Ted’s dilemna continues (part 3)
by boudicca
Ted’s mate learns the hard way not to accept Tammi’s challenges.

Ted had learnt to accept his little sister, Tammi’s, dominance over him. 
It became obvious to him that, provided he did what he was told, she 
could be quite understanding and their new relationship could be 
reasonably amicable. Nevertheless, Ted lived in a precarious position 
when his mother was not at home to protect him and Ted was thankful 
Tammi went to a different school. In which case, so long as Ted played 
his cards right when he was at home alone with his younger sister, they 
could live quite peacefully together. 

More importantly for Ted, he had to accept that Tammi had begun to 
blossom, almost impossibly. When Tammi and her two friends had 
overpowered and humiliated him, six months before, Ted had to accept 
that his little sister was physically superior to him, despite their 
five year age difference. Then, however, Tammi had been about the same 
size as her friend, Josie, and just a little shorter, though more 
solidly built, than their young neighbour Marj. Ted could remember, at 
the time they taught him who was boss, his sister had been, perhaps, 
half a forehead shorter than Marj. That position, in the subsequent few 
months, had been reversed. 

Whenever Marj and Josie were together with Tammi, Ted realised they had 
begun to feel intimidated by Tammi’s burgeoning growth spree. Not that 
Tammi had any inclination, whatever, to dominate them. Their 
association remained a good one, however, Ted did notice how they 
occasionally looked at Tammi with a degree of amazement. Indeed, the 
one most affected by her growth spree, apart from Ted, was Tammi 
herself. He’d begun to hear her complain to their mother more and more 
about her growing size and proportions and the impact her growth had on 
her gymnastic felixibility. While her rapid development had caused her 
to bulk up, her continuing sporting activities made certain her bulk 
remained hard and muscular. 

It had become clear to Tammi, and it appeared to their mother as well, 
that Tammi’s ambition to represent her country in gymnastics at the 
Olympic Games was looking more and more doubtful. Her girlish vitality 
and agility had slowly begun to be replaced by sheer size and strength. 
Ted had almost cringed as he heard his mother temper Tammi’s rising 
concerns by coaxing her to concentrate more on track and field where her 
developing physique might be an advantage. Even the Institute where 
Tammi trained and was schooled, had begun to urge her toward an athletic 
career. In the last few months or so, she had begun to accept the 
reality of her situation and started to vere toward athletics. That 
might not have been of any great consequence, from Ted’s point of view, 
except that his mother and the Insititute, no longer concerned with 
Tammi’s flexibility for gymnastics, had begun to direct her toward 
strength training. 

The thought of his little sister going to a gym to improve her strength 
actually frightened Ted. The results didn’t bear too much thought about 
where it might lead. Ted realised he was probably not the only one to 
be intimidated by his younger sister’s development. He couldn’t help 
over-hearing a couple of converations between Tammi and their mother 
about a little problem which had developed at the Institute’s gymnasium. 
Apparently, a lot of the boys had complained about some ‘little bitch’ 
who was showing off all the time and distracting them from their own 
routines. Ted had no illusions about what probably happened in reality. 
Tammi probably had no intention of showing off. Ted’s guess was, from 
the moment she walked into the gym, she’d have been stronger than most 
of the guys there. That wouldn’t have gone down too well among a bunch 
o f budding young Olympic hopefuls. Even more damaging to their egos 
would have been the speed with which Tammi’s strength had begun to 
improve. 

The result of that particular problem, as Ted came to realise, was that 
Laura, their mother, had approached Tammi’s athletics’ coach and 
insisted that Tammi do her training at their mother’s gym. After some 
negotiation, the coach had apparently accepted this alternative as a 
good way to overcome the problems Tammi’s amazing development had caused 
at the Institute, itself. But Ted was beside himself when he realised 
his mother was going to take over Tammi’s strength development. Even 
Ted had witnessed what, only a few months of training with weights had 
done to his little sister. Her legs, once firm and muscular, with no 
real substantial bulk to hinder her gymnastics’ development, had 
suddenly begun to expand impossibly. Ted had to accept that, although 
Tammi had grown a good few inches in the preceding months, her legs had 
developed even more qui ckly. That, he was certain, was one of the 
reasons why Josie and Marj often stood back and eyed Tammi with awe from 
time to time. 

Nevertheless, neither Josie nor Marj had to endure her as a little 
sister. Ted was left with no doubts about where he stood. His little 
sister had easily proved to be his physical superior on that afternoon, 
six months before, and Ted had simply had to accept it. But her rapid 
development since that time, had only caused Ted to realise she was 
simply leaving him in her wake. Any pretext he might have harboured, 
that she might deteriorate with time, was quickly dispelled. Her 
adolescent growth spree was going to be matched by a proportional 
strength development. Ted could see nothing but trouble on the horizon 
in that event. Her new exuberance in weight training hed begun to 
transform his little sister from a pocket titan into an emerging 
battleship. 

While Ted still towered over his little sister, he realised her body was 
beginning to bulk up impossibly and the day when she actually outweighed 
her 18 year old brother appeared to be looming ever closer. 
Nevertheless, Ted new he had to find someway to survive her adolescence, 
first, and that, in the meantime, appeared to be a case of pandering to 
her occasional whims. He’d also noticed that Josie and Marj, as 
friends, were slowly drifting away from her as Tammi became more and 
more involved with her athletics’ training. New friends had begun to 
enter her life. 

For Ted’s part, he had to deftly plan his every move, to make certain 
his sister’s dominance over him remained his secret. Although Josie and 
Marj knew how Tammi dominated her older brother, Ted began to see less 
and less of them and was thankful they went to a different school from 
Ted. So long as Tammi was the boss in the house, Ted could live with 
it. It had been important for Ted to make certain he only invited 
friends home to his place when he knew his mother would be at home. So 
it had been, on this Saturday morning, when he and David Warner sat in 
front of Ted’s computer playing games, just as they had the night 
before. 

Ted had been careful to make sure his mother would be at home on the 
Friday night when David came around for dinner and a night with his 
school friend. When Laura also confided that she had managed to clear 
the way for Saturday, so that she could have a rare weekend off, Ted had 
been happy to suggest that David stay the night. All had gone well, 
until, shortly after breakfast on the Saturday morning, an urgent call 
had come through from the gym. Ted couldn’t make it all out, he only 
managed to pick up snippets of the conversation as he eavesdropped on 
his mother’s conversation over the phone. But it sounded like something 
terrible had happened down the gym, something to do with the plumbing 
and the pool. Whatever the case, his mother had to go there to see what 
the problem was and s ee what could be done about it on a Saturday 
morning. She said she’d get home as soon as she could. 

The moment Ted realised his mother would be away during the morning, he 
suggested to David they try his new game again, that morning, as their 
previous night’s competition had proved inconclusive. Fact was, Ted 
hoped locking themselves away in his bedroom, might offer some limited 
respite from his little sister. Indeed, Ted had been so determined to 
get the jump on Tammi, that he managed to talk David into it before his 
mother had changed to leave for the gym. It had taken about 15 minutes, 
from the time he heard his mother leave, before Ted began to relax. By 
then, he had almost convinced himself that Tammi was going to show some 
sibling understanding by not humiliating him in front of their guest. 

