A knock sounded at the door. The lone figure got up and answered it, not bothering to straighten his mussed hair. His resting-grump-face softened as he saw who it was.
"Janie, decent people aren't up at this hour," he chided with a lopsided grin.
"Sure they are, Randall. Our family are go-getters. Grandpa worked in the coal mine, got up at five in the morning, had six kids. Dad works the law office, gets up at-"
"Fine, fine. Maybe I should say, ONLY decent people are up at this hour."
He squinted at the bright sunlight burning away the remnant of fatigue clouding his mind.
"I never asked if you were decent. Maybe I should have," Janie teased.
"No matter what I dress in, I'm never decent," he replied. "Black sheep of the family and all. Ah, get in here."
He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her inside.
"Have a seat, or whatever." He flopped back down on the couch.
"Steak for breakfast?" she said, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah, it's-" he hesitated, decided to be at least a little classy for his sister, "-leftovers. Don't want it going to waste."
"Mm hmm," she said, not sounding entirely convinced.
"So what brings you here at this godly hour?"
"I want a room."
"No."
"I can-"
"I SAID NO. No, no no no no no. No."
"I'm a big girl now. A woman even. You can bring a girlfriend home, I won't mind."
"It's not just that. Shit, Janie, you're so determined to be worldly, but-"
"But what? You think I don't know how earplugs work? You think I won't be bringing a guy home myself?"
"That's not the point. I rent that room out, Janie."
"I know. I can pay."
"Janie, it's not even about the money."
"I know that, too."
"You do? How do you figure?"
She got a sly little grin as she pulled a folder tucked under her arm. She opened it and showed it to him.
"That's... my ad for a room."
"Posted last week," she pointed to the handwritten date on the printout in a sky blue ink and her neat, artistic handwriting. "No takers yet? Women only. Plenty of them around, I see them on the street."
"I'm in negotiations," he said. "I'll post it again if I have to."
"Oh really? Negotiations with whom?"
"I don't owe you anything, least of all an explanation."
She flipped the page.
"Again, my ad for a room. So what?"
"Six months ago, give or take. Vacancy shortly after graduation at the local university. Coincidence?"
He smirked.
"Thought so. You like smart girls, then?"
"Among other things, which I am absolutely not discussing with my sister."
"And this one," she said, flipping the page, "just one week before the last one."
"Janie, why did you print out all of these ads? You're killing the planet, or whatever."
"I'm making a point here. Stick with me, and I'll drive it home. So. A week?"
"No bites the first time around. At least, nothing worthwhile."
"Mm hmm. And again, the time before that, when said hot cheerleader-"
"Med student."
"Hmm. Needed an anatomy reference to study, did she?" she smiled knowingly.
"No. She wasn't studying to be a sex therapist, she wanted to be an anesthesiologist, you dork."
"Ha! You make it sound so lurid, but in truth, it was just a sad ploy to get a hot girl to stay with you for a few months at a time. Bet you never even fucked any of them- what's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing. Continue."
"Come on, spill it."
"Not that it's any of your business, but I fucked them until they saw God."
"Pfft. And what does he look like? Surely one of them described it, if that's true."
"Goddess, to be more accurate. Specifically, they saw their own inner goddess - they were magnificent creatures, each one of them."
"And you let them get away!? And this last one... no one's moved in, but you haven't posted again. Why not?"
"I'm really hoping that young real estate agent calls me back."
"What's so special about her?"
"Janie-"
"Don't you patronize me, I'm an adult now. Answer the question."
"Fine. If you must know, I figure I won't mind her long hours, and it would be fun to hear her chat with clients while she's wet and grinding on me. Closing that sale has got to be a great boost for her libido."
"There. Was that so hard?" She grinned triumphantly.
"No, what's hard is getting her to the ninth level of orgasm without popping myself."
Janie took a deep, shuddering breath. "Ninth!?" she finally squeaked.
"Oh, you didn't know about that?" he grinned. "Careful now, you're on the cusp of some seriously life-changing knowledge."
"H-how much do you charge them?"
"Generally, I don't take their money. I have plenty of benefit to myself from the arrangement."
"How so?" she frowned intensely at him, lips pressed tightly together in anticipation.
