Best Friend's Sister Ch. 02

Yet for all those urges I had, I spent a lot of thought on her, in wonder. She was long and slim, built like a model. Not overly busty but it didn't matter to me. I'd seen my mother naked entirely too many times; it gave me a serious aversion to big boobs. When I think about it, it seems all my girlfriends since then have been modeled after her. Is that even possible? I usually ended up with someone with the same physique but usually with a screw loose. Yeah. A lot of loose screws, now that I look back.

Unfortunately, the years slipped by and I had missed what few opportunities showed up. There would be no walking down the hall with her hand-in-hand, no meeting up in the cafeteria, no sitting on the bleachers together. No moments to ask her to the Homecoming Dance or to the Prom. There would be no weekend dates where I might be able to convince her there was a perfectly logical reason to get in the backseat of the Cutlass.

I took the next exit and started heading south. The hour and a half went by quickly. It was like a Saint Bernard looking for people in the mountains. I was on a mission for the good of mankind. Well, not really. A mission to make Wanda happier. I followed the road signs and found the entrance to her college. "Where to go? Where to go?" I pulled into a parking lot next to what I assumed was the campus center and went to find a payphone. Yes, a payphone. A dime went in and the phone rang. "I'm need to speak to Wanda Anderson, pleased." with an official FBI kind of voice.

"Wanda! Phone. It sounds like a professor. Hurry up."

"Ms. Anderson? This is detective . . ."

"Oh, god, you are so funny, David. I know that's you. I should've let you keep going. You scared my roommate to death. How did you get my number?"

"I'm at a rest area. It's right here on the wall. Hold on, I dropped my sharpie."

"Smartass."

"Okay, not really. I went home for the weekend to party with my brother. On the way back I stopped by and saw your parents. We spent ten minutes talking about John, then we spent an hour talking about you. A whole hour talking about 'Wanda this' and 'Wanda that.' Isn't she wonderful? Isn't she perfect? Yes, she's a dream. Then they made me sit through a thousand photos--brownies, girl scouts, hair appointments and church dinners, dance recitals, high school dances. Eighteen years of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmases. Like I wasn't in most of them anyway. Finally I faked a coma and during the confusion I escaped."

"You're so messed up. I don't know why they put up with you that long. I think it would be great to talk about me for an hour. You don't know it but I'm quite a catch."

"Come on, Wanda. I don't know why you say that. I've thought that a along. I'm the one that had to watch you grow up. I bet you've got the boys down here in heat. You've probably have a boyfriend by now. I almost didn't call. If I had to listen to you mewling about some boyfriend, it would've been too much. At the same time, I always thought a good 'thumping' would've done you a world of good, if you know what I mean."

"What a perv. I know you were in heat all through high school, so you've got no room to talk. And what do you mean I needed a good thumping? Maybe I was 'thumping' all through high school and you just never noticed."

"Were you? With who, tell me! I never looked to see if you had any hickies. And I never caught you sneaking out of the auditorium with your your lipstick smeared all over your face, your hair mussed up, and your shirt buttoned up incorrectly, if you catch my drift. But you're wrong. I noticed you each and every day."

"If anyone came out of the auditorium, it was you. I can even guess who it would've been, if you want me to. You never noticed me at all."

"Phhht, no. Ancient history there. But you're wrong. On the first day of school freshman year, you wore blue jeans, a pale white shirt with five red buttons, and some fish head tennis shoes. For your sophomore year, it was a blue skirt, a frilly pink blouse, and those old lady shoes. And the third Friday of October that year was the first time you wore your glasses to school."

"Oh my god." With a drawl in her voice. "I know how full of it you can be. There's not a single way to check that . . . fabrication you just tossed out there."

"Well. . . . It's all true but I don't think I'll ever be able to convince you. I do remember coming out of choir once, right after you passed by and I noticed you then, just like I always did. Then these two guys walked by and one said something inappropriate about your tushy. I don't know where it came from, but something green and really pissed off boiled up out of me. You wouldn't have recognized me. Did he want to step aside and have a chat? No, of course not. Did he listen any better when I pushed him against the wall? Yeah, he was a little more receptive at that point. Were his friends listening? Oh, yeah. They wouldn't have missed that for the world. Then I told him, "Keep your EFFing mouth shut. That's my sister."

