Mike & Savy Ch. 01

I managed to scramble to my feet and give her a proper hug, then I started lugging her stuff up to the third floor. As Savy started unpacking, mom pulled me out of her room.

"Mike, keep an eye on her. You know that she's always been focused on school, violin, her girlfriends. She doesn't know what these college guys are like and they're not all as sweet as you."

"You know I will mom. Any guy that wants a shot at her has to get my approval first and I'm very difficult to please."

I didn't think any guy could possibly deserve my sister.

Hugs went all around and then mom was headed back home. Yeah, she was crying when she left. Now both of her babies were away from home. I really hoped that maybe she'd start getting out more and away from work, maybe even dating wouldn't be weird for her with an empty house.

Meanwhile, I headed back up with Savy to her room.

"Is there anything else you need? I'm gonna head back to my place so you can get to know your roommate."

"You are? I don't think so. I only got a month with you this summer. We're hanging out tonight. Besides, I haven't seen your apartment."

"It's your first night away from home. You don't want to hang out here and meet new people?"

"I've had the same best friends since elementary school and you've always known I like things I already know. Let's get takeout, a movie, and just take it easy tonight. There will be plenty of time to meet people here."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Whatever makes you happy."

That thought rolled over in my head, somewhat unnaturally, as I really did want to do anything I could to make her happy.

We locked up her room, since her roommate hadn't shown up yet, and hopped in my car. A few minutes later, we got to my place. It wasn't anything special, just a single bedroom with a small living room, kitchen, and bathroom. It was about halfway between Goddard and Maryland though, which was perfect for doing evening master's classes.

My internship had gone well and I'd gotten an entry level position with an engineering contractor at Goddard. It was grunt work, not true research and science, but it would pay the bills and more importantly, came with a NASA badge.

As I opened the door, Savy whistled, somewhat sarcastically.

"Nice place, bro."

One lonely loveseat sat in the living room in front of a rather paltry 27" TV.

"Hey, no dissing the digs unless you're paying the bills!"

"Hahaha, okay. Got it, got it. So, any good places deliver here?"

"There's a pretty decent Thai place not too far from here, but they don't deliver. Want me to pick up something? You can dig through my DVDs and pick out a movie."

"A'ight. Grab me some red curry. Chicken."

"Okay, I'll be back in a few."

I headed back out and slid into my car. As I pulled onto the road, I kept thinking it was weird that Savy would want to watch a movie with her brother instead of meeting all the new people in her dorm. I don't know. She'd always been introverted, in spite of her academic and music successes. I'd have to talk to her about it and try to tell her that college is where you're supposed to meet people, maybe even some life-long friends.

I grabbed dinner and made a quick stop at the corner store to grab some drinks, then drove back to my apartment. When I opened the door, Savy had moved the loveseat and TV to different places and dragged a table out of my bedroom to use as a coffee table. I briefly facepalmed, remembering how much of a mess my bedroom was.

"Making yourself at home already?"

"Sometimes you boys need a woman's touch in your life."

As she carried a lamp from my bedroom out to set next to the loveseat, I asked, "How much are you planning on touching?"

I immediately turned bright red, realizing the double entendre of what I'd said. I hoped she'd missed it.

"Oh, we'll see. You certainly do need a lot of things done in here."

"Well, be that as it may, here's dinner. What're we watching?"

"Braveheart."

"Ha! I knew you'd pick that one."

I grabbed some dishes and laid out our dinner on my "new" coffee table, then poured us some Italian soda. As Savy began to dig in, I popped the disc into the DVD player and turned on the TV. The movie started up and I plopped down next to Savy on the loveseat. We didn't say much while we ate, I just checked to see if she liked the food and was comfortable. She did and she was.

We finished eating and I grabbed the dishes and dumped them in the kitchen, before settling back onto the loveseat. It wasn't long before Savy shifted, previously leaning on the arm of the loveseat, to leaning up against me. I don't know why, but it just felt natural in a completely different way than how she'd cuddled up against me as children, and I put my arm around her.

"I missed you, Mike."

"I missed you too, Savy."

I never even saw the end of the movie. I guess with the move and all, I was beat. I woke up the next morning and she was curled up next to me. We'd shifted during the night and my feet were hanging over the arm while my head rested on the other arm, but she was cuddled right up into me, like a little spoon. Of greater concern was that I had an all too common issue that many men have in the morning and if she woke up, it would be obvious with how tightly she was cuddled up against me.

Recognizing the inherent problem with this situation, I did my best to get my right arm up onto the arm of the loveseat and, using my legs, started lifting my body up the back of the seat. I made it all the way up to the top, before realizing how screwed I'd made myself. With my arms and legs busy lifting me, I had nothing to catch me and over the back I went. The thud and grunt must have woken up Savy and by the time I turned my head up towards the loveseat, she was leaned over the back and laughing at me.

That smile. She was spectacular.

"What exactly were you trying to accomplish there, Mike?"

"Uh... freeeeedoommmmmm!" as I mimicked Mel Gibson.

Again with her smile and laugh.

Not long after, I had gotten things situated in my apartment and was driving her back to her dorm. I pulled up in front and turned to give her a hug, somewhat surprisingly thrilled to have her back so close.

Savy faced me and said, very sweetly, "Mike, I'm glad we're here... together."

She smiled gently at me and leaned closer, I thought for a hug.

She pressed her lips to mine and kissed me.

End of Chapter 1.