My Niece Janelle ~ Chapter III

by Daddy's Little Slut~Muffin

What the hell was I going to do?

I had no choice in this. I had promised that I'd call Sara's mother and ask if she could spend the night here with Janelle and I. I had also promised Janelle that even if Sara couldn't come, she could still come and spend the night with me.

Rock and a hard place? You'd better believe it.

For the first time I could remember, I didn't trust myself.

That's a scary feeling, particularly when you don't trust yourself because of some newly realized feelings about a little girl who spends a great deal of time in your presence.

I couldn't face this right now. I needed to call Sara's mother, and then I needed to pick up either both of the girls, or Janelle. I couldn't, and I wouldn't, break a promise to Janelle. I would have to put on a brave face, and prepare myself to spend the day and night with at least one, possibly two little girls. If I needed to suppress my feelings, I could do that.

I'd face those feelings, try to sort them out and decipher just what the hell they meant tomorrow, when I was alone.

Ellie and Nellie still seemed to be accusing me from their terrariums.

When you can anthropomorphize two snakes to the point where you think they're not only aware of your thoughts, but taking the time to make their own opinion of you known, you're suffering from some major guilt.

Oh, yeah. Guilt. I was awash in guilt and shame over these newly discovered feelings.

I took a deep sip of my now cooling coffee, then went to my office. I looked up the Davidson's phone number again, picked up the phone, and dialed. A gruff male voice answered.

"H'lo?"

"Hello," I said, as pleasantly as I could. "Could I speak to Colleen, please?"

"Who the hell is this?" came the response.

Okay, then. Nice phone manners. I truly hoped that he wouldn't piss me off. I wasn't in the mood to be pissed off. Particularly by a male. Be nice, Meagan, I admonished myself.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I chirped. "My name is Meagan Bristol. My niece, Janelle, is a friend of Sara's. Sara came to Janelle's birthday party yesterday. I'm the one who brought Sara home. I just wanted to talk to Sara's Mom for a..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," growled the voice, cutting me off in mid-sentence. "I don't need yer life story, fer Chrissake. A name'll do. What'd ya say it was?"

"Meagan Bristol," I said, fighting to control my temper.

"Wait a minute," he snapped.

The phone thunked down on a table or a desk or something. Maybe the floor, for all I knew.

Well, fuck you very much, too, I thought. Asshole...

I heard him bellowing distantly.

"Colleen!! Get the fuck in here! There's some bitch named Bristol wants you on the phone."

Bitch? I thought. Keep that attitude up, and I'll teach you a whole new meaning for the word.

Okay, so I am a bitch. I own it, I've already said that. But the only person besides me who gets to actually call me a bitch is Kate. No one else gets away with it. Call me a dyke, call me queer, you can even call me a cunt if you're pissed off at me.

But don't ever call me a bitch.

I grated my teeth for a moment, then tried to calm myself when I heard someone fumbling with the phone. Colleen Davidson's timid voice came into my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Colleen," I said. "It's Meagan Bristol, Janelle's aunt. I'm sorry to call so early."

"Oh, that's alright," she said. "I've been up for a while."

"Oh, good," I said. "The reason I'm calling is, on our way to bring Sara home yesterday, I kind of invited both girls to come to my house for a sleepover. Janelle would love it if Sara can come. They'd spend the afternoon and evening with me, we can have a girl's pizza party, they'll spend the night, and I can take them both to school tomorrow. Would that be okay? I know it's kind of short notice, and I apologize. But Janelle would love it if Sara could come."

"Uhmm... Well, I suppose that's okay," she said. "What time would you need her there?"

"Oh, don't worry about getting her here. I'm picking Janelle up at about ten this morning, and we can head from there right out to your place and pick her up."

"Oh, well, sure. That will be fine then." She sounded relieved that I'd pick Sara up.

"Oh, thank you!" I said. "Janelle will be thrilled. She really likes Sara."

I did some quick mental calculations.

"Let's plan on Janelle and I being there to pick Sara up at about ten-thirty? Will that be okay?"

"That's fine," she said listlessly.

"Perfect!" I said. "Tell Sara to be sure to bring pajamas or a nightgown, and some clothes for school tomorrow. Her school books, too. We'll be going straight from my house to school in the morning."

"Okay. Thank you," she said.

"Thank you, Colleen," I said. "Janelle really does like Sara. I think they're going to be good friends."

"That would be nice," she answered wistfully. "Sara doesn't have too many friends. None, really."

"Oh, yes she does," I said. "She has at least one. Janelle."

She almost laughed, I think. Then it was gone.

"Okay, then," she said. "Sara will be ready at about ten-thirty. We'll watch for you."

"That's great," I said. "I'll see you in a little while. 'Bye, now."

"Goodbye," she said.

I turned off the phone, then dialed Kate's house. Janelle answered. I heard her shouting as she picked up the phone.

"It's Aunt Meagan," she shrieked out. "I got it!"

"Hi, Aunt Meagan," she said cheerfully.

"Hiya, Sweetie," I said. "How're you this morning?"

"I'm good!" she chirped.

"Well then," I said, "I just got off the phone with Sara's Mom, and as soon as I pick you up, we're going to go and pick Sara up, too. After that, it's Girl Power for the rest of the day, and a sleepover at my house tonight."

"Awesome!! What time are you picking me up?"

"I'll be there at about ten o'clock. Are you all packed already?"

