The Meet Up

EMMA'S BOAT

Part Three

Back in the boat and zooming along the water I was still very conscious of the life jacket but it was a relief to be away from the crowds. It was still an extremely weird sensation to be tightly strapped into the jacket, but having been through the ordeal on shore I was no longer embarrassed out on the water. Looking over at Steph it seemed she was in a very different place. Steph was fidgeting with her life jacket constantly: twisting in it left and right, pulling on the foam pads on her stomach, and pulling at her crotch strap. It was really hard not to somewhat enjoy her discomfort. She had no idea how easy she was getting off.

It was then that Emma’s phone started ringing. She had it propped up on the dash but had to bring the boat to a stop to be able to talk on it.

Emma picked up the phone and held it to her ear as the boat slowly drifted to a stop. Now more or less over the lifejacket I was genuinely enjoying the sunny day on the water.

“Heyyy! Ya we are out right now… like halfway to the up the bay”

Emma pulled the phone back from her mouth and looked over at us. Mike and Jamie are out on Mike’s sea doo wanna go meet up with them?

I had met Mike and Jamie the week before, I was not so embarrassed in the jacket any more but I wasn’t so sure I wanted to hang out with people I knew like this. I was busy trying to think of a reason to say no when Steph started to speak up.

“Owww I dono, I was kinda thinking we might just hang out alone today... “

Then it hit me again, the desire for revenge against Steph. Steph didn't want to be seen in her jacket? Makes sense, it definitely felt awkward when I had to walk past dozens of people. She wasn’t getting off easier than I did. No way.

“Ow I'm down for sure, sounds like fun” Steph was much closer friends with Mike and Jamie, this would be way more embarrassing for her than it would be for me.

It was all the feedback Emma needed. “Ya sounds good we will meet you over at the Cove!”

Emma tossed her phone back on the dash and we were off again. Steph gave me a look of confusion but then just kinda sank back into her seat. I swear as we shot over the water that she was fidgeting with her jacket more and more the closer we got to the cove.

A few minutes later I got my first look at the cove. It was on a heavily treed and undeveloped part of the lake and consisted of a pair of high cliffs with a large bay between them, the cliffs came out into the lake so that the entrance was only about twenty meters across.

We were still a ways away from the Cove when the SeaDoo came scooting across the lake to meet us. Emma brought the boat to a stop so they could come up alongside us. Steph looked like she was trying to sink down into her seat.

The SeaDoo pulled up alongside them as the boat still bobbed in its own wake. Mike was driving and Jamie was hanging onto him sitting on the back. Both had lifejackets on but they were very normal ones, much like what Emma had one. Nothing like the child vest that Steph and I were strapped into.

“Hey Guys!” Mike looked like he was having the time of his life driving the sporty watercraft. “What’s the plan?”

Emma stood up facing them from the driver's seat. “Want to head into the cove for some cliff jumping? “

“Hell ya!” Mike was apparently into that idea as he immediately restarted his seadoo and sped off toward the high rocky outcrops. Emma restarted our own boat and followed at a more conservative pace, slowing way down as we approached the entrance and pulling the motor right up out of the water to avoid the shallow rocks. Again I was struck by her skill with the boat as we drifted over the shallow areas with just enough speed to clear them and allow her to drop the motor back down into the water.

Looking around the cove there were lots of large rocky cliffs, but no obvious spot to jump from, everything sloped down to the water pretty gently.

“Where are we going to jump from?”

Emma turned to answer.

“Up the river a ways, there’s a perfect spot where the cliff juts out over the water and it’s really deep. We’ll leave the boat here, there’s a trail we can hike up, then just float back down here again. It’s not too far, like a fifteen minute hike, but you float for a ways because the river kinda curves around and makes a big loop. It’s a blast there are some rapids that you go down and everything. Bank can be a bit hard to climb up out of but otherwise it’s perfect for jumping.”

She slowly brought the boat to a stop as we pulled up close to the shore. The bank here was pretty steep and went down deep right away, so it was relatively easy to jump from the boat to shore. Emma set about tying the boat to a nearby tree.

Standing up on the shore the strap between my legs was brought up tight again, it was pretty easy to forget about while sitting but standing and walking around with it it was impossible to ignore. Aside from the obvious effects of having it pulled up tight; bunching up my shorts and causing a very awkward weggi, it also caused the jacket around my torso to pull down tightly on my shoulders, adding to the bulky restricted feeling of the jacket.

As the others pulled up to shore a short distance away it was pretty obvious that the kiddy life jackets were going to have to be acknowledged. As they climbed to shore Mike took a minute to tie up the smaller craft the same way Emma had, while Jamie started to walk over. Jamie looked a little confused as they approached and looked me up and down

“So ahh, Kiddie lifejacket eh?”

“Ya... Emma’s brother took the other ones so there were all we had…” I tried to act normal but it was all I could do to avoid squirming around in the tight fitting jacket. Steph did a full on ‘turn and look at something interesting in the distance’ move. Unintentionally giving Jamie a very open view of her wedgie from behind.

Starting right at Steph’s behind Jamie just raised an eyebrow.

“Looks comfy” the tone was heavy with sarcasm.

I rolled my eyes and tried to brush it off. “Honestly it’s not bad”

“If you say so” Jamie didn't look at all convinced. Looking back over at Steph and continuing the question “are those really not too small for you guys tho?”

Emma walked up and cut in at this point “I know right? I was surprised they fit into them. I was really worried we wouldn’t be able to go out today when I realized Adam took the real ones with him. At least that Steph fit anyway” Emma pointed at me. “You’re tiny, I wasn’t so worried there.”

“Ow ok fuck you too” Steph’s tone was joking

“I just mean you aren't actually the size of a child!”

“No kidding” Steph’s last response was more of a murmur, as she pulled at the shoulders of her vest. Mike was walking over and as we turned to him I noticed Steph’s left hand drop to her waist, pulling on the buckle of her crotch strap for the briefest of moments.

As Mike walked up to us I saw he had five plastic helmets in a variety of colors in hand.

“Are you guys ready to go?” He seemed to notice the kidy jacket’s just then shooting a questioning look at Jamie, who just shrugged, but not saying anything. Overall the interaction went about as well as I could have hoped. Steph was a bright shade of pink.

Mike tossed a faded blue helmet to Jamie and handed the other three over to Emma; one black and the other two bright orange, keeping a black for himself.

I made a face as Emma handed me a bright orange one. “Helmets too?”

“If you’re jumping off the cliff ya, you want a helmet”

By this point I had learned my lesson and just put the damn thing on. Placing the plastic bucket over my head and feeling around for the chin strap. I got it buckled easily enough but was struggling to tighten it up, this time it was Mike who walked over to help; reaching under my chin and pulling the strap tight for me. In keeping with the rest of the day it ended up just a touch tighter than I would have liked.

