My Life Ch. 01

The two-story house was typical to most houses in Southern California, covered in stucco with a few areas of fake looking stone to make it look slightly different than the neighbors. I stepped onto the front porch and knocked on the front door. No one answered right away but I could hear music and laughter inside so I knew they were here: They being my oldest brother and a few of this friends. The sun setting but it was still high enough in the sky to make my blouse stick to my skin. It was blazing hot and this wasn't how I wanted to spend my first afternoon back from school.

I rang the doorbell twice and nearly left before the door finally opened. I took an involuntary step back as I looked up to the guy that had just opened the door. He had to be at least six-foot-four and was well built with tightly cropped, dirty blondish hair.

"Can I help you," he asked politely?

It took me a long moment to remember why I was even standing there, "I'm looking for my brother," I finally sputtered out, and then quickly added, "Brandon— I'm looking for Brandon."

He squinted and looked at me carefully, "You're Brandon's little sister," he finally said in mild surprise.

"Yes, his wife asked me to pop over and tell him that she's ready to go. Is he here?"

The man didn't say anything for almost a minute—just stared. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable and I tried to think of some smart ass comment to throw at him, but his dark eyes made me feel so small that my mind just went blank.

Finally he shook his head and smiled, "I'm sorry, I'm Kyle," he apologized. "You probably don't remember me. I used to hang out at your parent's house all the time when I was in high school with your brother."

I studied him carefully but didn't recognize him so I simply shook my head, "Sorry, I don't remember you."

Kyle laughed, it sounded easy and genuine, "No, you probably wouldn't. You were only just a baby when your brother and I were seniors. But wow, you look all grown up now."

The complement made me blush in embarrassment, "Uh...yeah, I guess I am," I said lamely. I shifted to the side and tried to look through the front window, hoping Kyle would take a hint and go and get my brother.

Kyle glanced to the side and I could tell that he got the clue, "Brandon will be back in five or ten minutes. He was just returning a few things to the store. You can come in for a minute if you want. It's nice and cool inside."

I hesitated for only a second. Feeling the cool air flowing from the doorway was enough to convince me it would be better to wait inside, so I nodded and stepped through the doorway. The cool air felt fantastic. I knew that my brother and a bunch of his friends had thrown a huge party here last night. My sister-in-law had done nothing but complain about all evening. In fact she was still complaining about her husband when I woke up this morning, so when she started whining about how late it was going to be when they drove home and how cranky her kids were going to be I jumped at the chance to volunteer to go get my errant oldest brother; anything to get away from his spoiled rotten wife.

A large flat screen was showing a movie I noticed, so that explained the voices I'd heard from outside. Looking around the house I almost laughed out loud. This place definitely belonged to a bachelor; with the high end electronics, leather couches and modern furniture.

"Must have been some party," I commented dryly, seeing the empty liquor bottles stacked on nearly every horizontal surface.

Kyle laughed and it made me smile. It was an infectious laugh and I couldn't help but like how it sounded, "Yeah, you could say that. We haven't done anything like that in years—I guess we were due."

I sat on the corner of a black leather sofa and Kyle cleared away several bottles from the coffee table. "Your name was Jillian, right?"

That made my smile disappear instantly, "Yes, but everyone calls me Jamiee," I told him. I'm not sure why I hate the name Jillian so much, but yeah, I'm hypersensitive to it.

"Oh right, I guess I knew that," Kyle confessed. "I think I remember Brandon telling me that you were going to a boarding school in England. Is that right?"

I nodded, "Since I was eight."

"And you're over there all school year?"

I shrugged, not sure how much I wanted to start talking about. That's one of the biggest differences between England and America, in England you never ask strangers about their personal lives, it's considered rude, so you have to find people to gossip with to learn what you want to know about someone. But I was back in the States again, so I might as well get used to directness now and not get all tied in a knot about it.

"Usually I am. Sometimes mum and dad will fly me home for the Christmas holiday, but other than Christmas and the summer holiday I'm pretty much always there," I explained.

