Jinx

The cage finally arrived, empty, and we took it one floor down. I finished my coffee while we made the short trip and deposited the empty cup in a trashcan as we crossed the pool area. I walked along the path toward the beach, side by side with Andy, drawing in the morning sea air and feeling wonderfully revved up and overjoyed to be alive on such a fine morning.

The sun was just creeping above the eastern horizon as we walked out onto the beach. We stood there, watching it for a few moments, and I felt Andy gently slip his arm around my waist.

"Look out there," he said, pointing with his right hand. "See the dolphins?"

I tried to sight along his outstretched right arm. It took me a moment, but then I caught the shapes of a pod of dolphins, gamboling in the waves a couple hundred yards off the beach.

"They're so close in," I wondered aloud. "I wonder what would happen, if we tried to swim out to them?"

"We'd probably get arrested," Andy snorted. "It's against the law to get within something like fifty feet of them, in the wild. They're a protected species."

"My roommate told he that, when she was down here a few years ago, her family took their boat out to do some fishing, and some dolphins came up to within about fifteen feet of the boat."

"The dolphins must get a free pass," he shrugged. "Maybe ignorance of the law IS an excuse, for them."

"Oh, well," I sighed. "Let's get warmed up and go for that run."

We did some stretching exercises to warm up and limber up our legs for the run. I confess that I wasn't really up on that sort of thing. Swimming is my sport, and that requires a different type of stretches, so I was basically copying Andy's moves. I wasn't much of a runner, but I wouldn't have passed up any chance to be with him on our birthday - not even for the world.

"Hey, uh - Happy Birthday, Andy!"

"Happy Birthday, Annie! I almost forgot."

I knew he hadn't forgotten; that was just his method for deflecting attention from the fact that he hadn't been the first one to express the wish. I smiled and let it ride, then reached up and slipped my arms around his neck, pulling his face down closer to my level, so that I could plant a big wet smooch on his cheek. In turn, he kissed me on the forehead. As we each drew back a pace, I noticed that the lump in his spandex had grown a bit. I saw him follow the line of my gaze, but - strangely - he didn't blush. I figured that my little talk with him, in the ocean the previous afternoon, must have finally sunk in.

"Let's jog a bit," he said, and I guessed that he probably wanted to settle himself.

We jogged down the beach for a couple miles, then turned and headed back. Our hotel was an easy landmark to keep track of, so there was no way we could get lost. I lagged a couple paces behind him, for the first half-mile, or so. Like I said, I'm not much of a runner, and he was clearly in much better shape than I was, for that sort of thing. Lagging behind had its compensations, though. I couldn't help but enjoy the view I was having, of his firm body and tight buttocks, and the outline of his package as he periodically turned around to make sure I was keeping up. After the first half-mile, though, he slowed his pace so that we were jogging side by side. I enjoyed that view of him even more.

I did notice one thing, about running. It wasn't visible under the gym shorts, but the movement had the crotch of my swimsuit creeping up into my vulva, providing a most delightful friction that was making me extremely horny.

"I might have to rethink this whole jogging thing," I thought to myself, smiling. I was a little tired by the time we got close to our return point, and I could definitely feel the 'burn' in my legs, but the feeling between my legs was very enjoyable. I didn't realize just how enjoyable it had been, until we finally got back to the pool area and I noticed that the growing moisture between my legs had soaked through the fabric of my swimsuit and was now visible as a darker patch in the crotch of my light gray gym shorts.

I wondered if Andy had noticed, and glanced at his groin, taking note of the prominent lump, there. He caught me looking, but I was pretty certain that he'd seen the evidence of my own arousal, already, from the grin he was wearing as he looked at me. I doffed the shorts, quickly, and stepped under one of the poolside showerheads to rinse off the sweat I'd worked up. And, yes, I was blushing noticeably, the entire time.

Andy smirked a little, as he watched me glide my hands over my arms and shoulders, and down my legs, to wipe at the sweat, but he didn't say a word. How could he, since he was sporting a bit of wood, too? He stepped under the showerhead next to mine, to calm things down for himself.

"You up for a morning swim?" I asked him, as the idea struck me.

"Pool or ocean?" he asked, in return.

"Ocean, of course!" I grinned.

"Lead the way, Sis," he nodded.

