Jinx

"Yeah, we haven't seen much of each other, these last couple years," I admitted, finally.

"I thought you were avoiding me," he said disheartened.

That stung, mostly because it had been largely true.

"I'm so sorry, Andy!" I exclaimed, as I leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "I was trying to be strong." I turned away quickly and looked out the window. Tears were forming in my eyes.

"I know you thought we always relied on one another a little too much," he said, as he stroked my hair. "Please, don't cry."

His last words startled me. How the heck had he known I was crying? At first, I thought that maybe he saw them in one of the mirrors, but - with me facing out my side window, that was impossible. Then, the truth finally dawned on me.

"Silly girl! He's your twin. He knows you're crying, the same way you've always known things about each other without having to say them!"

I wiped the tears away, but more came. I wasn't sobbing; it was just that the tears were flowing and I couldn't seem to stop them. My decision to avoid him felt so stupid, in that moment. I had become less reliant on him, but the connection - the attraction between us - had not dimmed one whit! No, in fact, the attraction was even stronger now. The saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it was obviously true in my case!

"Andy, I was selfish and stupid. Do you forgive me?" I asked, as I still gazed out the window.

"Annie, you don't ever need my forgiveness. It'd be like forgiving a part of myself."

I nearly melted hearing his words. Nothing could keep us apart. I turned around and flung my arms around him.

"I love you," we said in unison.

Tears were still streaking down my cheeks. Andy glanced at me, taking his eyes off the road momentarily. I waited for it - I knew it was coming. He was dangling it out there forever. Why wasn't he just going to pull the trigger? Then I knew he wasn't going to do it. This was too serious a moment, for either one of us to play that stupid game. I held back as well. We both knew. I knew that we knew, and I knew that he understood, as well. We simply weren't to the point where either one of us was ready to admit the underlying implication of those three little words.

I released my embrace and leaned back in my seat. My tears were starting to ebb, and Andy passed me a tissue from the little box on my dash. I closed my eyes and let the new feeling wash over me, taking joy in it and wondering, with a little apprehension, what would happen between us over the next few days and nights - most especially the nights, as we shared our own room together.

What seemed like just moments later; Andy had opened the passenger door and was gently shaking me awake. We had arrived at the hotel. I'd fallen asleep and he'd driven the entire remainder of the trip. He hadn't shut the engine off, and I took a quick glance at the little digital clock. It was only mid-afternoon. I felt a little better, in that I knew I hadn't been asleep that long, but I hadn't meant to do even that.

"You okay, Annie?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I guess I needed a nap."

He extended a hand and assisted me out of the car. As I stood, I turned and looked at the back seat and the rear cargo area. They were both empty.

"Where's our stuff?" I asked.

"It's already in our room," he explained. "Dad checked everybody in and gave me our keys. I told him and Mom that you were napping, and I think they got a chuckle out of it. At any rate, I fished in your purse and found your other set of car keys, grabbed our bags, and left you here with the car locked and the air conditioning running while I took our stuff inside. Figured I'd give you a few more minutes to doze."

Looking around I saw Dad's car next to mine, but didn't see them. "Did they already go in?" I asked.

"Yeah, Mom, Dad and Jason are on the third floor in one of those suites with a fold-out couch. We're on the first floor," he informed me.

I was excited to see our room but didn't want Andy to know. "You lead the way, brother dear."

Andy was carrying his bag in one hand and holding the magnetic card pouch in the other. We took the elevator up from the ground floor parking and found ourselves inside the lobby. Andy looked at the card and said, "I guess we're down here to the left."

He stopped in front of room 121, slid the card and the door clicked. He held the door open for me to go through.

"Such a gentleman," I praised him. Inside, I was a little disappointed to find that there were two double beds. In the back of my mind - and especially in light of what we'd confessed to each other not that long ago, I'd been hoping there'd only be one, and we'd be forced to share it.

"Which one would you like, Andy?"

"Oh, I don't care, you pick, Annie."

"Hmm, okay, I'll take the one closest to the bathroom."

Andy went over to the one next to the sliding door and opened the drapes. Outside the big sliding door, there was a little balcony with two plastic chairs and a little table, and a great view of the beach. The room, itself, was very nice, with a bright and cheery décor and color scheme in soft yellows and browns.

