I tried to stay calm. I usually paced nervously when I was this anxious. Thankfully, there wasn’t much room in the little hall outside the pastor’s office for such antics. That one little fact did as much to rein me in as anything. Besides, if I started storming up and down the hall, the soles of my dress shoes would wear the finish right off the hard wood floors in no time. That is, if my footsteps weren’t echoing off the bare wood paneled walls like a snare drum.

My nerves remained hot like a pair of live wires. One wrong move and poof. Since I couldn’t pace, I fidgeted with my hands incessantly. I had no doubt that if some passerby saw me right now, they would run away thinking I was some kind of drug fiend.

Thankfully, the little hall was still. I could make out the sound of muted voices from within the office, but they were too muffled to tell which was my daughter’s and which her maid of honor’s. I had tried to listen through the door more than once, but that blasted thing was solid oak and heavy. I might as well have put my ear to the wall for all the good it would do. I grumbled under my breath.

“They’ll be ready when they were ready,” I told myself for the third time. The distant organ music had only recently begun, so they weren’t even really late. At least not yet. Hell, if they came out in the next minute or so, they might be considered early given Amber’s track record.

I forced myself to take a deep breath. Everything was fine. Everything would be fine. Her husband-to-be was a great guy… kind, supportive, and very understanding. He’d even been understanding when she told him the full truth about our past. I couldn’t have picked a better man for my little girl than the one she had found all on her own. Trust me, I’d tried, and that misstep as her father unleashed a fury from my little girl that nearly killed me.

I smiled at that memory. I could do that now, seeing as how hindsight was 20/20. It wasn’t at all funny at the time, however.

I forced myself to take another deep, calming breath. As I exhaled, I felt my pulse slow. Everything would be fine.

But major life changes still meant so much.

I reminded myself that Amber wasn’t a little girl anymore. She hadn’t been a little girl in a long, long time. Even as a teen, she’d been mature for her age. Still, in our small world, she would always be my little girl, no matter how old she was. I smiled to myself as memories of her running through the house laughing and screaming flashed through my mind in rapid succession. Even in those days, she acted much older than her actual years.

I chuckled at myself. I was doing exactly what she always accused me of, being such a ‘Dad’ as she called it. Being overprotective and worrying about every possible detail. She was right, I was. I would never deny that, not where she could hear me anyway. Still, It was time to let her fly.

It was just hard to do that.

She was ready, though. I had done my job to the best of my ability and raised a beautiful, smart, resourceful girl that I was immensely proud of.

Now she was ready to live her own life in the very special, yet very different world she’d created. True, she’d started in the world formed by her mother and me, but she’d adapted it and made it her own.

It was a world that was very different from what most people would consider normal, but it was also very exciting—in ways than I couldn’t possibly convey, and if I did, the regular world would gasp at. But our world—Amber’s world—operated on its own rules.

Like a fish swimming in its own little bowl, I hadn’t noticed the way she subtly changed my world, one small step at a time. It might have been that I just refused to see it. Either way, it wasn’t until that first summer after the divorce when the facts hit me square in the face and my eyes were opened. That had been my first real look through the window between Amber’s world and the one most people inhabited. It’d been a great summer full of surprises that I never asked for or saw coming.

I let myself drift back into those memories…

My heart raced as I waited for my kids to emerge from the concourse. Nerves, excitement, eagerness, worry. Everything that comes from not seeing them for such a long period of time. Overall, I was ecstatic they were finally here. Those two couldn’t get off the plane fast enough.

The last message I got was after their mother had seen them off and I had been nervously pacing up and down the airport terminal waiting for word on their impending arrival. It came as no surprise when my phone dinged, and I saw the new message was from my youngest, Amber. Joe was probably too busy texting with his friends to bother messaging me. He was at that age.

‘On our way!’ Amber sent, followed by a string of emojis that I didn’t understand.

Kids these days!

Those little smiley faces and various fruits she liked to add to her messages were just strange. She might as well have been messaging me in hieroglyphics. I couldn’t understand what she was telling me exactly, but it was crystal clear she was excited.

The divorce had been rough, and after most of a year apart, I was eager to see them again. Part of me was still a little nervous. Teenagers changed so rapidly. We’d texted and had the rare Zoom sessions since I’d moved, which only gave me the smallest of windows into their lives. I knew they were busy and, frankly, it was a massive change for both me and them now that I wasn’t around every day.

I detested that part of our new lives… not being around them every night. So much could have happened during the months and weeks since I’d been gone. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

Not that I really expected them to be different. They’d grown up in a different world than mainstream society. They were still growing up that way, from what I knew. To say my communication with them and my old home had changed was an understatement. My ex was running the show now, and with her at the helm, all bets were off. She was…unpredictable at the best of times.

I had to keep reminding myself that I’d divorced her for a reason. Several, actually.

It didn’t take long. To be honest, I had checked out before I even met with my attorney and filed the paperwork to start the process. I did miss the feeling of family more than I ever thought I would, especially in the evenings. When I lost custody of the kids, that was gut wrenching. It was tough sledding after that for a while.

I couldn’t understand how I wasn’t the best choice for a full-time parent. I wasn’t a bad father. I had the means and the ability to give them everything they could possibly need. It ended up coming down to the courts always preferring to give child custody to the mother, not to mention the house.

I purchased a new home. It wasn’t anything ultra-fancy and not quite as large as my old one, but it was more than big enough for what I needed. It had everything I knew the kids would want. Everyone would have their own bedrooms, not that they would have complained too much if they had to share, but it was better for them to have their own spaces at their ages.

They would have to share a bathroom, though. That couldn’t be helped. I just hoped they liked it. Everything in their rooms was bare and plain, aside from the basics like beds and dressers. The rest they could decorate as they saw fit.

The best part was that house sat on a little bit of wooded land. Not a lot, only about twenty acres, but that was enough for it to feel secluded and private. It was exactly the type of place I wished I had bought the first time. Though, thinking back on it, that would have gone to my ex in the divorce, so it was probably best I got it now rather than before.

A female announcer voice boomed out through the concourse, jerking my mind of out of wondering if the kids would like the new house or not. I watched through the massive bank of windows at their arrival gate as their plane taxied in my direction and smiled.

