I was on my back upon the sofa, my head in my Master's lap, his hand gently stroking my hair as we rested in the darkness. We were both fully nude, our combined passions trickling from my body, the scent of our recent lovemaking quite pungent in the air.
"I think it's time..." he said quietly, then fell silent once more. I kept waiting for him to finish his thought, but he did not for a long time.
"I think it's time," he finally resumed, "that we take the next step."
I was not quite sure what he meant. "'Take the next step' and get married?" I asked quietly. "I highly doubt the State of California would allow a sister and brother to marry each other."
"Actually, I had another 'next step' in mind. I was thinking about us moving to another place."
We had occasionally discussed this over the previous few months. Our lease would expire before the end of the summer, so we would need to either renew or move.
I thought about it for a while. "We've made so many memories here," I said honestly, "and in a way, I'd like to stay here. It would make the memories more 'real,' at least to me."
I could hear my big brother's smile; I could feel it in the way his hand stroked my cheek. "But what about creating new memories... perhaps even 'better' memories? If we could stay in this same neighborhood, would you be interested in potentially moving?"
We had discussed this issue previously as well: Where would we live if we moved out of the apartment? Certainly, a small house would offer both more space and fewer neighbors in immediate earshot of my impassioned cries. There were apartment buildings within several blocks which offered more amenities, such as a pool and a weight room, but they were also astronomically more expensive even by Bay Area standards.
"Do you have anything particular in mind?" I wondered aloud. Somehow, it seemed to me that my big brother and Master would not be presenting this scenario for discussion again unless he had a specific reason to do so.
"Actually, yes," he admitted, the slight laugh in his voice evidence that he had anticipated my question. "There is one small house in particular along the edge of the park which I think would suit us nicely. Two floors plus basement, perhaps an attic as well. Small front porch. Compared to others, there's a little more space between it and the nearby houses. From what I can tell, the immediate neighbors are all students, renting houses or perhaps just rooms in the surrounding houses. It would mean walking an extra three blocks to the BART station every day to get to and from class, but I think it would work well for us."
I thought about it for a while as I enjoyed the feel of my forbidden lover's hands upon me. I weighed several options, compared various scenarios, thought of the likely financial difference.
What really weighed somewhat heavily on me was the financial aspect of a move. Our father had paid our entire first year's rent in advance for this apartment; after this lease lapsed, my big brother and I would be fully responsible for rent no matter where we lived. Plus, there would inherently be expenses involved with a move itself, even if just moving a few blocks away. We would also need to consider the time involved – the packing, the physical moving, and the unpacking, as well as informing friends, our respective colleges, and the companies we dealt with about our new address and phone number.
"Let's go see this house tomorrow," I compromised. "Then we can revisit this issue. Fair enough, big brother?"
"Fair enough, baby sister."
I may be the slave, and he may be the Master, but we each knew when our status as siblings held top priority. This was indeed one of those times.
*****
"I'll admit, I tend to frown upon students of the opposite sex living together here," our potential new landlord said honestly. "But since you two are twin brother and sister, I doubt I'd be seeing much 'drama' between you two... and less drama typically means much less to fix and no disputes over late rent payments. That's why I'm willing to offer the discount to you two."
We stood on the porch, which was positioned five steps above street level. Across the street was the park, where a young mother was helping her baby boy to take his first steps as another young woman (a sister? a godmother?) watched fondly. Crime was fairly low in the neighborhood, especially around the park due to the many lights at night.
We had been inside the house itself. There were a washer and dryer in the basement, along with the furnace and the water heater, all in one room; the other room was barren, with the exception of various O-rings sunk into the walls and ceiling. Simply seeing those O-rings had caused my loins to warm and my heart to beat a little faster as I imagined myself secured to them with chain or with rope, unable to protect myself, completely at my Master's whims to endure whatever pain or pleasure he chose to bestow upon me...
The main floor offered a small kitchen, a small dining room, a small TV room, and a tiny coat closet. Upstairs were two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a pair of hallway closets. The house was already wired for cable in the TV room and in both bedrooms; one phone line was assigned to the house, but there were phone outlets in each bedroom and in the TV room.
