My Cousin and Me

My Cousin and Me

Part 1

It had been a very long drive, and I was looking forward to finally getting out of the car. It was a drive I had made several times before, but it felt different this time. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't stopped to take a piss or anything, but I could have sworn it was longer than six hours this time. When I pulled into the parking lot of my hotel, I was more than a little relieved to be able to stretch my legs.

I had just completed the trek up to Vermont for the weekend. It was my mother's birthday, and my step-dad had planned a big surprise party for her. He called me about it weeks ago, and I had agreed to make the trip up from where I lived in New Jersey. It was a special birthday, after all. My mom was turning fifty!

She had moved up to Vermont with my step-dad a few years after she divorced my dad. I chose to stay behind, as everything I knew was there in my hometown. Living with my dad had been all right, but it had meant that my connection to my mom's side of the family had become somewhat estranged. I used to see them on the regular twice a year, as she had grown up in Ohio. We would go out there for several weeks every summer, and on alternating Thanksgiving and Christmas.

However, since the divorce and the move, I had not seen that side of my family for several years. I had visited my mom a lot, but that was all. So, I was doubly excited about this visit, because my step-dad had managed to get my uncle and his family to make the trip, too! I was looking forward to seeing them again after so long.

Normally, I would have stayed in my mom's guest room when I came up to visit. The party was supposed to be a big surprise, though, so I had booked into a hotel instead. It wasn't super fancy, but it was nice enough. I got a single bed, TV, full bathroom. It looked clean enough. At least the carpet didn't smell, and the walls weren't sticky. I haven't had the best luck with hotels, but that's a different story.

Once I had settled into my room, I called my step-dad to let him know I had arrived. My mom was still at work, and would be for several hours, so he insisted I rush over to their place and help with the planning while she was out. After finally taking a piss, I got back in my car and went over there.

"Nick!" My step-dad has always been a hugger, and he wasted no time in pulling me into one as soon as he opened the front door. "Great to see you! How was the drive?"

"Long," I said, taking a step back. I could see movement in the house behind him. "Who's here?"

"Everybody!" he said, excitedly, and ushered me inside. I followed him through the living room and into the dining room, where a small group was gathered around the table. I immediately recognized my aunt and uncle, and hugged them as well.

"It's been a long time," said Uncle Mike.

"Too long," I said.

"What have you been up to?" my Aunt Lauren asked. "You have to tell us everything."

"There will be plenty of time for that," my step-dad said. "We have a party to plan first."

I took a seat at the table next to a girl who it took me a moment to realize was my cousin Emily. The last time I had seen her, she was twelve years old and very awkward in her just-hit-puberty stage. Now, though, she had grown up into a very attractive young woman. I actually did a double take when I recognized her, because I honestly could not believe it.

"Don't I get a hug?" she said, playfully.

"Of course!" I said, and gave her one. "You look amazing!"

"Thanks," she said. "So do you."

"I seriously didn't recognize you at first," I said.

"I haven't changed

that

much."

"Maybe it's just been that long," I offered, looking her up and down again. Her dark brown hair was cut short, except for her bangs, which she wore down over part of her face. She had definitely gotten taller in the last six years, and filled out a little. She was wearing tight jeans which showed off the shapely contour of her legs, and an equally tight t-shirt which allowed a modest depiction of her breasts. For a split second, I didn't look at her as my cousin. I quickly tried to push that thought away, though, until I caught sight of her eyes. She was always cute, but she had large eyes that really drew you in when you looked directly into them. Bright green, and equally mischievous and innocent.

I don't know how long I stared at her, but I was hoping it was only a few seconds. My aunt, uncle, and step-dad had already started in depth about the party, so I guess they didn't take notice of my silence. Emily certainly did, though.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said, perhaps too quickly. I cleared my throat. "I just really missed you, is all."

It wasn't a lie. She and I used to have a lot of fun together, running around at her parents' big house in Ohio. Some of my favorite summertime memories involved chasing each other through the yard, or playing games inside on a rainy day. We used to make up little inside jokes with each other, and introduce each other to new music. She was five years younger than me, but we never had trouble bonding. I really did miss her. I always thought of her as the sister I never had.