Even though I’d been the one to move away, I missed them terribly. And they were almost here!

One month visitation didn’t make a full summer, but I was determined to make the best of it. This was the only part of the year where I had a significant amount of time to spend with them. I’d saved my vacation days. I’d cleared all my business travel so I could work at home and wouldn’t miss a moment of their visit. My house might not be Disneyland, but they wouldn’t be bored. That much I was sure of.

Still. Teenagers were impossible to predict.

I fidgeted as I waited.

So many thoughts, so many emotions. I let out a long, relieved breath when I finally spotted them.

I saw Joe first. He casually sauntered toward me, his head down tapping away at his phone, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He looked like he might have grown an inch or two since I had last seen him. Zoom calls weren’t a good way to judge changes like height. He still had a little ways to go to meet me eye to eye, but it wouldn’t be far off now. His mop of light brown hair needed a trim, but otherwise he looked good. He gave me a soft smile when his eyes drifted up and he spotted me.

His sister was more enthusiastic. Her arm shot into the air and she waved it back and forth. Her broad grin and obvious joy caused my heart to skip. She’d pulled her dark blonde hair back into a ponytail that waved side to side as she bounced in her walk.

I laughed as I watched them. They may have changed some, but so far, they were exactly how I remembered them. I lifted my arm and waved back, my nerves receding. The warmth of Amber’s glow drove them far away.

“Daddy!” Amber bolted around her brother and slammed into me at a full gallop. She nearly knocked me off my feet.

“Hey, honey,” I chuckled, feeling her arms trying to squeeze the very life out of me. I hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.

Joe, always the patient one, waited for his sister to release me before stepping up and allowing me to give him a hug as well. He never did put down his phone, much to my consternation. I hadn’t gotten to embrace him in so long, I let it slide without comment.

After a quick stop at baggage claim (thank god for small airports), we were on our way. It was time to leave the mundane world behind.

The summer had begun.

Amber peppered me with questions the minute we got into the car about everything and anything she could think of. Mostly about our new house and what it was like. She had tried to get me to give her a virtual tour on our video calls, but I had teased her by saying she would have to wait and see it for herself when she got here.

Joe, always the more reserved and quieter one of the two, sat in the back seat, his face buried in his phone. He would look up every now and again to see how I would answer one of Amber’s many questions. When I glanced in the review mirror and saw him with his head up, I would just wink and he would shake his head, chuckling as he returned to his phone.

Amber, knowing she wasn’t going to get anything out of me, decided to shift her focus to the radio. She found a good radio station she liked and cranked it up. She immediately sang along with her favorites as the three of us settled in for the not quite short trek home.

“How much further?” Amber asked between songs.

“We’re almost there,” I chuckled. I glanced over to see her sitting at and angle, her left leg bent as she leaned halfway against the door and the passenger seat.

It was only a forty-minute drive, give or take, from the airport to the house. If you wanted to have the space we now had, you couldn’t do that in town. You had to go further out into the country. It was a bit of a commute for me to get to the office, about thirty miles. It took me just under thirty minutes to get there and I could do it in under twenty if I really needed to.

I hated commuting across town from my old house. If I had had the same thirty-mile commute I have now, it would have taken me at least an hour on a good day. Now though, the drive was nice, serene, and pleasant.

When I turned on my blinker and started to slow down, Amber’s attention shifted and she immediately sat up in her seat, watching where we were going. Off to the left, there was a dense forest of deep greens and one solitary dirt road that cut through the trees. Beyond that were the still snow-capped mountains that loomed high in the distance.

We pulled up to the house and Joe and Amber slowly got out of the truck. Their jaws hung open as they took in their surroundings.

“Wow!” Joe’s eyes were wide as he slowly turned, looking in all directions.

“Pretty nice, right?” I asked, smiling at the awed look on his face.

The house was nestled right in the middle of the property. Looking around, you couldn’t see any signs of anyone else living close by. That was thanks to how thick the trees grew around here. You couldn’t even see the end of the driveway. It just seemed to disappear into the trees. I loved it.

“This is awesome!” Amber squealed. She jumped up and down excitedly before rushing over to me and wrapping me in a tight and giggly hug.

“I thought you two’d like it.” I squeezed her back. “Let’s going inside so you can check out your rooms.”

The three of us walked up to the front door. I could have let them in through the garage, but I didn’t want them to see the inside for the first time through the side door. Amber managed to stay at my side for the first two or three steps before she took off running to the porch. She spun back around when she found the door locked.

“Come on!” Amber called. She was obviously impatient, which was par for the course when she got excited about anything. “Hurry up!”

She put her face up to the small fancy, leaded glass window in the door, trying to peek inside. She quickly moved aside when I got there and grinned from ear to ear as I turned the key in the lock. As soon as I had it unlocked, she threw the door open and leapt inside.

She only made it a couple steps before she skidded to a halt and dropped her things in a pile on the floor, effectively blocking Joe and I from entering the house behind her. All in all, it wasn't all that much stuff, to be honest, but that wasn't the point.

In her youthful teenage impatience, she tore off her clothing with reckless abandon, as if she were suddenly allergic to the fabric encasing her. All the while, Joe and I were stuck in the doorway, waiting for her to finish.

For most people, this would probably be a wild shock. For us, this was normal. Being nudists, nakedness was normal and Amber was always quick to take advantage of the earliest opportunity to leave her clothes behind.

I couldn’t help but notice she’d grown some since I’d seen her six months earlier and was looking more and more like her mother. Naked as she now was, it wasn’t hard to see the subtle and no-so-subtle changes in her body. Amber’s breasts had filled out some. They were no longer the pointy cones she had sported proudly. Now they were fuller, rounder. Though even with the added fullness, there wasn’t even a hint that the strain of gravity had set in yet. She hadn’t added much to her hips or ass and still looked more like a petite, lithe dancer, but there was a promise of what was to come. A quick glance confirmed she was still bare down below.

“You couldn’t have waited until Dad and I could get inside and shut the door?” Joe complained.

Amber looked over her shoulder and giggled, “Nope!”

