Napping with My Sister's Bestie

Writer's note:

The series is still pending approval by moderation, so you can go by publication date on my profile if you need to catch up on previous chapters, enjoy!

"Hey, Rom!" Dad's voice booms as he waves me over from the grill all the way to the back of the garden. "Mind taking over for a while?"

"Sure," I say, wiping my hands on my shorts. Not like I have anything better to do.

He hands me the tongs, but more importantly, his old apron, scarred with grease stains and burn marks from years of cookouts.

"The Johnsons should be here any minute," he explains. "I'd like to clean up and say hi properly. You'll be ok?"

"Yeah, Dad. I've got it."

The proud smile he flashes me makes me wonder just how low the bar is for me to impress him. Apparently, handling a grill for a few minutes is a major achievement.

As he heads inside, the Johnsons appear at the garden gate. The elderly couple, owners of the cabin next to my parents' lakehouse, nod toward my mom through the kitchen window when they step in. Their grandkids follow right behind them.

Kevin lugs a heavy cooler while Diane strolls in unbothered, the hem of her light sundress swaying with each step.

From my spot at the grill, I give a quick wave. Enough to acknowledge them without needing to shout a greeting.

An instant later, Paige, my little sister, and Maddie, her best friend and frequent guest on our family vacations at the lake, burst out of the kitchen. Their hands are full of dishes to lay out on the outdoor table before they can properly greet the neighbors.

I can hear fragments of conversation. The ease, built by years of mingling between our two families, fills the air. This is definitely more genuine than the neighborly chatter we'd get back home.

Diane makes a beeline straight for me as soon as it's polite to do.

Company would normally be welcome, but something in her gait makes me swallow that thought. She looks pissed.

"So?" She asks the moment she's close enough, her tone even but sharp.

"So what?" I echo, careful.

"How long have you been fucking Maddie?" She hisses, her angry gaze freezing me into place.

Crap.

"What are you talking..." I try to answer, my hand gripping around the tongs.

"Don't play dumb with me," Dian cuts me with a low and furious voice.

I glance behind her, panicked, but no one in the garden seems to be paying attention to us. Maddie's laugh, always a little too loud, rings out oblivious.

Diane takes a step closer, her whisper sharp as a blade. "Yesterday, I left the beach for five minutes to take a leak. When I came back, I heard--" she pauses, jaw tightening, nostrils flaring "--

fucking noises

coming from here."

It looks like she's savoring my frightened expression for a second before she continues. "Imagine my shock when I realized you were the one screwing a nineteen-year-old girl in broad daylight."

That's it, I'm done for. They're going to put me on some sort of a list somewhere.

"Listen, it's not what it looks like." Where am I going with this? That the hundred-pound girl somehow forced me into it? "Maddie's an adult. She knows what she's doing..."

"She's had a crush on you since before she could read, you creep," Diane's eyes don't leave mine. I don't think she's even blinking.

"She's the one who came on to me." It's a good thing I've spent the entire vacation rationalizing my actions. "Besides, it's just a fling, a rebound. It doesn't mean much."

"Does she know that? Because I have a pretty clear memory of Maddie, four feet tall, dressed up as Elsa for Halloween, telling me she was going to marry you one day."

A cold weight settles in my gut. Not a nice mental image to have.

"And if it's no big deal, then I assume Paige is aware of what's going on, too."

That's the killing blow. Maybe I've already lost my lifelong friendship with Diane over this, but if Paige learns about it, I'll lose my sister.

I stay silent for a while before asking in a defeated tone. "Are you going to tell her?"

For an instant, I can see the thoughts going through her. But she settles on pity.

"I won't," she sighs and shakes her head. "But not because of you. I just don't want Paige to get hurt."

Before I can answer, we get startled by Paige and Maddie.

"Hey, guys," Maddie calls out cautiously. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Diane says softly, holding my gaze. "We're just rehashing an old argument."

And with that, she spins on her heel and strides off briskly to rejoin the others.

"Lovers' spat?" Paige asks in a mocking tone.

"That was years ago," Maddie answers for me before I can speak, sounding slightly offended on my behalf. "Diane and you never even really dated, right, Rom?"

Her voice is dripping with honey, none of Diane's raw anger. But somehow, the way she looks at me--steady, expectant--feels even more threatening.

I swallow. "Yeah, of course," I say, nodding quickly. "Water under the bridge."

