Summer's End

Thanks to Mused for all his help

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***

Brandon folded the last of his socks and crammed them into his over-stuffed suitcase. With a resigned sigh he zippered it closed and turned to Emma. He was done, packed and ready to leave. He was excited, apprehensive, and sad. Leaving his little sister was killing him, but he knew he had to go. He'd put off moving into student housing as long as he could, but now it was Friday evening, and he would have only the weekend before his classes started at the University of Chicago Law School.

They'd returned from the cottage Tuesday. Leaving the beautiful family cottage on Lake Michigan was always hard, but this year was especially difficult. Brother and sister had discovered a love for each other they had never known, though Brandon had felt something for Emma long before. More than sibling love, their feelings had turned to true love over the course of the season, and now they had to face Brandon's departure. All summer long they had tried not to think about it and take one day at a time, but summer's end had finally arrived, and with it their eventual separation.

"Guess that's it, Em," Brandon spoke quietly. He reached out and caressed Emma's face with his palm.

Emma was sitting cross-legged on Brandon's bed; she'd been there most of the afternoon, just watching him pack, engaging in small talk with him. They were going out for dinner later that evening with their parents and their grandmother but, until then, Emma wanted to spend as much time alone with her brother as she could. She leaned into his touch and gazed up at him, her eyes full of love. "Guess so," she sighed. "Sure you should leave your car here?"

"I don't want to mess with it in Chicago, and you'll need it here. Don't worry about it, babe."

Emma closed her eyes and nodded.

Several times throughout the afternoon Margaret had poked her head into the room to see if her kids needed anything. If she thought it odd that the siblings refused to be apart since their return from the cottage, she didn't comment. They had always been close and she knew the upcoming separation would be hard on them. She didn't realize just how close they had become, or how difficult it would be. She didn't know her children had become lovers.

At that moment Margaret stuck her head in again. She took in the scene before her, her son's hand softly stroking her daughter's cheek, and she wasn't sure what to think. Emma's eyes were shut and it looked as if Brandon was trying to comfort her, yet there was a certain sensuality to the gesture. "Everything okay in here?" Margaret asked.

Brandon jerked his hand away and Emma's eyes flew open, their hearts slamming a wild beat. Brandon forced a smile and turned to their mother. "Hey, Mom. Yeah, everything's fine. Emmie's just having a moment." He rolled his eyes. "You know how she can be." He turned back to his little sister and winked. True to form, she stuck her tongue out at him and he snorted. "So attractive, Emma."

Amused by her children's antics, Margaret forgot the scene she'd just walked in on, though she would revisit it later with her husband. "We're leaving in fifteen minutes. Be ready. We have to pick Nana up at six."

"Jesus," Brandon sighed when their mom left his bedroom. "That was close."

"Too close," Emma agreed, gazing up at him. She smiled, wanting to kiss him but not daring to with their parents in the house.

Brandon's breath caught in his throat. It always did when Emma looked at him that way. His Emma. She would always be his, no matter how far apart they were, that was for certain. Emma had discovered his feelings for her and somehow, by some miracle or curse, Brandon wasn't sure which, she had returned those feelings with full measure. He didn't know what their future held, whether they would be together or not, or perhaps they would find others. But for now, as it had been over the summer, they could only take one day at a time. He was leaving by train for Chicago in the morning, and wouldn't return home until Christmas.

"We need to be careful, Bran," Emma whispered. "If they start to suspect..."

"I know, babe." Brandon raked a hand through his dark hair, mussing it slightly. He glanced at Emma again, then hefted his suitcase off the bed and set it next to the doorway. "C'mon, let's get downstairs." He held out a hand and smiled when his little sister took it and pulled herself off his bed.

Emma tempted fate once more and wrapped her arms around Brandon's waist. She hugged him close, not wanting to let go. She thrilled at the sensations of his hands moving up and down her back.

Brandon moved his hands down Emma's slim, lithe body, feeling the gentle curve of her lower back. His hands settled there and, in a possessive gesture, pressed her body into his. "I love you, Em," he declared softly.

From downstairs their mother called up to them. They separated quickly and made their way down the hall to the top landing where they could see their parents waiting at the bottom for them.