Both boys were intently juggling their respective joysticks when Ted 
almost tore his joystick in half when he heard the bedroom door open. 
His shoulders quickly tensed and he grimaced unintentionally as he 
closed his eyes and hoped nothing would happen. 

“ Teddy ?” 

David had heard the door open, as well, and he turned to see who it was. 
As he swivelled about on his chair, he couldn’t fail to notice his 
friend’s sudden, inexplicable tenseness. But David looked about over 
his shoulder as he slowly allowed the chair to swivel with him. He 
couldn’t begin to understand how, much less why, his mate’s little 
sister had entered the room without so much as a polite knock. When he 
saw her standing there, having entered without a care in the world, to 
stand in the middle of the room near the bed, David’s jaw simply hung 
limply down near his chest. Tammi glanced at him indifferently before 
turning her eyes back to her brother. Ted slowly turned his head toward 
her and tried to smile graciously. Tammi was wearing her new track-suit 
and runners. She looked quite unassuming and, if Ted wasn’t mistaken, 
very cute. 

“ Mum says I’ve got to mop the bathroom floor before she gets home “ 
Tammi said without further explanation. As though she were making idle 
conversation, so far as David could tell. David’s head slowly turned to 
look to Ted, incredulously. What on Earth has that got to do with the 
price of eggs David thought silently. He watched for his friend’s 
reaction to his little sister’s unpardonable and unannounced entry into 
his bedroom. Ted simply nodded silently in response to Tammi’s banter. 
David’s eyes slowly looked back to Tammi and she seemed to look him over 
distastefully before she turned and made her way back to the door. As 
she began to let herself out again, she stopped with the door in her 
hand and turned back to Ted to advise “ Oh, and don’t forget the 
washing up from breakfast.” She smiled unconvincingly and began to 
close th e door. Just before it closed over, it reopened partially and 
Tammi popped her head in again to add “ Get your mate to help, you’ll 
get it done twice as fast then. That way you can get back to your nerdy 
game.” Tammi grinned gleefully and then thought to advise “ I’m going 
round to Emily’s place for a while, I want it all finished before I get 
back.” With those words, Tammi quietly closed the door and left them to 
themselves. 

David’s jaw still hung down near his chest as he slowly turned about to 
face Ted. Ted dropped his eyes to the floor and refused to look at his 
friend. By then, Ted had already swivelled around and stood behind his 
chair. Finally, David urged “ What the fuck was that all about ?” 
David could still hardly accept that his mate’s little sister had had 
the audacity to enter his room, much less issue, what sounded like, 
orders for her big brother. Ted sidled awkwardly behind his chair, 
looking at the floor silently. Ted didn’t know how to explain himself, 
until, eventually, an idea formed. He looked to his friend 
apologetically and confided “ Me and Tammi had a bet, she won, so I’ve 
got to do her chores this weekend.” Even Ted accepted his excuse 
sounded pretty lame and noticed his friend seemed unconvinced so he 
added “ Can’t expect her 
 to do mine if I don’t keep to the bargain when she wins.” Ted smiled 
and shrugged as he began to edge toward the door. 

“ Fuck that !” David argued. Ted looked to his friend as David added 
“ Tell the bitch you’ll do it next weekend, or when ever you’ve got the 
time.“ David twisted his head away and sighed “ stuff that, I wouldn’t 
let her get away with it.” Ted continued to hover near the door as he 
looked back to David. There appeared to be no way of explaining it any 
better than he had, so Ted simply defended “ Nah, might as well get it 
over and done with.“ Ted smiled again as David stared at him as if he 
had just accused Ted of some heinous crime. Once again, Ted tried to 
subdue his friend’s obvious displeasure by suggesting “ You play the 
computer, it won’t take me that long, I’d really prefer to get it out of 
the way.” Realising his friend was still unconvinced, Ted shrugged and 
let himself out. The moment he was out of sight, he rushed to get the 
mop and bucket and stormed into the chores as quickly as he possibly 
could. 

Nevertheless, Ted was pissed-off when he glanced up at the kitchen clock 
as he packed the last of the breakfast dishes away. It had taken him 
almost an hour to complete the tasks which he’d expected would have 
taken him less than half an hour. He quickly dashed up the stairs 
toward his bedroom. When he grabbed the handle of his bedroom door, he 
hesitated for a moment. He wondered how he was going to face his friend 
after appearing so obedient to his sister’s demands. Eventually, after 
a moment’s deliberation, Ted shrugged and accepted he would just have to 
accept it and so would David. He opened the door and marched in with a 
smile which feigned accomplishment. David’s rigid position at the 
computer was sufficient evidence of his complete contempt for Ted’s 
humble expedience. 

Ted continued to smile as he took his seat and swivelled around in front 
of the monitor beside his friend. “ How’d you go ?” Ted asked as he 
grabbed his joystick, ready to pick up where they had left off, almost 
an hour before. David turned contemptibly to look to Ted as he said, 
with a smirk “ It put up more of a fight than you did.” Ted accepted 
the double-meaning of his friend’s remark but decided to ignore its 
intent. “ Ready for another then ?” Ted asked as he juggled the 
joystick as enthusiastically as he dare. David released his own 
joystick and leaned back in the chair with a pronounced sigh before he 
murmured “ I’m a bit sick of it, to be honest.” David continued to 
look at the screen silently after he’d confided he’d had enough of the 
game. Ted glanced over and saw David lean back even further in his 
chair as he fo rced his legs out in front of him beneath the desk. 
David put his hands in his pockets and glanced fleetingly toward Ted and 
his imploring eyes before returning his attention back to the screen. 

“ Whad’a you want to do then ?” Ted asked, trying his best to defuse 
the situation. David shrugged without offering an opinion. Ted quietly 
replaced his joystick on the desk and tried to think of an option 
himself. For his part, David was dreaming about Tammi. He’d secretly 
hoped he’d get a chance to know her a little better. Unfortunately, 
apart from some polite conversation with Ted’s mother and sister at the 
dinner table the night before, he’d had little opportunity to get to 
make her acquaintance. He reflected on her entry into Ted’s room a 
little while before and forgot about the situation it created and 
visiualised her again in his mind. She’d been wearing a nice, bright 
track-suit and a pair of runners. Her hair had been tied back into a 
neat pony-tail. She’d looked even cuter than usual. Suddenly, David 
glanced to his frien d and asked “ How old’s Tammi ?” 

