1986 had a hot summer. We spent it mostly by the pool, me and my buddies from the rowing team would swim and sit in the sun and listen to music on the deck in my back yard in between trainings. We were 15 that year and we were on a pretty hard training regimen for the under 16 champs that year. We would be on the water at 6:30am five days a week. We pushed ourselves hard and then after cleaning the boats we had a big breakfast and were sent off until the afternoon session in the boat. During the term we would be at school all day, but the rowing season spanned the Summer break so the training kept on and eventually culminated in the Secondary Schools Champs in September. Me and a few buddies, Jeff, George, Sam and Allen, came over to my place most days after the morning training to hang out and swim.
The particular day I remember was a Wednesday, somewhere in August, but God it was hot. The guys and I were sitting by the pool talking when my sister, Mallory came home from school. She was 13, nearly 14, and her body was just starting to blossom. The beginnings of full beautiful breasts were growing on her chest and her legs and bum were changing from girlie gangly to rounded and womanly. She had gained a lot of height that year and was actually taller than me at that time. We could see her from the deck through the windows as she moved in the family room. All of the guys turned to watch her walking back and forth in her school uniform; short pleated skirt, white blouse.
I had only just started to take any notice of girls, but boys usually talked about things they didn't understand.
"God, Phil. Your sister's a fox, dude." Sam said.
"Yeah, she's one of the prettiest girls in school." George added.
I just tried to ignore them.
Soon Mallory came out of the house in her bathing suit. I had never thought about my sister in a sexual way before - Hell, I hadn't thought of many girls in a sexual way at that age - but seeing her budding beautiful body, all long and smooth and tall, walking down those stairs, well I just was stunned. My breath caught in my throat and found myself staring at her.
Mallory walked across the deck and down to the pool. As she walked away from us all of our eyes were glued to her ass which moved smoothly as she walked. She stepped up to the deep end of the pool and without hesitation dived in. I could hear Sam and George snickering to each other.
Mallory swam back and forth for a while, the guys chatted, but always watching her. I was enjoying watching her as well; she seemed powerful, yet delicate as she moved through the water. Soon she came to the near end and climbed out of the water.
Sam jumped up and walked over to her.
"Hi, Mal." he said smiling "Can I towel you off?"
She just looked confused.
"Yeah, baby." George added, "Do you want to come over and sit in my lap?"
"Hey guys. Let's be nice." I said.
"I just want to help Mallory know what a fine girl she is turning into." Sam said.
I stood up and walked over to him.
"Sam, please don't talk like that about my sister."
"Hey sorry, Phil. Seriously, dude. I won't pinch her ass."
Sam moved his hands as if to grope at Mallory's body. She looked scared and without thinking I grabbed Sam by the shoulders, tripped him with my foot and pushed him over one of the deck chairs. I could have just pushed him into the pool, but I pushed him so hard that his head knocked against the wood of the deck with a sickening sound.
"Argh!!" Sam roared in pain and fury but I was angrier.
I leapt on top of him with my hands around his throat.
"You dirty little fuck!" I shouted at him "You keep you hands off my baby sister or I'll break your fucking neck."
I pulled him up and little then knocked his head against the deck for emphasis.
"You got that fucker??"
"Phil, stop it, let him go." Mallory cried.
She jumped on my back to try to pull at my arms. Feeling her body touch my bare back made my cock twitch and my ass tighten. I was so distracted by her touching me that I dropped Sam and then stood up.
"Are you okay, Mal?" I asked her.
"Phil you scared me doing that, your eyes looked like you were crazy."
"I just didn't want him to hurt you."
"Thanks, Phil, but you could have really hurt him."
"I'm sorry, Mal. I'm sorry, Sam. How's you head?"
George, Allen and Jeff were picking up Sam.
"He'll be alright." Allen said "we'll get him some ice for his head."
They sat him down on one of the chairs and soon he had some ice in a bag on the back of his head. Sam seemed okay; he could focus his eyes and talked fine. George drove him home an hour later, but before they left Sam apologized to me.
