The Falls

"Our parents and family. . ." I said.

"Eventually telling everyone we meet who become good friends. . ."

"Trying to convince ourselves it's okay." I looked at her.

She looked back at me and said, "Or trying to convince ourselves that it's not."

That was poignant. Maybe she was right. We sat in silence for a couple of minutes. What had happened in the moments before had literally changed our relationship. While from the outside it would simply (simply?) look like I had kissed my cousin, internally my entire worldview was different. Could this relationship happen? I saw myself standing at the altar with Becky in a white dress slipping a ring on my finger. Suddenly she was on a hospital bed giving birth and the doctor's eyes went wide as he pulled out a baby with three arms! I saw my parents freak out, kick me out of the family, and Becky's parents do the same to her. I saw us living in a run down trailer on welfare because that's what happened to kissin' cousins.

Damn, this shit was fucked up! "Becky," I said, shaking my head. I didn't know what to say.

"Is it the two-headed baby?" she asked with a frown.

I smiled. "Three arms." She smiled and nodded.

"I thought about that, too." Her look turned serious and she picked up another pine needle, apparently the most interesting one in the world. "I don't know how I would tell my parents. I'm scared of what they might say."

Suddenly it hit me. "Wait a second," I smiled. "Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look, we've just admitted that we love each other about. . ." I looked at my watch, "Four minutes ago," I smiled. "And now we're talking about how we're going to endure the hardest parts of our relationship? We don't even HAVE a relationship!"

"But don't you think we should at least think about it?"

"Eventually. If this goes anywhere. Becky, you're my best friend and I do love you, and I love that you love me. I do. But we're about to go to college and our hearts could wander. Maybe we'll each fall in love with someone else, get married, have kids and meet up a couple of times a year like our parents do. We may one day look back at this time and think of it as the weirdest crush we've ever had," I laughed. She seemed to brighten a little at that. "IF it does develop, however, then we'll have plenty of time to discuss these things and respond as the time comes. We wouldn't have to decide everything today, or even in the next few weeks." I felt a lot of stress slide off my shoulders at that point.

Becky's face began to fade into a smile before she buried her face in her hands and laughed a little. "You're right!" she said. "This is so stupid. Why can't I just enjoy the news that we love each other? That's what this should be!"

"I got so wrapped up in worry that I didn't even get to enjoy our first kiss."

She looked up at me with a flirty smile. "So, now that we're more relaxed, do you want to try that first kiss again?"

"I'll take every chance I get, to kiss you, Becks." She smiled wide and we both leaned in for a kiss. We weren't so tentative this time and our tongues immediately went to exploring. Knowing how she felt gave me the freedom to kiss her the way I wanted to kiss her, and to receive her kiss with the same enthusiasm with which she offered it. I felt my body responding. I was getting warmer, my pulse rate increased, and naturally I quickly became fully erect.

The feel of Becky's bare skin under my hands was electric. Whether it was due to the sun or to our kiss, her skin was warm and moist and I loved being able to touch her. I also loved the feel of her hands around my back. She brought one hand up to cup my cheek, and for whatever reason, that seemed so intimate to me, so sexy. She pulled away and looked at me with this beautiful, comfortable smile. She looked all over my face, like she was examining it. My cousin gently swept my hair back over my ear before drawing her hand down across my cheek again.

"You're so beautiful," she said quietly. I just smiled. I placed my hand on top of hers and turned to kiss her palm. Her eyes closed and she sighed. "Why can't it be like this forever?" She looked around. "Alone together, in our own little paradise. Maybe without our swimsuits?" she winked. "We could wake up together in the morning, spend the day together, just us, doing whatever we wanted, then climb back into bed together at the end of the day. I could curl up in your arms and I would sleep in peace every night. I would be warm and safe always. And I would be yours, all yours. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"I can't imagine anything better."

"What do you think would be the ideal paradise for us?"

"Anywhere with you is paradise."

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, I'm serious."

"So am I," I smiled. She slapped my arm. "Okay, I think a nice cabin on a bunch of private land, in the mountains, right on a lake. Warm in the summer so we could swim, like we are now." She smiled. "And cold enough winters that we could snuggle by a fire inside, or by a fire pit outside in the spring and fall. A Jacuzzi on a screened porch so we could relax."