Everything seemed to move too fast that evening. They all had a fabulous time together, but the minutes flew too quickly and suddenly they were dropping Nana off at her apartment and Emma was getting out of the car to walk her inside.

Ruth tucked her hand into the crook of her granddaughter's elbow as they made their way up the walk to the front door of the apartment building. The two had always been close. It was Ruth that knew all of Emma's secrets. All but one. "Tell me, dear, how have you been? I haven't seen you since you and Brandon came home from the cottage."

Emma smiled at her grandmother. "I've been okay, Nana."

"You were a little withdrawn at dinner tonight," Ruth noted. She could read her granddaughter like a book; she'd always had that knack.

"Did I seem that way? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be."

"You're missing your brother already, aren't you, dear?"

Emma held the door open and the two women entered and started down the hallway. She tried to make light of how she felt. "Nana, he's only going to Chicago. He'll be home at Christmas."

"That wasn't how you felt over the summer," Ruth pointed out, remembering how devastated Emma had been during a visit Ruth had made to the cottage one weekend over the summer. In tears, Emma had told her grandmother how much she was going to miss her older brother when he went off to school in the fall. Ruth had taken note of their closeness and had filed it away. Now it seemed as if Emma wasn't bothered in the least by Brandon's impending departure. It didn't fit, not in the slightest, and knowing the signs herself, Ruth was instantly suspicious once more. She wouldn't ask Emma outright. She knew her granddaughter would come to her when she was ready.

They reached Ruth's apartment and she dug her key out of her purse to unlock the door. Turning to Emma, she said, "I'm here, child, for anything you need. I'll always understand. Now kiss me goodnight and get back out to your parents and your brother."

Emma opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it shut. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

Does she suspect

? She nodded dumbly, hugged and kissed her grandmother goodnight, and beat a hasty retreat back out to the car.

In the backseat Brandon noticed a change in his sister's demeanor. She seemed agitated and disturbed. Their parents had the radio on up front and were talking animatedly back and forth. Brandon reached over and took Emma's hand. He leaned close. "What is it?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

Emma only shook her head and looked out the window. But she kept a steely grip on her brother's hand during the ride home.

"Best make an early night of it, four-thirty will be here soon," their dad warned when they arrived home. Brandon's train was leaving at five AM.

"But Daddy, it's Brandon's last night home," Emma protested. She didn't want to go to bed yet, she wanted to stay up with her brother as long as she could. And even though she was eighteen and Brandon was nearly twenty-three, their father ruled the roost and could be quite stern at times. "My house, my rules" was his favorite line.

"Nonsense, Emma," he said with a wave of his hand, effectively dismissing his daughter.

"I'm tired anyway, Em," Brandon jumped in. Sometimes Emma and their dad butted heads, and Brandon didn't want anyone upset that night. He and their mother were generally the peacemakers.

"But Brandon—"

"Never mind Emma, it's after nine. C'mon, let's go." Brandon ushered his sister towards the stairs with a goodnight to their mom and dad thrown over his shoulder. "You know better than to argue with Dad. What were you thinking?" he asked as they made their way up the stairs and down the hall to their bedrooms.

"I wanted to spend some time with you before you leave tomorrow. Is that so terrible?"

"Of course not babe, but Dad's got a short fuse, you know that." He sighed and tilted Emma's face up to his. He kissed her on the lips and pulled away, eyeing her carefully. "You could come with me."

Brandon had thought of it often enough but had never voiced it to Emma. He was half-afraid she might agree and that scared him, but only because he was afraid of their parents' reactions.

Emma's eyes widened. "I couldn't, Brandon. They would never understand."

"They let us stay up at the cottage together all summer," Brandon pointed out.

"But all of a sudden I decide to move to Chicago with you? They'd never buy it, and they just wound not understand." Emma shook her head. She knew them well. "Now I know why you were so anxious to get out of here four years ago when you went to U of M. I never really understood why you wanted to leave and go away to school. Now I know."

Brandon chuckled. "Well, they were part of the reason, and that whole pre-law thing," he joked with a wave of his hand. "You were the other."

"Me?" Emma squeaked.

"You know how long I've had feelings for you, Emma," Brandon whispered. He couldn't believe they were having this conversation standing outside their bedrooms. "I left hoping they would fade, but they never did. They dulled a bit, but every time I came home there they were. There

you

were."

