Lockdown Christmas Miracle Ch. 18

Eric was the first one up and it was still dark as he made coffee and ate cereal. If it wasn't that early on the clock, it was still one of the shortest days of the year and it was remarkable how low the sun rode across the horizon around the solstice. It was like the world went almost immediately from early morning to late afternoon at some unnoticed point and Eric always had the sense that he had somehow missed the middle part of the day, focused on something else.

After they'd cleaned up the living room the night before, they'd all had a few drinks, smoked a little and joked about the surprise visit to the 'strip club' the girls had put on for Eric. The fact that they could laugh about it, and tease each other playfully about how it had descended into an orgy of cum-drenched foreplay, would hopefully make facing one another much less awkward when the girls came downstairs later that morning.

Eric grinned as images and memories floated back up while he drank his coffee. It was only when he chuckled about the fact that he had originally planned to spend the evening playing video games that he remembered leaving the game paused in the den at the moment the music had started up the night before.

Logging in, Eric could see that the game console and then TV must have shut down eventually from lack of activity and he had a moment of dread, once the game loaded, when he saw the list of messages that popped up from Lisa's user. They had started out happy and excited when she had first logged in. He scrolled through the list of messages, logged roughly 15-20 minutes apart, first letting him now she was online, then asking where he was, checking to see if he was okay, wondering if everything was all right, etc. The last message was logged coming in just after 2 AM and simply said "Seriously. WTF?"

Eric winced to look at the record of how Lisa's feelings must have evolved over the roughly five hours that she had been regularly checking in to see if he was online. He quickly tapped out a message to apologize and tell her that a hose in their dishwasher had broken and he had to help his sisters clean up the mess and find a way to patch it up. He explained that he had forgotten he was logged in during all the excitement and had gone to bed after they had eventually gotten everything cleaned up. He hoped that logging in this early in the day lent some credibility to his story, but he still felt like shit as he made his way back out to the kitchen.

Cassie was up fixing tea when he walked in and she smiled shyly and said good morning before realizing that something was wrong. Eric stood next to her at the counter and told Cassie what had happened and how bad he had felt totally blowing Lisa off like he had. When Cassie tried to reassure him that it really wasn't that bad, as he hadn't intentionally left her hanging, he explained how generous she'd been and how the tone of her messages had changed through the course of the night.

Cassie turned and wrapped Eric in a hug, her cheek nuzzling against his neck. She rubbed his back and assured him that any girl would be lucky to have a guy like him and if Lisa was someone worth feeling bad about, then she would understand that he didn't mean to hurt or upset her. Eric sighed, feeling the comfort of Cassie's body pressed up against him, warm, soft and reassuring. Her hair smelled so fresh, and felt so soft, against the side of his face. He rubbed her back and couldn't help that his cock stirred against her warm, flat belly as her body molded to fit up against his own.

"Thank you," he murmured. "I just feel bad that I totally forgot about her last night."

Cassie's eyes opened as she rested her head on his shoulder as she replayed the night's events in her head. "Well, it was kind of understandable...given the distractions and all." She giggled.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'd totally understand if I explained it to her," Eric chuckled back.

"Don't you even think about it!" Cassie smacked his butt playfully. "You promised to protect my reputation with your life, remember?"

"I did, and I will," he assured her. He paused for a long moment as he felt Cassie breathing in his arms. "So can I ask you something?"

"Like what?" Cassie tensed up a little but didn't pull away from embracing him.

"Last night." He tried to find the right way to ask. "Was that Cali...or Catwoman...or..."

Cassie left it hanging for a moment. "It was me." She took a breath. "It's always been just me, Eric." She sighed against him. "I just needed...something, I guess. To like...help me get past..."

"So, no more Cali?" Eric tried to understand.

"No." Cassie said softly. "No more Cali."

"And what about our bet?" Eric wondered. "The week and everything?"

"Yeah, I'd kind of lost track of that...with everything." Cassie admitted.

"Me too." Eric chuckled. "It feels like stuff is just kind of happening on its own."

"I was kind of hoping that we could make our deal...sort of...permanent, if you know what I mean." Cassie was too embarrassed to look up to see his reaction, but her heart slowed and her breathing stopped as she waited for his answer.