"Naked?" she winked.

"Sure, why not?" I smiled. She laughed. "I think I'd like a nice big, soft bed for us to share, with a fireplace in the bedroom, and a big shower in the master bath for us to share. I guess that's it. Ultimately, though, it's just about being with the woman I love. That's paradise."

She kissed me again. "You're so sweet. Come on," she said, rolling the bag of chips, "Let's get back in the pool. I hear that rope swing calling my name." I stood and helped her up, putting the chips and dip back in the cooler and wading back in off the sandbar, holding her hand as we went. She let go of my hand and dove into the water, popping up to swim to the bank with the rope swing. As we climbed the bank, she was directly in front of me, her wet, tanned ass covered in the pink bikini, wagging in my face.

"You'd better not be looking at my ass," she teased. She knew me too well.

"I'm not," I lied.

"That's too bad. I mean, it's right there." She turned and looked over her shoulder at me, wiggling it at me.

We finished the climb to the top and I unwrapped the rope from the tree and tugged on it to test the branch. "I'll go first and make sure it's strong enough, then you can go." She agreed.

I gripped the rope a few feet above the end knot and took a run toward the edge of the bank. It took a sudden drop and I hung from the rope, flying over the red dirt, then the green water. When the rope arced up, I let go and flipped backward as I kicked my feet up. I heard a squealing cheer and I dropped into the cool water, landing on my left side. I swam to the surface and saw Becky grabbing at the rope, which was swinging wildly from the strong branch of the giant hardwood.

When she grabbed it, she backed up as she said, "Great jump! Here I come!"

She ran and jumped off the edge as the bank dropped, and she dropped off the rope when she got out to the apex of the swing. She was almost right above me when she let go, falling feet first, landing about ten feet away with a splash. She surfaced and started laughing. "That was so awesome!" she cried. I swam toward her and kissed her.

"Great job," I said. "You want to again?"

She backed away toward the rocks by the waterfall. "In a minute," she said. "Come here." I followed her over until we stood on a sandbar extending out from under the rocks. We were standing in chest deep water and she draped her arms over my shoulders. My hands rested on her waist instinctively and she reached in to kiss me. We kissed and she wrapped one leg around my thigh. I reached down to stroke her thigh and she pulled herself up on my neck, wrapping both legs around my waist. "I hope this is okay," she whispered, pulling herself into me.

"I hope this is okay," I answered, reaching down to cup her perfect ass.

"I like your hands on me. You can do this as much as you want."

"I like your hands on me, too." We began to kiss more urgently and as I squeezed her ass, she began to moan into my mouth and her hips started grinding against me. I was already hard anyway, but this just served to increase my arousal.

"Is that for me?" she asked, still grinding her hips.

"What do you think?"

"I think you'd better answer the damned question," she smiled.

"Yes, Becky, that boner is for you."

"Good." She kissed me again, pulling herself tighter against me with her arms and legs. Her kiss was more urgent, prodding me to kiss her more urgently as well. As she continued to move against me, I found myself squeezing her ass, that perfect ass. Suddenly, Becky broke the kiss and buried her face in my neck, biting at it gently as she whimpered. After a few moments, she grunted and her hips flinched against me as she held me tight. "Oh, god," she breathed. "I wasn't expecting that." She lowered her legs and stepped back, obviously embarrassed.

"Man," I said, shaking my head.

She looked at me sheepishly. "Sorry," she muttered.

"What for?!" I laughed. "Giving me the most exciting kiss of my life?"

She smiled a little. "Um, no. For. . . coming."

"Yeah! On me! Using me to do it!"

She giggled. "You're not mad at me, then?"

"Oh, yeah," I said sarcastically. "I'm furious."

She laughed a little more freely at that one. "I've never done that before, you know, come with a boy."

"Never?"

She shook her head. "Have you?"

"Ever come with a boy? Never," I said, shaking my head.

She laughed. "You know what I mean!"

"No, I've never blown my load making out with a girl before."

"Did you that time?"

"No. I was having a good time, but I didn't quite get to come."

"Not quite? Does that mean you were close?" She looked like she had an idea forming.

"Yeah, pretty close."

