In The Sauna with Sis and Her BFF

I finished the first draft of this story in February 2022. For a variety of reasons, I was concerned about the reception it'd get, so I let it sit and sit on my hard drive. When I started publishing stories almost every Monday, I decided to add it to the queue.

As I came down the stairs to our living room, I heard giggling. I knew instantly who it was - my sister Holly and her best friend Kendra. I had been intending to go out the front door and drive over to a friend’s house, but when I heard the giggling, I made a beeline to its source.

Holly and Kendra were in the kitchen, getting water bottles out of the refrigerator. They were both wearing string bikinis. “Hey, Kendra. Hey, Holly.”

Kendra turned around and said, “Hey, Hugh,” in a very friendly manner.

Kendra was a relatively new friend of Holly’s. The first time I saw her was a few days after I got home from college for the summer. She had spent a lot of time at our house in the two weeks I had been home. With her mom and three younger siblings at home, coming here was an escape from her family. Like my sister, she was in that in-between summer of having graduated from high school but not yet starting college. She was going to be Holly’s roommate in the dorms this fall.

With her eyes locked on mine, Kendra took a couple of steps forward and leaned forward to put her elbows on the kitchen island. Her leaning forward brought my attention to her bikini top. The top triangles were about four inches on a side. The material was black and white zebra stripes. Black strings connected them. Kendra had nice-sized breasts which she knew how to flaunt.

“Whatcha doing, Hugh?” Kendra gave me a big smile.

I really couldn’t place Kendra’s attitude towards me. Was she coming on to me? Was she being a tease? She was always very friendly when she talked to me, but I never felt her flirting with me was serious. She, like my sister, was three years younger than me. A little young for me to date, but not unreasonable.

“No plans. When I heard your voices, I thought I’d see what you two were going to do. Are you going to catch some rays?”

“No, that wasn’t our plan.” Kendra looked over at my sister and laughed. My sister gave a nervous laugh back. I didn’t see what was funny.

Kendra returned to leaning on the island with her head in her hands. She wiggled her butt a couple of times, which I could barely see over the island, and then asked sultrily, “What do you think of my suit?” She then stood up, came out from behind the island, and slowly turned around. The bottoms covered more than the top, but not much more. The material was again black and white zebra stripes, which created a nice optical effect that made her ass look really nice. Kendra had a body that was perfect for a bikini.

“I like it. I like it a lot. I like how the black goes with your red hair.” Kendra had shoulder-length red hair. She smiled at me and batted her eyelashes briefly.

Holly said, “I told you he’d like it.” She set the water bottles on the counter and stood next to her friend. “But I think Hugh would like almost any bikini you were wearing.”

Holly smiled at me. I always felt like she encouraged me to pursue Kendra, though not too hard. Had Kendra told her that she was interested in me?

Kendra asked me, “Which bikini do you think would look best on me; the one I’m wearing or the one your sister is wearing?”

I looked at my sister. She was wearing a similar style bikini as Kendra’s. The strings were white. The material of her top was white; kind of an indistinct pattern that looked partially translucent. You couldn’t see her nipple or anything, but the hint of translucent gave it a disturbingly sexy look - disturbing because that’s my sister but sexy because, you know, boobs. I took a brief look at my sister and looked back at Kendra.

Before I could say anything, Kendra said to Holly, “Model it for him.”

“I’m not going to model a bikini for my brother!”

“How is he going to give me a good opinion on which one I’d look better in?” Kendra turned to me. “We bought bikinis we both liked so we could swap them for different looks.” Kendra turned back to Holly. “Come on, model it!”

This was the type of thing Kendra always did. She’d do something to get my full attention, and then she’d do something to divert it. Again, this made it hard to place if she was actually interested she in me.

Holly rolled her eyes. “Oh, okay.” She raised her hands above her head and made a slow circle in front of me. When Kendra had modeled her suit, she had really showed it off. I couldn’t place what my sister was doing differently, but I felt like she was doing the bare minimum of modeling to appease her friend.

As I watched Holly slowly turn, I realized how similar her body was to Kendra’s. Kendra was maybe an inch shorter. I stole a glance at Kendra and compared her body to Holly’s. Holly’s legs were longer, and she had more of a curve at the waist but seemed similar in size to Kendra at the bust and hips. Holly also had longer hair, coming down halfway down her back.