"Yup! I have my pajamas and school clothes ready, and I have my schoolbooks, too. I have three backpacks of stuff!"

I rolled my eyes. Janelle may be mostly tomboy, but when it comes to packing for an outing, she's all female. She packs enough to go on a one night sleepover to last most people a week. I laughed.

"Okay, then, Sweetie," I said. "I'm going to get showered and dressed, and then I'll be on my way. Let your Mom and Dad know, okay?"

"I will. See ya in a while, Aunt Meagan. 'Bye!"

I was smiling when I hung up the phone. To my horror, I was also feeling aroused at knowing she'd be with me for the day, and overnight. Not all out horny, but definitely aroused.

"Fuck me," I muttered.

Scratch that. The last thing I needed to be thinking about right now was being fucked. That just wouldn't do at all.

I went into the living room, picked up my now ice cold coffee, and glanced at the two terrariums again.

"Stop looking at me like that, will you please?" I said to Ellie and Nellie. "I promise, I'll be good."

They looked as though they didn't believe me. Smart snakes. I wasn't sure if I believed me, either.

My shower was an exercise in futility. What? Oh, no, I got clean. But it was interesting, to say the least. And frightening.

I didn't want to masturbate. Well, okay, let me rephrase that. I was afraid to masturbate, because I didn't want to know where my thoughts might go if I did. I got ready for my shower quickly, and decided that I'd avoid using my hands on myself. I have this wonderful natural loofah scrubber on a long wooden handle. It's an absolute necessity for exfoliating. Anyway, I thought that if I used just the loofah, and didn't use my hands anywhere on my body, I might make it out of the shower without masturbating.

Yeah, yeah. I know it was stupid, but I was grasping at straws. You've never grasped at straws before?

Anyway, I got into the shower with the best of intentions. I soaked down the loofah, squirted body wash all over it, and started scrubbing.

Once again, so much for good intentions.

If you're a female, and you've never had the experience of using a loofah to masturbate in the shower, I'm here to give you my official endorsement. You have to be careful, because they can be kind of rough, but it's worth the risk.

As soon as the damned thing scraped across my nipples, I knew I'd lost the battle. Okay, so it wasn't really a battle, it was more of a small skirmish. No? Alright then, I'd already raised the white flag before the enemy even came into sight. Are you happy now?

I pulled the loofah away from my nipples, and scrubbed down my back, then my arms, then my belly, then my legs and my still rather nicely shaped butt. Unfortunately, I'm not the kind of person who can leave unwashed body parts. The loofah was going to have to head between my legs eventually.

Might as well get it over with, I thought.

I parted my legs, and brought the loofah down across my mons, intending to be quick about this. Yeah, right. The best laid plans, and all that.

I gasped as the rough loofah scraped over the sensitive skin of my pussy. God, that's good! I thought. Yeppers, it sure was. Too good. That thing wasn't going to leave my genitals until I'd come. I knew it. You know it. What can I say?

I tried. I mean, I really, really tried. I conjured up images of a past girlfriend whom I'd been particularly in lust with almost constantly. I created a fictional woman in my mind, complete with enormous breasts and a thick dark thatch of pubic hair. For some reason, I thought the breasts and the pubic hair seemed important today.

They may have been important, but they failed utterly.

In the back of my mind, I heard Janelle's high-pitched little voice.

"I love you, Aunt Meagan...

My labia parted as if they had a mind of their own. The loofah scraped over my clit, and I shuddered, moaning loudly. It wasn't a wordless moan, either.

"Oh, Janelle, Baby..."

I had to grab the handle of the shower door to stay on my feet as the orgasm hit. I shuddered hard, feeling a warm gush of fluid run down my legs from my pussy. I clamped my legs together, locking the loofah in place, rocking it slightly as I ground myself into it. A second wave hit me.

"I love you, Aunt Meagan. Do it, please... Do it for me, Aunt Meagan..."

As the waves subsided, I pulled the loofah from between my legs, panting heavily.

Meagan Bristol, you are truly one sick, fucked up little bitch, I thought disgustedly.

Well, yeah. I guess that's the truth. Especially in light of... Well, we'll get there. Just be patient, okay?

Muttering to myself, calling myself some very choice names, I got out of the shower and dried off quickly. I moisturized, brushed out my hair, decided to forgo the makeup, and went to get dressed.

Let's see. Jeans, or jeans? Uhm... Jeans, I think.

I pulled on a pair of panties, followed them up with some old and comfy jeans, and pulled a red tee-shirt over my head. I skipped the bra, since it was just me and the two kids today. My decision to go braless had nothing to do with the fact that Janelle would be able to see my nipples poking through the material of the shirt.

Honest. It didn't.

I shoved my feet into a pair of old sneakers, and I was pretty much ready to go. I looked at the clock. It was nine-thirty. I still had a few minutes before I had to leave. I did my daily shutdown and reboot of the computer, checked my email, and then went and filled my huge travel mug with coffee. I walked into the living room again.

Ellie and Nellie were looking at me as if to say, "We know what you did. And we know what you were thinking, too."

"Come on, you two," I said. "Knock it off, please? I'm really trying here."

The look on their faces screamed, "Liar!"

Let me explain something about snakes. They care very little for what's going on around them, unless they feel threatened or they're hungry. If you have a snake that was raised in captivity, it's accustomed to humans. If your snake thinks about you at all, it most likely considers you to be some sort of a strange tree or something. In other words, they really aren't emotional creatures. They're nothing like a cat or a dog in that sense.

