The Accident

It had been over a month since the accident, and I was starting to go stir crazy from being cooped up in the house all day. I knew that there were thirty-two ceiling tiles in the room, because I had counted them hundreds of times out of boredom. I had watched every episode of The Sopranos and Game of Thrones, plus every single Marvel and Star Wars movie. God, I would honestly do just about anything to be able to read a fucking book!

The only thing that was keeping me sane was the visits from friends and family every afternoon while Mom was working. Most days it was Aunt Kat that dropped by on her way home from the high school, but Uncle Roger would duck in anytime he happened to be going to town. A couple of times Will Stone even stopped in to see how I was holding up and to just talk ball. The person I wanted to see the most had not made an appearance, and I was beginning to worry that things between Jules and me had been ruined forever.

"You've been awfully quiet the last few days," Aunt Kat said.

"I guess I've just got a lot on my mind." How could I possibly tell her that the biggest thing weighting on me was whether I had fucked things up with her beautiful daughter. "I miss school so much it hurts."

"I would think there was something wrong with you if you didn't. Since you were in the fifth grade, your entire life has been about being a student athlete, and right now you aren't either of those things. Not to mention not being able to go to parties and chase around those cute little coeds" she said, giving me a wink.

"I'm not a big fan of going to parties and the coeds are only interested in me because I'm a football player. Sometimes after home games, I'd go to a party a teammate was having, but I'll just sit in the corner and have a couple beers before going home."

"How's a handsome young man like you ever supposed to meet, someone spending all of your time at home? You're young, and should be out having fun, Patrick, not locked in your room jerking off." My cheeks began to burn in embarrassment. "Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a little self-love, but it's so much better with a partner."

"Umm... Aunt Kat...um... I'm not really comfortable having this conversation with you."

"Honey, stop being so damn bashful. After the other day, I think you know that things are so much better with a partner."

Holy shit, she knew. I was in so much fucking trouble. "What are you talking about, Aunt Kat?"

"Don't play innocent with me, young man," she scolded. "Jules told me everything."

"She did?" Suddenly I was very, very confused. Why would she do that after promising me that she wouldn't tell anyone.

"She did, and it sounds like you two had a lot of fun. I have a feeling that that might be the real reason you've been so quiet lately. Thinking sick thoughts about your cousin and wondering when she was going to come see you again."

"Aunt Kat... I can explain."

"Explain what, that you let your cousin jerked you off?"

God, if you do exist, please strike me dead. "It's just that--"

"That what, you're a fucking degenerate."

I had never once heard her say fuck in my entire life. I was about to die. "Aunt Kat I--"

Suddenly, she burst into laughter. "You were about to shit yourself!"

"You...you aren't mad at me?"

"Hell no, I'm not mad at you, Patrick." I let out a sigh of relief. "You and Jules are both adults and can make your own decisions."

"Mom said the exact same thing, but I'm sure you already know that."

"How would I know what your mother said?" She gave me a shit eating grin."You think your mom and I talk about everything?"

"I know you and Mom talk about everything."

"Well, if we talk about everything, why are you so surprised that I know?"

"I asked her not to tell you."

"She kept her word, Patrick. I brought it up with her when we had coffee the other day." Aunt Kat smiled at me and for the first time in my life I noticed how sexy she is. Her hair was blonde with just the first signs of silver at the temples, and her breasts were easily the same size as Jules, perhaps even larger. I found myself wondering for the first time ever what my aunt looked like under her dress. It was hard not to blush when she cleared her throat to get my attention. "Are you in there, Patrick."

"Not really, Aunt Kat." I tried to keep my eyes locked on her eyes, which were the same emerald green as Mom's. "I keep worrying that Jules is upset by what happened. She hasn't been here to see me since then."

"Don't worry sweetheart." She laid her hand on my leg reassuringly, which for the second time since my accident had me fighting impure thoughts caused by a relative. "She's had midterms and has been busting her butt around the farm. Since Rusty left last week, there's even more work that needs to be done."

"I get out of this cast, I'll be out there helping." I put my hand on top of hers and gave it a squeeze. "There are plenty of schools close by that will at least allow me to help on the weekends."

