Author Note: I published this under 'Lustydays' a few years ago. Grammarly is better now at cleaning up my mistakes so I'm sending it again.
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The doorbell rang. Oh, my God! It was her brother Jimmy! He was finally here! She'd been thinking about him ever since her mom called two months ago. She remembered the call clearly.
"Hi, mom. What's up?"
"Well, your father and I haven't seen you in ages, but besides that, everything is fine."
Her mom couldn't get over that she wasn't coming home for the summer. Her college tuition was expensive, though, and her parents didn't have any money to help her. She couldn't pass up the opportunity to work full-time at the club again. She made a fortune last summer in tips and hardly owed anything by the end of the summer.
"Sorry, mom, but I need the money."
"You could get a job back here."
"Maybe, but why would I when I already have a good job here and a cheap apartment?" She felt like pointing out that her parents could visit her, but getting her dad to leave their small town and drive several hours to Chicago would be like pulling teeth, and her mom would never come alone. She also didn't want them to find out where she worked or lived.
There was a short pause, and then her mom relented and moved on. "The reason I'm calling is your uncle Stan has agreed to take Jimmy on as an apprentice at his auto shop, and he needs a place to stay. Your father and I would like Jimmy to stay with you until he saves some money. As you know, rent is expensive in Chicago. You have a two-bedroom if I remember correctly, and your roommate has left."
"Jimmy's coming to Chicago?" She said excitedly.
"Yes."
"Of course, he can stay with me! I'd love to have him here!" Of all the people she missed from back home, she missed Jimmy the most. She knew some girls had crappy brothers but not her. She and Jimmy always got along great. She was a doting older sister when they were younger, and as they got older, they became good friends, and when they started to date, they became confidants. She missed their private chats. They texted and called regularly, but it wasn't the same as being together.
"Good. I'll let your father know."
"Tell Jimmy to call, and we can arrange the details. Thanks, mom! Have a good day!" Jimmy was coming. Yay!
She opened the door, and her tall, dark, handsome brother leaned in with an ear-to-ear grin and lifted her off her feet with a huge bear hug. God, it felt good to see him!
"Hi, Sis! Did you miss me?"
She smiled back. "You know I did!"
He put her down, and they both took a good look at each other.
"You just keep getting taller and darker and better looking Jimmy!" It was true! He was tall and dark and gorgeous looking. He had on faded jeans that hugged his curvy butt, and a white t-shirt pulled tight over his chest, tapering down over a washboard flat stomach. His thick, black, straight hair hung down over his broad shoulders, and his green eyes sparkled like emeralds as he eyed her.
There was a standing joke in the family that the mailman was Jimmy's father because Jimmy's skin was dark like someone from India, and he was so tall. You would never guess they were brother and sister because she had red hair and was only five-six. Jimmy looked even darker today, no doubt from being out in the sun. The weather had been smoking hot and summer hadn't even started yet.
"You look pretty good yourself, Anna." His sister was a babe! She had an hourglass figure, with a curvy butt, narrow waist, and voluptuous breasts that hung perfectly. She had the cutest face to boot with long dark red hair, and she had a beautiful copper color tan. She looked hot!
She beamed a huge grin at him. "Come in! I've been expecting you. Your favorite meal, lasagna, is cooking in the oven, and there's an ice-cold beer in the fridge."
They talked for hours, and then she showed Jimmy his room.
"It's not very big, and the bed is only a single, but I did get a new mattress. The old one was worn out from all the activity that took place in the room." She smiled. "Yup! Elaine had a healthy sexual appetite! No telling what was lurking in her bed."
He grinned. "Thanks. Glad to know I'm not going to catch anything my first night here!"
He opened up his wallet and gave her a wad of cash. "Mom and dad gave me some money to help with startup expenses like the bed and groceries until I get paid."
She took the bills and counted them. Not bad! She was surprised, but then Jimmy did eat like a horse, and her grocery bills were going to skyrocket. Fortunately, her rent was reasonably cheap because she lived in a somewhat rough neighborhood. If Jimmy pitched in for rent and groceries, it would help a lot.
Her mom and dad didn't help with her tuition which was no big deal. She was used to it. All her spending money in high school came from waitress jobs. Her curvy figure made it easy to get jobs, and she quickly landed a position at a local restaurant when she moved. The tips were crappy, though, until she got to know Susan Santana in one of her second-term nursing courses. Susan worked at her uncle's 'establishment' as a waitress and made huge tips. There was a catch, though. The 'establishment' was an upscale men's club where the serving ladies were expected to wear short skirts, stockings, high-heeled shoes, and brief, cleavage-enhancing tops. Susan assured her that the place was on the up and up, though. No drugs, no groping, and no sleeping with the clientele. The servers were eye candy. Look, but don't touch.
She visited the place with Susan, and it was classy-looking. She was used to high heels and used to guys checking her out, and when Susan told her how much she'd make in tips, she was sold. She came back for an interview with Susan's uncle. He called the next day and offered her a job.
