The Great Recession

Author's Note: This first chapter will not please everyone. It is a multi-chapter sibling romance erotica novel, not blatant written porn. The sex scenes will definitely come but only when the characters are truly ready for them. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it for you. All characters are over the age of 18. Comments are always welcome and encouraged.

I'd definitely like to give a very special thanks to ArilynWriter who has been a brilliant and extremely encouraging editor as well as Benji4lyf who has also been very encouraging of my work.

*****

The recent recession in 2008 took its toll on families all across the country. Some were affected only a little while others lost their homes, their savings, and their entire livelihoods. My family was affected in a peculiarly different way by the downturn from most though. The economic difficulties that we faced together brought us closer and made us more loving than ever before. But, here I am getting ahead of myself...

My name is Jerry Marson, a 28-year old professional photographer struggling to keep my studio business afloat even before the recession began. Unfortunately, studio photography is not a basic necessity in life for most people, so it didn't take long to know the end was near once the economy turned sour. That didn't make the phone call I had to make any easier though. I held out as long as possible, draining every resource I had until there was absolutely nothing left to give. Finally, at that moment, I knew it was time.

"Lizzie?" I asked when the other line picked up. "Hey sis, it's Jerry. How you been?" I tried to sound as upbeat as I could knowing all too well how worried Lizzie could get when her younger siblings were in trouble.

"I had a pretty strong feeling I'd be hearing from you soon," she chuckled sympathetically. There was no hiding from her, no matter how hard I tried. "Things turned that bad for you, huh?"

"Worse," I hated to admit while standing at the end of the driveway to my late parents' house. "I received the eviction orders this morning. Could you come out and help me with a few bags? I'm out front; cab just dropped me off."

"Aw sweetie," she had never been chastising no matter what any of us younger siblings got ourselves into. Just a caring ear that I needed most during the lowest moments of life since the day I had left home. Lizzie had always been the mother hen for each of us after mom came down sick with the cancer. When dad passed on as well due to heart failure and heart break from losing his 40-year plus high school sweetheart, Lizzie was left as trustee to the house. Though she lived there full time, rules were in the trust deed that any of us could go home whenever we needed to. Rules or not, Lizzie would never have turned us away anyway. "I'll be right out sweetie."

Within moments she was out the front door and walking briskly through the yard toward me. I couldn't help but smile when I saw her coming; it had been way too long between visits, and she had always been one of my favorite sisters. I just couldn't get over watching her as she ran across the front yard toward me in excitement that I was actually there.

Now, allow me to state that my oldest sister at thirty-five wasn't exactly what I'd call a goddess in the world's definition of beauty. That is to say, she'd never win a Miss Universe pageant or anything. Still, she could definitely turn a lot more heads than she ever had given herself credit for; waist-long straight brown hair that she forever held together by a scrunchie half-way down, cheeks speckled with the cutest little freckles, and modest feminine curves that hinted at sexy in all the right places. She was neither anorexic nor overweight, just enough of a tummy to add that extra layer of reality that shot her right up to the top of my personal sexiness scale.

In hindsight I'll admit that my attraction to my sister had been lifelong. She wasn't the only sister that I thought was sexy either. I loved all five of my sisters and would die to protect any one of them if I had to. On the flip side though, I was also all too aware that they were beautiful in their own rights, each having their own set of attractive assets that my male hormones refused to ignore; especially my older sisters. It was a feeling that had torn me up with guilt for years throughout my youth, until I finally just accepted it and figured that as long as I kept it to myself, they'd be perfectly happy that I enjoyed their hugs so much.

"I'm so sorry to hear it, Jerry," she exclaimed pushing up on her tip toes to wrap her arms around my neck in a loving sisterly embrace. She was tall for a woman with those long sexy legs, but I still held the height advantage by a few inches. I dropped my bags and wrapped my arms around her in return, guiltily reveling in the intoxicating sensation of her chest squeezed against mine way more than a brother should. I loved hugging my sisters.

