Man of the House

Erin continues to dip the loofah into the bath occasionally to re-wet it before bringing it back up to work on mom's body. After working on mom's neck, Erin's hand dips down lower to her breasts, continuing to work in circles, dipping closer and closer. Mom sighs and rests her head back on Erin's shoulder with a contented smile. Erin turns her head to mom with a wry smile and her lips...

"Cory! Are you getting us some dinner or what?!" Erin pounded on the door and yelled at me. My cock was rock hard and my hand was absently stroking it. I let go and argued with myself. On the one hand I was furious at being disturbed. On the other, I shouldn't have been thinking about that anyway.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I turned off the shower and dried off before getting dressed to get the all-important dinner I had promised. Dammit, Erin, I thought, you couldn't give me just a couple more minutes?

I bounced down the stairs and rounded the corner to see mom curled up in the recliner in her bath robe, remote in hand, looking for something good on Netflix. She and Erin were going back and forth about their movie moods and negotiating on what was available and acceptable. When I came in, Erin looked at me and smiled as mom was talking. Did she know something? How could she know something? Calm down, Cory. You're imagining things.

Her eyes bounced down to my shorts and back up to mine. It was quick, almost imperceptible, but I saw it. She was lying sprawled out on the couch in her college swim team shorts and tank top, her tan legs long and lean, and her feet bare except for one toe ring, which for some reason I found incredibly sexy. Her hair was splayed out, hanging over the end of the couch like a waterfall, which she always did when she lay back on it.

I walked up and put my hands on the back of the recliner, which rocked it a little. Mom looked straight up and smiled when she saw my face. "Feeling better, mom?" I asked.

"Much. Thank you." She reached up and placed her hand on mine, giving it a squeeze.

"I'm calling for cheese steaks. Are you good with that?" I asked.

"Oooh, that sounds good. Thanks, sweetie."

"Get two boxes of fries, Cor," Erin demanded. "I'm really hungry." She raised an eyebrow when she said that. I don't know why she did that. It looked hot as hell and made it sound seductive, or at least flirty, but she was just ordering fries. Damn, my mind is on fire with sex tonight! What the hell?

I looked down when mom said, "Get some cash from my purse." She wasn't looking up any more, but when I looked down, I saw that her robe had ridden up a little and I saw part of her inner thigh where her legs were curled up under her sideways.

"It's no problem, mom. I'll get it." For some reason I looked over at Erin and she had this shit-eating grin on her face before turning back to the television.

"No, let me get it. You don't need to buy dinner."

I relented and ordered over the phone before heading out to pick up dinner.

"Want some company?" Erin asked, sitting up on the couch.

"I don't know. I hate to leave mom here alone right now."

"I'll be fine, baby doll. Go ahead," mom insisted.

"Great!" said Erin, popping up off the couch before walking to the front door to slip on her flip-flops. I followed her out the front, locking the door behind me. It made me feel better since mom was alone. We had replaced all the locks after she kicked dad out so he couldn't come in on his own without breaking down the door or kicking in a window. And we added a monitored alarm system.

We got into my Camry and we weren't even out of the cul-de-sac when Erin says, "Dad's a real shitball, huh?"

"Yeah."

"I can't believe he would treat mom that way. He never knew what he had."

"No, I guess not. But some guys are assholes."

"But we know what he had, don't we?" She stopped looking out the window and looked at me instead.

"Uh...I guess."

"Gimme a break. You guess. Mom's the total package! She's generous and loving, she's in great shape. And she's beautiful. Don't you think?"

"I don't know. She's mom." This drew a snicker. "What? Why are you laughing?"

"It's okay to say your mother's pretty. I think she's pretty."

"Yeah, I guess she's pretty." Another snicker.

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

"What? Yeah...I guess. Yeah, you're pretty."

"Who's prettier? Me or mom?"

"Erin, come on."

"What?" she laughed. "Just answer the question, Cor."

"Erin, seriously. Stop." I was getting irate now.

"Okay, just answer that one question and I'll stop. Me or mom?"

I sighed and drove quietly for a minute. Erin didn't say a word. She could tell I wasn't ignoring her, but was thinking.