"Are you kidding? You did that for me?"

"Of course, I did. He wasn't good enough for you, anyway. Don't even try to get me to tell you who. He's buried in some landfill where no-one will find him."

"Oh my god. You tell me now? It almost sounds like you're telling the truth."

"Of course I am. I usually can't lie when I'm angry and he just wouldn't listen. What an idiot."

"That's so nice. But he might've been my future husband."

"Well, that's not happening. Even John agreed with me."

"My knight in shining armor. Thank you, I think."

"Yeah, well. I'm sorry I let that out. I can be pretty protective. What's worse, after I scared him off, I turned around and checked you out myself. What were they looking at? 'Yeah, he was right. She does have a nice tushy.' Do you know how hard it is to unthink those thoughts? You were my sister, for christ's sake."

"You checked me out? When did you check me out?"

"Please don't make me repeat it. Nope, never said it and didn't say it out loud either. Move on."

"You are something. I'm not going to forget you said that."

"Yes, I know. I know you won't let it go, will you? Thank god there's only one of me. There's a limit to how much trouble I can get myself in. Two of me would be ridiculous."

"What were we really talking about? Oh, you said I never noticed you, which is patently untrue. I always thought you were pretty. As you get older I think you're going to ab-so-tutely beautiful. And I tried, I swear I tried, to not look but I always thought you had the cutest tushy. Sorry, have the cutest tushy."

I couldn't see her but I thought her mouth must have dropped open. "I can't believe you said that. You never told me any of that during high school. You must be at school if you're brave enough to say that. You wouldn't have the nerve to say that to my face."

"I'm hurt. I told you I was being100% honest and I guess I'm at school. Some school." I was getting some enjoyment out of this. Idiot that I was. I never seemed to recognize the trouble I was setting myself up for. I'd probably be just as oblivious as I looked up at the top of the guillotine. "Oh, look. What a pretty shiny blade."

"I knew it. You coward. You know I had a crush on you the whole time and you never looked at me once!" with a little less humor in her voice.

"Come on, Wanda. Listen, please. I always noticed you. I know I wasn't supposed to, let alone get close enough to put a hand on you. And I'm at school."

"That's what I thought. You're only brave when you're three hours away. I know you're wasted."

"I am not wasted. I am at school, just not my school."

"So. What does that mean? You don't mean any of that. And when we hang up, you'll forget you said any of this BS. You sound like every guy I know. Always making some kind of play."

Oh, I tasted foot by now. Never in time, always after the fact. "Okay. Look, I'm sorry, Wanda. Take a breath, will you?" I had really stirred something up here, like usual. Another useless skill, pissing people off and getting under their skin.

"I'm going to be totally honest. Okay?" Her reply? Mmmmph. I slowed down, to let her know I was disengaging the BS part of my brain. "Do you think I would I ever do that you? Would I ever in my life spend time trying to play you or do anything that would hurt your feelings? Come on, think it over." This phone call was going downhill fast.

"No, I guess not. If I can't trust you, then I can't trust anyone."

"Exactly. I would never do anything to hurt you. Never. I do remember all the times I've stuck my foot in my mouth and felt like an idiot. Sorta like I feel now."

"Well, I can remember some of those, if you've forgotten."

"No, no, that's okay. If I've forgotten some, don't remind me. It probably just gives me room to put in some new ones. Right now, I'm looking at some trees, some grass, sidewalks, a steeple with a bell in it, and a statue of some guy from the Revolutionary War."

"Well, if you're back at school, that's Jeffferson. I'd think you'd know who your school was named after. That's embarrassing."

"No, no. His name is Thomas Wick and he's in front of a building called the McNeil Campus Center. Not my school, I'm pretty sure."

"David! I can't believe you. Are you really here? Why didn't you say something! What are you doing here? Please, don't go. I'll be right there."

Talking to myself, around the foot in my mouth, "Man, you need to cut the bullshit. Your life would be so much simpler."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm spinning around looking at the buildings, trying to determine which ones were dorms and where she might be coming from. All of a sudden someone ran into me from behind. I looked down and see a pair of arms wrapped around me.

