All Summer Long Ch 03

Chapter 3 -- The Pearl

Walking up from the lake to the cabin, Sherry held on to my hand until the last possible minute before reaching for the door. I was feeling awkward, ready to step back in to a brother-sister mode as soon as we got in sight of shore, but Sherry didn't seem worried. If anything, it was like she wanted to test fate, to see what would happen if someone spotted us.

Would people think anything if they did, I wondered? I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen a brother and sister holding hands, but I somehow doubted my first thought would be that they'd just spent hours getting each other off. I could imagine one of my buddies from the basketball team saying something, but even that would just be a joke tinged with jealousy. Hell, half of them swore that if

they

were Sherry's brother they'd have been nailing her for years.

Maybe I was just a slow starter.

Sherry tested the door handle, and found the door locked. This was a little weird during daylight hours, but the sun was setting and the last light was coming over the lake and through some trees behind us. Might be that mom had decided on an evening shower, or had just locked the door from habit.

As Sherry bent over to get the ever-so-subtle key under the magnet rock, I gave her ass an open hand squeeze and looked away like I was an innocent bystander to a walk-by groping. She smiled at me, sticking her tongue out and making a face.

The grab on her butt was playful, but I was still having thoughts about how she'd looked laying on the boat bench. The pink bikini was covered with a pair of white gym shorts and a tank top that she'd brought in her bag, but I could still see the outline of the thong through the shorts and it did nothing to hide the perfect round hard shape of her rear. I tried not to think about how I'd rubbed my bare dick up and down that ass crack as I'd dry humped her on the boat, or about how her rock-hard buns had felt against my abs as we'd ground our bodies together.

One way or another, I was getting that ass back in the air sometime soon. Next time I'd be coming with a raincoat.

Losing myself in that fantasy for a second, I had to consciously wipe the smirk off my face as Sherry opened the door. I'd learned long ago that my folks could spot my "cat ate the canary" grin, and didn't want to explain whatever look I had on right now.

As it turned out, I didn't need to worry. The bottles spread across the living room and my mom passed out on the couch made it obvious enough why the door was locked. Apparently in a moment of lucidity my mother had decided she didn't want neighbors walking in unannounced this afternoon.

My mom was lying on the couch in her bathrobe, spread open and exposing her legs and panties. Thankfully, the top was cinched tight, but a large spill on the front told me that the robe was going to have to come off anyway. I couldn't tell if the spill was booze or puke, neither would surprise me. A joint was in the ashtray in front of her, only half smoked. It took me a second to recognize what it was . . . my mom hated cigarettes, and while I'd seen her drink a number of times and she'd talked about smoking dope as a kid, I'd never actually spotted her or my dad with drugs of any kind.

Moving closer, I covered my mom immediately. Then I just needed to sit and rub my eyes for a second.

How long is she gonna keep doing this, and when is Dad getting back to take care of her?

"Sherry, I'll carry mom upstairs. Can you get her cleaned up or in the shower if we can get her awake?"

"I can try. You think she's okay?"

She's a long fucking way from okay

, I thought but what I said was, "Yeah, she'll be fine. Don't worry, we'll just get her cleaned and put to bed and I'll make us some dinner. I'll make something that can be good cold if she can't eat till later."

I hoisted my mom up, carrying her across my arms like a baby. She was a pretty small woman, shorter than Sherry if not quite so slim. Looking at the stairs, I knew it would be a lot easier to carry her fireman-style, but something about that just seemed humiliating. Sherry was already quiet and a little freaked out to see our mom like this, and I knew seeing her slung over my shoulders like a sack would make it just that much worse. Going up stairs this way would be a struggle, but at least it looked gentle and helpful rather than showing Sherry just how helpless our mom was. I'd deal with pain in my legs and back over Sherry's tears any day.

Taking the stairs slow and easy, I made it up in one piece with Sherry just behind me. I'd moved through the doorway of the master bedroom, working hard not to bang mom's head or knees against the furniture or door-frame, when I tripped over a slipper left lying on the floor. I went down hard on one knee, and felt the nerve send a shot up my spine and neck until my eyes teared. My teeth clicked, and I nearly dropped us both flat on the ground, just managing to keep her head up by holding her in to me as I fell.

