I think I owe everyone an apology, as I just recently actually read through the first two chapters that I'd uploaded, and become enlightened as to the usefulness of editing and a beta reader. I found heaps of spelling and grammar mistakes and even used the wrong name twice, which was Josh's original name. So, I'm sorry for that. But rest assured that (if anyone is still reading this) all future chapters will be thoroughly edited before being uploaded. I only wish there were an edit option on the site. Oh well; I promise it'll get better. Enjoy.
***
Once inside the safe confines of the upstairs bathroom, Josh peeled off his clothes and hopped in the shower. He adjusted the taps until the water was almost painfully hot, and let the fine cloud of vapour swirl around him soothingly. He wished instantly that the steam were thick enough to inhibit his vision, which would have prevented him from seeing his own exceedingly stiff erection. He wished, too, that the water could penetrate his skull and wash his mind clean of its sordid images; it seemed he couldn't stop picturing Jacquie's moistened breasts floating in front of his eyes.
Damn it, Josh thought. He focused all of his willpower on keeping his hands off his penis, which was no easy task. When he looked at porn websites on the Internet, Josh found that his hand usually drifted towards his crotch subconsciously. Now he had that same urge, as though it was instinctive behaviour, and not something he could easily defy.
He spent an inordinate amount of time in the shower, until finally, when the last drop of water had turned cold, he got out and started towelling himself off. The bathroom mirror was completely fogged up, despite the working fan. It took a while for the fine sheen of mist to condense, which Josh then wiped away.
He ran across the hall to his room and donned a pair of tracksuit pants and a T-shirt. After this, he found himself wandering about his room, apparently prolonging his return downstairs for as long as possible. He wondered why he was doing this, then stopped, because it made his head hurt. At length, there was a knock on the door, and Jacquie's voice came through it.
"Are you coming, Josh?" she asked. "We're all waiting."
"Uh..." said Josh, "yeah, in a minute. I just have to...er...clean up my room a bit." Josh cringed at his poor excuse.
"You're still thinking about before aren't you?"
"Of course not," Josh lied. "Totally over that. Nothing could be further from my mind."
"Open the door, will you," said Jacquie.
Josh cast his eyes around his room, as though looking for an escape route. He realised, however, that it would be both foolish and futile to leap out the window and make a break for it down the street. He crossed the room and opened the door.
Distressingly, Josh found that, following the dishwashing incident, Jacquie's breasts seemed to have grown a cup size or two. They seemed more pronounced, more conspicuous – or perhaps, Josh thought, even more distressingly, it was simply that he was noticing them a lot more. God, why won't she wear a bloody bra.
"Josh..."
"Hmmm?"
"You're staring at my breasts."
Josh almost toppled over backwards. He snapped his head up and looked instead at his sister's forehead, unable to meet her eyes.
"Oh...was I? I...didn't notice."
Jacquie furrowed her brow sceptically. "Look," she said, turning and shutting the door, then turning back to face Josh, "they're just boobs, Josh. I'm sure you've seen them before. So why are you flaking out?"
Josh felt like replying that he had never actually seen 'boobs' in real life before; but then, Jacquie had probably guessed that from the conversation they'd had that afternoon.
"I'm not flaking out," he replied instead. "Who's flaking out? Not me. I'm not flaking out."
"Josh," Jacquie said gently, leaning forward, "you're flaking out."
Josh realised this was true, and quickly resolved to stop flaking out. "Can we go downstairs now?" he asked.
"Sure," Jacquie replied, stepping aside and gesturing Josh through the door. "Mind the boobs on the way out," she said with a large grin.
"Shut up," Josh said irritably, taking the stairs two at a time and leaving Jacquie trailing behind. He walked into the living room, where Dawn, Alice and his mother were sitting on the sofas, chatting casually amongst themselves – hopefully not about him. His gaze, however, was attracted by the colourfully wrapped box-shaped items on the coffee table. He felt like a kid, and was thoroughly enjoying it.
"There you are," his mom said. "We've been waiting for you."
"Sorry," Josh said, kneeling down on the floor beside the coffee table.
"Shall we sing Happy Birthday?" Josh's mother inquired.
"No!" Josh cried.
His mother registered his adamant tone. "Well, if you don't want us to,"
"I've got a song we can sing," Dawn offered with an evil glint in her eye. She had one of the armchairs all to herself, sitting with her legs hanging over the side and curling one of the blonde tendrils of her hair around her right index finger. She looked very alluring, and yet Josh felt like smacking the Cheshire grin off her face.
"How about you open your presents now," Alice interrupted, ever the diplomat.
"Sounds good," Josh said, picking up a cube-shaped package wrapped in shiny purple paper.
"That's mine," said Jacquie.
Josh held it up to his ear and gave it a good rattle. Hearing no telltale sounds from within, he commenced ripping the paper off. Inside was a new Discman, or rather, a box containing a new Discman.
"Wow, thanks, Jacquie."
"No problem."
Josh was busily admiring the Discman, when Alice bounced up and handed him a red-wrapped present, saying, "Mine next."
Alice had bought him a boxed set of Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey. Aside from herself, Josh was the only other person in the house who appreciated a good book. Unless you counted that bosom-heaving drivel his mother read, which he didn't. "Thanks, Al," he repeated no less than three times.