Today, though, I was seriously considering writing a paper on the topic of the emotional response of snakes to twisted, sick individuals whom they come into contact with. Ellie and Nellie were still regarding me with looks of stark accusation on their faces.

Talk about laying a guilt trip on yourself.

"Okay, here's the plan," I said to them. "Janelle and Sara will be here for the rest of the day and overnight. You two can keep an eye on things, and make sure that I don't get out of line. Deal?"

"We're way ahead of you," they seemed to saying. "We've got our eyes on you."

Good. That was taken care of. The snakes would be guarding Janelle. I felt better.

Have I mentioned to you that I'm a strange person? No? Well, I am.

I locked up the house, backed the Chevy out of the garage, and headed to my sister's house to pick up Janelle. Kate met me at the door, grinning.

"I hope you're ready for this," she said. "She's hyperactive this morning."

I hope I'm ready for it, too, I thought. I didn't say it, though. I would have had to explain myself. I wasn't ready for that.

"She'll be fine," I said. "I love having her over, you know that."

"And she loves visiting you," she replied.

Suddenly, Janelle came bouncing through the door, one backpack slung over her shoulder, lugging two more in her hands. She was wearing cut-off denim shorts that showed off almost all of her legs. I mean, these were short-shorts. Above it, she wore a little midriff pullover top that left her belly exposed. White sneakers and ankle socks completed the outfit.

God help me, I thought.

"Hi, Aunt Meagan!"

"Hi, Sweetie! You need some help with those?"

She grinned, nodding. I took one of the backpacks from her hands.

"Give me a kiss goodbye, Honey," said Kate. Janelle turned her face up to her mother, who stooped to smack her on the lips.

"I'll pick you up at Aunt Meagan's after work tomorrow, okay? You have fun. Oh! Did you close your bedroom door? I don't want to have to see that creature."

Kate shot me a look. I blinked my innocence.

That's me. Little Ms. Innocent. Right. Janelle rolled her eyes, grabbing my hand.

"Yes, Mom, I closed my bedroom door," she said sarcastically.

I smirked at Kate. She stuck her tongue out at me.

"Bye, Honey. See you tomorrow," Kate called as Janelle dragged me my Chevy.

"Bye, Mom. Love you!"

"I love you too," Kate yelled.

I opened the rear hatch so we could stow Janelle's backpacks. She got into the front seat with me for the trip to Sara's house.

I was acutely aware of her slender little thighs sitting on the seat next to me.

Stop it, Meagan. Ellie and Nellie will kill you and eat you.

"I hope Sara likes pizza," Janelle said.

"Who doesn't like pizza?" I replied.

"Ellie and Nellie?"

I laughed, and Janelle gave me one of her signature smiles. I melted. It was going to be a very long day and night.

When we pulled into the Davidson's driveway, the door opened, and little Sara stepped onto the porch with a backpack on her shoulders, carrying a rather oversized duffel bag. The duffel bag was bigger than her. My god, I thought, she's as bad as Janelle! Her outfit was a close match for Janelle's; tight, very short shorts, sneakers, and a tank top. I suddenly found myself looking at her a bit differently.

Jesus fucking-A Christ, Meagan! Knock it off!

Colleen Davidson was standing in the doorway, watching Sara head down the steps. I had a sudden thought, grabbed my purse, got out, and went up on the porch.

"Hi, Colleen," I said. "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you," she said with a wan smile.

"I'm going to give you my address and phone number," I said, "just in case something comes up and you need to get in touch, or if you just want to check on Sara."

Colleen nodded listlessly.

I wrote the information down on a slip of paper and handed it to her. Over her shoulder, I could see a man I assumed to be the Davidson patriarch sitting in a recliner in the living room, watching television. There was a half empty bottle of vodka on the table next to him, the cap off, a glass about a third full of clear liquid next to it. He was wearing old jeans and a greyish, badly stained wife-beater tee-shirt. The wife-beater seemed to fit his personality.

Geez! It wasn't even quite ten-thirty in the morning yet, and he was already into the vodka. How attractive is that?

Janelle had gotten out and was helping Sara carry her things to the Chevy. They stuffed everything in the back with Janelle's things, and then climbed into the back seat. I saw them buckling their seatbelts. I turned back to Colleen.

"Well, then," I said, "I'll drop Sara off at school with Janelle in the morning. And don't worry, she's in safe hands for the night.

I sincerely hoped that was a truthful statement.

Colleen gave me that ghost of a smile again, and nodded.

"That's fine, then," she said. "Could you try to make sure she remembers to bring everything with her when she leaves? Sometimes she forgets things."

I laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure everything is packed back up before they leave in the morning," I said.

She nodded.

"Thank you again," she said. "It's nice to see Sara finally making friends with someone."

I smiled.

"I'm just the go-between," I said. "Janelle is the one making friends with her."

She smiled back, a genuine smile this time, I think.

"Sara really likes her, too," she said.

"Good! Let's hope they become the best of friends."

"Have fun with them," she said. "Tell Sara her father will be here when she gets home from school tomorrow."

"I will," I said. "Bye, now."

"Goodbye."

She stepped backwards a step, and the door closed slowly.

There was no way I was going to remind Sara that the supreme asshole was going to be waiting for her. I'm sure that she was already more than aware of that fact.

