Siblings Strip Away Past Notions (Remade)

Ehhh, was that lame of me? Wendy pondered, eyeing the back of her brother's head. After how long she had waited to spend time with her brother and to meet his friends, here she was, in the place as them, reading alone. James looked like he wanted his guy time, though... hmm.

Wendy was still bothered by how things went during her morning visit. Maybe she had been too assuming in coming over unannounced? Maybe she should have caught up with her brother before trying to meet his friends and see his place? Considering how nuts their parents were, she and James needed each other. Even if it was mostly her brother's fault, which it was, she felt guilty for not staying close with him in recent years.

----

Just as James finished explaining his theory of why the electric scooter had to have hit the bus rather than the other way around, he sensed his sister sitting on the pool edge behind him, kicking her shins in the water.

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Wendy," Austin welcomed.

"So, how are you guys liking it here so far?"

"We never wanna leave," Luke said wistfully.

For some reason, that comment lit James's fuse more than the others. "Hey, Wen, can I talk to you about something mom said?"

"Yeah, sure." Wendy furrowed her eyebrows, watching him paddle to the wall.

James climbed out and led her to the bright flowers lining the back fence. As she opened her lips to speak, he blurted in a huff, "Can you please put a sundress on? Or a wrap? Or whatever the hell is in style right now?"

Wendy lurched back and shook. "Wait, what? Why? What did mom say?"

"Nothing. Mom didn't call. I'm just... ugh!" James tousled his wet hair. "I'm asking you for a favor. Please. You're... My friends are being assholes, and you're making it worse than it needs to be."

Her beautiful face twisted in revulsion. "Excuse me?! What the hell have I done except be nice to you today? You've been avoiding me like the fucking plague."

"No, that's not... It's just... They're staring at you," James grimaced, hearing the awkward truth out loud. "C'mon, you know you're flaunting... everything. You know what you're doing."

Wendy opened her mouth but backed down. She had never had a conversation like this with her brother before. After how much she appreciated him standing up for her when they were younger, she could see how he might not understand she was an independent adult now. But he needed to. Besides, he and his friends needed to grow the fuck up.

For a brief moment, Wendy swore she saw her brother's gaze linger on her tits, and that was more proof that James should be having an uncomfortable conversation with his friends and not with her.

Under the willow branches, Wendy spoke to her younger brother candidly. "I understand how their behavior is upsetting you. And I'm sure you'll have a talk with them later about how to respect you better. But I'm not responsible for how they act or where they look. I don't control their eyes. They do. You and I are both adults, which means we're both responsible for dealing with our own friends and can wear whatever we want without the other's approval. And I am not going to change my behavior because immature guys wanna act up. So, please, James, never tell me what to wear again. They are annoying you, not me. So, go talk to them."

Her response frustrated James, largely because she was right about everything, and his problem was no closer to being solved. He stressed with his hands, "I don't need you to change your behavior at all! I'm asking you to tone it down a little. You don't understand... I can't stop them. They're not thinking about it. Guys are just like that when they meet a new girl. You just have to wait until they're used to being around you. And c'mon, Wen, you know that dressing like this around guys... you know."

Ironic... Wendy raised a sharp eyebrow, catching her brother's green eyes on her chest again before they moved down to the sides of her hips. She wasn't grossed out, for she had learned during her undergrad years how men were drawn to any amount of bare flesh like moths to a flame. Boys were curious beings.

With a quick peek at the front of his navy swim trunks, Wendy was relieved by the lack of movement. She was done entertaining his nonsense, so she met his square face and delivered her closing arguments. "James, I'm twenty-three. I can decide what I wear and how I wear it. How anyone else reacts, that's their business. I know you know that's true. You would never put a shirt on because a friend of mine thought you were cute, and I don't need to cover up at a pool — in a bikini I bought at effing Target — just because your friends are being dumb and annoying. In my experience, every time a group of guys your age gets together, they end up being dumb and annoying. The fact is, you and your friends are probably going to be seeing a lot of me now. So, just like I had to, you're gonna have to get used to guys looking at me without making a big deal about it. Can you accept that? Can you be an adult?"