"Uh-uh," I shook my head as I extended my left hand to him. "Together."

Wordlessly, he took my hand in his. We climbed back over the dune on the board-paved walkway and walked across the beach to the ocean. We waded in slowly, both of us surprised at how warm the water was, this early in the day. We waded a little farther out, until we were in chest-deep water, and came to a stop, letting ourselves float.

The morning had a somewhat surreal feeling to it. The beach had been just about deserted, when we took our jog - we'd only seen two people sweeping the sand with metal detectors, hoping to come upon some valuable bauble lost by an unfortunate swimmer or surfer - and it was still that way. Just at the edge of my vision, looking northward, there was a man and a young boy - perhaps Jason's age - just getting a kite aloft in the light onshore breeze. Looking southward, I couldn't see a soul. It was almost as though Andy and I had the beach, and the ocean, all to ourselves for this moment in time, and it seemed somehow very right.

Being there, in the water with Andy, was a real treat. We floated close together, our bodies touching numerous times. We weren't groping, but we weren't avoiding the intermittent contact, either. Judging by the feel of things, whenever my thigh or hip happened to brush against him, Andy was in a nearly constant state of full erection. My own level of arousal matched his and, at one point, I had the fleeting thought of how interesting it might be to make love, bobbing in the surf like we were, letting the 'motion of the ocean' take us where it would.

I noticed Andy's head constantly moving, his eyes surveying the water around us.

"Looking for something?" I chided him. "I'm over here!"

"Sorry," he blushed. "I've kinda been keeping an eye out for sharks. There are no lifeguards out, yet, to watch for them."

"We're safe, right now," I told him, pointing farther out to sea. "The dolphins are still playing and feeding, out there. There's a natural enmity between sharks and dolphins, and sharks won't come near a pod that size."

"I didn't know that," he replied, raising one eyebrow at me.

"They probably don't teach stuff like that, in business courses," I chuckled.

"Yeah, that's true," he nodded.

I turned around, to look back at the beach and the string of hotels that stood like sentinels against the morning sky. People were starting to appear on the beach in fair numbers, now that the sun was out in full blaze. My stomach was beginning to growl a little, as well. I glanced at my watch, a cheap waterproof Timex diver's model that I'd purchased in preparation for this trip, and noticed the time.

"It's 8:30," I commented to Andy. "You getting hungry, yet?"

"I've been hungry, Annie," he laughed. "That jog really worked up my appetite."

"Well, why didn't you say something, silly?" I asked him.

"A couple things, actually," he said, blushing slightly.

"Fess up," I prodded him.

"Well, spending this time with you, having the beach and the ocean almost all to ourselves, felt... well, kinda special, and I didn't want to ruin the moment..."

"That's really sweet of you, to say that," I murmured. "And the other reason?"

"Well, I'm kinda not in any condition to get out of the water, just now."

"If you're referring to that bulge in your trunks, don't sweat it," I chuckled, tossing him a naughty wink. "Unless Jason managed to pry Mom and Dad out of the sack, already - which is very doubtful - there isn't a soul on that beach that knows we're brother and sister. For all they know, we're a couple here on our honeymoon, and we've been out for an early swim, and now you're taking me back to our suite to ravage my body passionately! Most of the guys who bother to look will be jealous of you, because of the size of that lump and the pretty girl you're with, and the women who chance to see you will be jealous of me, and drooling over the bulge. Let's go get breakfast!"

A good part of what I said - at least the part about what other folks on the beach might think - was pretty much the truth. As for the rest of it, if it planted any ideas in his head, about me, so much the better. By this time, I was over the line as far as my thoughts about Andy were concerned, and I was hoping to shift his thoughts to the point where they matched mine.

We waded out of the surf, hand in hand, and strode calmly across the beach to the boardwalk leading to our hotel. We stopped for poolside showers, again, and Andy grabbed a pair of those big fluffy towels from the bin and tossed one to me. We dried off, tossed the towels into the used-towel bin, and headed for the elevator. We got off on our floor, but turned the other direction, looking for the continental breakfast that the hotel brochures in our room had advertised.