I gave the pain a second to pass and worked to get my feet under me. Breathing deep, I strained back and pressed, trying to deadlift my mom's limp figure straight up.

Legs fresh, I might have been able to do it, maybe. Lifting 130 pounds of dumbells is one thing; 130 pounds of limp human is something else completely. Having just spent the whole day outside and carrying my mom up a dozen or more stairs, I wasn't even close. I staggered, stumbled, and nearly clocked her head in to the side of the bed frame. Her ass hit the floor with a thump as her head rolled limply to one shoulder.

Sherry moved in to help me. Together, we got her sitting almost stable on the bed between us. Looking at Sherry across my mom's shoulders, I suddenly felt nauseous.

"I really don't want to do this part." I groused. The idea of stripping my mom and cleaning off her puke just made me want to be sick.

"Here, let's lay her down," Sherry said. We put a pillow under her head, and got her laid out diagonal on the mattress in something like a comfortable position. Now at least she looked like she'd made it to the bedroom before blacking out. The smell wasn't any better, and that combined with the

whap-whap-whap

of the ceiling fan and the dim light coming through the windows was still making my throat come up.

Sherry must have seen me turning green, because she reached out and took my hand and led me to the doorway.

"I'll take care of her, Danny. You don't have to do all of this." She looked up at me and I stopped and just stared down into her almond brown eyes. Everything she'd seen and had to deal with, and she was concerned that

I

might not be able to handle it. Staring in her face, with more honesty than I'd ever dared to show her or anyone, all I could feel was unbelievable gratitude.

"Thanks, Sherry. I . . . do what's right for her, okay?" I kissed her on the forehead and squeezed her arm before turning and heading back downstairs. "I'll see what we have for dinner", I called over my shoulder.

"Make something good, Danny!" Sherry called back.

I got downstairs and headed to the kitchen.

Make something good?

I wondered.

What do you serve to follow an afternoon of incest and accompany an evening of alcoholic resurrection?

What little culinary skill I had didn't seem to cover this situation. Likewise, I was pretty sure none of the manners books that my mom was so fond of were likely to have a chapter devoted.

Does white wine wash down the taste of brother's semen? When finding a parent passed out drunk, does one make coffee or a nice brioche?

More random thoughts and half-jokes swam through my head. Emotionally, I was pretty sure Dr. Phil would say I was a wreck. Of course, Dr. Phil was unlikely to have a positive outlook on how Sherry and I were starting to take our brother-sister relationship. I somehow doubted a consultation with him would get to the point of talking about my mommy issues.

The amazing thing was, I wasn't actually twisted up about what was happening with Sherry. True, I didn't know where things might go from here, but I was pretty sure we were both exploring something remarkable. I was looking forward to seeing where things would go, and even if Sherry suddenly decided we needed to get back to "normal" I thought I'd be okay with that. Just knowing that we had one afternoon together without any of the bullshit social stigma seemed like it could be a really good thing.

As I thought about Sherry and the direction of the last couple days, I noticed my mood improving and the tension easing from my mind. It wasn't just the sex, although the release had been amazing both times and I was definitely feeling pretty good about that. It felt like a barrier had been lifted, that a secret I'd been keeping from myself was finally out in the open where I could just look at it and say

Yep, there it is. I'm hot for my sister

. I smiled at the thought and started digging through cabinets and the fridge looking for something to cook.

As soon as I hit the fridge, it was like a light from heaven decided to shine down and take notice. There, defrosted and in clear plastic wrap was a beautiful 12 inch long, 2 inch thick (

no, not that!

) flank steak already marinating. I checked around in the fridge, and sure enough, we had horseradish and potato salad.

This may not mean much to you, but ever since I was a kid my favorite dinner has been London Broil with potato salad. Most of my friends don't like it, and even my family just tolerates the tough cut steak, but when my mom wants to treat me she'll surprise me from nowhere with a London broil. My friend Roger told me one time that the only good thing about the steak is an excuse to eat horseradish, and maybe he's right that's the appeal. If so, I'm okay with it. If my mother and sister can eat pancakes just for an excuse to get too-sugary Maple syrup and drown 'em, I can live with eating tough meat as a way to justify horseradish, garlic, and cumin.

