A Time for Discovery

It could be worse. It could be a lot worse.

Phil kept trying to tell himself that as he rode the bus to school. He was healthy, relatively happy with his life and didn't have any major life qualms to complain about. But the thought of having to share a room with his sister...was not pleasant. Well, step-sister, he corrected himself. He told himself it wouldn't last forever; just a few weeks til the end of the school year. His self-talk wasn't working as well as he'd hoped.

His mother had just dropped the news last night at dinner. They had to take an exchange student from a family friend because of some emergency or something. Phil hadn't really paid attention to the part after "you have to share a room with your sister". It was only for the rest of the semester and then...graduation. After that he was off to college where he'd probably have to share a room again, he thought ruefully.

Samantha wasn't too thrilled either. After all, it was her room that she was giving up. She'd had her own room since she was little and valued the solitude it offered. Now where would she go to get away?

She was only one year behind Phil. Samantha and Phil didn't exactly hate each other but they were, well, step-siblings. For the most part, they got along fine. For the most part... At least here, on the bus, she could have her own seat.

This latest "accommodation" was something she would definitely forget to tell her friends, Samantha thought. Softball practice would also give her some time away from the house. So really, it was only a little bit of study time and sleep that she would need to be in her new room. Her mental pep talk was about as effective as Phil's.

Five years ago her mother had stormed out of the house in a tirade with her father. She never came back. Her father said that she had some problems she needed to sort out and had moved out of state. Her father didn't know how easy a simple internet search yielded arrest and conviction records. Her mother was still in the state but serving a sentence. Drug addiction broke up her family.

But that was then. Last year, her father met his new wife and on top of that, Samantha liked her. Not only did Samantha get a new mother but she acquired a new brother as well. Phil was nice but they didn't have a lot in common.

His room was the obvious choice; it was bigger than Samantha's, had a bathroom and a queen sized bed. There was no room for another bed and "besides," her father had said, "it's just for a few weeks." Samantha wasn't ten anymore. How could he not see that eighteen years old was too old to share a room with a guy even if it was her step-brother?

After school and practice, Samantha spent an hour transferring her belongings into Phil's (her?) room. She usually had a large stuffed bear that she kept on her bed but it wasn't going to fit on her new one, at least, not while she slept in it. She placed it on her half of the bed. It was like a bookmark, saving her spot; the only space that was exclusively hers now. Maybe she could just put him on the floor at nights.

The doorbell rang and their mother welcomed in their new house guest, Yang Liu. Yang quickly proved to be a person who spent almost all of his time in his room. They apologized for the smallness of Samantha's old room but Yang didn't seem to mind. He was shown his room and thereafter was rarely seen except when he was going to or from school. Wow, Samantha thought to herself, and I thought I was overly obsessed with grades.

Samantha finished dinner early so she could get the first shower and get ready for bed before Phil came upstairs. As she showered, she noticed that the bathroom wasn't exactly clean to her standard. I wonder who that chore will fall to? she thought sarcastically.

As she toweled herself off, she saw her reflection in the mirror. She always liked her tight-curled, auburn hair. She thought her face was fairly plain but not too bad either. What Samantha didn't know was that if she were into her looks, as much as some of the other girls at school, she would have been quite stunning.

From the neck down, it was obvious she was active and played softball. She wished her breasts were just a little bigger but at least they filled her hands if she cupped them. That got her thinking about how she would ever manage to have her "alone time" with Phil around. Maybe her showers would have to be just a little bit longer...

Samantha usually slept in whatever was comfortable. Which meant a t-shirt and panties. But this arrangement, "usual" it was not. Her bed attire would have to change. Samantha reluctantly put on a sweater and sweat-pants. She walked out into the room and saw that Phil had already come up and was getting ready for his shower.

Phil didn't want to start a fight by commenting on her long shower time. He knew that compromises would have to be made and complaining now would only make his case worse when something really important came up.

He went into the bathroom and immediately noticed the distinct increase of...stuff. A bottle of body wash seemed to be enough for him in the shower. That was why he couldn't understand the reason Samantha needed so many other bottles that took up so much room in the shower. Even though he didn't understand it, Phil knew that this too was a losing battle. At least it smelled nice.

