Keeping Close Ch. 01: The Party

Fair warning, this story starts off a little slow, and my apologies for any spelling or grammatical errors. This is a work of fiction, and all of the characters are over 18.

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Alex stepped into the den, glanced over at the lounge, and scowled.

It was the first weekend of the New Year, and his parents had thrown their customary family party. As per usual, the adults had set about getting drunk in the kitchen and living room, packing the kids off to the den to play games and watch movies. Not that they were really kids any more, little Nina having turned nineteen last September.

Which was part of the problem.

His cousin Robbie was the source of his annoyance. He was sprawled on the lounge, his attention focussed on the gorgeous blonde sitting next to him. Her head rested on his shoulder as she watched the movie intently, seemingly oblivious to the gentle stroking of his fingers on her upper arm and the many hungry glances he directed at her ample cleavage.

Under most circumstances, Alex wouldn't have a problem with Robbie using a movie as an excuse to get close with a girl. He'd done it often enough himself. But this girl was different.

She was his sister.

Alex wasn't sure exactly when Robbie's obsession with Mara started, but he knew for certain his cousin desired her for the last four years. They'd had a pool party to celebrate Mara's twentieth birthday, and when she came out in a red bikini Robbie's tongue had nearly dragged on the floor. His eyes had been glued to her the entire night, so much so that even his mother Valerie had half-jokingly told him off for staring so much.

Although Robbie had tried to be less blatantly pervy from then on, it was still pretty obvious to Alex that he had a big thing for Mara. He was guaranteed to come to any family event she went to, and even blew off partying with friends to do so. Robbie also made a point of regularly coming by the house, especially during summer, offering to help out with the gardening as an excuse to watch Mara swimming and sunbathing in annoyingly revealing outfits.

While staying at Robbie's place once, Alex had even found a whole bunch of photos on his cousin's phone, all of them involving Mara either wearing skimpy clothing or posing in ways that emphasised her full breasts and pert ass. Alex had no doubt his cousin masturbated to them frequently, but what he found more disturbing was Mara was clearly aware she was being photographed in every picture.

He was pretty sure Mara didn't return Robbie's feelings. If anything, she didn't seem to recognise them at all. She seemed completely oblivious to how he'd stare at her chest whenever she wore something tight, or how he always insisted on letting her enter rooms and climb stairs ahead of him. The few times he was extremely transparent with his affections, such as the time he got a sizable erection from wrestling with her in the pool, she casually brushed it off. At most he'd get a playful slap on the arm and be called a perv, but in general she either ignored or downplayed how much he lusted over her.

Yet despite not recognising his lust for her, she almost seemed to egg him on. She happily wore insanely revealing outfits around him without a qualm, playfully flirted with him, and endured ― if not encouraged ― physical contact. Her cuddling up to him during the movie was just one such example, where she was somehow unaware of the lustful undertones to Robbie's enjoyment of her company.

It annoyed Alex. He knew nothing would ever happen, they were cousins after all, but Robbie's persistence and his sister's ambivalence got on his nerves.

Out of pettiness, Alex chose to flop down next to Mara, and was rewarded with an irritated glance from Robbie as he was forced to withdraw his arm. Typically, Mara's only response was to sit up straighter, the slight jiggling of her breasts totally capturing Robbie's attention as she shifted position. As Alex himself settled into a more comfortable slouch, he was surprised to make eye contact with Jenna, Robbie's sister, who frowned at him disapprovingly.

"What?" he asked quietly, but she just shook her head.

"Later," she mouthed back, and returned to watching the movie.

It was a pretty boring movie, some shitty rom-com from the nineties, and Alex was almost relieved when Nina looked up from her phone and announced that if she got any more bored she was going to die. They unanimously decided to flick the movie off, but spent the next twenty minutes arguing over what else to do. Nina characteristically had no suggestions, but generally picked apart all of the other movies Jenna suggested they watch. Robbie was also fairly useless, keeping quiet except when seconding whatever activity Mara suggested.

Eventually, Alex suggested a board game. In hindsight, it was a tactical error. The group rejected Monopoly straight away, and tore through the rest of the games in short order.

Then Robbie found it.

"Hey guys," he said eagerly, roughly pulling a box from the pile of old games in the cupboard. "Look what I've got."

And he held up Twister.

Jenna groaned. "I suck at Twister," she sighed.

