Locdown Christmas Miracle

Eric had gotten down to the kitchen a little later than usual. Cassie had already finished breakfast and was working on her laptop. She looked up to wish him a good morning and smiled before going back to whatever she was working on.

Once he'd made coffee and eaten some cereal, he retrieved his own laptop from the counter and began to log in.

"Hey, I wanted to know what you thought about something." Ellie was looking over her laptop. "What would you think about having Spring Break in the tropics this year, like Ellie wanted?"

"Sounds great," Eric shrugged. "It's just a shame that we haven't even gotten to Winter Break yet."

"Well, since we've gone through most of the Christmas miracles so far and we're barely into December," she laughed. "I figure, why bother letting the calendar get in the way now?" She raised her eyebrows conspiratorially.

They talked through some ideas and even looked up some spring break activities online to plan their surprise for Ellie. With as late as she regularly slept, they figured they could sneak out to set up the next morning and surprise her after lunch.

"So how did your date with Ellie go?" Cassie shut down her laptop and got up to fix a sandwich.

"It was actually pretty fun," Eric tried to sound casual. "We just ate pizza and watched Netflix."

"Did you learn anything about dating?" Cassie looked over at him curiously.

"Uh, just maybe to relax and have fun, you know?" Eric was thinking of anything else he learned that he could actually share with Cassie. "Oh and don't ask a girl to 'Netflix and chill'."

"Why not?"

"I guess it means you want to have sex?" Eric suppressed a nervous laugh.

"Huh." Cassie seemed to consider it a moment. "Good to know." She brought her sandwich to the table. "So I guess it was more fun than our date?" She didn't sound hurt or defensive.

"Well...it was just different, I guess," Eric admitted. "She just made it more...realistic for college kids I guess."

"And that's the kind of practice you want instead of fancy dinners and stuff?" She took another bite of her sandwich.

"Kinda." Eric shrugged.

"Well maybe you should go on a date with Cali tonight and you plan it this time," she suggested. "That might be good practice for both of us, don't you think?"

"Maybe...." Eric hesitated.

"What?" Cassie tilted her head.

"Well, it's just that...I don't want it to be weird." Eric his palms up.

"Why would it be weird?" Cassie seemed taken aback.

"Well, I'm not sure you can totally turn off the Cassie side and not keep interrupting to tell me what I should do different." He explained gently, trying not to hurt her feelings.

"Hmmm," Cassie rested her elbow on the table, put her chin on her palm and thought about it for a moment. "That is kind of my problem isn't it?" She kept thinking. "Hey....what if we made a bet?" she suggested.

"What kind of bet?" Eric was getting intrigued.

"Well, if I get into the character of Cali, then we both have to pretend that I'm her, right?" Eric nodded in agreement. "So if we make the bet that the first person who breaks character loses, then it would make us focus on not letting Cassie into the date, wouldn't it?"

"So how do we know who Cali is to know if you break character?"

"Good one," Cassie nodded. "Well, I think Cali wouldn't care about telling other people what to do," she held up one finger, "and she'd be much more flexible doing what others wanted to do." She held up a second. "She wouldn't act like your sister." She held up a third. "She'd try more things." She held up a fourth finger. "And she wouldn't worry about what anyone else thought," Cassie said decisively. "I think that's who Cali is."

"So if you stop being like that then you lose..." Eric started.

"And if you call me Cassie or treat me like that's who I am, then you lose." Cassie smiled. "Is it a deal?"

"What are we betting?" Eric wanted to know.

"I don't know, but it's got to be something that would discourage us from backing out very easily." Cassie thought about it. "Like a lot of money..."

"Or something really embarrassing," Eric suggested.

"Even better," Cassie agreed. "Avoiding embarrassment is actually one of the biggest motivators in human behavior."

"So what if we said the loser had to do everything the winner said for a week, no matter how embarrassing it was?" Eric suggested.

"Okay, but on two conditions," Cassie stipulated. "The embarrassment can't involve anything in the outside world, like making someone shoplift or make a video that goes on youtube, or anything like that."

"Agreed," Eric nodded. "Whatever it is stays between us."

"And the winner, if there is one, can't tell Ellie about the bet," Cassie insisted. "Or the bets over if she finds out. The bet's just between us and if Ellie finds out, she'll be making all kinds of suggestions."