The gears in his head churned, but James had no retorts. In defeat, he dropped his chin and watched the water drip from his trunks onto the grass around his feet. "Fine," he grumbled.

"Good. I'm heading back to my apartment soon anyway. So, you should be able to enjoy the rest of your day without worrying about me and my evil, trendy swimwear. Whoo-oo-oooo..." Wendy mocked in a ghoulish voice and fluttered her fingers as she rolled her eyes and walked away.

Yeah, she's pissed off, James thought. At least she was leaving soon. With a shrug, he ran back to the water and soon saw his sister packing her tote and tying a towel around her waist. Any coverage was an improvement.

"It was nice meeting you guys!"

The roommates waved back at Wendy and told her how much they enjoyed meeting her. James didn't expect a goodbye, nor did he get one.

"Hey, Wendy?" Luke called out. "We're playing video games tomorrow night. Do you wanna come over?"

The trio of hopeful faces led James to suspect his friends had conspired while he was off getting lectured by his sister. At least she despised video games, so James was lucky.

Teetering on her flip-flops, Wendy scratched her head. "Umm... It depends if I'm done with my work. Usually, I'm not, hah. Um, you know what? Yeah, I'll play! I'll make tomorrow work. I should be done with my work by then."

His friend pumped his fist under the water, and James was living a nightmare.

"Awesome, we'll see you then!" Harris confirmed. "We're startin' around nine," Austin added.

"I should be there, then. Bye, guys! See ya, James." She then unlatched the gate and disappeared.

James was dumbfounded.

----

The summer breeze was soughing against the bedroom windows in the night. James had gone for a midnight stroll through the complex and came back to find his roommates asleep. Neither Austin's snoring nor the rustling breeze was keeping sleep at bay, but rather it was his own mind, determined to rehash and win the argument he had with his sister earlier.

I don't understand how she doesn't care. She doesn't like them, could she? No. No. She ripped them and called them immature idiots. Maybe she's just... different? Think about how much you've changed since leaving home? You have to be unrecognizable to her, too. You wouldn't recognize yourself from three years ago. I guess it's the same with her, James thought.

While he had seen the occasional Instagram photo of her out with a date or at a party with alcohol, those experiences made sense, even for her. What he struggled to grasp was how his sister had transformed from a sweater-wearing girl into a woman who thought nothing of going to a public pool in broad daylight in a stylish, black bikini.

Am I overreacting? Hell, yes! She's right, and you fucking know it, dude. If literally any other woman had been wearing that, you would've thought it was a normal bikini. And you're being a hypocrite. You work out and let women see your body. You try to get attention. Why are you lifting weights? To be a better engineer? You had on even less clothing than she did. So, where the hell do you get off?

James had made solid points while playing Devil's Advocate, but he countered, Yeah... but if she ever pulled you aside and asked you to throw your shirt on because it was causing her problems, you would do it immediately. No question. True... but when would that ever happen?

Rolling in his sheets, James needed to escape his mind, and that was simple to do. He made sure Austin was facing the wall and breathing slowly, then he finagled his boxers down to his knees and felt his cock grow hard toward his belly button.

After all, why wouldn't he rock hard? The pool had gotten so crowded before they left that his Latina neighbor had agreed to come over for a drink on his balcony. Now she was winking at him while her warm, wet tongue ran up and down his shaft, rubbing his abs. She sat up and untied the strings of her red bikini and begged him to touch her bronze skin while she rhythmically rode his cock. It wasn't long before she squirted in his lap, moaning in an accent, "Ohhh! Jaimes!" She let him cum deep inside her soft pussy.

So sleep-deprived that he could barely reach his tissue box, James wiped up his gooey mess and closed his eyes, swirling into a deepening blackness. His mind grasped at the tails of floating ideas and feelings, and one lucid thought hung in the void: how surprisingly confident his sister was in her body.

***** 3

How the hell did this end up happening?

James shook his head at his sister, who was focused on the television, her expressive mouth moving determinately. Here they all were, playing video games together as if they were all friends.

