My last year of high school. Yay. In less than 2 months, my senior year would begin. To the good, my college applications were ready to go. Not so good was another year of high school. I had survived so far by trying to be invisible. My hair was long enough to completely hide my face when I tilted my head down. This was important to me because I had what was probably the worst case of acne in the inhabited universe. I didn't want anyone looking at me. I didn't want anyone talking to me. I could hear them in my head, making fun of me. Invisible.
Just to remove any doubt about the unfairness of the universe, I had an older sister. Corinne would be starting her first year of college this fall. Having a sister wasn't unfair, in and of itself. Having a sister with flawless skin who was a total hottie, while I have a face that looked like the surface of Mars was unfair. Not that Cori ever seemed to notice my complexion. She was always there, whenever, wherever, usually with a smile for me.
Pretty much since 7th grade and the start of puberty, my skin was nasty. It was embarrassing. REALLY embarrassing. So I kept to myself at school, did my homework, and started growing my hippy hair to hide my face. I was a straight A student since I had no other demands on my time besides studying. AP classes, a couple evening classes at the community college, I was set for getting into the college I wanted, to study BioChem. Maybe I'd invent something that made acne disappear. A little late for me, but the universe would remember me fondly.
My mother made an appointment for me to see another dermatologist; this guy was supposed to have some magic whatever that would clear up my skin. Gee, haven't heard this before.
Cori drove me. To her credit, she never mentioned my acne. She just treated me like a normal person, like she could see through my skin to see me underneath. I hated people making fun of me, it's not like I had bad skin on purpose. My teachers were uncomfortable talking to me, they'd look anywhere but at my face. I don't think they were trying to be mean, but it still hurt. My parents just had this "oh my god I'm so sorry for you" vibe. Not Cori, she just didn't see it; which probably contributed to me having a crush on her. Well, that and the fact that she was smoking hot. Volleyball & cross-country had done amazing things to her body. Volleyball shorts were, in my opinion, the single best piece of female clothing ever invented. Or maybe yoga pants. Either or. Possibly both. My sister was the object of my fantasies. All of them. Everything about her turned me on. She was smart, pretty, funny, she had a to-die-for body, green eyes that actually sparkled when she laughed, and the most kissable lips I had ever seen. I always felt like she had my back. I was in love with my big sis.
After Doctor whats-his-name examined my face in great detail, he prescribed some creams and pills and this and that. So Cori & I went to the pharmacy. Wow. This stuff better work, my parents are paying a fortune for it! Happily, we got home soon & I could go to my room, where, as usual, I looked at internet porn of girls who look a lot like my sister. Closing my eyes as I masturbate, Cori is the center of my fantasy. No surprise there.
A month goes by and, believe it or not, this acne stuff is actually starting to work! My skin is clearing up, no new breakouts, and the old ones are fading. I can look in the mirror without feeling humiliated. After another week, I'm actually starting to look like a normal human. And still, Cori never says a word. She just looks at me, long enough for me to get that she's looking at my skin, and smiles. She never mentioned it when I looked like death warmed over, and she doesn't mention it now. God, I love her.
One morning, as we're eating breakfast after the parents have left for work, Cori asks me about my plans for the day. I looked at her like she was crazy; my plan for the day was the same as it always was, look at pictures of naked girls that remind me of my sister and masturbate. Thinking I should probably not share that particular plan with her, I simply said I had no plans at all.
"Go get dressed, we're going to the mall" said Cori.
"What for?" I asked, rather petulantly. I was already fantasizing about my sister, her ass was just amazing. I wanted to kiss her and touch her and ... I wanted to go to my room and masturbate.
"It's your senior year of school. You've filled out over the summer & people are going to notice you. You need some new clothes & a haircut. A new you. Dress for success and all that."
Yeah, I had "filled out" over the summer. I had nothing to do but masturbate, so I did pushups and sit-ups in between sessions of fantasizing about my sister. I did actually have some upper body definition. What Cori did NOT say was that my acne was gone, and now that I wasn't so scary looking, people might want to talk to me for a change. They could kiss my ass. They didn't want to be my friends when I was ugly, I didn't want to be their friend now that I wasn't. There was only one girl I cared about, and she wanted to take me shopping. I didn't really WANT to go shopping, but being around Cori was its own reward. I could put up with some mall time for that.
"Whatever. I'll be ready in 15 minutes."
First stop was the hair place. I hadn't had a haircut in years. When I said I didn't really care what my hair looked like, Cori had a quiet conversation with the stylist, and she went to work on me. There's something just slightly erotic about someone washing your hair, so of course, I thought about Cori & was glad the apron thing to catch the hair clippings covered my crotch. Back to the chair, and the girl stared at me for a couple minutes. I was feeling pretty uncomfortable by the time she actually started cutting. I guess she was like the sculptor who sees a statue inside a block of stone, and just has to figure out how to reveal it. All I know is, there was a gigantic pile of hair on the floor around me when she was finally done. Wow. I didn't even look like me! Short hair, actually styled, I looked like guys in commercials. Not all rugged handsome & stuff, but a slightly above-average looking guy. My black concert t-shirt was looking pretty crappy right about now.
Cori looked at me and just smiled. "Clothes make the man" she said, looping her arm through mine & pulling me into the mall hallway. "Let's do something about that."
And so we went to the first of several stores. My idea of clothes was jeans, usually black t-shirts, and sneakers. Cori's idea of clothes was somewhat different. She found a tape measure in the first store and measured my waist, chest, neck, arms & inseam. The inseam measuring part was interesting. The girl about whom I fantasized on a daily basis was on a knee in front of me with her hand remarkably close to my crotch. Woo-boy! I was storing away that image for after we got home!
I tried on shirts and pants and sweaters and jackets and shoes and boots and I don't know what else. Five stores later, I felt like a pack mule with all the bags. Turns out Cori had arranged all this with my mother in advance & she had mom's credit card. God, I love that girl. Finally, we're done. Almost. We sat down on a bench & Cori started pawing through a couple bags, pulling off tags & moving things from one bag to another. "Here" she said, holding out a bag. "Take this into the bathroom & go change."
"What?" I asked, completely confused. "Why? Can't I just wait til we get home?"
"We're going to lunch, and we're not going to Burger King. Go change."
Not seeing any percentage in arguing, I went to the bathroom & changed into the outfit Cori had selected for me. Passing the mirror on the way out, I was surprised at my reflection. I looked pretty good!
Apparently, my sister thought so, too. As I returned to the bench where she was waiting for me, Cori had a huge smile on her face. She stood and passed me a couple of bags. "You look great! Let's go eat!" she said. Her enthusiasm was contagious; I hadn't looked at anything except my own feet when I was out in public for so long, it was a whole new experience for me as I walked back to the car with the prettiest girl in the world. I may have actually smiled. That billion dollars my parents spent on braces was finally getting put to good use.
I have no idea where we went for lunch, only that it was on the other side of the city from where we lived. When we got there, I was really glad Cori made me change, I don't think they would have let me in wearing jeans & a t-shirt. As we entered the dim foyer, Cori slipped her hand into mine, intertwining our fingers. I must have looked like a fish out of water with my mouth hanging open, since Cori quietly laughed and pushed my mouth closed with her fingertip on my chin. Her hand came to rest on my elbow as she squeezed my hand in hers. She was holding me quite possessively as we stepped to the podium and I told the hostess our last name. "This way, please" the hostess said, as she led us to a corner of the dining room.