I got into the Chevy and started the engine. The two girls were chattering away in the backseat. Sara was very animated today. Janelle has that effect. You can't help but be happy when she's around.

I glanced in the rearview.

"Okay, Sistahs!" I exclaimed. "What's the plan for today?"

The two heads came together for a moment, then I heard a loud cry, in unison.

"PIZZA!"

I laughed.

"That's it? Pizza? That's your grand plan for the day?"

Janelle shrugged.

"We'll figure it out, Aunt Meagan. Do you think it would be okay if Sara can hold Ellie and Nellie for a minute?"

I grinned.

"If she wants to, sure. They haven't been fed recently, so they'll be fine with being held."

Snakes don't appreciate being handled when they've recently been fed. It takes them a while to digest their food, and handling them is uncomfortable for them when they've just had a snack.

Sara's mouth formed a little "O" shape.

"You really mean it?" she piped. "You'd let me hold them?"

"Of course! As long as you're careful of them, you can hold them. Janelle handles them a lot."

Her face lit up.

"Oh, cool!"

"Wait'll you see 'em, Sara," said Janelle. "They're way bigger than Meagan is. Aunt Meagan's had them for a long time, and they're pretty big. They're so pretty, too."

Sara grinned.

"My Mom would faint if she ever saw me holdin' a snake," she said.

"Sweetie, a lot of people feel that way. Janelle's Mom is having a hard time with her snake being in the house right now, too."

"Why are people so scared of them?" she asked.

I looked in the rearview again.

"Janelle, you want to explain that to Sara?"

Janelle nodded.

"People are scared of 'em cuz they don't understand 'em," she said. "Most snakes aren't poison, but lots of people think they all are. 'N snakes that you get as pets were never wild snakes, they were born to be pets. Besides, they're really cool if people would just try ta understand 'em."

I was smiling in the front seat at this explanation. It was as good as any, I guess, between two nine-year-olds.

"I used ta be scared ta death of 'em," she continued. "But Aunt Meagan taught me about 'em, and now I really love her two snakes, and mine, too!"

Sara was listening in rapt attention as the "expert" expounded on the virtues of snakes.

"Wild snakes are good ta have around, cuz they eat things like mice and rats and bugs and stuff. Pet snakes don't do that, at least not if ya keep 'em in a terrarium. I guess if ya let 'em free in your house they would. But I don't think my Mom would like that very much."

That was worthy of being a finalist in the Understatement of the Millennium Contest.

By now we were pulling into my driveway. I drove into the garage, and the girls flew out of the Chevy, ran around to the back and began digging out their belongings. I unlocked the door, and we all stomped into my kitchen. Four backpacks and an oversized duffel bag wound up in the middle of the floor. Janelle was dragging Sara through the room by one hand.

"C'mon, Sara, you gotta see Ellie and Nellie!"

I shook my head, smiling, and followed them to the living room. Ellie and Nellie stared at me.

Have you been behaving yourself, Meagan? they seemed to be asking.

Bite me, I thought.

We don't bite, you know that. But we could choke the life out of you.

Guilt-ridden? Me? Please...

Sara was cooing softly as she took in my two snakes. I've had Ellie for almost twelve years, Nellie for about ten. They're both fully mature snakes, which means that their growth has slowed significantly. They're both about seven feet long, and weigh about sixty pounds. When Janelle handles them, she's always sitting on the floor. They're too heavy for her to pick them up and carry around. Sara looked up at me as I entered the room.

"They're huge!" she exclaimed.

I grinned.

"Yeah, they're fully grown," I said. "Do you like them?"

She nodded vigorously.

"They're awesome!"

"Later on, I'll take them out and you can handle them," I said. "If you want to, that is."

"Oh, yeah!" Sara replied. "That'd be cool!"

"Okay, you two. What are we doing tonight?" I asked. "I mean, Janelle, what do you want to do for sleeping arrangements? Do you and Sara want the guest room? Or do you want to camp out on the floor in here tonight?"

"Aren't you gonna sleep with us, Aunt Meagan?" she asked. "It's a sleep-over party, ya know. We should all sleep together."

I was afraid of that. Damage control? Yeah, right. Good luck.

"Okay," I said, "then where do you want us to sleep? On the floor in the living room, or where?"

"Can't we all just sleep in your bed?" She turned to Sara. "She has the biggest you've ever seen in your life!"

Great. So much for damage control.

Ellie and Nellie gazed at me. We're watching you...

I forced a smile.

"Okay then, my room it is," I said. "Let's get your things upstairs, and then we can figure out what we're doing for the rest of the day."

We collected up the mountain of luggage and carried it up the stairs to my room. Sara was impressed by my playground-sized bed, and she thought the mirrored walls were "really cool." I was thanking whatever deity was responsible for the fact that I'd never installed a ceiling mirror. Try explaining that to a nine-year-old girl.

Why do I have a mirror on the ceiling? Oh, I'm just so pretty, I like to fall asleep looking at myself.

"Aunt Meagan, are we gonna go anyplace today?"

"I don't know, Sweetie, why?"

"Cuz if we're not," she said, "then we don't have to stay dressed. We can put on PJs or sweats or something."

Yeah, it was going to be a long day and night.

"Well," I said, "I don't know. Do you two want to do anything special, or do you want to just hang out and watch movies and do silly girl stuff?"

The two of them looked at each other for a moment.

