Things My Sister Had

Please read the previous chapters.

Karen, at the start of chapter 1, had just turned 18; her brother Dave was 20.

My sister had doubts.

When the school year came to an end, I started working as many hours as I could to build up some capital for my first year at Barnes Tech. Since I'd been the one who had turned things upside down, I figured I owed it to my parents to take as much of the strain off them as I could. The least I could do was pay for some of my own expenses.

Karen got a job, too, so we hardly saw each other for more than a few minutes each day. I really missed spending time with her. We still had our bedtime chats, but they were usually about how we hated our jobs and what had happened that day to piss us off more than usual. We were always pretty tired so they were short, too.

One night I realized I hadn't heard anything about her social life in awhile.

"Hey, how's that guy you were dating, Trevor? You too still going out?"

"No, we stopped seeing each other a few weeks ago. We both have jobs, so we didn't have much chance to get together anyways. We'll be going to different schools, and I guess we both realized that we wouldn't really miss each other that much. We just kind-of stopped going out."

I yawned. I'd been sitting on her bed, and as I started to get up and head for my own room Karen gently took my hand, saying "I miss you, though".

I smiled, said "Me, too", and went to bed.

*****

That little snatch of conversation was still in my head when I got up the next morning, and I kept thinking about it. It was true, I did miss hanging out with her. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my sister was a better companion than anyone else I'd ever known. Well, when we went off to school and started sharing an apartment we'd have plenty of each other's company.

What I really needed, though, was someone to keep my dick occupied. It was getting harder and harder to look at my sister without that mixture of excitement and guilt you get if you're caught looking at porn. Well, there ought to plenty of choices at a school as big as Barnes.

*****

As soon as we'd decided what to do, I started making phone calls to the rental agents on the list the school sent us. I'd narrowed things down to a handful of reasonably-priced places, and the four of us took off to go look at them. Barnes was far enough away that it was an all-day trip, so we stayed over at a motel for a couple of nights while we looked at apartments. We finally settled on one that was walking distance from the campus, barely, but was also on the route of University's 24-hour shuttle service. It was an older small brick building, with only six apartments, but it was clean, secure, and well-maintained. Each apartment came with some basic furnishings: a couch, a bed in each bedroom, and of course the kitchen appliances. There was a laundry room in the basement.

Since the only "industry" around was Barnes Tech, everyone was used to having students as tenants and the leases usually started around the same time school did. They were all 12-month leases, though, because the landlords couldn't afford to have their buildings empty three months of the year. You either took summer classes, worked through the summer, or sublet to somebody who did. Karen had already started talking about taking summer classes in order to graduate at the same time I did. (I had transferred some credits from my community college.) It all seemed to be part of her plans, whatever those were. I figured either I would do the same, or I'd try to get a job in town. It wouldn't seem right to move back home and leave her there alone.

*****

Our parents would be paying for the apartment, so they went off to take care of the paperwork while Karen and I looked around the place. She didn't seem as happy as she'd seemed on the ride up. Finally she sat down next to me on the couch and looked down at her shoes.

"Dave, do you think we'll be able to get along here? I mean, what if one day you get sick of putting up with me, or we have a fight, or something?"

It wasn't like her to be so unsure of herself. I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me.

"Sis, it really won't be that different from living with at home. It's more cramped, but we'll each have our own room. Besides, I can't see me ever getting tired of you. You're my sister, and I love you, plus you're my best friend and I love you for that. You'll probably be the one getting sick of me."

"You love me?"

"Of course!"

I pulled her into a hug and this time I was the one who gave her a kiss on the cheek. Holding her like that, it was all I could do to keep from kissing my way down her neck. She put her head on my shoulder, hugged me even tighter, and gave a quavering sigh. I started to freak. My throat was tightening up again, and I had to break the clinch before I started reacting in other ways. I clasped my hands in my lap to keep them from trembling, and to hide a slight bulge that was starting to form in my pants. I was getting panicky. This was so wrong, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself. I was so close to screwing things up, and if I did I'd never be able to look at her, or myself, again.

She looked me straight in the eye, and asked "So, we're friends?"

"Best friends."

"Good." She quickly looked away so I couldn't really see her expression, but I thought there was a hint of disappointment where I expected to see satisfaction.

Our parents came back and we headed out for dinner. My sister was quieter than usual, and whenever I looked at her she gave me a half-hearted smile.

My sister had doubts.