Alex wasn't surprised. Jenna wasn't fat by any means, but she didn't have the same willowy frames that Mara and Nina did. Where Mara was gentle, graceful curves and Nina was compact and petite, Jenna was curvaceous and full-bodied, with a round ass and soft, pillowy breasts. She actually reminded Alex a lot of an actress he liked, Ariel Winter, which was something he tried not to consciously acknowledge.

"I also hate Twister," Alex said, although his objection was based on more than dislike for the game. He knew Robbie only picked the game because it would give him a chance to see Mara contorted in various positions. He also wouldn't put it past his cousin to take the opportunity to rub up against her or "accidentally" put his hands where he shouldn't, and Alex had no interest in seeing that.

"Oh, come on Alex," Mara said, nudging him gently. "It'll be fun."

"I'm in too," Nina said unexpectedly. "Which means it's three against two, so we win."

"Heccas," Robbie said. "Alex, help me move the lounge so we have more space."

With a sigh, Alex did so, and they quickly unfurled the plastic sheet and spread it in the centre of the room. He was surprised and dismayed to see it was much smaller than he remembered it being, but a quick glance at Robbie showed him this only pleased his cousin. They were going to have get pretty close to play, which for Robbie was clearly a dream come true. Alex wasn't sure if he was just imagining things, but it looked like Robbie already had a bit of a bulge in his shorts.

"I'll do the spinner," Jenna said, scooping it off the floor and placing it on her lap. "Someone has to and I'm not a big fan of Twister anyway."

"Anyone else want a drink?" Nina asked as she stretched her lithe body in preparation for the game. Alex blinked and looked away, realising he'd been idly staring. "I'm in the mood to get a bit pissed, and it's not like the oldies will notice a few missing bottles."

"I could go for a few," Alex said, and Robbie and Mara did likewise.

"Cool," Nina said. "Go and grab them for us then, would you?"

"Nina," Jenna chided. "Could you be any lazier?"

"What?" Nina said. "Alex is a big strong man. Surely he doesn't mind doing his little cousin a favour?"

"It's fine, Jenna," Alex said, half-smiling despite himself. It was classic Nina. "I'll get them. What does everyone want?"

"My dad brought some Jacks, so I'll have some of that if there's any left," Robbie said. "If they're all gone just snag me a couple beers."

"Wine for me please," Mara said. "Either prosecco or moscato."

Jenna likewise asked for wine, so Alex made a mental note to grab a couple glasses. He then turned to Nina, who had finished her stretches and resumed playing on her phone.

"Nina?"

"Hmm?" she asked, still engrossed with her phone.

He sighed. "What did you want to drink?"

"Oh, right," she said, glancing up. "Could I please have a couple cruisers? If there's none left, just find my something else that's sweet or fruity."

"Right," Alex said, and left.

As usual, his parents and their guests were thoroughly enjoying themselves and barely noticed his presence. His father, uncles, and their friends were drunkenly hollering at some sports game on television; his mother, aunts, and their friends clustered at the table, talking and regularly breaking into fits of high-pitched laughter. Aside from one of his uncles drunkenly shooting him with a finger-gun, no one acknowledged him as he made his way into the kitchen and started going through the fridge.

He quickly found a couple of cans of Jacks for Robbie and some raspberry cruisers for Nina, and some wine for Mara and Jenna. After a pause, he grabbed a small esky and put the drinks in it. While it wouldn't keep them super cold without any ice in it, it would keep them cool for a while, and it made them easier to carry. He was going through a cupboard to find some wineglasses when he heard clacking footsteps from behind him, and felt a warm body press against him as a hand cupped and squeezed his behind.

"You better not have drunk too much," a voice murmured in his ear. "It's been too long since you gave me a good dicking."

Alex stiffened in shock and turned, coming face-to-face with an absolute beauty. Her gorgeous face was framed by curled auburn hair that cascaded onto her pale shoulders, which were otherwise bare in her strapless black dress. The dress clung to her in all the right places, emphasising the swell of her hips, the roundness of her ass, the fullness of her breasts. He stared into her green eyes, bright with drink, and stammered wordlessly.

"Ah-ah-uh, Aunt Valerie...?"

Her gorgeous eyes widened in surprise and she took half a step back quickly. "Oh shit," she exclaimed, "I thought you were Richard."

"Right," he said awkwardly and looked at her, clutching the wineglasses to his chest. He expected Valerie to step back further or leave, but instead she hesitated.