From where I was standing, I could see the sibling debate brewing between the two of them. They were always close, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t push each other’s buttons just for the fun of it. If I didn’t do something, those two would argue for who knows how long. So, I cut in.

"Better?" I asked sarcastically, giving her another quick, but deliberate once over. That last look was more for her than it was for me. She was at that point where she liked it when I noticed how much bigger and grown up she was becoming.

The completely naked girl in front of me giggled, threw her hands up, and spun in a quick circle without an ounce of shame. She smiled brightly and nodded in answer to my question.

“Alright, hurry up and pick up your clothes, or you’re going to miss the official tour.”

Our first stop was the kitchen. It had been a major selling point for me when I was looking at houses. I loved to cook and wanted a kitchen that I would enjoy slaving away in. The living room was large, but since the house didn’t have a fourth bedroom, I chose to cut the room in half and create my own makeshift office. The way I had it set up, I could watch the TV and keep an eye on my computer at the same time.

I had gotten a couch, recliner, and coffee table for the living room, but that was it. I hadn’t gone so far as to do any real decorating or anything. It did look pretty sterile, but I would get to that eventually.

Then we headed down the hall. My master suite was at the end. The main bathroom they would have to share was on the near right. I gestured at the other two open doors.

“Joe, your bedroom is on the left. Amber, yours is on the right.”

Amber didn’t need any further explanation and hurried into her room. I walked with Joe to his.

Both of the kids’ rooms were fitted with beds and dressers, as well as a little nightstand and desk. Beyond that, it was up to them what they wanted to do to make it their own. The walls were off-white and I knew Amber would want to change that right away. Joe, I wasn’t so sure if he would change it or not. There were other things in his room that I thought he would be more interested in.

I stopped at the door to Joe’s room as he walked in and saw the new computer I had bought for him.

“Holy—” Joe bit off what he was going to say and blushed.

“After your mom and I talked about your gaming, I thought it would be good idea if you had a computer over here, too.”

“That’s… holy crap!” Joe’s smile was so bright that I knew I had made the right decision. I had been worried about it, but seeing how happy it made him, those concerns instantly vanished.

“Oh my God, Joe!” Amber gasped, and I turned to see her standing in the doorway looking at Joe’s computer. “You got a new computer?”

“Isn’t it cool?” Joe sat down at his computer desk and spun around in his computer chair.

“What did you think of your room?” I asked as we walked back to hers, leaving Joe behind.

“It’s big!”

“I know it’s pretty basic right now, but we can change that.”

Amber’s eyes bulged and I could see the wheels spinning in her mind. I could only chuckle at the can of worms I might have opened.

“Don’t tell your brother, but you room is bigger than his.”

“I won’t say anything,” She grinned at that.

I don’t know what it is about young girls and their secrets, but Amber loved them. Especially when it came to keeping secrets from Joe.

“I didn’t get you a computer or anything, but if you want something special for your room, we can go get it while you’re here.”

“Thanks, Daddy!” Amber gave me another big hug. I would never get tired of those hugs. Even when she was my age with kids of her own, I would still love it every time she did that.

The chicken breasts sizzled nicely in the pan, I turned them and checked on the vegetables. They were about ready, too. Joe was already getting out drinks while Amber finished a salad. This all went so much faster when there were three of us.

I plated the chicken and vegetables and took off my apron—a necessity for a nudist frying, well, anything involving food that could splatter. Joe quickly slid into his own seat. He gave me a soft smile before hungrily eyeing the food. He grinned at his sister when she sat down a few moments later.

Me? The residue of excitement still danced through my body as I just appreciated their presence. It felt like nothing had changed as we quickly fell into our old patterns of when I used to cook at home.

Joe hadn’t grown as much as I’d expected. He’d probably topped out at his adult height, but he was starting to fill out a bit across the shoulders and he was now gaining light chest hairs. Amber remained as ethereally beautiful as ever.

“So,” I said, “there’s a new season of Shameless out.”

“Yay!” Amber said.

“Have you seen it yet?”

Joe shook his head.

Amber added, “Mom still won’t pay for Showtime.”

“Okay,” I said. “Anything else you want to do while you’re here?”

Amber gave her brother an expectant look. He returned it sheepishly before looking at me.

“I’ve been playing a lot of World of Warcraft.”

“Ah. Online?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun playing it,” I said. “Just remember, you have to come out of your room for meals and showers...daily,” I grinned to make it clear I was teasing.

Joe looked up, blushed, and grinned back.

“And speaking of meals,” I raised my fork. “Let’s dig in.”

After dinner, we all decided to move to the living room. I positioned one of the couch pillows against the arm rest.

“I know you’re attached to that thing, but tonight, no phone,” I said to Joe as he flopped into my oversized recliner.

“But my friends⁠—”

“Joe.” I cut him off, stalling his protest before it truly got started. I gave him a sharp, no nonsense look. “You just got here. Your friends will be there later.”

“Fine, I guess you’re right.” He sighed and set his phone on the end table. Then he picked up the TV remote before pulling the recliner lever and kicking out the leg rest.

Amber waited for me to get settled on the couch before climbing in next to me and then wiggled her way into my side while her brother surfed the channels. The feeling of her naked skin was amazing, as she pressed her warm back against me, shifting and jostling the both of us until she was in the perfect position. The softness of her body and the heat she radiated so naturally felt like a therapy I never knew I needed.

She turned herself about forty-five degrees away, which let us both see the screen while maintaining maximum skin-to-skin contact.

It was comforting, and, well, snuggly. I missed feeling her body pressed against mine. We had snuggled up like this for years on the couch together in the evenings. It was our ritual that I was happy to see she hadn’t outgrown it.

I draped my arm around her, and she immediately grasped it with her own. It made a comfortable hug, effectively blanketing her. It didn’t take long for Joe to find Showtime and then Shameless. I grinned at the obviously excited expression on his face. With Amber and I tucked in together and Joe with his feet up, he started the first episode.

This was perfect. Amber and Joe with me in the living room, watching TV together. It was exactly how I remembered it. Better yet, when I heard my kids and I laughing together at something on the TV, I couldn’t help but feel complete. It was even better, though, when Amber laughed because I could feel it against my chest. The longer we snuggled like that, the deeper and sweeter she squirmed closer.