"Hey, Phil. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to touch a nerve. I was just messing around. I wouldn't even ask you sister out without checking with you first."
"It's alright, Sam. I got a little carried away."
It was right at that moment that I forced myself to analyze my feelings. Had I acted as a protective brother, or a jealous admirer? I didn't know, but that was enough in itself to scare me.
They guys didn't come over to hang out at the pool anymore after that. Allen and I still went to the gym sometimes. We never talked about that afternoon but when we lost the finals in the under 16 champs it was me who was taken behind the shed and beaten by the rest of the team. I was bruised and sore for a week and had to make up some story about falling down some retaining wall to explain my wounds.
About two years later Mallory started dating and it started to burn me up. My dad was always suspicious of the guys she went out with, but I would occasionally follow her and her dates to make sure that they were honest. Before the end of that year I was so tortured with jealousy that I enrolled in an out of state college so I would be out of the house before Mallory became sexually active. The idea of anyone fucking her drove me crazy. I knew that she would eventually sleep with one of these jerks and rather than crying myself to sleep or breaking open my knuckles punching walls, I went somewhere I could pretend it wasn't happening.
We talked on the phone from time to time over the next couple of years, but I always kept it brief and distant. Then before I knew it, ten years had passed. We had both graduated from college and I had been working as an engineer in Las Vegas for a few years now. I hardly ever went home, to my mother's despair, but they came and visited me. Some times Mallory came too, but usually not. She was working in an art gallery. She painted her own paintings too. She had yet to sell anything.
One cold, windy evening I got a phone call.
"Hi, Phil." said the voice on the line.
"I can't quite hear you. Who is this?"
"Phil, it's me, Mallory."
"Shit, Mal! Where are you, sounds like a storm?"
"Yeah, I'm at the airport."
"What, McCarran? You're here?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't call you before I left. It was all in a bit of a rush. Could you come and pick me up."
I drove to the airport and found her. God, she was beautiful, even travel weary on a stormy night. She was tall and thin, long smooth legs in tight jeans ending in high-heal sandals, soft flower pattern blouse blowing in the wind, long brown hair in loose curls.
She climbed in the car with only her carryon suitcase.
"Fuck, Phil. Why is it so cold in Vegas?"
"Because it is winter, Mal. It snowed last Christmas."
"I'm so sorry to drop in on you like this. I had a bit of a crisis."
"What happened? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright, just shaken up." she paused for a moment, watching the lights streak past the car. "Henry, um, well... Henry made an inappropriate suggestion."
"Henry the gallery owner."
"Yeah, so I might not have a job to go back to after I rejected him."
"Well, fuck. He can't do that."
"I know, I don't want to fight him. I don't know if I want to work with him after this."
We drove in silence for a while. The tires hummed as they rode the freeway.
"You can stay for as long as you like, sis, 'till you know what you are going to do."
Mallory leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
"Thanks, bro. You saved my life."
I didn't say anything more, just savored the feel of that kiss, soft and wet, on my cheek.
Back at the apartment I fixed us a late dinner. Mallory sat looking out the window. We were high up but facing out into the desert. The mountains had a little dusting of snow that glowed in the moonlight. The stars were bright and clear. It was hot inside the apartment. There was a fire roaring and the central heating was turned up high to ward off the winter outside.
"Phil? Are you the only one here?"
"Yeah, just lonesome me."
"Is there no one special in your life? No girl?"
"No." I replied flatly.
"No boy?"
"What? No!"
"Oh, Mom and I were taking bets if you were gay. You never seemed that interested in girls at school."
"I haven't been home since I was 17. What would mom know?"
"Even by 17 you should have been dating."
I didn't say anything for a moment.
"I have been sort of saving myself for someone." I eventually replied softly.
"You're not a virgin are you?"
"No. There were a few girls at college, and a few since. But none long lasting. They just didn't compare with my... expectations."
"Are you comparing them to Mom? I hear a bit of Freudian confusion there." she smiled. Good lord, she was beautiful when she smiled.
"No." I laughed "Not, Mom. Not quite."