"What about your scholarship? I mean, even if you're not being able to play, they have to honor it, right?"

"No and from everything I'm seeing on ESPN Coach Parks is going to be leaving for Texas Panhandle after the season, and the new coach won't even know who I am." It was hard for me not to get depressed when I think about it, but I knew that there was going to be a lot of work ahead of me before I can even think about going back to school. "If I can't go back to school, I'll probably just transfer to State or Tech. If I'm able to play football again, I can probably walk on at Western."

"Until then, you can probably sign up for some online classes for the spring term, while you heal." She might be my aunt, but she was also my high school guidance counselor. "What are you majoring in, any way?"

"It's kind of embarrassing, but I haven't picked a major. I really wanted to go into teaching, but it just seems to be way more bullshit than it's worth."

Aunt Kat started to laugh. "Yeah, it really is. When I first started, they let teachers teach. Now they have to constantly fill out paperwork and attend meetings. It's really not much better for me, but I've only got another five years before I can retire. Sadly, if I was your age, I would definitely stay away from education."

"Lately I've been given thought into something like ag business."

"Sounds like you want to move home when you graduate."

All I had ever really wanted to do was play football, and I had an outside shot of making The League, or at least being able to go to Canada to play. Now that was gone, I honestly had no clue what I wanted in life. "I'm not sure what I want, but I think that might be for the best. You and Uncle Roger are going to need help with Rusty gone and Jules leaving for school in Illinois soon. I'd also be a lot closer to Mom, which would make her happy."

"Patrick, you have to do what makes you happy."

"I honestly don't know what that is, Aunt Kat."

"Oh, sweetie, you'll figure it out." She gently gave him a hug, careful not to squeeze too hard. "Your Mom should be home in about an hour, and I need to go home and get supper ready. You know how Roger gets when it's not on the table at six sharp."

I chuckled. "Yeah, it's like the world will end if he can't watch the news and eat his pork chops at the same time."

"He is a simple man, but I love him." She leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Her breasts grazed my arms, and for the second time that day I wondered what they looked like under that dress. "I'll stop by tomorrow after school, and we can figure out how to get you enrolled in classes for the spring."

"Thanks Aunt Kat."

I flipped on the TV and turned it to ESPN to catch the end of PTI before the start of college football. My Groundhogs were playing a rare Thursday night game and even though it hurt to watch, I wanted to cheer my teammates on from a distance. Mom even said she would grab some Chinese on the way home and watch it with me.

I heard the front door open and yelled, "Hurry up! The game is about to start."

"Is football the only thing you think about?" Jules walked in carrying a bag from Lucky Dragon. "You know, there's a lot more to life than a silly game."

"Lately you're the only thing I've been thinking about." I looked her over and she was stunning in her State hoodie and jeans that hugged her hip perfectly. "Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?"

"No, I don't think you ever have, Paddy."

"Well, you're absolutely beautiful."

"Are you just trying to get another hand job?"

"No, the last one just made me notice how beautiful you truly are. I always knew that you were pretty, but I'd never looked at you in that way before. I'm sorry for that, because you're one of the sexiest girls I've ever met."

"If you talk like this to other girls, you might get laid more." She sat at the desk chair and put the takeout bag on the table next to me. "I mean, it's hard for a girl to hear those kinds of things from a hunk like you not drop their panties."

"I don't know other girls the way that I know you." I reached out and took her hand. "You were my best friend for the first seventeen years of my life, and I'm sorry that we lost touch the past couple of years."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Paddy. People tend to go off to college and just kind of drift apart, but promise me it won't happen again. That fucker almost killed you and I hate to see you in pain, but let's make sure something good comes out of it."

"Deal. Now let's eat."

"Why the hurry, your mom's not going to be home until late, if she comes home at all."

"The hurry is I'm...wait, why wouldn't she come home?"

Jules started laughing at me, just adding to my confusion. "You honestly don't know?"

"Know what?"

My answer seemed to make her just laugh harder. "How could you never notice it? What do you think your mom has been doing for dick since the asshole left?"

"I try not to think about Mom and dick in the same thought, thanks. Hell, for all I know she hasn't been fucked since he left, or she's randomly hooking up with guys she meets online. It's none of my business who she fucks, just like it's none of her business who I fuck, even if they leave their panties on my floor."