"Movies and girl stuff!" shrieked Janelle.

"Yeah, movies and girl stuff!" Sara joined in, the two of them jumping up and down.

I laughed.

"Well, you two are easy to please," I said. "Okay, movies and girl stuff it is."

Two backpacks were thrown to a corner of the room. From the sound of it, they were both filled with school books. Sara opened her duffel bag, and Janelle was ripping into one of her other backpacks. Little girl clothing started to fly about the room as they rummaged around looking for something suitable to change into. I just shook my head. Clean up was going to be fun, trying to sort out who owned what.

Almost before I knew it, I was in the presence of two little nine-year-old girls wearing nothing but panties and socks. They were both sorting through tee-shirts, searching out which they wanted to wear.

Dear God. Be still, my beating heart, I thought.

Fortunately for me, my back was facing the corner of the room where the two mirrored walls come together. I say fortunately because if I'd been looking at the mirrors, I would have been looking at multiple images of them. One of each was enough, thank you. More than that, I couldn't handle right now.

Janelle had her back to me, which gave the fast-growing pervert in me a chance to gaze at her cute little panty-clad bubble-butt for a few moments. I had to tear my eyes away, or risk being caught staring at that delicious sight.

Can you see how quickly I had descended into utter depravity?

Sara had already pulled a mid-thigh length tee-shirt over her head. I was grateful. The length would keep any flashing of her panties to a minimum. Janelle, on the other hand, had chosen a tee-shirt that fell only to the tops of her thighs, barely covering her pert little ass.

I was doomed.

Janelle spun around and looked at me.

"Well? Aren't you gonna wear something comfy, too, Aunt Meagan?"

I mentally shook myself and smiled.

"Yup, I am," I said.

I kicked off my sneakers, then shucked out of my jeans and pulled my shirt off. I was a cutely aware of the two little girls standing there, watching me change. Being aware of that, it seemed that I just couldn't help myself. I slowed my movements. I wanted to parade around half naked for them for a few moments. I went to my dresser to find an oversized tee-shirt. Exhibitionist that I am, I bent at the waist and dug through my drawer for a few moments, knowing that my ass was being displayed to them.

I could hear Ellie and Nellie from the living room.

We're watching you...

I straightened up from the drawer and turned around, shaking out the tee-shirt. I raised my arms and let it fall over me, hoping, but not daring to look, that the girls had been looking at my breasts.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Shut up, okay? I've already told you it was bugging the hell out of me, even though I couldn't seem to stop myself.

I need to clarify something here.

I was aware of Sara, and of the way that she was dressed. Acutely aware. But the source of my discomfort was Janelle. I wasn't harboring any fantasies of a Sapphic orgy involving both little girls.

I was grateful that I wasn't alone with Janelle. I was harboring fantasies of her.

"Okay, you two," I said. "Why don't you go down and find a movie you want to watch, and I'll go make some popcorn. Sound good?"

It must have sounded good, because the two girls disappeared almost in a blink.

I have a fairly extensive collection of DVDs. A good portion of them are kids movies. Having Janelle around a lot gives me a good excuse to have them.

Yes, I like Disney movies. Sue me.

When I had finished making popcorn, which took a few minutes since I make the real kind, done in a pot on the stove and slathered with butter and salt, I returned to the living room to find that we weren't watching a Disney movie after all. Close enough, though. The girls had put chosen "Madgaascar." I could live with that choice. Chris Rock as the annoying Marty the Zebra never fails to delight me.

I handed each girl a couple of paper towels, and put the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. They sat on the floor between the couch and the coffee table, while I sat on the couch, one girl on either side of my feet. I put three cans of ginger ale on the table.

There was little discussion through the movie. When it was over, I was left with two little girls whose faces and hands were smeared with melted butter, so I herded them into the kitchen for a wipe down. That finished, we returned to the living room, and began the next feature, which of course was "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa."

As the movie was loading, Sara noticed that Janelle's toenails were painted to match her fingernails.

"You got painted toenails, too? That's cool!"

Janelle grinned.

"I was 'posed ta wear sandals yesterday for my party, but then I talked my Mom inta lettin' me wear the leather outfit insteada the dress 'n sandals she wanted me ta wear. Aunt Meagan painted 'em for me. Want yours painted, too? I bet she'd paint 'em for ya if ya do."

My services were being volunteered. Goody.

Janelle had turned to face me.

"Wouldn't'cha, Aunt Meagan?"

I nodded.

"If Sara wants me to, sure," I said.

Sara's grin told me that she wanted me to.

I gathered the necessary items together, and sat down cross-legged on the living room floor. Sara sat in font of me, grinning. I began to repeat the process that I had gone through with Janelle a couple of days ago. Sara seemed to share Janelle's propensity for having squirmingly ticklish feet. Getting cotton balls inserted between her toes took a few minutes.

Her toenails finished, I asked Sara if she'd like me to paint her fingernails as well. She grinned and nodded her head vigorously.

Meagan Bristol's Nail Salon. I couldn't remember the last time that I'd painted my own nails, prior to preparing for Janelle's birthday party.

I told her that we'd let her toenails dry completely first, then we could do her fingernails.

The afternoon went on that way. As suppertime came closer and closer, I asked Sara what she likes on pizza. Cheese and pepperoni. Of course.

"No shmushrooms?" Janelle asked incredulously.

Sara shook her head vigorously.

