The Last Taboo

"So, Paul, what do you do on Saturday nights these days?" Kathy asked Paul. Yesterday she had arrived home from college for the summer and, with her parents having just left to visit relatives, was left alone with her brother for the weekend.

"Nothing too exciting. Fred and Dan are coming over to hang out. We usually play cards," answered Paul. He and his friends were high school seniors who would be graduating in a couple of weeks.

"Geeze, no girls?"

"Nope. Not this weekend."

"Any weekend?"

Paul blushed and admitted he hadn't been on a date in a long time. Unlike his sister, he wasn't much of a social animal.

Kathy grinned. "Don't worry. College will be another story. You'll meet lots of new people."

"I'm looking forward to it." He paused thoughtfully before continuing. "But, Kathy, about tonight...."

"Yeah?"

"Well, the guys and I, we usually smoke some pot on the weekend. Is that, like, a problem for you?"

Kathy scowled at him and said, "I can't believe my little brother smokes weed. Gosh, I thought you were such a straight shooter."

"Hey, I am, er, well mostly. Anyway, my grades are near perfect and I was captain of the swim team this year. It's not like I'm a slacker." His voice increased in volume as he spoke.

Kathy laughed and touched his arm. "Whoa, boy. Slow down. I was just teasing you. The only problem I would have with you and your friends getting high tonight is if you aren't willing to share."

"You mean you ...?"

"Sure. Not that often -- I can't do a lick of school work when I'm stoned -- but I like to kick back from time to time too you know."

"Wow. Cool. It's a deal."

"Besides, it's great for sex."

"Kathy!" Paul was shocked. He never talked about sex with his sister, but then he hadn't seen much of her in the last few years. Kathy had spent the previous two summers in Peru helping to build and staff a health clinic, a project her college sponsored. Since she was a pre-med student, it gave her some early, practical experience.

"Don't panic. It's not like a 21-year old college girl having sex is something unusual."

"Yeah, but...."

"Oh, I know, Mom and Dad don't talk about it and you and I never did either. But that's hardly a good thing. You gotta loosen up, Paul. Go out with some more girls. Have some fun. There's a whole big world out there."

"Hey, I'm all for having fun, but it's different for me."

"Different how?"

"I'm a guy."

"So?"

"Christ, Kathy, isn't it obvious? You're gorgeous."

"Huh?"

"Please." He drew the word out making it clear he thought she was being disingenuous.

"You think I'm...?"

"Gorgeous. Yes. Do you really need to have it repeated?"

Kathy was taken aback. While she knew she looked okay -- except for a nose that was ever so slightly angled to the right, so slightly she wasn't sure anyone other than herself ever noticed -- but she didn't think "gorgeous" when she looked in the mirror. She said as much.

"Seriously?" Paul replied "You don't see it?"

"No. But thanks anyway. It's really sweet of you to tell me. But what's this have to you being different? You're a good looking guy, smart, even an athlete."

"Oh come on. I'm six foot three and, outside of a swimming pool, as awkward as all hell. And until this year I had acne something horrible. Besides, I've never figured out how to talk to girls." This was as open as Paul had ever been with Kathy or anyone else.

"I never knew you felt that way."

"Gorgeous people have no idea. I mean, well, heck, Kathy. I know you love me and all that, but you've always been part of the in-crowd. You don't know what it's like to be on the outside. I don't sit around feeling sorry for myself though. It's more like you said. I'm hoping college will be different." Then he relaxed and laughed before continuing, "I figure in another year my coordination will catch up with my body and if I put my mind to it I'll learn to talk to girls so I don't come off as some silly geek."

Kathy loved his deep laugh and this new side of him, the part that was willing to let her see right into what was really going on in his life. Obviously he trusted her not to abuse the knowledge. Putting an arm around him, she gave her big little brother a quick hug. "You'll do just fine, and if you ever want to talk about girls or anything else just say so. If I'm going to be a doctor I need a good bedside manner. And if I can't talk with you, who can I talk to?"

Paul returned her squeeze saying. "Thanks. I'm glad you're my sister."

Kathy went over to a mirror on the wall and looked at herself. She had long blond hair she nearly always kept in a ponytail, blue eyes, and a nice bust. Placing her hands on her breasts she adjusted them, trying to find the most comfortable position in her bra. Paul smiled, sure she wasn't aware of doing that while he watched. With a last look and a quick run of a hand through her hair, Kathy turned to him. "Gorgeous I don't see, but I'll accept pretty." They both laughed. "And if I'm going to be socializing tonight I'd better take a shower."