“There ya go kiddo” Mike gave me a pat on the shoulder of my children's life jacket. I didn’t appreciate the joke.

The helmets consisted of a heavy plastic shell with a dense but soft padding inside, it came down over my ears on the sides and wrapped noticeable around my face. It even had a small built-in sun visor. The chin strap had a large pad on it , so it felt like my head was now wrapped in foam in the same way that my torso did with the life jacket.

Looking over I saw that Steph had received the other bright orange helmet. Emma apparently decided she would prefer the neutral black one for herself.

With everyone ready it was apparently time to start the hike up to the top of the cliffs.

Chip Stand Expedition

EMMA'S BOAT

Part Two

As Emma throttled the boat up and pulled away from the dock I couldn't help thinking about the Life Jackets we were wearing. It was so strange how normal they seemed to Emma and Steph. In my mind they were juvenile at best and at worst downright embarrassing. The jacket was extremely bulky and noticeably limited my movement. It felt weird, the padding pressed up against the seat was reminding me of its presence. Emma had tightened up the straps significantly, almost to the point of discomfort, though the jacket was actually not uncomfortable, it just felt awkward being strapped into it, and it was impossible to forget you had it on. The fact that Steph was also wearing one made it much less embarrassing, I caught myself wondering if she felt as weird about the jacket as I did, the nonchalant way she had donned the vest seemed to imply that she was more ok with it than I was, not to mention taking Emma’s side when I complained about the tightness of the between the leg strap.

Steph and Emma were attempting to have a conversation over the sound of the boat's motor, I wasn't really paying attention, being more preoccupied with the mess of foam and straps secured around my torso and running between my legs.

Emma called to Steph to look at something off to the right and Steph got out of her seat and walked over holding onto the windscreen for balance as she did so. Again I noticed how the bright yellow strap that passed between her legs stood out against the shiny black of her swimsuit. Looked like I wasn’t the only one with a bit of a wegie. I was struck by how surprisingly long that strap was as she bent over next to Emma to look at where she was pointing.

I was snapped out of my trance when Emma turned to me and called me forward to look as well. As I stood up, my own overly long ‘between the legs strap’ tightened up again. The bulk of the life jacket reminded me of its presence by interfering with my arms as I reached for the side of the boat for balance.

Emma was pointing at a restaurant with a dock they sometimes would eat at while boating, way across the lake. She was half yelling over the sound of the boat. “Are you guys hungry at all?”

I replied “not really but I can get a fry or something if you guys are, I'm easy” I returned to my seat before hearing Stephs response. I wanted to sit down again to loosen that long strap between my legs. It still just felt odd, particularly when I looked down to see the long purple strap cross the lower part of my stomach and curve down between my legs. I noticed that my purple strap contrasted the white shorts I was wearing even more than Steph’s yellow on black. Looking at Steph I could see again how it looked from behind and couldn't help but think about how I looked the same. Though I had to admit again, once I sat down, that it was not uncomfortable at all. I just felt really embarrassed with it on.

Sitting in the back I was able to forget about the jacket for a few minutes, enjoying the hot sunny day and being out on the water. I could see why people were so into this, the boat was really flying across the water, it was a great way to spend a summery day. My brief respite was cut short as Emma turned the boat causing a shift in the wind. I was startled as something suddenly smacked into the back of my head. Turning and reaching behind me I realized the wind was pushing the collar of the life jacket up against my head. I pushed it back down annoyed, only to have it pop-up again. I repeated this several times before giving up. ‘Great’ I thought ‘now I have a big yellow collar. I got up and made my way to the front of the boat, the collar pressed up the back of my head the whole way. After making it to the front of the boat I forced the collardown behind my back and lay down on top of it on the reclined seat so it couldn't flip up. What I failed to predict was that laying down was like standing up and made the strap between my legs tighter. It was giving me a bit of a wedgie and I started to pull at it, trying to loosen it or make it more comfortable. I was still totally unsure how Emma had adjusted it, as far as I could tell it was a fixed length. I pulled at the plastic buckle a bit, I wanted to just unclip it but that seemed taboo based on Emma’s earlier reaction. Suddenly realizing that I was now at the front of the boat though and in full view of Steph and Emma, I stopped fiddling and just put up with it.

Emma and Steph must have decided food was worth getting as we were headed right that way and now getting quite close. A few minutes later Emma pulled the boat into the restaurant dock. She yelled over the engine as she throttled down.

“We’re just gonna grab some snacks to go from the stand”

Emma knew how to handle the boat, she docked it perfectly, coming to a stop just off the floating dock. Steph was first out grabbing the rope that Emma tossed her. I got up from my seat and followed. Jumping over to the dock. Emma reached over, handing me the rope for the front which I went about tying off. As I bent down the collar from the jacket fell onto the back of my head again. I was more than ready to take the jacket off. But, having already made a scene, I figured I would wait for Steph and Emma to take theirs off first.

As I stood up however it was looking like this might not be the case, Steph and Emma were both still wearing their life jackets, and they were walking down the dock toward shore. I really, really, didn't like the idea of walking around the somewhat busy area strapped into a children's life jacket; complete with a large collar and strap between my legs, and I strongly considered taking mine off, but Emma and Steph had both been so weirdly hostile about a minor complaint earlier. After a brief moment of internal struggle I let out an “ugh” and hurried after them; my life jacket still on, all bucked up securely.

I caught up to them as they were making their way up a wooden set of stairs to the restaurant and chip stand. Steph's life jacket looked so out of place, with the strap standing out against her swimsuit and it’s large yellow collar and grab loop. I was trying desperately not to think about how mine must look the same.

As we got to the top of the stairs I glanced left at the restaurant just a couple meters away. It had large floor to ceiling windows and in the direct sun they reflected back my own image like a mirror, against my own judgment, and without wanting to, I stopped and stared. An 18 year old in a tightly secured bright yellow life jacket with contrasting purple straps. Complete with a large collar, grab loop and a crotch strap. The purple strap around my waist was tight enough that it visibly squished the lifejacket inward, not a little, a lot, it was obvious in the reflection two meters away. The collar didn’t lay completely flat down against my back the way I thought it did, rather it went out at a sort of 30 degree angle, sticking up and out away from me like a peacock's tail. Worst of all, the purple strap against my white pants was even worse than I had thought. Not only was it totally impossible to miss the vibrant purple on white, ironically one of my favorite color combinations, but it was bunching up what were meant to be relatively loose shorts. It looked every bit as tight as it felt, slowly I turned to see my back, twisting at the waist to look at the window still so that I was twisted around like I was posing for a photo. The purple strap was pulling down on the back of the jacket, pulling the bottom edge of the jacket down into a ‘V’. The jacket only came down to about the middle of my back. The strap ran the rest of the way down, first against my yellow shirt, then over the white pants, finally disappearing into a wedgie. My yellow T Shirt was even worse than my white pants, it made the purple really pop. I could not have picked a worse wardrobe for today. My wedgie was plainly obvious from the back. I was in the middle of pulling on it, trying to pull the strap out of my but when I realized it was a window I was standing in front of. Leaning in a bit I saw someone staring right at me. Turning quickly I walked away as fast as I could without running.