"You really want to?" Eric felt jittery with excitement.

"I do. I like this," she admitted softly. "Being like...the woman...in the movie." Cassie blushed and she fought the grin that tugged at her mouth, her head still resting on his shoulder, grateful that she didn't have to face him as she admitted that.

"I liked that too," Eric's voice came out as a husky croak. His cock was so hard against his sister's warm stomach.

"If we can always be like this...the rest of the time," her voice fell to a whisper. "Then, I'd love to be able to do that some more."

"I'd love that too Cassie," He squeezed her more tightly. "I guess I have to delete the picture then."

"Just the one of me topless...or both of them?" Cassie said teasingly.

"Whatever you want," Eric grinned. "I'll do whatever you say."

"Really?" Cassie felt a tingle go through her and goosebumps rise up on her skin as he said it. "What if I wanted you...to keep them?" she felt like her breath had run out for a moment. "What if I wanted you to keep them...secret...and maybe even...take...you know...some more?"

"Really?" Eric couldn't believe it. "You'd let me do that?"

"I like you having them," Cassie admitted. "It's like you own a part of me now. Like no matter how we act the rest of the time," she paused. "It's like you can always see me for...how I really am." Her pussy got wetter as she admitted it.

"What other kind of pictures do you want me to take?" Eric's voice cracked and his cock twitched as he could feel the precum starting to flow.

"I'll do whatever you say," savoring each word as she said it, the circle now complete. She lifted her cheek from his shoulder and brought her lips to his ear. "You just have to protect me so no one else finds out."

"What about Ellie?" Eric asked.

"After last night, I don't think we have to hide a whole lot, Eric. Even if she doesn't have to know exactly how we got here, I think going forward, we can do what we want around her, even if we still keep some things private."

"That sounds awesome." Eric hugged her more tightly and watching the sun coming up behind Cassie through the kitchen window, he started thinking that they might have some time to play around before Ellie woke up, when Cassie's phone suddenly rang on the counter beside them.

Cassie saw it was her advisor calling and felt a wave of anxiety as she slipped from Eric's arms and reached to pick up the call. "Hello?"

"Cassie! Sorry to bother you so early but I just got a chance to read your e-mail last night and...well, I didn't want to call you late at night, but..."

"Is everything okay?" Cassie walked out to the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Everything's fine, Cassie," he stammered. "I mean everything's great. I...I...I'm just blown away. I can't believe no one else saw this! It's...it's phenomenal."

"So you don't think it's too late to change my thesis?" Cassie began to feel hopeful.

"No, don't change your thesis!" Her professor blurted. "Let's just wrap that up before Winter break is over. I think its fine." The words felt like they were tumbling out as Cassie listened, confused. "I just think we need to get that out of the way and start focusing on a grant proposal and a research plan to submit as soon as possible."

"Grant...?" Cassie was lost. She stood up and started pacing in front of the window facing the back of the house.

"I know, I know, I'm being presumptuous...that you'd like to work with me on this, but Cassie...I hope you know I've always championed your work and supported you..." Cassie couldn't read the emotion he was expressing. She'd never heard him like this. "I mean, I'm hoping you'll let me work with you on this."

"I'm sorry, Professor. But you've lost me." Cassie admitted.

"Cassie, I think you can get funding for this. I mean, I'm sure you can. A lot of it." He paused. "I'm not sure you recognize the potential...all the applications...this...this...this is big."

"I'm not sure I do." Cassie felt worried again. She couldn't decide if she should sit or stand.

"Cassie, I think we should try to restructure your grad work around setting up a lab to validate what you found and start developing trials for applications." He paused. "I'd love to help you with it and I'd promise to make sure you got all the credit you deserve for finding it. I'll support you all the way through the grant process, weighing the funding options, setting up the lab...everything. But I'd...I'd always let you take the lead. Give you the final say on everything." He paused again. "Look, I know there are a lot bigger names in the department and trust me, they are all going to want a piece of this. It's a game changer. I wouldn't blame you for going with one of them, but...but I'm hoping you'll realize that I'm content to partner with you on something this big and I won't let anybody try to screw you out of authorship on this. You belong right at the front. All the way through, Cassie. No matter who else we bring in, I'll make sure of it."