"Well, that doesn't seem quite fair," she smirked. She immediately wrapped her arms around my neck again and smiled at me as she lifted one leg. I gripped her ass and kissed her as she wrapped both legs around me. She rubbed herself against me again, every once in a while letting out a little whimper. She broke the kiss and whispered in my ear. "I want to make you come this time. It's so hot to think of you coming with my legs wrapped around you."

I groaned at the thought, thinking not of us swimming, but of me buried inside her pussy, whatever that would feel like (I didn't really know; I was a virgin), and screwing her until I could come inside her. The stimulation of her request, her thrusting hips, and my imagination pushed me perilously close to the edge. I began pressing against her as she rotated her hips.

"Mmm, that's good, Steve," she whispered, her breath catching as she spoke. I could hear her voice quivering.

"Oh, Becky. Oh, my god," I groaned.

She kissed me again and our tongues caressed each other while she kept her hips pressed against me, gliding smoothly against the underside of my cock through my swimsuit. I flinched involuntarily and my breathing picked up. My groin tingled and I knew the feeling of a climax from all the times I had stroked myself off. "That's it," she whispered, nibbling my ear. "Go ahead. Come for me."

I grunted when the first blast of heat filled my shorts. Becky must have felt me twitch against her because she yelped and groaned before whispering more encouragement to me. She cooed and slid her legs off my hips before stepping back a little, causing a cool flow of water to rush between us. "That was nice," she smiled. "Did you like it?"

I could only nod stupidly. "That was amazing," I said, trying to regain some composure.

"You should probably clean out your shorts now, huh?" she asked.

I blushed. "Probably."

"It's getting late," she said. "We should head back. You clean up and I'll get our stuff together." I nodded. She kissed me again. "That was fun," she whispered. "We'll have to do that again."

I smiled in return and watched her swim across to the sandbar. I cleaned out my swimsuit the best I could and swam over to the other side. I watched her walk out of the water and round the boulder. By the time I got to the sandbar, Becky had already slid her shorts back on and was pulling her tank top over her head. She rolled it down and slipped into her flip-flops. I took my towel off the rock and dried off the best I could before slipping on my own shirt and flip-flops, grabbing the cooler and blanket and walking up the trail. Becky slipped her hand into mine with a smile and we quickly kissed before walking back to the truck.

We were pretty much our same old selves on the ride home, joking and laughing, making personal jabs at the other's expense. The only difference was how freely we held hands as we drove and talked. Becky let go of my hand when we got to the house, giving me a look of sadness, but I knew what she was thinking, that we had to act normally here, like nothing had changed.

Dinner at the seafood restaurant was as good as it always was there, but the company made it better. Becky and I sat side by side and while our parents chatted and laughed, we would flirt with our hands or eyes, while otherwise having our normal side conversation like we had always had growing up. As far as we could tell, our parents thought nothing of it. They didn't say anything and otherwise ignored us as had been the case on most of our family get-togethers. The adults would hang out together, and the kids would hang out together; we were in different worlds.

When we got home, the parents played cards again while Becky and I played pool. We were all in the big lounge room in the basement while the television played idly as background noise, none of us really interested on what was on. After we got tired of playing pool, Becky and I went out to the patio and sat on the porch swing, talking as our parents' laughter and teasing carried out through the screen door. We could see them, which meant they could see us, too. We talked about nothing in particular, but just enjoyed being together.

The next morning was an early morning for me. I had two yards to do, but was home by lunch. I came in and took a shower, changing into some soccer shorts and a t-shirt before grabbing some lunch with the family.

"Tonight," said Dad, "We're taking Doug and Brenda to the club. We won't be home until late, so you're on your own for dinner and entertainment."

"How late?" I asked.

"Well, aren't you the nosy one?" Mom asked sarcastically. Everyone laughed.

"Well, old people late is a LOT different than college student late," I jabbed, causing Becky to laugh and Mom to feign shock and offense.

"Old people?!" she gasped. They all laughed again.

"After midnight at least," laughed Dad. "If it's any earlier, we'll call so you can get rid of the beer cans and hookers."

"Thanks," I said. "Are you going to leave money for the hookers?"

"I said you were on your own for entertainment." Everyone laughed again. Yep, this was my family.

After lunch, our parents retired to the porch to talk. We were bored, of course, so Becky sat down beside me while I was flipping through the channels. "We should go to a movie," she said, grabbing her laptop off the coffee table.