"I hope this isn't costing them too much," Andy said.

"I was thinking the same thing," I agreed. "This place looks brand new."

"Well, Dad said we were going to meet by the pool before heading down to the beach for a swim before dinner," Andy informed me. "You want to get changed first?"

"Yeah," I said a little too excitedly. I grabbed my one-piece swimsuit from the small pouch in the side of my bag and headed to the restroom quickly. Inside there was a very nice walk-in shower that looked big enough to fit two people without being crowded. The twin-sink vanity appeared to be granite, and was decorated with the usual array of little bottles of shampoo and lotion. A bar of facial soap rested in a cute little dish that was shaped like a scallop shell. A compact pistol-shaped blow-dryer hung in a little rack on one wall above the sink. The toilet area was at the opposite end of the room, and had a door that could close it off for privacy. A nice tall open cabinet with bath linens topped the whole thing off. I was in awe.

I changed quickly, and then took a glance at my reflection in the mirror., I noticed the streaking on my face from crying earlier, and took a wash cloth to clean up.

Andy must have told them to go ahead before they saw me, I thought to myself.

The thoughtfulness of his action sent a warm tingle up my spine. I stood there looking at myself and tried to put on a smile. My body image was giving me pause, for a split second, I wished I had just slightly larger breasts. Nothing huge, just a little to fill out my swimsuit a little - and maybe make Andy look.

As satisfied as I could be, with my appearance, I went back out to the main area of the room. Andy had risked changing with me taking so long. He looked cute - and hot - wearing a pair of tight black spandex swim shorts. They weren't 'low-rise', and they came down to his upper thigh, but they did very little to conceal the size of his package. He was standing sideways looking out the window, so I was getting a profile view that had me staring again. He wasn't looking at me, initially, but as I entered the room, he heard me, turned, and caught me staring at it - er, him. We both started blushing.

"Sorry, Andy. I - um - I didn't expect that." I continued blushing.

"I got them for the trip," he said smiling mischievously.

"Expecting to score, down on the beach?" I teased.

"No, but I'm probably in the best shape I've been in my whole life. The way my luck runs, by the next time I get to a beach, I'll either be too old - or I'll have too big a pot-belly or something - to feel at all comfortable wearing this sort of thing. Flaunt it while you've got it, you know. Well, let's go find the rest of the family, shall we?"

I put my room key in one of those swimmers' wrist wallets, grabbed my beach towel, and we headed to the pool. We found Mom and Dad almost immediately. They had evidently already gotten Jason a boogie board, and he was super happy and couldn't wait to get in the water with it. He was asking Andy if he'd take him out, before we even reached them.

"Andy, Andy, will you take me out? Dad said the water was a little too rough for me to go, by myself."

"Sure, buddy. Let's go. We'll see y'all down there," he said leaving with Jason.

"They are so great, together," I said to Mom.

"Andy is a great big brother," she agreed.

"Hey, I was going to get that board for Jason. I know you guys must be spending a bunch on this place. Won't you let me pay for it?"

"Ann, you are such a dear," Mom said. "We've been saving for this trip, for quite a while. You and Andy never got many vacations, when you were younger, and there was never one where we went to any beach. We wanted to do this now, before we all get too old to really enjoy it. Jason is getting old enough to remember this kind of stuff, and we really wanted you and Andy to have a great twenty-first birthday."

"That's right, honey. We're picking up all of the expenses on this," Dad agreed. "Now let's not have another word about money, and get down to that beach."

I don't think I'd ever seen Mom or Dad quite so happy. They were practically as giddy as teenagers, themselves. We all rushed down to the beach and found where Andy and Jason had dropped their towels and sandals. I kicked my sandals off and went to find the boys, while Mom and Dad spread out a big sheet they'd brought.

The beach was a little crowded, since it was late afternoon, but I quickly spotted both my brothers down at the water's edge, Andy helping Jason to figure out his board. The waves were a little rough and Andy was hovering around Jason as the youngster took what was probably his second or third solo run. I splashed out into the ocean, timing my advances to meet waves with the least impact. I reached Andy just as Jason - who'd tumbled off his board in that last wave - came up for air. Quickly, Andy had him by both arms.

"You okay, buddy?" Andy asked him. I don't know why he bothered, though. I could tell by the ear-to-ear grin that split his face - so very like Andy's own, when he was really having fun - that the kid was perfectly okay and loving it.

