The is the second chapter of Eric and Katie. Again, I am just sharing parts of my life with you. All names have been changed to protect those that I love. Please enjoy as I continue their story.
* * *
Katie smiled after our morning together. Though we crossed a line, we acted very much the same. That and we agreed that we needed to keep appearances. There wasn't any agreement beyond that. But, while we were taking the subway ride into Manhattan, in a car full of strangers, she didn't act like my sister.
Autumn in NYC can be a mixed bag. It is either so cold that you freeze where you stand, or it is like an Indian summer. To our luck, it was the latter. She wore tight jeggings that showed off her curvy hips and shapely legs with a pair of canvas shoes. She had her dark brown almost black hair with streaks of blonde tied up into a high pony tail that she liked to swing as she walked. The very act of swinging her pony tail made her amazingly curvy thighs shake with a sexuality I have never encountered before. She wanted to keep a 'light vibe' by using my hooded sweatshirt as a jacket while wearing a very revealing blouse underneath in case we go somewhere fancy and she wanted to look pretty for me. On the train, we had to stand against the subway doors being there were no seats available. Katie was pressed up against me and relied on me to keep her from falling when the train made jerking motions through the tunnels. She would rest her head on my chest and under the protection of my unzipped jacket; she would draw little circles on my chest.
She looked up and pulled me closer to her mouth, "Did you miss me when you were away?"
"Well, of course I did." I answered her. "When dad told us about you, the entire family was shocked. But, I looked at it as having a sibling and she turned out to be a cool little kid."
"I missed you too." Katie said smiling, "More than you can imagine."
I was flattered by her crush at an early age. The train made a jerking stop, Katie was tumbling with the force of the train and I caught her around her waist and held her tight. There were young men looking at her and sending me icy stares of envy. I laughed to myself; I don't think I was ever envied for my selection in women. I must have been thinking too long; I looked down to find Katie staring at me.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Nothing, I was just wondering what you were thinking about at the moment."
I leaned close to her ear, "I am thinking about how all these guys are jealous that I am with the prettiest girl that they have ever seen."
Katie looked around the subway car and found random men throwing looks over at us and she giggled. She made little fists and thumped them on my chest. I pulled her chin up and kissed her lightly on the tip of the nose. I looked at up can see that the train was about to make it to the station we wanted to get off at. "Are you ready for a fun day?"
She gave me the biggest smile and clapped her hands happily, "I can't wait!"
* * *
The day in the city was a blast. I don't think I can remember a time I had that much fun trailing someone as they shopped and frolicked about, it made me feel young again. We went to store after store. She gave me impromptu fashion shows of things she wanted to wear for me or just wanted in general. But, Katie wasn't a girl of substance. She didn't need material things. As much as I wanted to buy whatever she wanted, she only came away with the city with a new scarf that we found from a street vendor. When given the choice to go to a nice restaurant, she opted to just have a slice of pepperoni pizza and continued to walk along the streets of Manhattan, taking as many selfies with me as possible.
When we got home, I quickly opted to take a shower first. I stood quietly in the shower and I let the hot water wash away the aches and pains in my knees. The water was running down my ever softening pectorals. I laughed out loud knowing that if I don't start hitting the gym again, my stout figure that I worked hard for to play semi-professional sports as my hobby, will soon fade into a blubber filled mess. I quickly washed and got out of the shower. Dried and dressed in my usual basketball shorts and a t-shirt, I opened the bathroom door just in time for Katie to be standing there in a bathrobe and a towel under her arm.
"Save me any hot water?" she asked cutely as she peered into the steamy bathroom.
"Maybe." I answered.
"Selfish jerk."
"Hey, you may need a little cooling off, young lady."
We both moved at the same time and bumped into each other. Standing under the doorway, she was pressed up against me. She looked into my eyes and smiled. She leaned into me and kissed my chin.
"Dad and your mom come home soon, Eric." She said sadly, "I don't want what we have to go away."
"Katie..." I protested, "I liked what we did this morning. And, I loved sleeping with you. You don't know how great it felt, but this? I don't think anyone else in the world will understand or accept it, especially our parents."
"So, what are you saying?" she asked with looks of worry in her beautiful brown eyes.
"Listen, you are an amazing young woman. Pretty, smart and funny, there is no way that there isn't a man out there that won't kill to have you." I said as calmly and as steady as I could. "If life was different, we would have a chance together. Maybe this is just life playing a big ironic joke on us both. Even if we weren't related, our age difference is just so big that I don't know if it would be fair if I were to let this continue and lead you onto a path that isn't right for you."
"Eric, I am a big girl. I can make my own decisions. In fact, I have made my decision."
"But, this should be our decision."
"Please..." Katie said as she stepped into me more. "I've never felt anything for anyone else. I have longed for this. I had dreams about this. Us. Us being together."
I placed my hands on her shoulders and pushed her away a little and moved away from her. "I'm sorry, but you have to think about this like a big girl, Katie. I love you, but you are my sister. That is as far as the love will go, ok?"
Tears welled up in her eyes and she nodded like a child that had just been scolded at. She was visibly shaking and she pulled away and stepped into the bathroom. She looked up at me one more time and shut the door. As I walked away from the bathroom, away from Katie, I can hear her sobbing softly. My heart was tearing itself apart.
* * *
It has been several hours since I told Katie what I needed to. I sit in my room, it is barely lit. Just the string of white LED lights I had strung up with her help along the edges of my ceiling provided any source of light. I sit in a recliner that my father didn't want to move to the second story and I take deep inhales from my vaping mod. Katie hasn't made any effort to talk to me, nor has she really moved around the first floor at all. I tried my best to listen for noise coming from her room, since we were only separated by the bathroom. Nothing. It was hearing nothing that was bothering me. The silence was truly deafening. I took an aggressive inhale from my mod and exhaled. The room was getting cloudy from my vaping and I closed my eyes setting aside the mod and wished I never said anything to her. I was riddled with regret and remorse. But, was it rightful regret? Was it rightful remorse from stopping what is essentially taboo in many more ways than one?
I hear a soft knocking at my bedroom door. I snap out of my thoughts of regret and opened my eyes.
"Eric?"
It was Katie.
"Yeah?"
"Can I come in?"
"My door is always opened to you. Come in."
My door opened slowly. Katie was standing hesitantly in the hallway looking into my room. She then made a face at how cloudy it was. "Jesus, Eric, do you vape much?"
"It's better than chain smoking cigarettes." I admitted and waved her into my room.