The next morning when Chris got out of bed, Helen had already left for work. He checked on Jill, but she was sound asleep. Chris did that which he didn't want and phoned a sleepy Sue. He apologized telling her he wouldn't be able to come over. His sister needed him for some shopping downtown. Chris told her how much he regretted they wouldn't be together. Just before Chris hung up, he told her to keep her hands off the squeak. She laughed and told him there wasn't a chance, because it bothered her too much. She hung up giggling. Chris could already imagine sexy Sue's hands roaming her own body.
Chris went upstairs for a shower and waited for Jill to wake. Once she was awake and downstairs, they sat down together for coffee. Chris explained, "I've cleared my day for you. We have a lot to talk about. Are you still sure you want me as a lover as well as a brother?"
"Yes," Jill replied.
Chris asked, "Does that mean a total commitment like a marriage or can we have other lovers? Remember, these rules are for a lifetime."
"We might want marriage or other partners some day," Jill allowed.
Looking her straight in the eye Chris said, "I'd be pretty unhappy if I had to give up Sue, but I will if that's what it'll take."
"Do I have the right to interfere in your love life with Sue at any time?"
"What do you mean by that?" he asked. It was then established what Jill wanted was first right. In other words, if Jill wanted him, she got him and Sue would need to wait for another night. Chris agreed, because he still had no intention of ending up in his sister's bed. He was honest enough with her, but he hoped he could manipulate her enough she would no longer want him. Then, he laid it on her, "Since we're becoming a couple, I want to be proud of you." Chris wanted not to dictate, but share in the selection of her clothing. Chris, of course, would give her the same right. She agreed after considerable debate.
They scrounged all the money they could find from the jobs they had that summer. They went to their first clothing stores together. Chris flipped a coin and lost so Jill won the right to choose a new outfit for him first. It was a little more subdued than he would have normally liked, but he had to admit he looked nice. Their tastes blended well. They went to a woman's store and the trials began. Anything Chris liked, Jill wouldn't be caught dead wearing. Finally, they left the store and he took her to a place that sold patterns for dressmakers. They looked at catalogue after catalogue until they had some ideas, then they returned to a woman's shop. Finally, after hours of trying outfit after outfit, Jill consented out of sheer fatigue. It had already been agreed that a mutually selected outfit had to be worn once a week. Chris asked if she would wear it home, she agreed. It was a dress, severe in cut so it didn't show off too much skin. He would've liked a little more skin. It did show her gorgeous figure; its lines followed hers exactly.
When Helen arrived home that night, Jill was still wearing it. Their mother raved about it just as Chris had hoped. Helen got out a checkbook, giving them a huge sum of money for their fall back-to-university clothes. Chris was going into first-year, following Jill by a year. Helen made them promise to shop together. Neither of her children knew, but Helen had worried about Jill's selection of clothing for years. When they prepared to go to their rooms that night, Jill gave Chris a kiss when their mother wasn't around. It was nice, but it worried him. It was not a thank you kiss. It was not a sisterly kiss. It held sex and promise within it, startling Chris. It startled Jill as well.
There was another thing Helen knew, they didn't. She had been offered a huge promotion by the president of the company. The senior vice-president in charge of marketing was retiring and he wanted Helen to replace him. It meant large amounts of travel, particularly in the fall as the Christmas season approached. It would leave her children alone, but at eighteen and nineteen, Helen felt they could manage with some help from Sue next door. Helen decided she would talk to Sue in the morning. She had always liked Sue's sense of humor, feeling that Sue could put enough adult perspective in her children's lives.
In the morning, while her children still slept, Helen phoned Sue. "Sue? It's Helen Anderson from next door. I was wondering if I could drop by for a moment of your time." With appropriate politeness to each other, Helen was soon sitting and drinking a cup of coffee at the infamous kitchen table where her son had enjoyed his muffin sandwich. Helen explained the situation. Sue readily agreed to help, breathing a sigh of relief. She had worried something had slipped; Helen might know of her transgressions with Chris. Now, new paths were opening to that gorgeous body. Oh, that boy did things for her.
Helen was still there when Chris phoned. He begged off for a second day in a row. He told Sue the trip downtown was only partially successful. He and Jill would try again today. Chris promised her they would be together the following day. He guaranteed he would pay special attention to her squeak. Fortunately, Helen didn't know who it was and only heard one side of the conversation.
Jill awoke to a new day with the realization that Chris never behaved like those boys. He never tried to goose her or speak dirty to her. He seemed to think that sex was nice, something that men and women did to enjoy each other. Jill liked the way Chris looked at her in her new dress. He told her she was pretty. Jill thought she might enjoy their second day of clothes shopping. Jill realized her brother liked the look of her body. There was no sense of nastiness like those boys at school, but like a person looking at a piece of fine art.