"Mushrooms're gross!" she proclaimed.

Three small pizzas, then. One with pepperoni and mushrooms, one with pepperoni only, and one with everything, including the kitchen sink. The cheese, of course, goes without mentioning. The girls began squealing with disgust when they heard me specify extra anchovies on mine.

Several hours later, after Sara had experienced her first close encounter with a couple of snakes, I told the girls that it was time to think about getting ready for bed.

"You two have school tomorrow," I reminded them, "so you need to take showers or baths. Which do you want?"

They decided they wanted to shower. They further decided that it was just as easy to take one together. I herded them up the stairs to my bedroom where they each pulled out clean panties, then headed to the bathroom. The two tee-shirts hit the floor along the way. The socks followed them. In the bathroom, two pairs of worn panties wound up in a small heap in the corner.

I turned on the shower, doing my best to avoid looking at either girl any more than necessary.

The two of them climbed into the shower. I heard some squealing for a moment, then Janelle piped up.

"Aren't you gonna take a shower, too, Aunt Meagan?"

I froze.

"Uhmm, it's okay, Sweetie. I can take mine when you and Sara are finished."

"But why?" she asked. "There's room for all of us."

She was right. My shower is roomy.

Watch your step, I heard Ellie and Nellie say from the living room.

Half of me wanted to avoid that shower at all costs. That part, the sensible part, wanted to run into the bedroom and hide until the girls were finished. That part lost the argument.

With shaking hands, I pulled my tee-shirt over my head, then shoved my panties down, stepping out of them.

"Okay, coming in," I said, as I opened the shower door.

Two drenched little girls were waiting for me, their hair slicked back and streaming water down over their little butts. The water made their little bodies gleam in the fluorescent light of the bathroom. They were both grinning widely at me. I was glad for the water. It would have been awkward trying to explain the wetness growing between my thighs without the water to camouflage it.

After a couple of minutes, Sara looked at me quite seriously.

"How come you don't have hardly any hair down there?" she asked curiously.

"Uhmm... Well, because I shave most of it off," I said.

For some reason, I felt mildly embarrassed.

Janelle was staring at my pussy openly, curiosity showing plainly on her face. I wondered if she had just never noticed before, or if she'd been reluctant to ask about it. She must not have really noticed. She wouldn't have hesitated to ask.

"How come?" Sara asked.

I just feels so much nicer when I touch myself, or when someone else touches me, without the hair there? Yeah, sure. I'll bet her parents would appreciate that explanation.

"I just don't like to have a lot of hair on my body," I replied. "Hair is for men."

"My mom has hair all over hers," Sara responded.

"Well, I would too, if I didn't shave it off."

"Doesn't it hurt ta shave it?" she asked.

"No," I smiled. "Shaving it doesn't hurt."

They were both still staring openly at my crotch.

Be careful what you wish for, Meagan. You wanted to show off your body for them earlier. Looks like you got your wish.

"Besides," I said. "I think it's prettier without all that hair there."

Both girls looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"But nobody ever sees it," said Janelle. "Who cares what it looks like?"

"I see it," I replied. "Besides, you two are seeing it right now, too."

"That's different," said Janelle. "We're taking a shower."

Time to end this conversation.

"Okay, cut it out, you guys! You're embarrassing me! I just don't like all that hair down there, okay?"

They were both still looking at me as if I'd lost my mind. Suddenly, Janelle handed me the soap.

"Do our backs, Aunt Meagan?"

I took the soap with shaking hands. As they turned, I closed my eyes for a moment. Give me strength, please, I begged silently.

I grabbed a washcloth from the bar on the inside of the shower door. That'll work! If I use a washcloth, I won't feel their soft, smooth skin under my fingers. I lathered up the washcloth, and began to scrub Janelle's back. Yeah, sure. The washcloth was effective. As I started to scrub lower, onto the swell of her little ass, my eyes were riveted to the swelling globes. So cute, so perfectly formed...

Stop it, Meagan!

I quickly finished with Janelle's back, then turned to Sara. I started at her shoulders, and worked my way down. I gasped.

At the small of her back, just above her pelvic bone, there was a dark, purplish bruise. It was a rounded rectangular shape. I stared at it for a moment, slowing down my scrubbing, trying to figure out what it looked like. Then it dawned on me. I closed my fist for a moment and looked at it.

The bruise was a perfect imprint of a fist. Sara had been punched in the kidney. Hard. The bruise was much bigger than my own closed fist. Whoever had hit her had big hands.

I felt anger bubbling up inside of myself. No, that's a lie.

I felt rage starting to boil over.

I forced myself to stay calm as I continued to wash her tiny little back. When I finished, being careful to avoid what looked like a very painful bruise, I kept my voice neutral.

"What happened to your back, Sara?"

"Huh?" She hesitated. "Oh... Uh, I fell."

"Ouch," I said. "That must have hurt. It looks like it still does."

Janelle was now looking at Sara's back, too.

"It hurt at first," she said. "But it's not so bad now."

"How'd you fall?" I asked her.

"I, uh... I tripped going up the steps on the porch," she said.

Which would have caused you to fall face forward, I thought, the rage continuing to build.

I decided to stop questioning her. It was obviously making her nervous. I'd sort out what to do next after I thought about it.

"Well, you be more careful from now, silly!" I told her.

She had turned to face me again, now. She smiled nervously at me and nodded.