"Well...I can't say one of you is prettier than the other. You're both pretty in different ways. I mean...that didn't come out right...you're both beautiful. But you look so different that I can't just say one of you is prettier. There's stuff about both of you that I like, but I can't just say that either of you is prettier than the other one." I looked over at her for just a second to see how she responded.

"Good answer. I can live with that." Erin nodded and just looked out the window for the next couple of minutes while we approached the shopping center. Erin chose to wait in the car while I went in and picked up the sandwiches and two big styrofoam boxes of fries.

When I got in the car I handed the bag to Erin who set it on her lap. She didn't say anything until I turned out onto the main road.

"You know I think you look good, too," she muttered.

"What was that?" I asked, not sure what I heard.

Erin cleared her throat. "I said you look good, too. My friends always said you were hot. I don't disagree." I looked at her, but she was still looking out her side window.

I just laughed a little to myself and shook my head. "Well...thanks...I guess."

"What? You are. You're well-built, have nice eyes, funny, and you're super sweet. Like the way you have always taken care of mom and me. It's nice. All that stuff is very sexy. That's the kind of stuff women want in a man. Face it, bro," she laughed, "you're all that and a bag of Funyuns."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "This isn't awkward at all, coming from my sister."

She just looked away again, and said, "Well it's still true."

Nothing was said for a few miles before Erin said, "God this bag is hot on my legs. Feel this." Before I could respond, she grabbed my free hand which was resting on the arm rest, lifted the bag, and put my hand on her upper thigh, right up against her shorts. "See? Feel how hot I am?"

"Yeah...uh..." I tried to move my hand, but Erin pressed her hand into mine and kept it there. I was getting a little turned on, especially after my recent shower-vision, but had to maintain some control. I had to fight to keep from squeezing her thigh. I hoped that when I got out I wouldn't have an erection, or at the very least, that Erin wouldn't notice that I had one.

Erin finally let me move my hand when we entered our neighborhood, and when we got out of the car, I had a definite tent pole. My shorts attested to the fact. And unfortunately for me, Erin had offered to carry the food and got out of the car before I could object. I had no help here.

"Come on, slowpoke. Mom's waiting." I rounded the car and her eyes immediately shot to my crotch and she smiled as she turned to walk toward the house. Do her hips always move that much? Dammit, Erin!

I caught up and unlocked the front door, but while I turned to lock it from the inside, I heard Erin blurt out, "Mom, Cory thinks we're hot!" Shit!

"What?!" I heard the recliner springs pop as it swiveled around. "Erin, what are you talking about?" she laughed. I walked into the living room right about then and Erin gave me that killer smile that she has always given me when she's teasing me.

"Weeeelllll, we were talking in the car about how much dad didn't know what he had in you, and Corey said you were hot..."

"Erin," I tried to interrupt.

"...so I asked him who was hotter, you or me...

"Erin!" Louder this time.

"...and he couldn't decide. Right, Cory?" She and mom both just looked at me and my face was suddenly hot.

"Mom..." I stammered, "...see...that's not...Erin called dad a shitball and said he didn't know what he had, and I agreed. Then SHE said you were pretty and asked if I agreed. I said I did, and she started asking who was prettier, her or you, and I said neither. You're both pretty, but I couldn't compare because you're so different. There. That's what happened."

My mom smiled and looked back and forth between Erin and me and they both started laughing. I was embarrassed, but mom got up, came around the counter as she laughed and kissed me on the cheek, saying, "You're sweet." She patted my back. Erin walked up and mom gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, "And so are you, even though you're a stinker! Don't do that to your brother." She smacked Erin on the rear end playfully and walked to the refrigerator.

When mom turned to go to the fridge, Erin got in front of me to get glasses out of the cabinet and pressed her ass against my crotch as she reached. I was still semi-hard, but that wasn't enough for her apparently because she wiggled her hips back and forth, rubbing her butt against me, just for a second. But it was there.

I backed up and she looked over her shoulder and smiled before looking down at my crotch for a second. She looked back into my eyes for a moment, still smiling, before retrieving the glasses and taking them over to fill with ice. Mom poured the soda while I unwrapped the cheese steaks and divided the fries on each of the three paper plates.

"OH! Here's something else we talked about, mom!"

I looked up, terrified, the video of our trip replaying in my mind so I could determine what she was going to talk about. I drew a blank.