Kyle lowered the volume on the television and took a load of empty bottles into the kitchen. When he came back he took a seat on the other couch facing me. Normally I would have cringed and not wanted the company, but Kyle was a handsome guy and easy to talk to, so I didn't seem to mind.

"That's a lot of time there. I guess that explains why you picked up the accent."

It was true. I did have a strong English accent. Between being with my mum when I was little and being at school ten months out of the year I was doomed to sound English, unlike my dad and my brothers, all of whom sounded completely American: Another sore spot I might get into later.

When I didn't answer right away Kyle said, "The accent's great. It makes you sound dead sexy. You're going to have all the boys at college falling at your feet if you come back to the States to go to school."

Again I felt my cheeks burn and I knew I was blushing. This was ridiculous. Why could this guy make me blush so easily? "I'll be in sixth-form when school starts again," I started to say. I knew he wouldn't know what that meant so I quickly added, "that's basically a senior in high-school, so it's my last year there."

"So what happens after you graduate, I imagine your parents are pushing college?"

"Of course," I said more sarcastically than I intended, "I mean I want to go to university, but I don't know if I'm going to stay in the UK or come back here. I haven't decided yet. My marks in school are pretty good, so I have options... I don't know."

"I'm sure I'm echoing your parents, but keep going to school. It'll be worth it someday. Any ideas what you want to study?"

"Not really - I know I want to do something in writing, but I don't know what," I said. Then, trying to be sociable I asked, "What do you do—for work I mean?"

Kyle sat back lazily into the couch and stretched before he answered, "Well, I studied civil engineering in school, and I worked for a number of years as an engineer, but lately I've been spending a lot of time trying to buy up rental properties and fix them up. I thought about being a porn star but I was too afraid to take off my clothes, so that didn't work out too well."

I couldn't help but laugh. I liked Kyle. He was easy going and smart and extremely fit.

"I'm curious, how's life at a boarding school, is it like Jerry Potter?

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. If I had a few quid every time I heard that I'd be richer than the Queen. "I think you mean Harry Potter, and no, it's nothing like that. Well, there are a few things that are similar, but it's not nearly as exciting."

"No?" he asked, "why not?"

"Well first of all I go to an all-girls school," I instantly saw that gleam in his eye that boys always get when I tell them I go to an all-girls school, so I added, "No, we don't run around half naked throwing pillows at each other and having lesbian orgies all the time."

Kyle laughed again, "That's disappointing. You kind of squashed that fantasy."

"Sorry, but it's very different when there are no boys to try to impress."

Kyle sighed, "That's probably true. So you've never kissed one of the girls at your school?"

"No!" I said a lot more loudly than I wanted. There was no way I was going to confess what I had gotten up to with my roommate. "That stuff just doesn't happen."

Kyle's left eyebrow rose suspiciously, "Sounds like there's more to that story."

A flash of intense heat flushed my face and I knew I must have turned bright red, but luckily Kyle had rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes.

"Sorry Jamiee, I'm falling asleep on you," Kyle said, sitting up.

I smiled, happy that my heart and skin color had returned to normal, "Don't be. It looks like it was a long night."

The door suddenly opened and I turned to see my brother. He was almost as tall as Kyle but wasn't quite as fit as he used to be, but I guess that's what happens when you have three kids to take care of.

"Oh, hey sis... let me guess, my wife sent you to look for me."

I shook my head, "I volunteered. She was going mental."

"Yeah, I bet," said Brandon as he turned toward Kyle. "I better get home. It's better to try and calm Megan early than let her get more and more pissed off."

Kyle and my brother did that stupid one-armed guy hug thing and Kyle said, "I warned you about getting married, B."

Brandon snorted, "There are days," he commented wryly. "It was fun catching up though," he then turned to me, "Come on JJ, we can put your bike into the back of my truck. It'll give us a chance to talk before I have to leave."

JJ was another nickname my brothers had given me. For some reason I'm a nickname magnate, especially to my brothers.

"I thought you were staying a few more days," I said as I stood from the couch, my skin sticking slightly to the warm leather.

Brandon shook his head, "No can do, sorry. I've got to be to work tomorrow."

I tried not to show any emotion to that, but I felt crestfallen. I hadn't seen my family in almost a year and no one seemed to care.