So, tender. So delightful.

After the first episode finished, she suggested a second. Joe was already hitting buttons on the remote to do just that.

Amber squeezed my arm as the second episode started. Her nipple brushed my wrist and I smiled. That didn’t used to happen. She’d been too flat-chested but now?

Yeah, she definitely wasn’t a little girl anymore.

The next morning, Joe came into the kitchen rubbing his eyes and sporting a morning erection. If there was ever a sign that things hadn’t changed much over the last year, that was it. He still had many years to go before his body grew out of that particular habit. Obviously, I wasn’t surprised at his hardness. He was a teenaged boy after all. His sister, never one to miss the sight of an erection, looked at it and smirked as she cut into her breakfast. I thought she might say something, but she didn’t. Instead, she just took another big bite of pancake. There was a time that she would have made a grand announcement about her brother’s stiffness, but those days had ended a couple years ago, thankfully.

“Good morning,” I said before Amber could. I still didn’t trust her to not make some kind of mention of Joe’s…situation.

He grunted, and I suppressed a smile. He had dragged himself straight out of bed and wasn’t fully awake yet. The smell of freshly made breakfast could do that to a growing teenager. Most days I would’ve felt the same, but then, most days I had nothing to look forward to but the job.

I grabbed a plate and stacked a few pancakes on it for him. I watched with astonishment as Joe walked right over to my old coffee maker and poured himself a cup. I was dumbfounded. I gave him a quizzical look but kept my mouth shut. Instead, I looked at Amber and gave her the same confused look. She read me easily and just shrugged like it was nothing new and no big deal. It was new and a big deal to me! When did my son start drinking coffee in the morning? And black at that?

I handed him the heavily ladened plate and pointed at the table where the butter and syrup were waiting. Then I turned back to my cooking.

Between the rich scents of the bacon, the frying pancakes and syrup, and the freshly brewed coffee, the kitchen smelled incredible. My stomach rumbled in anticipation.

We chitchatted about a lot of little things while we ate. Mostly, the kids asked questions about the new house. Amber wanted to know about my neighbors. Had I met them all yet and, if so, had I made any friends? This far out of town, neighbors were a little different than when you lived inside the city limits like at their mother’s house. Out here, your neighbor might be half a mile away. That didn’t make them any less close than the ones that lived across a cul-de-sac, however.

I knew what her underlying questions were, though. First, she wanted to know if there were kids her age around, and second and most importantly in her mind, did anyone know we were nudists? Instead of answering her, I just chuckled, leaving her to wonder. That was a rare treat for me to enjoy anymore and I relished the chance to bask in knowing something she didn’t.

I deftly shifted the topic away from what Amber was curious about to more mundane things. The look she gave me was both hilarious and horrible, but I was committed now to the game I was playing and leaned even further into it.

The conversation wandered before Joe brought up the topic of dinner.

“You have a grill, right?” he asked.

“Of course I have a grill. What guy doesn’t have a grill?”

“Charcoal or gas?” he prodded. The look on his face was grim and serious.

“Neither.” I teased, knowing that would throw him for a loop.

“What!” His forehead furrowed in utter astonishment.

“It’s a wood fire grill.” I smirked and his eyes widened in awe. Then he smiled. As much as Joe was addicted to his phone, he still took after me and I loved to cook, especially over an open fire. I chuckled at how obviously eager he was to get his hands on my grill.

From there, the three of us talked a little about what we could get to throw on the grill. Steak was the obvious choice for Amber and me. Joe, however, shocked me when he mention getting some chicken thighs and making barbecue chicken. I had just eaten a full stack of pancakes, but I swear my stomach rumbled again at the thought.

“Oh, that sounds good!” Amber said.

“Yeah, it does,” I agreed. “I guess we have dinner figured out, but we’ll have to go to the store for supplies.”

Both of my kids quickly agreed to that. Joe sat back in his chair with a proud look on his face.

Eventually, the conversation slowed down, and I asked Joe about Warcraft.

“It’s called World of Warcraft, Dad, not just Warcraft.”

“Oh, come on. Give it a rest, would ya?” Amber groaned.

Joe went on and told me a bit about the game and about how his party was getting really good and how well they worked together.

“Don’t forget to tell him about your online girlfriend…,” Amber teased.

“I don’t have an online girlfriend,” Joe snapped, but blushed furiously.

All of this was pretty new to me. I knew he was a gamer. My ex made sure to complain about it when Joe’s grades slipped a little last semester because he was staying up late playing games. The whole girlfriend thing was new. I could tell he wasn’t ready to talk about it, so I didn’t push, but I was interested.

Fortunately, Joe managed to pull his grades back up by the end of the year. Both Amber’s and Joe’s last days of school had gone okay. Joe told me he’d done well on his finals. Not to be outdone, Amber proudly announced she’d aced hers. At fourteen, Amber had just finished eighth grade, so she didn’t have final exams quite like Joe did, but you didn’t dare tell her that.

“I was thinking,” I said, “later tonight after dinner and we get everything cleaned up, we could sit around the fire out back.”

“You mean like when we go to camp?” Amber asked excitedly.

“Yeah, just like that.”

“Yes!” Amber cheered.

“Umm, I’m supposed to meet my party online tonight,” Joe said softly, with a note of hesitancy.

“What time does that start?”

“Nine…”

I wanted to tell him that that was way too late to be playing video games, but I decided not to. I knew it was important to him.

“Alright, let’s get breakfast cleaned up and then we can go into town.” I stood up and took my plate to the sink. Amber offered to go shopping with me, which I gratefully accepted. I appreciated her volunteering.

Joe stood up from the table, his empty plate in his hands and his morning erection still proudly jutting from his groin. I sighed mentally. Youth. Without a thought or me asking, he took his plate to the sink.

“Thanks, Joe,” I said. I twisted off to the side to give him room to set the plate in the sink.

“Sure.” He smiled. “Breakfast was really good.” He placed a hand on his stomach and groaned. “I think I ate too much, though.”

Amber waited her turn, and her eyes shifted down as her brother turned around. She smirked. As soon as he was out of the way, she stepped up to the sink, sliding her plate into the soapy water. No sooner had it left her hands when she moved in next to me and wrapped her arms around my middle. She pressed her chest and stomach against me lovingly.