"Look on the bright side though," she smiled at me, letting herself down from her tip toes and holding my arms at length, "...I don't have to live alone anymore. My little brother's here to keep me company." Though I would probably have been crazy jealous, like I was when my second oldest sister married, I had always felt some unfortunate guy in the world had missed out on a lottery opportunity with Lizzie. She could have been a perfect housewife, and would have made a beautiful bride. Instead she had been too dedicated to our parents until dad died five years back, and now she was too dedicated to all six of us younger ones to even think of finding a serious male partner for herself. Sometimes in my fantasies I had toyed with the idea that she was still a virgin, though I doubted it seriously.

Laughing heartily, I grabbed the biggest of my bags while she took my photography equipment. Seeing Lizzie so excited to have me there made me second guess my decision to hold out as long as possible. 'Definitely should have moved home a long time ago,' I thought to myself watching her flowery skirt bounce and sway with her hips toward the door ahead of me. 'A definite improvement to the scenery in my life, and it's just her and me.' Immediately several dirty thoughts of what I'd like to do to her given the chance came into mind.

Inside my parents' four-bedroom house, I had my pick between the empty bedroom where the youngest three girls used to sleep, and mine and Tom's old room that had been converted into an office years ago. There was Lizzie and Becky's old room as well, but there wasn't a bed in it; Lizzie now occupied the master. The girls' room was still a soft pink and held two twin size beds, while the office now had a pull-down double. Besides, the computer was already hooked up there and I would need it far more than my sister would. Of course I'd need it for work, but even more I'd need it for sexual relief via internet porn. I hadn't been home all of an hour yet and my eyes were already struggling to behave themselves.

"Dinner time, Jerry," she called to me shortly after I had settled in and put all my things away. I opened the door and inhaled the aroma that drifted into my room with orgasmic pleasure. Cooking was definitely Lizzie's specialty. No one in the world could leave a house smelling so delicious as far as I was concerned and she made my favorite in honor of my arrival: home-made lasagna.

"Mm-hmmm, I love my big sister!" I shouted happily hurrying down the hallway. Either my presence in the house just made her particularly joyful, or she just really liked the comment, as she was beaming brightly while serving my plate at the table.

"I love you too, Jerry. Welcome home sweetie."

*****

Though the reasons I had ended up back at home were less than stellar, quite honestly I didn't think life could have been more perfect during those first few weeks. It was definitely different from the crowded closeness that I had experienced as a kid when we all lived there. Lizzie kept me well fed and snappily dressed, my clothes always ironed and laid out for my photography gigs and pitches. Seriously, who needs a wife or a girlfriend when they have a hot big sister to look out for them?

Having few responsibilities other than mowing the yard, making my bed, changing the occasional light bulb and taking out the trash left me with a lot of free time as well. Time spent studying the intricate details of her skirt hems, particularly while she was vacuuming, or doing other work that required a lot of bending and moving. I had spent hours doing the same with her and Becky when I was younger and it never got old for me. I knew if I paid close enough attention, my corrupt mind would eventually be rewarded. The continuous thought of it kept my soldier at attention for hours until I would rush to my room and fantasize about her hidden feminine treasures.

Life was damn near perfect for those first few weeks, and I would have done anything to keep it that way. It was almost like having the perfect live-in girlfriend except perhaps for the lack of making out and sex; that only happened in my imagination every night. Unfortunately though, I wasn't the only one who needed to come back home.

"Looks like we're receiving company," Lizzie popped her head into my room while I was busily adjusting one of the latest shots on my outdated copy of Photoshop. It was a wedding picture and to be quite honest, the bride just didn't look very radiant. It wasn't my camera's fault; the poor woman was homely, plain and simple. Still, I had a few Photoshop tricks up my sleeve that I thought could improve things, but it was turning out to be tricky.

"Oh?" I turned to her a bit frustrated with my results and a little concerned as to who she might be talking about. After all, not everyone in my family was quite so easy to live with as Lizzie. There was a reason why I had moved away as soon as possible to begin with and I really hoped I wouldn't have to see him ever again. "Who's coming?"