When my sister stopped turning, Kendra asked, “What do you think?”

“I think you’re both wearing the right suit for you. Like I said, I think the black goes well with your red hair. I think the white goes well with Holly’s blond hair.”

Kendra said, “Good.”

I waited. I had asked once about what they were going to do, and Kendra had answered vaguely. If she didn’t want to tell me, I’d leave and go to my friend’s. I wasn’t going to push myself on her.

Holly said, “We’re going to try out the sauna. Kendra’s never been in one before.”

My dad’s Covid project had been building a barrel sauna that he ordered from Costco. I had enjoyed it during last Christmas break but hadn’t been in it this summer.

I said, “Sweating in a hot, humid sauna is a lot like exercising. It stresses your body, your lungs, your blood flow, and your heart. In the wintertime, it’s a great way to warm your body up, especially if you've been outside in the snow.”

Kendra looked at Holly. “Sounds like we should have a lot of fun out there.” There was almost a sexual overtone to her statement.

Holly asked, “Do you want Hugh to join us?”

Kendra thought it over for a bit. “For a little while.” She turned to me. “You don’t mind if you’re with us for only a little while. Then Holly and I will have a girls-only talk.”

Again, that come-on-then-stop feeling from Kendra. Yes, I wanted to talk with her as her body glistened with sweat.

Holly said to me, “I turned on the sauna almost an hour ago.” To Kendra, “That means it’s ready to use.”

I said, “I’ll change into swim trunks and join you out there.”

* * * *

My dad had completely redone our backyard when things were shut down for Covid. Paving stones made a large patio area with a fire pit at the center. Off to the side was the sauna, not visible from the house. I had changed into board shorts and flip-flops and was carrying a beach towel. I was working in a pharmacy this summer three to nine, five days a week. It was early enough that I’d have plenty of time to shower and be ready for work after we were done in the sauna.

When I got close to the sauna, Holly smiled and waved at me through the glass door. From how happy she looked, I had the feeling she felt getting me in the sauna with Kendra was a step towards getting Kendra and me together. I kicked off my flip-flops next to the girls’ sandals and went into the sauna. Once I closed the door, Holly poured water on the “coals” to create steam. The sauna had a wooden bench on each side with an aisle in the center that led to the heater. Kendra was stretched out on one bench.

Holly sat down on the other bench and patted the space next to her. “Join me.”

“No. Stretch out. I’ll sit on the floor.” As I was a visitor, I thought that was best.

Kendra said, “You’ve lived in the dorms, but you’re going to be living in an apartment this year. How come?”

“The dorms are great for your freshman year. One of the big challenges of college is that all of the friends you’ve had all your life aren’t there anymore, and you have to make new friends. Most of your classes freshman year are huge, so it’s tough to make friends in class. I found it easy to make friends with the other people living in the dorms. During my freshman year, I was also friends with several people who lived at home. They’d commute in, go to their classes, and then go home. They really struggled to make friends.”

“But you’re not living in the dorms this year.”

I raised my hand in a so-what gesture. “I’ve made my friends. I’m going to be sharing an apartment with my two best friends. We’ll have people over regularly. In the dorms, there are going to be people you don’t like. I found freshmen in the dorms last year immature, even though all they were doing was the stuff I did my freshman year.”

Kendra sat up. “Did you find the freshman girls immature?”

I laughed. “Oh no. In fact, at the start of last school year, I spent my free time pursuing pretty freshman girls and wound up dating one for most of the school year. Most of the older guys in the dorms do that, getting the jump on the freshman guys who are still figuring out where their classes are.”

Holly sat up too. “Is Kendra pretty enough that older guys are going to pursue her?”

I used Holly’s question as an excuse to give Kendra an all-over assessing look. Nice hair? Check. Pretty face? Check. Tits that looked good in a bikini top? Check. Bonus points for freckles on her chest. Good curves from chest to waist? Check. Nice legs? Check. “I’d say she’s more than pretty enough.”

Kendra gave me an embarrassed smile. Holly had a pleased look on her face.

Kendra gestured towards Holly. “What about Holly? Is she pretty enough that older guys are going to pursue her?”

“Sure.”

Kendra swung her head in a frustrated gesture. “Check her out like you checked me out and then tell me. This is important. We need to plan how to handle guys coming to our room, so we need to know how likely guys are to come visit me or her.”