"I'm sorry about that," she apologised. "I must be drunker than I thought," she said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, you must be," Alex said jokingly, trying to defuse the tension, but the way she was looking at him made the words die in his throat.

"No doubt," Valerie said, looking him up and down avidly. "I have no idea how I confused you for Rich, he hasn't been this toned in years."

"Uh, thanks," he said awkwardly. "I try to keep active."

"Well it's working," she murmured, leaning closer to him and stroking one of his arms gently. Alex swallowed. "My nephew has grown up into a man, and such a handsome one. I bet girls are throwing themselves all over you."

Alex smiled at her nervously. "I do alright."

"I bet you do," Valerie said huskily, leaning even closer, her top gaping as she did so. "I bet you could have any woman you want."

He couldn't help himself. On reflex, Alex's eyes flicked down for a quick glance at her chest. Goddamn fucking damn it. Her breasts were round and full, the creamy skin lightly flushed with drink (or arousal). They strained against the taunt fabric of her dress, and he could see the imprints of her hard nipples. He looked back up, and saw that as drunk as she was, Valerie had clearly noticed him looking. She smiled and suddenly drew him into a tight hug, pressing her breasts against his chest.

"Any woman," she breathed in his ear, then softly brushed her lips against his cheek. She broke off their embrace and walked away, hips swaying hypnotically. At the kitchen doorway she paused and looked back at him. Her gaze ever so briefly flicked down, then she smiled and walked away, leaving Alex standing there with the most intense and confused erection of his life.

"What the fuck was that?" he said, then shook his head. "Just move on, man," he thought aloud, and gathered up the glasses and the eksy with the drinks. "She was drunk and out of it," he told himself, carefully returning to the den. "It's okay to recognise that your aunt is objectively attractive, but that response is not okay. Pretend it never happened, never bring it up, and never think about it ever again. Simple."

Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the den and placed the esky down.

"Yay, drinks!" Nina squealed, immediately grabbing and opening a cruiser. "Thanks, Alex."

"Thank you, Alex," Jenna echoed, pouring herself a glass of wine. "You want a glass, Mara?" she asked, and Alex looked over to find Robbie hadn't wasted any time.

The pair were already standing on the Twister sheet, with Robbie standing close behind her, arms wrapped around her waist. She was laughing and leaning away from him, inadvertently pushing her ass against his crouch as she squirmed and wiggled playfully to escape his grip.

"C'mon, you can do it," Robbie urged. "Even you aren't that uncoordinated."

"I'm more concerned about my dress riding up," Mara said, leaning back against him and tugging her dress down to mid-thigh. Robbie rested his head against hers, and peered down the front of her dress as she readjusted.

"That's not a big deal," Robbie soothed, gently caressing her toned stomach with one hand, using the other to keep her firmly pressed against him. "We're all family here."

"I think I might quickly get changed," Mara said. "This dress looks good, but it's not really comfortable to move around and bend in."

"If that's what you want to do," Robbie agreed cheerfully. "Hell, if you want some help picking something else out that looks just as good..."

Mara twisted in his arms and gave him an arch look. "Like I care about my little cousin's opinion, huh?"

Robbie grinned down at her. "Not so little anymore," he insisted and squeezed her tightly, in the process pushing his throbbing erection against her hip. He was aware of Alex scowling in his peripherals, but who cared about that when he had this sexy blonde in his arms.

Mara grinned back up at him. "No, you aren't," she said, and he swore she deliberately pushed back against his cock. Robbie looked at her with surprise and she smiled at him mischievously then disengaged from his grip.

"Yes, I'll have a glass, Jenna," she said and waltzed from the room to get changed, leaving Robbie staring after her hungrily.

Alex glared at him. "Dude," he said.

Robbie glared back. "What?" he said defensively, and Alex just made a gesture. Robbie looked down, and saw his shorts were obviously tented by his erection, which he quickly adjusted to make it less evident.

Alex opened his mouth to let Robbie have it when he felt a grip on his arm and found Jenna dragging him aside. "Just need to chat to you for a minute," she said, forcefully pulling him out of the room and down the hallway.

"Go easy on Robbie, okay," she said, and Alex glared at her in disbelief.

"What!?!" he exclaimed angrily. "Don't you see what he's doing?"

"I'm not blind," Jenna snapped. "I see what he's doing, we all do. But you need to get off his case."