"Okay," Eric nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. We don't tell Ellie and if nobody breaks character, then nobody loses." He stuck out his hand. "Deal."

"Deal," Cassie shook his hand. "So what are you planning for tonight?"

Eric grinned. "I'll come up with something. Cali is pretty flexible so I'm sure she'll be pretty good with it being a surprise. How about we start the date after dinner?"

Ellie woke up and rolled over to look at the clock. It was already almost 11:00 in the morning, but she was reluctant to give up the comfort of her warm bed. She lay blinking slowly as she replayed the events of the night before. As upset as she'd been waking up the morning after her encounter with Eric the night of his party, she kept waiting for the wave of guilt and shame that must surely be waiting somewhere, deep inside her, ready to wash over her at any moment.

If she had broken every promise she'd made to herself over the past few days and crossed further over the line than she could have ever imagined, she could think of no reason to have slept so soundly and to have awoken feeling so contented. Yet of all the moments that tumbled slowly through her memory as she lie still that morning, it was the thought of Eric, kissing her tenderly, right before she drifted off to sleep, as he quietly tiptoed toward her bathroom door that kept returning to the front.

Eric had crept into her room a few hours before that, after they'd finished their 'date' and gotten ready for bed. Not knowing what to expect when he slid into her bed beside her, she spent the next few hours in his arms, whispering in the dark, feeling his kisses and his hands on her body, showering her in adoration in a way that was sweeter than she could have imagined. If none of the other kisses stood out as much as that last one, it was only because he had gotten all the way to the door before he crept back, unable to leave without just one more. "In case I wake up and this was all just a dream," he said.

A dream. She smiled and curled up tighter in her covers. When her eyes opened again, it was to see Eric softly opening her door from the bathroom.

"Hey gorgeous," he whispered as her eyes fluttered open. "Just wanted to check in on you before we head out to the beach." He knelt down beside her bed.

"G'morning," Ellie mumbled as she glanced at her bedside clock and realized she'd missed it by about 20 minutes.

Eric reached up and stroked her hair from the side of her face. His eyes searched hers for a moment before Ellie looked away. "Are you doing okay?" He held his hand at the side of her face and his thumb lightly stroked her cheekbone.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she nodded, still not meeting his eyes. "Just needed some extra sleep."

"Will you come down to the beach with us once you get up?" He sounded tentative, but hopeful.

"Yeah, I just need a minute," Ellie nodded again without looking up.

"Okay," he leaned in to kiss her lips gently. "Take all the time you need." He got up and quietly walked back through their bathroom.

Ellie laid there until she heard their footsteps on the stairs and the sound of the back door closing before she got up to use the bathroom. Standing at the sink to brush her teeth after she'd peed, she did her best to avoid looking up in the mirror. Eventually her eyes crept up and she stared at her reflection. Her hair was tousled from sleep, her eyes looked puffy and she wasn't wearing any makeup. She looked at the shape of her face, her full pink lips and the blue eyes that had always looked too big to her as a child. He had called her 'gorgeous' when he saw her.

Ellie knew that Eric wasn't any good at manipulating people and he was a terrible liar. It was these things that made him so easy to get the best of growing up. Unlike her, he was the least 'phony' person she'd ever met. She always thought of it as a weakness; a vulnerability. She'd exploited it for her own advantage, but even though he never knew it, she'd also used her own social skills to look out for him growing up. When her friends had started to notice him in high school, she'd warned them off, knowing exactly how they thought about boys, and hoping to spare him from being toyed with for their amusement. She never understood how she could reconcile that double standard in her mind, tormenting him and yet still watching out for him the whole time, but she rationalized that she had some boundaries to how badly she would treat Eric and the rest of the world wouldn't show the same restraint.

Some restraint, she grimaced at the mirror. She kept trying to see the terrible person who had sucked her own brother's dick last night, but then she had always looked so much younger, and more innocent, without makeup. Try as she might, she just couldn't see anybody that wicked in her own reflection. Instead she saw a sad girl, who'd been expecting to find Eric this morning, wearing that same look that boys always had, once they'd had their dick in your mouth.