Holly said indignantly, “Hugh’s my brother.”

“I’m sure he can put that aside for a minute to give us an accurate judgment of how likely we are to be pursued by older guys.”

The way Kendra looked at me, I felt like this was a make-or-break moment in our relationship. If I wasn’t willing to do something she told me was important to her, then nothing would ever happen between us.

I looked at Holly. I did my best to recreate the all-over assessing look I had given Kendra. Nice hair? Pretty face? Fine tits? Good curves? Nice legs? All yeses. “Holly is more than pretty enough for older guys to pursue. Both of you are very pretty but in different ways. Holly has a wholesome prettiness. You have a saucier look.”

Kendra gave me an enigmatic look and then lay down. “What’s your major?”

“Pharmacy. It’s a six-year program, but I should have a good-paying job when I graduate.”

“Wow! That sounds awesome. My dad is pushing me to be a Business major, so I can get a good-paying job when I graduate.”

Kendra’s tone had changed. It was normally light and teasing with me. This sounded to me like she was asking for advice on a problem that was bothering her.

“If you don’t want to be a Business major, don’t. Study what you enjoy.”

Kendra sat up again. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. If you don’t care for Business, you’re going to suck at it, not get good grades, and then have trouble getting a job. I have a friend who graduated in May with a Philosophy degree. He showed me a New York Times article about how STEM majors do better with their first jobs, but liberal arts majors catch up to them by the age of 40. He had a tough time getting interviews, but he did well in those interviews because he made a compelling case that he could read complex material and write a cogent analysis of it.”

“Really?” Kendra seemed slightly shocked at what I was telling her. “I was thinking of being an English major.” She sounded a little embarrassed saying that. “You think that would be okay?”

“Yeah. I think English is a great major. Being able to get your thoughts across clearly and concisely is important in whatever job you have.”

“Thanks.” Kendra laid down again. “Thanks a lot. I feel a lot better.”

Holly had been on her side, watching Kendra and I talk. She rolled onto her back and said, “This is really nice.” Was she talking about the heat and moisture of the sauna? Or me and her best friend having a good conversation?

The three of us stayed like that for a while. I thought about asking Kendra out after she and Holly were done in the sauna. For the first time, I felt like she might say yes. She checked a lot of boxes for me - pretty, smart, fun, and interested in my opinions. Today probably wouldn’t be a good day - I didn’t want to seem like I was stalking them while they were in the sauna. I’d leave the sauna, take a shower, go over to a friend’s house, and eventually go to work. Then the next time Kendra came over, I’d look for an opportunity to ask her out.

I was about to get up and leave when Kendra suddenly sat up. “Hugh, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“This is a serious question.” Her teasing tone made it sound otherwise. “Holly and I don’t have big boobs. Are guys not going to date us because of that?”

Kendra had a saucy look on her face, like she found it a little wicked to get me to talk about her boobs. “First off, let me say that I date the whole girl, not just her boobs.” Kendra chuckled. “Your boobs look like a great size. It’s not like you’re flat-chested. You obviously don’t have double-D’s, but you’re big enough that when I look at your body as a whole, I think it’s very, very nice.”

Kendra smiled. Not her usually evil grin, but a happy smile. I decided to stay in the sauna for a while longer, so I got up and poured water on the “coals”.

Holly said, “So you’re saying that Kendra has a body nice enough that you’d like to date her.”

My sister had put it out there. Was now the time to ask Kendra for a date?

Before I could decide, Kendra said, “Come up here.” She patted a space on the bench. As I got up, she twisted on her side and slid over. The bench was less than two feet wide, so the space she created for me wasn’t very big.

When I sat down, my back touched Kendra’s stomach. I scooched forward and twisted to face her. Kendra pressed her body slightly against mine. Both of our bodies were slick with sweat, and Kendra’s body felt slippery against mine.

Kendra said in that was both teasing and sultry, “That was very nice what you said about me and Holly. Do you like kissing?”

“Yes.” Was Kendra asking me to kiss her? I liked the idea of kissing Kendra, but I didn’t want our first kiss to be in front of my sister.

“Do you know who really likes to kiss?”

An odd question. “You?”

Kendra pointed across the sauna. “Holly.”

“Kendra!” cried Holly.

“So what?” I said. I was very confused by this turn.

