My Cousin's Gymnastics Trainer

"I uh... um...," I had no idea what to say. What could a person say after being caught with a hard-on caused by his older cousin?

"Aw...,did I embarrass you with my comment?" she walked up to me, pushing up on her tip toes to whisper softly when she was near me. "Please don't be, Oliver. I was..., I am very flattered by your reaction." She kissed me on the cheek again but it wasn't the simple peck like the day before. She lingered for a full minute it seemed. I fought desperately the burning desire to turn my head so our lips would meet instead.

"I'm so sorry, really. You know how these guy things have a mind of their own." How exactly does a person explain it to their female cousin? "It doesn't..., uh..., doesn't know that I'm not supposed to..., um..., you know."

She smiled at me, a truly sincere smile that showed a twinkle in her eye. There was something that was oddly different about her, almost like she had started to glow at that moment.

"What is it that you're not supposed to do, Oliver Carden?" She was toying with me, acting all strange but at the same time it wasn't a weird strange. It was like she was..., dare I say..., flirting with me.

"I'm uh..., not supposed to think that uh... you know..., that you're beautiful." A wide smile lit up her face that brought out those beautiful freckled cheeks again and colored them pink.

"Oh, is that right? So you say you're not supposed to think I'm beautiful..., hmmm?" Brianna was standing very close to me, her words whispering in my ear. "It doesn't matter if you're not supposed to..., the real question I want to know is 'Do you think it?'"

What was I supposed to do? I had already been betrayed by my own body and she was acting very strange. Did she want me to say yes? How could she? She was my cousin... but yet she seemed very much like she did.

"I uh..., ee um...," she stepped back from me and crossed her arms across her chest which had the effect of pushing a little more cleavage out the top.

"Oliver William Carden. I asked you a fair question and I think I deserve an honest answer. Do you really think I am beautiful?"

She was right. I sighed and resigned myself to whatever turn of events would happen at this point forward. "Brianna," I reached for her hand, uncrossing her arms as I took her hand in mine. I had no idea what I was really doing or where this was going. I just acted on pure impulse. "My beautiful Brianna Bennett; you are by far the most beautiful creature that God has ever made on this earth and the only woman I've ever held in my heart."

I said it. I actually said it. I had written and rewritten that one line over and over for the past eleven years and fantasized almost every day about telling her. But I never believed I actually would. To top it off, I played the Don Juan card by kissing her fingers afterwards. I closed my eyes and waited for the slap I was sure would come soon. Cousins just didn't do those things.

She said nothing, not a word but I saw her mouth hung open in absolute amazement when I opened my eyes once more. The one good sign that I noticed though was that she did not pull her hand away. She left it sitting comfortably in mine.

"So..., let me get this straight then. You've had like this major crush on me?" That strange twinkle in her eyes was intensifying. "How... but... Why... How long have you felt this way?"

Dare I say more? Maybe I should just beat a hasty retreat. This was not at all how I had planned the afternoon. The honest truth was, it was better yet I knew once I had said my piece, I'd have to leave and would probably never get to see her again. At this point, I was dead anyway so I figured I had to get everything off my chest once and for all; put it all out in the open.

"I have since we used to play house together as kids. I did back when I was in middle school and you were in high school, I thought so when you left Penn Drive for college and my life became ruined by your absence and I definitely know so now. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known or ever will again. That's the complete honest answer that you asked for."

I hung my head down and dug the key she had given me out of my pocket, folding it back inside her fingers. Then I bent down to grab my bag and opened the door behind me.

"What the hell?" she finally spoke, pushing the door closed behind me. When I looked at her, there were tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," I said. "That's never what I meant at all."

"Hurt me? You think you've hurt me?" she sniffled. "Never in my life..." she wiped away a tear from her eye. She must have been more hurt than I imagined.

"Never in my life has anyone ever told me something so amazingly beautiful before." She sniffled again. "and with such sincerity. I never knew. All these years you say..., and I honestly never saw it coming or I would have acted sooner. A lot sooner."

"Are you mad?" I was confused. I thought for sure she would be. We were cousins after all but... she just didn't seem to be.