Ted had been staring mindlessly at the screen saver when his friend 
asked an apparently irrelevant question. Ted glanced at his mate and 
confided “ 13, she turns 14 in a couple of months.” Ted’s eyes drifted 
back to the screen as he asked “ Why ?” David kept his eyes on his 
feet under the desk as he shrugged as indifferently as he could. Ted 
wondered if David fancied her or something. Even Ted accepted, to those 
who didn’t know her better, she probably would have appeared quite 
innocent and cute. Ted glanced at his mate a moment and decided to test 
the water a little and admitted “ She’s sports’ mad.“ David glanced 
at Ted for a fleeting moment before looking back to his feet. “ How 
long’s she been going to the Institute ?” David asked. 

Just as Ted was about to answer, both boys’ heads turned back to the 
door as they heard voices downstairs. They both listened intently for a 
moment. Tammi’s voice could be heard clearly, but they realised she had 
someone else with her. “ Who is it ? “ David asked as he continued to 
listen carefully. Ted seemed to raise his hand to suggest David remain 
quite so that Ted could listen. Ted, half expected to hear Josie or 
Marj’s voices. He soon realised it was neither Josie nor Marj. 
Finally, Ted, while still with his head tilted toward the door as he 
listened, suggested “ It might be Emily. Tammi’s got new friends since 
she started doing athletics, I’ve hardly met any of them.” 

“ How long’s she been at the Institute ?” David decided to ask again as 
he watched Ted continue to listen carefully to the voices downstairs. 
Ted glanced curiously at his friend as he tried to work out who Tammi 
was with. “ Who ?” he murmured, not fully comprehending David’s 
question. “ Tammi ? “ David reiterated “ how long’s she been at the 
Institute ?“ 

“ Since she was 5 “ Ted said indifferently as his head remained tilted 
and not altogether interested in David’s curious digressions. “ Jesus ! 
She must be fit ! “ David beamed as he suddenly drew his legs up toward 
him and staightened his posture. If Ted wasn’t mistaken, he’d have 
sworn David had become excited. “ That ain’t the half of it !” Ted 
mentioned as he tried to make out the conversation downstairs to see if 
that might help him discern who their guest was. David leaned toward 
his friend, almost conspiratorially, as if he wanted to confide a secret 
as he asked “ what do you mean, ‘that ain’t the half of it’ ?”. Ted 
glanced at his friend and thought to suggest that his little sister was 
not only fit, she was strong enough to completely dominate her 18 year 
old brother and, he was convinced, anyone else who hadn’t been a trained 
and hardened SAS commando. Once he realised David was intent on knowing 
more about his little sister, Ted decided to try and change the subject 
by allowing them both an opportunity to satiate their curiosity. “ 
Fancy a drink or something ? “ Ted asked. 

“ Yeah, good idea “ David agreed, knowing that would give them both an 
excuse to go downstairs. “ OK, let’s go “ Ted said as he pushed 
himself up quickly. Both boys hurried to the door and Ted held it open 
for his friend to go through first. As David stepped through, Ted heard 
Tammi call him. He was glad he’d got the jump on her, as it would look 
like a coincidence then, rather than Ted being called upon to cater to 
his sister’s whims. As they moved to the top of the stairs and began to 
make their way down, Ted heard Tammi call him again, but this time she 
had made her way to the bottom of the stairs. When she looked up and 
saw him on his way down, she said “ Oh, good, you’re on your way.” 
Ted made his way down behind David and, as he reached the bottom stair, 
Tammi glanced across the room to the sofa and announced “ Emily, this 
is my brother, Ted “ Ted looked over to the sofa and saw a girl sitting 
there who looked up from a book or pamphlet and smiled and nodded to 
Ted. Despite his best intentions, Ted nearly stumbled off the last step 
when he saw the girl look to him. 

She was absolutely beautiful and Ted was convinced all his previous 
crushes were little more than puppy-love, Emily, on the other hand, was 
the real thing. “ Make us a couple of those special drinks I taught you 
to make, won’t you Teddy ” Tammi said as Ted tried to tear his eyes 
away from the girl on the sofa to look to his sister. He knew Tammi had 
asked him in her most condescending and friendly tone, but he also knew 
it was, indeed, a demand. “ Sure “ Ted said, as nicely as he could, as 
if he were pleased to do the girls a favour. As Ted quickened his pace 
across the living room toward the kitchen, he glanced back to Emily and 
saw her smiling graciously in his direction again. Ted’s own smile 
broadened into a mindless gest, until he bumped into David’s back and he 
bounced back awkwardly. Ted reached out and grabbed his friend to 
steady h imself as he murmured “ Sorry “. David had stopped to wait 
for his friend and hadn’t been quick enough to prevent their collision 
since David, had, at the last moment, glanced back to peek at Tammi who 
stood below the stairs. 

Ted, once he’d steadied himself, looked back across to Emily and 
shrugged, as if to imply it had been a funny accident rather than 
another example of his clumsy incompetence. Emily smiled but her eyes 
wandered to look at something behind Ted and he looked back over his 
shoulder. Tammi was standing at the bottom of the stairs with her hands 
on her hips and her eyes glaring at him. She tapped her foot 
threateningly and Ted lunged forward, pushing his friend along in front 
of him like a stray sheep toward the kitchen. 

Once they were in the kitchen and out of sight, David pushed Ted away 
and cursed “ Jesus, leave it off will ya !“ Ted glanced at his friend 
and smiled stupidly before he forced his way passed David and made his 
way quickly to the frige. David pushed his hands into his pockets and 
watched his friend fossick about behind the frige door. David glanced 
back over his shoulder to the unseen living room and conjured images of 
Ted’s little sister. 

Ted grabbed the specially prepared fruit mix and the low-fat milk and 
was about to close the door again when he thought of Emily. He stared 
into the frige blindly, without even thinking about what he was looking 
for. Suddenly he snapped out of his little fantasy and reached for the 
cream. He wanted to make Emily something special. Ted quickly kicked 
the door closed and juggled the items in his hands as he dashed over to 
the blender where he fumbled to put everything down beside it. “ That 
‘s not what I had in mind “ David mentioned as he saw his friend begin 
to throw fruit and milk into the blender. Ted looked over his shoulder 
as he continued to prepare Tammi and Emily’s special drink. He stared 
uncertainly at his friend for a moment before he offered “ Oh, sorry, 
help yourself, there’s plenty of drinks in the frige.” 

David shrugged and made his way over to the frige as Ted continued his 
preparations. “ Haven’t you got any real drinks, this is all health 
shit “ David called from over the open frige door. The blender 
whirred into life as Ted looked at David with a painfully puzzled 
expression. “ What ?” he called out to be heard over the roaring 
blender. 

“ You milking the cow in there ? Or what ? “ Tammi called from the 
living room, distracting Ted from his friend who was trying to call out 
over the blender’s noise. Ted became confused and mildly paniced as he 
suddenly realised he was blending everything into oblivion. He turned 
it off and nervously tried to get the contents from the blender into two 
glasses. As he carefully poured, he looked over to see David arrive by 
his side with a container of orange juice and a bottle of sparkling 
mineral water. He watched, curiously, as he saw David pour half of each 
into a glass. Once he’d done so, David raised the glass to his lips and 
saw Ted watching him inquisitively. Just before Ted began to drink he 
shrugged and advised “ It ain’t a proper drink if it ain’t got bubbles 
in it.” Ted rolled his eyes and slowly and carefully picked up the two 
 glasses he’d prepared and filled. 