But now...I was staring at her like she was no family at all. I felt like I was seeing her for the first time, and a certain part of me definitely took notice. It didn't help that she kept looking at me with those eyes, or that when she stretched in her seat her shirt hugged her breasts a little tighter, making them stand out more. I turned away and tried to focus on what my step-dad was saying. Something about balloons.

Once a solid plan was made, we left the house so it would be empty when my mom got home. Emily and I took a list of supplies we were going to need, and she hopped into my car as we headed into town to get them.

"What have you got?" she asked, reaching under the passenger seat for my CD case.

"Not much new stuff," I told her. "I haven't had much chance to get into anything different lately."

"Well, I have a few new things you might like," she said. "I'll let you listen to it later, if you want."

"I'd love that," I said.

"So, how have you been?" she asked. "Now that we really have a chance to talk?"

"Okay," I said. "Pretty busy, and all. I started that new job, and it's been pretty much all I had going on, ya know?"

"Are you still reeling from being dumped?" she asked.

"That was several months ago," I said, frowning at the memory. There's a whole story there, too. Short version: The girl I had been seeing for the better part of a year cheated on me with my best friend. I haven't spoken to either of them since.

"It was pretty fucked up, though," she said. "I was actually really angry for you when I heard about it."

"Thanks," I said. "Really, I'm fine, though. It does help to keep busy."

"Are you seeing anyone else?"

"No," I said.

"Oh..." There was something odd in her tone when she said that. Was she...happy about that?

"Yeah," she said. "I'll be graduating soon. I'm starting to look into colleges."

"Oh, cool," I said. "Where were you looking?"

"Kinda all over the place," she said. "I just want to get out of my parents' house, you know? I gotta get out on my own."

"Are they that terrible to live with?"

"Not really," Emily sighed. "I'm just ready to go out and do my own thing. I don't have as much freedom there as I'd like."

I had never known Uncle Mike and Aunt Lauren to be strict in any way. They had always given Emily plenty of freedom, so I was confused as to what they were in the way of.

"What exactly is it that you don't get to do when they're around?" I asked.

"Mostly sex stuff," Emily said. I almost swerved into the oncoming lane. She was just so brazen about the way she said it, I was completely caught off guard.

"What?!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, but...I mean...you just..."

"What? Don't tell me you're some kind of prude now. I remember you used to tell me some of the raunchiest jokes. What makes you so squeamish now?"

"I'm not," I said, regaining my composure. "I have no problem with any of that. I just...it's weird hearing it come from you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my cousin."

"So what?" Emily fixed me with that piercing gaze again. "Does that mean I'm not allowed to fuck anybody?"

"No," I said, forcing myself not to be startled again. "I just...you're very forward about it."

"Is that okay?" she asked, and her tone changed. There was something almost pleading in it now. "I've just always felt so comfortable around you, Nick, and I can't talk about this kind of thing with mom and dad. They're so touchy about sex. My dad walked in on me giving my boyfriend a handjob a few months ago, and you'd think I had killed someone the way he went off."

"I'm touched that I make you feel comfortable," I said, and I meant it. "But what do you really need to talk about? I'm sure you had 'the Talk', and you're not...well, I'm going to assume you aren't..."

"A virgin?" she offered. "No, not for a while now. Dad doesn't know about that, though. He'd fucking kill the guy if he knew, and possibly me."

We pulled into the parking lot of the store, but didn't get out right away. I turned off the engine, and gave her a second. It really looked like she had a lot on her mind, and I wanted to give her a chance to let it out. I wasn't sure how comfortable I was going to be with what she had to say, but she obviously needed to.

"It's just that...," she began, then paused to collect her thoughts. "I've started to get a little...experimental."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just starting to figure out what I like," she said. "I mean, I knew I liked sex right away. Who doesn't? I just...there are different things I've been trying, and I really wish I had somebody to talk to about it."

"Don't your friends want to talk about it?" I asked. I didn't want her to think I was trying to avoid the subject, but I was a little bit. When she started talking about experimenting, my mind suddenly flooded with images of what my young, and suddenly hot, cousin was getting up to when her parents weren't home. Just the image of her giving a handjob was enough to get me started, but now I was picturing her doing all kinds of things. I was caught somewhere between modesty and curiosity, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know which side would win out.

