Table for Two

Emily woke up to yellow light flashing across her face. She opened her eyes, blinking several times to focus on the ceiling. She wasn't home, the light was different. And her head was hurting.

'Where am I?' she wondered, slowly turning her head left, toward the moving rays of sunlight, shining through a tree just behind the window. Definitely not at home.

She looked the other way to see Stephanie sitting on a chair next to Emily's bed, dressed in an old red T-shirt and blue sweatpants. She was slumped, head nodding forward, bobbing slowly up and down with every breath. Her brown hair was hiding most of her face, but Emily could see she was sleeping.

"Steph-" Emily tried to say, but her throat was so dry, it came out as little more than a whisper. She tried to swallow to get rid of the dry feeling.

Stephanie must have just been nodding off, because her eyes blinked open. She straightened herself and brushed her hair back, looking at Emily, smiling warmly. Emily noticed Stephanie was holding her right hand in her lap, now gripping it tightly.

"Em," Stephanie said in a gentle tone, then squinting at the window, "The light must have woken you."

She put Emily's hand down on her bed, walked over to the window, closed the blinds and returned to her chair next to the bed.

"Steph, what happened?" Emily asked, following Stephanie with her look, "Where am I?"

"You don't remember?" Stephanie's face frowned in concern as she took Emily's hand again.

Holding hands? Stephanie could be considerate, but this much affection was not common for her. It worried Emily.

"Can you tell me what you remember?" Stephanie asked.

The younger sister looked tired. Her hair was disheveled and her green eyes, now tightly focused on Emily, had the beginnings of dark circles under them, with tiny red veins around the whites. Has she been crying? Emily remembered flashes of Stephanie's panicked voice, her dad shouting Emily's name.

"I was.. I was in an ambulance. I think. The medic was asking about my memory too. He said I had a concussion. And a dia- something OD."

"Diazepam overdose." Stephanie finished for Emily, gripping her hand tightly, "You ate most of dad's Valium."

"We were going to dad's hospital. They took my blood. And examined my head," Emily continued, "Where is dad?"

"He went for breakfast," Stephanie answered, smiling carefully, "I think you'll get special service at this place."

Feeling an itch, Emily touched her head with her left hand. It was bandaged. Then she noticed a tube from her left arm leading to a pack with transparent liquid hanging next to her bed.

"That's the IV, you were dehydrated," Stephanie explained, "And the bandage is from-"

Stephanie's voice fell silent and Emily looked back to her. Her sister's mouth was crooked and she was blinking quickly, trying to suppress a sob.

"-when you hit your head, back home, in the bath," Stephanie continued, her voice getting muddy as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her left hand, "Sorry. Em, I was so scared!"

"I'm sorry," That was the only thing Emily could say. Her eyes were starting to sting too. Last night's events were coming back to her and her sister's affections were making it hard not to respond.

"No," Stephanie was shaking her head. She looked at Emily, talking quickly, "I read your text. I should be saying that. I'm so sorry Em. I could never hate you! All the stuff I said wasn't true, it's all my fault! Can you forgive me?"

"It wasn't all your fault, but of course I forgive you." Emily said with a smile, "Come here."

Stephanie stood up and quickly closed the distance, hugging her tightly, "Thank you Em. Thank you. I love you."

Emily was weak, but hugged her sister as tightly as she could. She could feel the girl shaking as she sobbed, finally letting her emotions take over.

She wanted to apologize to Stephanie too, to seek forgiveness for everything. But there would be time to talk. The world was back to normal again. Emily could manage now.

Then Stephanie pulled back, somewhat suddenly. Trying to wipe away her tears, she looked away and said, "But, the doctor said you need rest. I shouldn't disturb you. You need to heal. Only that is important now. Just promise me-" Stephanie said carefully, standing next to Emily, now again clinging to her right hand and looking down at it, "that you won't, you know, try-"

"Try to kill myself again?" Emily asked.

Stephanie nodded, "I'll do anything. Just promise that one thing."

"I already feel much better. Don't worry. I promise."

Stephanie smiled again through her tears. She seemed happy, but the physical signs and emotional behavior told Emily how tired her sister really was.

"You probably didn't get much sleep last night, right?"

"It doesn't matter, you're more important," Stephanie said quietly.