"I can't believe you're here!"

I turned around and the hug turned into a normal one. A nice one. There were her beautiful eyes and a smile to go with it. "Well, I thought a phone call sounded kind of cheap and I thought a hug in person would accomplish a lot more."

She put her head down on my shoulder and I could feel her body relax a bit, like she didn't have someone at the moment that could give her a hug like this. That bad, huh? "I can't believe you're here."

"Well, I was heading back. When I looked at the map, I saw it was right on the way."

She looked up, "You lie. I know what the map looks like. It's going to add two more hours to your trip."

"Nope, not true. It'll only add thirty miles to my trip but if you give me a few more hugs like that, we'll call it even."

"Okay." She pulled me in and gave me a second hug. "You tell me when you've had enough."

"Mmmm. That's nice. It'll never be enough. Do you have time to sit down or do you have things you need to do?" Was this going to be a ten-minute visit or a two-hour dinner break?

"No. For once I'm caught up. How about we go find a bench and catch up?"

"That would be good. I'm tired of sitting in the car but I'm not ready for anything complicated."

We walked across the lawn and finally found a bench. She sat down like a normal person and because I wanted to look at her while we talked, I slipped a leg through the bench and sat sideways. I closed my eyes and let out a breath. "Amazing. I'm about halfway back to school. Halfway between everything that stresses me out--home that way and school this way. And right in the middle this calm oasis. I bet it's those hugs."

She scooted closer until she was sideways to me, even put her legs over mine, pretty close. I reached up and ran a finger around her ear to see what kind of reaction I would get. She shivered and twisted her head, as opposed to jumping if it had just tickled. "Mmmm. That was interesting."

She reached up to rub her ear vigorously. "What are you doing?"

"It was right there, close enough to touch. I had to touch it."

"Stop that. It's not time for that."

"And that's why they kept us apart. I'm sorry. I promise not to do it again."

"Let's not go that far. We were never left alone to play doctor, that's for sure."

"That's the truth. Here. Can give you a hug?"

"Please, David. You can always give me a hug. They do me a world of good. You never have to ask."

"Well, thank you. I feel like you need one, I just don't know why." I reached my arms around her and scooted her in closer, sideways into me. I kept my arms around her and she let her head rest against my chest. I looked down at the side of her face, the curve of her neck, but set those thoughts aside. I put my hand on her neck and rubbed it, letting the warmth sink in. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Could be better, could be worse."

"We've never had a hug before, let alone a long one. This is the first time we've ever been alone and ever been this close. I like it."

"So do I. It makes me feel safe."

"You can tell me anything, you know that?" I could feel her nod her head. "Or you can tell me nothing, if that's what you want. But if you need to talk to someone, I hope you can talk to me. I've been here five minutes and my radar's going off. I'm worried about you."

"Let me work my way up to it. For the moment can we just sit like this? It's nice to sit here and feel cared for and protected. When I'm ready I'll talk about it. I'm glad you're here. It's not something I could talk to my parents about. But I'll be totally honest with you."

"Your parents could tell something wasn't right. When I passed by your exit, some subconscious thought told me I needed to come see you. So here I am." I gave her a squeeze filled with what was brotherly love. Well, most of it. "I appreciate that your honesty. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. When you're ready I'll be right here."

"That's where you always are, right there when I need you. Thank you." And then she settled in, almost like she wanted to fall asleep in my arms. I let her sit there like that, as long as she wanted. How often does anyone get those kinds of moments, where you can set everything aside? Amazing what nips any stray thoughts right in the bud. Being worried and feeling overprotective.

"You're welcome to fall asleep. It's totally fine it, okay? I'll be right here, your security blanket."

"Mmm mm." And darn if she didn't fall asleep for ten minutes. I envied her for that chance to feel secure like that. Can't tell you the last time I felt that way.

I tried. I tried to sit still but finally an itch made me move. Ah, that woke her up. "Ohhh, that felt so good," as she sat up and stretched her arms. She settled down and leaned back against me. She ran her hand along my arm, up and back, soothingly.