She was still my cousin, after all. No matter how much she didn't look like I remembered, it was still her. We were still family, and I shouldn't be thinking like this.

"They do and they don't," she said. "I mean, they're kind of in on it."

"Have you-?"

"Not with all of them," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm into it, but I'm not that much of a slut. I did mess around with Amanda, though."

"You what?!" I remembered Amanda from when we were younger. Emily's best friend since elementary school. She used to come around sometimes when I was in town. She was cute then, too, and if she had grown up the way Emily did...

Suddenly, I had a whole new set of images to play with.

"A few times," Emily continued, casually now. She really was as comfortable with me as she said she was. "We just made out at first, but pretty soon we started getting heavier with it. We're not lesbians, but I know I'm definitely bi. Amanda made sure of that."

"So...have you two...?" I knew I shouldn't have asked. It felt a little inappropriate to have this conversation with her, because she was my cousin and because it was actually turning me on. Keeping it up was only going to make that worse.

Ironically, I wanted to keep the conversation going to give myself time to cool down before I tried to stand up. There was no way she wouldn't see the massive hard-on I had going on. So, I wanted to buy time, but I also wanted to keep it up for her sake. Clearly, this was something she needed, and I wouldn't be a very good cousin if I didn't at least try to be there for her.

"We have," she said, guessing where I was going with that. "And then some."

I needed to stop.

"Look," I said, "I get that you really want to talk about this, but maybe now isn't the time. We have stuff to do, and this seems like a pretty serious discussion."

"Do you not want to talk to me about it?" She sounded pleading again.

"Of course not," I said. "This is obviously important to you, but maybe...we should save it for later."

I didn't wait for her to respond. I undid my seat belt, and turned very deliberately toward my door as I got out of the car. Fortunately, there was nobody on the other side to see as I adjusted my still rock hard dick inside my jeans.

As we crossed the parking lot, though, Emily cast me a sidelong glance that made me wonder if she had noticed after all.

"I made you really uncomfortable, didn't I?" she asked, as we cruised through the snack aisle.

"No," I lied. "It just seems like a conversation for another time."

"So," she said, slowly, teasingly. "It wouldn't bother you to hear some of the things I'm into?"

I think I took too long to respond.

"No," I lied again. "Just not now."

"My dad only caught me giving a handjob," she said. "There was going to be more. The time before that, I gave him a blowjob."

"Okay," I said, feigning casual. "I mean, that's not that weird."

"I've been trying to learn how to deep throat. I'm getting pretty good at it, but I haven't gone all the way with it yet."

"Uh huh..."

I kept my gaze focused on the bags of chips in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, though, I could see her looking at me. An impish smile played across her face.

"And I swallow."

"Good to know." I said, moving quickly on to the pretzels.

"Is it?" Emily said. She almost purred. I turned pointedly away and moved to the next aisle without grabbing anything. Emily dutifully followed, a kind of spring in her step.

"Did your ex swallow?" she asked.

"Yes, actually," I admitted. This I was going to allow. Maybe talking about her would make me bitter enough that I'd forget to be turned on.

"Did she like to be choked?"

"What?"

"Did she like to be choked?" I didn't realize I had actually turned to look at her now, but suddenly I was looking into those eyes again. She looked like a cat eyeing up its prey. "I like to be choked. Especially from behind."

"Really?" It wasn't so much a question, but I was still staring at her. I had to say something.

"Don't we need some of these?" She bent down to get something from the bottom shelf. I didn't even see what it was. I was too busy staring at her ass. Her jeans managed to form perfectly around that, too. The image in my mind showed my cousin, being fucked doggy style, with a man's hands around her throat. It took me a second to realize it was my hands I was picturing.

I was just pushing the image out when she slowly stood up and looked at me again.

"I don't do anal," she said.

"Oh," I said. "Well, neither did-"

"Yet."

She put whatever she had picked up in the cart, and brushed past me to move further down the aisle.

"SURPRISE!!"