After his shower, Phil dried off and got into a shirt and boxers. It never crossed his mind to look in the mirror. If he had, he would have seen a somewhat tall guy with a medium build and a non-distinct haircut. One might say he was on the attractive side of average.

Phil noticed that Samantha had already gone to bed. He crawled in on the opposite side and for the first time thought his bed was too small. Having been used to a queen bed all to himself, he always considered it big. Not that it was tiny for two people but it just wasn't the same. The last thing Phil remembered before drifting off to sleep was the smell of his step-sister's hair.

****

Maybe it was because she was on a different mattress or because of some sixth sense but whatever the reason, Samantha woke up before her alarm clock. Phil was on his side facing away from her and she was cuddled right up against him, practically spooning. When she'd had her own room, she slept with her stuffed bear and sometimes cuddled up against it. It was kind of like her security blanket. In her sleep, she must have confused Phil for the bear.

She hoped that he wouldn't notice as she carefully slid away and back to her side. The situation was awkward enough; Samantha didn't want to prolong it with waking up next to her brother. The alarm clock would go off in half an hour anyway. She sneaked out of bed and got ready for the day.

Phil woke up and almost forgot about the whole arrangement until he noticed Samantha's sweats on the back of his desk chair. Why did she leave them there and who wears sweats to bed anyways?

When he came downstairs for breakfast, Samantha was just finishing hers. Their parents had already left for work. They were always gone before school.

"Would you consider putting your clothes away?" Phil began.

"My clothes? How about cleaning your bathroom a bit?" Samantha replied.

"Oh, you mean YOUR bathroom?" he shot back.

"You know what I mean. It's both of ours."

Phil didn't reply for a few moments. He was angry, of course. She was right but so was he.

"Look," he tried again, "we both have to live in the same space so we're both going to have to make some adjustments."

"Fine."

Yang came down and they all went off to catch the bus. Phil thought about venting to a friend at school but then thought better of it. It was the last thing he wanted to think about and did he really want to explain that he was sharing a room with his step-sister? He could imagine the things they would say to make fun of the situation. Sexy jokes with his sister being the subject? No thanks. It would be easy for them to laugh; to them he would be sleeping with a possibly attractive girl but for him it was...well it was his step-sister. There was just no attraction there.

School passed quickly enough and Phil went home to enjoy the rare time when his room was still his room. Well, at least while Samantha was at softball practice. With all of the recent frustrations, Phil welcomed an outlet. He took advantage of the privacy and locked his door. With the help of his favorite erotic literature website, some lotion and a few tissues, Phil was soon on his way to relaxation.

Life was good for the moment. It didn't last long enough; it never did. Samantha came home and dumped her gear on the floor.

"What about trying to keep our room clean?" Phil asked sarcastically.

"Can you just give me two seconds to put my stuff away? I just got home!" Samantha countered.

"Fine but I'm taking the first shower," Phil said as he walked to the bathroom. He didn't wait to see if there were any objections. This was not working out. First thing tomorrow morning, Phil decided, he was going to talk to his mother and find another way, any way, to get his room back.

After Phil had his shower, Samantha had hers, donned her ubiquitous sweats and they both went to bed.

Samantha slept until the alarm clock woke her up this time. She was less than thrilled to find Phil's arm draped over her. She threw it off unceremoniously.

"Don't touch me!" she said bitingly. It came out more spiteful than she intended.

"I - I'm sorry, I was just...sleeping and..." Phil stammered. He was groggy and still waking up. He genuinely seemed taken aback.

Samantha remembered that she was guilty of the same offense just yesterday morning and suddenly felt judgmental and bitchy.

"No, you're right. I'm sorry. You were asleep." She quickly gathered up some clothes while avoiding eye contact and went into the bathroom.

Phil was stunned. Why did she back down so quickly? Her sudden display of maturity made him question his intention to talk to his mother. Being honest with himself, he admitted that he could be a little more patient with Samantha too.

