"Emily, don't forget Jeff and Stephanie are going to be here soon," my mother called as I headed to my room. "You need to clean up your room so we can put a mattress on the floor for your cousin."
"Yes mom," I called back, repressing a sigh.
It wasn't that I didn't like having my older brother and cousin around, I had actually been looking forward to seeing them. It was just that growing up they had always seemed to like spending time with each other more than me. It wasn't like they ignored me, they let me hang out with them and everything, but I often got the feeling that I was intruding somehow. The way mom had been going on about their visit just reminded me of those feelings of being left out.
I sometimes mentally blamed it on the age difference, I was about two years younger than they were while they were only about a month apart. It wasn't such a big deal these days mind you, me at eighteen and them at twenty was not as significant a gap as when we were younger. There was nothing I could do at this point though, they had been really close growing up and had moved into an apartment together after high school; there was just no way I could compete.
Still, it would be nice to have them around for a few days. They didn't live particularly far away, but far enough that I hardly got to see them anymore. I had been toying with the idea of finding a place closer to them when I moved out. Being eighteen and almost done school all I could think about was finally getting a place of my own, even if it was just a tiny apartment somewhere.
I was distracted enough by my thoughts and cleaning up that I didn't even notice Jeff standing in the doorway until I happened to turn around. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed just watching me.
"Oh my god Jeff, how long have you been standing there?" I demanded.
"Couple minutes," he answered.
He had an amazing poker face when he wanted to, and he was giving no indication of what he was thinking. Even though I couldn't read his face I decided he probably wasn't up to anything. He must have just wanted to see how long it would take me to notice him. I stepped into his arms as he opened them for me and we hugged. I lingered a little longer than I usually would have; it had been a while since my last boyfriend and the contact with a guy felt good, even if he was my brother.
"Where's Steph?" I asked, finally releasing him.
"Downstairs, still talking." He wasn't always much for conversation either.
I gave him a light shove and he backed up, letting me past him in the hallway. I turned the corner to find Stephanie just reaching the top of stairs.
"Stephanie!" I hurried the last few steps and threw my arms around her.
"Hey Emmy," she replied. She pushed me back to arm length after a moment and looked me up and down. "You're getting bigger."
I gave her a confused look, "I don't think I'm any taller since last time you were here."
"I meant your boobs. They seem bigger."
I blushed and made sure Jeff wasn't within earshot. "Yeah, they've been growing some."
"They look nice."
Stephanie's last comment confused me a little, but I didn't worry about it for too long. She followed me back to my room and sat down on the bed cross-legged. Unlike Jeff, Stephanie loved talking and she kept me entertained while I finished cleaning up the room.
****
That night, after putting on my nightshirt, I settled in on the far side of my bed and waited for Stephanie to get back from the bathroom. We had gotten the mattress set up for her, but I didn't think she would actually use it. We always slept together in my bed when she stayed over, it had plenty of room and neither of us had a problem with sharing. Mom didn't seem to understand that though and I had given up trying to argue the point with her.
She closed the door and turned off the light before walking over to the bed and climbing in beside me. We stayed up for a while just talking and giggling before eventually falling asleep.
I woke sometime early in the morning and found that I had rolled onto my side facing away from Stephanie, and that at some point she had curled up behind me and draped her arm across me. I thought about shifting or waking her up, but it actually felt kind of nice and it wasn't doing any harm. I lay there for a while feeling the warmth of her body wrapped around me before drifting off again.
When I awoke the second time the sunlight was beginning to pour through the window and I knew I had to get up soon. I gently lifted Stephanie's arm and started to slide out, trying not to wake her.
"Mmph, don't go, you're so cuddly," she mumbled. She freed her arm from my grasp and wrapped it back around my waist, holding me tight.
"I gotta go to school Steph," I said, tugging at her wrist.
"Just five more minutes."
"Stepha-neeeeeee," I whined.
"Okay, okay." She pulled her arm off me and let me crawl over her to get off the bed.
I had a quick shower and grabbed some toast before just barely catching my bus. School was predictably tedious, made worse that day because I actually had a reason to want to get home afterward. The main thing that kept me from completely giving up on it was the knowledge that I only had to get through a few more months and then I was done.
****
Mom went to bed early that night, she had a rough day at work apparently. I stayed up for a while watching a movie with Jeff and Stephanie, then went to bed when it was over. Unlike them I still had to get up in the morning. Stephanie said she would be up before too long, but I fell asleep before then.
I woke up about an hour later and found the space next to me still empty. She might have fallen asleep downstairs on the couch, it had been known to happen.
I could have just stayed where I was, if Stephanie spent the night on the couch that was her own fault. At the same time, I had kind of been looking forward to spending another night with her. Much as I would protest if anyone accused me, part of me was hoping that she would cuddle up with me again.
I got out of bed and padded down the hall to the stairs. I would just check, just make sure where she was. If she was sleeping I would leave her be I told myself.
The lights were out in the living room, but as I entered the doorway I could make out Stephanie's head and shoulder silhouetted by the faint light of the TV. She was sitting sideways on the couch and seemed to be moving slightly, almost a rocking motion. She was breathing heavily and gave no indication of noticing me as I crept closer, but I couldn't figure out what she was doing.
I was about to say something when I realized that along with Stephanie's breathing I could hear someone else's. I had sudden suspicion what was going on, but I had to be wrong. There was no way they would be....
I snuck up to the side of the couch Stephanie was facing away from, I had to know for sure. I took a couple deep but quiet breaths to try and calm myself, then I peeked up over the arm of the couch.
She was naked, there was enough light that I had no doubt of that. Someone's legs were sticking out from under her as she rocked gently back and forth on top of them. Even though I couldn't see who they belonged to, I knew who it had to be.