“Holly likes kissing so much, she’ll kiss anyone. And you’ve said a lot of nice things about both her and me today, so I think both of us should give you little Thank You kisses.”

“Kendra!” said Holly in a high, shocked tone. “He’s my brother!”

“Haven’t you told me that kisses aren’t a big deal? And that you kiss just because you enjoy kissing?”

I didn’t understand what was going on, but I could tell that Kendra was pulling some sort of power play on my sister.

My sister looked away in partial disgust. “Yes, I’ve told you those things.”

Why would my sister tell Kendra that?

Kendra replied with a small amount of triumph in her voice. “You tell me those things often. So, a Thank You kiss is no big deal.” Kendra gave me a short kiss on the lips and then she turned me and pushed me gently towards my sister.

This was all a very weird vibe. I had the feeling that my kissing Holly was very important to Kendra. Make or break? The situation was too weird for me to accurately assess. My feeling was that Kendra was more assessing me. It might not be make or break, but our relationship would be different if I refused compared to if I went along.

Holly had a look of resignation on her face. It was like Kendra had won at some point, so she was willing to kiss me but not wanting to kiss me.

Why not kiss my sister? What harm would one small kiss do? I crossed the aisle, gave Holly a small kiss on the lips, and then moved back to Kendra.

“Did you enjoy kissing me?” asked Kendra in a tone that implied she knew the answer was yes. Her face was now only a few inches away from mine.

“Yes.”

“Did you enjoy kissing your sister?”

“It was okay.” It had been like…kissing my sister.

Kendra said to Holly, “Did you enjoy having someone new kiss you?”

Holly shrugged. “Somewhat. It was too short to really enjoy.”

“Would you have enjoyed it more if it was longer?”

“Probably. Kissing Hugh didn’t freak me out as much as I thought it would. I focused on the kissing part, which, as you know, I really enjoy.”

Kendra turned back towards me. Her eyes and smile told me that she really liked me. “I enjoyed kissing you. Let’s do that again.” Kendra leaned in and kissed me. This was a longer kiss, her soft lips pressed firmly against mine. I had no idea where this was going, but I wanted it to go someplace where I got lots of kisses like this. “Now, kiss your sister.”

I froze. One quick kiss I could justify. Another kiss? After a kiss like this?

Kendra said, “You’ve kissed her once. It was no big deal. Please kiss her again. Like I said, she enjoys kissing a lot.”

I didn’t know what the hell was going on. Kendra might be downplaying it, but it was a big deal. Brothers didn’t kiss their sisters. Oh, a quick kiss like I had given Holly earlier might be acceptable, but no kiss like what I had given Kendra would be. I gave Kendra a long look. She was trying to look nonchalant. Again, I felt that my kissing Holly was important to Kendra, that it was a hoop I had to jump through if I was going to make any progress. But I had no idea why. Was it because she wanted to know that I was so interested in her that I’d do something I didn’t want to do? Was it some sort of power play between her and Holly?

I looked over at Holly. She didn’t have a look of resignation this time. It was more like she was okay with whatever I decided. I knew Holly wanted me to date Kendra. Was Holly willing to go along with my kissing her in order to achieve her goal?

I asked Holly, “You okay with me kissing you?”

Holly closed her eyes and said, “I’m fine with whatever you decide.” It was like she was intentionally trying to keep me from being able to read what she wanted.

I decided that if Holly was okay with me jumping through this hoop, then I’d do it. I crossed the aisle and kissed her. She pressed her soft lips against mine. Her lips moved slightly as we kissed, almost stroking my lips. We kissed for about as long as Kendra and I had. It was a great kiss, even if it was from my sister.

I moved back to Kendra. She pressed her slick body more firmly against mine. “My,” she said in false seriousness, “it’s getting awfully hot in here.”

Had she found me kissing my sister hot? I didn’t see any other interpretation of her statement.

I said in the same false seriousness, “If you’re that warm, you can take your top off.” Kendra snorted. “You’ll be a lot more comfortable, and it won’t be a big deal because I’ve seen boobs before. Just like my kissing my sister wasn’t a big deal.”

I didn’t like being talked into kissing Holly, so I decided to try to put the shoe on her foot to see how Kendra would react. I didn’t expect her to take her top off, but I enjoyed asking her to take her top off in an unserious, flirting way.

Kendra gave me a smirk and then raised an eyebrow. “You’ve seen a lot of boobs?”