"I will," she said. "Sometimes I'm clumsy. That's what my Dad says."

Clumsy. Yeah, sure. So clumsy of you, Sara, running into his fist like that. You need to learn to be more careful of that.

We looked each other in the eye for a moment. I knew. She knew that I knew. She looked away.

I tried to bring back the light mood for them.

"Come on, you two! Wash your hair, and then let's get out of here and have cookies and milk in bed!"

Delighted squeals came back at me with that statement. The three of us got our hair washed, rinsed and conditioned, and got out of the shower. We dried off, the two girls put their clean panties on, I put my tee-shirt back on, then they followed me to the bedroom. They got their tee-shirts again, I got a clean pair of panties on, and we all crawled onto the bed. How to do this?

"Janelle," I said, "why don't you turn on the TV and find something we can watch in bed?"

I turned to look at Sara, smiling.

"Sara, would you help me get cookies and milk for all of us?"

She grinned and scrambled off of the bed.

I tossed Janelle the remote control for the small bedroom television, and Sara and I went to the kitchen for snacks.

When we got to the kitchen, I took the cookie jar from the counter and put it on the table, then got a large plate and put it on the table next to the cookies.

"Just put a big pile of them on there, Sweetie," I said.

I poured three glasses of milk, then put the carton back in the refrigerator. I turned then, and sat at the table. I took Sara's right hand, looking into her eyes.

"Sara, I'm not going to try and make you tell me anything that you don't want to tell me," I said. "But you and I both know that you didn't hurt your back falling on your porch steps."

I looked straight into her eyes.

"Someone hit you," I said simply. Her gaze fell to the floor. I held onto her hand.

"I'm not going to push you, Sweetie," I said. "But if you ever need anything, if you ever need help, or if you ever just need someone to talk to, all you have to do is ask me, okay?"

Sara's head moved in a brief nod.

I wasn't sure how she'd take it, but I did it anyway. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her, careful to avoid her lower back. She smelled sweet and clean, freshly showered. What she said next made me freeze, catching my breath.

"Sometimes I'm bad."

When I could breathe again, I still held her in that hug.

"I don't believe that, Sara," I said.

She nodded slowly.

"Yes, I am," she said. "My Dad gets mad at me sometimes cuz I'm bad."

I pulled away from her, putting my hands on her shoulders and looking directly into her eyes.

"Sara, listen to me, okay?" I said. "I don't care what you might do to make your Dad angry with you. No one deserves to be hit. No one, not for any reason. Do you understand me? It doesn't matter what you might do. No one has any right to hurt you."

She didn't look like she believed me. I didn't want to push it too far. I'd gotten her to feel comfortable enough to start to talk to me. I'd let her decide if and when she wanted to say more.

"Come on," I said. "Janelle must be wondering why we're taking so long to bring her a snack."

She smiled wanly and nodded.

I handed her two glasses of milk, and picked up the plate of cookies and my own glass of milk. We headed back up to the bedroom together.

The upside? There were two, actually. Ellie and Nellie were no longer nagging at me in my brain, for one thing. And I was no longer fighting my feelings of lust at being so close to two barely dressed little girls. Lust was the last thing on my mind right now.

Okay, let's clarify that. Sexual lust was gone. There was still lust there.

This was more on the order of bloodlust, though. I welcomed it.

Less than an hour later, the two girls were sleeping soundly. I turned the volume down on the television, but left it turned on. Then I padded out to the hall and went to my office. I picked up the phone and called Kate. After I'd apologized for calling late, I explained everything that had happened. She was silent for a moment when I'd finished.

"Jesus fucking Christ," she said quietly.

"Jesus has nothing to do with this, Kate," I said.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know," I said. "You know how Social Services works in this state. They'll investigate, he'll cry and say he's sorry, the family will be put back together, and then he'll be twice as hard on her after they stop breathing down his neck. I don't even want to think about what Sara's mother must have to deal with."

"No shit," she said. "So now what?"

"Honestly, I don't know," I said. "But I do know that Sara is going to be asked to spend as much time as possible with Janelle. That way, she'll have more time away from him. The two of them can hang out here after school. At least that gives her a few extra hours every day."

"But that still doesn't solve anything," she said quietly.

"No, it doesn't," I said. "Let me think on this for a little bit."

There was a tiny seed of an idea beginning to sprout in my mind.

"I, uhmm... Well, I know a few people who might be able to give me some help, or at least an idea or two," I said quietly.

"Like who?"

"Well, like Michelle for one."

"The cop? I thought you two weren't seeing each other anymore."

"Not romantically. But we're still friends. And she'll keep her mouth shut if I ask her to."

"Well, it's a place to start, I guess," she said.

"Yeppers. And I'm going to have Sara call her mother in the morning. See if it's okay for Sara to come and hang out with Janelle here after school."

"Okay, sounds like a plan." She was quiet for a moment.

"We have to do something, Meagan."

"Yes, we do," I replied. "I'm not going to let that fucker keep hurting her. She's nine years old, for Chrissake. I'll put a bullet in his head myself, if I have to."

Kate was quiet for a moment.

"Don't do anything stupid, Meagan, please," she said. "I know it's hard to think about her having to be in that situation for one more second. But you won't solve anything if you get into trouble trying to help her."

I sighed. My little sister, the voice of fucking reason. She was right, though.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "I know. I'll be good, I promise."