As the days went by, Samantha and Phil still had their moments but they applied more understanding and had fewer blow-ups. Sometimes Samantha woke up and Phil had his arm over her. She just moved it over without incident and got up. There were a few times when Samantha was sleeping against Phil too. Phil just saw it for what it was; something that humans had been doing for thousands of years. Although neither would have openly admitted it, they grew accustomed to, and even found small comfort in, feeling the other against them.

Samantha moved her stuffed bear into storage.

****

The end of the school year was on the horizon. About three more weeks and Phil would graduate, Yang would go back home and Phil would get his room back. After a summer of working, he would be off to college. He had already been accepted to the state university and was looking for apartments around campus.

Phil wasn't the student Samantha was but his grades were taking care of themselves. The main thing that occupied his mind was senior prom. It was being held late this year, close to graduation. He didn't have a date yet but really wanted to ask a girl from physics class to go with him.

Her name was Ella. Phil had spoken to her a few times during a shared class project. She was beautiful, friendly and just seemed like a nice person. Phil hadn't exactly fallen for her but he had a bit of a crush and wanted to get to know her better.

Later at home, Phil was finishing up a math assignment at his desk when Samantha came in from softball practice.

"Are you going to prom?" Phil said turning around in his chair.

"I don't think so. At least, no one's asked me." Samantha said as she took off her cleats.

"Are you okay with that?" Phil asked.

"Ya, it's just a dance," Samantha replied. "I'll go next year. Why all the prom questions?"

"There's someone I want to go with but I haven't asked her. I'm not very good at that sort of thing." Phil stared at his paper.

"Anyone I know?" Samantha said getting out of her jersey

"Do you know Ella?" Phil inquired.

"I think so. Does she hang out with the Miller girl?"

"That's the one."

Samantha shrugged her shoulders as she tossed her top in a hamper. She was still wearing her sports bra. "I don't have any sage advice for you except that she can't accept if you don't ask."

"Thanks, Sam," Phil replied.

Samantha didn't think too much of the conversation and left to take a shower. When she emerged from the bathroom, a towel was wrapped around her hair but that's not what Phil noticed. She was only wearing a t-shirt and possibly underwear. He couldn't tell because her t-shirt was so long but still exposed the whole of her legs.

"It's getting warmer and those sweats aren't working," Samantha offered by way of explanation. "Do you mind?"

"Nah, it is getting warm," Phil agreed. "As long as you don't mind if I ditch my shirt."

Samantha nodded in agreement. Up until then Phil had been sleeping in a shirt and shorts. She didn't know that he only started wearing the shirt for her benefit.

****

It was Friday and Samantha was excited for the upcoming weekend away from school. She was surprised during the lunch hour when a guy she barely knew came up and talked to her.

"You seem pretty cool. Do you have any plans for prom?" he said.

"'Jeremy' right?" Samantha said trying to compose her thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I should have opened with 'Hi' or something. So do you have any? Plans I mean?" Jeremy replied.

"Well, I wasn't going to...I...I hadn't thought..." Samantha gathered her thoughts again and more confidently said, "Yes, yes I would love to go with you."

"Great, it's set then," Jeremy said and walked away.

Samantha hated herself for being caught off guard like that. She had just assumed that no one was going to ask her. She wasn't exactly anti-social but she put most of her time into schoolwork and softball. Jeremy was cute and was so refreshingly normal.

After the next class Samantha found her friend, Sarah, and told her the news.

"Sarah! You won't believe who asked me to prom," Samantha didn't wait for a response. "Jeremy!"

Sarah furrowed her eyebrows. "That can't be right. I just heard he was going with someone else. I guess he had asked her last Monday and she only just told him 'yes' half an hour ago."

This didn't make sense. Sarah must have heard it wrong. Confused, Samantha walked to her next class in a partial daze. She spotted Jeremy. She went up to him intending to ask him about what Sarah had told her.

Before she could say anything, Jeremy saw her and said, "Oh hey, Samantha! I'm glad I bumped in to you."

"I was -," Samantha began but Jeremy kept talking.

"Look," he said, "I feel awful about this but I just remembered I can't go to prom because I'm going to be out of state on a family trip."

"You're going...out of state..." It was more of a tentative statement than a question.

