Freshman Week Ch. 05.0: Homesick

Two days had passed since the end of Thanksgiving Break, and Adam was beginning to experience the alien sensation of homesickness.

It was alien to him because, for the entire semester until now, he had felt absolutely no longing for home. Coming to college had been a liberation, an escape. For the first time in his life he wasn't living in cramped quarters with his parents and kid sister. Instead he was living in cramped quarters with some guy he barely knew. But there were also fun new activities, clubs, organizations, people his own age, and hot girls.

For all intents and purposes, Canterbury University had been his new home. Then Thanksgiving happened.

When he came home, he found that his parents didn't seem so obnoxious. His house didn't seem so small. And his sister, well, things were different there too.

Before going to college, Adam had always seen Natalie as a nuisance. She was younger than him, and thus never smart or cool as far as he was concerned. Yet she always wanted to hang out. She embarrassed him in front of friends and girls. By the time she made it to high school, resentment was a defining aspect of their relationship.

But that wasn't true anymore. Having spent some time away from her, Adam could see that his kid sister was smart and cool. She wasn't even that much younger than him. (He was nearly twenty-one whereas she was newly eighteen.) For once they got along as peers. She was a senior in high school and when he told her over dinner that she should apply to Canterbury when she graduated, he meant it.

And now that he was back at school, Adam felt that a part of him was missing. It was a strange feeling and he didn't like it.

Adam got ready for bed around midnight. His roommate, Sam, was out late with his friends, meaning Adam had the place to himself. Not that there was much he wanted to do with it. He took a shower, brushed his teeth, and stripped down to his boxers before climbing in bed.

He was half asleep when his cell phone went off. The clock said it was two in the morning. He was confused and a bit irritated, but it was his sister calling. He answered.

Adam blinked at the light illuminating his face. It was a video call, and Natalie's face filled his screen. The teen had shoulder length amber-colored hair. Her cheeks were speckled with brown freckles that complemented her pale skin. Twin blue eyes gleamed with mischief.

"Morning, freshman," Natalie said in a voice too upbeat for the hour. "Am I interrupting your beauty sleep?"

Adam frowned. "Kinda. What do you want?"

Her eyes flicked away from the screen. Embarrassment?

"I dunno. I couldn't sleep aaaand I guess I kinda missed you?" She raised her voice on the last word, turning the statement into a question.

The corner of Adam's mouth curled into a benign smirk. Natalie averted her eyes again. She was reclining in bed, holding her phone in hand, and every movement she made caused it to bob and jostle. When it bobbed downward, her shirt was exposed. It was a t- shirt, a size too large for her. Adam noted the logo on its front. The Curtsville Cougars.

"Hey," he said, "That's my shirt from soccer."

"I got it from your closet. I need more sleep shirts and it's comfy."

"You could have asked."

Natalie shrugged. "And you could have packed it if you were so worried. Relax, I'm not doing anything that would get it dirty. Like playing soccer, for instance."

He rolled his eyes. "Take it off."

She laughed. "Seriously? How childish can you be?"

"I can't let you steal my shit, asshole. It sets a bad precedent. Take it off."

Natalie clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Alright. Whatever."

The screen moved from her face to the ceiling as she laid the phone on her bed. There was the sound of fabric rustling and Adam saw his crumpled shirt fly over the camera, presumably to land in a pile somewhere on his sister's floor.

Natalie picked the phone back up. "Happy?"

The screen bobbed again as she readjusted. For just a moment the image skimmed over her unclad cleavage. It wasn't long enough for Adam to get a good look. He did notice a single freckle on the upper half of the girl's left breast.

Adam didn't visualize his sister as a busty woman. But that was him imagining the girl he had known. Eighteen year-old Natalie was a different beast. He hadn't been conscious of the change, but his little sister had developed. She was still on the shorter side and maintained her youthful vigor, but her womanly features were becoming apparent. Her hips. Her ass. Her breasts.

"Natalie, I didn't mean you should strip."

The young woman pursed her lips. "I'm pretty sure that's exactly what you told me to do."

The image included her bare neck and shoulders. Technically nothing obscene, but now Adam knew that his sister was bare beyond the frame. It made him uncomfortable in the most peculiar way.

He shook his head. "Come on, don't be gross."

