My parents weren't home. I let the phone ring but hung up when my mother's recorded voice came on, instructing me to leave a message. I sighed, not wanting my parents find out that their oldest daughter was marrying the love of her life over an antiquated machine.
I leaned back in the tub, trying to relax when my phone rang. Glancing at the number, I sighed again. Melissa, my little sister, was calling me. I let it ring for a couple of times, thinking I would just ignore it, but a playful punch on the shoulder from Keisha convinced me to answer.
"Hey Mel," I answered, trying to sound calm.
"Hey sis! I saw that you called. What's up?"
"Oh...nothing," again trying my best to sound calm. "You move back in with Mom and Dad?"
"Nah, just house sitting for them while they're in the Hamptons." I had completely forgotten what time of year it was. My parents usually took a two-week vacation on Long Island every year around this time. "So, you gonna tell me why you suddenly called?" Melissa's voice woke me from my reverie.
Taking a deep breath, I replied. "Well..."
"Okay, it must be something big," Melissa said, interrupting me. "Every time you start with 'Well' and pause, you have like a major announcement or something. You're not pregnant, are you?"
"Fuck you, Mel," I said half-jokingly. "If you'll let me speak, I'll tell you."
"All ears sis."
"Okay, you're right," I began.
"What?!? You're pregnant?" I had to laugh at that.
"No dammit. You're right in what I have to say is big." Taking a deep breath, I finally said "I've met someone very special and I'm getting married." I held the phone away from my ear as my sister let out a squeal of excitement.
"Really? Awesome!" I glanced at Keisha who was doing her best to hold in giggles. I shot her my best squinty-eyed scathing look. "I get to be maid-of-honor, right?"
"Yeah, if you want to," I replied.
"Cool! So, what's her name? Is she cute? How'd you two meet?" Mel always talked fast when she became excited.
"Okay, slow down Tex," I said, trying to calm her down. Once my sister got going, it was almost impossible to get a word in edgewise. "Her name is Keisha. She's fucking drop-dead gorgeous and we met at the office."
"You naughty vixen," Melissa said. Keisha couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh my God! She's like right there with you, isn't she? You two aren't naked, are you?"
I could feel my body blush all over at my sister's bluntness. Keisha was laughing so hard; it was causing waves. "Yes, Mel, we're in the bathtub right now and we're buck-ass naked. You happy?"
"Hey, send me pictures. I want to see what she looks like."
"NO! I am NOT going to send you pictures of us in the tub, Sis," I replied indignantly. This conversation wasn't going the way I thought it would.
"Of course not, silly," Melissa replied, giggling. "I want to see a picture of her to see what she looks like. Now, if you want to send me one of her naked..."
"You are such a brat."
"Hey, Pammy, put me on speaker so I can say hi." Sighing, I put down the phone and punched the speaker button on my screen.
"Okay, Melissa, this is Keisha. Keisha, my annoying little sister, Melissa."
"Hey girl!" Melissa said loudly.
"Hey Melissa!" Keisha responded.
"Oooooh Pammy, she sounds so cute! How the hell did you get so lucky?" I spit out my drink as I'd taken the opportunity to gulp my coffee. "Hey Keisha, you have any brothers or sisters that are single?" I felt myself blushing again.
"Yeah, my brother Ty is currently single." Keisha let out another laugh at my shocked expression.
"Well, tell him that, you know, I can't wait to meet him." I facepalmed my head, seriously considering just sinking in the water and letting nature take its course. "Can't wait to meet you too, Keisha," Melissa said. "Seriously Sis, I want pictures."
"Yeah, I'll send them to ya," I said, wiping my mouth off. "Hey, don't tell Mom and Dad," I added. "I want to be the one to tell them, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I promise I won't." I could tell from the tone of her voice that if I hadn't said that, the next action Melissa took when we hung up would be to make another call.
"Love ya," I said, trying to end the conversation.
"Love you too, Pammy." Melissa said then she hung up the phone. Keisha and I spent the next five minutes or so trying to decide which pictures to send. I sent the Melissa the best ones of Keisha and me in Hawaii including the video of me proposing.
It wasn't a minute later Melissa replied with "OMG! She's so pretty! You sure you don't have naked pictures of her?" I scowled at the phone and replied with a tongue-sticking-out emoji while Keisha laughed again.
"If she only knew," Keisha said, kissing my cheek. We both exited the tub, drying ourselves off. "Can you picture her and Ty getting together?"
"Forget it, Keish," I replied. "Mel is like a damn tornado when it comes to men. And women," I added after a second.
"Well, maybe she just hasn't met Mr. Right yet." Sighing, I donned a fresh pair of panties and tossed a load of clothes into the washing machine. For the rest of the day, we sat around, relaxing before heading to bed. We had one more day off before work and as I pulled Keisha close to me, my mind wandered to my sister and future bother-in-law becoming a couple and let out a shudder as I drifted off to sleep.
Sunday morning came and, after running to the bathroom to relieve myself, I hopped back into bed, gently maneuvering Keisha so that her head rested on my shoulder, her arm draped across my midriff. My mind began to review everything that happened to us within the past two weeks. I decided that I needed a vacation from our vacation but I knew that was impossible. A tear dripped from my eye as I realized I was most likely going to lose Keisha tomorrow as my intern. As much as I loved her, I hated losing her at work. Keisha was a great asset.
I kissed Keisha on the top of her head and squeezed her tightly. We laid like that for a while, my mind drifting between consciousness and sleep, but, before long, I became fully awake. Gently disengaging myself, I rolled out of bed, put on a pot of coffee and took a shower. The hot, cascading water woke me up fully. I took the opportunity to shave my body bare before getting out and finishing my morning routine.
One large cup of coffee and a grapefruit later, I stood in the doorway to our bedroom for several minutes, gazing at Keisha's body. Her naked back was on display, the blanket covering her ass and legs. Then, after pouring another cup of coffee, I sat down on the couch and began to review my emails.
There were a ton of them. Mostly of work, one from Lani, one from Dee, and three from Melissa. After replying to my friends and sister, I spent the next hour reviewing my work. By the time I was almost finished, Keisha had gotten up, showered, and joined me on the couch. Then, something caught my eye. It was an email from someone I'd never thought would send me something in a million years. Keisha noticed the look on my face and asked me what was wrong. I looked at her with trepidation, turned the computer screen toward her and showed her what I'd seen. There was an email from Lisa.