"Nonsense. Come," Emily said as she scooted to the left half of the bed and lifted the sheet, "Lie down next to me. There's enough space."

"You'd be OK with that?" Stephanie hesitated.

"I think I could relax better if you were close," Emily tried to convince her. She saw it wasn't enough for Stephanie to hear that Emily wasn't angry, being close would help her as well. It was also sort of cute and reminded her of a simpler time, when they used to cuddle as kids.

"OK, maybe just for a minute. Just so you can relax," Stephanie said as she sat down on the bed, then turned to lay on her side, facing Emily. She took hold of Emily's hand again. Her tense features relaxed and within a minute she was sleeping deeply, breathing regularly. Emily watched her sister's peaceful expression for a few minutes, before nodding off as well.

--

The next night Emily was laying in her bed, eyes closed and lights off, thinking about the day's events.

Stephanie slept through most of the day right there in Emily's bed. Dad seemed a bit baffled, but also glad his daughters were getting along again. After a visit from a psychologist, Emily was released from the hospital in the afternoon. She tried to frame her suicide motive as being rejected by a boy, along with being confused sexually towards a female friend, which wasn't all that far from the truth. She could stay home as an outpatient, visiting the hospital for checks on Wednesday and a week after that.

Both girls had a missed call from Sam, but Emily was too embarrassed to call her back and Stephanie just couldn't be bothered.

The small family spent the rest of the Sunday together, watching TV, talking about their school and dad's work and the girls played computer games together. They didn't dare to mention the last night. Dad was as torn as Stephanie about what happened and promised to improve his act. No more drinking at home, no pills either. When he asked about Saturday, the girls made stuff up. Emily loved that dork and didn't want to lie to him, but it was for the best. At least it wasn't difficult to pull wool over his eyes.

Emily wasn't so sure about the psychologist. She agreed that there seems to be no immediate risk for Emily, but only approved Emily's release from the hospital on condition that Emily takes part in further psychological counseling with a specialist. Emily had an uneasy feeling about the whole affair. If the specialist found out what really happened, both girls might be in serious trouble.

"Em? You sleeping?" Stephanie's voice tore Emily from her thoughts. Emily was lying on her side, facing the door and her sister's voice was reaching her from behind.

"No, not really," Emily replied with a sigh. Stephanie had no idea about Emily's worries.

"Does your head still hurt?" Stephanie asked carefully. Emily touched the bandage on her head. She'd be wearing it until at least Wednesday.

"It's better already," Emily replied. She still felt a bit of pressure, but the pain was mostly gone, "No, it doesn't hurt."

"Em, I feel really bad about what I said yesterday. You know, I thought you did it on purpose, that you used me," Stephanie continued quickly, "But I know you'd never do such a thing. You were just a victim too, and I only made it worse."

Emily knew Stephanie's conscience was still acting up, but she understood, considering what happened.

"Don't worry about it, I know you didn't mean it," Emily tried to comfort her.

"I really didn't mean it. But still, if you want to insult me, or hit me or anything, to get even, I'd understand it," Stephanie offered.

Her sister's offer was so touching it made Emily's heart ache.

"Of course not. You just made a mistake and I forgave you. I don't want to hurt you anymore than you want to do that to me," Emily said, "Let's just be honest with each other from now on, OK?"

"OK, thanks. I will," her sister replied in a small voice.

A minute later, Stephanie started again.

"Em?"

"Yeah?"

"I..", Stephanie said slowly, "I mean, it was terrible when I woke up and you were gone. And when I found you in the bath.. I don't want to wake up and find you're gone again."

"I'm not going anywhere, Steph," Emily tried to reassure her. She was still confused about what happened between them, but now she knew she could handle it.

"I know you're not. But would you mind if I-" Stephanie continued after a pause, "lied down next to you?"

"Next to me? Again? Why?" Emily asked.

She liked her sister's affection at the hospital, but now at home, she was trying to forget about the whole episode. She didn't have a problem with being close to Stephanie, in fact the two were probably closer than most siblings, but they were both adult women and she didn't think it would be right.

"Yeah, I don't mean it in a weird way or anything. Just-" Stephanie answered.

"If you want to, whatever." Emily resigned. As soon as she said it, she heard Stephanie get out of her bed and walk over to Emily's. The teen lifted Emily's sheet.