Lizzie walked into the room and plopped down on the bed behind me. I could tell the news was rough; she always worried about her 'young ones' to an extent that I thought it might make her sick someday. I decided to save my file on the computer and turn my full attention to my sister; she obviously needed me.

"Well... it's Becky actually," there were tears forming in her eyes that she wiped away with a finger. "Turns out her soon-to-be ex was actually sleeping around with his secretary," she explained. Immediately my inner anger was reaching for the roof. I had never liked the asshole she had married anyway and now he was hurting my very favorite sister of all. There was murder in my eyes.

I was just about to demand the keys when Lizzie continued. "Worse though," she was sobbing uncontrollably which made it very slow and difficult to find out what could possibly be so worse. I was ready to go tear out the guts of that heartless son of a bitch and now she said there was something worse? "He actually ran off with the tramp yesterday. Completely emptied out their bank accounts and everything."

"That Mother fucker!" I jumped to my feet, my anger exploding outwardly before cringing as Lizzie's face jumped up to mine, scolding me painfully with her big brown eyes. No matter how mad she might get, she never approved of foul language under any circumstance; part of that mother hen syndrome I guess.

"I wouldn't exactly put it so distastefully," her words were marked as she eyed me down, but quickly softened, "but I agree with you. Seems he's been planning this out for months though; hasn't even paid the house payment in nearly a year. Becky just received a 48-hour foreclosure notice earlier today." I winced upon hearing the news. I could only imagine the horror she was living through at that moment.

"Can I have the keys to the car?" I asked holding out my hand to her. Lizzie sighed and wiped a few more tears from her face. She then dug into her apron and pulled out the keys.

"She really needs you, Jerry. She asked specifically for you to go get her." Lizzie handed me the keys. "Just be careful. It'll probably be dark by the time you get there, so don't try to come back tonight if you're too tired."

I took the keys immediately and threw on my shoes without a second thought to the work I needed to finish. The bride in the picture be damned; she was homely, there was just nothing I could do about it right now. Becky, on the other hand, was the closest in age to me out of all my sisters, less than a full year older and consequently we had been the very closest as kids - before that asshole, Chris, had stolen her away from me shortly after high school.

The drive down to Becky's place was just over three hours so it was definitely nightfall by the time I got there. The lights were on throughout the house but there wasn't a car in sight. I rang the bell but got no answer though I did find the front door was unlocked. Carefully venturing in, I peeked around the disaster that had once been my sister's home. Evidently things had either gotten physical between them or she was taking this extremely rough; there was hardly an object in its rightful place.

The pictures had all fallen from the walls and there were smashed dishes all over the kitchen floor. The big screen TV had a golf club through the screen as well. 'Remind me never to piss off Becky,' I thought while searching the house for her. In the middle of what I assumed had been a study I found her small frame trembling and tossed on the floor, her dirty blonde waves covering her sobbing face while her glasses were clutched in her hand. My heart broke just looking at her so torn up.

All around her were shredded papers, a few clothes strewn every which way and mountains of books; tons and tons of romance books. Becky had always been the romantic bookworm of the family, her nose buried in some love triangle or other constantly. I had often suspected that her marriage was more the idea of fulfilling the romance stories she loved so much than it was being truly in love. The guy was an asshole since the first day I met him thirteen years prior, but then again I had been crazy jealous that he took my favorite sister away.

"Hey there princess," I announced my presence when she failed to notice me, bending down beside her and slowly caressing the back of her head. Slowly the sobbing faded as she raised her head, strands of tangled matted hair covering those beautiful aqua-blue eyes that always fascinated me. She didn't say a word but scrambled to her knees and threw her arms around my neck in a tight embrace that buried her face into my chest.

"I knew you would come," she whispered holding me tightly like I might slip through her fingers at any moment. "I just knew you would." I continued caressing her hair and held her close to me.

"I'm here for you beautiful. Don't worry; I'm always going to be here for you." We stayed in that position for the better part of an hour as she cried her woes out in my arms.