Maddie beams proudly as if I've given the perfect answer. Then, without breaking eye contact, she presses a fresh beer into my hand, her fingers grazing mine just a second too long.

I glance over at Diane, who's now helping my Mom set up the dishes on the table. The very same table I fucked Maddie on, not twenty-four hours ago.

"Brought you some refreshments," Maddie says, in the same overly affectionate way she's been using on me since our hookup.

Maybe Diane had a point.

Paige walks around the grill, to stand next to me.

"Need any help?" She asks, peering over my shoulder at the sizzling meat.

"It's just a bunch of burgers and ribs, I think I'll manage."

"Well, we wouldn't want you to be left alone," Maddie says.

I flip a patty, feeling pretty unconvinced.

"Honestly, I'm still struggling to get over the two of you getting along," Paige adds, sending a bucket of icy water over my shoulders. "Are you guys going to keep hanging out when you get back to your city?"

Either Paige is some kind of evil genius hell-bent on giving me a heart attack, or she just has an uncanny knack for stumbling onto the worst possible topics.

I'm about to weasel out of a solid answer when my gaze lands on Maddie.

She's standing there, arms folded, expectantly. Her eyes can catch the sun like no one else, making them impossibly blue. Her cutoffs show off miles of leg, and her spaghetti strap top shifts in the breeze, barely clinging to her frame.

How can I possibly say no when she looks at me like that?

"I mean, why not. I know a bunch of actual grown-up spots that'd make you look way cooler to your college buddies."

"Oh, you do know me," Maddie teases. "I'm all about the grown-ups."

Paige snickers. "How generous of you, Rom. To

deign

spend time with the youth."

They gang up on me and then wonder why I spent most of my teenage years avoiding them.

But before they can force any more concessions out of me, Mom flags Paige down from the other side of the garden.

"Coming," she yells as she jogs back to help out, leaving me alone with Maddie again.

For two people who've been going at it in the car, the house, the garden, hell, even on the beach, we sure have a way of letting awkward silences stretch between us.

I focus on the grill, and Maddie focuses on me, making me squirm. Finally, she breaks the tension.

"Give me a swig of your beer?" she asks.

"Dad still doesn't let you guys drink?" I chuckle. Glad to see he's still a stickler. No preferential treatment for the younger siblings.

"Yeah."She takes a slow step closer, tilting her head slightly as she leans in, just enough to give me an unavoidable view of her cleavage. "And I'm

so

thirsty."

"Uh uh," I nod and hand her the bottle, but don't engage. Diane's words are still ringing in my head.

Maddie takes a long gulp, tilting her head back and letting her hair hang loose. I hope no one is looking in our direction. She lets out a satisfied 'ahh' and licks a stray drop from her lips before giving me the bottle back.

I take a sip to cool my head down more than anything else.

"Thank God I'm only underage when it comes to drinking, right?"

I almost spit my beer all over the grill.

===

With one last pull, the door comes off its hinges. I stumble back, barely catching it before it crashes to the ground.

That was louder than I meant.

"You ok up there, Rom?" Dad calls out from the living room.

"Yeah, it's all good," I shout back, walking down the stairs, making sure not to scrape the paint off the wall.

In the kitchen, Mom and Dad are packing their bags for the hike, sorting through water bottles and trail maps spread across the table.

"Sure you don't want to join us?" She asks for the thousandth time. It's hard work being the prodigal son.

"No, if I get the door done this afternoon, I might actually get a night's sleep in a real bed before heading back to the city. I've been crashing on couches for too long."

I wouldn't mind having a lock to protect me from Maddie, too.

The sleeping situation is a joke. My parents have the downstairs bedroom. Paige and Maddie share one upstairs. The last bedroom is torn apart mid-renovation, which means the only spot left for me is the living room couch.

"Naomi broke up with you, and she gets to keep the bedroom?" Dad chuckles.

I give a forced shrug, but it stings a little. It's only been a month.

"Robert," Mom chides, shooting him a look before turning to me, her tone softer. "Well, don't work too hard. You're on vacation. We'll see you tonight for dinner."

She smiles weakly before picking up her bag to leave the room, squeezing my hand on the way.

Dad lingers just a second longer. "I got the tools out in the backyard for you," he says before following her out.

I clumsily make my way out of the house, drop the door on the trestles I set up earlier, and get to work.