My little girl was definitely growing up. It could see that fact plain as day when I looked at her. Being a nudist it was hard not to notice, but when she pressed up against me like that, it was easy to feel the differences. Her breasts had definitely grown. She still had a long ways to go to match her mother.

I wrapped my one arm around her and gave her a squeeze in return.

“Guess he didn’t have time to play with his dick this morning,” Amber quipped once Joe was out of the room.

I smirked. I didn’t see the need to point out how often they’d both been stealing glances at each other this morning already. Joe obviously could see the top half of Amber any time he wanted while she was sitting at the table, which he had taken full advantage of. Shockingly, I don’t think Amber ever realized it was happening. There was no doubt those glances had an effect on his manhood.

They had been checking each other out like that for years. At least now it wasn’t blatant gawking. It was actually pretty normal. As differences appeared, you noticed them. Simple—even if the outside world didn’t understand.

After I’d gotten the dishes done and Amber finished cleaned up the stove and wiping off kitchen table, she started bouncing excitedly about going shopping. I didn’t know why grocery shopping had her so excited, but it did, and I wasn’t going to argue about having company.

Once we got into the store, it quickly became obvious why she wanted to come along. The usual things I bought to fill my fridge and cupboards appalled my daughter.

In the first aisle we went down, I tried to get a couple bags of chips and Amber about had a fit.

“You can’t eat that stuff.” She put her hands on her hips and glared at me.

I rolled my eyes.

Then I tried to get some ice cream, hot fudge, and brownies to make sundaes. I was thinking the kids would love it, but Amber wasn’t having any of that. She substituted frozen yogurt for the ice cream. I was going to get some frozen snack food like mini-tacos or mozzarella sticks, but that was quickly nixed for fresh fruit and vegetables. I was so stunned at what was going on that I didn’t even try to stop her.

Who was this child next to me and what the hell happened to my little girl that used to sneak cookies from under her mom’s nose and shared them with me so I wouldn’t tell on her?

“You need to watch what you eat,” Amber explained, snatching the jar of caramel I was holding in my hand and comparing it to the fudge. “If you’re going to start dating sometime, you need to look good.”

“What? You don’t think I look good?”

“Oh, course you do!” Amber smiled, giving me a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek before putting the caramel jar back on the shelf. “But no woman wants a guy with a beer gut.”

“I don’t have a beer gut!”

“Not yet you don’t, but if you keep eating this stuff—” She held up the container of homemade style vanilla ice cream. “—you will.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my innocent, snack-loving daughter?”

“Oh, come on, Daddy.” She just rolled her eyes and continued to grab everything she thought we needed or that I should be allowed to eat.

"I think we can keep these though.” Amber giggled and held up the brownies.

After getting all the food put away, I suggested we head out into the dense trees that covered my property and effectively surrounding the house to get some firewood. Amber was ready to go as soon as I suggested the idea, and I had to stop her before she took off outside. Gathering wood naked wasn’t a great idea as a general rule. That didn’t stop her, though. I did manage to get her to put on some shoes and grab a pair of gloves.

The two of us strolled through the woods looking for decent dry wood to burn later that night. I handed her a good-sized cardboard box for the smaller stuff we could find for fire starters while I grabbed the larger pieces of firewood in my arms.

I’d considered bringing my hatchet, but I figured we could save that for future evenings. Besides, I had started accumulating a decent pile of wood that I left stacked by the back door. Seeing that we were naked, chopping wood wasn’t going to be a good idea, anyway. That act required protective gear and Amber wanted to be nude, other than our shoes and gloves. I was happy to go along.

Birds and squirrels filled the woods with their chatter and scurrying. We didn’t mind. If anything, it only made our time out there that much better. We found some fresh deer droppings, which was a small surprise, but didn’t see the animals themselves.

Amber discovered some small pink flowers. I didn’t know their name but she picked a few. She handed me one and I smiled before sliding its slender stem into her hair behind her ear. It was really too small to look good, but she smiled at the gesture.

We didn’t talk much. Mostly we pointed things out to each other or chatted about what had happened in the few days since our last phone call. I was always shocked at how much she managed to cram into a single day. It seemed like I was missing more and more of her life al the time.

At last, our box and my arms were full.

“I think we have enough wood for this evening,” I said.

She smirked. “Between this and Joe, yeah.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t hold back my chuckle. “He’s a teenaged boy. He can’t help himself.”

“Uh-huh.”

I shrugged. That was a trap if I’d ever seen one and I wasn’t going to walk blindly into it.

“C’mon,” I said, changing the subject. “let’s head back.”

We had a casual, healthy lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing. Joe came out of his room for a bit and we ended up playing a game of Sorry. Amber danced around the game when she won, letting us know without a shadow of a doubt that she was the most talented Sorry player in the family.

I rolled my eyes, but Joe just watched his sister and grinned. It was obvious by looking at his eyes and how they were following his sister what he was watching. I watched her too. It was hard not to. I just wasn’t doing it for the same reasons he was. She was growing in beautiful ways, and with how she was filling out, her body reacted and moved with her in ways I hadn’t seen on her before. I found myself smiling at her antics as she spun and hopped around us.

After that, I had to do a little work clearing out some emails, so Joe returned to his room and his game while Amber got her Kindle out and read on the couch. I glanced up from my computer from time to time but every time I did, she had her head buried in what she was reading.

Joe carefully tended the steaks the entire time his sister and I were getting the rest of the meal together. He did a good job—they were juicy with just the right amount of sear. He’d added a salt and pepper rub that brought out the flavor of the meat. We talked about other rubs we might try in the future, and he got excited at some of the suggestions.

“A good steak doesn’t really need a rub though,” Joe said. “Just some salt and pepper.” I couldn’t have been any prouder of him in that moment and I smiled as I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, which made him blush.

“Exactly,” I agreed. I gave him a supportive squeeze before releasing him.

After dinner, the kids put away the food while I built up the fire pit. When the sun had finally fallen below the horizon, the kids came out and joined me. We got the fire blazing—the wood crackling and popping as it burned. Thankfully, the wind was light, and the smoke drifted straight up but the welcome smell of a wood fire lingered in the air.