"Uhm, Meagan? You are being good. You're trying to help a little girl. What I'm saying is that you need to be patient, no matter how hard that might be."

I hate it when Kate is right.

"I know. Listen, I'm going to get off here, and give Michelle a call. I want to try to figure out my next step here."

"Okay, Hon," she said. "Keep me posted, okay?"

"I will," I said. "Night."

"Night, big sister."

I hung up the phone and stood, pacing back and forth in the office for a few moments. I went to the kitchen, and poured myself a short shot of whiskey, tossed it back, and decided to bite the bullet.

Michelle is an ex-girlfriend. We had a brief, but extremely intense relationship. The problem was that we're too much alike in personality. We both tend to be dominating people. The struggle for power destroyed any chance there might have been for a long-term relationship between us. When we parted, though, we stayed friends, though it was a rather uneasy friendship. Too much history together, you know?

But regardless of our personal history, Michelle is a good person. She truly cares about people, which is her main motivation for being a cop. That whole "To Protect and Serve" mentality that has become a caricature of the average cop is something that she truly believes and lives. She'd be able to offer a sounding board for me, if nothing else. And because this involved a little girl being harmed, she'd be every bit as passionate about it as I was feeling right now.

I returned to my office and picked up the phone, dialing Michelle's cell number from memory. She answered immediately.

"Meagan?"

"Michelle, hi," I said. I skipped the preliminaries, and got right to it. "Listen, I've got a problem, and I need some advice."

"What's up?" she said.

"Are you on duty?" I asked.

"Nope. Just signed out."

I breathed a sigh of relief. That meant she wouldn't be called away unexpectedly.

I spilled the whole thing, from the first time that I'd met Sara, to my conversation with her in the kitchen earlier tonight. I didn't leave anything out, with one exception. I didn't specify Sara's last name. Not yet. I wanted to see what Michelle would advise me first. If she went all law enforcement, I'd hold back on the name. Somehow, I knew that "official channels" would probably do more harm than good with this situation.

When I'd finished, Michelle was silent for a moment.

"Son of a bitch," she breathed.

"Yeah," I said. "Michelle, this bruise on her back... That fucker punched her hard. Right in the fucking kidney, for Chrissake."

I heard her suck in a deep breath.

"Don't tell me who he is," she said. "If I know, I'll have to do something official."

"Okay," I said.

Good. She wasn't going to be the cop for this. I needed her to not be the cop right now.

"Listen," she said, "is there any way you can get a picture of her back? I mean, without scaring her into shutting down or something?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, if all else fails," she said, "and it has to go into the system, you're going to want documentation of any injuries."

I thought for a moment.

"Uhmm... I could set up my laptop in the bedroom, and try to maneuver her into position so that the webcam gets a shot of her back," I said.

"High res cam?" she asked.

"Please, Michelle," I said. "You know me and my computer equipment."

She laughed.

"Sorry. That was a stupid question, wasn't it?"

I was grinning.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Okay, well, try to get a picture of the bruise. Get her as close as you can, so it's as detailed as possible."

She fell silent again for a few moments. When she did speak, I was more surprised than I let on.

"And Meagan?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe you and I should go and pay this guy a visit."

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Michelle. If we show up at the house together and start in on him in front of his family, it'll just piss him off more. Besides, I thought you didn't want to do anything that you'd have to make official?"

"Who said I'd go in an official capacity? And you're right, if we humiliate him in front the wife and daughter, he'll end up taking it out on them."

"So what do we do?" I asked.

I was half annoyed at this "we" stuff that was starting to happen. Michelle and I are friends, and I still like her. The affair just didn't work out. But this whole "we" thing was making me uncomfortable.

"Give me a day to think about this," Michelle said. "I'll dig into this guy and see what I can turn up about him. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know what I find out. Give me any information you have about him."

"Hang on." I dug out the phone book.

"His first name is Charles," I said. "Charles Davidson. The address in the phone book just says McConnell Road, no number."

I gave her directions to where the house was located.

"His wife's name is Colleen, the daughter is Sara, no "H." That's all I know about him."

"Okay," she said. "I'll see what I can find out about him. I'll call you tomorrow. And Meagan?"

"Yeah?"

"One way or another we'll stop him. You're doing the right thing. For now at least, we're going to do this without filing any kind of reports or getting Social Services involved. If it ends up that we have to go through the system, fine. But I'd rather avoid that. They're not nearly as effective as they like to think they are."

"Thanks, Michelle," I said. "Talk to you tomorrow."

"No problem, Pretty Lady," she said. "Night."

Pretty Lady. Great. I don't need any terms of endearment. I don't need to be obligated to Michelle for anything.

Then I thought about that bruise on little Sara's back.

Sometimes, the cost doesn't matter. You just have to fix something, no matter what the price is. This needed to be fixed.

I turned off the light in the office and returned to the bedroom. Easing myself into bed, not wanting to awaken the girls, I found a place where I could lay in reasonable comfort. The two of them were sprawled out, taking up a good section of the bed. Thankfully, my bed is rather on the large side.

I awoke at one point to find myself with two little heat leeches curled up around me, one on either side. I was used to this from Janelle. She tends to cling when we sleep in the same bed, which is a fairly regular occurrence. It wasn't until tonight that it had taken on a whole new level of meaning for me. Sara was also clinging to me, her head resting against one breast. I think it was the first time I'd ever seen her look truly at peace since I'd met her.

I drifted back to sleep.