"No, of course not. I'm flattered. Honestly, I'm ecstatic to hear it. I..."

I touched the doorknob again but she grabbed my hand from it and forced the key back into my hand.

"Will you stop doing that for Christ's sake! You come into my home, admit that you've been in love with me all these years and now you want to go running out the door on me? What the hell?"

"But..., I thought you wouldn't want to see me again. I thought..." I couldn't finish whatever it was that I was going to say because she stopped me by a passionate kiss full square on my lips. I was taken aback, absolutely stunned which was the only way I was able to manage not to fall over by my surprise. It was very awkward though positively dreamy because it was my very first kiss... ever.

"I thought that might shut you up," Brianna smiled at me, touching her finger to my lips when she pulled away. "My answer is absolutely and definitely 'yes'. There's not a single doubt in my mind. There never has been."

"Wow..., that kiss was amazing. But you say your answer is 'yes', what exactly is the question?"

"Well, I guess if you don't know that yet, then the ball's in your court. You figure out what the question is and ask me. I'm telling you right now, my answer will be absolutely 'yes'. While you think about it in the meantime, I need to train and you need to help me." She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me into the living room.

What question could she possibly be thinking that I would ask her? I replayed the whole scenario in my head as I sat down on the couch while she started her warm ups but I just didn't get it. I wished I had more experience in this area of life.

"I'm working on my splits today so I need your help with that." I got up from the couch but when I looked at her, she had a very mischievous look about her that I could not understand. "Come here, handsome."

She laid me on the floor belly down in the middle of the room. "I can't tell if I'm going down all the way or not so you're going to watch very closely and tell me." She was standing above me just inches away but started to slowly separate her legs in either direction of me. Before I knew what happened, her sweet venusian mound was positioned only inches in front of my face, spread wide open by her splits and covered only by the thin material of the 'v' of her green outfit. Being spread so wide though, the material couldn't cover the outer edges of her vulva any longer and for the first time in my life, I saw a glimpse of real live female flesh. All of the sudden, it became very uncomfortable to be lying on the floor like that.

Being so close, her womanly smell was deliciously intoxicating but what made it amazingly surreal was that she actually wanted me to be staring there. If only fate would finish shining on me and make those thin threads just break completely.

"You weren't hired to just stare," she chuckled bouncing herself up and down a little, trying to get those last few inches to the ground. "How far do I have to go still?"

"To the ground? I'd say a few inches," I told her, my eyes never letting go of her even for a second. Every centimeter she went lower exposed just a little more of her smooth slightly darker pink skin. It looked very smooth too.

"I can't visualize that very well." She was grimacing in her face. I could only imagine how painful doing such a split must be. "Measure it and show me. I've got to get down to the floor."

Measure it? I didn't exactly bring a ruler with me. I tried estimating with my fingers in the air but she wasn't buying it.

"Get your hand under there already, will you." I'd say she was almost shouting but I knew she must be in pain from the pressure she was putting on her joints. I nervously stuck my hand into what I had considered before that moment to be no man's land. Putting my fingers on the floor, I brought my thumb up until it just brushed the material of her crotch. I felt like fainting, the sensation was overwhelming to be that close to her goods. Just a bump of my thumb and I would have become intimately familiar with her magical land of Oz but I behaved and did only as instructed.

"About like this," I pulled my hand back and showed her the two inches with my fingers.

"Okay," her breathing wasn't as hard but it seemed she was relaxing a little more. Her bum was definitely getting further away from the floor. "Put your hand under me, flat on the floor, palm up. That way I'll feel it when I get all the way down."

I wondered why she wouldn't just feel the floor under her but I was being invited to have an opportunity to touch her... there! I wasn't about to second-guess her decision. I put my hand under her as told and prayed that she would actually achieve her goal. Even a momentary cupping on her mound would be an achievement of absolute glory for me.

"Ready?" I told her I was. She walked her hands forward, bending her torso toward me more and giving me a very nice view up-close of her cleavage base which was expertly painted with those cute freckles throughout I noticed. With a good deal of effort, she thrust herself down and to my complete delight, I felt the spread open 'v' split of her moist lips under the material against my hand but it lasted only a split second as she immediately rebounded up.