"Yeah, that was great! Take me out farther!" Jason implored him.

"Let's stay around here for a bit longer, little guy," Andy said laughingly.

"He's just raring to go, isn't he?" I asked.

"He's a daredevil!" Andy laughed. "He scared the crap out of me, right before you showed up!"

"Must take after somebody," I mused, scratching my head and grinning at him. "I wonder who?"

"Now, now," Andy waggled a finger at me. "Seems to me that we both had a little of the 'daredevil' in us, growing up."

By this time, Jason had paddled out a few yards farther, slipping up the rise of the next wave to catch it as big brother had taught him, and I moved closer to Andy, touching him lightly on the arm.

"You're a really good big brother, Andy," I told him.

"Thanks. I like hanging out with him. He's a neat kid."

"You're going to make some lucky kid a great dad," I predicted.

"Well, not any time soon," Andy said laughing. "Not the way my luck's been running."

Jason was really getting the hang of his board. He came in with another wave, this time riding all the way in until his board hit the sand, and headed right back out. Andy was giving him a little more freedom, now, and loosening up.

As we waded together in the waist-deep water, watching Jason, I said, "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier."

"Annie, I told you, you don't need to be sorry or forgiven. Stop worrying about it."

Without thinking, I leaned toward him and hugged him tight, again. I wanted him to know how much I appreciated him. He was hugging me back, when I suddenly realized he was stiffening against me. I ignored it, but Andy seemed embarrassed and let go of me, backing away a few inches. The water was up above our stomachs, though, so nothing was visible.

"Sorry, Annie," he mumbled.

"Now you're the one who doesn't have to apologize," I teased, looking slightly up into his face.

The tease didn't work at all the way I'd hoped. He grew very red in the face, but I could tell that it was the blush of his embarrassment, not anger at me. He swam out a bit farther until the water was up to his chest. I stayed back, watching Jason, not wanting to leave him alone. I also wanted to give Andy the space that he needed, just then.

Jason was now out at the point where the water between waves was nearly up to his head as he tried to reach where I was, so I moved in a bit. Once I was sure that Jason could get to me, I took a quick glance at the shore. Mom and Dad were standing together at the tide line, but they hadn't come in yet. It was weird, since Dad had seemed so eager to get down to the beach. Jason was a decent swimmer, though, so I didn't cover him too closely.

"What's the matter with Andy?" Jason asked when he got close enough to me that he didn't have to shout.

I struggled for several seconds to come up with an answer. "You know Andy and I are both introverts, right?" I asked him.

"What's that? Is it part of being a twin?"

"No," I laughed. "It means that we often like to be alone. We don't always want to be with a bunch of people."

"Oh, yeah, Andy is like that sometimes. But he looks upset or something."

I turned and looked at Andy. He didn't really look upset to me.

"He might have been upset with me, a little, because I was teasing him a bit," I suggested. "Now, I think he's just contemplating. He'll be back to play with you, soon, I promise. For now, you wanna hop on my back? I can take you out a little farther."

"Yeah!" he exclaimed. That would be cool, Annie!"

He hooked onto my back, and I coached him how to wrap his legs around my waist and just grip my shoulders with his hands, so his arms wouldn't be around my neck. I was giving him a horse ride into the waves. Andy saw us, and smiled and waved. As for Jason, he was having way too much fun.

We'd bobbed around in the waves for several minutes, when Mom and Dad suddenly appeared beside us. Talk about being startled! They'd moved in on us so stealthily that I hadn't heard a thing!

"Hey, you two. I was wondering when you'd get out here," I said to them.

"We can't let you youngsters have all the fun," Dad chuckled. Then he turned to Jason. "You be careful you don't hurt your sister, young man!"

"I promise!" Jason told him

"He's fine, Dad." I told my father reassuringly.

We all spent the next hour playing and frolicking in the ocean. Dad took Jason on his back a while. Mom and I hung out together, a little closer to shore, keeping charge of the boogie-board. Andy even rejoined us. The entire family was together, relaxing in the water as the waves lessened during the tide-change. For the last couple months, we'd all been involved, in some way or other, in planning to try and make this the picture-perfect family vacation, and it was certainly looking and feeling as though we'd succeeded.