For their part, his roommates hadn't uttered a word about Wendy all day, for they had teased him enough the day before. Their behavior was just as revealing, though. Over breakfast, they argued passionately over which game and console to play later. Then, when James returned from his run, he opened the door to find them gathered around a stepladder, installing powder blue curtains in the living room. When they told him they only bought the curtains because they were on sale and matched the carpet, James didn't quite believe them.

Now that his sister was in the living room, most of James's worrying was for naught. She was in a baggy, black t-shirt and plopped in a beanbag chair across the room from him, so she was shielded from his three friends on the couch behind her. No matter how infatuated they were, a neck and a ponytail weren't much to look at.

"I'm gettin' a beer. Anyone else want one? Wendy?" Harris stood up, setting his controller on the couch.

"Hmm..."

"We have Bud Light and Blue Moon."

"You know what? I'll take a Blue Moon," Wendy happily smiled and shrugged.

"Wendy, are you sure you can see the TV okay from over there?"

James rolled his eyes at the concern in Austin's voice. "She said she wanted the beanbag chair. I already asked her earlier if she wanted my chair, and it's the best one in the house, but she said she wanted that one. So, I'm sure she can see. Hah." He tried to settle himself nonchalantly in his high-end gaming chair, hoping his chuckle took the edge from his words. James drew the line at his roommate bullshitting his sister with chivalry and convincing her to squeeze onto a three-cushion couch with them.

But across the room, Wendy's dense, angled eyebrows were arched, and her finger was on her temple. It was a hereditary pose of wry confusion, one they both utilized, as did their dad. "I can see the TV fine. Thanks, Austin. You don't need to tilt it or anything."

Ah, shit... James cringed on the inside. Perhaps he was overthinking things? That was a trait he alone got from his mom. Of course, his sister shared the good traits, such as their brown hair, emerald eyes, and pointed ears.

Harris saved the mood by sauntering back in with bottles of cold beer. Everyone thanked him and returned to playing the game. All five students were former competitive athletes in some respect, but none wanted to be the freak who took Mario Party on Nintendo Switch too seriously. Despite Wendy's diamond face and glossed lips drawing glances whenever she looked back, it was petty enough not to bother James. He let himself relax and enjoy the classic, chaotic party game.

"This would make an amazing drinking game," Wendy said, as she mashed buttons with her nimble fingers in an attempt to win the short minigame. "You can make it so the loser drinks. Or the winner gets to make someone else drink."

"We should play that now!" Luke suggested. His tone was light as if he wanted to be able to pass it off as a joke.

As James opened his mouth to nuke the plans, his sister was already shaking her ponytail side to side. "No! Haha! I can't get hammered on a Sunday night."

"Ah, I was curious what a hammered Wendy would be like."

"I'd be curious, too," Wendy shrugged. "I don't get drunk."

"Never?!" Luke gaped. "Do you not go to parties?"

"I do," Wendy nodded, "but people tell me I'm fun enough sober. So, why get the hangover?"

Under what circumstances people had told his sister that, James didn't want to know. Though, apparently, he was the only one.

Austin bit. "Who told ya that? That seems like the type of thing a guy just says to a girl when he's tryna get her to go home with him."

Wendy shrugged her shoulder. "Who said it wasn't?"

The room erupted around James. His friends were kicking on the couch, his sister's bright teeth were flashing from her simple joke, and James was glaring death at his friend, but his rage went unnoticed. It was as if everyone was working together to mock him.

For minutes on end, James simmered in his chair, losing minigame after minigame, feeling the frustration condense into his knuckles and bent toes. He refused to be a witness to his friends and sister exchanging flirty jokes.

For Wendy, this light repartee was simply her normal way of making friends. Most men she met were attracted to her, which meant they tried to flirt with her right away. In high school, Wendy either ignored their interest or told them she just wanted to be friends. Men responded by distancing themselves from her because they thought she was rejecting them as a person, or they would pretend to be her friend only to admit feelings for her later on, which was sad for all involved. Based on the fact that Wendy had no straight male friends in high school outside of her brother, that method clearly didn't work.