He quickly made his way back to the living room. His excitment grew at 
the prospect of getting a closer look at Emily. But he became impatient 
as he realised he’d filled the glasses too exuberantly in his enthusiasm 
to get back to his sister. Ted had to watch the glasses in his hands 
as he made his way across the living room toward his sister and her 
friend. His concentration on the drinks, didn’t allow him an 
opportunity to raise his eyes until he reached the sofa. When he 
arrived, he looked up to hand the drinks to his sister and friend. 
Tammi had taken a position on the coffee table, sitting directly in 
front of and facing Emily. Ted leaned over carefully and handed the 
girls their drinks. He ignored Tammi as Emily looked up and smiled 
warmly as she took the drink in both he r hands and lowered it steadily 
to her lips. Ted watched on, mesmerised, as Emily took a small sip to 
diminish the contents which had sat precariously close to overflowing. 
Once she took a sip, Ted almost crooned as Emily lightly licked the 
milky mixture off her upper lip before smiling graciously and lifting 
her shoulders slightly as she murmured “ nice “. 

Ted suddenly wondered if he was ever going to recover from his sudden 
crush on the girl before him. As he looked on senselessly, he finally 
realised Emily was looking to Tammi intently. Ted glanced nervously to 
his sister, but she smiled quite reassuringly as she looked up to him 
fleetingly. Then Ted noticed Tammi’s eyes drift away from him, to look 
back across the room toward the kitchen. Ted looked back over his 
shoulder as Tammi called “ Come on over.” David, as near as Ted could 
tell, was doing his best interpretation of a cool-dude as he casually 
eased himself away from the door architrave he’d been leaning against 
and sauntered over toward the others. David sipped his drink as he 
walked over nonchalantly before coming to a halt by the coffee table, 
next to Ted and slightly behind Tammi’s position on the opposite side. 

David continued to hold the drink, he’d concocted, up against his lips 
in his two hands. Almost, Ted thought, protectively. Tammi continued 
to look back to him as she finally said “ Sorry, I’ve forgotten your 
name ?“ David lowered the glass fractionally and tried to appear 
indifferent as he murmured “ David.“ 

“ David, this is Emily “ Tammi offered by way of introduction. As 
David and Emily exchanged greetings, Tammi looked to her brother and 
gestured toward the sofa, as she suggested “ Why don’t you sit down, 
Teddy “ Ted looked at his sister suspiciously and then glanced to 
Emily. He opted for a spot next to Emily and began to seat himself just 
as Tammi looked back up to David and mentioned “ Then you’ll be able to 
see me and David have an arm wrestle.” Oh no Ted thought to himself as 
he glanced up to David to judge his friend’s reaction to the indirect 
challenge. Tammi put her drink to one side and slid off the coffee 
table to kneel in front of it. She provocatively placed her right elbow 
up on the table to offer it to David. David continued to stand with his 
drink up near his lips as he glanced from Tammi to Ted. Ted looked like 
he’d j ust seen a ghost and David realised he would find no solace 
there. 

David lowered the glass from his face as he looked down to Tammi and her 
raised arm. He advised “ I don’t think I’m really in the mood for an 
arm wrestle.” Tammi continued to look up into David’s eyes as he, once 
again raised his glass, nervously, she suspected, to his lips again. 
Tammi continued to hold her arm on the table, as a challenge, while she 
turned about to look to Emily and Ted. “ Do I detect a little fear here 
?“ she asked them both, before she turned to look back up to David to 
taunt “ You’re not scared of a 13 year old girl, are you, David ?” 
David shrugged and, once again looked to Ted. David, impartially, 
noticed Emily’s expectant gaze before he returned his attention to his 
friend’s little sister. Tammi raised her eyebrows a little as a silent 
gest, tempting David to have a think about his situation. 

Which is exactly what David did as he stood there with his glass 
hovering in front of his face. He considered the prospect of actually 
doing something physical with his mate’s young sister. It was, after 
all, his first chance to actually make her acquaintance and it would be 
a physical acquaintance at that, he defended, silently to himself. He 
imagined gripping her hand and struggling to overcome her. She might 
have been a sports’ freak and going to the National Insitute of Sport, 
but she was only 13, after all, and David was 18, going on 19. It was, 
he realised, a contest between a young girl in her early adolescence and 
a young, fully grown man. David almost smirked as he looked around his 
position before he bent down and put his glass on the floor, out of 
harm’s way. “ Have it your own way “ David admitted as he lowered 
himself to his kn ees on the opposite side of the coffee table from 
Tammi. 

“ Oh good “ Tammi offered as she saw him lower himself and place his 
arm on the table. Tammi glanced back to Emily and winked, she ignored 
her brother’s accusing stare. Ted wondered what Tammi’s strength was 
going to do to his friend’s ego. He wondered if it would survive the 
contest at all. When Tammi looked back over the table to see David 
holding his arm up in readiness, Tammi suddenly asked, as she lifted her 
arm off the table and raised it “ Want to feel what you’re up against 
?” David looked at her uncertainly and his eyes shifted, almost 
imperceptively, to see Ted, as if to find out what Tammi was up to. “ 
Go on “ Tammi persisted when David hesitated. David saw her upper arm 
rise against the bulky material of her track-suit top, but the sight 
offered no clue about its true size or firmness. David looked her in 
the eyes a mo ment and noticed her imploring him to try her arm. David 
shrugged and leaned forward as he reached over and grabbed her arm 
lightly in his hand. 

The moment he did so, his face changed from one bordering on curiosity 
to one of disbelief. His eyes bulged perceptively as Tammi said “ Go 
on, squeeze it David.” Her tone of voice offered David further 
confusion as he wasn’t certain whether her remark was a dare or an 
innocent plea. What David did realise, however, was that her upper arm 
was a lot larger than he had expected it would be. The moment he began 
to apply a little pressure to it, he saw her hand clench far more tighly 
as, too, beneath the material of her track-suit sleeve, did her forearm. 
The moment Tammi tensed her arm more tightly, her bicep exploded into a 
great knotted mass under his fingers and resembled, he realised, 
tempered steel. Tammi grinned gleefully when she saw David’s eyes look 
very uncertainly at her arm as he continued to squeeze it. Finally, 
David nervously withdr ew his hand and murmured “ Impressive.” 

