It Finally Happened: Part XXVIII

"Give it to me straight, Mom. How bad is it?"

Anne knew Kim must have been extremely concerned if she was not only willing to be examined by her mother, but to actually ask for it. If something had been wrong with Ron, be it a splinter or a potentially major injury she would bodily drag him to medical care but when it came to herself, it was usually up to others to force her to take care of herself. Her concern took on a whole other dimension when, due to the scope of the problem, Kim was willing to be examined in the all-together, even by her mother.

"It's not…that bad, but you're going to be really uncomfortable for the next twenty-four hours Kimmie. I…am a little curious about what exactly you were wearing."

Kim might have blushed, buy you would have never known it. Her whole body, with the exception of the areas that had been covered by her bathing suit, was now a livid red. As sunburns went, it wasn't too terribly bad, except in its extent. What had piqued her mother's interest was the pattern of coverage. More specifically, the lack thereof. Kim had gotten burnt before, it was one of the drawbacks of being a redhead, but the burns had almost always been confined to her arms, legs and the small areas competitive style suits left uncovered around her neckline. Now her body looked like she was still wearing a skimpy string bikini. The contrast between her normal, untanned pale skin and the red made it look far worse than it really was.

"I was wearing a new bathing suit, the one Monique helped me pick out as Club Banana." She picked up the suit itself from a pile of dirty clothing in the floor. The entirety of the suit could be balled up in one of her small fists.

Anne just shook her head. "Kim, if your father had seen you in that kind of bikini…"

"I know, but it didn't look dirty or anything, it just kind of hinted at things. Mom, it's not like I was wearing a thong! Besides, I really don't have that much to cover up."

"…and that was barely covered as it was. Honey, have you ever considered you might be going overboard with this whole trying to impress Ron thing?"

"Why not, Mom. I love him and I like to show it."

"Kim, you've done more showing it to him in the last two months than you have in over twelve years. Dear, he fell in love with you without all this overtly sexy clothing, you don't have to do all this extra stuff. Be yourself with him. Yes, I think it's nice to dress up for him, but that bikini you wore the other day was absolutely beautiful on you, this one, well, I've know some beaches that wouldn't even allow them simply because they show too much skin. Think about your reputation honey. Save this sort of thing for private time with him when you get older. It's better in the long run. Think about it like this too, you apparently had to wear something over the top of that suit to get it past your father."

"I don't know, well, yes, you're probably right, but…Ron seems to appreciate it, especially since we got together right before summer. You're right about the other thing too. I did wear a crop top and shorts over it when we left to go swimming yesterday afternoon."

"This from the very same girl who turned her nose up at half the competition swimsuits we looked at because they all rode too high on your hips?"

"Mom, I'm also the same girl you had to force to wear a bra."

"Kim, are you telling me you did that when you were fifteen to attract boys? I always thought it was because you were self-conscious about your chest."

"That never really bothered me too much until I got to high school, then girls like Bonnie started lording it over us that they were so blessed that way. Honestly, though, I think the whole bra thing had more to do with hanging with Ron. He went through this whole phase where he was teasing me about training bras and snapping the straps."

"Ron snapped your straps? I would have never thought that of him."

"Oh, he only did it a couple times before I…convinced him to stop. Maybe you are right, maybe I liked the way he looked at me in my tank tops. I think he always knew when I wasn't wearing one." Kim gingerly stepped into her clothes after applying a thick layer of aloe gel.

"I guess if you have anyone to blame for a small chest it would be me." Her mother said. "Though when you get older and start having children, I think you'll appreciate having less chance to sag."

"Would you believe I actually asked Ron if I should consider augmentation when I turn eighteen."

"Oh, Kimmie, how could you even consider that?"

"It was just some conversation. I was a little worried I was leaving him…under whelmed."

"If I know Ron, and I think after all these years I do, I imagine he said something to the effect of loving you just the way you are."

"Almost verbatim."

"I'll let you in on a little secret. There are some men out there who like petite women. Besides you, who does Ron think looks good."

"Honestly, I always thought it was any girl who would pay him the least bit of attention, but really, I don't know."

"Oh, come on now. If there is anyone in the world who knows what he likes it's you."

"I…just don't like thinking about him with other girls."

"Kim, Ron is a normal teenaged boy…"

"Man." Kim corrected.

Anne let that pass, at least for the moment. It was, after all, a matter of perspective and she did think it was healthy for Kim to build his self respect that way. "He's normal. I know you like to think that you're the only woman he looks at, but that's just not going to happen. He's still entitled to look just as much as you are."

"Well, he did sort of date Zita Flores for a little bit, and she's built a lot like me. Oh, and he did think Shego was kind of hot the first time he saw a picture of her."

"See, sounds like he likes women who are a bit on the petite side."

"Shego's not exactly petite, it's just that outfit of hers isn't the most flattering thing in the world. I know, I wore one once."

"What about that Japanese girl who dragged him off to South America last spring?"

Kim's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That little…" the rest trailed off into an unintelligible growl. "She doesn't count. He wasn't even aware she was interested in him until she was gone."

"He wasn't aware, or he just didn't know how to make a move. Kim, this is the real world, he's going to like other girls. It's because he loves you that he's with you and he's faithful to you, but there are too many people out there that there would only be one he was actually interested in. You said it yourself he found Shego attractive, though I wouldn't for the life of me think he'd ever pursue someone like that."

"Oh, I got a little ticked at him over that, but it's not the same."

"Because she's not interested in him back. Yet that Japanese girl is and that threatens you."