"I'm sure the folks have something planned for you anyway. You'll be too busy to notice I'm not there," he tried to say consolingly.

I stepped towards the door and past my brother, "Mum's going with dad tomorrow to some seminar he's putting on. They'll be gone the whole week."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that... Come on; let's talk on the way home at least."

I turned toward Kyle and simply waved goodbye.

He just nodded and smiled back at me. Guys are so strange.

The ride home was awkward as my brother made one apology after another, promising to come by and visit soon. It wasn't his fault his wife was such a tightly wound bitch... okay, maybe it was, but I didn't want to stay mad at him so I let it go. I'd just have to get creative and find ways to keep myself entertained.

I woke up the next morning and made my way to the kitchen. The house was quiet, and in typical mum fashion, completely tidy. I'm not a messy person by nature, but the occasional thing left on the floor doesn't bother me. Not my mum however, she goes completely bloody mental if everything's not perfectly in place. She's like a mean Mary Poppins.

With nothing planned I put on my wetsuit, grabbed my surfboard, jumped onto my bike and peddled to the beach. I knew the ride was going to be hard. It always is the first week that I'm back from school until I can get my legs used to it again. I knew the ride would take me a little over an hour so I set an easy pace and just enjoyed the smells and the feel of being back in San Diego.

By the time I got to the beach I'd missed most of the good sets of waves. I would have to get out of bed a lot earlier in the morning if I was going to catch any good ones this summer. Despite being alone, the day was one of the best I'd had in months. It just felt so good to get some sun on my skin and taste saltwater again. I had missed this place.

The day passed by in a blur and I didn't want to go home, but I hadn't brought any food or water and my stomach was demanding that I do something soon. So I trudged through the sand and back to my bike that I had left near the sidewalk. The day was still warm so I stripped the top part of my wetsuit down to my hips, exposing the small bikini top that I was wearing underneath. It felt odd not to be covered from head to toe in a school uniform, but I wasn't dressed any differently than most of the people at the beach so I felt comfortable. Putting my board under my arm I forced my legs to turning the bicycle's peddles as I made my way home.

I was getting close to home and trying not to think about how thirsty I was when a black Jeep Rubicon pulled up next to me, "Hey Jillian, you look a little tired."

I stopped and put my feet on the ground and shot him an angry look, "Hey Kyle," I responded, maybe a little icily and then added "Would you please call me Jamiee." Unlike the beach where everyone was running around half naked, I felt oddly exposed standing next to Kyle's Jeep, but pulling my wetsuit back on didn't seem like a cool thing to do so I tried to act as if this was a natural thing for me.

Kyle held out a clear plastic bottle of water through the open window, "Here, you look like you need some water."

My eyes grew wide as I saw the water and I grabbed it out of his hand and drank it greedily. It was the perfect temperature and instantly hit the spot.

"Ahhh,' I sighed, "You saved my life."

"Have you been at the beach all day?"

I nodded and downed more of the water.

"Damn girl, its ninety degrees out here. You can't go all day without drinking a shit ton of water."

I handed him back the empty bottle, "I know. I just didn't think about it when I left the... oh no," I suddenly said. "I think I'm locked out of my house."

Kyle laughed loudly at this announcement, "Are you one of those really smart but forget-your-head-if-it-wasn't-attached kinds of girls?"

"No!" I declared. "I just... forgot," I finished lamely.

"I'm sure we can get you back into your house. Here, were close to my place. Why don't you follow me home so I can put these groceries away, and then we'll get you into your house."

With no other options coming to mind I nodded my head, "Alright. Thanks."

Kyle's house was only a few blocks away, which was welcome because my legs were done. I saw him pull his Jeep into the garage and I awkwardly got off of my bike, trying not to drop my board when I did. He gestured me to come into the garage, so I walked my bike inside and parked it against the wall and put the surfboard next to it.

Walking over to the back of the jeep I grabbed a couple of the plastic bags of groceries and carried them inside. I had only taken a few steps into the hallway when I realized I was tracking sand into his house.

"Sorry, I'm still sandy," I said as I stepped back into the garage.

