AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story may be slower than some prefer. As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome and wanted.
Thanks to "Roger Ebert" and Andrea for their encouragement. I hope you guys know who you are. =) And to everyone else, of course. I'm writing these for you guys, after all.
Also, I didn't have time to proof-read this as much as I would like, so please forgive any errors.
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It was a little after two in the morning when Chris awoke. He looked over at the clock, saw the time, and wondered how long he'd been asleep for.
He could feel Laura beside him; she lay curled in the fetal position with her back to him. For a second he panicked. What if one of their parents came had come in to say goodnight and found her there? Or what if his mother came in the next morning to kiss him goodbye on her way to work? How awkward would that be? Would either of them be upset?
He watched her body rise and fall, listened to the sounds of her breathing. She was lying on his outstretched arm and her hand was still holding his. They'd fallen asleep that way.
Their post-fooling-around conversation had touched him deeply. And he realized, laying there beside her, that he wasn't just sexually attracted to Laura anymore; he was legitimately attracted to her. In fact, every passing second was one where he thought less of her as his stepsister and more as Laura, the girl he shared a bathroom with and who could make him smile with barely a breath of effort.
He brought his other arm around her; he could still smell the jasmine in her hair and he held her tight. That was when he remembered – they were both naked from the waist down. She hadn't been wearing underwear when she'd come to his room last night, and the course of events had caused his lower attire to be quickly discarded to the floor. And now, her navy blue "wIsH AwAY" shirt had bunched up around her smooth tummy, and his limp member was firmly between her tight butt cheeks.
Involuntarily, his hips pressed against her, and Laura responded in her sleep by arching her back away from him and forcing her bottom into his groin. His hand slid over her smooth tummy, playing with her belly button. And though he could feel blood lazily being shunted to his crotch, he felt no desire rising within him. Just peace. He just wanted to hold her and feel her warmth against him.
U2 was still softly playing over the stereo. "One love, one life..."
And holding her in his arms, he fell back to sleep.
------ When he woke next, daylight streamed through his windows. He blinked groggily in the light, realizing he'd forgotten to pull his blinds shut. As his eyes adjusted, he could see the snow-covered tips of conifers through the windowpanes, along with the side of the neighbor's house.
He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and the puffiness from his cheeks. He stretched vigorously, his hand falling to Laura beside him.
Only she wasn't there.
He looked over and indeed the bed was empty except for him. Half awake, he didn't quite understand, and he looked around the room, expecting to find her...somewhere. He wasn't exactly lucid.
Then he heard the shower running in the bathroom. He looked at his clock; it was going on ten o'clock. Wow. He'd slept a while. He wondered when Laura had gotten up. Not long ago. He knew she liked to start her days with showers.
Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he again noticed that all he was wearing was his t-shirt. Though alone in the room, he still held the covers over his lower half. It was always interesting to him how protective and embarrassed people could be about their bodies at the strangest times. He had no problem being seen by Laura last night, but alone in his room he covered himself.
His cell phone rang over on the windowsill. Standing from the bed and naked from the waste down, he walked over and picked it up. "Hello?" It was less a greeting and more a hoarse grumble.
"You'd better be hung over," said the voice on the other line. It was Simon, Chris's long time friend.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"It's Saturday morning, Chris."
Chris yawned. "Yeah?"
"What do we do Saturday mornings?"
Then it dawned on him and he was suddenly alert. "Ah, shit. I'm sorry, man, I completely forgot."
"Sorry can come later. Grab some coffee and get your ass over here." Saturday mornings, Chris and Simon refereed indoor soccer games. Sunday nights, they played.
"Alright, ten minutes, I'll be there."
He hung up, cursing himself for forgetting his alarm. He was about to turn away from the window when something caught his eye.
Across the backyard, Chris saw movement in one of the neighbor's windows. When he looked closer, he saw that it was Rebecca, the neighbor's daughter and Laura's close friend. She was the same age as Laura and they'd gone to high school together.
As he watched, he saw Rebecca brushing her long red hair in front of her vanity mirror. Chris had known Rebecca and her family ever since they'd moved into the development. She was nice, had a good sense of humor, and was one of the best flutists their high school had ever produced. He was as surprised as anyone when she turned down countless scholarships to music schools so that she could pursue a career in psychology. She was smart, funny, and, by all standards, drop-dead fucking gorgeous.
As he watched, he noticed that she had on a dark green bathrobe. She finished brushing her hair and got up from the mirror, walking out of sight. Thinking nothing of it, he again started to turn away when she suddenly returned to the window, only now she was coming out of the robe.
And she wasn't wearing anything underneath.
As the robe slid down her body, he could see smooth alabaster skin and the vague impression of her figure. She was too far away for him to see any details, but when she knocked her comb off the dresser and bent over to pick it up, her ass facing out the window at him, his eyes still popped open even though he couldn't really see anything.
"Whatcha lookin' at?"
He spun suddenly to find Laura standing in the bathroom doorway of his room. "Hi, um" - his hands shot to his crotch - "th-there's a, uh, a blue jay out here. Take a look."
She was wearing her own white bathrobe and her hair was still wet from the shower. She smiled at his awkwardness as she came over. "A blue jay, huh?"
He pointed off to the side, away from Rebecca's window, hoping Laura wouldn't notice. When she looked out, he frowned. "Oh. Looks like you just missed it."
"Yeah. Must have." She glanced down at his hands and her smile widened. "Sleep okay?"
"Slept too much," he said, going to his dresser and grabbing his uniform.
She approached him from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tight. "Thanks again for last night."
"No problem."
"I had fun."
"Me too."
He felt one of her hands slide down his abdomen and seize him. He stopped changing. "So how late are you?" she asked.
"Late enough that I don't have time." He pulled the black pants up the rest of the way, but Laura kept her hand on him. She nuzzled her chin against his neck.