In college, Wendy learned to thread the needle. When men went through their initial phase of making flirty jokes and acting dumb, Wendy let them. She would laugh, joke back, and use her flirty wit, but did so nonchalantly, to where men could sense she wasn't being serious. Men would still be engaged by her and encouraged to talk to her more, and soon they would be friends with her, and the flirty jokes were simply accepted as part of her humor, a source of light entertainment for her.

While it was unfair that Wendy had to make male friends this way, she did find a refreshing honesty in it. There was no denial of reality or surprises later. And when men felt that their attraction was acknowledged, accepted, and joked about in a friendly way, they became less angsty and were able to relax around her. There was no underlying tension to get in the way of a good friendship.

James did not share in that life experience. He was not a highly sought-after woman with big boobs, an outgoing personality, and a nice smile. All he could see was his friends and sister joke about her being picked up at a party for casual sex.

As the blood continued to boil in his veins, even after the conversation had long died, he was determined not to let that type of interaction become the norm. He was angry at his friends, but more so at his sister. He had the power to end it, though, and he just had to wait for the right moment to strike, whenever that may be. Until then, he mashed his controller and focused on the screen, jaw clenched.

Eventually, they began playing a minigame where players used their controllers to stack digital pancakes onto plates. James's lips thinly stretched, and he reminisced, "Hey, Wen... Do you remember the day at Busch Gardens when you ate all of those pancakes and threw up on the roller coaster all over those kids?"

Wendy froze. There was not a single plastic button being clicked anywhere in the open living room. There was just the whacky music sounding from the television in the background. Out of nowhere, without warning, and for no reason, her brother had announced her most embarrassing memory. It was the event the kids at school had ridiculed her about until she cried. Why... What the fuck?

Her chin hung from her face, and Wendy struggled to understand how her brother would ever think it was acceptable to mention that. His three roommates were on the couch, staring forward with blank faces, hiding from the situation. Bruised inside and red in the face, Wendy tried to read her brother's bony cheeks. It suddenly clicked. He's trying to make me look ugly to them... You fucking asshole.

The sides of Wendy's head swelled, and she was about to cry again. Time hadn't cured their sibling instinct to turn pain into bitter words, and an inflamed Wendy was burning return fire. But she darted her eyes around the nice, clean apartment, felt the cold, free drink in her hand, and sensed the presence of the friendly peers she had just met, and she thought better of it.

He wants you to fight back. He wants you to look like a petty bitch. He wants you to ruin this for yourself, Wendy. Don't let him do this to you, she thought.

Over her seething emotions, she wore a humorous smile. "Oh, yeah! I still remember that! What was that, like ten years ago now? God, I can't believe I almost forgot. Those poor kids, haha!"

There was a collective exhale from the leather couch, and the air seemed to circulate in the room again. James watched Wendy roll her shoulders, a cheeky victory dance. Fuck.

They returned to the video game, and Wendy stayed for a bit longer before announcing she had to leave to get enough sleep for work and class the next day. The pancake story had devastated her and ruined her night, but she refused to give James the satisfaction.

----

Back in her single apartment, Wendy wiggled out of her jeans and panties and ran a hot shower. She entered the steamy, glass box in hopes of soothing the anger inside her. As the water cascaded down her naked body, it seemed to only entrap her burning rage. The sides of her face swelled again, and she began to cry softly, wishing she could scream until her throat went hoarse.

What hurt her most wasn't the story, but that her brother, who had spent his whole life protecting her, had intentionally humiliated her. If any other man had done that to her, James would have dropped him where he stood. Yet, here she was crying in the shower at his hand.

The pain ran even deeper. Crushed by law school and her internship, Wendy had a fraction of the free time she once did. The fun and sense of freedom of her undergrad years were a distant memory. While many of her friends lived on or near campus, she lived farther away to be close to work. Between the physical distance and real-world responsibilities taking over, Wendy was disconnected from her undergrad social life and was no longer seeing friends for weekend parties like she used to.

Her brother couldn't know this, but he had her in a vice. The day he signed his lease for The Reserve was Wendy's happiest day in more than a year. The most important person in her life, the person she loved the most, was going to be living a short walk from her. They could rekindle their close relationship and be friends again. Plus, he came with bonus friends, and she had the chance to join their friend group. It was perfect.