The blazing sun, combined with the effort of sanding the wood panels, makes my T-shirt stick uncomfortably to my skin in no time. Sweat drips down my back, gathering in every crease of my skin. Eventually, I give up on propriety and yank the shirt over my head, tossing it onto a nearby chair.

"Hey," Paige chirps, stepping out of the house. She's wrapped in a pareo, a beach bag slung over her shoulder. "Kevin, Diane, and I are going swimming. Wanna tag along?"

I drag my forearm across my brow, wiping away sweat. "I'm good, thanks," I answer, catching my breath. "Maddie's not with you?"

Paige winces, shifting the bag on her shoulders. "I think her fall yesterday was a bit harder than she lets on. She says her knee hurts. She's gonna stay inside for a bit."

Of course Maddie found another excuse to be alone with me in the house.

She hesitates for half a second, then gives me a warm smile. "I just realized I didn't thank you for taking care of her and bringing her back here. So thank you."

Thank God the exertion probably hides the blush that creeps on my grown man's face.

"It was nothing," I manage to get out.

"No, really, you two mean the world to me." She lingers for a second. Maybe she expects an answer from me. "Anyway, see you later!"

She heads off toward the trees to take the stairs to the beach, unaware of the gut punch she's just landed on me.

I go back to work even harder, as if the remaining specks of old paint on the door are somehow linked to my own conscience.

But it doesn't take long for me to hear footsteps behind me coming from the house. To my utter lack of surprise, I turn to find Maddie standing there.

What's more surprising is her general demeanor. She's ogling me, slackjawed, her eyes widened into perfect circles. On top of that, she's wearing some pretty concealing clothes, what with her oversized T-shirt and baggy pajama pants.

"What?" I call out sharply.

Maddie blinks a few times as if to chase the sleep off her eyes. For a moment, she looks like she has no idea where she is.

"Nothing," she answers in a small voice. "You're just really hot, that's all."

"Cut your crap, you've seen me in a swimsuit before." I turn back to the door.

"Yeah, but I've never seen you covered in sweat, doing manly stuff," her momentary confusion is gone. She's back to her teasing, flirty self.

She tilts her head, her eyes roaming over me like she's committing this moment to memory. "That's hot, dude."

"Whatever," she has me on edge again. "What do you want?"

"I was originally planning on offering you a nap. But now I think I'll just sit here and look at you. If you don't mind."

Maddie drags the chair with my soaked T-shirt on it to the side. To get a better view?

"If you weren't a cute girl," I begin in a mocking tone, "people would call you a creep."

"Lucky for you, I

am

a cute girl," she answers, sitting down on the chair, her signature smug smirk back on her face. "Pervert."

I can't help but chuckle at her absolute confidence. She has no business being this enticing.

"You said something about a nap?" I ask casually.

Maddie's smile grows wider.

"Yeah, I know you've been missing real beds. So I was thinking you could have a nap in ours since it's only us in the house."

I stop working to think for a second. This does sound pretty good. But I'm not an easy boy. I need to put up a bit of a fight.

"No funny stuff?"

She looks like I just took her favorite toy away. "I have pure intentions," her voice turns surprisingly earnest. "Seriously, Rom, I know you're going through a lot. Just a nap, in good faith."

I put on my best conflicted expression, pretending to take time to come up with an answer. But as usual, Maddie can't stay genuine for long.

"Besides," she purrs, "I seem to remember someone promising to make up their poor stamina to me yesterday."

Somehow, I find myself in the girls' bedroom. It's as messy as ever. Pleasant feminine scents floating around in the air contrast with the ground's absolute minefield status, covered in discarded clothes. I just now realize that I've left my T-shirt in the garden.

Thankfully, the bed is spared from the general chaos of the room.

Maddie, who's led me here, turns around to face me. She looks a bit too pleased with herself for my liking.

"You can take my side of the bed. I don't want your man-stink to get all over Paige's." Her smile makes it clear she has no qualms about my sweat getting on her own side.

I grunt, but right as my about to climb in, her hand lands on my forearm.

"We have a strict 'no-pants policy' in this bed, Mister."

I could protest. Put up a fight. But my hand has already touched the mattress. It feels heavenly under my palm compared to the collections of couch cushions I've been subjecting myself to over the past month.

I nod and unceremoniously drop my shorts to the ground before collapsing on the bed like a dead weight.