To get ready for his friends, Paul cleared off the dining room table, got out the cards, and looked around the kitchen for snack food, but his mind never strayed far from Kathy. Given their three year age difference they had never been really close, but he felt their earlier conversation was a good start on creating a deeper bond. And she got high! That was a big plus considering he had offered to host his friends that night knowing his parents would be away -- and forgetting that Kathy would be home. Eying the liquor cabinet, he wondered what Kathy would think if they dipped into that. Might be fun having her around after all and a chance to get know her as an adult rather than the little brother.

The guys arrived, and while they sat at the table drinking cokes and talking about the upcoming graduation parties Paul tried to find the right way to break the news that his big sister would be joining him. He wasn't sure they'd be all that happy about it. Usually they -- like all young guys -- talked about girls and sex and having Kathy there would certainly put a damper on that. Fred, however, was going on about how he could get them invited to a particularly wild party the night of graduation.

"Really, all the hot girls will be there. It's the one we've got to get into."

"And just how are we going to get invited?" Dan asked.

"My cousin is one of the guys hosting it. All I have to do is ask. He can't turn me down."

"Oh, that'll be fun, being the three geeks who had to use family connections to get in."

"Come on. The point is you might get lucky."

"Right," Dan retorted disparagingly and they sat in silence for a while, sipping their drinks and pondering what to do.

Fred opened his mouth to continue to make his case, but it just stayed open as Kathy walked into the room. In itself, that likely would not have stopped him, but that she wore only a towel wrapped around her body did the trick -- a towel that just barely covered her full breasts and rode very high on her beautiful, firm thighs.

Kathy was busy drying her hair with another towel and not looking up asked Paul, "When are you expecting your friends?"

Paul laughed -- at Kathy for not noticing the two guys staring at her and at his friends for being speechless in the presence of this beautiful girl wearing nothing but a towel. "I think they'll make themselves known pretty quick."

"Er, hi," Fred managed to say.

Kathy's head snapped up surprised. Then she smiled. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize we had company already. I'm Kathy." She held out a wet hand.

Fred stood to shake hands and introduced himself. Dan did the same. Both guys were clearly a bit shaken being so close to this nearly naked vision of damp loveliness. Paul was a bit surprised too. He and his sister grew up with the sort of personal modesty usually found only in very conservative, religious households, and their parents were just that, very conservative and religious. If they had been home, Kathy would never have walked around the house in a towel, even a robe wouldn't be enough unless it was worn over pajamas. Apparently Kathy felt freer when only him around.

"Nice to meet you guys," Kathy said. "J told me you'd be coming over but didn't say when. Please, sit, be comfortable. No need to stand on ceremony." To their surprise, rather than quickly running away in her state of undress, Kathy sat down and went back to rubbing her long hair with the towel. "So J tells me this is card night. Hope you don't mind if I sit in."

"Yeah, it's card night," said Fred taking his seat.

"What game do you play?"

Watching her breasts bob and weave and the towel that barely covered them slip lower as she worked with her hair, Fred was having trouble concentrating on the conversation. Paul came to the rescue. "We usually play gin."

Dan quickly added, "But sometimes we play poker." They rarely played poker, but he thought it sounded more interesting.

"Cool, so do mind if I join you?" asked Kathy.

This presented a conundrum to Fred and Dan. Naturally they wanted to have the beautiful girl join them, but they also wanted to get stoned. Libido won out and they said "not at all" at the same time.

"Great. I guess I better get dressed," Kathy told them and walked slowly from the room still drying her hair.

Three pairs of eyes, paying particular attention to the curve of her ass under the towel that just barely covered it, watched her go.

"Please tell me that's not your sister," Fred said to Paul. "Tell me you called an escort service and that's who they sent over."

Paul laughed. "Cool down, Fred. Yes, that's my sister."

"Fuck, I don't believe it," Dan said. "You've been holding out on us, man. She's awesome."

"Jesus, that towel barely hid a thing. Did you see those ...."

Paul cut Fred off. "Hold it. Like I said, she's my sister so watch what you say."

"Yeah, sorry. No offense. It's just, like, wow man."

"Yep. Wow," Dan echoed.

Paul asked him. "What's this about playing poker? We always play gin."

"Gin seemed too, well, wimpy if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I thought that was a good save," Fred added in support.