"I...I'm...overwhelmed." Cassie truly was. "She was hoping for a little more notice for her thesis, but what her advisor was suggesting was the chance to help lead a major research program and perhaps even the chance to get published as a lead author as a grad student. It was something she might have hoped for after paying her dues and earning her doctorate, but she felt like she was being kicked off of a city bus and strapped into a space shuttle. Her head was spinning.

"Look," he assured her. "You don't have to decide anything right this minute. I haven't shared this with anybody yet, and I promise I won't, until you tell me it's okay." She could hear him let out a huge breath through the phone. "Because I'll be honest. It's going to get crazy once we take this to the rest of the department." He took a moment to breathe again. "I'm just saying, let me send you a couple things I put together last night. It's just a rough proposal and a separate authorship agreement. Take some time to think about it and talk to somebody you trust if you need to." His speech sped up. "Just whatever you do, don't mention what you specifically found. Please." He paused again. "And whoever you decide to work with, get the authorship agreement in writing...up front. Don't let them steam roll you Cassie. They'll try to tell you that it was a promising start and of course you'll get credit, but there are a million ways to kick someone off the front once the thing gets rolling and you could easily end up somewhere in the footnotes."

"I'll be honest." Cassie sighed. "I'm not ready to...to navigate what you're describing right now. I...I..."

"I know, Cassie." He sounded calm for the first time all morning. "I mean, I know you don't think you are. But I've worked with a lot of students over the years and you are more ready for something like this than you realize. I watch how you handle everything you do." He paused. "I'm just pretty sure that you just found a winning lottery ticket. All I'm saying is don't let anyone tell you it's not. Or that you aren't allowed to cash it in for yourself." She could hear him smiling through the phone and picture the look he got sometimes when they'd banter after a meeting. "I just don't want you to wake up in five years and realize you should have jumped at this when you had the chance. Or that you let it slip away." He sighed. "I'm just saying don't let them pat you on the head and kick you out in the hallway. You deserve a lot better than that. You've got time to figure this out before you have to tell anybody else what you found. It's your lottery ticket. I'm just asking for a chance to go along for the ride and watch your back." He chuckled. "I can understand if you pick someone else, Cassie. If I never do anything else for you, I just hope I can help you get all the credit you deserve for this. I'll email you some stuff in the next few minutes and take all the time you need to figure out what you want to do."

"Okay..." Cassie felt lost.

"Look, there's no rush. I'm sorry. I'm...I'm just excited. I've been up all night thinking about it and I'm probably not making much sense." He sounded flustered.

"No, it's just...not what I expected?" Cassie felt like a little kid.

"You and me both, Cassie." He laughed. "Look, if nobody else has found this yet, they probably aren't going to for a while, if ever, if neither of us say anything." He slowed down. "Let's just wrap up your thesis, take some time over Christmas and plan to do something in January. You can decide then who you want to work with and I'll even help you draft an authorship agreement to have them sign before you tell anybody what you found. We can go as fast or as slow as you want to on this. Deal?"

"Deal," Cassie sighed. She just really wanted to end the call and have some time to think.

"Okay. Perfect." He sounded better. "Look for my e-mail and call me if you need anything."

Cassie walked back into the kitchen after they'd ended the call watched Eric rinsing his breakfast dishes. Through the haze of everything she was trying to process, she surprised herself by thinking that Ellie was absolutely right. Looking at her brother, standing at the sink in his flannel pajamas, it was true that Eric had the cutest butt of any guy she'd ever seen. She walked over to stand behind him and hugged him from behind as he placed his cup on the rack beside the sink to dry.

"Hey," he half turned his head. "What was that all about?"

"I don't know," Cassie said vacantly. "School stuff." She felt his chest expand and contract as he breathed. "Are you busy today?"

"Not very," he shrugged. "I've got a couple things to knock out for school, but I'll be done before lunch. Why?"

"I think I'm going to need to spend some time on the beach today," she mused softly.

"Give me a couple of hours and I'll be ready to join you." He smiled and reached up to place his hand on her forearm.