My mom nearly fell over when she and my step-dad came home from dinner the following evening to a house filled with her family, friends, and co-workers. I honestly think she almost cried. She pulled me and Emily into the tightest hug, and I lost track of how many times she thanked us.

"It's nothing, really," I insisted. "Your husband did most of the work."

"But you came!" she said. "Just having everyone here means the absolute world to me!"

It really was a great turn out, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. It was pretty crowded, so I thought I would manage to avoid Emily. I had managed to give her the slip while we were setting everything up, somehow always finding something else to do. She was never too far behind, though, and always giving me a teasing smirk.

That was all done, though, and I didn't know my mom's co-workers well enough that I could engage myself with any of them. So, Emily finally managed to corner me in the kitchen while I was grabbing my third beer from the fridge.

"Having fun?"

"I am," I said. "You?"

"Yeah," she said. "I don't really know anybody here, though. Just you, and I feel like you've been trying to get away from me."

"Nope," I said, unconvincingly. "Just haven't had a chance to stop moving."

"You're not moving now," she pointed out.

"No, I'm not," I agreed. I took a sip of my beer just to have something to do.

"Have you thought at all about our conversation yesterday?" she asked.

"A little," I said. In reality, I had thought about it a lot. So much, I jerked off to it last night in my hotel room, but I wasn't about to tell her that. I had hoped that would get it out of my system. Now, though, she had those eyes again, and I felt my cock twitch. My hand was in my pocket, though, so I was able to hold it back.

"We never finished it," Emily said.

"I said it wasn't the time. I'm not so sure now is very good, either."

"I don't know how much more time we have," Emily said. "I really want to talk to you about it."

"I can see that," I said. "I'm just...really not sure I'm the one you want to talk to."

"I don't really have anyone else," she said. Her eyes dropped, and suddenly I felt like a dick.

"I know," I said, "but I just don't know how appropriate it is. I'm your cousin."

"I don't care," she said, looking at me again. "I just..."

She took a step closer now, her body brushing against mine. She had dressed up a bit for the party. She was still wearing her same beat-up sneakers. But she was also wearing a petite sundress, with a skirt that didn't quite reach her knees, and was low enough that the top of her breasts was clearly visible. Her short hair left her neck exposed. As she came closer, she managed to brush her chest right against mine. The material of my shirt was thin, too, so I had no trouble feeling that. She placed one hand on my shoulder, and stood on her toes to reach my ear.

"I want you," she whispered, and she took a playful nibble at my ear.

"What?"

"You can't tell me you don't," she said.

"I don't," I said, but I was lying again. My hand in my pocket was doing a great job of holding my hardening cock back. Otherwise, I was certain I would have given myself away by poking her with it. Right in that second, something in me desperately wanted to kiss her.

"I thought about you last night," she continued, running her fingers up and down my arm. "I was lying in bed. My parents were fast asleep. Don't think I didn't see how hard you were when we got out of the car. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought about it all night while I played with myself under the covers."

I gulped audibly, and she smiled that devilish smile.

"What are you doing?" I asked, desperately. I really wanted to hold onto the part of me that knew this was wrong. Unfortunately, I was starting to lose out to a part of me that no longer cared, for some reason.

"I told you how comfortable I am around you," Emily said, still grinning. "More than you know."

"We can't do this," I said. "No...just...just no."

I turned away from her, putting the crowd of guests in between us. It was all I could do to hold myself together. I retreated to a far corner of the living room, and tried to position myself in a way that casually hid my erection. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emily on the other side of the room, talking to somebody else but casting sidelong glances in my direction.

"Nick?"

Aunt Lauren had swept up next to me.

"What's up?" I said.

"Do you think I could talk to you for a minute?"

"Um...yeah, sure." She sounded really serious, so I let her lead me away from the party and down the hall to the guest room. I cast a look back at Emily. She fixed me with those eyes again, but now she looked a little nervous.

Aunt Lauren closed the door, and took a moment to compose herself. She obviously had something important to say, so I didn't push her. I did take note, however, of just how much her daughter had grown up to look like her. If I didn't already know they were mother and daughter, there would have been absolutely no doubt in my mind.