"Could you move over a bit?", Stephanie asked and Emily moved closer to the door. She felt the mattress give in to Stephanie's weight, although her sister wasn't any heavier than the slim Emily. She was actually a little shorter and was probably lighter.

As her sister curled up behind her, she felt Stephanie's warm breath on her back. Then her hand grabbed onto Emily's pajamas and her forehead touched between Emily's shoulder blades.

--

Stephanie sighed, her eyes closed as she was holding onto Emily. After a fun day spent together, Emily seemed to be back to her introverted self, now maybe even colder than usual, merely tolerating her sister. Maybe it was for the best, considering what happened, but she still had to know.

"Are you mad?", Stephanie asked quietly.

"No."

"Really?", Stephanie continued, moving her head back and looking at the faint outline of Emily's back.

Emily slowly turned over to her back, making Stephanie back away further.

"Seriously, Steph, I'm not mad," Emily said, looking up into the ceiling, "But why are you so clingy now?"

"I'm just cuddling a bit. Like we used to," Stephanie took hold of Emily's left arm and touched her forehead to her shoulder, closing her eyes again.

"But we were kids back then. Now it's different," Emily argued.

"Maybe," Stephanie said, not really thinking about it, just enjoying Emily's warmth on her forehead. After the shock of almost losing her, it just felt good to be close again.

"So why are you so clingy now?" Emily insisted, shaking her shoulder to get free, obviously not satisfied with Stephanie's answer.

Stephanie moved her head back, looking at the profile of Emily's face. Stephanie's mere presence seemed to make her angry.

"OK then," Stephanie said decisively as she let go of Emily's arm and laid on her back, "If you don't want to cuddle, let's talk about the elephant in the room then. What we did yesterday."

"We don't have to-" Emily was evading.

"Wait Em, you're obviously afraid of me making some moves on you," Stephanie cut her off, looking up at the ceiling, "Seriously, I'm not trying to get into your pants or anything like that."

"I'm not afraid of that," Emily replied, then quickly added, "I mean, that's not what I'm asking. But you act differently and I'm just wondering why. Is it really because you're scared I'd be gone?"

"Yeah, I think so," Stephanie said slowly, calming down again, "I don't know. But I did something stupid and it was terrible to think I lost you. I don't ever want get that feeling again."

Then she added in a joking tone, "Damn, listen to me, it's like we're back at the hospital and I'm talking like your lover again."

When she realized she said it out loud, Stephanie added, "Wait, I didn't just say that."

She heard a giggle coming from Emily.

"What is it?", she asked with a smile, looking to her right.

"Technically you were," Emily replied in a playful voice, "My lover."

"Yeah, rub it in," Stephanie said in a mock angry tone and gave a playful shove to Emily with her right elbow. Then she followed up, "The last thing I need is your stinking pussy in my face."

"Jeez, thanks for that mental image," Emily said in the same tone and shoved her back.

Stephanie smiled again. She was happy Emily could now joke about their encounter. Even if yesterday's experience should have told Stephanie her sister wasn't as stuck up as she thought, she still couldn't really connect the girl at the table with the person next to her.

"Anytime, my love," Stephanie tried to continue. But when Emily didn't respond, it felt like she took it too far. Again.

Before she could apologize, Emily demonstrated she had something else on her mind, asking carefully, "Steph, does my- Do I really stink?"

Did Emily just ask Stephanie if her pussy smelled? Was she serious?

"Wait, do you seriously expect me to answer that?" Stephanie replied.

"No, not really," Emily said quickly, probably realizing how weird it was to ask Stephanie, "Forget it."

Another awkward silence. It felt weird to discuss such things with her sister. But Emily was also her best friend. Emily was the only person Stephanie could talk about anything. And probably the only person she could ever talk to about the club.

"Relax," she said, "I was just joking. Of course you don't stink."

"Really?"

"I wouldn't have done it if you did."

"Thanks," Emily said in reply. Was she being sarcastic or genuinely thankful?

"Look," Stephanie couldn't let it go. She needed to come to terms with what happened, "We were just fooling around, it's no big deal."

"So do you often just 'fool around' like that?" Emily asked, quoting Stephanie's words.

"No, not really."

"So it kind of is a big deal. You can't just plug your ears and go la-la-la," Emily argued, then in a surprisingly direct way, she added, "We're not supposed to do such things."