"Christ, you two are something else. A college girl walks in and you go all ga-ga."

"I'm not even going to try to explain," Fred told him. "Since she's your sister you'd punch me in the nose."

"Seriously, dude," said Dan. "Just let me ask you. Do you know how hot that was? Forget the sister bit for just a second. What if you were over at a friend's house and a girl dressed, or undressed, like that walked in and without so much as a pardon me sat down and began chatting with you? What would you think?"

Paul pondered that. "Well, I get your point. If it was someone I'd never met and she was just wearing a towel and built pretty well...."

"Pretty well? You mean like a brick s.... Oops, well, built simply perfectly, man."

"I can't believe you didn't tell us," Fred said shaking his head.

Dan looked at him. "Hey, I understand. If I had a sister like that I sure wouldn't let my horny high school buddies know." To Paul, "But now the cat's out of the bag."

Fred said, "Yeah, there is a bit of a downside though. Now we can't smoke the weed we bought."

"Weed?" It was Kathy returning after getting dressed. "Whose got weed?"

Thinking they were busted Fred and Dan looked nervously at Paul hoping he could save the day, but he just said, "Fred has it, but we all chipped in."

"Well, let's get stoned. And those are cokes you're drinking, right? How about we added a little something to them?" After fishing around in the liquor cabinet, Kathy pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "You guys up for it?" They were. Paul got her a glass while she topped off everyone's drink with a healthy shot saying, "You know, I've been working my ass off in college for the last three years and spent two summers at a place in Peru where the big deal was getting to take a hot shower once a week. So I'm ready to party." She set the bottle down in the middle of the table and raised her glass. "Here's to new friends and a good time," she offered and took a gulp of her drink. The others joined her. "What's it going to be gin or poker?"

"Which do prefer?," Dan ask like a gentleman.

"Doesn't matter to me. I don't know how to play either one, but I can learn." She looked to her brother. "The only card games I know are the ones we played as kids. What were they? Go Fish and Crazy Eights?."

Paul smiled at the thought. "Yep. Those were the ones."

"Let's play poker then. It's a simple game," Fred suggested.

"Okay. Just deal the cards and tell me the rules."

Dan and Fred explained the rules for draw poker and they played a couple practice hands. With a three of a kind and then a full house Kathy won them both. She announced, "I like this game! Now tell me more about the betting. And for heaven's sake roll a joint."

"Watch out for beginner's luck," Paul told her. "By the way, why don't you handle the weed while I get the poker chips." Then to his friends, "And you guys figure out what the chips are worth since we haven't played poker in a while."

When he was gone, Dan said, "We've only gotten stoned once before and then we used a pipe. I hope you can roll a decent joint."

Smiling, Kathy told him she thought she could manage it. She had dressed conservatively in tan slacks, sandals, and a long sleeve, blouse. With Paul out of the room, Fred had to comment, "Kathy, you look really nice in that outfit, but I really liked your first one better."

Kathy laughed. "Thanks. This was all I could find in my closet. You should see the bag of laundry I brought home. It's huge!" She tugged at her bra. "This old thing really bugs me though." Then with almost no effort she rolled up a half dozen perfect joints before her brother came back with the chips. "Hot showers were few and far between in Peru but marijuana was everywhere," she explained. "Hope you guys have finished studying for your finals and all that. Wouldn't be good to be hanging out getting stoned and screwing up your grades."

"Don't worry," Fred assured her ruefully. "We're the geeks. Ace every test and play cards on Saturday night instead of chasing girls."

"Yeah," Dan chimed in with a frown. "Damned exciting."

"Well, hey, you've got one girl tonight. That's one more than usual, right? Even got to see her fresh from the shower. Maybe things are looking up."

Dan smiled. "And we're very happy to have you join us Kathy. It's way better than hanging out in an all male crowd." He failed miserably at soundly gallant and self-assured but Kathy appreciated the effort.

Paul put the chips on the table. "So, what did you guys decide. How much to buy a stake? What's the ante?"

Fred quickly put a value on the chips and declared it would take ten dollars to buy into the game. As the guys reached for their wallets Kathy ran off to get her purse. Coming back brandishing a ten dollar bill she said, "There. Now I'm broke. Gotta go to an ATM tomorrow and replenish the cash."

"If you need more, I can ...." Paul began only to be interrupted by Fred.

"No loans. That defeats the whole point of the game. The idea is to make the most of what you have."

