Cocktails, Heels & Desperate

"I am so sorry." Maria whispered to her.

Krystal pushed her away, "Riiight. What for?"

"You love him."

She raised an eyebrow, "Love who? The barista who didn't make my drink?"

"Jack." Maria didn't take the bait. "He told me that you dated, once. Didn't know he was your brother. You still love him."

Krystal ground her teeth together, "He talks too much."

"He trusts me too much. Easy to get him to speak, especially when he is worried." Maria said and patted her knee, "He also has no idea, by the way. Not a single clue."

"Better that way."

Maria frowned, "So... Is that why you want to...?"

"He told you about that!?" Krystal went white, "What the hell don't you two talk about!?"

"I haven't told him that I have a rabbit in my pussy, that my fiance is remotely controlling, because she's visiting family in Sydney." Maria said with all the subtlety of a brick through a window.

She groaned, "So, you're here to dig for why I'm here? It has nothing to do with Jack. Not a damn thing. I needed somewhere to stay... And he can't say no to me."

"Mmm." Maria said knowingly, "No, he cannot."

"He feels guilty. Guy my mum cheated on, he didn't take it well, when he found out he wasn't my dad." Krystal said with a sad shrug.

The woman looked over to where Jack was leaning against a tree, drinking his drink and staring at the cityscape. "He does feel guilty... Your father is still your father, though. It isn't birth that makes a father."

"Guy who called himself my dad disappeared the moment he didn't have to pretend to give a shit. He hated me, and let me know it." Krystal said coldly.

"Then fuck him." Maria said, raising her coffee cup like she was offering a toast.

Krystal clicked her cup to the woman's, "Yeah. Fuck him."

"So what does your father have to do with why you want to be made a full woman?"

She glared at her, "Who says it has anything -"

"You do."

Krystal glared angrily, "I don't think I like you."

"That's fine. People find me... Difficult. I don't hide behind masks." Maria said innocently, "I'm afraid it is in my nature. If it helps, I don't plan on telling Jack unless he needs to know. But he's scared. He worries about you, because he loves you."

"Manipulating me. Just because I have feelings I don't want, doesn't mean you get to bring up the L-word." Krystal grated.

Maria shrugged, "But you do want to tell someone. Anyone."

"It's... Not that kind of secret." Krystal took a deep breath, "Look, if I told you that Jack and I were planning on a few quiet drinks, and that I'll use them for liquid courage, will you stop asking me awkward questions? I don't know you."

"Good enough." Maria shrugged, and then smirked, "You should sneak up on him. He loves it when a girl hugs him from behind."

"I'm his sister." Krystal protested.

The woman laughed at her, "And? You're only his sister because you found out you were. Doesn't change what your heart already knows."

"Skinsack of lust, not innuendo."

Maria shifted uncomfortably, "Well, Fiona has had the vibe at full power for a good hour. How the hell would you be feeling?"

Krystal laughed, "Remind me to get an Internet controlled vibe if I ever want to torture someone. Doesn't take me an hour."

"Or me. She's going to dehydrate me." Maria shivered.

Krystal frowned, "Uh... Just to ask awkward questions, because you practically attacked me... How are you not, like... Loud, right now?"

"Practice." Maria smiled at her, "She likes it when I pretend to ignore her. You'll find that there are all sorts of things different people like. Things that sound boring or extreme to you, sound like paradise to someone else."

"I know what fetishes are. I'm not completely inexperienced." Krystal glared at her, "But... I kinda wanted... Hints. I'm staying at Jack's house. Not a lot of space."

"That sounds like trouble waiting to happen." Maria said with a hint of judgement, "I think... Most people have to learn to moan. They just breathe heavily, holding back, embarrassed. So being quiet is about regressing to that. Most people are naturally quiet."

Krystal looked down at her feet, "I... Whimper."

"Sexy." Maria replied, "But harder to hide. I'd just put on some music, and let Jack know not to disturb you. Sock on the door handle works well."

She shuffled her feet, "Hard to do..."

"What's hard?"

Krystal ran a hand through her hair, "I... Might end up saying his name, sometimes. With that and the whimper... Jack is always coming to my rescue, you know? I don't want him rescuing me from my imagination."

"Sounds like the perfect excuse to tell him how you feel."

She glared, "I. Am. His. Sister."

"You're his ex, too." Maria replied quietly, "If you're expecting me to somehow accept that two people who never knew each other can't be together, it isn't going to happen."