"Lets just say, I teach them how to catch and keep a man. Top tips to keep him happy and how to recognize the signs that she's really blowing his mind. Hands-on, you know; the work is its own reward. And of course, getting thanked for a spiritual experience of meeting your own inner goddess - why, it's been such a joy. That enthusiasm is next-level. Call it my fetish. Fuck, I can't believe I'm telling you this, you're my sister."
"I don't believe you."
"I don't care. You're ineligible, scram."
"Says who?" she smiled innocently.
"SAYS EVERYONE!" he exploded. "Don't you get it? You're talking about incest. There's basically no higher taboo that exists."
She was quiet for a minute. "Can't we work something out?"
"The Randy Treatment cannot be appreciated in anything other than its full form. At least a month of proper confidence-boosting, standard-raising, and sexual growth is required to provide my satisfaction guarantee."
"TM."
"Huh?"
"I swear, you said 'The Randy Treatment' with a TM after it. Like, a trademark."
"I really should trademark it," he chuckled.
"But what about me?" Janie said sadly. "Who else is out there doing what you do? Don't you want me to be happy?"
"Sure I do. But I can't help everyone. I'm just one guy."
"Is this why mom and dad kicked you out?" she said, eating up the gossip like candy.
"I guess so. They said no girls under their roof, but I don't know what they were expecting. This is human nature. I'm healthy, in my prime, and I love seeing a woman discover she is beautiful and worthy of being treated with more respect than most guys are willing to offer. If this is some ploy to get me to come back-"
"No. I mean, yes, they wanted me to figure out what you're up to, which is why I've been tracking your ads. Honest to god though, I'm here because I figured out half of it myself. I haven't told them anything."
"So what now?"
"Well, what do you look for in a woman? We know you like them smart."
"Sure. Smart, compassionate, driven... Does no good to show a woman her inner goddess if she's actually just a sea witch."
"Let's say I wasn't your sister. Would you?"
"In a heartbeat."
"You... look surprised. Why?"
"That, uh, just slipped out. I was trying so hard not to think about that. But then you asked me and the answer was right there on the tip of my tongue."
"Well... thank you. What, uhm... would you..." She colored, suddenly bashful.
"What would I do next? If you were here for that?"
"Yeah."
"I'd tell you about the neighbors. Tell you to expect some stink-eye, because they're jealous about how good a time I have. And, uhm..."
"What?"
"Well, I'd be flirty. Tell you about all the wonderful things I see when I look at you. Talk about your dreams, which of course I've been asking you about the whole time. You know, med school, become a doctor, open your clinic for children, maybe go work for Johns Hopkins and do cancer research, and how wonderful that is. Tell you how lucky your future husband is, and how I hope I get invited to the wedding. And then we finally get to the part where you ask how much per month I charge for the room, and I tell you I can't take your money, you're going to be doing such incredible things for people, for the nation, for the next generation, you need that money more than I do, and just please remember me when you're a big name that people know. Give me a shout out in your best-selling book."
"Because I'm going places?" She grinned.
"Damn straight you are."
"But I'm ineligible. I'm going nowhere."
"A technicality. You've got all the elements I look for. You've still got that goddess inside just waiting to discover herself. You just need the right guy to hold up that mirror."
"Oh, Randall, what am I going to do!?" she wailed, glomping him into the couch.
"Shit, Janie, I don't know. Good guys are hard to come by."
"I know! And then you find one and you scratch the surface and all the shiny friendly foil peels off and he's just a toad with a clever outfit on!"
"God, Janie, I'm sorry. What was his name?"
"I won't soil my mouth with the sound of it. Mom swore never to mention it, either."
"It was Baron, wasn't it?"
"Don't make me hurl, this is a nice couch."
"That douchebag didn't deserve you."
"I know, you warned me and I didn't listen. Too bad I didn't have a hunky guy to treat me right and totally ruin me for all the ogres out there looking for fresh meat."
"Damn shame."
"I have a question."
"Surprise, surprise."
She slugged him gently. "How do you know they'll go for it? How can you tell they'll let you show them that inner goddess, and not just use you for a free room?"
"It's this thing called 'chemistry'. I can just tell."
"They laugh at your jokes? Smile a lot? Find an excuse to touch you?"