"Hey, you aren't wearing a shirt either!" Natalie huffed. "And I am anything but gross."

The camera moved again, and Adam couldn't help but wonder if it was intentional. He caught another glimpse. It was fast, but he thought he saw one of her nipples.

Beneath his sheets, the boy was rock hard.

"That's it, I'm hanging up," Adam said. "You're too creepy for me."

"Wait." Natalie made a point of holding the camera still. No more flashes. She looked away from the screen, collecting her thoughts. "When do you think we'll be seeing you again? It's just, y'know, Mom was wondering."

Adam smiled. "Christmas. Won't be that long really. Basically two weeks."

Natalie nodded. "Okay. Mom will be happy to hear that."

The call ended. Adam was left alone in a dark room with his thoughts. What the hell was going on with that girl?

XxXxX

Two days later Adam received a text from his sister. He was sitting by his lonesome in the cafeteria, a lackluster breakfast in front of him.

The text read "shopping for a new outfit. can i get an opinion?"

"Sure," he typed back.

Adam had considered their video conversation a lot in the intervening days. The only thought he could be confident about was that he didn't know what to think. Natalie had acted weird, but he couldn't say with certainty that she was acting out of character. He didn't know his sister that well. Until recently, he'd paid her no attention at all. Perhaps she was just an impish, unabashed girl, and he was seeing more of that as they grew closer? It was a nice thought.

Natalie sent her response.

It was a photo, sent from the inside of a changing room. She must have had a friend there because the image was from a third person perspective, not a selfie. Natalie was wearing a soft orange bikini. The material was scant, showing off her ample breasts and thighs. The effect was accentuated by the way she leaned forward, displaying herself for the camera. She was smiling as one of her hands rested on the upper hem of the bottoms, pushing them down with one thumb to show off the pale skin below her waist. The smile on her face was wide.

Reflexively Adam checked to see if anyone was looking behind him. When he realized what he was doing, he couldn't say why. Even his friends on campus wouldn't recognize his sister. They probably didn't know he had one. For all anyone around him would know, some chick was sending him risqué shots. Perfectly normal.

So what did he feel ashamed of?

Another text came through. "what do you think?"

Adam hesitated as he studied the picture again. Natalie wasn't a skinny girl. She had curves, and they were all in the right places. There was a firmness to her, and it bolstered her tits and hips. The swim suit showed off more of her flesh than he had ever seen. There was that freckle again.

Adam typed back, "Looks good on you. Don't think it will be much use @ Christmas."

Three dots danced on the screen for a long few seconds before her reply appeared. "u never know!" followed by a smiley face emoji.

Adam locked his phone. His heart was pounding and he couldn't place why. He shook his head. It did nothing to shake the slight smile on his face.

XxXxX

"How about Hellen?" William asked. "A woman so beautiful she started a war. I haven't read the whole Iliad myself, but I doubt it goes into her perspective much. It would give us plenty of leeway. And it is kind of romantic, right?"

"Very romantic," Chloe said, sardonically. "Yet another woman stripped of her agency and made into a sex object. Dripping with romance."

"And who would you pick for the presentation?" William grumbled.

The corner of the girl's mouth lifted in a half smile. "I'm a fan of Tantalus, personally. A man forever denied food and water he no longer needs but desperately wants? Desire and despair. That is romance, young man."

The bookish young man in question rolled his eyes and turned to the third member of their company. "Thoughts, Adam?"

Adam hesitated, looking between the two. They seemed frighteningly invested in their World Religions PowerPoint. "I don't know. What about Hercules?"

The two cringed simultaneously. "Heracles!" they chided as one.

Adam sighed and glanced back at his phone. They had claimed a study room on the library's second floor to work on this little project. He had six tabs pulled up on his web browser trying to find something of value from Greek mythology, but so far he was coming up empty. Who gave a crap about this stuff?

A notification. Snapchat. Natalie.

His heart rose in his throat. It had been three days since the picture, five since the video call. By now, communications from his sister had a strange implication attached to them. One that was almost as disturbing as it was enticing.

He opened the notification.