David quickly and as casually as he dare, repositioned his arm ready for 
the contest. He knew he’d passed the point of no return, he could 
hardly back out, simply because one feel of her arm had caused him to 
doubt his own abilities against hers, despite the age difference. Once 
again, David thought to himself, in his own defence, she’s a 13 year 
old girl, she couldn’t possibly be strong enough to beat me. As he 
replaced his elbow on the table, Tammi replaced her own. For a few 
moments they tried to grip thumbs and force their wrists against one 
another, but the difference in forearm length offered a difficult 
compromise and they both fidgeted for a firm position. Finally, Tammi 
looked around the room for a moment and then said to Ted “ hand us that 
telephone book, would you.” Ted had been watching the event so 
intently, his sister’s questi on almost startled him. He straightened 
quickly and looked at her incomprehensibly for a fleeting second, before 
he leaned over to the small table beside the sofa and lifted the 
telephone book off it and handed it to his sister. 

Tammi grabbed it and placed it under her elbow. Once again David and 
Tammi locked their thumbs tightly and brought their wrists together. “ 
Perfect “ Tammi admitted once they realised their wrists were at the 
same heights. For a suspenseful second, Tammi’s thumb-hold around her 
opponent’s thumb tightened very noticeably before it loosened again. 
David flinched unintentionally at the sheer power of her hold and he 
glanced at her very uncertainly before she eased her hold and looked him 
in the eyes threateningly. David gulped awkwardly before he asked 
hesitantly, “ Do you want to say when ?” Tammi looked to him and said 
“ No, Ted will say when to go.” Ted almost jumped again when his name 
had been mentioned. He had become so enthralled with the lead-up to the 
contest he found himself leaning forward toward the coffee table with 
his 
 elbows on his knees and his head bowed forward. His concentration so 
intense, he could bearly focus on anything else. Until his sister 
suggested he tell them when to start. 

Ted regathered his senses and looked to each of the contestants in turn. 
He noticed, David was beginning to look very uncertain. Then Ted felt 
Emily’s shoulder move forward, just beside his own shoulder. He 
realised she had become enthralled too, once the contest was about to 
start. Ted could feel Emily’s body heat as he asked “ Are you both 
ready then ?” Both Tammi and David glanced to him and nodded as they 
both seemed to tighten their respective holds on each other. “ OK then 
“ Ted murmured, “ Go !” His final call had so little enthusiasm 
attached, the start to the contest resembled an anti-climax. 

Very little seemed to happen after Ted called go. Both contestants’ 
hands remained upright and tightly locked together. After a few 
moments, Ted glanced to Emily, who, in turn, looked to him as she 
shrugged curiously. Ted took a closer look at each of the contestants 
and noticed, when he did so, that David had begun to apply some 
considerable effort. He recognised the minor strain on his friend’s 
face and the limited tenseness in his arm as he applied pressure against 
Tammi’s wrist. Tammi, on the other hand, was not in the least 
inconvenienced and appeared to be sitting there completely unaffected by 
David’s attempts to overcome her. Nevertheless, Ted assumed, David 
still had a fair bit in reserve and seemed unwilling to give it his best 
shot from the outset. Perhaps, Ted thought, he was keeping some energy 
in reserve. Still, it was obvious enoug h to Ted, that David was 
slowly increasing his effort the more he seemed to realise his strength 
was having little impact against Tammi’s resistance. 

Tammi finally turned casually to her brother and almost yawned “ You 
did say go, before, didn’t you ?” Her taunt seemed to have the effect 
she wanted as Ted noticed David glance angrily toward her before he 
suddenly heaved with all his might against her arm. Still it wouldn’t 
budge. Ted watched on as David’s face began to reveal the strain as he 
grimaced and heaved with all he had, channeling all his energy down into 
his arm. Even as he did so, Tammi still appeared completely unperturbed 
as she glanced to Emily and almost shrugged as she said “ Either he’s 
not trying or he’s as weak as piss “. 

David’s fury welled up like a flood and he forced himself to apply even 
greater effort into the contest. Still he couldn’t budge Tammi’s arm. 
In his desperation, David’s elbow momentarily lifted off the table 
before he forced it back down. “ That’s cheating “ Tammi remarked when 
she saw his arm move. By then, she noticed Davids’ eyes squinting and 
his facial features contorting as he tried to overcome her immovable 
arm. He tried to see her reacton through his nearly closed eyes and 
could bearly make out whether she was toying with him or simply able to 
apply her strength without showing how hard she was trying. Still, he 
was left absolutely mortified, when he noticed Tammi’s head twist about, 
before she used her free hand to reach down and grab her drink. As she 
raised it indifferently to her lips and took a sip, David’s frustration 
p assed all bounds and he forced himself to find even greater strength 
to catch her off guard. When she lowered the drink again, Tammi 
suggested “ Well, try two hands then ?” David’s frustration continued 
to grow as he watched her raise her free hand to cover her mouth as she 
yawned theatrically. 

Utterly humiliated, David, in sheer desperation, did bring his second 
hand up and grabbed her one hand from behind and he yanked at it 
savagely. He hoped he’d done it with sufficient surprise to finally 
overpower her. But even with two hands, David faired no better. 
Completely bewildered and humiliated by her incredible strength, David 
began to rise off the floor so that he could position his shoulder 
behind his efforts. That failed, too, so he then tried to get his whole 
body behind his two-handed tussle against the 13 year old girl’s one 
immovable wrist. As he rose and began to shake and shudder from the 
effort he applied, Tammi suddenly applied pressure and David was totally 
overwhelmed as her one hand managed to push him completely over. 
Because he’d actually risen onto his feet and crouched forward to try 
and battle against her one hand, his bala nce was, precarious, at best. 
So, when she finally applied her amazing strength to the contest, David 
toppled over to one side and fell on the floor before the sofa. As 
David collapsed, he yelped impulsively as her hand twisted his original 
hand as she forced it aside, along with the rest of him. David found 
himself flat on his back with his shoulders against the bottom of the 
sofa and his back and legs spread-eagled over the carpet as he looked 
back to her. Tammi turned to her companions and advised “ That was 
hardly worth the effort.” 

Tammi grabbed her drink again, ignoring David’s mortification, as he 
silently stared at her. He did not want to rise. He wanted to stay 
where he was and try and remain inconspicous. Had there been a log in 
the living room, he might have sort its cover and crawled under it. For 
the meantime, however, he just lay there and suffered his fate in 
silence as he watched the 13 year old girl, who had completely and 
utterly overpowered him with one arm. And she had done so easily, he 
remembered. 

Tammi took a long swig of her drink before she placed her hands on her 
knees and pushed herself onto her feet. Once she was standing, facing 
her brother, Emily distracted her when she beamed “ God, I knew you 
were strong, Tammi, but that was unbelievable.” Tammi shrugged and 
glanced distastefully at the fallen 18 year old at her feet before she 
suggested “ No competition, really, besides “ Tammi added as she 
looked to Ted and added “ You haven’t seen anything yet, has she Ted ?” 
Ted leaned back, as he had continued to sit forward, as if the 
competition hadn’t ended. He was, indeed, deliberating over how his 
friend must have felt as he lay there on the floor, silently and 
passively. Ted realised he’d gotten used to accepting his little 
sister’s dominance and strength. It must have been awfully difficult 
for David to have to accept t he same thing under the circumstances. 
He’d have had no idea what he was really up against. 