We didn’t talk much. I relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere and the company. I savored my beer between glares from Amber while she and her brother drank lemonade. Amber teased her brother about losing the Sorry game, but it was light-hearted. More sibling bonding than anything. It was fun watching them give each other a friendly hard time.

When Joe finished his drink, he stood and said he was going to play his game. We wished him well. Amber watched him go until he disappeared into the house.

“Dad?” she asked. “Can I…?”

Her eyes shifted to my lap and then met mine again. She had a hopeful look on her face. When I smiled, her cheeks pinkened.

“Of course, Sweetie.”

I wasn’t sure if she was going to be too old to snuggle up to me like she had growing up. Knowing that she wasn’t made my heart race in anticipation.

I put both feet on the ground and opened my arms. Like a cat, Amber flowed into my lap. She turned sideways, putting her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her, my hand coming to rest on her hip, feeling the heat under my fingertips of her fire-warmed skin.

She sighed happily and burrowed into my chest.

I gently stroked her skin as she snuggled in for the night.

I was just… very content.

Joe joined us for breakfast the next morning without the erection. That didn’t prevent Amber from checking his dick out, but once again, she didn’t say a word. If anything, I thought I saw a flicker of disappointment on her face. Still blurry-eyed, he shuffled to the coffee maker with little more than a grunt in our direction. Amber and I exchanged sly smiles.

“I thought we’d barbecue again for dinner tonight. What do you think, Joe?” I asked after he’d had his first sips. “Give you a chance to show off those skills you were telling me about last night.”

He nodded.

“What did you want to cook?” I asked, leaving it up to him.

“Umm, chicken or pork chops.”

“Chicken!” Amber jumped in, obviously excited about that idea for reasons I didn’t know.

“Chicken sounds good to me.” I nodded. “That work for you?”

“Really?” Joe’s eyes got wide. “Yeah, that would be awesome!”

“It’s settled then,” I said. “You’ll be in charge of the grill tonight. While you’re doing that, you sister and I will work on the sides.”

She beamed. “Pasta salad?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“Mmm, that and some kind of potatoes.”

“Potatoes it is.”

She grinned so brightly, I was already looking forward to dinner.

Joe was in a good mood by dinnertime. Apparently he’d finished a quest or something with his team that had been giving them trouble. We chatted about it a bit while he monitored the chicken, but I couldn’t follow all the details. He was obviously happy and excited and that made me happy as well.

He told his sister more about it as we ate. She seemed to follow everything and actually got caught up in his excitement. Of course, she also teased him about spending all his time in his room. Sheepishly, he promised he’d do something with her the next day instead. I silently mused about how well they got along.

After dinner, we settled in for another couple of episodes of Shameless. Amber immediately cuddled into my side, turned so we both could watch. Once again, she pulled my arm around her, holding it against her chest.

The episodes were good, and there were a few scenes that got us all laughing along. I loved laughing together with Amber—her happiness was contagious.

She stilled when a sex scene came on. I was amused. She always loved the romantic scenes in movies and shows. The reason for that was obviously changing now that she was growing up. Early on, she loved the kissing scenes and would giggle when they happened. Now however, she was paying attention for different reasons. The scene wasn’t too long, nor particularly steamy, but it still held her attention all the same.

It was late when we finished, so I called for bedtime. Joe agreed with a yawn. Amber shrugged—clearly not as tired as her brother. Joe and I waved goodnight and headed off.

I took care of my ablutions and bedtime preparations. I’d just climbed under the sheets when I realized I’d forgotten my book. I had told myself earlier that I was going to try to finish it. That probably wasn’t going to happen given how tired as I was, but I still wanted to read a chapter before falling asleep.

I slipped out of bed and padded back into the living room.

Then I paused.

There, on the couch, my daughter sat with her thighs spread, her knees resting on the cushions at her sides. To make matter more interesting, her hands were between her legs and her arms were obviously moving in small, but very quick circles.

I couldn’t look away. This wasn’t the first time I had walked in on her playing with herself. But this time was different. Before, it was more explorations and just…playing. Now, however, there was an obvious goal in mind.

She wasn’t quite facing the hallway where I stood so she couldn’t see me standing there. For whatever reason, she shifted her position slightly, crooking one of her legs upwards giving me a full and unobstructed view of my daughter’s pussy. I stood still, not wanting to startle her or scare her in such a delicate position. She had no such qualms, but she was also young and naïve. I hadn’t watched much in the past, but this time… this time I kind of wanted to.

It helped that it was actually erotic.

She had her eyes closed and she bit her lip, her face a mask of concentration. Her nipples stood stiff as her breasts rose and fell with her deep breathing. One hand rested on her mound while the other worked her fingers into her pussy.

My own cock stiffened. I decided to leave it alone and just watch.

Her stomach flexed and twitched in waves that were accompanied by small catches in her breath, causing her to make the faintest gasping sounds. The hand on top shifted its focus. Instead of just holding her sex, her fingers were rapidly working her clit. At the same time, she started sliding the fingers on her lower hand in and out.

Her breasts quivered with her movement. It was almost hypnotic.

She really was sexy. Especially now that she was developing into her young woman’s body.

She reminded me so much of her mother when I had first met her.

I was rock hard—harder than I thought possible, but I didn’t dare touch myself. It would’ve broken the spell.

She was nearing her peak now. Her breath hissed out before she bit her lip harder. Small tremors rippled up her body. She always did this thing when she was really getting into something. She would duck her chin, and her forehead would crunch up as if she were concentrating on something particularly difficult. Whatever change in her technique she had made, it worked. She threw her head back, her eyes pinched shut, and her jaw widening as if yelling out a silent scream.

She was coming. I had seen it all before, so I could recognize the signs, but now it was… just different. She was beautiful. Radiant. Stunning. When her orgasm subsided, her body sagged into the couch, her chest heaving. Her eyes fluttered open and closed.

I could get my book tomorrow, I told myself. I smiled and headed back to bed. She might still be my little girl, but she was growing up and in ways that were both incredibly exciting and extremely confusing in my mind.

Did I jack off?