"Sounds good to me," I said. "I need to get out of here. What's on?"

She brought up the local theater's site and scrolled through it. "If we leave soon we can go see, 'The Mirror Darkly.' I hear it's really creepy."

"Awesome," I said.

"I'll go get changed for our first date," she whispered with a smile, closing her laptop.

"Date?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm. You don't have a problem with going on a date with me, do you?" she smiled.

I couldn't help but smile back. "Not at all. Don't dress up, though. You're perfect just like that."

"You're sweet. I'll keep it casual," she said.

I went out to tell our parents that Becky and I were going to a movie and that if we didn't see them before their night out, to have a good time. I went upstairs to change into some jeans and a collared shirt for my date with Becky. I sprayed on a little cologne and brushed my teeth before returning downstairs to wait.

I didn't have to wait. Before I could sit down on the couch, I heard Becky's door open and she came down the hall. Holy shit, I thought, she looks amazing. She had on a yellow halter top and white short shorts. Her hair was hanging loose and lightly curled. She had on white canvas boat shoes and just a touch of makeup. Damn, she looked fine. "Wow," I mouthed so our parents couldn't hear.

She caught on. "Thank you," she mouthed silently. I took her hand and walked her out the front door to my truck, opening the door for her and closing it behind her. As soon as I started it and took off, I turned to her and got a good long look. "I take it you like my choice," she smiled.

"Damn, Beck. You look amazing."

"I'm glad you think so. I did it for you. I was hoping you would like it."

"How could I not?"

She reached over and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. I squeezed it back and smiled. When we reached the theater, we had to stand in line outside for the ticket window. Fortunately a lot of the people in line were there for the children's matinee and not the horror movie we came to see. When I ordered the tickets, Becky reached forward with the money, but I pushed her hand away, reaching forward with my own money instead. "It's a date, remember?" I whispered. "I pay for our dates."

She blushed and nodded, tucking the money back into her tiny brown purse. I took her hand as we walked from the ticket window to the front entrance. "Can I still pay sometimes?" she asked.

"Sure, if that's what you want, but I'm paying for most of our dates."

"MOST of our dates? You think we'll be going out very much?" she asked, surprised.

"If I have anything to say about it."

The unenthused ticket taker droned that we would be in theater nine before ripping the tickets in half and handing the stubs back to me. "Snacks?" I asked.

"Of course," she smiled. We stood in line holding hands and I couldn't help looking at her. I noticed that a lot of the guys there had the same problem, but I honestly don't think she noticed. This may make me sound like a jerk, but I was proud to have someone like Becky holding my hand. I liked that other guys saw her as beautiful and yet she wanted to be here with me. One guy got caught by his girlfriend who was holding his hand. She jerked hard on his hand and said something to him, but he shrugged apologetically and answered something I couldn't hear. I laughed.

"What?" asked Becky with a smile.

"Nothing," I snickered. "This dude was checking you out and he got caught by his girlfriend."

"Oh," she said, blushing. "Sorry."

"Don't be," I said. "You can't help it that you're hot. I'm just glad you're here with me."

"Me, too," she smiled.

When we got to the counter we got two giant pretzels with cheese dip, a Coke and some Twizzlers. As soon as we got to our seats in the nearly empty theater, Becky opened the Twizzlers and bit both ends off before jamming it into the hole in the lid. She took a long pull and shared the drink with me. It was just like old times, only this time we were sharing a drink instead of just splitting the Twizzlers. Over the course of the movie we would change out the Twizzler several times, eating the one that had first served as a straw while replacing it with a fresh one.

Several times during the movie, Becky would grab my arm. I had moved the armrest up out of the way so we could be closer together. She jumped countless times, and I have to admit that I did, too, causing us to grab onto each other, an arm or a leg. The truth was, I couldn't help but touch her. I'm serious, you should have seen her. Now that I knew she knew how I felt about her, and since I was now able to be honest with myself, I didn't hide the fact that I was looking at her like she was a hot chick. That yellow halter and white shorts were perfect for accentuating both her form and her tan. She was firm and beautiful, a light golden tan. Of course I couldn't see her tan well in the dark of the theater, but I already knew it by heart, and I could certainly admire her form.