"Your mom has been fucking my dad for the past ten years."

"What the fuck! Are you shitting me? Does your mom know? You're fucking with me, aren't you?" Suddenly I couldn't catch my breath, and I was seeing everything through a quickly closing tunnel. A felt the sting on my cheek and everything was instantly back to normal. "You slapped me!"

"Are you done freaking out?"

"Not really, but I don't feel like I'm about to pass out." I pointed towards the bottle of water on the table, and she handed it to me. I took a slow sip, trying to get my thoughts together before I freaked out again. "Are you sure they're fucking?"

"Yeah, Mom told me all about it a couple of years ago."

"So your mom knows about it?"

"It was her idea, actually. She saw how miserable your mom was and thought some time with a real man would do her some good. I know it's weird, but they're happy, so who am I to judge."

"I guess that explains their reaction to what happened between us."

"Yeah, it's hard to be judgmental when you're fucking your sister's husband," she said, with a laugh. "You OK?"

I paused and thought about it for a second. "It's kinda weird, but I guess. Mom told me something the other day that kind of opened my eyes, only you and your partner can decide if something is wrong. The three of them obviously don't think it's wrong, why should I?"

"Who are you, and what have you done with my Paddy?"

"What?"

"A couple of hours ago, you were flipping out because my mom found out I gave you a hand job. Now I tell you that your mom is fucking my dad, and you're like whatever."

"Jules, I was flipping out because the last thing I ever want to do is hurt the family. That's why I've been so worried about you? So we're cool?"

"Paddy, I told you the other day we're fine, and I knew I had to come tell you that after Mom told me about the conversation that the two of you had. I'm sorry I hadn't come over before now, but I was swamped with midterms. I hope you're not mad that I forgot to tell you, but I honestly wasn't thinking straight when I left when I left the other day."

"What do you mean?"

"I had just had the best orgasm of my entire life, and it kind of freaked me out. I know that I love to be watched when I masturbate, and I sometimes get off on being dominant, but this was something completely different. I thought it was just a bit of fun, but I haven't been able to get it out of my fucking head."

"I know it's all I've been able to think about, and I think that's why I was so scared when you never came to back to see me. I didn't know if things were fucked up between us, or if you really wanted to do it again. It was tearing me up inside, Jules."

"Well, how about we eat this Chinese food Aunt Meg so kindly bought for us, while we watch the game. Then maybe we can try to figure it out." She bit her lip and gave me a mischievous grin that let me know exactly what she meant. "You still love the boneless ribs, right?"

"The last time I had them, I did."

"Excellent, I got us that and some General's chicken. I skipped the rice because I figured it would be a little hard for me to feed that to you."

She pulled the take-out containers out of the bag and set them out on the rolling table like they use in hospitals. She stabbed a small bite of the ribs and slowly moved it towards my mouth, smiling the entire time. There was something intimate in the way that Jules fed me the bites of barbecued pork, like it was done with love.

"I'm glad that you aren't still too depressed to watch football," she said, as they were kicking off.

"I watched a few games with Will, and it was cool because he's also been through this kind of thing. This is just the first UNCP game that has been on TV. Yes, it's going to be hard for me to watch, and I'm very happy that you're here."

"I haven't watched a football game since high school, so forgive my ignorance. Who is the team in the black?"

"That's the University of North Central Pennsylvania Fighting Groundhogs, that's where I played."

She tried to hold back a giggle, but failed. "Fighting Groundhogs?"

"Yes, Fighting Groundhogs. The school is close to Punxsutawney where they do the whole Groundhogs Day bullshit."

"Alright, so who's the other team?"

"The Bunyan University Lumberjacks. They're one of UNCP's biggest rivals, and this year it's an even bigger deal, because it's for a spot in the conference championship game."

"Bunyan? Like Paul Bunyan?"

Her reaction made me chuckle. "The school is Baptist and named after some famous preacher, but yeah, they kind of adopted the whole Paul Bunyan thing. They even have a blue ox for a mascot."