"I didn't know."

"I didn't want you to know."

Their parents mounted the top step just then, so Brandon and Emma were forced to cut their conversation short. They bid each other good night under the watchful eyes of their father and retired to their separate rooms.

Emma fell into a fitful sleep after tossing and turning, only to reawaken an hour later. She lay there listening to the quiet. Not a sound could be heard. She pushed back the covers and got out of bed.

After a visit to the bathroom Emma intended to return to her own room, but instead found herself standing outside Brandon's bedroom door. She opened it and slipped inside, closing it gently behind her.

Brandon was lying on his side facing away from her. Emma could hear his steady breathing as she made her way over to his bedside and carefully sat down on the edge. The night was chilly. Nevertheless, Brandon slept in his boxers. The covers had been pushed down and Emma could see the broad expanse of his shoulders and back.

It was insane to be in his room in the middle of the night with their parents sleeping just down the hall, but Emma couldn't help it, she was drawn to him. She longed to run her hands over his shoulders and arms, to feel the muscles bulging beneath his taut skin. She shifted a little on the bed to move closer. Her movement caused Brandon to stir in his sleep. He turned over and slowly opened his eyes.

"Emma?" He raised his head off the pillow several inches. "What are you doing in here?"

"I wanted to be with you. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"It's okay, babe. But you shouldn't be in here. If Mom or Dad catches you in here we're in the shit."

"I'm just sitting here on the edge of your bed talking to you," Emma grinned.

Brandon glanced over at the clock on his bedside table. "I thought it was later. C'mere, Emmie." He couldn't send her back to her room, even though he knew he should. He wanted to be close to his sister one last time.

Brandon drew Emma down into his arms and held her body tight against his, breathing in her unique scent. He wanted to burn it into his memory so he could recall it while he was gone. He knew that some night, when the loneliness of being away from Emma grew to be too much, he would need those memories to keep him going and to keep him focused. There were days when he doubted he would be able to do it, when he wondered if leaving Emma was worth it. His feelings for his little sister ran so deep it sometimes scared him, and he knew he would sacrifice anything for her.

"Make love to me, Brandon. Please? One more time before you go, make love to me," Emma whispered in the dark, her cheek pressed tightly to his chest. "I need to feel you in me. Make me yours one last time."

"You'll always be mine, Emma, you know that. I think we worked that out last week," Brandon said with a soft laugh.

Emma joined in her brother's quiet laughter, recalling the huge fight they'd had just days before leaving the cottage to return home. It had merely been a misunderstanding, but had caused Brandon much angst, until he realized the truth. Her laughter faded as his hand began to slide down from its resting place on her hip. Brandon leaned in to kiss her lovingly on the mouth as his hand crept towards her breast. He kneaded it gently and teased the nipple to a hard, erect point with his thumb.

Emma reached over and withdrew Brandon's hard shaft from his boxers. She stroked him gently with a knowing hand and felt a small drop of precum leak out of the opening. She pushed him over on his back.

Scooting down his body Emma's mouth searched out his cock. Her tongue flicked out and lapped up the tiny drops that continued to ooze. She licked up one side and back down the other, then grinned up at her brother as he looked down in fascination.

"That feels so good, Em," he half-whispered, half-groaned.

"Yeah? How's this?" Emma popped the purple, mushroom-domed head of her brother's cock into her mouth and swirled her tongue all over. She pushed further and felt the tip hit the back of her throat. She swallowed then, and felt it working its way down past her gag reflex. She'd become an expert over the course of a summer. Of course, she'd had a most willing partner to practice on.

Brandon grunted and said nothing. His hands moved to her hair and he grabbed two fistfuls. He fought the urge to buck his hips and force his cock further down her throat.

Soon he felt the familiar tingling in his balls that signaled his impending orgasm. He bit back a groan as his stomach tightened and his toes curled as the first jet of semen shot down his sister's throat. He didn't ask her anymore if it was okay. Brandon knew Emma would tell him if she didn't want to swallow. That was the kind of trust they shared.

"Lay down, Emma," Brandon told her as she released his cock from the warm confines of her mouth. It had been an intense orgasm and now he wanted to give her the same pleasure he'd received. "No, on your front," he continued when she went to lie on her back. She complied.