Eventually, Dad got a little tired of having Jason perched on his back, and he suggested that Jason and Mom try riding the boogie board together, while he took the long strap and towed them around. That was an instant smash-hit idea with Jason, who managed to wheedle his mother into going along with it, and they set off parallel to the shoreline, about thirty yards out from the beach.

When Andy and I had a little distance from the group, I closed in on him, hugged him again and murmured into his ear, "It's a natural thing, Andy. Please, don't feel bad about it; I sure as hell don't."

"Do you really mean that, Annie?" he asked me, quietly.

"Of course, I mean it, Bro! Trust me, there isn't a straight girl in the world, who doesn't feel at least a little bit 'complimented', when a handsome guy gets hard because he's standing close to her." I told him, letting just a little bit of my own feelings of arousal put a little 'husk' into my voice. "So, don't feel bad about it, please?"

This time he smiled, hugged me back and whispered, "Okay, I won't."

The shocking thing was how hard he was, just then. I could feel him against me, and I did my best to stay still and not move any more than the motion of the ocean forced me to. I got a little red, but tried to remain outwardly calm. Luckily we were over my chest, so my excited state wasn't visible either. However, I know Andy could tell, because they were sticking out at least the width of my thumb. We released each other, and swam leisurely for about a hundred yards or so, to rejoin the rest of the family. As we drew up to them, Dad was starting to say something.

"It's funny," he laughed, "but the last couple hours, playing around in the water, has worked up a bigger hunger in me than an entire afternoon of yard-work, back home!"

The rest of us chimed in, in total agreement with him. Mom put her hand up to shade her eyes, and gauged the sun. She'd always been pretty accurate, in gauging the time of day, that way.

"Yeah," she agreed. "It looks like it's getting to be about dinner time. By the time we get back to our rooms, rinse the beach sand off, and get dried off and dressed, it'll definitely be time to get something substantial to eat."

With that, we were all heading back into shore - Andy suggesting to Jason that he should 'catch that last wave, and ride it in, alone'. I think he was quoting one of those old surfing songs, but I wasn't certain. Mom and Dad gathered up their items and the sheet. The rest of us slipped our feet into our sandals and shook the sand out of our beach towels. Together, we trudged up the gentle slope of the beach, toward the gate leading to our hotel.

Dad informed us, "Tonight will be a simple meal. We'll save the good one for tomorrow."

"Our birthday!" Andy and I said in unison.

This time I didn't wait. "Jinx."

"Oh, that wasn't fair," Mom and Dad said together.

"Jinx," Dad said.

The perfect timing of the whole scene had me nearly doubled over with laughter, and Jason joined in the mirth. Dad wound up releasing Mom from her jinx for a kiss. I thought about that, for a second, but didn't think I could get away with it in front of Mom, Dad, and Jason, so I wound up releasing Andy without a penalty. We laughed and teased each other about it, the rest of the way up the beach.

We stopped, near the pool, to use the outdoor showers to briefly rinse the salt and most of the sand from ourselves, then grabbed towels provided by the hotel from a big bin, to hurriedly blot ourselves dry. Jason towel-snapped Andy on his buttocks, and that started us all laughing again. Somehow, we managed to calm down and at least present some aspect of decorum by the time we reached the bank of elevators.

"We'll meet in the lobby around 6:00 PM," Dad said, as the cage finally arrived on the ground floor. "We made reservations, just in case we might need them."

Andy and I got out on the first floor, and turned toward our room. "We'll see you at six," he called over his shoulder as the elevator doors closed.

Andy was quiet, as we walked down the hall to our room, and I figured that things were still just a little tense, between us. I figured I'd have to work to defuse the tension, but I hadn't come up with a plan, at the moment.

"You want to get your shower first?" I asked him.

"If you're okay with that, sure," he nodded. "But then, we should take turns. You can go first, tomorrow."

He went off to shower, then, taking his change of clothes with him. He was back out in record time and found me sitting on one of the balcony chairs, waiting.

"Your turn," he said.

I went to get my shower, but I decided not to take my change of clothes with me. Yes, it was just a little bit naughty of me. Oh, what the hell; it was downright wicked, he had me aroused, and I figured turn-about was fair plan. Besides, I wanted to see how he'd react to my changing in front of him.