Catching up with the others at the chip stand I realized I was still pulling at the strap between my legs and forced myself to stop. Looking at Steph’s crotch strap I now realized it was definitely not remotely as tight as mine. Nor was her waist strap. It wasn’t squishing the lifejacket the way mine was; and her crotch strap was not pulling down on the back of her jacket or disappearing up into a wedgie like mine.

Emma was just finishing her order. Looking at the menu I wasn’t able to begin to make any decisions. Standing in my life jacket in front of some teenager, who had to be at least three years younger than me, the best I was able to manage was “Small fries please” , fishing out my wallet and paying. Standing around waiting for our orders, I swear every third person was staring right at me. What on earth were Steph and Emma chatting so casually about?

Food finally in hand, it was everything I could do not to run back to the boat. Passing the store I couldn't stop myself from looking at our reflection. Again I was shocked at my appearance, the purple strap stood out against the yellow and white like an advertisement. Steph’s jacket was definitely not as tight or noticeable as mine. I managed to wait until we were making our way down the stairs, with Steph and Emma ahead of me and out of sight of the restaurant, before I started to pull at my crotch strap again. I didn’t think Emma would notice if it was like half an inch less tight, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to get it to loosen.

Back at the boat I finally resolved to try again with the tightness of my jacket. Rolling my shoulders and unable to fix my wedgie I pleaded with Emma.

“Emma, I really think this life jacket is a bit too tight” I was pulling at the foam on the front, twisting, and trying to adjust the jacket.

Emma turned to face me, looking a little annoyed but not hostile. Wordlessly she took two steps over and stuck her finger in under the arm whole, presumily seeing if she could feel space between the waist strap and me. Then moving behind me she grabbed the shoulders and yanked up hard twice. Making my wedgie much worse.

“It’s totally fine. That’s how it’s supposed to fit. Does it hurt at all?”

“Well no...” It didn't hurt per-say

“Then quit complaining, seriously...”

It was more than I could take. “Well what about Steph!”

Emma turned, looking much more annoyed . Steph didn't wait for her to respond though.

“What? What about me?”

“Your jacket is WAY looser than mine.”

“Is not”

A now thoroughly annoyed Emma walked over to Steph and repeated what she had done to me, pulling on the waist strap and yanking up on the shoulders. Her expression changed as she pulled the jacket around and lifted it, ever so slightly, off Steph’s shoulders. Steph looked more than a little put off at the procedure.

“Ow wow, ya Steph you are a bit loose.”

“Wha-?” Steph tried to object.

Emma was already going. “Hold still let me fix it”

Steph’s face was a mixture of shock and embarrassment as Emma set about “fixing” her life jacket. This had not been my intent at all but it was hard not to feel some satisfaction after Steph had shut down my complaints so harshly early that day. Emma followed the same procedure she had with me starting with the belt around Steph’s waist. She pulled hard on the loose end and I watched several inches of slack pull through easily. Steph was holding onto her food and drink trying not to spill as she was yanked about. Then Emma gave it several good hard tugs, taking off just a bit more slack and making the strap squish Steph’s life jacket in the way mine did. Steph’s arms were spread out from her sides slightly. She looked like she wasn't sure what to do. She was just kinda standing there awkwardly as Emma worked around her. This time I got to see how the crotch strap worked as Emma unclipped it and spun Steph around so her back was to us. There was a little clip that moved along the strap. The strap came down from the back of the jacket, went through the buckle then back to this clip. The more this clip was moved away from the buckle the shorter the crotch strap was. It was no wonder I hadn’t been able to get it to loosen. It also explained why Emma had undone mine when she tightened it up. Emma eyeballed Steph’s crotch strap and slid the clip a good few inches back, dropping the crotch strap and letting it swing as she spun Steph around again. Steph had no time to react as Emma’s hand shot between her thighs grabbing the dangling strap and pulling it up to the buckle. Like she had with me Emma had to hold the female end of the buckle in her other hand and pull down to clip in the crotch strap. Finally she finished up by retying and tightening the drawstrings at the top and bottom of Steph’s vest. Emma proceeded to check over her handywork; checking the waist belt and giving Steph’s jacket a couple good tugs upward from the shoulders.

Steph let out an “Ugh” when Emma yanked on her jacket's shoulders and bent over slightly immediately afterward.

“Ok there we go. Seriously Steph I thought you would have your jacket on correctly. You have come boating with my family before”

‘Ya I have but this is a bit tight Emma” Now it was Steph that was pulling at her crotch strap awkwardly and looking embarrassed. Her drink now in the crook of her other arm as she squatted slightly.

Now at this point I had a choice and I’m not really sure why I did what I did. But I had already been through, what I saw as, the worst of it. I had been gawked at by strangers and paraded around in this state. And Steph had shut me down when I made similar complaints.

“Now, Steph, we need to be safe, and you can hardly ask Emma to disobey her parents' wishes the first time out with the boat.”

Steph just looked at me and stared. Emma, not hearing the sarcasm in my voice, made a satisfied noise and jumped into the boat. Now, strangely, enjoying Steph’s situation more than I was put off by my own, I climbed aboard after her. Steph followed rather awkwardly, pulling at her vest and squirming about.

Ready to go

EMMA'S BOAT

Part One

The Lifejacket in Emma’s hand wasn’t something I would think of as normal to wear; at least not when you were eighteen years old, for a young kid sure. Steph had mentioned that Emma could be a little hard to handle before but I hadn’t really hung out with her much, so I was finding her a little hard to read. 

I had moved to the area for university and had shared a major and class with Steph, she was from the area and had been introducing me to others around the town now that the school year was over.  As an overseas student I was staying the summer and not traveling home.  Emma had invited the two of us out to go boating on her parent’s new speed boat, to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of a very promising summer.  This was very exciting to me as I had never been boating before.  There was little to no water back home and the idea of big lakes was exciting.