"Geeze, okay," Paul replied. "A bit hard nosed tonight, aren't we?"

"Well, you've got to have rules if the game is to mean anything. Don't we pay up after every night of gin?"

"Like I said, okay. Let's cut the cards to see who deals first. Draw poker to start, right? Then if Kathy's up for it we can try Texas Hold'em later."

They began to play and Kathy quickly found out that the three of a kind and full house she had gotten in the practice rounds were not that common. But she was only putting ten bucks on the line and enjoyed hanging out with Paul and his friends. Plus, the pot was excellent, producing a strong, sharp, sexy high, and to take the edge off it she kept topping off their glasses with the whiskey. None of the guys had ever consumed much alcohol and this was only their second experiment with pot while Kathy, although hardly a party girl, had a few years of college under her belt and two summers with the gang in Peru who, though dedicated to their work, really knew how to party on the one weekend a month they got to go to the city for a well-deserved break. So, a half hour into the game, Kathy was down five dollars, about evenly spread out between the guys, but the others were definitely feeling the drink and drug far more than she was. She had also figured out the basics of five card draw poker.

After finally winning a big hand -- if a game with a three dollar pot limit could have a big hand -- she said, "Now I get it. On the one hand there's the odds of the different hands which you need to keep aware of, but on the other there's bluffing. You can win even if you don't have a good hand if you can bluff your way through it."

"Yep, that's all there is to it," agreed her brother.

"Well, what a revelation. You guys must think I'm a dumb blond. I was wondering why the winner didn't always show his hand. Look out, cause here I come."

And for a while she dominated the game, winning hand after hand until the guys figured out her tell, a hand in the hair. Every time she was bluffing she played with a strand of hair absentmindedly twirling it with her fingers. Things turned around after that and she was soon down to her last dollar.

"Damn," Kathy said, "and I was doing so well for a while there."

Dan looked at his buddies and asked, "Should we tell her?"

"Tell me what?"

The guys shrugged so Dan went on, "You gotta remember when you are bluffing to not give it away by acting differently. It's called a tell. You do something that tells the other players you're bluffing."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"What?"

"I'm not telling."

Everyone laughed including Kathy -- after all it was a friendly low-stake game.

"All right, then maybe I can distract you," Kathy told them as she unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse.

"Come on, we're pros," Dan said bluffing in a different way. "That won't work."

Kathy opened one more button, just enough to show some cleavage. "How about this?"

Looking at the luscious curves of the tops of her breasts, Dan nodded and said, "Well, maybe that." If Paul hadn't been tipsy and stoned he might have said something, but instead he found himself ogling his sister along with his friends.

Seeing opportunity in the situation, Kathy said, "You know, I'm nearly out of funds and I can't get a loan, right?"

"Right," Fred agreed. "Wouldn't be fair. It's a $40 dollar game, we each put in ten. Can't change that."

"So how 'bout I sell something?"

"What'd'ya have in mind?"

"Well, this blouse has three more buttons. I'll sell one to each of you, a dollar each."

"Kathy, you can't do that!" Paul exclaimed.

"Why not?" Fred and Dan said simultaneously.

Kathy smiled and asked, "Yeah, why not? They're my buttons. It doesn't change the stakes -- just redistributes the wealth a bit."

"'Cause you'll be opening up your blouse!" Paul said emphatically.

"Where's the harm in that. I'm wearing a bra and, if I must say so, being an old one it covers up a lot more than my bikini does."

"But it's your underwear!"

"So? You guys are all 18, right? We're all adults. What's the harm, Paul?"

Paul looked at each of them in turn and, seeing the pleading in his friends eyes and the adamant look on his sister's face, sat back with a shrug saying, "Have it your way then." He pushed forward a dollar's worth of his chips. Dan and Fred did the same and looked expectantly at Kathy.

With a big smile, she said, "Thanks. I don't like loosing and I'm just figuring this game out." Then very slowly she began to unbutton her buttons. Button by button her bra and belly came into view. "Sorry, I'm not wearing something more alluring," she said noticing the fraying around the clasp in the front of the bra. "But, what the hell, you really don't care that much, do you?" she asked rhetorically as she opened the last button and let them see her navel. The blouse itself clung to her breasts and only opened a couple of inches in the middle, enough to be sexy without not revealing much. The guys, quite happy to have a beautiful girl opening her shirt for them, didn't mind at all.