Siblings Strip Away Past Notions (Remade)

Wendy witnessed the prolonged gaze. His round, green eyes were hitting her differently. A new way. She had written off his peeking as him scratching a basic male itch, but now he was digesting what he saw. Oddly, it seemed to be calming him down, and since Wendy had no clue what to do or say, she simply stood.

A twitch in his neck made James blink, and he shook his head. "Ugh! Just make sure you give off a different vibe for video game night. But that's if we still end up letting you come over. I'm gonna talk with the guys about it first."

"Huh?" Wendy had whiplash. One second, her brother was more serene than she had ever seen him. The next, he was back to being a jackass. You certainly didn't seem to mind my "vibe" two seconds ago, Wendy wanted to say. Instead, she threw her tote over her shoulder, lowered her sunglasses, and scoffed. "Fine. Whatever." She then stormed off, looking back confused.

After she slammed the pool gate with a violent rattle that cut through the noise, James held his head in his hands. His pounding and racing mind was all over the place. What the fuck is wrong with you? Dude, get your shit together!

When he turned away from the trees, he realized he was locking eyes with a woman of thirty. She blushed, believing she had been caught eyeing up the chiseled young man, but James barely had his wits about him. He saw her ebony skin wrapped in a pink bikini, and he robotically waved hello, smiling politely. She bashfully waved back, as if she was embarrassed because he was such a young man, and because she kind of wanted the interaction to continue.

Beside the woman, two others lay on towels. James stared at the chubbier brunette one in an apricot orange bikini. His testicles lurched in his navy blue trunks, and he turned away. He needed to go home and jerk off to that woman.

***** 5

Humid steam rose from the layers of dead leaves in the woods surrounding The Reserve. The morning heat pulled last night's rain from the earth and made James sweat profusely on his jog. Drops of water splashed on his head and knees from the branches above as he focused on his breathing, blocking out any unpeaceful thoughts related to his irritating sister.

When arrived back at the door of apartment 1107, he was greeted by frantic shouts, for his friends had just finished mopping, albeit streakily, and they feared his muddy running shoes. James rolled his eyes, seeing the preparations for video game night were well underway. At least his meditative morning was nice while it lasted.

Austin, Luke, and Harris resembled a colony of ants, moving about the living space, vacuuming the molding, wiping the counters, and moving the large television from Harris and Luke's room into the living room, so five people could now game at once. James trudged through the work zone and into his bedroom to jump into a cool shower.

Meanwhile, over in apartment 5304, Wendy's preparations for video game night involved skimming a case law textbook she had already mastered while thinking about her brother. She cycled between wanting to hit him for being a jerk, and then feeling bad for him because of the torture she put him through, and then wondering what was wrong with him that made him so quick to anger, and then questioning why she didn't peek at his crotch yesterday when he was inhaling her with his eyes to check if she had been right or not... And then she went back to wanting to hit him.

Last night had been rough for Wendy. Back in her pre-law days, whenever she was suffering from stress, she would simply visit a party or text a friend, for there had been no shortage of men on campus willing to ever-so-selflessly take her clothes off, slide the warmth of their favorite body part inside her, and vigorously alleviate her restless mind. Now, Wendy didn't have easy access to horny cocks waiting for a booty call, and she had no interest in slinking back to the dangerous swamp that was online dating apps. She did, however, have an intimate relationship with her lifelike, beige dildo, which had made her cum twice last night without even asking her for a break in between to recover its stamina. Unfortunately, had done little to stop her swirling thoughts late into the night.

Fresh from the shower in 1107, James cleaned his ears, shaved his face with his electric trimmer, and went over his chest and balls for good measure. He had to rinse off in the shower again, but it would be worth it in case of the zero-percent likelihood of him running into the pink bikini woman over the next couple of days and her deciding to fuck him right away. Why not leave his dreams open?

He re-entered the living room at a critical juncture. "James, there you are. You can be the tie-breaker," Luke declared. "Which game do you think we should play? You probably know which games she likes the best."

"No, honestly, I don't. I didn't even know she played video games until this week."

"How? She said she played all the time. How wouldn't you know that?"