When Ted looked up to his sister, he had to consider her words carefully 
as his mind had been elswhere. When he saw her looking down at him, he 
glanced to Emily and then back to his sister. Ted had thought, for a 
while, he was not going to have to suffer Tammi’s domination in front of 
Emily. As she looked down on him then, he realised he’d only been 
delluding himself. He wanted to crawl away and hide the moment he saw 
Tammi reach down and grab the hem of her track-suit top, ready to pull 
it off over her head. 

Ted gulped in anticipation as he wondered what she had in mind. As the 
top rose over her head and Tammi’s arms reached up to pull it off, Ted 
realised, from his position directly in front of her, what had happened 
in recent months to his little sister. Her lats expanded out to form a 
noticeable V as her arms rose. She dropped the top to one side and 
winked at her brother and Emily before she made her way between them and 
the coffee table as she made her way over to the centre of the room. As 
she passed by them, so closely, they could not fail to see both the 
definition and bulk in her upper arms and shoulders. Ted remembered how 
she had transformed quickly from a lythe and muscular gymnastics’ 
competitior into a mini body builder in just a few momths. As if to add 
unnecessary inten sity to her exposure, as she walked to the centre of 
the room with her back to them, Tammi seemed to tense and flex her back 
muscles casually as she continued to walk away. Her wide back and 
squared shoulders suddenly exploded to form an impossibly wide V as her 
lats broadened out above her comparitively thin waist. Ted glanced 
down to see David’s reaction to his sister’s impromptu demonstration and 
noticed the boy’s eyes almost bulge out of their sockets. Still, David 
lay there, refusing to make himself anymore conspicuous than he had to 
be. 

When Tammi reached the centre of the room she turned to face them all 
again and then pointed to Ted and called him to her with her index 
finger. Ted wanted to cringe away, but knew he had no alternative. He 
glanced to Emily and shrugged as if to feign indifference. Labouriously 
he pushed himself up off the sofa and made his way over to Tammi. When 
he reached her he looked down and almost begged her silently not to do 
anything he’d regret. Once in front of her, Tammi said “ Now I want to 
try something new today, so you better not let that clumsy, big, gangly 
body of yours spoil it, or else.” Ted looked on hopelessly, wandering 
what she had in mind. He had come to accept his little sister loved to 
exhibit her growing strength by using her hapless big brother as a 
weight for her ex ercises, but those exhibitions had always been 
private affairs without an audience. “ Please Tammi “ Ted whispered 
forlornly as he saw her crouch slightly before him. She either didn’t 
listen or didn’t hear, for she said, once she was in a half squat 
position in front of him, “ Now I want to see if I can do it one-handed 
today, so you better make sure you balance properly.” 

Ted rolled his eyes when he saw his little sister bring her right, upper 
arm flush with her body, while she bent her forearm and placed it 
against her upper arm. Then Tammi held her palm up so that it lay open 
and facing the ceiling, level with her right shoulder. Ted could hardly 
believe what she intended doing. She had taken, recently, to using him 
as a weight for her shoulder raises and it seemed to delight her as she 
managed to lift her 18 year old brother over her head for multiple reps. 
He realised her weight and strength training had begun to build up her 
dominance to astonishing levels in a very short time. “ Tammi... “ he 
pleaded hopelessly. “ Shut up, “ she warned “ and just make sure you 
balance, I don’t want you embarrassing me in front of Emily.“ Her voice 
had been stern, but soft, so that no one else might hear her. Ted glan 
ced back over his shoulder and shrugged as he held his arms out to 
signify his curiosity and helpless indifference. When he turned back to 
Tammi, she spread her legs a little wider to gain a more steady stance. 
“ Come on “ she urged him. 

Ted gulped and began to bend forward toward her upraised palm. “ Lower 
“ he whispered and Tammi crouched a fraction lower, so that her hand 
was level with Ted’s lower stomach. He continued to lean further 
forward and placed his closest hand on top of her inner shoulder, near 
her neck, to steady himself as he began to ease his stomach, centrally, 
over the palm of her one hand. Slowly, he found his weight easing, 
precariously over her up-raised palm. “ Try to hold my arm in your 
hands to help balance yourself “ he heard Tammi suggest. Ted groaned 
a little as his weight began to rest more solidly on her hand. He 
continued to rest one hand on her shoulder while his other hand moved in 
to grip her forearm. Her arm and hand remained steady beneath him as 
Ted continued to lean forward. As her hand began to take his full 
weight, Ted’s legs rose 
 off the floor. The moment they did, he nearly toppled forward over her 
shoulder and arm. He grabbed her tightly and he felt Tammi move very 
slightly to balance his weight more evenly above her hand. 

Her unbelievable strength seemed to help steady him as Ted’s long body 
rocked slightly for a moment. He was straining with the effort once his 
weight became completely supported over her hand as the pressure seemed 
to force the air out of his lungs. He was forced to virtually hold his 
breath as he steadied his weight. Finally, once he seemed to remain 
still, with his arms back and both holding her arm to help keep him 
steady, and his legs off the floor so that his upper body stretched out 
behind her back and his legs were forced back in front of her, Tammi 
asked “ OK, are you ready ?“ Ted had to grunt his reply due to the 
pressure his stomach was feeling with his whole body resting on her 
hand. Once he confirmed he was as good as he was likely to get, Tammi 
straightened her legs. She stood straight, holding her brother, 
seemingly, on her one shoul der and hand. She spread her feet and 
steadied her stance, before she placed her free hand on her hip and 
leant slightly to one side to support his weight more comfortably. “ 
OK,” she warned “ here goes, now stay steady.“ 

Miraculously, Ted felt his entire body begin to rise as Tammi lifted him 
on her hand with her one arm. She raised him steadily and carefully 
until her arm was at full stretch. Then she lowered him and lifted him 
again. Unbelievably, she managed to shoulder press her 18 year old 
brother 5 times with one arm before she let him, ungraciosuly, back onto 
his feet. Ted staggered back after she dropped him onto his feet, but 
managed to stay upright, just the same. He stared back at her in awe 
once he managed to steady himself. Then he heard Emily calling from 
behind and glanced back to see her standing and applauding Tammi’s 
extraordinary performance and exhibition of strength. Ted also caught a 
glimpse of his silent friend. David had risen into a sitting position 
so that his back was res ting against the front of the sofa while he 
continued to sit on the floor. He noticed David’s goggle eyes which 
suggested his residual astonishment at Tammi’s performance. Ted 
wondered if his friend had suddenly realised why he never stood a chance 
against Tammi in an arm wrestle. Ted expected that, David, might have 
come to simply accept and admire Tammi’s undeniable supremacy. 