A single tear fell down Ellie's cheek and she didn't bother to wipe it away. Instead, he'd circled back for another kiss last night and called her gorgeous this morning....gorgeous. The tears began to fall from both eyes and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

With it being Friday afternoon, Cassie decided to bring an extra water bottle with her tart lemon drink down to the beach, along with some snacks and enough water for the three of them. She saw Eric come down the last couple of steps from upstairs and asked, "Any signs of life from Ellie?"

"Sounds like she's still sleeping," Eric shut his own laptop, picked it up off the kitchen table and plugged it back in on the counter. "You ready to go?"

They talked through more ideas for 'Spring Break' as they walked over and got settled at the beach. Once they sat down and Eric fired up his pipe, he handed it to Cassie without asking. She took a hit casually and handed it back before settling into her chair. They sat there, drinking water and feeling the buzz start to creep up on them even as the temperature on the beach did the same.

"I'm really looking forward to going on Spring Break as Cali," Cassie mused. "I feel like it's going to be a vacation from myself, you know?"

Eric nodded, distracted by the memory of last night, which still seemed so unreal.

"So tonight will be a good test run," she nodded. "Maybe I'll try to stay in character for the whole weekend...starting now." She reached over and pulled the bottle of 'Brother Pucker' out of her bag and took a drink before passing it to Eric. "Here's to Cali," she smiled.

"Here's to Cali," Eric hoisted the bottle before taking a drink himself.

When Ellie finally made it to the beach, she found Cassie and Eric sitting in the chairs laughing and talking loudly.

"There she is!" Eric called out when she opened the flap. "Welcome to Happy Hour!" He stood up and offered her his chair as he plopped down onto the sand facing the girls. "I'm glad you made it down," Eric smiled. "I'd like to introduce you to our new friend Cali," he gestured to Cassie.

"Your hostess with the mostest!," Cassie said a little too loudly as she offered the bottle of 'Brother Pucker' to her sister. "Welcome to the party!"

"Wow, sounds like you guys are off to an early start today." Ellie took a drink, took of her coat and then sat down to take off her shoes. When she stood up and peeled off her top, Eric was glad to see it was the red bikini she was wearing. She looked down as her top came over her head and she saw Eric looking up at her appreciatively. She felt a smile forming at the corners of her mouth as she turned to undo her pants and took her time bending over as she pulled them down, hoping Eric was also admiring her butt.

When Ellie sat down and began folding her pants, Eric stood up and retrieved his pipe from the table, handed it to her and picked up her clothes. "Here, you take this and I'll take care of these," he winked at her and carried her clothes over to where Cassie and he had set theirs down earlier.

Ellie handed the pipe to Cassie after she'd taken a drag and washed it down with another drink from the bottle of 'Brother Pucker'. She giggled inadvertently as she swallowed and it almost went up her nose. ' 'Brother Pucker' for the 'Brother Sucker' ' had popped into her brain out of nowhere, but out here, under the warm lights with Eric beaming up at her, it struck her as funny.

Cassie passed the pipe to Eric and he took another hit as well before handing it to Ellie. She figured she was playing catch up and might as well try to get on their level as she took another hit.

Cassie stood up to go down to the water and when she had stepped past Eric he mouthed, "You. Look. Hot." With a twinkle in his eye. Ellie looked up quickly at Cassie's back before quickly pulling her bikini top aside and flashing Eric her boob for a second. She watched Eric's eyes go wide and he opened his mouth in an exaggerated show of surprise, before breaking into a huge grin that she couldn't help return as she adjusted her top again.

Ellie stood up sassily and wiggled her hips as she walked down to join Cassie in the water. Eric was right behind her, glad for the opportunity to lay down in the water before his erection was fully formed.

They spent the next few hours lying around, drinking a little and getting high as the afternoon sun dropped slowly toward the horizon. Whenever they could, Ellie or Eric would sneak a quick grab or feel of the other's body while Cassie wasn't looking. At one point Eric had even leaned over and quickly snuck a kiss. Ellie found herself blushing unexpectedly, delighting in their secret and the attention that Eric was giving her, every time Cassie looked away.

When it was time to get changed, Ellie took her time drying off, hoping that Eric would get a look at her naked if he peeked, but the one time she glanced over as she bent to dry her legs, Eric was facing the other way.