I checked the steak, and it was finger soft. This must have been defrosting and marinating since last night at least, and it was good to go. It cheered me up to know that as screwed up as my mom was, she'd also been thinking about me in buying and preparing this. All in, I was maybe 40 minutes away from getting my steak on and with everything else going on it was nice to know at least dinner would be easy. I lit up the broiler to preheat, and before I even found the pan I'd need I had a song in my head and a smile on my face. Hearing Sherry get my mom moving to the shower upstairs reminded me of my mom's situation, but even that couldn't damp my mood right now. My mom might be a drunk, but at least she was thoughtful.

I rubbed some extra spices in to the raw meat, and by the time I was done the oven was ready. Dropping the steak in, I looked for a knife sharpener. The one thing about a broil is that the cut has to be thin and against the grain. Getting it right requires a sharp knife and my uncle Rob might be rich but he didn't keep his knives in particularly good shape. Fortunately, I found one of the cheap hand-helds with the sharpening angle already set and started to get some knives prepared.

I'd turned the meat over once and it was almost done cooking when I heard Sherry come out from our parents' room. I watched her come down the stairs and gave her a big smile. I had a beer in my hand, and she took it from me and took a swig as she leaned back across the counter top. I moved in close and pressed my hips against her.

"Hey, how's she doing?" I asked, leaning in and kissing the side of her neck as she drank from the beer bottle.

"She's clean. And she seems to be sleeping okay now." I wrapped my fingers around Sherry's waist as she finished off the beer.

"I gotta tell you something." I said, still pressing against her.

"What?" She looked tense, but still receptive.

"You're amazing." Sherry smiled, and I leaned in and kissed her lips. "I couldn't handle Mom, and you just stepped in like that. That was awesome."

"Thanks, Danny." Sherry moved in towards me more, relaxing a bit and running one hand up the arm I had around her. "I'm so glad you were here when we found her. I don't know what I would have done if I was alone."

The oven timer went off, and I went to get the steak out of the oven.

"You would have handled it." I said, putting the steak on the burners to cool and setting the timer for another few minutes. "You'll know what to do if you ever need to."

"I hope I never do." Looking seriously at the steak, "If I have to eat one of those, I definitely need another beer."

While Sherry and I had dinner, I turned on the stereo system Uncle Rob had installed. In honor of my mom's joint (which I'd hidden away to be safe) we decided to turn on some reggae music. Between the cheerful beat, a couple of beers, and a seasoned steak I was actually starting to think this could be one of my best days ever. Sherry didn't know the music, but she hummed along to the choruses and bounced to the beat, looking at me like I was a total freak but enjoying it just the same.

About midway through, we heard my mom in the bathroom upstairs. We heard the sink go for a couple seconds, then the unmistakable sound of retching as she vomited more in to (hopefully) the toilet. Sherry shook her head in a grossed out gesture, and pushed the steak away indicating she was done. I just smiled and took another bite, then used the remote to turn up the stereo volume and drown out the noise. We both laughed and a minute later I dropped the volume back down.

"You're terrible." Sherry accused me, smiling over the mouth of her beer bottle.

"What can I say, I just like me some Marley." The song "Smoke Two Joints" came up on the player, and I turned the volume a little louder, hoping to tease mom a bit though I doubted she heard the lyrics.

"Sto-op! That's so wrong, Mom'll hear."

I grinned. "What? Did she leave something out, or did she remember to put it away when she was done?"

Sherry started. "You're really bad. Not all of us get to leave for college you know." She looked sad at that. It hit me then that this summer might actually be the last time we'd be living under the same roof. Considering how closer we were in age, neither of us had ever known a time without the other around.

"Is that why . . . you know . . . the last couple days?"

Sherry got a quiet, thoughtful look on her face. "I think, maybe kinda, but it's also been building a while. I mean, I saw yesterday on the boat, when you looked down my shirt." I blushed, feeling a little guilty and embarrassed. "But I've seen you look at me before, and . . . I like when you look at me . . . the way you look at me. When I saw you yesterday, I just wanted to touch you and be close to you. You were getting all excited, and then I got excited and, you know." A mischievous smile at that last. I did know.