"Don't say anything that's going to embarrass him, baby," mom said.

"I don't know why he would be embarrassed. All I said was that a lot of my friends thought he was cute and that I thought that any girl would be lucky to have him."

"Mmm, that doesn't sound so bad." Mom looked at me. "Your sister's right, Cor. You're going to make a young lady very happy one day." Her voice seemed a little sad.

"Or maybe even an older woman," Erin winked. She quickly looked at me before shifting her eyes to mom and back, and wriggled her eyebrows before bursting out laughing as my eyes got wide.

Mom just laughed along, missing it, and said, "Or an older woman, if that's what you want." She looked up at me from pouring drinks. "Is that what you're into? Older women?"

"I...don't...I don't know! God! Why are you both...just...God!" I stormed out of the kitchen and went up to my room, slamming the door behind me. I paced back and forth wondering how the hell I was supposed to get out of this. What did Erin want from me? Why was she teasing me? What did mom know? How did all this start? My thoughts were swimming aimlessly and I felt completely out of control. I was emotionally exhausted from the day.

It wasn't long before there was a knock on my door. "What?" I snapped. The door opened a little bit, slowly and Erin peeked through the crack, gradually sliding her head through as she opened the door further.

"Cory?" she asked timidly. "Can I come in?" Her eyes were full of sadness, not like the Erin I saw just a few minutes ago.

"What, Erin?" I asked harshly. I was still plenty pissed.

She opened the door and kept one hand on the knob, her other hand tracing the hem of her shorts idly. "I'm sorry I made you mad. I didn't mean to. I was just playing."

Turning to look at her between paces, I asked, "Why the hell did you go and tell mom about our talk in the car? As a matter of fact, what was all that talk in the car anyway? What were you thinking?" Okay, I didn't ask it. I almost yelled it. I was hot. I couldn't believe she had done that to me.

"Listen, Cor, I know I shouldn't have pushed you like that and I was out of line. I promise we can talk about it later tonight, but right now, mom's waiting for us and she sent me up here to apologize. Please forgive me." She had her puppy dog eyes on.

I sighed and nodded. "You know I can't stay mad at you." Her puppy pout always made me smile and she knew it.

She smiled back and ran to hug me, saying, "Thank you, Cor." She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me, and my arms automatically wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair had that chronic smell of some kind of fruity shampoo and chlorine. I loved it. I kissed her on the head, which wasn't uncommon, and served to let her know I was sincere in my acceptance. She backed up and quickly planted a quick kiss on my lips before turning and quickly leaving my room.

"But we're still talking later, right?" I called after her.

She was in the hall, but her head whipped back into the door with a big smile and she said, "Promise" before waving and disappearing around the corner again.

I rolled my eyes and followed her downstairs, feeling a little better, but still uneasy. When I grabbed my plate and glass to sit on the couch, mom asked if I was all right. I smiled at her and said, "Just a tough day. I'll be okay." She had a sorrowful look on her face.

"I'm sorry, baby."

"It's okay, mom. Not your fault." I cleared my throat and looked away. Her eyes had started tearing up. "What are we watching?" I asked more cheerfully, trying to change the mood. They had decided on not only a comedy, but one of my favorites. I knew they were doing it for me and was grateful

The cheese steaks were delicious as always and the movie put us all in a lighter mood. I knew they enjoyed it because they laughed more as great lines were approaching and even quoted along with the movie, something my dad used to abhor. "Shut the fuck up," he would slur, his beer or bourbon swinging in his hand. As if he could follow or remember the movie anyway. We had enjoyed our movies a lot more this year with him gone.

When the movie was over, mom was clearly exhausted. She had a habit of falling asleep during movies, but not tonight. Somehow. "I'm turning in," she said. "You guys lock up for me?" she asked as she got out of her chair.

"Sure, mom," Erin said. Erin and I stood up so mom wouldn't have to bend down, and mom kissed us each on the cheek and told us she loved us. We returned it of course. She shuffled upstairs as Erin gathered the glasses to wash in the sink.

She turned on the water and I leaned up against the counter while she waited for the water to heat up. "Well," I said, "what's up?" She knew what I meant.

"Here? Now?"