"Our families were both... We both lost everything, last time we were together." Krystal shook her head, "I don't need the law of the land to tell me it is a shit idea. I've lived it."

"Go surprise him with a hug. Drag him back, hang out with him. Tell him you love him, and mean it." Maria said and then stood up, "Then, after drinks, tell him whatever is on your mind. Look at him. It's tearing him apart. I'm headed back to work."

"And to remove a vibe." Krystal teased.

Maria had a tiny tinge of red to her cheeks, "That, too."

:.:. ::: :.:. :.: :.:...:.....

"I hate your friend." Krystal said, wrapping her arms around his waist and pushing her softness into his back.

Jack struggled not to drop his coffee in surprise, "Yeah. Sorry about that. She offer to sleep with you? She's a bit... Girl crazy, at the moment. Her fiance is away, and likes to tease her."

"Wow. Uh... No. No, she was just weird." Krystal said, leaning her head into him, "Weird and somehow knows that I'm being a total slut and trying to get a half-decent one night stand."

Jack heard the accusation, "Sorry..."

"And how we found out that we're brother and sister." Her voice was even angrier.

He cringed, "I might have... Spilled."

"You're just lucky she's such a weirdo and that I love you." Krystal replied stiffly, hugging him tighter. "But, you're an ass. I was going to tell you the story. Before you sicc'd that thing on me. Not so sure, now."

Jack checked his watch, "Eh... I've only got about ten minutes left. Wanna take a walk, and think about forgiving me, before I have to abandon you again?"

She released his waist and stepped beside him, crossing her arms to let him know that she was still pissed with him. Showing him her cute little scowl that made him want to kiss her neck.

Jack walked her into the undercover laneway, pretending to idly look at a few shops as they passed them by. "So... Maria didn't offer to be your first? But she's still a weirdo."

"Yup." Krystal was noncommittal.

"You know... A lot of people do actually know about us. I mean, not names or faces. But..."

She punched him in the arm hard enough to cause a muscle cramp. "Don't try and excuse it. You don't tell people about us, and I don't tell people about us. We never needed to say that before. So, why now?"

"The nightmares. The sudden caring what other people think." He replied quietly, "I... I don't know how to make things better. You're hurting. I'm too dumb to know what to do."

"Can't disagree that you're dumb."

Jack finally paused outside his actual destination, a particular shoe shop, and produced a receipt from in his wallet.

Krystal let out an excited squeal as the cashier found a box, grabbing it and pulling out her heels. She swapped out her flats for her newly repaired shoes, sitting down on the hard concrete.

He held out a hand to help her stand up, and she kissed his cheek as she got to her feet. Jack smiled at the blonde, "Am I forgiven, now?"

"No." Krystal laughed, working her feet into a comfortable position and her nose crinkled. "But... You've made a decent effort towards it. Maybe you're not completely stupid."

He sighed heavily, "Well, hopefully tonight can do that. I need to head back to uni. Need anything before I take off?"

She looked at him sadly, "Jack... If you really want to help me... Stop trying so hard. I don't need any kind of special treatment. Just having you around is enough."

"Your big teddy bear." He smirked.

She screwed up her face and flushed red, "And don't tell the weirdo about that, either. Or I might just kill you."

He brushed her cheek again, and turned to leave. As he did, Krystal sprang on him, hugging him from behind and pressing her head between his shoulder blades. "Krys?"

"Just recharging." She said quietly, "I know you have to leave. I just... Don't like being alone, right now. Reminds me that I am."

"Boyfriend could solve some of that."

She laughed at him, "Yeah, yeah. One day, we're going to fix that broken record you've got in your mouth."

Krystal eventually let go of him, and Jack looked back as he walked away, waving to her. The beautiful girl standing in her heels in the middle of the crowd, her face finally lit up by a smile, again.

.......:.....

"Kitties, heels, kitties, heels!" Krystal sang to herself as she let herself back into the apartment with a rattle of her keys.

She gave a quick twirl as she entered, and then frowned. Wasn't much fun to twirl when you were wearing denim short-shorts. She'd mostly chosen them because she knew that Jack liked them, but he'd been too distracted to notice her.

Krystal froze up, as the pit of her stomach filled with butterflies.

When had she gone from looking for someone sweet to get her laid, to trying to get Jack to see her as a woman, again? Wasn't like he could be her first.