Kyle shrugged and took the bags from my hands, "Don't worry about it. It's just sand." He took a step away and then turned back toward me, "Look, I'm starving. If you want, there's a shower down the hall there you can use to get cleaned up. If you like lemon chicken I'll make a little extra and you can just eat here."

"Uh... I, uh,"

"No pressure, Jamiee. If you want let's go get you into your house right now."

"...Food would be great," I said and my stomach noisily agreed causing Kyle to laugh, "But I don't have any clean clothes to change into."

Kyle nodded toward the bathroom and then winked at me, "I won't mind if you just wear that bikini," I blushed at the thought and Kyle went on, adopting a strangely sincere tone, "If you're more comfortable, there are some giant towels under the sink. You're small enough that one would easily wrap around you."

Kyle left me alone in the garage and I stripped off my sandy wetsuit as the garage door closed. I couldn't believe how this day had turned out. I was standing in my brother's best friend's garage in the world's skimpiest bikini and he was about to cook me dinner. I looked down at my swim suit and felt my heartrate pick up a few beats-per-minute. I would never have worn this bikini in public, but I thought I was going to have my wetsuit on all day, so I decided to wear it.

I placed my wetsuit on top of my bike and went into the hallway again. I could hear Kyle in the kitchen, much to my relief, and made my way to the bathroom. It was as Spartan as the rest of the house but it had the basics, and most especially hot water.

I stepped directly under the hot water and let it run over me for several minutes before I undid the strings to my top and hung it from the shower head. I hooked my thumbs through the waistband of my swimsuit bottoms and took those off too. They were smaller than any knickers I owned and I couldn't imagine myself wearing them in public. But I have to admit, just the thought made my blood race and I felt a strange twinge in my stomach.

I stayed in the shower a lot longer than I had intended but it was just so hard to get out. It felt wonderful. After probably an eternity I turned off the water and wrung out as much water as I could from my suit. I then did the best I could to dry my hair and skin. The swimsuit was almost dry when I put it back on and found one of the large towels under the sink. I finally stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. The sun had done me some good after spending ten months under the English grey skies. If I have one attribute it's that I tan quickly and darkly. It comes in handy after a few days at the beach and I don't have to use sunblock anymore. I probably still should I guess, but I never burn after just a day or two outside.

The bikini looked even smaller now that I was looking at myself in the mirror. I'm barely a B-cup but the bikini top actually made it look like I had breasts. It made me smile. I knew I wasn't going to be one of those sexy, big breasted women, but at least there was something there to see. The thought suddenly came to mind to go into the kitchen wearing only the skimpy bikini. I let that thought stay for a while and allowed it to grow. It was exciting but scary beyond belief. That twinge I'd felt earlier was back and felt even stronger.

I stepped out into the hallway and walked toward the kitchen. The smell of lemon chicken was amazing and my mouth was watering instantly. Kyle's back was toward me as he was working over the stove, but he turned toward me when I pulled a stool out from the island bar and sat down.

He frowned mockingly at me, "I was actually hoping those towels weren't in there," he said, looking at the large white towel I had wrapped tightly around my body.

"I'd be too embarrassed to just wear my bikini."

"Why, it's just a swimsuit?"

"...It's tiny though,"

"But so are you, so it works," he said smiling before he turned back toward the stove.

I felt a pang of disappointment at that comment and was glad I wore the towel. He probably does see me as a small little girl—just Brandon's little sister. The thought surprised me. Did I want him to see me as something else? He was almost twice my age and has probably been with countless beautiful women. I was just a little kid still, and for some reason I was letting myself spin this whole situation into something you'd read in one of those erotic romance novels. I was being silly and foolish.

I was lost in thought for a few minutes until Kyle set a plate in front of me. It looked like something a five star restaurant would serve—incredible. I took the fork and pulled off a piece of the meat and popped it into my mouth: it almost melted it tasted so good. I let out an audible sigh.

"Good?" asked Kyle, eyes wide in hope of a good review.

"Amazing,"

We ate in silence for several minutes just enjoying the dinner before Kyle said, "Sorry you're home alone all week, Jillian."