"I don't know, man. She's changed a lot. I know we're brother and sister, but between school and her working away all the time, we barely saw each other over the last few years."

Austin empathized, "That sucks. She's pretty awesome."

Luke nodded. "Yeah, I have to agree with him, James. I don't want to get involved in your family business, but I don't see why you wouldn't like her. It almost seems like you hate her, actually. If that's because of us giving you shit the day we met her, we're sorry. We were really just playing around, and we haven't even done anything since."

James stared into space, fatigued. The sad thing was, Luke truly believed he was telling the truth. Last night, James admitted to himself he would have unwittingly behaved the same way if one of his friends had a hot sister. That didn't make him feel better, though. It made him feel worse. It meant that this was the best it was gonna get. He sighed and solved the problem for his friends, "Don't choose COD or Halo. She said she liked them, but it's probably better to choose something simple — a game you can play with a beer in your hand where you don't need to think too much." I know that's my goal for the night...

***** 6

There was a buzz in the conditioned air. Salty tortilla chips, tomato salsa, and guacamole lined the counter separating the living room and the kitchen. It looked a bit staged, but they wanted their guest to feel as welcome as possible, whenever she arrived.

James wanted to tell his over-prepared friends that they were wasting their time trying to impress his sister, for she had no other options when it came to friends. Though, as he savored the bottle of imported beer that Austin and Harris had bought at the corner store, James chose to stay quiet and let them sweat it. If they were going to drive him crazy, he could at least enjoy the few perks.

The clocks on their phones continued to tick past nine, and Wendy still was a no-show. James could feel his antsy friends looking at him, but they were all too afraid to ask him for her number or to contact her for them. So, when James suggested they start the game night, they timidly agreed. It didn't take long for Mario Kart to bring them to smiles. The famous Nintendo game series was a fast-paced racing game, involving cartoon go-karts, whimsical music, whacky courses, and sabotage with ridiculous items that tested the bonds of friendship. It was the type of game where you could go from being in first place and cheering to finishing in twelfth and throwing your controller through the wall, all in a matter of seconds. It was impossible not to love.

Ding! Ding!

Everyone froze, and someone paused the game. There were three sets of breathless eyes on James, and he stood up with a sigh. After all, she was his sister, and he always got the door.

He walked from his gaming chair by the snack counter and around the couch in the middle of the room to get to the entryway. He wasn't in the mood to guess what vibe his sister had chosen to give off for the evening, and he couldn't bear to look through the peephole, so he simply pulled the handle. Of course...

Standing patiently on the doorstep, with a blithe smile in the lamp-lit night, was Wendy. And she looked very... Wendy. Lavender gray leggings with elegant stitching. A white athletic top with a soft, waffle pattern. And white running shoes with tall rubber soles. Conservative colors with a modern sheen, a minimalist purity with a premium touch, and functional practicality that made it graceful rather than pretentious... It was classic Wendy.

Despite the feel of her aesthetic, what James didn't remember as being classic were the tightness of the clothes to her curves and the healthy amount of skin they left exposed. Her leggings did not start until midway up her shins, leaving her ankles free. The waistband rose to the height of her hidden belly button and wrapped around her fit core, leaving her midriff bare up to where the white underband of her bra came around her ribs. Perhaps it was his engineering brain, but her sports bra reminded James of a suspension bridge. A generous U-cut in her cleavage rose to two peaks in the middle of each breast, only to slope down again to go under her arms. At the top of each triangular peak, a taut spaghetti strap ran over her shoulder to the side of her neck. The amount of lifted flesh and the rounded side boob made James flashback to the orange swimsuit she had worn the day before.

"I guess I should let myself in, then?" Wendy hinted.

"Yeah... Hey," James muttered as he stepped aside.

Wendy had to bite her smirk. This was the ultimate power move, the ultimate F You. After all of his efforts to regulate her appearance, his venomous words about her befriending his roommates, and his hollow threats to kick her out of game night, here she was, walking into his apartment, looking hot, and ready to hang out, as he held the door open for her. As a bonus, though she knew he wouldn't realize it, the cute top she chose had the same cuts as the orange swimsuit she had worn the day before.