"Right here. Right now. Spill it."

She sighed as she squirted soap onto the sponge and picked up the first glass. "How do I start?" A pause. "Okay. I don't want you to be mad or embarrassed because I'm not."

"I'll try."

She began washing the glasses, never looking at me as she told the story. "Today when I saw you with mom, taking care of her, my heart broke. But when you told me what you did to dad, I fell over the edge."

"The edge..."

"Let me finish," she cut me off. "This is hard enough as it is. I've always looked up to you, Cory." I thought that first glass should have been clean by now, but she continued to scrub. "My friends would tease me about how cute you were, but I would just laugh and roll my eyes as they went on about you. But the truth was that I knew they were right. They talked about how cute you were, and how sweet, but I knew the real Cory. They were only scratching the surface of who you were. Are.

"You have always been my cheerleader. My support. Whenever I would look up in the stands at my games and meets, it was always you and mom. Never dad. Every goal I scored or every time my name was called, you two were always on your feet, cheering and lots of times calling my name. I remember some of the posters you made for my games. I think one of the things that stood out the most, though, was when Todd broke up with me right before homecoming. Even though you had graduated, you came home and took me to the dance because it was my senior year and I wanted to go so bad." She was tearing up a little bit.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "Erin, I didn't..."

"No, it's okay, Cor." She finally moved to a second glass. "Besides...I've seen the way you look at me." She looked up at me "In my bikini. In my homecoming dress. And tonight when I was lying on the couch. I know how you feel about me, Cory."

My face got hot again and my mouth was dry. I didn't know what to say or how to respond. I couldn't say she was wrong, but I had tried so hard to keep my feelings a secret. To keep to myself how truly beautiful I thought my sister was. She has always been very perceptive, but I was hoping she would have just seen me as a loving older brother who cared for his little sister, not as...well, a pervert.

She didn't look upset. I took a small step which put me right on top of her. She turned toward me. Expectantly? I placed my hand on the side of her face. She bit her lip. I leaned down and gently touched my lips to hers. Only for a moment. Her lips were soft, so soft. She didn't back away or push me back at all. It seemed as if she relaxed into it.

I pulled back a little to look into her eyes. She smiled just a little and she turned to place the sponge and glass in the sink. Wiping the suds on her hands on the front of her shirt, she leaned in and placed her arms around my neck. I kissed her again. My mouth opened slightly, mirroring her own, and I gently slid the tip of my tongue along her upper lip.

She shuddered and moaned before her own tongue touched mine. Our kiss escalated to apprehensively exploring each other with our writhing pink muscles. She was a great kisser. My arms caressed her back and waist and I couldn't help but grow in my shorts. My sister moaned into my mouth and pressed herself harder against me. One arm quickly moved off of my neck and I almost immediately felt a hand on my crotch, searching me out.

I broke off the kiss and backed away. "No...we can't."

She never took her hand off and she followed me forward. "Yes. We can." She reached up to kiss me again and I let her, but came to my senses again quickly.

"Not here." I looked around.

"Mom." She understood and smiled.

"Mom." I repeated.

"Get the lights. I'll finish these glasses." She scrubbed the last two glasses in record time, rinsing them and placing them in the drainer just as I finished turning off the last lamp. She was waiting for me at the hall to the foyer and she practically dragged me toward the front door. I checked the lock and set the alarm before we hurried toward the stairs, hand in hand. Erin had a giddiness to her step and a huge smile on her face. I'm glad I was behind her because I must have been grinning like an idiot. Was this really happening?

I chased her up the stairs and she headed to my room. "Wait," I said. "Let's use your room."

"My bed creaks."

"My room is right next to mom's. She might hear us."

She seemed to think about it for half a second. "You're right. My room." She pushed me back a couple steps and turned into her room and I closed the door. She had never really progressed in her decorations. Over the years she had moved from Disney princesses on her bedspread and posters, to kittens, to boy bands, and now she was at peace signs and Olympic athletes, particularly swimmers and soccer players. But her bedding was generic, the walls were the same bright green they had been for years, and she still had a shelf of her most beloved stuffed animals and Disney autograph books from our childhood trip. She got so many pictures and autographs from the characters that she had to get a second book after the third day and that one was almost full as well.