In the dark Brandon gazed down at her small form. His hands trailed a light path from her shoulder blades down to her perfectly rounded ass. He chuckled softly when she wiggled it at him and gave her a light swat. Emma laughed into the pillow.

"Raise your ass up a little for me, Em," he whispered.

Emma pushed her rear end up and Brandon slid his hand down between her legs. Her inner thighs were slick with her juice, a testimony to her arousal. "Jesus," he muttered when he felt her wetness. She was so ready for him.

A dull ache was forming in Emma's pussy. She wanted Brandon's cock in her, she needed to come, but her brother was teasing her. "Brandon, please," she begged.

"What do you want?"

"To come. Please Brandon, put your cock in me and make me come."

Brandon smiled to himself. He loved to hear his sister talk that way. "Not yet." He slipped his index finger a little further down to just brush her swollen clit, and then pulled it away, making Emma squirm with frustration.

He teased her that way for a while and Emma's frustration grew with each downward dip of his finger. He did it one more time and then with no warning he plunged two fingers deep into her dripping pussy. Emma came instantly, writhing and squirming on his hand as her orgasm crashed and undulated through her body.

Brandon slid a strong arm under Emma and pulled her to him as she came down from her orgasmic high. He held her close and whispered to her, telling her how wonderful he thought she was and just how much he loved her. His cock was hard again and he wanted her badly, but he needed to taste her first.

Brandon laid her down and crawled between her spread legs. He leaned down and suckled her clit, relishing the taste of her pussy. "God, Emma, you taste so wonderful," he murmured between licks. He spread her labia and worked his tongue in and out, pushing it in as far as he could.

Emma grasped at his shoulders as she felt another orgasm approach. "Oh God, Brandon," she panted. "I'm gonna come again. My clit—suck it!" She planted her feet on the bed and pushed up against his face.

Brandon grabbed her ass with both hands and held her pussy tight to his mouth. His tongue lashed out at her blood-engorged nub and, with a few more swift licks, brought Emma to a mind-numbing orgasm. She grabbed the other pillow and slammed it over her face and tried hard not to scream.

"Brandon, oh my God, Brandon," Emma sighed as she returned to earth.

Brandon fumbled in his nightstand and withdrew a condom. He quickly rolled it on and climbed up to lay over his sister. He kissed her forehead, her eyes, and both cheeks. His cock butted up against her pussy, as if seeking entrance all on its own. Emma wrapped her legs around his waist and reached down to guide him home.

With a sigh of his own Brandon split her vulva with his dick. He sank balls deep with one thrust. "Jesus, Emma," he grunted out. She was so slippery and hot he felt like his cock was encased in molten lava. "Baby, I'm not gonna last." He could already feel his orgasm approaching like an oncoming freight train.

Emma encouraged him with her whispered words. "It's okay, baby, c'mon. Fuck me, Bran. God, you feel so good, fuck me!" She grabbed his ass cheeks with both hands and began to buck her hips in time with his thrusts.

At that rate it didn't take long. The come began to boil in his balls and then his gut tightened and his fists clenched. With eyes scrunched tight, Brandon fired volley after volley of come into the protective latex of the condom. He longed to shoot it off into Emma's unprotected pussy, but he knew that would've been insanity.

Brandon rolled off Emma and slid an arm under her to pull her close. "I love you, babe," he whispered. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Me too, Bran. I love you, too. It'll be okay. I know it."

Brandon released her for a moment to remove the come-filled condom. He wrapped it in Kleenex and threw it in the trash can next to his bed. He returned to the comfort of Emma's arms, knowing it would be the last time for quite a while.

***

Emma hadn't meant to fall asleep after they made love, she thought she'd only stay for a few minutes, but it felt so good to be held in his arms that she couldn't help drifting off. They had tempted fate one too many times, and the results were inevitable.

The confrontation was heartbreakingly ugly, as only a confrontation such as that could be.

Light flooded Brandon's bedroom as their father entered and snapped on the light. "What's going on in here!" Bruce roared. But the true nature of his children's relationship was as plain as the nose on his face. Naked, they lay entwined in a lover's embrace with only a sheet covering them. They blinked awake in simultaneous horror as the realization dawned on them that they'd been caught.