The feeling of the foam, espousing the shape of my body, is divine. I gather what little strength I have and roll over to Maddie's side. Her mocking chuckle follows me as I settle onto my back, eyes already closing.

Soon, I hear fabric sounds, and the mattress bends next to me. I look to find Maddie lying on her side, barely a few inches away from me.

She's also ditched her pants and is only wearing her oversized black T-shirt, plain blue cotton panties, and pink, fuzzy socks that look out of place on her.

"How's your knee?" I ask as my eyes land on the fresh bandaid.

She bends her naked leg and brings it over my chest without moving the rest of her body. We get it, Maddie. You're flexible. Still, the bruise doesn't look bad at all.

"Don't come closer," I warn, "You promised I could sleep."

"Calm down, Galahad," she answers sarcastically. "But think about it. You'd be so sleepy after I'm done with you."

"I don't think it would be a good idea," I say. Yet I don't ask her to take her soft leg from its resting place on my belly.

Maddie raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Diane caught us yesterday," I confess. "We're getting too reckless."

Maddie doesn't seem to panicked. She doesn't even blink.

"That was bound to happen," she says, her tone flat. "But we're in a bedroom, alone in the house. We won't get a better opportunity."

"That's not the only issue. I shouldn't take advantage of you. It's not right."

Maddie lets out a deep laugh.

"You?" She asks after a while, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye. "Taking advantage of me? That's adorable. Dude, I'm an adult. I know what I want."

"Well, I don't feel great about it. Okay?" I try not to show just how irritating her reaction is to me.

"Alright, old man," Maddie tucks herself into the pillow, her head resting on her folded arm, her eyes never leaving me. "Close your eyes. You get grumpy when you're sleepy."

===

A nagging feeling against my thigh tears me from what has to be the best sleep in my life. I shift slightly, groggy, but the warmth pressed against me keeps me still.

Maddie.

Saying she's pressed against me would be an understatement.

Her entire body is molded into my side. I can feel the weight of an arm and leg draping over me. Her face disappears in the crook of my arm. Her lips and steady breath brush against my ticklish skin. They are hot, soft, and calm.

A smile tugs at my lips. Maddie can be cute when she's not behaving like a sex-crazed succubus. I feel a wave of tenderness for her. She did just want to share a nap and cuddle after all.

Then I hear it.

A slow, deliberate inhale from her nose right against my armpit. It is soon followed by the return of the strange, rhythmic sensation on my thigh. Like something is nudging against it.

Finally, my eyes are attracted by the glint of the condom wrapper on the bedside table. Another inhale, slower this time.

"What the fuck..."

Maddie's head shots up in surprise.

"Oh. Hey. You're awake," she says, like everything is normal.

"Maddie," I growl. "I told you..."

But before I can complete my sentence, she extricates the arm stuck between her bodies and presses her index finger to my lips. It's slick.

"Shush," she coos. "You don't have to do anything."

My tongue unconsciously darts out to meet the strange substance now smeared on my lips. I shouldn't be able to recognize Maddie's taste, but there is no denying what this is.

"There's no guilt If you don't move, right?" She continues, slowly shifting down my body. She sounds so reasonable, so logical. "You can just let me take what I need from you."

She slides lower and lower until her fingers dip under the elastic of my underwear. My traitorous hips raise themselves to help her out, and in an instant, my boxers are tossed over her shoulder, joining the other discarded clothes on the ground.

I'm not hard, not completely, when she takes me in her soft grip.

"So, what do you say?" Maddie asks, her tone final, her eyes probing mine.

"Can I at least sleep while you have your fun?" I try to put up a brave face, but there's no way I could say no to her.

She giggles a little too loud for such a lousy joke. "Sure, I won't even get naked. That way, you're not creeping on me if you decide to peek."

Maddie tucks her blonde hair over one ear in a small, practiced motion, something I've seen her do a thousand times before.

But this time, my cock is mere inches from her lips.

Her lips part around me, wet and insistent, her tongue slicking over my shaft in smooth, hungry sweeps. She isn't gentle. She isn't indulgent. She's here to make me hard, and she does it with ruthless efficiency.

I have to wrap my hands in the sheet to resist the urge to reach for her hair.

Then, just as suddenly as she started, I'm released with a soft, wet pop. A thin bridge of spit stretches between us before snapping.

Maddie doesn't wipe her mouth. She just grins, smug and triumphant, as she reaches for the condom on the bedside table.