"Well, I guess that's no more weird than State being the Red Squirrels," she admitted. "So your team is pretty good, huh?"

"Yeah, we won our division last year, but lost in the conference championship game. That sucked because we would have made the playoffs had we won, but we still got to go to the Frog Bowl."

"What in the fuck is the Frog Bowl?"

"It's a game down in Atlanta that's sponsored by the biggest seller of frog legs in the country. Shhh, the game is starting."

The Lumberjacks were teeing up the ball to kickoff when they flashed a graphic of key injuries. Right up there on the screen was the name of the man that was ahead of me on the depth chart. I would have been starting that game if it wasn't for that fucking drunk asshole hitting me! Something inside me broke loose and the tears started to flow as I sobbed uncontrollably.

"Paddy, are you OK?" I heard her asking me the question, but I just couldn't answer her as I ugly cried. "Scoot over."

I did as she said, and she crawled up into the bed and took me into her arms. It felt good to just have someone to hold me as everything that I had been holding back for the last month flowed out of me. I had never hurt as much in my entire life as I did at that moment, but Jules wrapping me up in her arms was a better painkiller than anything I was ever given in the hospital.

I'm not sure how long I cried, but by the time I was finished, my tears had soaked the front of Jules' hoodie. She kissed my forehead and stroked my hair, trying to comfort me. At that moment, I had never felt more loved in my entire life. "Better?"

Turning towards her, I gently kissed her lips for the first time. I felt something deep down inside me that I had never felt with anyone that I had ever kissed. I could see it in her eyes that she saw it too, but I also saw apprehension.

"If we go any further, Patrick, things can never be the same." I swallowed and nodded my head, not wanting to ruin the moment by speaking. One more kiss and we could no longer go back to just being best friends. We would always be cousins, but one more kiss we would become something more. "Do you really want to do this?"

"Yes," I whispered. "Do you?"

Silently, she softly pressed her soft lips to mine before pulling back and smiling at me. "Yes, I want to do whatever this is, Patrick. My plan was to come over here and hang out, just to let you know that we're alright. Maybe play around a little like the other day, but now I realize what it was that made the other day so different. It was because it was with you."

"God you're sexy." I leaned in and kissed her again, noticing the faint taste of cherries from her lip gloss. "I'm sorry for being an idiot and never seeing it before."

"No reason to apologize, because I never noticed how big a hunk my little cousin is." She ran her hand over my chest. "Jesus, you're ripped."

"I'm getting fat from eating Mom's cooking and not being able to work out."

"You've never been fat a day in your life, sweetheart. In high school, you were a string bean. Dad used to joke that if you got any skinnier, you'd fall through your asshole and hang yourself."

"I'm glad I never heard him say that, because I was really self-conscious about my weight. I would eat like crazy, and I was never able to put on a single pound."

"Well, you definitely have put on some weight, and in all the right places." She ran her hand down my abs towards the hem of my shorts. "Although, from what I heard, part of you has always been kind of fat."

"Jules, stop." I kissed her gently. "The next time we do anything, I want to be able to touch you. Mom's driving me to Lacrosse to see the doctor on Monday, and I should get out of these casts."

"Oh, I guess I can wait a few more days." She gave me a fake pout. "I hope you don't mind if I stay, though."

"I would be very pissed at you if you left." I kissed her on the tip of her cute button nose. "I never noticed before now how adorable your nose is, I think it might be the nose ring."

"Do you like the stud, because I was thinking about switching to a hoop?"

"I think it will look great on you no matter what, but being a vet, you probably should stick with the stud. You know how those old farmers can be. You remember the reaction they had at church when I let you give me a manicure?"

She started laughing so hard that she snorted. "I thought Revered Smith was going to try and excommunicate us both right there. But you know I don't give a shit what those crotchety old bastards think, right?"

"I don't either, but you have to look at it as a business decision. I'm assuming you're going to want to be a large animal vet, which means dealing with farmers. Some of them are pretty conservative and set in their ways."

"I've missed having these talks with you, Paddy. You've always been way more practical than me."

"I've missed our talks, too. I just wish I knew that cuddling like this was on the table when I was thirteen and trying to figure out the password to get around the parental settings on the Wi-Fi."