Her reception inside the apartment was much more enthusiastic, as all three roommates hilariously lit up and greeted her. "Hey, guys! How's it going? I hope you don't mind, but I dressed for the gym. I'm working out after this, and I knew if I went back home to change first, I'd never leave my apartment hah!"

His giggling friends ate it up, but James sneered. Bullshit... "Wouldn't your mascara run if you worked out in it?"

"Hmm? It depends. Maybe if I see it run I'll be encouraged to run too." More laughter echoed off the stark, off-white walls. Wendy scanned the long, spacious apartment. It was a typical "boy apartment." It had that oh, shit, a girl's coming over, so we better clean everything to make her think it's always this neat look. "Wow, ya guys went all out. You got the snack station there, video games here... You cleaned!"

"We're trying to make everything legit," Luke joked, twisting over the couch.

"Well, I like it." Wendy made her way into the living room. "So, what game do we got on tap for tonight?"

"Mario Kart 8 Deluxe."

"Wait, really? Hah! I haven't even played regular Mario Kart before, let alone a deluxe version. James always had PlayStations growing up, and my guy friends in school had Xboxes, so I never had the chance. I've wanted to play it, though."

A couple of the guys explained how Deluxe was just a title, and it was a simple racing game. After offering her a snack, which she declined, then handed her a small controller and went over the buttons. By the time Wendy found her seat in the lone bean bag chair under the window curtains, she was itching to give the game a go.

Being a reluctant but tolerant host, James switched the game to its easiest mode and started a new race. Soon, the room was full of five young adults steering and jerking their motion controllers as they tried to guide a cartoon character through an active airport. Using the motion controls instead of the joystick was much harder for good players, but it only seemed fair to give Wendy a handicap. And she needed one.

Christ... They're distracted driving and they're still kicking my ass, Wendy thought.

As she tried to find her bearings in the colorful game, different eyes were flicking between her and the screen. Her brother's friends were more interested in seeing her curves than they were the curves of the map, yet she was the only one falling off of the road. While the couch was set back in the middle of the room, her brother was directly across from her on the other side. Occasionally, she glanced over at his higher gaming chair, curious what his eyes were up to.

When the race ended, the couch erupted with excuses for why they didn't win, ranging from giant bullets to bolts of lightning that made them shrink at the worst time. Wendy was just happy she got eleventh and not last. James, however, was quiet and introverted in his victory.

Austin, Luke, and Harris were, of course, eager to hear Wendy's first impression. She began talking to them and explaining how different it was from the Grand Theft Auto game she played in college. They were engaged by her story, perhaps a little too much. She tugged up her bra straps.

Apparently, the conversation was either too long or too chummy for her brother's liking, because she was cut off in the middle of a sentence by a loud chime. New music was playing through the soundbar and a new race was loading on each television. Seriously...?

She half expected one of the roommates to stand up to James and pause the game until she was done, but they didn't, and she sighed. Men were the simplest of creatures, and yet they were beholden to a mysterious set of the dumbest, unspoken rules.

The next race was through a desert of skeletons, and then James immediately selected another one, set on a flying sailboat in the clouds. The game was tricky and aggravating for the most experienced of players, but it hit new ones like Wendy the hardest. After another disappointing finish, she rustled in her bean bag chair and sighed before plopping down next to it.

"You good?" Harris asked.

"Yeah, it's just hard to sit up straight on those things, hah!" Wendy crossed her legs pretzel-style on the floor and sat tall, ready to race. It was no mistake that her white bra straps on her tan back, her fountaining brunette ponytail, and her defined buttocks in her yoga leggings were now all visible to the couch behind her. She didn't mind using her natural advantages to level the playing field — both in Mario Kart and her sibling strife.

"You're sittin' on the floor? You sure you don't wanna sit on the couch?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I do puzzles on the floor like this all the time," Wendy said. Then a cheeky pun presented itself, and she couldn't resist turning back to Harris to show off her clever mind. "And like I said yesterday, I'm used to this on the weekends."

Harris was confused. "Sitting on the floor?"

"Not having a chair?" "Playing video games?" Luke and Austin guessed.