Steph and I had driven out to meet Emma at her parent’s cottage.  Gravel crunched as we pulled up into the driveway at the cottage. Emma’s car was already parked in front of the building.  I stopped the car and Steph was out and heading down to the dock before I had even finished putting it in park. I followed a few moments later at a more casual pace.

We spotted  Emma down by the boat, it was raised above the water in a lift.  She was digging around in the seat compartments, I saw a couple life jackets under her arm and figured she was making sure we had enough onboard.

The boat looked like it was really something, I didn't know much about boats, but it had a polished wood dash and nice big sunbathing deck at the back.  There was a bench seat across the back, a passenger seat next to the driver seat, and two bigger recliner seats in the very front that were more like lawn chairs. 

As we approached her Emma slipped a life jacket over her shoulders, it was a yellow jacket with three buckles on the front.

“Hey guys!” Emma was waving.

As I arrived at the end of the dock Emma was busy buckling up the life jacket she was wearing.  She clipped all three buckles and actually took a moment to pull the straps, tightening the vest up. She made it surprisingly tight, really yanked on the straps.  They were visibly squeezing the foam of the jacket. 

“Are you guys ready to go? Just keep in mind that we are not breaking ANY of my dad’s rules, I am not losing boat privileges.”

Steph made a face at her “God I am so ready for an entire summer of this, your dad is cool with us drinking on the boat right?”

Emma gave Steph a deadly look.

“I'm kidding! I'm kidding!” Steph looked over at me and rolled her eyes. 

“Ok so here's the deal” Emma bent down retrieving the other life jackets from the ground "My brother took three of the other jackets with him canoeing so these are all we have-- sorry..." 

I wasn't sure what she was apologizing for at first. 

Emma held up the other Life Jackets, one in each hand. 

 

In her left hand was a vibrant yellow jacket. It had a zipper and purple strap around the middle, a bright orange whistle hung from the zipper, at the top it had a large collar with a grab loop, and a long purple strap hung down from the back of it. A buckle was positioned on the front of the vest pointed downward. The long strap clearly passed between the wearer's legs.  It was the sort of life jacket you saw kids wearing.

The other life jacket was nearly identical, it was a slightly more muted yellow with a thick red stripe up the right hand side. The strap around the chest and matching strap for between the wearer's legs were the same yellow, it also had a big collar with a grab loop and a long tie at the base of the zipper. It looks a little larger than the first but both were obviously too small for adults and intended for kids. At least so I thought.

“What do you guys weigh?” Emma was actually examining the labels on the inside of the jacket, I had to assume we were over whatever the printed maximum was.  

“I’m 145” Steph offered up.

I just shrugged “110” 

Emma squinted at the labels and made a grunt of approval. “Ow wow, great these both actually work for either of you, I was a little worried about that” She held the jackets out at arms length for us. 

Steph reached out and took the second of the two; the more muted yellow one with the red stripe and yellow straps. It was the larger vest and she was the bigger of the two of us standing at 5’8” to my scrawny 5’1”. She just laughed as she took the jacket. "Aha great, the kiddy lifejackets, perfect." Sarcasm heavy on her tone. 

I took the other jacket as Emma handed it over, it looked as though it was obviously too small to fit, but I figured we probably just had to have them with us.  I was surprised to see Steph slide her left arm through the jacket and pull it up onto her shoulder. She was reaching around with her right arm trying to get it through the other opening, but the small jacket was making it awkward to reach. 

Emma noticed and jumped in to give her a hand. Taking the too small life jacket in one hand and Steph's arm in her other.  Emma manavered Stephs arm through the opening and pulled the jacket up around her shoulders for her.  With Steph now managing, Emma turned to see if I needed any help.  

I was still holding the jaket in my hands, somewhat surprised that Steph was actually putting it on. 

“Do we need to wear them? I’m probably ok without it myself?” It felt a bit strange to contemplate actually wearing what was clearly a child’s life jacket. Even to someone who had never been boating it was obviously a life jacket for a child. 

Emma gave me a surprisingly stern look, “Ya. We one hundred percent need to wear them, it’s the number one rule for my parents with the boat.  Besides the fact that you should definitely always wear it anyway. Would you get in a car without a seatbelt?” 

“Ok fair enough, I guess”

I did have to admit that was a fair point, I wouldn't get in a car and not wear a seatbelt, though a seatbelt was much less bulky and awkward than even a normal life jacket. 

Holding the jacket open it really did look too small, I seriously questioned whether it would fit at all.  

“Here,” Emma walked over, apparently taking my hesitation as a sign that I needed assistance. She took the jacket from me and held it up with the front open for me to slide my arms through. 

Looking at the jacket in her hands it really wasn’t something I would think of as being normal to wear; at least not when you were eighteen years old, for a young kid sure. It was so glaringly juvenile, the vibrant yellow and the bright purple straps made the thing really loud to look at. The hood with it’s grab loop and the long strap hanging from the back of the jacket, which obviously went between your legs, were such giveaways; it was obviously meant for a kid.

Feeling awkward I turned around and, looking over my shoulder, slowly lifted my arms, lining them up with the holes. As I stood there Emma moved in and maneuvered the jacket up over my left arm.  I started to twist around to look over my other shoulder but as I did so I felt Emma grab my right forearm and start pulling on it firmly; bending my elbow and shoulder a bit further back than they wanted to go to get my arm through the other hole in the, obviously too small, jacket.  A moment later I felt her passing my hand, and then my arm, through the opening. As Emma pulled the jacket up over my shoulders and wrapped the front around me; I was stuck by the bulk of it.  A good two inches of foam in the large pads over my chest, and it felt like a couple more inches in a pad across the top of my back just below my shoulders.  The rest of the back had no foam at all, just thin fabric.  

To my surprise, I was able to close the front relatively easily. There was a bit of resistance as I pulled up the zipper, but it did definitely fit. The strap around my waist was another story altogether; it was about two inches short of reaching the buckle.

At this point I was surprised to see Steph pass the long yellow strap between her legs and clip it into place at the front of the life jacket.  Up to this point it hadn't occurred to me that we would bother with the between the leg strap part of the jacket. 

Turning back to my own jacket I let several inches of slack out of the chest strap and managed to get it buckled into place easily enough. Then, in a moment of uncertainty, I twisted around and felt around the back of the jacket until I found the top end of the long strap hanging there. Again I thought about how the jackets were clearly meant for kids, it felt weird to do up a strap between my legs. Steph had done hers up but it just seemed over the top. 

I had the strap hand but was just holding it awkwardly.  I was still uncertain and was leaning toward just letting it hang. Or clipping it into the buckle without passing it between my legs.

Looking over at Steph she was tying off the little string at the base of her jacket. Emma had the boat lowered into the water and was looking about ready to go. 