Stephanie couldn't think of a way out. Emily was right. More than that, it was actually Stephanie that did 'it'. She was the weird one.

"What do you want me to do? Kill myself?" she blurted out. A second later, she realized her mistake and turned to her right, just as her sister turned away again, "Wait, I didn't mean it that way, sorry."

She tried to take Emily's hand, but she was already laying on her side towards the door, hands in front of her, saying, "Why don't you just leave me alone? And get back to your own bed. My head hurts."

Guilt and fear swept over Stephanie. What if Emily tried to hurt herself again? Anything but that.

"I'm really sorry, Em," Stephanie said. She wanted to stroke Emily's back, but knew her sister better than to attempt it now, "I'll go. But remember, you made a promise."

"Yeah. Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid," she heard Emily say towards the door.

Stephanie got out of the comfortable warmth of Emily's bed and back into her own. She laid down on her back, staring at the ceiling, sighing, "I just want it to be like it was before."

"Me too."

--

On Monday morning, Samantha Norwood was sitting at her desk, watching the dull history teacher babble on about World War I. Her thoughts though were with the Bailey sisters. Stephanie was a freshman, so they didn't usually meet during the day, but Sam shared several classes with Emily, History included. It was a bit upsetting for Sam not to know why her friend was missing. She could only conclude Emily's absence was somehow connected to what happened on Saturday.

She had called Emily back on Sunday several times, but Emily didn't answer the phone. Neither did Stephanie. She expected them to call her back, but after her boyfriend picked her up for a trip around the city, she forgot all about them. Matt was always a lot of fun. Since he had to take an unexpected plane in the evening however, they didn't get the opportunity to visit his apartment and get intimate.

Now though, she couldn't help but think about Saturday's meeting at the Zeal and the phone calls in the evening. Listening to Emily, she had the distinct feeling that something really did happen between them. She was sure Emily was talking about sex when she phoned her while still at the Zeal. But later her friend was reluctant to even mention it. Did the sisters do something? Together?

Sam expected to be repulsed at that idea. She wasn't a lesbian and girls rarely entered her sexual fantasies. The thought of two girls doing it together wasn't her usual fantasy, even if watching lesbian porn with her boyfriend usually did the trick. The sometimes frantic, but usually soft and sensual way they touched each other was exactly how Sam liked to make love. But it was really the idea that the girls were related, that forbidden notion of actual sisters doing it to each other, that made her young body unexpectedly aroused. The image of Stephanie sitting under the table and getting off Emily sent a tingle all the way down to Sam's pussy.

What were the chances of it actually happening? As far as she knew, Emily was as straight as Sam and probably felt just as much need to get off with a girl. On the other hand, her kiss at the Zeal told Sam otherwise, even if Emily denied it. About Stephanie, she did mention some lesbian fantasies, but that was still a far cry from actually going down on a girl in real life.

Of course, siblings were normally disgusted about even the idea of doing it together. Then again, she knew how frenzied a teenage girl in heat can get and how liberating a bit of alcohol feels. She heard more than one rumor of girls from the school fooling around together, just for fun. And if some of them went further, they probably wouldn't advertise it. So, if the mood was right, and especially if the sisters didn't recognize each other, full on sex was a possibility.

It was possible that Emily's weird behavior at the club was a direct consequence of her having sex with Stephanie. Her reaction when Sam told her. And the smell of arousal. It all fit into Sam's fantasy, even if that's all it was at the moment.

She was glad when the class was finally over. The 19 year old didn't usually masturbate at school, but the tickling thoughts about her friends committing actual incest made her so aroused, she had to get some relief.

The blond found a nice secluded toilet on the third floor and entered the last stall. She hung her bag on the hook and used toilet paper to wipe the seat. She unbuttoned and unzipped her dark blue jeans, then pulled them down along with her black panties in a swift motion. She sat down with a soft sigh, leaning back against the toilet and hiking up her white blouse.

Usually, she started with her breasts, but her break wasn't that long and she was quite ready anyway. She just closed her eyes and exhaled as her right hand quickly brushed over her trimmed light brown pubic hair all the way down to her wet opening. Sam really enjoyed the first touch of a session and right now her sex was aching for contact. She breathed in as she touched it, wetting her middle finger, then slowly sliding it all the way inside her warmth, soon to be joined by her ring finger.