"You did it," I proclaimed pulling my hand out. She smiled at me but grabbed my hand to replace it to its post.

"Yeah, but I need to stay down. That's the whole point. I need to hold it at 180 degrees for at least 30 seconds."

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. My bad. You're right and I absolutely agree." I paused. Thirty seconds of that would probably make me blow a load I thought. "My hand really hopes you do it, too." She looked up at me and smirked as if she were astounded that I might say such a thing.

"You liked that, didn't you? A little touch of my coochie there?" What was I supposed to say? Of course I did. She pushed herself down again but this time she only brushed my hand with the material and the third time she didn't even get down to me.

"I gotta rest," she said pulling her legs together and standing back up. I guess I showed my disappointment when I stood up too. "Don't worry, we'll do it again in a few minutes. I'm sure you're just getting the thrill of your life. But you know, we could make it..., interesting."

My eyebrows perked up at that. How could we possibly make it better? It was impossible. "How?"

"Let's just say I think I could use a little more motivation to get down to your fingers but..., that's only going to happen if you ask me the question though. Until then, I guess I'll just have to stay sexually frustrated with this current plan."

"But what is the question that I'm supposed to ask you? Can't you give me a clue?"

"Oh hell, Oliver. Are you really that daft?" She playfully hit me on the arm but it still hurt. She might not exactly lift weights but she was very strong for a woman her size. "I'm practically begging you here. If you were just joking with me about your feelings, it's not funny at all. Not one bit!"

"No..., I wasn't. I love you Brianna...," her stern look immediately softened to an ear-to-ear smile.

"I love hearing you say that. I could listen to those words from you every day of my entire life."

"Well, it's the god's honest truth. I love you and I wish so bad that you could actually be mine forever." Her eyes perked up at me and she jumped up and down like a little girl who had just received her first pink bicycle.

"That's close enough! Yes, yes, yes. Of course I accept." She lunged at me, kissing me full on the mouth pulling me closer to her like she never wanted to let me go. I was bewildered. What had I said exactly?

"I promise to be yours forever. Forever and ever, for as long as you'll have me." She had real tears in her eyes this time but the twinkle in her eyes had grown to all new levels of brilliance. "Thank you, thank you, Oliver. I love you so much." She grabbed my face and started kissing me again, very aggressively to the point of an agonizingly beautiful pain.

Had I actually just asked her to be my girlfriend? Was that the big question she had wanted? It seemed so and though I hadn't anticipated that becoming a reality, she already was in my heart and had been for years I suddenly realized. Oh, her lips felt and tasted so good.

"But for all your smarts, you really can be a dummy sometimes," she bopped me on the head once she let go. "I was beginning to think you'd never figure it out or you were just playing with my heart."

"I just... er, never did that before." She looked at me, contemplating what I was saying.

"You really haven't had much experience with love before, have you?" I shook my head no. "What kind of experience have you had exactly?"

"I've told you everything you didn't already know about me yesterday. That kiss in the hallway was my very first." Her mouth dropped open and she covered it with her hand in shock.

"You're 20 and you've never even kissed a girl before?"

"Not until today. But it was undeniably worth the wait to get my first from you."

"Let me get this right. You're saying that I'm your first girlfriend and your first kiss? I imagine then its safe to assume a few moments ago was also your first coochie panty touch, right?" I hung my head down. I was sure she would think I was a complete loser now.

"Wow, that's a hell of an honor. I've had lots of boyfriends and lots of kissing but...," she looked down at the floor, seemingly discomfited by whatever it was she was about to say. "I'll make my own confession then. Besides the doctor, you're the first to ever touch me there... and that's exactly how I had planned it too."

"What; really? I figured for sure you'd have had worlds of experience. I mean, you're gorgeous and all." I thought back to high school when I would curse every guy I ever saw hanging on her arm. I had thought they were all the luckiest bastards in the world just for being with her and it made me sick imagining their grimy hands on her. "Isn't virginity usually lost around 16 or something? I thought I was the only exception in this world."