 

I just shrugged.  It all felt a bit ridiculous but whatever.   Awkwardly, I crouched down slightly and reached around behind me passing the strap through my legs to my other hand. Standing back up I now had the buckle end of the strap in hand.  I found myself looking down at the bright purple clip in my hand; the end of a long strap now passing down between my legs and disappearing from view.  It made a loud snap when I pushed the clip into the waiting buckle on the front of the jacket. 

With my kiddie life jacket now thoroughly secured around me I turned to follow Steph onto the boat that Emma had lowered into the water.  She looked about as absurd as I felt, her lifejacket was glaringly obvious, the first thing you saw when you looked at her, the collar and grab loop in particular. The yellow strap between her legs stood out strongly against her black swimsuit. It really felt odd to me but seemed to be normal enough to Emma and Steph.

As I was about to climb into the boat I was suddenly stopped short.
Emma had grabbed my life jacket as I was walking past. "Hey you, hold up!"
She pulled back on the jacket causing me to stop and take a couple quick steps back before turning to face her.

"You're a bit loose there, like really loose”  

Emma was grabbing the strap going around my chest. Which had just enough slack that the buckle, while done up, was hanging sideways a little.

“Here,"  Emma took hold of the loose end of my jacket’s chest strap in one hand, and grabbed the buckle firmly in her other. Then she proceeded to pull, hard, on the strap, pulling three or four inches of strap through the slider. Then she yanked on it a couple times; to get  maybe another quarter inch through.  I could feel the jacket squeezing in around me. The strap was pressing into the foam, squishing it. 

"And you completely missed the draw string" Emma dropped down, taking a knee in front of me so her head was about level with my stomach, and proceeded to pull tight and double knot the string tie I had missed around my waist. This didn't do all that much but it did cause the material of the jacket to cinch up tight against the small of my back and my stomach.

“Jeez you're as bad as Tim '' (I knew from Steph that Tim was Emma’s eight year old baby brother) I didn't think the comparison was really justified. I thought she was done but then to my surprise she unbuckled the strap that went between my legs letting it fall loose. I now felt really embarrassed for doing it up, assuming she had undone it because it was unnecessary. 

“Ahh I wasn’t going to bother with that one but I wasn’t sure” I tried to make light of having done it up. And started to turn away to get into the boat.

“Wow hold up, No, you have to actually wear the jacket properly”  Emma grabbed my life jacket again and pulled  herself back to her feet stopping me. “Hold on”  She squatted down again behind me as I stopped, confused.

“Wha, sorry I thought-- what are you?”

“Just let me fix this strap”

I felt her pulling on the strap hanging from the back of the jacket.

Then she was beside me and passing the long strap back through my legs to the front. I was confused as to what she had done but as she pulled the strap up towards the buckle I felt it come up tight against me, even before she got it snapped in place. She had shortened it; where before it had clipped in and hung loose below me, now it felt like it would be too short to reach the buckle. Emma did however manage to get it buckled, taking the waiting femail end of the buckle in one hand and the clip in her other, pulling it up firmly and snapping into place.  The crotch strap was pulling tightly up into me. It felt like I had a wedgie.  She couldn't be serious.  

Emma pulled herself up by my life jacket again and once standing gave it a good shake to make sure it was tight. 

It was a strange sensation to say the least. 

"There ya go, that's better"  she gave me a big smile and a shove toward the boat.  The strap between my legs was definitely giving me a wedgie, I hadn’t realized I’d been bending over as she did it up but as I half stumbled toward the boat I straightened up and the strap got even tighter, I pulled at it but there was no obvious way to loosen it.  

“Ok this is too tight, Emma hold on, how do I loosen it?” 

Emma walked past rolling her eyes and climbed into the boat.  It was Steph that spoke up.

“Oh quit being a baby about it, it’s just a life jacket.  It isn’t fair to ask Emma to risk getting in trouble.”

That seemed unfair, I wasn’t suggesting taking the jacket off. 

“Are you coming or not?” Emma was at the steering wheel. 

Not wanting to make a big fuss, I reluctantly stopped fidgeting with the strap and followed, moving the two steps to the edge of the dock and climbing awkwardly down into the boat.

The Self Bondage StraitJacket

Hey guys so this is my first true story on this site tho I have written one or two fictional ones in the past. Until now I have never really been tied up before, at least not in a way that has been inescapable. I’ve been playing around with self bondage for years. Having been raised as an avid outdoorsman I’m quite good with knots and rope, but having never had someone to tie me up, I have been limited to self bondage and the obvious restrictions it imposes. I built an Ice lock that works reasonably well but I have always been able to find a way out before the ice melts. My objective for years was to experience being bound inescapably for an extended period of time, I wanted to experience this “sense of relaxation” that people talked about, but after about 10-15min (more like after doing what people often tie themselves up to do) I would always get tired of it, or think of something I would have to do, and inevitably find a way to escape. Usually without much difficulty.

I have finally, after a year or two of work, achieved success. The system I built consisted of a custom straitjacket that fastened in the front with segufix closures instead of with straps in the back. This makes it quite easy to put on yourself (with a little bit of practice anyway). Each sleeve ends in a small loop, it came with a strap that was meant to connect them (Also fastened with segufix). I replaced this strap with a length of static ¼” climbing line run through a special ring device. One sleeve was connected to the special ring device, to the other sleeve I attached a battery powered electromagnet (I believe it has a holding force of 50 lbs) either way it’s more than enough the way the rope is run though and the way your arms are positioned. I tried Ice locks as well but found them less reliable and disliked that they get everything kinda wet. The metal plate that attaches to the magnet was tied to one end of the ¼” static line, on the other end of the line I tied a bowline with a reasonable sized loop.

Skip this paragraph if you know what a special ring device is. A special ring device is a super simple way of tightening a rope and having it stay tight. Basically you loop a rope through two small metal rings then again around only one of the rings. The result is that you can pull the rope through one way but not the other. If you use a good dense rope and rings that are small relative to the size of the rope (my rope is ¼” and the rings are 1” in diameter) then it can really work quite well.