We found it easily enough, in a room off the main hall near the lobby, and I quickly grabbed a banana. I figured that the natural sugars would do well to give me some energy, while the high potassium content would work to stave off any cramping of my legs from the morning's exertions. I was already munching a bit of it, by the time Andy settled on a bagel with cream cheese and some yogurt. We took our food and headed back toward our room. Since the hallway was fairly deserted, and I'd caught Andy glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, I risked doing the old 'girl eating banana' trick that guys make such a big deal out of. It must have had the desired affect, because I heard him clear his throat after almost choking on a bite of bagel.

At the door to our room, I used my key-card, but it was Andy who palmed the door-handle and then held it open while I entered first. Man, I was really beginning to appreciate that gentlemanly side of him. I couldn't have told you the last time any of my boyfriends or dates had bothered holding a door for me!

Inside the room, he told me, "You get to shower first today."

"Thanks, Andy," I told him. "I appreciate it."

"And don't use all the hot water!" he called out after me, chuckling.

"Thanks, 'Dad'," I laughed. "This is a hotel. They have water heaters the size of our entire house. I can't run us out of hot water!"

I finished off the banana, grabbed the rest of my toilet kit, and headed for the bathroom. While we were out, housekeeping had tidied up, made the beds, replaced the used towels, and placed a crop of fresh soap, shampoos, and conditioners on the counter between the sinks. The hotel stuff wasn't all that bad but, when a woman wants to look her best, she wants her own shampoo, conditioner, and things.

I picked a sink and laid the contents of my toilet kit out on the counter in a neat arrangement and then turned on the shower, running the temperature dial up to a nice, hot setting. Stepping into the roomy stall, I washed quickly, rinsed, and then let myself spend some 'special time' taking care of the lust I'd built up over the morning hours. I was beyond caring, at this point, and I freed my mind to go to all those places I'd been trying to avoid since setting out on this trip. I closed my eyes, building the image as clearly as I could: Andy, stepping into the shower with me, putting a gentle fingertip under my chin to lift my face to his. Andy, lowering his lips to mine, for a soul consuming kiss. Those were Andy's hands, not my own, stroking my breasts and gently rolling my nipples between his thumbs and index fingertips. Andy's hand, drifting leisurely down my abdomen, gliding across my freshly-waxed mons, gently stroking my inflamed clit. Andy's cock, pressing deep into me, as I worked my fingers madly inside my slickened pussy. I guess I must have moaned aloud when I came. I don't really recall doing so, but I was so caught up in my fantasy that I wasn't fully aware of my surroundings at that point, even when I thought I heard Andy tapping on the door.

When I didn't respond, he rapped again, and then cracked the door open a tiny bit.

"Are you okay, Annie?" he called to me.

My hand was still working me gently, trying to keep the trailing edge of my orgasm purring, when I realized that - if I could see his face in the partly open doorway - then he could see a reflection of me, in the mirror, and the shower stall's outer wall and door were clear glass.

"Oops!" I exclaimed, quickly turning my back to the mirror - not that his seeing my naked ass was any better than his seeing my full frontal nudity.

"Oh, god, Annie! I'm so sorry!" he gulped, and quickly closed the door.

Now, I'd done it! I didn't know what to do. Part of me wanted to go out and grab him, rip his clothes off, and drag him into the shower to do to me for real what he'd been doing in my fantasy. The other part wanted to hide in a corner. I decided to try and pretend that the incident hadn't happened, for now. I got out, dried off, and wrapped the towel around me, as I had the day before.

Walking out into the main room, I smiled at Andy and said, "Your turn."

"Thanks, Annie," he said. He'd already put his shower stuff in a pile, and he grabbed it and disappeared into the bathroom.

"And we hope you enjoyed the show," I murmured quietly, as he closed the bathroom door.

Now that I had the main room all to myself, I dropped the towel on the bed, stretched, and dug into my suitcase for a fresh, dry swimsuit and a beach dress. I slipped into the swimsuit, an emerald green one piece that went very well with my blonde hair, and checked my reflection in the mirrored closet door. I looked good in the suit, even if I did say so, myself. Over top of the suit, I draped the beach dress, which covered my shoulders and dropped to just above my knees. Now all I had to do was wait until Andy was done in the bathroom so that I could get back in there and tend to my hair and makeup.