The photo was somewhat blurry, Natalie must have been moving as she took the shot. The image showed a trio of girls around a table. There was a bottle of tequila at the table's center and a number of plastic cups orbiting it. One of the girls he didn't recognize. Another he could identify as one of Natalie's friends, but couldn't name. The third he knew quite well.

She was a black girl with short, wavy hair. She was tall and thin, a contrast to the short and curvy Natalie. She also had a pronounced ass. It wasn't visible in the shot, but he knew from firsthand experience. In the photo she wore a tight white top that exposed her navel, black leggings, and glasses with dark purple frames.

Her name was Shana. Even when Adam hadn't cared for Natalie, her friendship with Shana had been one perk of living with the girl. Adam had found her incredibly hot ever since the two girls started palling around in high school. He'd made a sport of taking peaks at her during sleepovers over the past four years.

Natalie had captioned her photo, "Tonight bitches get LIT."

Adam hastily typed back, "Are you drinking???? It's a school night!"

Natalie sent back a winking emoji. "I can handle myself."

Adam closed the app and went back to look up Greek mythic figures. Across the table, his companions were having a debate about Daedalus or some shit. He couldn't focus, his mind was awash with images of Shana and thoughts of his sister.

His phone dinged again. A Snapchat. A video this time. He took another look to make sure his partners were suitably distracted before pulling a pair of headphones from his pocket.

The video began. High tempo music played in the background. The setting was a brightly lit living room, not in a house he recognized. His sister's face, her mouth open in a wide smile and her eyes shining, eclipsed the screen. "Shana's getting it!" she hooted. The camera turned.

Shana was upside down, her hands on the floor and her feet propping herself against the wall. Her ass was up in the air, extremely visible in her skin tight leggings. She gyrated to the beat of the music, twerking at an impressive pace. One of the other girls ran up and slapped her butt. Shana fell from her spot laughing as the video ended.

Adam stared at his phone. In all his time watching Shana he had never seen something that explicit. He had never imagined her doing something so sexual. (Well, maybe he'd imagined it, but not realistically.) How did he reply to that? Should he try?

"Hey Adam," Chloe said, "Mind chiming in?"

"Huh?"

"The Fates," she said. "The Moirai. Think the others would be in to it?"

"I mean, who cares. It's Professor Rakins grading us."

"It's called showmanship, Adam! No one wants a disinterested audience."

His annoyance getting him partly back on track, Adam returned to his research. He actually dug up some useful info on the Fates that the two know-it-alls didn't have memorized. They were making headway when another notification appeared on his phone. Another video.

Eyeing the other two, Adam slipped his headphones back on.

His eyes took precious seconds to process what he was seeing. Whoever was holding her phone didn't have Natalie's steady hand or eye for photography. There were two shapes, ivory and ebony, close together. Touching. Intertwining.

The camera lens focused.

Natalie was lying across the kitchen table from before. She was wearing booty shorts and the bikini top from her earlier photo. Her hair pooled around her head, a halo the color of honey. Straddling her was Shana. The taller girl was leaning over his sister, their chests pressed together as they kissed.

The camera's wielder was not exceptionally skilled, so there were several details which Adam missed. He couldn't see how much tongue there was, or if their eyes were closed. He could see his sister's hands meandering up and down her friend's back, pulling the beautiful teen closer.

After about ten seconds of this the two attempted to role, a maneuver that would have put Natalie on top. Would have, if they didn't get too close to the edge. The table flipped and the two girls toppled to the linoleum floor. One of the other girls let out a surprised squeal as the video came to a close.

Adam waited for another reply, his horniness mitigated by concern. When none came after a few minutes, he broke down and sent a simple question mark. Another minute passed before the three dancing dots indicated typing.

"I'm okay!" Natalie's response read. "Thanks for worrying" followed by a heart emoji.

"Adam?" Chloe asked. "You still with us?"

"Uh, actually no," he said. "Sorry but it's getting kind of late. I'm... going to bed."

"It's six in the afternoon!"

Adam stumbled out of the study room, readjusted his solid member as he moved. He needed to relieve some tension as soon as possible. Too bad he hadn't thought to screenshot.

XxXxX

Adam was leaving anthropology the next day when he thought to turn his phone on. He'd missed a call. Natalie, again.

He hit redial.

His sister picked up on the second ring. "Hello? Adam?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Oh. Good. Glad you called me back. I thought you might...."