I started by tying my legs at the ankles with a bit of hemp rope, twice around with the bite and then cinching it off, next I secured my legs just above the knees with a segufix strap (the one that is meant to be used on the arms). I slipped the straitjacket on, it goes on like a regular coat not backwards like a normal one, the sleeves were a bit too short for me to fully open my hands which made everything a bit more difficult but was worth it in the end. The jacket takes two segufix locks to close, the first is at the waist line. The metal post goes first through the left half of the jacket then the right, then two straps come around the waist from the back and also go over the post, finally the crotch strap. It was a bit difficult to hold the post and all five pieces in place with getting the plastic lock onto the post and the first few tries I dropped the pin. Eventually I smartened up and used some tape to hold the pins in place, this helped quite a lot. The upper lock went at about the collar bone, thi sone was easier as there was only three things to get over the post; the left and right side of the jacket and the crotch strap again, which now made the loop at the front for my arms. The next bit is partly a person fetish but also a legitimate safety issues as well as I would be jumping around in a straitjacket with my legs tied together, I strapped a large bike helmet onto my head. Finally I grabbed a ball gag, AN IMPORTANT SAFETY ISSUE HERE, I did not secure the ball gag into my mouth, I strapped it on over my face with my mouth closed, if your doing selfbondage with anything other than a ring gag (even that really) then you need to be able to spit it out easily. I like being able to have a gag my mouth but I also don’t want to die and I also might just get painfully tired of being gaged waiting for the battery to die.

Side note on the safety topic: the electromagnet will give out eventually when the battery dies but the rule is have two ways out. My second was a pocket knife tapped in the sleeve of the jacket, within easy grabbing distance of my right hand. In a pinch I could cut a hole in the sleeve and get my right arm out and cut myself loose.

So at this point I am strapped into the jacket, legs strapped/tied tightly together with a helmet on, and a ball gag in my mouth, but my arms are free. My left arm has the special ring device attached to the end of the loop and my right the electromagnet and battery. The ¼” static line is running through the special ring device, all the slack in on the end of the line that will get shorter, it ends in the metal plate that will latch onto the electromagnet the other end has the loop, it’s the end that will do the pulling. With my arms free it was very easy to pass the end of the line with the metal plate on it through the loop on the jacket, around my torso, and then through the loop again at the front. The I held the metal plate against the magnet and… Nothing, I forgot to turn the damn thing on…

15min later I was back at this point after taking everything off and turning the magnet on. The metal plate snapped onto the magnet and a few good tugs assured me that it was staying on.  So now my arms are still free but the rope connects them and follows the path my arms will take into the straitjacket position. Then I kinda hopped to the nearest door and looped the bowline I tied in the end of the static line over the knob. Now all i had to do was walk away, and it worked; the rope connecting my arms got shorter the further I went from the door, I slipped my arms through the loop at the front of the jacket and felt my movement slowly restricted, then it stopped working. 

The rope had gotten all tangled, at this point I wasn't using the static line, I was using soft hemp rope, it was too soft and didn't run through the ropes past a certain tension. Five minutes later I was out of the jacket and retrieving the static line from my camping gear, 15min later I was back in the jacket and walking from the door again, my arms pulling tight all the better. An added benefit of the static line is that it will not stretch, no matter how hard you pull. As my arms just started to pull tight it stopped again. 

This time I couldn’t see what had happened and I also couldn’t get out easily. It was quite annoying as the tie wasn't tight enough to satisfy me but also wasn't loose enough to easily troubleshoot. After about two min of struggling suddenly my arms popped loose. After pulling them around the front of me I saw the electromagnet had given out. I also saw why it had stopped tightening. The special ring device had worked perfectly this time but the length of the electromagnet, plus the special ring device, plus the rope tying each to the loops of the arms, plus the loops themselves at the end of the sleeves, was too much length. 

5min later I was out of the jacket AGAIN. I corrected the issue my tieing a bit of rope around the end of the sleeves with a snuggle hitch (Basically a clove hitch with an extra pass) and tieing the ring device and magnet with much less slack. This gave me an extra 7 or 8 inches of slack that I could take up. Then I looked into the magnet, turns out I was wrong the battery wasn’t dead, my struggling had caused it to dislodge from the contacts (battery popped out from me jumping around). I fixed this issue by cutting a piece of canvas off a roll (thanks again camping gear) and jamming it into the battery housing to prevent the battery popping off again. I also took the opportunity to change the now half drained battery. 

20min later I was walking away from the door again, my arms pulling tightly together, really tightly, at this point I was blown away by how tight it was getting. I was all caught up in it, leaning my full weight against the rope pulling every bit of slack out of the line. I couldn't move my arms at all, then the rig I was standing on slipped and I went down, HARD. With no arms to break my fall and my legs strapped together tightly, there is definitely nothing quite like falling face first toward a marble floor unable to move your arms or legs. I’d like to think I would have used the helmet with or without the added fetish but damn I am glad I did. That little slip could have been seriously bad. My head was the first thing to hit but the helmet did its job and I barely felt a thing. Physically anyway, emotionally and psychologically was a different story. 

 Now here I was, on the floor in a super tight straitjacket legs tightly bound together. At first I didn’t really buy it. I rolled around and struggled a bit but I was worried about accidentally breaking loose, so I only went so far. At this point I was elated, I had never experienced such tight and legitimate bondage ever before. It was everything I wanted. Some minutes later (after doing what people often tie themselves up to do) I wanted out, this is when I actually tested my bondage. And it held, damn did it hold. I spit the gag out and struggled HARD for a good 10-15 minutes. I thrashed around trying to dislodge the battery again but the canvas had fixed that little loopwhole.

I tried to escape the legitimate way, I had watched enough straitjacket videos online to know the concept there, that was a fucking joke. I tried rubbing the magnet on the edge of a wall to catch the lip of the metal plate and lift it off but the plate was smaller than the magnet and I had lined it up really well when I snapped it on. I really wasn't enjoying it and I really wasn't playing around, I tried to get out. I could have used the knife but that meant ruining the nearly $600 jacket, I saved up for months to buy it. That wasn't happening. 

All the struggling had exhausted me and I ended up lying on the floor, the helmet actually made an ok pillow as well. At this point I kinda just “fell” into it. It was exactly like I had imagined it would be, my whole being just gave up and I surrendered to the stupid little 9volt battery. 

I was dying of thirst tho, I managed to do the hardest sit up of my life and then using the wall got to my feet. I hopped my way to the sink and turned the tap on with my face, then stuck my face into the running water and had a drink, I was careful not to drink so much that I would have to go to the bathroom for obvious reasons, even just swishing the water around in my mouth was heaven tho. 

My apartment is a bachelor so I wasn't restricted in movement between rooms as it’s all one room, kitchen living room, bedroom. So I hopped my way to my bed to lie down there. I lay in my bed for probably half an hour just squirming around, not really struggling like I had before, enjoying being tied up again now, actually enjoying a lot more now as I knew I really couldn't get out, I finally experienced that “relaxed” feeling people talk about and it was amazing. I have a pretty stressful life as I run a business. I was totally stress free for the first time in probably years, I couldn't work on the computer against the far wall if my life depended on it. 