"No, dummies. What am I sitting on?" They were drawing blanks, and the joke was cringier and lamer having to explain it. She was used to hanging out with witty nerds. "Hard-wood... pressing against..."

One by one they started snickering and kicking on the couch. James was less impressed.

"Not to sound like an annoying undergrad at one of those parties, but do you want a beer? I'm grabbing one for myself," Luke stood.

"Hah! Sure, thanks. And don't worry about being one of those men. They were good guys, they just hadn't learned self-confidence yet."

"In Luke's defense, when he's horny, he'll just go for it anyway... even if he's a little freshman and the hot girl is a senior with a boyfriend on the football team." Austin's reference made Harris keel over and Luke burn red with embarrassment.

"Hey," Wendy shrugged, "life's short. Ya gotta shoot your shot sometimes. How'd she handle it though? Did she politely decline like an adult, or did she freak out?" The immediate bursts of laughter gave Wendy her answer, and she laughed too at imagining the outcome.

Everyone gave Luke their beer orders, except for James, who was still sipping his first from earlier. The five were soon sipping their dark bottles and clicking their controllers. Wendy drank slowly, for she enjoyed feeling warm and happy without the effects of being tipsy. Plus, she was already struggling to compete as it was.

----

James was at relative peace in his ergonomic gaming chair. The beer had numbed his tongue and thawed the stiffness in his shoulders. He cruised to victory after victory, as he was the only experienced player keeping his eyes on the road. The Grands Prix, the sets of four races, were running smoothly, and his sister was proving to be the capable gamer she claimed to be, for she was closing the talent gap. She was still the worst by far but getting a lucky streak of items had led her to a win earlier.

The reason for James's newfound calm was that he had finally solved his sister's game. Her, uh, performance art for his friends wasn't random or senseless. It was remarkably consistent and direct. Whenever he showed a sign of anger or disapproval toward her, no matter how large or insignificant, she would perceive it as a slight and punish him. Frankly, it was brilliant. Unfortunately for her, James was intelligent too, things just took him a bit longer. All he had to do was face the television, sip his beer, and forget that his sister was even there, and he had no worries.

Across the room, Wendy was pleased by her progress with the game, but she was more pleased to see her brother so relaxed. It was what she wanted. Or was it? She could see the distant look in his glazed eyes, the stillness in his flat jaw and upturned nose, and the careless nature of his sinking posture. What she wanted was for him to move beyond his insecurities, to forget his past notions of her, and to give her a chance to be his sister again, to love him again, to be his friend again. His indifference was even worse than his rage, for at least then he felt something.

"Are you sure you haven't played this before, Wendy? For a noob, you're becoming a bit of a factor."

"Hah! Thanks. And, nope, I've never played."

"Yeah, man, I don't think at those video game parties Wendy went to in college everybody was sittin' around playin' Mario Kart," Harris mocked.

"We play it," Luke defended. "But yeah, Halo was probably a better option."

"There were never any video game parties, at least that I went to," Wendy corrected. "Usually, it was just me chilling in a dorm with a friend or two. Maybe we'd go out to a party after, but a lot of times it was just when I had breaks during the week. And I mean it, you guys killed it with this game selection. I've wanted to play this for so long, and it's fun, even though I suck, hah!"

"Right on..." Austin nodded, speaking in his low Texan register. "Did y'all ever use Halo or whatnot for drinking games before goin' out? We do that."

"Eh... Maybe? The guys I played with might have. I probably didn't, though. You've probably realized this by now, but I'm not a big drinker. So, I usually passed on drinking games."

"Boo! Lame!" Harris heckled through cupped hands.

"Excuse you, I was not lame!" Wendy snapped her neck behind her to the near side of the couch. "In my opinion, you guys are lame because you need to drink to have fun."

"Now you're straight up soundin' like one of those lame high school guidance counselors: Ya know, the real cool kids don't drink or have sex, ever!"

Wendy couldn't resist laughing hysterically along with everyone else at Harris's impression. "Hey... Haha! Hey, that's not fair! I'm not against drinking at all. Look, I have a beer in my hand right now. It's just that I'm gonna feel good after this, so why would I drink more?"