“ OK “ Tammi called, to quieten Emily’s exuberant applause “ now my 
legs, once I’ve done it, you can have a go, Emily.” Emily looked on 
uncertainly before she slowly eased herself back onto the sofa to watch 
what Tammi might do this time. Ted looked back to his sister to see her 
calling him forward again. As he walked obligingly forward, knowing he 
had no choice, he saw Tammi point to David and call him forward, too, 
with her index finger. Ted looked back to see David look rather nervous 
as he brought his arms up to pat his chest as if to ask silently ‘me?’. 
When Tammi nodded, David jumped up like he’d been electricuted. Then he 
rapidly made his way forward. When David arrived before her to stand 
beside Ted, Tammi ran her eyes thoughtfully up and down each boy, in 
turn, as if she were deliberating about something of importance. Finall 
y, she grabbed her brother by the arm and pulled him aside. Ted 
dutifully stood out of her way as she grabbed David by the waist and 
twisted him around so that he had his back to her. Before David could 
anitcipate what Tammi was going to do, he jumped with fright when her 
head suddenly appeared between his thighs, while her hands clamped onto 
the front of his upper legs. She rose so quickly, lifting David with 
her on her shoulders, that he nearly toppled off her back and had to, 
impulsively, grab her head in his hands as she secured him by grabbing 
him more tightly with her hands on the tops of his thighs. 

After a moment to steady him, David felt her head arch slightly as she 
attempted to look up to him. He couldn’t see her face clearly, but 
heard her warn, “ stay steady or I’ll crush you to death you useless 
pratt.” David concentrated very hard on maintaining his position. And 
that proved more difficult than he might have anticipated, when Tammi 
began to handle her brother as she tried to get him to stand the way she 
wanted him to in front of her. Finally, when she said to Ted, “ OK, 
that’s it “ David had to grip Tammi’s head again as she bent forward 
and swept her arms up beneath her brother, lifting him off the floor to 
cradle him in her supportive hold. 

David looked down in absolute wonder as he saw his mate lying placidly 
in his little sister’s arms as David himself continued to sit 
impartially on her shoulders. Ted looked up from his sister’s arms to 
see David look down at him, obviously astonished to find himself sitting 
on his friend’s 13 year old sister’s shoulders as she, in turn, carried 
her older brother in her arms. “ Now, you two stay still while I do 
this.“ There appeared to be no obvious strain in her voice to suggest 
to David that she was in any way inconvenienced by the weight of the 2, 
18 year old guys she was supporting. Yet again, David had to hold on 
for dear life as he felt the room impossibly rise around him. He 
realised, belatedly, that Tammi had begun to squat, using the 2, 18 year 
old boys for resistance. She did the squats so rapidly and with such 
apparent ease, both b oys seemed to bounce at the top of each repetition 
as Tammi’s legs straightened fully. She’d only done about six squats 
when she came to a halt and called out to Emily “ They’re too light, I 
can hardly feel them, what about you too ?” 

David could scarcely believe it. Was she intending to try and lift 
Emily as well, at the same time ? He realised he wouldn’t have long to 
find out as Emily quickly jumped up off the sofa and rushed around the 
coffee table toward them. Once Emily stood before Tammi, David looked 
down to see the uncertainty which seemed to spread over Emily’s face. 
When Emily had rushed over to Tammi, the sight of her smaller frame, 
supporting the two, much larger boys, became ever more remarkable as she 
approached. Once she stood directly in front of her friend, she became 
confused about how she could become part of the pyramid. David sat 
silently viewing proceedings, until he felt Tammi’s head shift slightly, 
as if she were trying to look up to him. He waited to see what she was 
going to do, as did Ted. Ted simply lay limply in his sister’s arms, 
fully aware a ny pretext he may have had of impressing Emily had long 
since vanished beneath a mound of intimidating sisterly strength. 

Ted had watched Emily race over to confront his sister and then stand 
before her uncertainly, once she was confronted by the sight of Ted in 
Tammi’s arms and David towering above on the smaller girl’s powerful 
shoulders. Ted’s head fell side to side as he viewed Emily and Tammi’s 
reaction to the predicament they were confronted by. “ I know,“ Tammi 
suddenly called “ grab him “ she added as she leant forward a little 
and raised Ted’s body toward Emily. Ted was forced to throw his arms 
over Emily’s shoulders as the taller girl leaned forward and wrapped her 
arms beneath Ted and lifted him away from his little sister. Ted 
wallowed hopelessly in Emily’s supportive arms as she continued to look 
to Tammi. Emily didn’t even appear to notice he was there since she 
held him so easily while she continued to watch to see what Tammi had in 
 mind. Ted’s eyes simply drifted from Emily to Tammi and back again 
with varying degrees of hopeless mortification and affection. Emily’s 
eyes suddenly dropped to look into Ted’s eyes as she smiled so 
reassuringly. Ted, compulsively, wound his arms more tightly around her 
strong young shoulders. 

Tammi was looking intently at Emily and her brother before she tried to 
look up to David and say “ Now hold on.“ David nodded uselessly even 
though he knew she wouldn’t have been able to see him. But he had 
simply taken her support and strength for granted, by then, and realised 
the two 18 year old guys were to remain hapless victims for as long as 
the girls chose. All he had to do was sit still and hold on. “ No, 
that’s no good “ he heard Tammi say. Ted bearly caught what the girls 
had been saying to each other as he lay in the young girl’s arms 
considering he and his friend’s predicament. Suddenly, Emily looked to 
Ted again and he smiled, as did she. Ted felt his legs lowered to the 
floor as Emily allowed him back onto his feet. Ted’s arms slowly and 
unwillingly fell away from her shoulders as she left him to stand of his 
own accord . Then she bent down to his side and Ted compulsively 
allowed his closest arm to fall down over her lowered shoulder. He 
felt her hands grip his upper thighs tightly before her head twisted 
about and looked up to him. She smiled as she confessed “ Gosh, you’ve 
got skinny legs “ Ted smiled lamely in response to her statement. It 
was, after all, the truth. He wondered how large her legs were, if, 
indeed, she was one of Tammi’s new track and field friends. He’d only 
noticed, once she placed his feet back on the floor, so that he could 
stand before her, that she was a good deal taller than Tammi, and, if he 
wasn’t mistaken, perhaps, 16 years old. 

But Ted hardly had time to consider the situation, when he almost lost 
his balance as he felt himself rise impossibly off the floor. He had to 
tense his body to keep it rigid as Emily easily lifted him by simply 
gripping his thin thighs in her hands and lifting him up and over her 
head. He was in shock as she easily placed him on her shoulders. 
Ted’s mind almost went blank as he found himself suddenly perched on the 
gorgeous, young girl’s shoulders. He tried to come to terms, slowly, 
with her enormous strength. He could scarcely believe she had simply 
gripped his thighs and lifted him like he were a balloon. He finally 
settled on her shoulders and wriggled into a compfortable position as 
Emily stood like the rock of Gibraltor beneath him. “ That’s better “ 
he heard Tammi call. Ted looked over and saw David looking back. Both 
boys spread their 
 arms to signify their resignation to their mutually hapless positions. 
As they looked to one another and allowed their eyes to look down at the 
girls supporting them, they realised they were simply little more than 
stage props in the girls’ show. 