But I was getting kinda bored, my best guess was that it had been close to an hour, the battery would last about another hour based on my tests, my hard thrashing earlier would have possibly shortened that but now I was also just lying here, in my test I hung a 20lb weight from the magnet, it could well be as little as 10 lbs on it without struggling. The jacket was still tight enough that my arms were naturally pressing against the sleeves so that was a bit of force, and my light squirming was a bit as well, but probably not 20lbs. I don't want out anymore in this situation tho, I felt like I could stay like that for hours, I’m just bored. It was then that I noticed my phone, I had put it this stand I have that holds it up for watching moving in bed (It’s a long flexible arm) . I had put a slide show of straitjacket photos on it earlier (before tying myself up) and it was still playing, I wasn’t really fully in the mood for that anymore tho, not yet anyway, I was pleasantly kinda halfway there. Then I realised, it was a brand new Iphone, one of the new features.

“Hey siri”

Siri popped up with her little beep beep.

“Yes!”

“Sorry - I didn’t get that”

“Can you play netflix videos”

“Sorry I can’t help you with netflix”

Damnit worth a try. Not surprising tho, apple just let siri play with third party apps a few months ago.

“Siri play music”

Music starts playing, it was bon iver I think, that was something. I squirmed around a bit more, tried to shift my legs and arms but enjoyably couldn't do much. Well anything really, the jacket was %100 as tight as when I had my insane fall.

I was pretty sure that there were no movies on my phone but it was worth a shot.

“Here siri are there any movies on my phone”

“I found the following titles” Siri reads out five great recent movies “there are more, would you like me to ready them all?”

It took me a second to figure it out. My new phone was the result of switching our phones from personal to a business account, we had also set up a family account for apple music, AND sharing apps, it must also share tv and movie titles by default. This was great, I had siri read out 15 or 20 titles before settling on Star Wars The Force Awakens. I saw it in theaters but it was a solid movie and it sounded perfect for my currently somewhat “distracted” movie watching experience.

“Siri play the Force Awakens”

“Sorry , Boss, I can’t play movies”

“What!” I thrashed around again for a second in the jacket “damnit apple! What’s the damn point…. ” that went on for a bit. Then it kinda turned into me struggling around in the jacket, I was trying to reach the phone suspended above me to hit play with my nose or something but the stand would just move away when I pushed on it. Then I put my head, in it’s helmet, down on the pillow, pulled my feet close to me and tried to raise my waist/torso up so I could get it with my hand though the sleeve of the jacket. I was so close it was crazy. Now the loop on the front of the jacket is the same strap as crotch straps so this was an interesting approach. I didn’t end up getting at the phone but I did solve my boredom problem. The slide show of straitjackets was playing again now. Normally I don't feel like bondage is complete without a gag but in this case I didn't feel the need for the one around my neck, really at all. But it was a nice touch to have it there, I was able to get it back in with the help of my shoulder. 

After that I fell asleep, in the jacket (I spit the gag out) tightly strapped up, unable to move. It was amazing, I don't think i’ll ever forget it. If i didn’t mention this was also my first time in a straitjacket. Everything about it was amazing, the way the jacket pulled in constantly against my upper arms and shoulders in particular. I think I only slept for around 20min but when I woke up the battery had died and I was free, but I was actually quite disappointed, I could have stayed infor twice that long. I was really tempted to reload the battery and go again but Now that I was free the work I had brought home was staring at me and I had responsibilities and decisions to make again. I spent the rest of the evening working on the computer but I felt like a million bucks.

I think I may look into rewiring the battery housing, make it so I can load 2 or 3 batteries in parallel for longer sessions. Either way I love this thing and can not wait to use it again. What sucks is that I’m heading to my home town for a week to visit family for the holidays, so it will have to wait….

If anyone is interested in more info on how I set this thing up let me know and I can take some photos of the rig, I know the description is not the best, it’s a bit hard to describe.

Also if anyone want’s to proofread please feel free and I will make edits.

Please let me know if you enjoyed reading!

Electromagnetic lock - $150 CAD
Custom segufix straitjacket - $565 CAD
Helmet - $40
10ft Static Line - $30
Metal rings - $5
Segufix Leg strap - $0 (included in price of jacket)
Knife for emergency escape - $40
Total: $830.00

Outfitting

Sam's Adventures: Surprise Getaway
Chapter Nine, Part Three

Five min after passing the billboard we were driving down a small dirt road and could hear the sound of the river through the open windows. Sam was straining against the vest trying to get a good look out of the front window of the car. I pulled over and stopped momentarily turning around and reaching into the back seat to position a blanket over Sam, it looked a bit odd but covered most of the vest up.

A few min later we arrived at a gated entrance and were told to head down to the parking lot and sign in at the building by the beach. After passing through the gate it was a short drive down a fairly steep hill to the river the woods opened up on both sides to the campgrounds and resort facilities, it was mid-week the campground was pretty empty. I parked the car a ways away from everyone else and moved around to the back to let Sam out.

“Finally” Sam rattled her wrist in its cuff.

“Please, you did worse to me and you know it”

Sam simply scowled in response

I leaned in and unclipped the vest from the car seat again, helping her to get out of the back seat to stand on the gravel of the parking area. Sam cringed as she straightened up and remained half bent at the waist. The Jeep was between us and most of the occupied areas, and those where sparsely occupied anyway.

“Turn around” I instructed her.

Sam rolled her eye but complied; I bent to unclip the crotch straps but couldn’t resist one last opportunity for revenge and grabbed the shoulder straps instead giving her one good hoist almost lifting her feet of the ground. Sam’s eyes became the size of dinner plates and she bit her lip screaming into it and thrashing her arms against the straps. I laughed and dropped her down again; Sam was now bent over almost 90deg at the waist trying to grab at the crotch straps but was prevented by the wrist cuffs. I Leaned down again and unclipped the crotch straps I had to pull them to get them to fall down as they had given her enough of a wedge to get stuck. Sam fell back on her but and stared at me, her eyes full of fire. I actually felt a bit bad now I had hoisted her a lot more than I meant too. I grinned stupidly.

“Sorry didn’t mean to lift you that hard”

“I’m sure” Sam mumbled still staring unblinking. I was pretty sure this little stunt was going to come back to haunt me, now I really regretted it.

I squatted next to her and unclipped her wrists and upper arm restraints, I was half expecting to get slapped but Sam was more concerned with massaging her damaged area, like a guy who’d been sacked. I helped her get to her feet, feeling worse as she walked with a slight limp now. I stashed the vest in the back of the jeep, locked it, and we headed over to the small brown building by the river to sign in.