"Might what?"

"Not want to talk."

Adam pushed passed a small group of people on his way out of the building. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I- I think I've been weird lately. At some point I got certain ideas in my head and I know I sent you a bunch of messages last night. I kinda know what they were, and I kinda know what I was thinking. And I'm beginning to think I pushed too far."

"Do you regret what you sent me? Anything you've done?"

Natalie spoke slowly, selecting her words with care. "I regret making you feel uncomfortable."

"I see," said Adam. "So, what if I didn't feel uncomfortable?"

She paused. "No?"

He shook his head. Pointless, she couldn't see him. "No. Ok, maybe at first. Maybe still, but in a good way. Good uncomfortable."

"Ah," she said. "So you don't regret anything either?"

"Not one thing," said Adam, wondering if there was something he ought to.

"Good. Then I'll talk to you soon, big brother."

"I'd like that, sis."

Natalie hung up.

Adam sighed. His heart was beating like crazy. What was he doing by encouraging her? Where was this going?

What were they going to do?

XxXxX

Adam had started going to the gym more often since Thanksgiving break. In between upcoming finals and his sister's messages, Adam felt constantly tense and excitable. Working out was the best alternative he could find to jerking off six times a day. He sometimes exercised with friends of friends, like Sarah and that girl she seemed to spend all her time with these days. But when the urge struck at eleven at night and no one else was around, he treasured having the weight room to himself.

It was half past midnight on the Tuesday before Christmas break. Adam had just finished a hard session of abs and arms. He was toweling off in the locker room, the space all to himself. Adam was pleased with what he saw when he looked down. The chub he had carried all through high school was officially cleared and a six pack was showing through. He'd only begun to exercise in earnest after moving to college and already he reaped the rewards. It was just one more way Canterbury U had enhanced his life.

He discarded his towel in a hamper and opened his locker. His gym bag was buzzing. Adam found his phone inside. He had received a text mere second ago.

"Busy?" it asked.

Adam typed back, "Nope. What up?"

Three dancing dots.

The picture loaded. Adam recognized the backyard and the hot tub. Shana's house. He'd never been, but he'd seen it on social media several times.

Shana herself was at the picture's center, opposite the photographer. Her arms were spread behind her across the lip of the tub. Her neck length hair was damp, clinging to her skin. She was wearing a bikini. If Natalie's had been sexy, this one was scandalous. Adam imagined it covered as much was necessary to dodge a public indecency charge. Jesus, did her dad buy that for her? She was smiling at the camera, an impish grin had he ever seen one.

"Shana says hi!"

Adam hadn't felt it happen, but he was rock hard. No surprise there.

"Hello to her too," Adam wrote.

He thought for a second and found a mirror. He took a few minutes to position himself. Girls didn't usually appreciate dick pics he knew, so he was careful to make sure he could only be seen above the waist. Adam arranged himself so that his abs, pecs, and slightly flexed biceps were all visible in the reflective surface He turned his camera to the mirror and tensed his entire body just a little bit more.

Adam took the picture.

Send.

After three minutes passed, Adam gave up waiting on a reply. He dressed and grabbed his things. He felt terribly embarrassed. So he was a little more fit, big deal. College or no, Shana was a ten and he was at best a seven. Like his muscles would impress her.

His phone dinged.

A Snapchat.

The picture was of the two girls. Another selfie by Natalie, with Shana slightly behind and to the side of her. They were out of the hot tub and in Shana's bathroom. Both of them had white towels wrapped around their chests. They were low enough that he could see that freckle on his sister's left breast. Natalie had another one wrapped around her hair. Shana's hair was short enough that she didn't need one. In her state of undress, Adam could see the black girl had more of a chest than he'd expected.

The caption read, "One good pic deserves another. Thoughts?"

Adam was hard again. Harder than he'd ever been before. It was a good thing he was alone, because this erection would not be moved or hidden. Instantly he was tense and excited. So much for clearing his head.

The instinct driven animal who had been Adam typed back, "It'd be better without the towels."

He stayed in the locker room as he waited on a response. He paced up and down the rows of lockers. If he'd even touched himself, Adam felt he could get off in a second. But he didn't want an unearned release. He wanted more. Something in him knew that he would get it.