David had to grip Tammi’s head again as he felt her bend forward and 
crouch down simultaneously. He watched as Tammi wound her arms around 
Emily’s waist and then called “ Are you ready ?“ Emily said she was 
and, then, Ted ducked instinctively when he suddenly rose high above the 
living room floor and expected to hit the ceiling as a consequence. He 
looked down to realise Tammi had lifted Emily in her arms and Ted along 
with her. Before they knew it, Tammi had reeled off a quick 15 squats 
using Emily, Ted and David as resistance. No sooner had she replaced 
Emily’s feet back on the floor when Emily said “ My turn.” Both boys 
shrugged again as Emily gripped Tammy the same way that Tammy had 
previously gripped Emily. In moments, both boys felt like Jack-in-the-
boxes again as Emily raised and lowered them all so easily, she actually 
stopped at on e stage and confessed “ You’re right Tammi, it’s a lot 
easier than I thought it would be.“ After which, she continued to 
squat for a short while before Tammi called a halt to Emily’s 
performance. 

Once Emily lowered Tammi back to the floor, both boys had to sit and 
look to one another helplessly as the girls started a conversation. As 
they talked, indifferently, the boys simply had to sit placidly on the 
girls’ accommodating shoulders. Their conversation abruptly ended when 
the phone rang. Tammi casually made her way to the phone while David 
sat silently on her shoulders and was carted haplessly along with her. 
She picked up the receiver and made her way back to Emily in the centre 
of the room. It soon became obvious who the caller was as Tammi called 
“ Oh, hi Mum.“ Tammi continued to ‘yes’ and ‘hmmm’ as the boys sat on 
the girls’ shoulders in the middle of the room. Ted leant forward over 
Emily’s head and quietly suggested “ You can put me down now, if you 
like.” Ted felt her head move beneath him as she tried to look up “ 
No, it’s fine,” she insisted “ you’re as light as a feather, I’ can 
hardly notice you.” 

Ted rolled his eyes as he looked to David. Both spread their arms in 
silent recognition of their hapless positions. “ OH ! Wow, that’d be 
great !” they heard Tammi say. Ted noticed Tammi look to Emily 
excitedly as she continued to nod to their mother. Ted wished he could 
hear what the conversation was about. “ Yeah, I know “ Tammi then 
confided “ on your dressing table, behind the tissue box, right.” 
There was a long pause as Tammi listened intently to her mother, before 
she offered “ No, Mum, they said they wanted to come too, for a 
change.” Ted frowned uncertainly as he saw his sister’s eyes rise 
fleetingly to look to him when she spoke. He had suspicions about what 
the conversation might be about. “ Yeah, OK Mum, we’ll see you then, 
then.” Tammi then withdrew the receiver from the side of her face and 
pressed the button to switch it off. 

Once she had done so, Tammi looked to Emily and confided “ Wow, Mum had 
to close the gym, the plumbing’s stuffed and she can’t get hold of a 
plumber on a Saturday morning. She said one of her friends knows a 
plumber who’s bound to be home, but he turns the phone off on the 
weekend. Mum’s going to her friend’s place so they can take her round 
to the plumber’s place to see if he can help.” Tammi paused before 
adding more excitedly “ but she said you and me can go and train down 
there ! We’ll have the whole gym to ourselves !” 

“ WOW !” Emily said, before Tammi explained, “ but we can’t use the 
showers or the pool. But we’ll have it all to ourselves. Mum’ll bring 
us home after and we can shower here.” Tammi became so excited by the 
prospect, she began to dance as she returned to replace the receiver 
back on the wall. When she turned back to Emily, Emily began to do her 
version of the can-can and Tammi joined her exuberantly. Both boys were 
forced to hang on tightly and balance precariously as the two younger 
girls danced all over the living room with the hapless older boys riding 
awkwardly on their powerful shoulders and legs. 

“ When you’re ready !” Ted finally called out when he thought he’d 
bring up his breakfast. The two girls stopped and looked up toward 
their respective loads. For a moment, Tammi simply looked up to her 
brother above Emily and smiled at his hopeless predicament. Finally 
she said to he and Emily together “ You guys had better get changed, 
you can’t go to the gym like that.” Ted’s eyes widened at the mere 
suggestion that he and David would be going to the gym. “ Don’t look at 
me like that “ Tammi demanded when she saw her brother’s expression “ 
you two can spot for us, it’ll do you good.” She looked specifically at 
Emily as she added “ and we can use them for a warm up exercise on the 
way to the gym, hey !” Emily agreed with a nod of her head. 

Once the girls had decided the issue, they lowered their loads gently 
back onto the living room floor. “ Hurry up, you two “ Tammi ordered 
as both boys loitered idly nearby. The two boys felt all the more 
humbled as they stood by the girls who had carried them around so 
easily. Each of the boys could not fail to recognise how they towered 
over the girls who had lifted them and carried them about with ease. 
Once Tammi had ordered them to their room to change, the two boys rushed 
up the stairs to Ted’s bedroom. As soon as they got inside, Ted turned 
to his friend and saw him lean against the door once he’d closed it. As 
if David were shutting out some evil force. “ Christ “ David sighed as 
he continued to lean his back against the door “ you know what I said 
this morning ?” He saw Ted frown inquisitively “ about letting your 
little sister boss you around “ Ted nodded as David confided “ I take it all 
back, I’ve never, ever, met anyone like her before, she’s positively 
awesome.” 

Ted grinned agreeably as he suggested “ so you’re not so keen on her 
anymore, then ?” David forced himself off the door and moved toward 
Ted as he admitted, almost self-consciously “ ahm, actually, when she 
was dancing around at the end, it actually started to turn me on. I was 
glad she put me down when she did, otherwise she might have noticed.” 
Ted grinned slyly and considered his answer, he wasn’t certain whether 
to confide it or not, but decided to allow David some minor consolation 
when he admitted “ Actually, I was as horny as hell, the whole time I 
was on Emily’s shoulders. I’m sure she must have felt it at the back of 
her neck. I was afraid I was going to come at one point. That’s why I 
wanted her to stop. Before it got anymore embarrassing than it already 
was.” 

As Ted looked about for some suitable clothes for his friend to wear to 
the gym, David asked “ what did Tammi mean by using us as ‘warm-up’ 
exercises on their way to the gym ?” Ted stopped fossicking in his 
drawer and looked across to his friend. He paused for a moment before 
he admitted “ I daren’t even consider it, let’s just hope no one we 
know, sees us, it could be hard to live down, I reckon.” David gulped 
noticeably just as Tammi’s voice bellowed from outside the door “ Hurry 
up, you two, we haven’t got all day.” They listened, then, as they 
heard her make her way to her mother’s room to go and get the spare keys 
to let them into the gym. The two boys quickly got changed and 
pondered, silently, what, yet, might await them.