They'd tried that once already.

He couldn't be her boyfriend, no matter how much either of them might want it. Their familial discovery had made the local paper, at the time. They might not have the same family name, but everyone in their home town knew that they were brother and sister.

Not that she was actually looking for a boyfriend.

Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out to see a few more messages from her friends. Mostly asking if she'd managed to pop her cherry yet. Teasing messages, that hurt like fuck.

Well, fuck 'em.

She wasn't trying to get laid tonight, she was going to try and have a night of laughter, teasing, and fun. She was hanging out with someone who didn't look at her like she was pathetic, weak, or ugly.

Krystal skipped to the bedroom and tossed open her suitcase to look at her clothes. Most of it was club-going gear, for obvious reasons.

Most of it was also stuff that would make Jack look away from her, shy and embarrassed. But not stuff that would make him stare at her in awe.

Open backs, necklines that barely stopped above her scar, and a bunch of other dressed designed to show off an indecent amount of side-boob.

Krystal frowned, trying to remember if he'd liked her breasts or ass better. Wasn't like either of them had got more impressive in the intervening years.

One of her friends had mentioned how she'd always been a C-cup, right up until she lost her virginity to her boyfriend. It was like a second puberty. She'd gone from a C to an F in twelve months.

Krystal could only hope something similar would happen to her once she started fucking.

She shivered, imagining Jack poised behind her, ready to pounce on her if she stood up. She was getting horny as hell, dreaming about impressing him... But none of this was going to do the trick.

She grabbed her laptop and dove onto the bed, pulling up a bunch of dress stores that could deliver before he got home.

There weren't many, and what they had on offer wasn't exactly inspiring, either.

What she really needed was...

Krystal sighed and sent a text message to Jack, asking for the weirdo's number.

He sent it back to her, along with a question mark.

She dialled it, "Hey... So this is Jack's sister..."

"Didn't expect to here from you again, honey." Maria answered, "Like... Ever."

"Didn't intend to." Krystal said, and then fought off her irritation, "Look, eh... For tonight. I need a dress. I don't know anyone else, and you seem to maybe have half decent taste."

"Dress?"

"Mmm. Something to... Get Jack's attention. He doesn't like slutty, which is basically all I've got." Krystal sighed, "You wouldn't have anything that might look cute... That I could maybe borrow? Without you telling him?"

Maria made a thoughtful noise, "Get his attention? Or get him on top of you?"

"Attention!" Krystal said quickly, "Fuck's sake. I am not as liberal as you are."

"You're staying at Jack's place, right? I'll be over with a couple in a bit. So, you're going for that girl-next-door look, right? Or is it more... Little sister you totally are never going to fuck?" The woman asked teasingly.

"God, you're terrible. Girl next door." Krystal rolled her eyes, "I guess I'll be waiting here... Hoping you're not about to be even weirder."

It was only after they'd finished the conversation that she felt a sudden pang of jealousy.

Maria had tried to reassure her that she wasn't into Jack by saying she had a fiance. But with the way she carried on... Krystal didn't get the feeling that it was a closed kind of relationship.

What if the woman wasn't a lesbian? What if she was bi?

Jack was still a guy, he had eyes in his head. Maria was a hot little thing, sexy and lustful, and totally down for some strings-free sex. And he worked with her most days.

It shouldn't matter.

Krystal couldn't have him, either way.

All the happy she'd got from getting her heels back was now burned out. Her mind was playing over the scenes in her head. The way her boyfriend had stared at her when he saw her scar.

Putting his hand to his mouth and gagging audibly.

She hadn't realised just how ugly it was until that moment. She'd never liked it, never liked why she had it, but she didn't realise that people would find her that ugly because of it until then.

It wasn't that it was the ugliest damn thing in the world.

It was that Krystal didn't have anything to compensate for it. She was below average in that department, before you took it into account. Left her being the girl no one wanted to see naked.

She should have turned the lights out.

Krystal tried to shake herself out of her funk. She was going to wear a nice dress, with her favourite heels. She was going to drink fun cocktails, and tease the hell out of Jack.

She was going to collapse into bed, happy and tired, and know that at least someone in the world thought she was pretty and worth an effort.

And she wasn't going to pout about it, before, because she didn't pout.

:.......::...:..: :.