Eric sent a chat message to Lisa from his laptop and took breaks from studying to log onto the game a couple more times that morning, but he didn't see a reply from Lisa. It surprised him, that her being upset, troubled him as much as it did. A week or so ago he barely knew that she existed and now he was checking his messages and logging onto the game repeatedly because she wasn't replying. For all she knew, he really did have an emergency at home, but he couldn't help feeling guilty that she had been waiting for him for hours while he had been living out multiple fantasies with his sisters. He shook his head and smiled ruefully at the absurdity of it. If she was this upset over the fact that she believed he had simply bailed on her, he couldn't imagine what her reaction would be if she knew the real reason he didn't make it.

After he'd finished and submitted the work he had to turn in online, Eric headed upstairs to get dressed and go start up the generator at the beach. He was taking out some clothes when Ellie stumbled through the door from the bathroom and crawled onto his bed. She looked like she had just woken up and lying on her stomach with her eyes closed, her hair disheveled, she looked like she might go right back to sleep.

"Hey sleeping beauty," Eric leaned over and planted a small kiss on her cheek.

"Mmmm...where 'r you going?" she mumbled, squinting up at him as he got dressed.

"I'm going to fire up the generator for the beach," Eric looked over at her. "Why don't you get dressed and join us."

"Is Cassie going too?" Ellie blinked her eyes several times trying to adjust to the light.

"Yeah, she said she needed a beach day," Eric shrugged as he pulled his jeans over his swim trunks. Ellie looked at the way the muscles in his arms rippled and shifted beneath his skin as he pulled at his pants and closed the button at his waist.

"You're not going naked?" Ellie tried to sound casual as she rolled onto her side and rested her head on her raised hand.

"What?...oh." Eric looked down and blushed slightly. "I guess I'll bring my trunks anyway." He shrugged.

"You've got nothing to hide now... from either of us," Ellie smirked.

"Yeah, but I guess I kind of wanted to leave it up to you guys." He shrugged again. "You know? What you were comfortable with."

"Then if we're comfortable with it...it...doesn't bother you?..." Ellie looked down at her fingers, grabbing at the covers on Eric's bed. "You know...what we're doing?" It surprised Ellie how much she wanted to know the answer, once she'd asked.

"I guess it should, maybe." Eric searched his feelings. "I think it would bother me if other people found out, but..."

"But what?" Ellie looked up quickly.

"But part of me is happier than I've been since...well...never?" He thought he sounded foolish. "I kept thinking I'd finally meet some girls once I went away to college, but it was only when I came back home..." He shook his head. "I guess I always saw you two like, wel...you weren't really girls before, or something...," he was getting visibly frustrated. "I don't know. Forget it." He reached for his shirt.

"No, I get it." Ellie said softly. "Cassie was always trying to be our second mom and I really wasn't very nice to you growing up."

"Well...yeah, basically." He seemed a little surprised that she got it. "I mean, you were pretty much the hottest girl in this town, and every guy we went to school with was in love with you, but you were just somebody who, like, tortured me growing up. I couldn't see you like they did."

"And how do you see me now?" She couldn't look at him as she waited for his answer.

"Like you're the hottest girl in this town," he grinned sheepishly as her eyes rose to meet his.

"So you think I'm prettier than Cassie?" She pretended like she was teasing him.

Eric rolled his eyes, "C'mon it's not like that. You guys are so different. It's like picking between a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. You're both so...perfect."

"You think I'm perfect?" She started to enjoy teasing him as she watched him grow more flustered.

"C'mon stop. You know you are." He shook his head and pulled his sweater on over his shirt.

"Okay, but you have to admit I'm better at sucking your dick than she is." She grinned devilishly.

"Seriously," he blushed deeply. "Yesterday was probably like the first time she ever did it, so yeah, you are like the undisputed queen of sucking my dick." He rolled his eyes and couldn't help that his dick was now fully hard again, picturing Cassie and Ellie both sucking his dick.

"So," Ellie sat up and started ticking points off on her fingers. "You think I'm the hottest girl in town. I'm perfect. I'm the Queen of Spring Break and like...sucking your dick," she winked at him. "You like me better than any girl you met at college..." She brought her finger up to her lips and rolled her eyes, exaggerating a thoughtful air. "So I guess you're basically saying you love me and you want to stay with me forever and marry me!" She hopped up off the bed and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly on the lips, before bouncing happily to the door, saying, "I guess I can live with that!" as she disappeared into the bathroom.