You don't have to read Curveball first, but many of the same characters do show up.
This would be the second story to read.
For what it is worth, all characters are over 18, and things can move slow.
Had to tell the story how it works, so here it is.
Irene
Irene Fitzgerald was not having a good day. She was professionally doing quite well, she thought. Her personal life had become a black hole though. She hadn't had a date in several weeks, and she wasn't sure she wanted one. Her friend (girlfriend?) had been distant lately as well.
She had last been going out with a friend of her boss. While he was a good man and a good lover, she knew she didn't have the feelings for him she should and broke it off before it would destroy him. Her boss was who she wanted, but he was unavailable to say the least. He was engaged to her best friend (as well as his sister, but few knew the truth). He refused to date employees, and she had almost quit just so he could. Then his sister had shown up, and her life was thrown into chaos with it. Once they emerged as a couple, she was just good friends with them. While a good thing, it didn't get her laid!
While driving home that night, her phone rang. She was surprised, as she hadn't heard from her brother in months.
"Hey Irene, how's life treating you?" John asked.
"Could be worse. I'm working and making money. Living the Dream!" she said.
"Wish I could say the same. Merry left me and took most everything. I decided I need to move and I've sent my resume out everywhere. I have an interview in your area and I really need a place to lay my head."
"Wow, I didn't even know you guys were having issues. Sorry John. Of course you can stay with me, nothing else for me to do. When are you coming?"
"I will be there tomorrow afternoon. Surprise!"
"Thanks for the all the warning man!"
"Hey, the guy called me and wanted to interview me immediately he said. You don't know a Michael Atkins, do you? He might be my new boss."
"Seriously? Know him? He's my fucking boss, I think so!"
"Well, I guess we can drive to work together! I will be at the airport about 3, can you pick me up?"
"Sure, text me the flight information and I will find a way to be there."
"No worries, I will see you tomorrow!" John rang off.
She pulled into her driveway and began to smile. She hadn't seen her brother in years. Maybe things were looking up.
She opened a bottle of wine and poured a glass, thinking about the last time they spent much time alone. She had been 18, just out of high school and he was 22 and close to graduating college ("Ten years ago!" she thought). Her parents took an African safari for 6 weeks during the summer, leaving them to fend for themselves.
She had been in her room, naked, staring at the mirror. She thought herself ugly and fat. She was a redhead, long curly hair, and freckled. Her measurements were 36D-26-36. Her personality was apparently abrasive to boys, as no one ever asked her out. She picked up a bottle of perfume and threw it at the mirror, and it shattered loudly.
John came running in the room, not expecting to see his sister naked. "What the hell happened...why are you naked?" he said, turning around.
She began to cry. "Even my own brother thinks I'm too ugly to look at!"
He turned slowly, looking more at the floor than her. "Seriously? You? Ugly? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I'm fat, freckled, and hideous. No one wants to date me. No one wants me. I'm not stupid, I can figure that out!"
John's heart broke, as well as a wall inside his head. He walked slowly over to her and looked boldly at her. "If you're so ugly, why do I have this?" he said, gesturing to his shorts. His hard on was obvious.
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, then looked at his crotch. "Why? Why me? I'm not pretty, plus I'm your sister..."
"I've been trying not to stare at you for years. You've been driving me crazy since I saw you and Gretchen in the pool when you were 16. You are smoking hot, and that scares most of the guys away."
"What about me is pretty? I mean, I know I'm not. What are you looking at?"
He took a deep breath and raised his hand. "Your hair is...stunning. Those curls are a perfect frame for your face, which has a cute little nose and the freckles actually make you more beautiful. Your green eyes are something I could stare at all day." His hand started to drop. "You have amazing breasts...huge, but no sag. They call every guy's name to stare." His hand continued to fall. "Your butt is big, but not so big it's fat. It just is a big juicy ass and makes all the guys watch when you walk away. You think you're fat, but you're curvy. Curvy is hot, and you should really own this. All you need is some confidence, and you can own any guy you want." His fingers had been grazing the surface of her butt as he spoke.
She looked up at him, stunned. "Don't lie to me. Tell me the truth." she whispered.
"That is the god's-honest truth. You're killing me right now."
She looked up in his eyes, tears on her cheeks, and smiled. "You really believe that..."
He looked at her face and took the only action he had been thinking of for the last five minutes. He bent down and kissed the lips he thought he would never touch.
She reached up and put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He picked her up and carried her from her room in to his. He broke the kiss long enough to say, "No glass on the floor!" and began kissing her harder as he put her on his bed.
"I've never done this before, but I want to." She whispered into his ear. "Take your clothes off too."