"Yeah, I just forgot. I'm sorry," Jeremy replied. He seemed nervous and started looking at the ground.

Samantha started blinking faster. "Okay. I understand. I have to get to class." She left before Jeremy could see her cry. She didn't go to the next class. The rest of the day was a blur and she was grateful when she got home.

Phil noticed something was amiss but didn't want to pry. His sister was unusually silent. Later that night, Samantha turned the light out and climbed into bed. Here in the dark, facing away from Phil, Samantha didn't have to hide her tears.

"Um, is something wrong?" Samantha heard Phil ask. How did he know?

"It's just been a rough..." she began but couldn't finish the sentence. "Is it okay if we just go to sleep?" she said meekly.

"Of course," Phil replied. He was so bad at this. Playing counselor was not his strong suit.

Samantha reached behind her, grabbed his hand and pulled it over her like a comforting blanket. She clutched his hand close to her chest. Phil had to move right up against her, she had pulled his arm so far.

"Oh thank you," she whispered. Samantha was grateful that Phil let the matter rest.

Phil awkwardly noticed she was not wearing a bra. What a crazy time to notice that, he scolded himself. Despite the awkwardness, Phil had never felt so close to her. Not in a sensual way but just...close. They went to sleep that way and slept more solid than either of them had in weeks.

Phil woke up to the sun coming in through the window. It was Saturday and his alarm hadn't been set. They were in the same position with Phil spooning from behind. Phil couldn't believe how comfortable he was. Samantha's shirt had worked its way up and his hand was resting on her bare stomach. Phil liked how it felt but slowly started pulling his arm away. Samantha stirred, put her hand over his and kept his hand pressed against her skin.

"It's so nice to sleep in for a change," Samantha said.

Phil grunted in agreement. They continued to lay there.

"Do you like her?" Samantha said after a few minutes.

"What? Who?" Phil replied, confused.

"Ella, of course," Samantha said with a little laugh. He could feel her stomach tighten as she laughed.

"Ya, I really do," Phil answered.

"What do you see in her?" she asked.

"Why so curious?" Phil countered.

"No reason. I'm just curious what kind of girls you like."

"She has big boobs and a face that could be in a catalog. What's there not to like?" Phil said directly.

"I heard she even has a brain," Samantha said sarcastically.

"I heard that too," Phil said, playing along. "I guess I don't know her as much as I'd like to. She's always intrigued me. Plus she's a blonde."

"Wow, she sounds really nice," Samantha said as she absentmindedly played with a curl of her red hair. She had tried to sound casual when she said it but something bothered her. Why should she care what kind of girl Phil liked? She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She felt the strangest concoction of emotions. She felt sad but also a little offended at the same time. There was even a little bit of anger mixed in. It was jealousy. As the realization dawned on her, Samantha didn't know what to do with this new information. She couldn't be jealous, she told herself. Jealous of what? Phil is your step-brother, she told herself. Samantha knew it logically but it didn't feel that way as he continued to hold her.

She shook the thought away, rolled over and kissed his cheek before she got out of bed.

"What was that for?" Phil asked.

"For being so nice to me. I had a rough day yesterday and you were there for me. Thanks."

"No worries," Phil said. "And I'm sorry."

"For what?" Samantha asked confused.

"Sarah talked to one of my friends and he told me that you got asked to prom but then it didn't work out, or something," Phil confessed.

"Yeah, Jeremy...couldn't make it," Samantha replied. She was still not ready to go into the details.

"Like I said, I'm sorry and it's his loss," Phil said.

As she got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom, Phil noticed that her shirt was slow to return to its proper length. She was wearing panties; orange-pink cotton ones that hugged her curves perfectly. Step-sister or not, she had a great ass. Samantha thought she saw Phil looking at her and was surprised to find that she didn't mind much.

****

Prom got closer and Phil finally asked Ella to the dance. He was encouraged by how readily she answered him; almost like she had been waiting. Maybe prom would be the milestone Phil thought. He had almost no experience with girls. Last year, he had kissed a girl after a date but that was it. The way Ella continued to smile at him made him think that things could go further.