"That's my sister―"

"―And that's my brother," Jenna interrupted. "I don't like what he's doing any more than you do, but it's not like Mara is completely innocent in all of this. If she had an issue with what Robbie was doing, she would tell him to stop. She is older than him, it's up to her to be the mature one."

"So it's all Mara's fault then, is it?" he asked sarcastically.

"Of course not," Jenna chided. "But if she had a problem with it, she would tell him off or avoid him. She hasn't, so either she hasn't noticed or she doesn't mind."

"You think she likes it?"

Jenna hesitated. "I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is that you should stay out of it. Mara's a big girl, if Robbie crosses a line with her let her deal with it."

Alex ground his teeth. "So I just ignore my cousin grinding on my sister then?"

"Yes," Jenna said, not unkindly. "I understand it's hard, but he's my little brother, and he's had a tough year, so I don't need you giving him a hard time too."

"It's disgusting though, what he's doing," Alex grumbled. "That's his cousin. It's wrong."

She shrugged. "Maybe," she conceded, "But we both know Robbie's liked her for years, and it's not like anything is going to happen. And even if it did, it's not like it would be the worst thing in the world."

Alex stared at her.

"It wouldn't," Jenna said uncomfortably. "Obviously I don't want them to fool around or anything, but he's my brother and I want him to be happy. I know he isn't interested in marrying her, so it'd just physical stuff. I don't think that's so bad."

He couldn't believe his ears. "Are you seriously saying that you're okay with them fooling around? With Mara and Robbie making out, or...?" He couldn't even finish his train of thought.

"Yes," Jenna said hesitantly. "So long as it's consensual, purely physical, and doesn't go too far, then yes, I'd be okay with it."

"That's sick."

"Really?" Jenna challenged. "Are you saying you've never looked at another family member that way? You've never had even a tiny crush on a relative?"

Alex thought about his encounter with her mum in the kitchen, as well as some thoughts he'd about Jenna and Nina while going through puberty. "No," he lied, and she looked at him sceptically.

"So you've never looked at me and considered me remotely attractive?" Jenna asked, resting her hands on her hips and pushing her chest forward slightly. Alex fought to keep eye contact as he shook his head.

"No," he lied again, and even to himself he sounded unconvincing. He decided to quickly change tack. "I think you're pretty, of course, but I've never thought about you in that way. You're my cousin for Christ's sake!"

From the look on her face Alex could tell she hadn't bought it, but Jenna thankfully let it slide and, shaking her head, returned to the den. His gaze followed her, instinctively dropping to her ass, and he paused, considering what she had said. Yes, Robbie's behaviour was disgusting and way out of line, but Mara never complained, so was it really any of his business? And was he really any better? He couldn't help but look at Jenna, Nina, and even some of his aunts sometimes, and he did find them physically attractive. He struggled not to look at Jenna's voluptuous curves, and watching Nina's petite frame contort during her gymnastics often turned him on. Fuck, he considered Aunt Valerie an absolute MILF, and had jacked off over her on several occasions.

The only real difference between him and Robbie was that his cousin was actively pursuing the target of his affections without shame or hesitation. It was gross, but at least he was reasonably open and honest about it, and Alex was fairly confident that if Mara did ever tell him to back off, he would. He thought again about Jenna's hesitation when he asked if she thought Mara enjoyed Robbie's attention. Girls talked, he knew, and he couldn't help but wonder whether Mara had said something to her. They were only a year apart in age, after all.

Alex resolved to follow Jenna's advice and keep out of it. Let Mara deal with Robbie's behaviour. Hopefully it would only a matter of time before he went too far and she told him off, putting an end to it permanently.

He returned to the den to find Mara had only just beaten him back, and had changed into a tight white top and a pair of equally tight black leggings. She was twirling in front of Robbie, showing off her great legs and tight ass as she jokingly asked if her outfit achieved his standards of dress.

"Hell yes," Robbie said, openly looking at her legs. "Fuck, your legs are super toned."

"Thanks, I've been doing a lot of swimming," Mara said, and extended a leg towards him. "Check out how firm my calf is."

Robbie bent down to inspect her leg intently, and was brazen enough to caress her leg with one hand. He brushed his hand up and down, gently squeezing her calf muscle. "Damn, that is really firm." Mara smiled, obviously flattered, and as he straightened up Robbie boldly ran his hand up the back of her thigh and lightly grazed her ass. As he did so, he internally groaned; her ass felt amazingly firm, and it took all of his willpower not to grab it.