Jack was exhausted when he got back to the apartment. Dropping his keys as he tried to find the slot. Today had been incredibly stressful, and knowing that this evening might be the make or break for his half-sister wasn't helping any.

He'd managed to make her smile, with the shoes, but that was basically all he had in his box of tricks.

His presentation had gone badly. The people auditing the project had less than even a basic understanding for what they were doing, and weren't able to grasp something as fundamental as the halting problem or...

He didn't want to think about that right now.

He cracked the door open, "I'm back."

He shuffled in with a couple heavy bags, and set them down on the counter. Stretching out his shoulders he looked around the lounge room, frowning at the set up.

All the blinds were down, and he had no freaking clue where Krystal had found all the candles. Most were different, not from matching sets, but Jack hadn't realised he even owned any.

"Eh, Krys?" He called out, his voice echoing hollowly in the scene straight out of a movie playbook.

He nearly had a heart attack as slender arms snaked around his waist from behind, and he felt her leaning into him. "Welcome home."

His cheek twitched, "What... Is all of this?"

"Candlelight dinner." Krystal replied, a hint of a purr to her husky voice. It set off feelings in Jack instantly, making him want to spin around and kiss her hard, make up for the lost years.

He forced a disappointed sigh, instead, "I can see that. Why do I see that?"

"Because I wanted a treat." She replied, and he could swear that she was breathing on his neck, almost like she was about to kiss him.

"Seems a bit romantic, to me."

Krystal laughed and squeezed him, "Self-love, maybe. It's all about me. That's what tonight is for, right? Make me take some time out and enjoy just being me?"

"Yeah." He swallowed, looking at the absolutely romantic scene and not knowing how he could possibly be misreading it. "You decide what you want for dinner?"

"I ordered us some pizzas. Didn't want to put the effort in to that one." Krystal replied, still with that damn husky tone to her voice.

His body wasn't fighting it anymore.

It knew what she sounded like, it remembered what she tasted like, and it wanted a piece of her. Preferably, to be inside of her.

He could feel himself rapidly hardening, which wasn't just awkward, but was going to be a risk. He had known letting her stay over was dangerous, and he had been resisting her all this time, but this... That damn voice.

"Picked out a movie?"

"Nope." Krystal released him suddenly, and pushed him in the direction of the kitchen, "Hey, can you make us some drinks? You did promise. Something light and bubbly for me."

By the time he'd turned around, she was sitting on the couch and mostly out of his view. All he could see was her blonde hair, coiled and done up into some kind of princess look.

Jack hastily stepped behind the counter, where he could at least hide his erection.

He pulled out a couple cocktail glasses, and started putting together a mix.

Light and bubbly. His plan wasn't that.

He knew that she had a hell of a sweet tooth, from her mocha. So, he started off by making a half-strength chocolate martini. Vanilla vodka, chocolate syrup, creme de cacao, grated chocolate and some more chocolate syrup.

He didn't want her getting tipsy, not in whatever the fuck her current mood was. Watering it down with chocolate seemed like a way she'd enjoy it, and not realise what he was doing.

Jack crossed in front of the couch, and carefully put down both drinks before he looked up, and saw her for the first time.

Her golden hair in the flickering candle light, deep blue eyes looking straight into his. He could see her nostrils flaring, her timid panic barely hidden away.

Beneath her gorgeous face, was what felt like a bridesmaid's dress. Thin little spaghetti straps, leading down to bright red silk. Revealing and pushing up her cute and mouthwatering breasts.

The material smoothly and sharply pulling in to her tiny waist, before spilling out into long folds, slit neatly down one side to reveal her legs in thigh-high black net stockings.

Krystal blushed, but he couldn't stop staring at her. Couldn't turn his head, or steal his gaze away. God knows he was trying.

She smiled nervously, looking away from him, "It's a bit much, isn't it? I tried to tell Maria, but she was all over me. Told me that subtle wouldn't work."

"Work? For... What?" He managed hoarsely, terrified to approach her.

Krystal picked up her drink and sipped at it, "That comes later. Mmm. I like this one. You'll have to give me the recipe later. So... I was thinking we could play truth or dare? Family games."

Family.

She was his family.

Jack struggled, but eventually managed to approach the goddess and sit down nervously on the couch next to her. "Now, I feel underdressed."

"I asked Maria for girl next door stuff. She ignored me. Your friend is weird." Krystal said nervously, "So... Truth? You ever sleep with her?"