Model for Stepdad

You're on the escalator to the second floor of the mall, standing side-by-side with your stepdad, a little squeezed together by the handrails.

He puts his hand on your lower back to steady you and, jokes, "You're giving me a workout with all these bags, sweetie. I might get even more ripped after today!" He flexes one bicep with mock swagger.

You giggle and roll your eyes holding your own scrawny bicep up, "That's the plan, Sir. One of us needs muscles and you know it's not gonna be me!"

He laughs and starts caressing your back gently. "Ah, so that is it. Trying to work me out so I have a nice hot dad bod to show off this summer? Oh and no need to be so formal outside the house." He grins

You playfully swat his arm, "O-m-g!" you say, pronouncing each letter out loud like Megan taught you. It's embarrassing but she'd started giving you tasks to help you 'acclimate,' as she put it. "Yeah right! You'll be showing me off this summer! Between swim and gymnastics I've never been in better shape."

He glances down - you can't tell where exactly - but you feel his hand slide a little lower, brushing your skirt. "Mmm, you're right. I think you might be bikini-ready. Hot girl summer?"

You laugh out loud, genuinely taken by surprise. "Daddy! Shh, people can hear you!" You blush but smile, stepping off the escalator. you feel weird for a second and realize it's because Jeff's hand left your back. He's already walking towards a women's apparel store you haven't been to yet and you quickly jog to catch up.

"Wait, where are we going? This isn't on the list..."

Jeff grins back at you, "I know. We're getting you some swimsuits."

Your eyes widen as you come into the summer section and colorful, bright, skimpy feminine swimwear suddenly surrounds you.

"Wait, you aren't serious, are you... daddy?"

He raises a playful eyebrow. "Sure I am." He leans in and whispers in your ear. "But I will need you to model one for me. Daddy's orders."

You can't find the words to respond, and just nod dumbly, going around picking out swimwear on autopilot. It was rare for him to just give orders without an explanation of what they were for, how they were for your own benefit. Did he know that commanding you out of the blue like that would overwhelm you so much it made your brain numb?

You take your haul into one of the changing rooms - purposefully picking the one farthest from any other person - and try on swimsuit after swimsuit. It's your first time putting on women's swimwear, and somehow that makes it more emasculating. It's one more way in which femininity has seeped into your life. You know you'd never actually wear the articles outside, but the fact that you might own them makes your spine tingle.

"Everything OK, Aiken? You've been in there a while," Jeff calls from outside.

"I'm fine!" you call back, voice quavering slightly. "Just trying to find a..." you grit your teeth and feel your face turn red, "Trying to find a cute one to show you."

There's a pause then your stepdad says, "Oh! Heh, well then... take your time!"

You strip the tight bottoms and top you're currently wearing and pick the suit you liked best, throwing it on without looking in the mirror. You don't want to see yourself in it longer than you have to.

Then you take a deep breath and stand by the door. "O-okay... I'm ready..."

You steady yourself, push the door open and step out.

Your bikini is a turquoise two-piece with little sparkly 'scales' around the band of the bottoms to make you look like a mermaid. The top has iridescent frills over the cups to add some volume to your chest. And the straps on the top have little plastic seashells where they fall on the shoulders, over the fasteners.

"Okay, you saw, can I go back in n-!"

You hear the shutter sound of a picture being snapped before you see the phone in Jeff's hands.

"Wait, I didn't say you could take a picture! Delete it!" Forgetting what you're wearing, you run over to your stepdad and reach for the phone.

Jeff playfully pulls his phone away as you jump for it, holding it up over his head to use your short height against you. "Oh no, I'm keeping this! It's way too precious!"

"Come on! Daddyyy, its embarrassing! Delete it!"

"I think this is gonna be my new phone background!" he teases.

He laughs as you put one hand on his chest, using him as leverage to hop for the phone.

After a minute of this, you start laughing too, enjoying the playfulness of playing keep-away with your stepdad, forgetting about the picture altogether for a second and just having fun with the game, giggling and letting daddy tease you.

Your play is cut off abruptly when you hear a stern "Ahem." from nearby.

An older woman in a red pantsuit looks at you both with arms crossed. "Excuse me, sir. You're disturbing the other customers. We're going to have to ask you and your daughter to pay for your items and leave immediately."

You look around and see half the store staring at you. Then you remember what you're wearing and feel like you could explode from the humiliation.

Later, you're walking through the concourse, back in your regular clothes, arms crossed tightly, refusing to even look at Jeff. You've never been so embarrassed in your life and it's all his fault!

"Aw, come on honey!" he laughs. "Lighten up, it's not like they kicked us out of the whole mall or banned us forever. It's funny!"

You don't answer, looking askance at the stores passing by. You spy a makeup store and go in without a word, punishing your stepdad by making him wait while you look through a million pallets and buy a bunch of expensive ones you don't need with his money.

It annoys you when you come out like forever later and he doesn't even look bored or annoyed in the slightest. He's just sitting on a bench under a fake tree, staring out across the atrium like he's daydreaming. You follow his gaze and are surprised to find he's looking at a salon. Huge pictures of beautiful women with long, wavy flowing hair and big smiles cover the windows. A sign by the entrance reads 'Extensions now available!"

"Uhh, what are you looking at? Need a haircut?" you ask, automatically handing him your bags as he stands. Your curiosity wins out over your anger and you forget to be petty.

"Oh, uh... nothing. Hey, when does your mom get back from her trip again?"

You shrug. "Like, ten days or something. Why?"

He chews his bottom lip a moment then says, "No reason, just wondering." He sounds almost disappointed, but only for a second. "Anyway, where to next?"

You point to a store in the distance near the back of the mall. The name 'Divine' hangs in big letters over the entrance.

"I want to go in there," you say. It was the store the woman from the underwear store had mentioned. She had been so helpful that you felt sort of obligated to humor her. It couldn't be any worse than modeling bikinis in public.

Jeff seems surprised, but unusually pleased. "Really? Thinking about getting something?"

You nod and shrug. "Um, yeah... sure. If they have something cute, why not?" you say, thinking it's a regular clothing store.

To your infinite embarrassment, you discover that Divine is, in fact, a sexy lingerie and slutty costume store.