. By now, I was starting to get carried away. It was fun knowing she was watching me. It was fun knowing I was successfully teasing her, probably in a way she hadn't been teased for a very long time.
So I stepped closer to her, said, "Excuse me," the brushed my body against her as I reached past her for the undies. I straightened up, then lifted one leg, pointed the toe, slipped the undies over my foot, then set my foot on her knee as I pulled the undies up. I slid my toes off her knee, then poked my other foot through and pulled them up to my waist, standing very close to her and wriggling a bit as I settled the undies into position.
I looked at her square in the eye, then said in a voice as close to hers as I could manage, "Vic, is she for me?"
She started laughing. "That was payback?"
I nodded. "Uh huh. How did I do?"
"I think I need a cold shower," she said still laughing. "I'd go jump Vic right now if we had the time." I laughed with her. "Do you think we could please finish getting you dressed so that I can go cool down before our guests arrive?"
She got up and helped me put on the corset. She was still chuckling. "You're not an innocent and naive as you appear."
"Whatever are you talking about?" I asked her. "I'm still a virgin."
"Seriously?"
I nodded. "I told you, I grew up in a conservative household. I wasn't allowed to date until I was 16, and then dates were very closely regulated. And as it turns out, guys don't seem to turn me on much anyway. Of course, there haven't been any girls, either."
We adjusted the corset, and I ran my hands over it again, feeling the texture of the cloth. Wendy began to cinch the laces for me. I stood up straight as the corset wrapped around my ribs and lifted my chest.
"Shane, dear," Wendy said as she worked. "Just remember. Paybacks are a bitch." Then she began really tugging on the laces, squeezing the breath out of me.
"Can't breath," I croaked. "Can't breath."
"Shallow breaths, dear," she said sweetly as she tied the knot. "Here, let me help you with the skirt."
She finished dressing me, even doing my stockings for me. She went to the closet and came back with a pair of black heels. They weren't the same pair that I'd worn yesterday. She showed them to me and they were absolutely lovely. Then she knelt down and I put a hand on her shoulder to steady myself as she slipped a shoe over my left foot, buckled it for me, then helped me with the right foot.
She stood up and made minute adjustments to all the clothing. The skirt wasn't exactly the one I wore yesterday. It rode higher, ending mid-calve. I could walk more comfortably in it or even dance, if I wanted to.
Wendy grabbed a brush and adjusted my hair for me.
"This is the most amazing color," she said as she adjusted my hair to fall over my shoulder, caressing the top of my right breast. Then she took my hand and drew me to stand in front of the mirror. "You look radiant, Shane."
"I still can't breath," I told her.
"Paybacks. Are. A. Bitch." She said, smiling at me.
"Victoria will loosen them for me," I told her.
"No she won't," Wendy said. "You're going to wear it just like that for the next 30 minutes until everyone has gotten their first impression of you. Then one of us will ask for your help in the kitchen, and we'll loosen the laces for you. In the meantime, take shallow breaths and don't pass out."
We exited the bedroom back into the living room. She looked at the clock and muttered, "Oh dear. I'm still not dressed, and I look a fright. Make yourself comfortable. Victoria and I shan't be long."
With that she disappeared into the other bedroom. I used the opportunity to prowl their home.
There were pictures everywhere. I hadn't really noticed them when we first came in. Some of them were of buildings or mountains, but most of them were photos of people. Victoria appeared frequently. Some of the photos were taken here at the apartment or in other domestic settings while others were clearly in more exotic locales. Wendy appeared occasionally as well, but it was clear that Wendy was the one behind the lens most of the time.
The photos in one corner of the room were devoted to the store. There was an arrangement of 7 photos. The middle was of V
ictoria and Wendy in front of the store, smiling widely, with Victoria about to cut the ribbon that was tied across the doorway. There was another photo of Victoria, Wendy, and a mountain of a man I didn't recognize. The remaining photos were fashion shots of some of their product lines.
I continued to prowl Victoria and Wendy's home, looking at all the photos and admiring the other artwork in the room. There were no paintings, but there were several colorful glass vases and bowls throughout the living room. They were very pretty.
Then I found a photo of a much younger Victoria. She was thinner than she was now, with a body far better than mine. I was looking at the photo and wondering what it would have been like to have met her back then when I heard their bedroom door open behind me. I turned around then opened my mouth in shock.
"You didn't think the old broads still had it, did you?" Victoria said, laughing.
They were both dressed to the nines in corsets, skirts, and little black hats. Wendy had a black scarf tied around her neck while Victoria was wearing a strand of pearls. They both wore gloves.
"These are from our steampunk collection," Wendy said. She laughed at my expression. "Looking sexy isn't just for kids you know."
"We told you there would be at least two more corsets tonight," Victoria said as I closed my mouth. "And that you would fit in."
"Is everyone going to be dressed like this?" I asked.
"No, not at all. Jeremy and Lawrence never wear corsets," Wendy said with a smirk.
"Are you sure?" Victoria asked playfully.
"Dominique is in a goth phase," said Wendy. "She'll be all in black, of course, and you'll be able to tell her mood the instant you see her. She might come in a goth grunge look, which means she's feeling pretty good, or she might come formal in her own corset. That means she hasn't gotten any in a while and is feeling bitchy."
"Is that really her name? Dominique?"
"I doubt it," said Wendy, "but it's the only name she answers to." She paused. "Roni will arrive promptly at 10 seconds after 6 and will have come straight from the office. In spite of working an 11-hour day, her makeup and hair will be perfect, but she'll be dressed in business attire. It's Friday, so that can be business casual, but probably not."
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