Finally she seemed to dry up and I thought perhaps she had cried herself to sleep. I wrapped my arms under her legs and lifted her up very gently with me; she responded immediately with a death grip around my neck, but nothing I couldn't handle. "Thank goodness you've always been so light," I muttered lifting the petite featherweight and walking her into the main bedroom, not meaning to say it out loud, but it had a good effect nonetheless as I heard a slight giggle amongst the whimpering sobs.

She raised her head to see where she was and upon spotting the bed that had once represented her marriage, she flinched away and clung even harder onto me. "No, no, Jerry," she whimpered. "Not that bed. Please, I can't stand to be in this house another minute. Just take me home with you, please?"

My heart fell upon hearing those words. I absolutely hated to see her in such heartache even more than I hated driving three hours when I was already tired. Becky needed me to get her out of there immediately though and I wasn't going to let her down. Still carrying her like a small child who had fallen asleep in my arms, I walked her out to Lizzie's car and set her in the passenger's seat.

When I turned to go back inside, she grabbed my hand. "Don't leave me, Jerry," she begged. "You can't leave me. I'm begging you."

"I'm just going to grab some quick basics for you," I told her making sure she was settled in. "Once you're safe at home, I'll return tomorrow to get everything else out of the house before the foreclosure." She nodded up at me, her blue eyes twinkling from the tears as she slowly let go.

"Don't be long, Jerry. Please? I really don't care about anything in that house anymore. They can take it all, really." I smiled at her and bent forward to kiss her forehead which made her smile in return. "But, if you are going back in, could you grab some of my books for me at least?"

Rushing quickly through the house, as I didn't want to leave her alone any longer than necessary, I started to think that maybe she had intended to leave it all. Things were disorderly everywhere and her clothes in particular had been strewn all across the floor. A lot of them had been torn and shredded in what must have been an amazing fit of rage.

The only thing that was still in its place were a few skirts and tops on hangers toward the back of the closet. I decided that would be quickest to grab. There was also a pair of shorts that I grabbed off the floor nearby that were so narrow in the waist I couldn't believe she could possibly wear them; then again, she always did have the smallest frame of all the girls in the family.

I was darting for the front door, getting very concerned about leaving her alone when I stopped cold, realizing that I had nearly made a grave mistake. Setting aside the clothes for a moment, I ran back to her room and rummaged through the drawers on the floor, chuckling to myself at the irony. How many times had this very fantasy come floating into my head years before when she had lived with me? Now I was searching through Becky's panty drawer without even worrying about getting caught.

Finally finding a few pairs of panties nicely folded so I could be certain they were in fact clean and not torn, I grabbed those and then a couple of bras that were nearby. Of course, in my hurried state, I didn't even think to see if the panties and the bras were matching sets; after all, guys just don't think of those things. I also grabbed a few pairs of shoes from the closet; some tennis shoes and sandals. Finally, I wiped out an entire bookshelf of her books into a large trash bag and headed to the car once more with my stash.

"Wow, you packed all of that so quickly?" she managed to giggle just a bit as I carefully placed everything in the back seat. She turned around in her chair being nosy about what all I had grabbed. "Oh geez. Course you grabbed all the skirts," she laughed seeing my selection and then she squeaked and blushed, covering her face with her hands when she saw me handling her panties. "Oh my lord, Jerry! You went through my underwear drawer too?"

I tossed the giant bag of books in and closed the back door, running around to the driver side. "It was either that or let you be drafty down there. You're lucky I remembered; damn near forgot them at first." Seeing that she was obviously in a bit better mood, I turned toward her as I started the car. "By the way, what's with all the training bras? I thought you were at least an A-cup by now."

Her jaw dropped open as she squealed, quickly covering her chest with her left hand while simultaneously beating my shoulder with her right. I laughed as I put the car in reverse, quite happy to see her in a much more active mood for the 3-hour ride home. After all, swearing to kill her little brother for teasing her was the Becky I had always known and loved so dearly.