Of course I did. My libido didn’t care that Amber was my daughter. I’d watched an attractive young woman have an orgasm. It didn’t hurt that she looked like the spitting image of my ex from all those years ago. To be completely frank and honest, there aren’t many sexier things on the planet, or in the universe for that matter, than a woman giving herself an orgasm, my daughter or not.

After I came, I mused about that. Being nudists we’d had to have “the talk” a lot earlier than most families. Funny thing though, once those talks happened, the kids’ attentions really homed in on what they saw was different between boys and girls. Before, it wasn’t a big deal, and no one brought any attention to it except on rare occasions. In the talks and other times, we’d told the kids that sex was a natural part of life just as nude bodies were. We’d encouraged them to masturbate whenever they had the need. Most of the time, we ignored it. For a while, Joe was doing it so often out in the open that it’d been strange to see him not masturbating. It was normal in our world.

If anything, it was funny as Joe started to figure out what felt good to him, with his complete lack of shame or worry that someone might be watching him. My ex used to snicker every time she saw him doing it, making sure to get my attention subtly so that I knew what was going on. I would just roll my eyes. I remembered being his age, so I could sympathize. When Amber started catching on to what her mom was giggling about, that started Amber’s fascination with dicks and, more interesting and important in her mind, erections.

By that point, the genie was out of the bottle. We couldn’t tell him he had to stop. Those previous talks about masturbation being completely normal and natural would have looked like lies and only served to confuse him. Taking something that everyone did and making it wrong was not what my ex and I were going to do. Joe wasn’t hurting anyone, and that fact alone was enough to keep our mouths shut on the matter.

We would have had to have some talks if he’d started doing it out in public. Thankfully, that wasn’t a bridge we ever had to cross.

Remembering how relaxed and beautiful Amber looked as she explored her own gratification, I wondered if things had changed in the house since the divorce. Gauging by what I had just watched, it was fair to assume they hadn’t, at least not completely anyway.

I did wonder if Amber had seen me. I was pretty sure she hadn’t, but it’s not like it would have mattered if she indeed had. At least I didn’t think so. She had never cared before, but that was before her body really started to change and hormones took a firm hold on her. When it came to teen girls, the one thing I knew for certain was I didn’t know anything about them.

Before I could get much further in my thoughts, I heard Amber walking down the hall to her room. I figured anything else could wait until morning.

I was a bit surprised when I came into the kitchen early the next morning to find that Amber had beaten me there. She was sitting at the table, hunched over a bowl of cereal, shoveling heaping spoonfuls of Frosted Flakes towards her mouth that I would have sworn wouldn’t fit past her lips. It was then that my nose was suddenly assaulted by the best aroma I had ever experienced: coffee. Freshly brewed, hot coffee. I was floored. Not only was she up before me, but she also even put on a fresh pot of coffee!

“Good morning.” I stopped to give her a kiss on the top of her head and smiled proudly. “You’re up early.”

She just looked up at me and shrugged. “It’s not that early, Daddy.”

I had already taken two steps to get myself a mug out of the cupboard, but that little comment made me stop dead in my tracks. I gave her an inquisitive look. It was early, no matter how much she tried to act like it wasn’t. I could count on one hand the number of times Amber had woken up before the sun on her own accord. Something was up. The coffee should have been an obvious sign, now that I thought about it.

“I wanted to talk to you before Joe got up.”

“Okay,” I agreed. I pulled out the chair at the head of the table and sat down. “What’s on your mind?”

“You watched me last night.”

Shit, she did see me!

“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t mad or something.”

“Why would I be mad?” I asked, confused. If she had seen me, she had to know I wasn’t mad.

“I just wanted to make sure. I know back home—” Amber jerked, realizing how she was describing the old house and cut herself off mid-sentence, blushing. “I mean, at Mom’s house. I know she was the one that kind of started things…”

Amber was right, it was her Mom that started things and really was the one who pushed for the kids to experiment openly.

“Honey,” I said, trying to keep my voice soft and comforting. “It’s okay if you call your mom’s house home. It is your home, just like my house is, too. Okay?”

“Um, okay…” She looked a little relieved, but not completely.

“Now, as far as what you were doing on the couch last night, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure you’re not mad or anything?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know…”

“I promise I’m not even a little bit mad at you.” I walked over, wrapping my arms around her. I pulled her head into my stomach as I leaned over the back of her chair. “Remember what your Mom and I always told you about masturbation?”

“It’s natural and everyone does it?”

“Exactly.”

“So, it really is okay?” Amber twisted so she could look at my face and I could see the hopeful expression in her eyes.

“Absolutely.” I grinned and the bright toothy smile she gave me in return would have given the sun a run for its money.

After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I sighed and resigned to get a little work done on my computer. I had no more than settled into my “office” when I heard Amber’s chair push back and her move around the kitchen.

“Did you put the milk away?” I called.

“Shit! Uh… yeah.”

I grinned. I didn’t even have to look up to know she hadn’t. Her mother was terrible about putting things away after she was done with them. Drove me nuts. Amber had inherited the same habits.

I heard her feet padding quickly across the floor and then the telltale sound of the refrigerator door.

“Don’t forget to rinse out your bowl and put it in the dishwasher!”

“Dad, I know!”

Moments later, I heard the sound of the bowl sliding on the kitchen table followed by sounds of spraying water from the faucet turning on.

“I’m going to my room,” Amber announced. She sounded almost embarrassed that I had to remind her about cleaning up after herself. I heard her feet padding quickly across the room and I had just turned to look only to see her ass and legs as she ran down the hall and out of view.

I shook my head and chuckled under my breath. If I hadn’t said anything, I’d bet dollars to donuts that the milk, her used bowl, and the box of cereal would all have been left on the table.

After I finished off the last report I needed to go over and got it sent off to the office, I headed back to the kids’ rooms. I wanted to check on Amber and see if she had any ideas yet on how she wanted to decorate her room. Specifically, what color she wanted to paint the walls.

When I got to Amber’s door, it was slightly ajar. I looked across the hall and saw Joe’s was shut. I knocked gently on Amber’s door and waiting a few seconds for her to invite me in. When she didn’t, I poked my head in and found her room empty. That was curious, but not exactly strange. I went over to Joe’s door and knocked.