The tips were as good as Susan promised. She worked Friday and Saturday nights when school was on, which wasn't great for her social life but worked out well for her nursing classes and homework. She was able to work full-time during the summer and made a fortune in tips. Susan's uncle had already confirmed that she could work full-time again. Apparently, she was good for business.
The only problem was the restaurant was not close to where she lived. She didn't have a car, so she needed to take a bus, which was a drag. Waiting for a bus at night during a Chicago winter was chilly, and her shift ended at one. If she missed the last bus, she was screwed. Then it was either a long walk home or an expensive cab ride. Fortunately, that happened rarely.
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He made a trip to his uncle Stan's shop the next day to see how long it would take and make sure he didn't get lost. His mom and dad warned him to be on time, which was unnecessary because he had soaked in their work ethic. His dad had no patience for people who showed up late because the weather was bad, or they got lost, or whatever.
"If they know the weather is going to be shitty, then they should leave earlier!" his dad grumbled. His mom and dad went to work, rain or shine no matter how poorly they felt, and he'd soaked it in.
Fortunately, he inherited his dad's mechanical aptitude. There wasn't anything that he couldn't take apart and put back together, and he'd been helping for years at the small one-man auto shop that his dad ran and knew how to fix most problems. When he graduated from high school, his dad reached out to his uncle Stan in Chicago and asked if he could start a formal apprenticeship at Stan's auto shop. His dad said there wasn't enough work for two full-time employees at his small place.
The first day of work was pretty easy. His uncle Stan asked him what he knew and immediately gave him tasks to try while an experienced person watched. After a few weeks, his uncle had a pretty good idea of what he could do, and he finished his jobs as quickly as anyone else with no problems.
His uncle Stan wasn't an expressive kind of guy, so he had to find out from his dad how he was doing. Apparently, he was doing fine. No news from Uncle Stan was as good as it got!
He'd asked his uncle not to tell anyone who he was because he didn't want the guys to treat him differently or resent him. There were over twenty employees at his uncle's shop, and most of them were okay. As the new guy, he got a certain amount of ribbing, but it was mostly good-natured. He got asked if he got laid on the weekend every week, and the consensus was that he must be Indian because of his dark skin. There were a few hardcore grumps at the shop, but he quickly learned to avoid them. They were miserable and wanted everyone else to be miserable as well.
Things were going well with his sister. She was quite pleased to have a vehicle. The grocery store wasn't close, and food was heavy to carry home. Everything was so much quicker and lighter with a car, even if it was an old beater. He drove her all over the place.
He let Anna take the lead in terms of expectations. It was her place. He was the guest. She quickly let him know that he was 'welcome' to help with the cooking. He'd never cooked at home because no one asked him to, but Anna was more than happy to show him. Following a cookbook was not brain surgery, and he made half the meals now. No food poisoning yet! They didn't eat out much because money was tight.
One thing puzzled him about Anna.
"Why don't you put your waitress outfit on at home? Why take your clothes in a bag and change at work?"
"I don't want to take the chance of spilling something on my uniform at home," she said.
Sounded dumb to him. She could wait until right before she left to avoid spills.
"It's also nice to have my regular clothes when I'm done, in case my work outfit is dirty or stinks from the smoke in the bar. That way, I don't have to ride home in smelly clothes."
That made sense but why was Anna taking the bus when he had a car? She could take his car, or he could drive her. Why waste time and money on a bus?
"I don't want to take your car Jimmy in case I wreck it. It's no big deal taking the bus. I get a student rate, so it's cheap. Plus, the restaurant doesn't close until late. I'm not going to call you at one o'clock to pick me up. Thanks for offering Jimmy, but the bus is fine."
Hmmm! It seemed weird to him, but he didn't press her until she left her clothing bag behind one day. He ran after her, but she was already on the bus.
He hopped in his car and followed the bus. He kept waiting for Anna to get off, but she didn't. Where the hell did she work? He'd been following the bus for over thirty minutes. She finally got off and walked into what looked like a nightclub. What kind of place did she work at?
He went to grab her bag, but it had fallen on the floor, and a pair of fishnet stockings had fallen out. WTH? He peeked in the bag and was surprised to see a very brief mini-skirt, a sheer black satin top, and some high-heeled shoes. Yowser! That's what she wore at work?
Just then, his cell phone rang. "Jimmy, it's Anna. I'm sorry, but I left my work clothes at home in a bag. Could you drop them off? I can give you directions."
"No need, Anna; I'm already at your place. I noticed the bag and followed you. I'm in the parking lot."
There was a pause. "You are? Okay. Thanks, I'll be right out."
She looked embarrassed when he handed her the bag. "Did you look inside?"
He nodded his head, and her face turned red. "I'll explain tonight. I need to get going. My shift starts soon."