"What kind of a girl do you think I am? I might be 24 but that doesn't exactly mean I've slept with every guy I've dated. Actually, that's why my ex went looking for greener pastures; I refused to give it up to him." Her ear-to-ear smile went even wider. "Actually, I've been saving myself for when the man I was really in love with ever finally approached me." I must have looked confused because she started giggling and shaking her head in amusement like she was watching a silly cartoon.

"He's you, goofy. You're not the only one who's been hiding secret feelings for eleven years now. Why do you think I spent so much time at your house back then? Just to play Nintendo?"

"Well, actually yes. I did think that back then. You were really good at it."

"We played house every day for a reason, silly." She took my hands in hers then led them around her waist, stepping closer to me to rest her head on my chest. I swelled it out with pride. "I just didn't say anything because of the age difference. You were in like sixth grade while I was in ninth. I was afraid of what people might say... but I knew then that I was in love with you."

"The fact that we're cousins never bothered you?" I was puzzled. Sure the age was an obstacle back then but..., the other was worse, right?

"Hold on, I've got to get something I tracked down and have been holding onto for several years. It's time you knew the truth about it." With that, she walked slowly from the room, letting my fingers drop one by one with the gentle agony of lovers who didn't want to be separated for even a second. I watched her intently as she went, backing out of the room while her eyes remained fixed on mine. When she didn't return after just a few minutes, I couldn't help but follow her down the hall like a lost puppy dog.

Brianna was bent over at the waist once more, what was quickly becoming one of my very favorite views of her. She was rummaging through a medium-sized wooden box and didn't notice me coming. I quietly watched her as she talked to herself.

"Oh my god, Brianna. It's actually true. Finally, finally he's yours. All yours," she pulled a picture of me from about two years before out of the wooden box and kissed it before putting it away again. I decided to sneak closer to see what all was in there. What I found blew my mind away.

That box had a copy of every year book from my school from fifth through twelfth grades, a newspaper clipping from when I won a local computer game contest, and a variety of pictures and knick knacks with hearts on them and my and her names. She had even written hers as 'Brianna Carden' on many of the more recent pictures. There was also her old red gymnastics uniform from school in the box that had always been my favorite. I wondered if it would still fit.

"Wow," I exclaimed and she about jumped out of her skin, knocking back into me.

"Jesus, you scared the bejeez out of me." She had put her hand on her heart and was breathing fast. She hit me on the arm again and I realized I would have to toughen up my arms if I was going to be around her all the time like I wanted. She could be rough.

"Here, look at this." She handed me what looked like two computer drawings of trees. When I looked at them though, I realized the first was a family tree going back all the way to her great-great grandfather.

"You see here, Joseph Manning Carden," she circled the name with her finger. He was her great grandfather. "He had a sister, Elizabeth Carden." She pointed to the other page which was another family tree... mine. "They were siblings. They also represent the last real connection between your family tree and mine."

"So doesn't that make us cousins still?" I asked, unsure what she meant by this.

"Maybe 5th degree cousins at most. The law only prohibits first and second cousins from marrying so..., nothing says I couldn't one day be your wife..., if the opportunity were ever to come up." She winked at me and put the tree diagrams back in the box.

"Wow," I had never realized we were that distant. Mom had always just said she was my cousin. Nor had I ever realized the possibilities of my getting married anytime soon yet we were officially dating for less than thirty minutes and she was already mentioning it.

"Um..., it's getting late and I still haven't finished my exercises. Maybe we should go back in there?" I remembered the feeling of my hand touching her in that last exercise and agreed immediately. "But I did promise to make it more interesting if you asked so go wait for me in the living room. I'll be there in a minute."

More interesting? I couldn't believe I had actually forgotten about that. What could possibly be more interesting than holding my hand down for her to sit her spread kitty cat on it? I sat expectantly on the couch, waiting for her to come in. I noticed on the wall clock that it was late and starting to get dark but I didn't want to go home yet. To hell with my mother, I was with Brianna now.