Kim mumbled something else. Just thinking about Yori was actually making her angry. The girl was presumably thousands of miles away and the mere mention of her set her to jelling.

"Anyway, I hope you don't think about messing up your body. You're petite, that's the way you are and you've got a boyfriend who likes you that way."

"Oooooh, this is so not going to work." Kim moaned, shrugging back out of her bra.

"You're not going around without, Kim. There are issues other than just support for a young woman your age, especially when you're going to be around a boy you've all but admitted, er, excites you."

"Mother!"

"It's the facts of life, Kimmie. Here, how about your jog bras. No straps to chafe you."

"Thanks." She slipped a fresh one on, followed by a t-shirt.

"You know what the sun's done to you, don't you?" Her mother said, a slightly smug look on her face.

"I know, I've increased the chances of getting skin cancer later in life, blah, blah, blah."

"That's true, but you're also forgetting the fact you're a redhead."

"What are you talking…oh no, oh please no, not that!"

Anne held up a mirror for her daughter. There, right across the bridge of her nose, where the inflamed pink was not quite as bad were a cluster of very faint freckles.

"Nooooo Oooo." Kim moaned, sitting back on the edge of her bed.

"I think they look cute on you."

"Mom!" Kim whined, searching through her makeup bag for concealer. "I had to put up with kids calling me 'Freckles' back in grade school. I hate having these." She started applying the bottle to the bridge of her nose until she realized it wouldn't blend properly with her sunburn. Pouting, she wiped the whole thing off with a towelette.

There was a knock at the door. "Mrs. Dr. P? You in there?"

"Come on in, Ron." She said.

Kim's eyes lit up in shock. "No, Ron, I'm…not decent."

"Nonsense." Her mother said, letting him in.

Ron was clearly just as uncomfortable as Kim was. If anything, he had a fairer complexion than Kim did. He walked in with his arms held slightly away from his sides.

"Well." She said, examining his shoulders. How the boy was actually wearing his tank top, she didn't know. "Looks like the snuggle-fest has come to an official end."

"I thought sunblock was supposed to stop this sort of thing." He said, gingerly sitting down beside Kim.

"Not when you're out there for over three hours. What on Earth were the two of you thinking?"

Ron's burn was a little more severe than Kim's. Where she had spent most of the time sunbathing, getting in the water only occasionally, Ron spent a great deal of time playing in the water, riding a little boogie board he'd gotten in town. The worst of it was on his back and shoulders.

"Okay, Mister Stoppable, out of the shirt." Anne commanded.

Kim helped him get it back over his head. His back was an angry color of red that made both women wince. How he had gotten the shirt on in the first place, they had no idea.

"Ron, you're officially grounded today, doctor's orders. No more sun for you I'm afraid."

"I don't want to ever go back out in the sun again." He whimpered as she probed the worst of it.

"There's no sign of sun poisoning, but it's very close. Here." She handed Kim the bottle of aloe gel. "Put this on his back and shoulders. Looks like that's all the touching the two of you are going to be doing the rest of this trip." With that she left them alone, shaking her head slightly.

Kim poured a big glop of the green gel into her hands and started spreading it on him. "Wow, that's cold." He shivered while she spread it on, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"So much for our last day here." She said, pouring another handful. "I can't believe it got this bad overnight."

"I know. I was fine when I went to bed last night. Ow, take it easy there, KP."

"Sorry. Here, honey, lie down on your stomach."

He did, though he had some burns on his stomach as well. "How bad did you get it?"

"Not like your shoulders. Does that feel any better?"

"A little. Don't stop, just don't put too much pressure up there."

"Okay, Baby. Mom knows about my tiny little suit, though. I look like an old fashioned Coppertone ad."

"Ouch. I hate this, I wanted to finish out our last night here in style."

"If we're careful we still can have a little fun." She made her point by rubbing some gel into the small of his back. The burn wasn't nearly so bad there, so it was more of an excuse to touch him than anything else. She wiped her hands and picked up a folded piece of paper. "Where's Rufus?"

"He's still sleeping. It's a good thing he spent the day sleeping in your beach bag, sunscreen or no."

"He's okay?"

"Yeah, he's lucky I put that zinc oxide on him."

Kim giggled, remembering the sight of the little guy covered head to tail in the white sunblock. "I think for future reference, the beach isn't quite the best place for a Naked Mole Rat."

"No kidding. He was not exactly a happy camper when I took all that stuff off him."

"Better that than the way we are. Here, look at this."

Ron propped himself up slightly as Kim went to work on the back of his calves. "Hey, this sounds familiar."

"Yeah, I think they copied the same directions you used. Apparently that old gator farm has become something of a local legend now."

"You want to go? Think your Mom'll let me out of here in this condition?"

"Well, it's out of the sun, so I don't see why not. Just no slow dances."

"KP, I'd rather brave the pain than pass up a chance to dance with you."

"That's sweet, but I have a feeling there won't be too many slow dances at this kind of party." She sat up. "Come on, from the smell of things, I think breakfast must be about ready. Feel up to some swimming later?"

"I thought we couldn't go out in the sun today?"

"There's an indoor pool here. The cool water should feel good for both of us." She leaned in close, whispering to him "Besides, this time of year I think everyone else will be outdoors. We might even have the pool to ourselves."

"Sounds good, KP. Mind putting some more of that on my shoulders?"

"You sure you're just not using that as an excuse for me to put my hands all over you?" She giggled.

"Whenever I get the chance." He said.