“Come in, Daddy!” Amber yelled from inside her brother’s room.

I opened the door to find my daughter stretched out on Joe’s bed. She was laying on her side, her head propped up on her hand, as she watched whatever Joe was doing on his computer. A quick glanced over his shoulder saw him playing what I assumed was World of Warcraft.

“Watching you brother play his game?” I asked.

“Yeah, I was bored.”

“Well, I wanted to come check on you and see if you had any ideas for your room yet.”

Amber’s eyes widened excitedly, and she quickly sat up.

“I do! Can we start with painting the walls? Then, I can start picking out sheets and a comforter that will match.”

“Have you picked out a color yet?”

“No, but I have some ideas. Can we go to a paint store or something so I can look at some samples?”

“Sure.” I nodded. “Do you want to go now? We can get back in time for Joe to make dinner?”

“Yes, that would be awesome!” Amber jumped off the bed and raced across the hall and into her room.

“You want to come too?” I asked Joe, but he didn’t even flinch at my words. “Earth to Joe!”

“Huh, what?” Joe asked, turning his head slightly but his eyes never left the screen on his desk.

“I said, do you want to come to the store with me and your sister and get some stuff for you room?”

“Do I have to?”

“No.”

“Okay, then I’ll just stay here.”

“Sounds good, we’ll see you when we get back.” I turned to leave but I paused in the doorway and looked back at Joe. “I’m looking forward to you making dinner tonight.”

That got Joe’s attention enough for him to take his eyes away from the game. He spun all the way around to look at me, a proud smile on his face.

“It’s going to be so good.”

“I don’t have a doubt in my mind,” I replied. “See you in a bit.”

When we got back from the store, we found Joe in the kitchen anxiously awaiting our arrival. Our trip wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped. I had taken Amber to the paint section of the local hardware store, and she was immediately overwhelmed. I should have known better, but I had done what she asked, and the results were…lackluster. We did come home with a few sample swatches of colors she wanted to look at in her room. I even got her a few little sample cans and some brushes so she could paint small sections of her walls, just so she could see what it would really look like. She got on board with that idea pretty quickly, thankfully.

We also made a quick stop at the grocery store for the ingredients we needed for dinner.

“Go ahead and get the grill going, Joe,” I said, while Amber and I unloaded the groceries.

“Already done!” Joe replied.

“Well, go ahead and do your thing then.”

“Badass!” Joe cheered.

“Language!” I barked, giving my son a disapproving look.

“Sorry…”

As it turned out, Joe was right. At least mostly right. He was pretty good at manning the grill. I felt a sense of pride while I watched him work. He made a couple of mistakes, but nothing that couldn’t be corrected with more experience and a few pointers from me. All in all, I was thoroughly impressed.

That night, we watched more of Shameless, with Amber and I on the couch and Joe taking up residence on the recliner. Amber immediately cuddled into my side the moment I got situated. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her eagerness. Like before, she pulled my arm down over her shoulder, so my forearm rested between her breasts. She wrapped her arms around mine, giving it a hug.

I looked down at her and smiled. Even though she was growing up, she still did things like hugging my arm, something she did all the time as a little girl. So, I did what I always did when she hugged me, I hugged her back, wrapping my right arm around her while she had my left one trapped between the soft but firm mounds on her chest. I couldn’t help but notice that they were now the perfect size to keep my arm nestled between them.

When she released her hold on my arm, I did the same to her body. She turned her head and grinned up at me happily before her focus went back on the TV. Her left hand remained on my arm, her fingertips toying and flitting across my skin, ensuring I didn’t move it while her right hand casually dropped onto my leg, just above my knee.

Now that she had the two of us positioned exactly how she wanted, Joe picked up the remote and hit play.

Things started getting a little interesting about midway through the first episode. There was a fun sex scene and it was evident right from the start it was having an effect on Amber. She initially started squirming against me. I could feel her breathing shift and grow shallow. I knew what those signs meant and looked to confirm my suspicions.

I watched as her left arm dropped, her hands slipping between her tightly clamped thighs. It was obvious what she was doing and when she hit the spot, her body suddenly stiffened. Her stomach tightened and hunched her shoulders forward. This caused her tits to press together around my arm. I didn’t dare move.

I wasn’t sure if she was squeezing her breasts around my arm on purpose, but there was no mistaking that sensation.

I kept an eye on what she was doing, mainly because she was still snuggled up into me. That, and I was curious. She hadn’t made herself orgasm, something like that I would have definitely noticed, but with the way her skin flushed, the choppy breathing, and how tight and hard her nipples now were, she wasn’t far off.

Thinking back to seeing her on the couch the night before, I wouldn’t’ve been shocked if she did finish herself off. It wouldn’t have been the first time, but things were different now. She was older, more mature. I wouldn’t say she was too self-conscious to do something like that with her father right there, but I wouldn’t rule that possibility out completely, either.

I had never instigated anything with her and I never planned to. As relaxed as our family was with regards to our bodies and sex in general, that was not a bridge I was going to cross. Sure, there’d been multiple times where she’d placed my hand on her chest in the past or done similar things, which she had obviously liked, but I’d never made the first move or even suggested I was willing or wanted to touch her in that way.

I had to admit, I was curious about what she’d do, now that she’d gotten a bit worked up. But when we called it a night, she just turned, gave me a quick kiss goodnight on the cheek, and hurried to her room. So, I guessed she wasn’t going to take care of herself on the couch. Maybe the scenes hadn’t turned her on as much as I’d thought.

The next morning after a quiet breakfast, Amber spent a couple of hours in her room testing the various shades of blues, pinks, and purple paint samples that she’d picked out from the store on her walls. If I hadn’t insisted she put down some of the leftover plastic drop cloth I had laying around to catch any drips, she would have completely ruined her carpet. Thankfully, she agreed to my suggestion and that saved me a few hundred dollars in destroyed flooring. It's too bad I couldn’t just wrap her up in it as well because she ended up wearing as much of the paint on her body as she got on the walls.

Still, it was fun to watch her get all excited about painting her room. Joe even came over to help out, which was a shock, but Amber just grinned happily and handed him a brush.