I had paid for everything in advance so the sing in was pretty fast, the woman at the desk basically took our names and gave us each a wrist band. They also gave us a small combination locker to keep our car keys in so we didn't lose them on the river. We went and retrieved the tent and camping gear from the car and set up camp at an empty site near the river (a bit secluded) The first rafting trip would take place tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM sharp. With camp set up we went to go get some food and then some, to be much needed, sleep.

We woke up at around 7am, dressed, and went to the large pavilion where a breakfast of eggs, sausage, pancakes and just about anything else you wanted was being served buffet style. We were told by a passing guide to eat a lot but not stuff ourselves and risk cramping. After breakfast we joined a large number of other rafters and were assigned our guide. Our river guide was named Clara she looked to be in her late 20s and had her brown hair tied back, we followed her away from the main group for our safety briefing.

Clara had in her position a paddle helmet and standard issue lifejacket with which to demonstrate. She started by holding out the lifejacket. It had three straps across the front and a fourth lower down that went tight across the waist. There were three adjustable straps on either side to tighten it up, the shoulder straps were also adjustable, and of course it had a pair of crotch straps that hung down from the back.

Clara slipped the lifejacket onto herself and explained the various features that were already quite apparent as she buckled up the front, following that she demonstrated ride up by lifting the jacket over her head. Dropping it back down she proceeded to explain how to tighten up the jacket by cinching up the straps on each side, she accomplished this with ease but recommended getting a buddy to help out as it can be tricky. Finally she explained that it was best not to be stingy in the cinching department as – she passed the first of the crotch straps between her legs “these will take your weight if the waist strap doesn’t” she buckled the second one and snugged them down. She also stressed the importance of a fourth strap that sat just below the foam of the jacket in preventing ride up.

Clara then went on to demonstrate fitting the helmet and went into detail about how to use the paddle and what to do when (not if) you fall out of the raft. We were riding in a 6 person raft as opposed to a 12 person so apparently falling out was guaranteed.

With our safety lecture complete we followed Clara to the equipment shed to pick out our gear.

The shed was an old wooden building open to the air on one side and along the tops of the walls. There were several bins filled with helmets and racks of paddles of various sizes and Life jackets, more lifejackets than I could count.

Sam took a life jacket off a hook and held it in both hands at arm’s length. She looked at it like a child with a new toy.

“Help me put it on!”

I smiled and moved forward, happy to oblige. I took the jacket from Sam and held it open while Sam turned around and slipped her arms through. She then stood with her arms held straight out and legs together as though she was at attention in the military. I maneuvered around to the front of her laughing. Sam was grinning widely; I clipped the three buckles together at the front working my way up from the bottom one. Whoever had worn this jacket previously must have been twice the size of her; the jacket hung so loose she looked like a 6 year old wearing her parents clothes, for a moment I doubted the “one size fits all” but then I pulled the straps on either side of her, shortening them up, again starting the bottom of the three. Amazingly the jacket quickly shrank to fit Sam’s tiny figure quite well, next I shortened up the shoulder straps so the jacket sat around her properly.

“Spread em” I stated crouching, Sam compiled more than was really necessary shuffling her feet away from each other so she stood with her feet nearly 3 feet apart, I reached between them and grabbed the two longer straps hanging loosely from just above her but and pulled them back through, snapping each into its respective buckle on the front of the jacket. Sam grunted slightly as I snugged them down, there was a considerable amount of slack on these as well; now hanging in front of Sam in the form of loose ends as the straps between her legs were very tight against her.

Sam straightened up again to her “At attention position”

“Don't forget the waist one”

Following this reminder I connected the final buckle at the very base of the jacket and pulled it as snug as I could. Sam dropped her arms believing we were finished; it was at this point that Amanda came up on us.

“How are you two making out?”

Amanda set to inspecting Sam’s jacket pulling up on the shoulders and the front of the jacket.

“We can snug this up a bit more”

Amanda pulled on each of the 3 adjustment straps on each side of the jacket so it tightened up around Sam considerably more. She must have noticed the smile/blush on Sam’s face as she did this. She smiled knowingly at Sam

“you like it tight?” Sam not really knowing how to respond nodded her head and blushed a bit more. Amanda smiled in return.

“So do I, this can be tighter still, lot of water on the river this year after all”

Amada proceed take hold of the center straps on each side of Sam’s jacket and placed her knee against the front of Sam’s life vest pulling the straps at least another 4 inches tight. With the center two tighter the top and bottom ones went tight easily; finally Amanda snugged up the shoulder straps in a similar fashion and gave the two crotch straps an extra pull for good measure. Sam half stumbled and half stepped back when she had finished, hugging the jacket with her arms.

Amanda picked a helmet out of a nearby bin and placed it over the smaller girls head , she had to crouch a bit to see under Sam's chin to buckle and tighten the strap.

Amanda turned to me pulling another vest from the wall.

“Here you go arms right through here” Amanda’s tone was a mixture of a circus performer and a baby sitter; both theatrical and calming. I turned almost without meaning to and felt behind me for the arm holes -- I felt the jacket pass over my arms as Amanda slid the jacket over them and placed it over my shoulders. A moment later she was in front of me connecting buckles with expert speed. My jacket was a considerably better fit than Sam’s had been to start with, it was actually a bit snug, the person to last wear it may have been closer to Sam’s size than mine. Regardless the second Amada clipped the last of the four buckles into place she took hold of the adjustment straps and placed her knee against the front of my jacket as she had with Sam a moment earlier. I felt her knee press forward even through the thick foam of the jacket as she pulled back on the straps, surely pulling as hard as she was able. The jacket seemed to physically shrink around me pulling inward relentlessly. I could barely breath it was so tight, Amada reached around my side to grab the two hanging straps and passed them between my legs to her other hand I moved to spear my legs apart a bit but by now she was already buckling them into place at the front,

The straps were already short enough that I could feel them a bit but she tugged down on both straps snugging them up considerably, (tho not as uncomfortably tight as Sam would have made them). Amanda then fitted me with a helmet as she had sam, I left my arms hanging at my sides awkwardly as she clipped and tightened the strap. Finally she gave me a last check over tugging on the shoulder straps and pulling at the front parts of the jacket, hard enough to make me stumble a bit, satisfied she smiled.

“Ok I’ll see you two at the bus in 10!”

I turned to Sam who had watched the exchange but seemed more preoccupied with her jacket.

“What’d you think?”

She turned to me, took two steps forward and planted a kiss on my mouth.

Leaning back she stated simply.

“Best gift ever… But I still owe you one form before”

“Whaa?------“

“I cringed and sam yanked down on my crotch straps HARD with her left hand while I had been off guard”

I cringed and gasped

“Now we’re even” She smiled sweetly and danced away in the general direction of the bus, hugging her life jacket tightly as she went”