Speaking of Andy, I hadn't exactly kept a watch on how long I'd spent in the shower, but he'd taken at least as long as me, by now, if not longer. I wondered, more than briefly, if he'd been taking care of an issue similar to the one that had plagued me, earlier. Just thinking about him, standing under the spray of hot water, stroking his big cock with a slick, soapy hand, had me feeling randy, again. Try as I might (and, if I have to be honest, I probably wasn't trying all that hard) I couldn't get the image of him, pulling on those black spandex shorts that morning, out of my head. I'd wound up being just a couple seconds short of seeing him without them, which fact frustrated me more than a little, given what he'd now seen, of me. He'd been aroused for a significant portion of the time we'd been together, that morning, and I was pretty sure that I was the proximate cause of his arousal.

I was seated in one of the upholstered chairs in the room, with my eyes closed, still thinking about how big he'd felt while we were in the water, when Andy came back into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was no longer sporting any wood, so I assumed that my suspicions about his shower activities were confirmed. I peeked out of my still-mostly-closed eyes, to see if I could catch him as he changed, but he had his back toward me. All I got to see were his nice buns. He dressed, then, as I had: dry trunks, first, under a pair of cargo shorts and a tee shirt.

"Want to go sit by the pool until Mom, Dad and Jason get down?" he asked me.

My eyes popped open, "Yeah, we can do that or you could tell me what you're thinking."

His eyes searched mine. "I'm thinking what a nice birthday it's been so far. It could only get better."

He wasn't taking my bait. I wondered if he was feeling anything like I was. It felt to awkward to push further, so I said, "Okay, let's go sit by the pool."

I guess that Jason must have dragged Mom and Dad out of bed earlier than they had planned because, when Andy and I stepped out onto the pool deck, we spotted the three of them seated around a square table with an umbrella above it, eating a light brunch.

"Hey, you two! Happy Birthday!" Mom and Dad greeted us, one slightly after the other.

"Thanks," we both said in unison. After a second, I glanced over at Andy, who - in turn - was glancing at me. For some unknown reason, neither of us had taken the opportunity to jinx the other. Maybe we'd each subconsciously decided that our shared birthday should be a holiday from jinxes.

"You want something to eat?" Dad asked.

"Nah," Andy waved off the offer. "We got up early, went for a run and then a swim to cool off, and then caught a light continental breakfast, so we're good. You three sleep well?

"Yesterday afternoon was a good workout, and left us a bit tired," Mom smiled. "We were out like light bulbs, the minute our heads hit the pillows. How about you two?"

"Pretty much the same, Mom," I chuckled. I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow! Next thing I knew, Andy was waking me up to ask me if I wanted to go for a run with him. The sun was just coming up, but it was so gorgeous out that I couldn't resist."

"Well, I don't think we could have asked for better weather," Mom said.

"I thought you told me that you put in an order for it, dear," Dad chided her.

We all agreed that the weather - and the local extended forecast, according to Dad and Jason - was for nearly picture perfect days for the rest of our stay. Andy and I sat with them as they finished eating, and we planned out the rest of our day. We would relax, play, and swim until 3:00, and then head back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. Dad had made reservations at the restaurant for 4:30, at which time we'd celebrate our birthdays officially.

We didn't have to look for a place to set up our base camp for the day. Dad had reserved one of those 12-foot by 12-foot 'quick-shelter' canopies for the day, and someone from the hotel staff had already been down there and set it up on prime beach real estate, tagging it with a 'Reserved for Riley' tag. We laid out the sheet, to start setting up, and then a beach-buggy-type vehicle pulled up with some plastic and canvas beach lounge chairs on it - apparently part of reserving a cabana. Wow!

Andy and Jason wandered a few yards away, to toss a Frisbee, and I pulled one of the lounges out into the sun to tan for a while. I placed the lounge so that I could watch my brothers out of the corner of my eye without appearing to actually be watching them. I watched them playing with butterflies in my belly the entire time. I couldn't have said where the anticipation was coming from, but it was getting the better of me. Eventually, I gave up trying to quell it, since it refused to be stifled and waded out into the water. Jason showed up within a few minutes, with his boogie board.

"Will you watch me, Annie?" he asked. "Dad said I needed you or Andy nearby."

"Sure thing," I told him. "Where's Andy?"

"He said he had to go use the bathroom," Jason explained, "but I want to ride waves, and..."