They walked home in the dusk, hoods up over their damp hair against the cold, winter air, but inside Ellie felt warm in a way she hadn't in a long time.

It was Eric's turn to cook and even though they were only having hot dogs, the girls said they were starving and Cassie asked if Eric didn't mind cooking while they showered. Eric tried not to show his disappointment as he agreed and he looked longingly at Ellie as she headed for the stairs, but smiled when she turned back to quickly blow him a kiss before disappearing from view.

Eric had already started eating by the time the girls got back downstairs and headed up to shower while they dug in. He had been a little surprised when Cassie had come down wearing her tight jeans and makeup, but he remembered he had a date with Cali and sighed a little getting undressed as he realized that he was going to have to wait until later to spend some time alone with Ellie.

While Cassie and Ellie finished eating, Eric set up for his date with Cassie/Cali. He pulled the family SUV Behind the house and lined it up facing the back of the garage. He ran and extension cord out from the garage, placed their father's computer projector on top of the roof of the SUV and ran the cables down through a slit in the back driver's side window to link up with his laptop on the arm rest between the front seats. Firing up his laptop, he pulled up Netflix and adjusted the display to allow it to feed the image to the projector. Powering up the projector, he ended up backing the SUV back a couple of feet to get a larger image and adjusted the focus until he was satisfied with the result.

Eric left the SUV running to warm it up and went inside to make popcorn, drinks and snacks for the movie. He ran them back out to the SUV and then went to get Cassie from the living room. She allowed him to blindfold her and lead her toward the back door.

As he opened the back door to begin guiding her out, Ellie yelled, "Have fun you guys!" and looking back, Eric saw that she had lifted up her shirt and bra to flash her bare boobs to Eric, doing a sort of bouncing dance to accentuate their glorious visibility. Eric slowly ushered Cassie through the door and did his best not to guide her into the door frame as he tried to get as much of an eyeful of Ellie's tits as he could.

Once he had Cassie in the backyard, it was relatively easy to put his arm around her waist and steer her to the SUV and get her situated in the front seat. He circled around and took his place on the driver side and once he had the door closed Cassie asked, "So where are we going?"

"To the movies," Eric chuckled as he hit play and the movie started to project onto the garage. "You can take the blindfold off, Cali." He watched her eyes open wide as she lifted the blindfold clear. "I know all the movie theaters are closed, but I found a drive in that was still open."

Cassie beamed with joy and turned to give Eric a hug across the center console. "Sorry if I'm being a little forward for our first date", she grinned. "But I've been wanting to go to the movies for weeks and I've never actually been to a drive in, so I'm pretty excited." She said more seriously. "Thank you for this wonderful surprise."

"Well it's a good thing you have a lot in common with one of my sisters," Eric pointed out. "She was the one who gave me the idea."

Eric pulled out his pipe and lit it before passing it to Cassie. They opened the windows a little to let the smoke vent into the cold night air before quickly closing them as soon as they were done smoking. Eric handed her a spill proof insulated travel cup and Ellie tasted it to find it contained her Brother Pucker concoction. As the opening credits finished they had both taken off their coats and thrown them into the back seat. There was a bowl of popcorn that Eric sat between them on the arm rest in front of the laptop.

"Have you seen this movie?" Cassie asked, munching popcorn from her hand.

"Just started streaming tonight but it looked pretty good from the previews." The front window had begun to fog up, so Eric turned on the front defroster.

The movie was a suspense film about a police detective investigating the murder of a local politician. The victim's widow was a much younger than her husband and very attractive. The detective quickly eliminated her as a suspect once he found out that she came from a wealthy family and the bulk of the couple's assets were really her trust fund. She was quiet, reserved and cooperative, but knew little about her husband's business or political connections.

As the weed kicked in, Eric was having a little trouble keeping up with the intricate plot, but Cassie seemed to be enjoying it, so he contented himself with enjoying his buzz, the popcorn and the kick that he was beginning to feel from the drink he was sipping. For her part, Cassie was completely caught up in the plot as the detective followed his prime suspect, the politician's chief of staff, to a remote country estate in the film. The detective had parked in the woods and had just approached the house through the trees when an indicator started blinking on the screen indicating, "TEMP>SCRN>CTF". It blinked a few times and then the screen shut off.