I thought about looking at Sherry, about the other times I'd really

looked

at my sister. I remembered times by the pool when we were younger, both of us early teens and she'd just started developing. I remembered rubbing lotion on her back and legs then, and the first time I'd gotten a hard on from it and had to go inside to hide it. I remembered watching her go to prom last May with Roger; watching her get the dress put together and Roger pinning the corsage on. At the time, I remember being jealous and thinking it was just big brother protectiveness coming out. It seemed like more and more I'd been looking and feeling different about her.

"I guess I've been looking at you a while. I never really thought about it, but even though you're my sister I just always think you're really gorgeous and sexy." Now it was her turn to blush a bit. "And it's more than that. . . you're cool. You're someone I've counted on ever since we were kids, and you were always there no matter what else was going on." I didn't want to say '

when Dad was gone and Mom was fucked up

', but I think we both understood where I was going with that.

"I'm really scared, Danny." She looked like she was about to cry. "I've never been alone and I

need

you with me. What's gonna happen when it's just me and Mom and Dad's off doing whatever?"

I had to pause, because I wanted to know but didn't know how to ask. "Sherry . . . is that why . . . you're not just trying to keep me around are you?"

Thought out or no, that was the wrong thing to say. Sherry's face twisted up, and the tears she'd been holding back burst out of her, running down her cheeks in an explosion of grief. For all the tears though, she kept her sobs soft, and almost immediately got her voice back under control.

"No! I just didn't want it to be too late." She smiled, still a beautiful little imp even around the tears. "Ever since you got in to school I knew you were gonna leave. I know you have to, and it's just a year for me, but it's my first year without my big brother around."

My heart melted. I had been so caught up in moving out and moving on that I never even thought about who and what I was leaving behind. In my mind, I guess I always came back and Sherry would always be there with the fam. Now it was hitting me, I could go and end up losing her as well as them.

I got up from the table and grabbed some tissues. Bringing them over, I put the box in front of Sherry and leaned down to kiss her full on the lips. Pulling her in to me, I let the kiss last, my mouth opening and finding her tongue with mine. Her hands moved behind my head and she pulled me in to her. Breaking the kiss, we held our heads together, my mouth still against her ear.

"We'll figure something out. I won't leave you behind with them." I whispered. Sherry pressed her face in to my neck, and I could feel the tension bleeding out of her.

"But first, we clean!" I started, putting on the dramatic. "And then, vampires." I grinned. It was a tradition that at least one night per vacation we did a marathon of bad vampire movies. Sherry snorted.

"Okay. But like the steak I insist on more beer."

Sherry and I cleaned up the kitchen, and then I got the videos and snacks set while Sherry went to check on our mom. Coming down, she gave me the sign that mom was ok and we should go ahead and start the movies.

The couch was massive, and at first Sherry sat at one end, with me at the other. After all of a minute though, she virtually pounced, surprising me by jumping across the couch to press me against the armrest with a kiss.

I let her push me back, laughing and pulling her sweet firm body against me. Letting my hands roam on their own, I started stroking her toned bare legs and moved under her shorts to circle her ass. Sherry laughed, and moved her legs on either side of mine. As we kissed she moved her hands up my shirt and on my chest, laying against me and slowing rubbing herself against my leg.

Between the smell of her hair, and feel of her breasts against me I could feel my blood rising again. As she eased up from the kiss, our eyes met under the tent of her hair that hung down over my face. We had our own space here, the four inches between our eyes and lips completely covered by her hair. We held each other's gaze for a long instant, and slowly she came back down for another deep kiss.

As we kept kissing, I slowly started working my hand up from her ass and under her shirt. I had seen and sucked her sweet titties earlier and wanted them bare in my mouth again. Sherry was moving to let my hand under her shirt, when we heard the door start to open from upstairs.

As fast as Sherry had moved on to me, I think we disentangled even faster. It was reckless for us to make out in the living room with my mom just upstairs, and we grinned at each other knowing that we narrowly avoided getting caught.