Brian tried his best to not be creepy.
He had to spend a couple days with his eighteen-year-old niece while his older brother and sister-in-law enjoyed their vacation.
In short, there was a certain stereotype he needed to avoid living up to.
Brian Brown sat at the table in the kitchen. He had been alive for thirty-three years, and his sister-in-law had brought Zoey into the world when he was a teenager.
Now Zoey herself was a teen and her uncle wasn't.
"There's my strong and funny uncle!" Zoey said, stepping into the kitchen.
She had spoken in a way that made it seem like Brian were responsible for the fact she had a home to live in.
His older brother was the man who took care of Zoey. Not Brian.
But Todd Brown wasn't here, not in the two-story home his brother and daughter were in.
Brian sat in the house and Zoey stood in it. They were alone together, and the man could afford to appreciate his niece. Her fondness of him was obvious.
Zoey went near his chair, and she embraced him. Brian hugged her back.
There Zoey was, leaning over while she embraced Brian as he sat.
They separated.
"It's not like I can go anywhere," he said. "My brother would kill me if I left you here."
"Even if you could, you wouldn't leave me," Zoey said. She smirked, and rubbed his shoulder.
"Guilty as charged."
Zoey went behind the chair across Brian, and put her hands against it. She didn't sit.
She wore a gray sweater and blue jeans. No shoes. No socks. Her long hair was brown, a result of having Todd Brown as her father. Zoey's hair color was one thing she and Brian had in common.
Sunlight didn't warm Brian's hair. He had gone into the kitchen, but he hadn't opened the blinds near the windows. It wasn't as if he would win a fortune for looking outside anyway. The blinds could stay closed.
"Mom and Dad usually open the blinds in the morning," Zoey said. She gestured to the closed ones behind Brian. "I like how you keep them closed."
"And why is that?" Brian said.
"Something might happen here," Zoey said. She gestured to the space around them. "And if it does, it would be better for both of us if no one else found out about it. Trust me."
Brian chuckled. "Why do you have to be so cryptic?"
Zoey rested her hands on the top of the chair.
"You have to be subtle when you want something," she said. "Sometimes, anyway."
Brian wanted a billion dollars, but he didn't go out and scream, "Just give me a billion bucks! I'll suck your cock for it! I gotta be rich, man!"
Subtlety.
Maybe it was the secret to success.
"I should get behind that idea," Brian said.
"You should get behind something else," Zoey said. She turned, then headed toward the refrigerator. "It doesn't have to be an inanimate object, either."
"There you go again, being so cryptic," Brian said. "Here's a tip. Don't make my brother think so hard. He always hated puzzles, and I don't just mean the mental kind. He doesn't like physical puzzles. He thinks they're a waste of time."
Zoey opened the fridge.
"What about you?" she said. "What do you think?"
"I like puzzles," Brian said. "And I also like soda. Would you be a good girl and give me one?"
"I want to be whatever you want me to be."
Zoey took out two red soda cans from the fridge. She closed the door with her hip.
One can of soda for her. Another one for Brian.
The man and his niece could drink their soda in the kitchen, surrounded by four walls. Not even the sun could bother them.
Zoey would give Brian a can of soda, and he wouldn't do something dumb like give her his penis. It was a normal day. If he was a lucky man, Brian wouldn't live up to the creepy uncle stereotype.
His brother and sister-in-law trusted him. Brian would rather not demolish that trust.
The man stayed far from that awful stereotype about uncles, and that was the way he wanted it to be.
"You should be whatever you want to be, baby," Brian said. Zoey walked over, and handed him a can of soda. "Thanks."
His niece sat across from him.
"I should be thanking my parents," she said.
Brian opened his can. Dark soda fizzled. He took the liquid into his mouth, and it was colder than the warmth Brian had felt when he hugged Zoey last night. The warmth had come from her.
"Why?" Brian said.
Zoey pointed at him.
"They made you come here," she said, her brown eyes pointed at Brian's face. "Because of them, me and you can have some fun together. Some really good fun. Isn't that nice?"
Bonding with your niece could never be a waste.
"It is," Brian said. Zoey opened her soda can, then sipped the liquid into her mouth. "I'm glad to be here. I know that you love your mom and dad, but sometimes you need to be with another relative. Not just your parents. Your folks are good people. So am I. Well, I try to be."
Zoey leaned forward.
"I need you to try to have a good time with me," she said. She smirked. "That should be easy for you, though. Right? You have a beautiful niece you can talk to. Plus, you can do other things to me. I want us to have a good time together. A great time together, actually. You want that to happen, too. Don't you?"
"We already are having a great time together," Brian said. He picked up his soda can. "We have soda, and it's a fine Saturday morning. I'm enjoying myself."
"To the fullest extent?"
"Yeah."
"I think I should enjoy you, too. And you can enjoy me."
Brian gave her a small smile.
"I already am enjoying you," he said.
"Not to the fullest extent," Zoey said.
Brian shrugged. He moved the soda can to his lips, and drained its liquid contents. The man swallowed. He put the can on the table's hard surface.
Zoey stood. She went closer to Brian, then put a hand on his broad shoulder.
"I love you, Uncle Brian," Zoey said.
Without hesitating, Brian said, "I love you, too."
Zoey sat beside him, taking a seat in the chair next to her uncle. His body was muscular and hers was slim and feminine. The contrast was more obvious now that the two were next to each other.
"Show me that you love me," Zoey said. "Give me a kiss."
He planted a quick kiss on Zoey's cheek.
"That was nice," she said. "But you can do better than that. Give me a kiss on the lips. Right here."
She tapped a finger against her lips.
Brian had never given Zoey a kiss there. Sure, relatives can kiss their loved ones in a platonic way, but Brian had never done that with his niece.