"I'm glad you feel you can be honest with me. I'll do my best to live up to that. I just hope you don't think I'm some kind of saint. I always worried about how you saw me. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I'm part of your life and I'd do anything for you. I just feel like you have a better opinion of me than I do."

"I think what I see in you is exactly who you are. You're caring, generous, loving, supportive, and would protect me if I needed it. Or is all that wrong?"

"That sounds like a trick question." She shook her head no. "Well, if you're going to ask it that way, then yes, that's what I believe in. For you I try to be all those things."

"So, you'll agree that you're caring, generous, loving, supportive, and would protect me from the monsters of the world?"

"Okay, yes. That's how I want to be: to you, for you, something like that. I feel like you're reaching into my brain here."

"Think about it. Why admit to being all those things, all those honorable, caring things, then spend twice as much time worrying about what you think are your flaws. You wouldn't let me think that way about myself, would you?"

I had to shake my head. "No. You're right. I wouldn't let you do that to yourself. I think you're too special to let you think anything less."

"No, I didn't think you would. Why would I let you waste so much time doing it to yourself? You're better than that."

That was a good question. An intelligent question. "I not sure I have an answer. I know I think way too much."

"David. If there's one thing I know, every night we all go home with our selves. If you can't stand the conversations you have with yourself, you need to change the topic. You certainly can't kick yourself out the door when you're tired of yourself."

"Girl . . ."

"Yes?"

"Isn't that something. You sound just like your parents. And that's not a bad thing. One minute I think I'm having a nice normal conversation, then one of you will slip in a little piece of wisdom that I didn't know I needed until you said it. Your father said something this morning, at just the right moment, that made my mouth drop open. Why does it take so much effort to discover a bit of wisdom?"

"You're asking me?"

"I don't know. I was hoping you'd have an answer. I know I don't. But I think you're right. If you can't stand the discussion, it's time to change the topic."

"Exactly. So, you went home. All hungover, are you? How'd that go? And how's your family?" She slipped that in there like it was a normal question everyone can ask. A simple enough question, which should take twenty seconds to answer. Me? No, there's a bit too much inside my head. I tried to avoid thinking about them to just preserve my sanity. Like usual she slipped right by my defenses like they weren't even there.

She tapped right in there, to whatever discussion my mind had been having behind closed doors. I didn't realize it had reached some kind of boiling point. If I'd received an invitation to that discussion, I hadn't planned on attending. "Goddamn them! Damn those people!" It came out pretty explosively and I know I made her jump. But it didn't involve the arms I had around her.

"That didn't sound good. I hope that wasn't because of me."

"Of course not, Wanda. How could I ever . ." I took a deep breath. My family always angered me. Now it felt they were intruding even here, in this calm quiet moment. I was pissed. No, they weren't going to take this moment away from me. I always had long fuse and once everything blew up, I actually calmed down pretty quickly. I went from that burst of anger, then followed some twisted path back to relative calm and even a little amusement. I looked down at her, trying to find a smile.

She leaned back, a bit surprised at my anger. She wasn't scared but her eyes were open wide. "Can you close your eyes for a second?" She had to think that over, look in my eyes, and pass judgment on me and my state of mind. Then she took a huge leap of faith. She gave me just a leery little stink eye but still she closed her eyes. If she'd been fifteen, it would've been the full blown 'Wanda' stink eye, which was truly formidable, but then we wouldn't have been sitting this close anyway. It's possible to survive a partial stink eye. Anyway.

I was trying to find a way to thank her and at the moment I had no idea how to do it. The things we were exploring. I took my hands from around her and placed them on both sides of her face. I looked at her with a bit of wonder. I'd never had a moment like this. I always thought she was pretty but we were never this close. Then her lips captivated me. Ohhh, damn.

Her eyes were moving under the eyelids, and despite her urge to open them, she kept them closed. I kept my hands on her face and let her feel their warmth. My thumbs moved up just a little and caressed the high part of her cheeks. She was conscious of how close we were sitting and would feel any movement I made. Now was the time for some self-control! Nope. I lifted up her face up. "Thank you so very much." Then I gently put a single kiss on her lips. God, so soft!